Articles by Jake Roach, Senior Analyst, CPUs

Jake Roach has been bending pins and busting solder joints since the mid-2000s. From trying to run scratched CDs of Delta Force and Unreal Tournament to spitting out virtual machines on a Threadripper, Jake has been on the hunt for the latest hardware and highest performance for decades. That eventually spun up a career, with Jake serving as Lead Reporter at Digital Trends, as well as contributing to outlets like XDA, PC Invasion, Business Insider, and WIRED. At Tom’s Hardware, Jake is focused on consumer and workstation CPUs. Outside working hours, you’ll find him knee-deep in the latest roguelite taking over Steam, spending way too much money on Magic: The Gathering, or forcing his lazy corgi onto walks.

Articles by: Jake Roach

Intel CES 2026 keynote live blog: Panther Lake debuts in Core Ultra Series 3 laptop CPUs, Arc B390 IGP announced

By Jake Roach, Brandon Hill last updated 5 January 26

Jim Johnson, Intel’s Senior VP and GM of the Client Computing Division, will come on stage at 3:00 p.m. PT to talk about the Core Ultra Series 3 processors.

Intel doubles down on gaming with Panther Lake, claims 76% faster gaming performance — new X-series chips can match discrete RTX 4050

By Jake Roach published 5 January 26

Intel finally unveiled the specs and speeds of its Panther Lake processors at CES, with the headline addition being a new lineup of X-series chips that sport a bigger GPU.

Samsung's new 'Odyssey 3D' 6K monitor takes center stage at CES 2026, features solid eye-tracking — 1,000 Hz dual-mode panel also on display, alongside new G6 & G8 OLED monitors

By Hassam Nasir, Jake Roach published 5 January 26

Samsung's got something for everyone.

Qualcomm expands Snapdragon on Windows with X2 Plus – 10-core ARM CPU boasts 35% single-core jump

By Jake Roach published 5 January 26

Qualcomm is expanding its second generation of Windows chips with the X2 Plus lineup, which claims a 35% jump in single-core and a 17% increase in multi-threaded performance.

Unlucky RTX 5080 buyer who received rocks made whole after month-long investigation — Reddit user shows off new tattoo to commemorate

By Jake Roach published 30 December 25

After nearly a month and with most options exhausted, one unlucky RTX 5080 buyer finally got their card.

AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D tipped for modest price hike — early listings point to $500 list for refreshed Zen 5 CPU

By Hassam Nasir published 30 December 25

Similar price, but what about performance?

Micro Center lists 8TB WD_Black SSD at $2,419 MSRP, real price tag up 50% since October — pricing surges on high-capacity SSDs in response to AI demand

By Jake Roach last updated 29 December 25

A mismarked 8TB SSD at Micro Center is sounding the alarm on surging SSD prices in response to demand from AI data centers.

Intel vs AMD: Which CPUs Are Better in 2025?

By Jake Roach last updated 27 December 25

We wade into the endless debate: Who makes the best CPU, AMD or Intel? Here's the blow-by-blow in ten categories.

Study shows playing Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi games fights burnout and can 'enhance happiness in life' — popular titles are proven to ‘instill childlike wonder’ among young adults

By Jowi Morales published 24 December 25

A study revealed that games like Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi can bring back good childhood memories.

Micron outlines grim outlook for DRAM supply in first earnings call since killing Crucial memory and SSD brand — CEO says it can only meet half to two-thirds of demand

By Jake Roach published 17 December 25

Micron posted record revenues in its first earnings call since killing the consumer Crucial brand, though it admits that supply shortages will persist.

How to choose a CPU – A guide to picking the right processor for your PC

By Jake Roach published 17 December 25

Choosing the right CPU is one of the first decisions you need to make when building a PC. Here's how to make that tough choice.

CPU upgrades aren't dead from the DDR5 apocalypse — here are in-place DDR4 upgrades you can still make

By Jake Roach published 27 November 25

Let's make the best of a bad situation.

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