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Jon Martindale

Jon Martindale

Former Digital Trends Contributor
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.
Computing Features
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.
Computing Features
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.
Audio / Video Products
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.
Computing Features
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.
Computing Features
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, […]
Computing Features
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, […]
Computing Features
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.
Audio / Video Products
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 […]
Computing Features
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 […]
Computing Features
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 […]
Computing Features
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.
Computing Features
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.
Audio / Video Guides
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.
Audio / Video Guides
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.
Computing Guides
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.
Computing Features
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.
Computing Features
An iPhone linked in Windows 11.

How to install Windows 11 with an offline account

Computing Guides
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.
Computing
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D held between fingertips.

The 9950X3D gives the gaming king a real run for its money

The 9950X3D and 9800X3D are two of the best gaming CPUs in the world, but which is the best? It depends what you use it for.
Computing
Gamer playing Overwatch on GIGABYTE G6X gaming laptop from GIGABYTE gaming laptop deals.

Laptop GPU names feel like a scam

Laptop graphics are misleadingly labelled in even the best cases, but they don't need to be. With some honest numbers, they could be far clearer.
Computing Features
ces 2025 what to expect from amd nvidia intel jensen ceo

Now is not the time to buy a new graphics card

Graphics cards are an absolute mess right now. I know, I’ve talked a few times about how awesome , and it’s certainly the best of the bunch, but just look at the state of things. Even that “value” buy in 2025 is out of stock everywhere and the alternatives are even worse. And it shouldn’t […]
Computing Features
The RTX 5090 sitting on top of the RTX 4080.

Would you pay less for a defective GPU?

RTX 50-series GPUs with missing ROPs are going back on sale as "B Stock" options. Would you pay for one if it came at a reduced price?
Computing Features
RX 7900 XTX installed in a test bench.

The 7900 XTX still beats the 9070 XT… just

The 9070 XT is taking on the last-gen king, the 7900 XTX. But can it compete? It has the features, but its specs suggest it'll be a close battle.
Computing
RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT on a pink background.

AMD’s new 9070 XT beats all but one Radeon GPU

AMD’s and that goes for almost everything that came before, too. Although AMD didn’t market its new card as a high-end option, it might as well have, because it can beat almost any other AMD graphics card you pit it against. Even potentially . But that last-gen card does have more memory, compute units, and […]
Computing
The RTX 5090 sitting on a pink background.

The RTX 50-series is the worst GPU launch in recent memory

Nvidia's launch of the RTX 50-series has been nothing short of catastrophic and months on, it's not getting any better.
Computing Features
An Asus RX 9070 XT TUF GPU.

Can the RX 9070 compete with the 5070 Ti?

The RX 9070 was designed as more of an RTX 5070 competitor, but it can actually compete and even sometimes beat the more-expensive RTX 5070 Ti.
Computing
AMD's RX 7700 XT in a test bench.

AMD 9070 XT is a good upgrade over the 7800 XT

AMD's new RX 9070 XT has proved itself a worthy upgrade for those with a 7800 XT, with better ray tracing and upscaling capabilities.
Computing
The Ryzen 9 9950X between someone's fingertips.

CPUs to buy instead of the Ryzen 9950X3D

The AMD Ryzen 9950X3D is amazing, but it's out of stock and not for everyone. Here's what you should buy instead.
Computing
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang with a few Nvidia graphics cards.

When the AI hype dies, I hope Nvidia pivots back to gaming

When Nvidia's AI bubble finally bursts and it can't just print money anymore, I really hope it remembers its gaming roots to produce great GPUs again.
Computing Features
best graphics cards rtx 4070 super review 5 1

RTX 5070 is more like an RTX 4070 Super with multi frame gen

The Nvidia RTX 4070 Super is hard to find and the 5070 isn't that fast. Are either of these cards worth it in 2025?
Computing
Benchmark for the RX 9070 XT.

AMD did it! Now we need to keep the pressure up for price cuts

Price cuts. That's what graphics cards need more than anything right now, even with AMD's new mid-range value options. They should all be cheaper than they are.
Computing Features
Tablo ATSC 3.0 Quad HDMI OTA receiver/DVR.

Best ATSC 3.0 tuners for watching NextGen TV

Tired of paying for high-priced streaming services? ATSC 3.0 or NextGen TV may be the answer. Here are the best tuners you can buy.
Audio / Video Products
Several AMD RX 9000 series graphics cards.

An AMD RX 9060 XT with 16GB would ruin Nvidia’s second-hand market

AMD's RX 9060 XT with 16GB of VRAM could be the big GPU story of its generation if AMD doesn't mess it up.
Computing Features
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