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Jon Martindale

Jon Martindale

Evergreen writer
Author/Co-Author of 2713 articles

Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and explainers to help everyone understand the hottest new hardware and software in desktops, laptops, and on the web. He's also written articles on how to make your PC more efficient for the summer, and how he fixed his backpain with an annoying pop-up app.

Although Jon covers a wide range of topics at DigitalTrends, his particular focus is on PC components and peripherals, keeping our lists of best power supplies and best ergonomic mice up to date, as well as breaking down how to install the latest graphics cards to boost your gaming performance. He's also written gaming performance guides, and made sure that the crypto traders out there are using the best wallets for their digital tokens.

Alongside DigitalTrends, Jon also writers for Forbes, Lifewire, and Microcenter, has authored two novels, and provided back story and dialogue for a handful of games. He's an amateur game developer, and has made a few game prototypes in his spare time -- with a little help from ChatGPT. Jon's also an avid board gamer, getting in regular games of epic tabletop fare like Twilight Imperium and War of the Ring where he can. He's a father to two kids who recently discovered the joys of Pokémon, and keeps his aging French Bulldog cross busy on regular walks.

 

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D socketed in a motherboard.

AMD on AM4 socket longevity, AM5, and the future

AMD's AM4 socket is almost eight years old and still going strong. Hear AMD's take on why its kept it around so long and may well do for years to come, too.
The Core Ultra 9 285K socketed into a motherboard.

Intel Core Ultra 7 vs. Core Ultra 9: What’s the difference?

When it comes to Intel's Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 9, it's a matter of buying a powerful processor or a very powerful one. Here are all the differences on desktop and mobile.
intel core ultra 5 245k review 4

Intel Ultra 5 vs Core Ultra 7: Which CPU is right for you in 2025?

Intel offers the Core i5 and i7 ranges for the mainstream market, but which should you choose? Our Intel Core i5 versus i7 guide breaks down the differences.
Hisense U7N review

9 best TVs under $1,000: Our top picks from Hisense, TCL, and Samsung

Not every big screen needs to cost an arm and a leg. Here are seven of our favorite TVs that cost less than $1,000.
Official product render of the G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo memory for AMD.

AMD CPUs should support CUDIMM memory soon, but not this generation

AMD CPUs don't currently support CUDIMM or their speed, but that should be changing within the next generation or two.
LG C5 OLED

LG G5 vs. LG C5 – is the cheaper option good enough?

The LG G5 and C5 are two of the best OLED TVs of 2025. But which should you pick? Let's take a look.
Jensen Huang addressing an audience.

Nvidia keeps hiding its bad cards, and that’s a problem

Nvidia is hiding the RTX 5060 by denying reviewers access to drivers. It can't keep getting away with this.

The best RAM for 2025

There are a lot of RAM kits on the market, but only a select few made the cut in our roundup of the best RAM kits. Here are the top options in 2025.
PC speakers outside by some paint tins.

I loved these speakers so much, I burned myself trying to fix them

When my 15 year old Harman Kardon speakers started to fail, I knew I had to try to fix them. But it was all for naught.
The Razer Huntsman Quartz Edition Mechanical Gaming Keyboard next to a traditional keyboard.

The best keyboards for 2025

Choosing the best keyboard can be difficult given all the options begging for your bucks. Check out our favorites for gamers, creatives, the office, and more.
heres why the rtx 5060 ti a suitable contender for your next sff build zotac 16gb 1 e35676

Whatever GPU you buy, make sure it’s not the RTX 5060 8GB

We’ve spent the last few months talking exhaustively about new graphics cards, and unfortunately, a lot of it has been negative. Nvidia’s RTX 50 series launch has been disastrous, with melting cables, black screen driver crashes, missing ROPs, and pricing and availability issues which are just ridiculous. The Trump tariffs are only making things worse, […]
Person leaving.

So long Skype, we hardly used ye (recently)

I still remember switching over to Skype for my in-game comms in the mid-00s. Partly that was because I was really only playing with one or two friends at a time, and because I also used it to call my girlfiend. It helped me move on from MSN messenger where I had met said girlfriend, […]
Samsung S95F OLED

LG G5 vs. Samsung S95F – Battle for the best TV of 2025

Samsung and LG make some of the best TVs, and the best of their best are the G5 and S95F. Let's see how they stack up.
Several AMD RX 9000 series graphics cards.

Tariffs tanking the dollar are helping GPU prices in Europe

Graphics card prices have been insane for most of this year making it hard to find anything in stock, let alone at a fair price. In Europe though, we’re starting to see prices fall to more affordable levels, and it’s not just because Nvidia and AMD are launching more entry-level cards. The Trump tariffs and […]
GPU sag on an RTX 3070.

