Ben Wilson
Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.
Forever a Windows XP fan who cut his teeth by helping his family transition from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 with a stack of floppy disks and paper manuals, he's dedicated to Microsoft's operating system and everything remotely compatible. If he isn't covering AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm processors or dabbling in Valve's Linux-based Steam Deck handheld, he's probably playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 for some low-speed (but realistic) thrills.
Latest articles by Ben Wilson
The best pre-built gaming desktop PC deals for Cyber Monday 2023: Perfect picks for newcomers
By Ben Wilson, Zachary Boddy, Sean Endicott last updated
Deals Building a custom PC is a rewarding experience when it works, but it's also an intimidating prospect. Here are the best deals on pre-built options.
The best gaming laptop deals for Cyber Monday 2023: Ultimate value and awesome power for less
By Ben Wilson, Zachary Boddy last updated
Deals If you're waiting for Cyber Monday to pick up a new gaming laptop, wait no more. We'll help you choose from the best deals that are already appearing online.
Best deals for Black Friday 2023 — Handpicked discounts to grab now
By Ben Wilson last updated
Deals We're rounding up the hottest deals on Windows, Xbox, and more during the run-up to Black Friday 2023.
"The motherboards are incompatible and we have overhauled the internals significantly": Valve's product designer shuts down the prospect of upgrading your OG LCD Steam Deck with a custom OLED screen — but is it actually impossible?
By Ben Wilson published
OLEDn't An upgraded Steam Deck OLED is a mid-generation refresh to Valve's portable PC gaming handheld, so what about manual upgrades for those who own the original?
The best mesh Wi-Fi system I've ever used just hit its LOWEST price on Amazon and I couldn't recommend it hard enough
By Ben Wilson published
Deal I solved all of my wireless networking issues with this mesh Wi-Fi triple pack, breaking through the thick brick walls of my old house to provide high-speed Internet to my farthest-reaching rooms.
My all-time favorite wireless gaming keyboard enjoys a 21% discount as an early Black Friday treat
By Ben Wilson last updated
Deal The best gaming keyboard I have ever tested enjoys an early Black Friday discount, bringing it down to a more reasonable cost than its initial MSRP.
Why Rockstar Games' mistreatment of the series leaves me feeling utterly unexcited for Grand Theft Auto 6
By Ben Wilson published
💔GTA6 GTA6 breaks the Internet, but it's not the same for me.
Revolutionary 'sweating' heatsink improves passive CPU cooling up to 32.65% with salt water
By Ben Wilson published
Sweaty CPU Developed by researchers in China, this experimental technology allows a porous membrane to 'sweat' and absorb moisture from the air and passively cool processors.
Surveyed PC gamers say they STILL prefer Windows 10 and mid-range 1080p over high-end parts
By Ben Wilson published
Steam Survey Valve's October survey shows Windows still dominates PC gaming, with Windows 10 leading the way. Is Microsoft's last-gen operating system still so popular for a specific reason?
Intel's top-tier gaming laptop CPU just leaked, and it almost beat the desktop equivalent — Here's what you need to know
By Ben Wilson published
Portable power Leaked Geekbench 6 benchmarks show an unreleased Intel Core 14th Gen mobile CPU almost matching the performance of its desktop 14700K counterpart.
Recommended game specs are a joke — PC devs need to temper expectations
By Ben Wilson published
RTX 4090 or bust My latest personal PC upgrades still don't stand a chance of running my most anticipated titles with smooth framerates, so what's the big deal with poor optimization recently?
DaVinci Resolve on ARM: Qualcomm delivers Hollywood’s most popular editing app
By Ben Wilson published
DaVinci on ARM DaVinci Resolve, one of the most popular video editing apps, is coming to more ARM-supported devices, including future Windows laptops, as confirmed by an announcement at Snapdragon Summit 2023.
Undervolting Steam Decks will soon be possible for everyone, but why bother?
By Ben Wilson published
⚡Undervolt Valve adds SteamOS 3.5.1 to its Preview branch for Steam Deck owners, sneaking undervolting controls into the BIOS while removing others. Is it worth it?
LIVE: Amazon Prime Day in October — 99 Xbox and PC handpicked deals to grab before they're gone
By Ben Wilson last updated
Live blog We're finding the hottest discounts on Windows and Xbox during Amazon's two-day Big Deal Days event and beyond, skipping the scams and price-inflated fakes.
Here are the best Xbox accessories under $75 still available now Amazon Prime Days are over
By Ben Wilson last updated
Under $75 There were plenty of deals to be had on Xbox accessories for Amazon's Prime Day 2, also known as Big Deal Days, but we've done another sweep of the deals and this is whats available TODAY.
AVerMedia's latest HDMI 2.1 capture card offers 4K60 live Xbox Series X feeds to streamers
By Ben Wilson published
Streaming AVerMedia takes on Elgato with HDMI 2.1 support on its new Live Gamer ULTRA 2.1 capture card using USB-C connectivity.
Prime Day may be over but these deals under $100 for Xbox are still going strong
By Ben Wilson last updated
Under $100 Official Amazon Prime Day may be over, but there are still bargains to be had on Xbox accessories under $100. We've checked a bunch of retailers to find the best deals STILL live today.
October Prime Day ends but these discounted gaming laptops are still up for grabs
By Ben Wilson last updated
Gaming laptops I've found the best gaming laptop deals during Amazon's two-day Prime Big Deal Days sale event, cutting out the scams and price-inflated time wasters.
The best pre-built gaming desktop savings to grab after October Prime Day
By Ben Wilson last updated
Gaming desktops Here are the best pre-built gaming desktop PC discounts during Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale event, without inflated discounts and no-name fakes.
Everything you need to build a custom gaming PC is on sale: Here's what I'd buy
By Ben Wilson published
Deals It's Prime Day season again, driving down the overblown prices of custom PC gaming components, but understanding compatibility is tricky, so I've taken the liberty of selecting everything you need.
I asked DALL-E 3 AI to generate my Halloween costume with Bing Chat and it's appropriately cursed
By Ben Wilson published
Spooky DALL-E Bing Chat AI generates better images than ever thanks to its upgrade to DALL-E 3, so I asked it for some Halloween party inspiration.
Best SD cards for Steam Deck 2024
By Ben Wilson last updated
Updated The Steam Deck has at least 64GB of storage space, but you can expand it further with one of the best SD cards for even more awesome games and apps.
How to check CPU temperatures on Windows 11: Fast and free methods
By Ben Wilson published
CPU temp If your computer feels sluggish, checking the CPU temperature is one of the best ways to diagnose potential throttling issues. Here's how to check CPU temps on Windows 11.
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