Asus’ new GPU droop solution is smart, but you don’t need it

Despite graphics card PCBs becoming smaller and smaller with each successive generation — some of the have PCBs just a few inches long — their power consumption has gone up, and the size of the coolers has trended upwards with it. That means heavier cards, with less support, so GPU droop, or graphics card sagging where […]
GPMI connector

GPMI is way better than HDMI, but it may never be able to compete

HDMI has been the main connector of choice for living rooms for decades. It connects TVs to consoles, to Blu-ray players, to A/V systems, and it’s even a great secondary connector for gaming PC owners who’d rather not use DisplayPort. But as much as HDMI has improved over the years, it’s also fallen behind some […]
Fortnite OG Season 2 skins on island

Fortnite PC performance: best settings, fps boost, and more

Each new Chapter of Fortnite is a great excuse to refresh yourself on the best PC settings to use in Fortnite for the best performance, from FPS to visuals.
AMD Ryzen 5 2400G & Ryzen 3 2200G Review fingers motherboard.

What is an APU? Should you buy one for your PC?

APU is a term that's commonly used in association with AMD processors. The company touts it as something that gives it an edge over Intel, what is an APU?
The new Start Menu in Windows 11, 22H2

How to get Windows 11 for free

If you already have a legal Windows 10 installation, you can easily upgrade to Windows 11 for free. Here's how to do it.
ChatGPT on a laptop

Fun things to ask ChatGPT now that it remembers everything

ChatGPT can remember everything you've ever talked about, meaning it knows you better than ever. Here are some fun ways to use that.
The rear of the Onn 4K Pro Streaming Device has a reset button, Ethernet port, HDMI port, USB-A port, and a barrel power connector.

What is HDMI 2.2? Everything you need to know

HDMI 2.2 was officially announced at CES 2025, but we may not see new cables until later this year, and supporting devices until 2026 or beyond.
The RTX 5090 sitting on top of the RTX 4080.

Nvidia RTX DLSS: everything you need to know

Nvidia's DLSS technology offers a huge boost to PC games, but how does it work, exactly? Here's everything you need to know about DLSS and what it can do.
HDMI port.

What is HDMI? The most popular video connection explained

HDMI cables are the most popular solution for connecting living room devices to living room TVs. Here's everything you need to know.
LG G4 OLED

8K to 4K to 1080p: TV resolutions explained

1080p? 4K UHD? 8K? What does it all mean? We’ll break down the dirty details and help you figure out the right resolution for you depending on your needs.
Ray tracing demonstration in Doom Eternal.

What is ray tracing, and how will it change games?

Nvidia made real-time ray tracing mainstream, and now the RTX 3080 and AMD RX 6800 XT are taking the tech to the next level. Here's what you need to know.
Internal hard drives together.

How to wipe a hard drive on your PC or Mac

Learning how to wipe a hard drive is an important step in maintaining your privacy when upgrading or replacing hardware. These steps have everything you need.

SSD vs. HDD: What’s the difference, and which drive type is best?

What's the difference between SSD vs. HDD? What kind of drive is right for you is going to depend on your situation, but we'd suggest you get at least one SSD.
Team Group DDR5 memory kit.

DDR5 memory: Everything you need to know

DDR5 memory is coming, and it's bringing with it more bandwidth at less power than any generation that's come before. Here's what you need to know about DDR5.
RTX 4090.

What is GDDR7? Everything you need to know about next-gen VRAM

GDDR7 VRAM is here, with it is a huge uplift in bandwidth. If combined with a wide memory bus, we could see next-gen GPU bandwidth explode.
Jensen Huang addressing an audience.

Nvidia’s graphics drivers are in worse shape than we thought

Nvidia's RTX 50-series drivers are a mess, and despite major updates, the problem is far from solved.
Microsoft at 50.

Microsoft just turned 50, can its dominance last another half a century?

Microsoft is now 50 years old and after 50 years it's seen some major changes. Here are some of its biggest milestones and where it might be going in the future.
An iPhone linked in Windows 11.

How to install Windows 11 with an offline account

A gamer using one of LG's TVs.

Dolby Vision vs. HDR10 vs. HDR10+: Which HDR format is the best?

High Dynamic Range (HDR) video is the biggest improvement to TV image quality in years. But which of the three major HDR formats is the best? We break it down.
The Ryzen 9 9950X between someone's fingertips.

The 9950X3D is king, but the 9950X is great for non-gamers

The 9950X3D and 9950X are AMD's two top 16-core CPUs, but do you need the X3D model if you aren't gaming? Let's take a look.