Articles by John Loeffler, Components Editor

John (He/Him) is the Components Editor here at TechRadar and he is also a programmer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY.

Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and technology reporting, John specializes in all areas of computer science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social impact of the tech industry.

John has a Bachelor’s degree in English and is currently in the wrapping up a Master’s program in Computer Science, where he spends his evenings building digital circuits, multiboxing Linux kernels, and coding shell scripts.

You can usually find him on Bluesky (@@johnloeffler.bsky.social) where you’ll get hot takes on stuff as well as reposting content that is almost as good as the worst content you used to be able to find on Vine.

Articles by: John Loeffler

Apple, please, I'm begging you, stop comparing your best products to years-old tech as a flex

By John Loeffler Published 30 October 24

The last Intel Mac mini is six years old, so claiming the new Mac mini is something-something faster than the last Intel-based version is silly.

Apple M4 Max: everything we know

By John Loeffler Published 30 October 24

Apple has announced a new M4 Max chip for the new MacBook Pro. Here's everything we know so far.

Apple launches new Apple M4 Pro, bringing Apple Intelligence and better performance to the Mac mini—with MacBook Pro models waiting in the wings

By John Loeffler Published 29 October 24

A mockup of the potential Apple M4 Pro logo

Apple and Samsung are not going to buy Intel. Please be serious.

By John Loeffler Published 29 October 24

Intel isn't going anywhere. The US government will make sure of that.

An MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED on a desk playing Helldivers 2

MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED review: gorgeous gaming display for a great price

By John Loeffler Published 25 October 24

Recommended

The MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED is a fantastic ultra-wide gaming monitor, with some caveats for those who like long gaming sessions.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and Intel Core Ultra 5 245K Review

By John Loeffler Published 24 October 24

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and Core Ultra 5 245K are decent enough processors, but gaming performance takes a backseat.

A MacBook Pro 14, the best 14-inch laptop, leaning against a TechRadar background

The best 14-inch laptop in 2026: top picks for ultraportable computing

By John Loeffler Published 16 October 24

Updated Want a king of the middle-of-the-road machine? Welcome to our top picks for the best 14-inch laptop in 2026.

A TeamGroup Elite A1, one of the best microSD card picks, against a techradar background

Best microSD cards of 2024: top picks for your micro storage needs

By John Loeffler Last updated 15 October 24

Updated Looking for the best microSD cards? We tested the best and these our top picks based on price, reliability and warranty.

AMD Advancing AI 2024 event shows that the AI PC is making progress, but still needs time to cook

By John Loeffler Published 11 October 24

It's getting there

AMD Ryzen PRO 5000 Series Mobile Processors

AMD announces new Ryzen AI Pro 300 series processors, bringing Copilot+ PCs to enterprise users for the first time

By John Loeffler Published 10 October 24

AMD Ryzen AI Pro 300 chips bring Copilot+ AI PCs to enterprise users, including a 55 TOPS NPU, up to Radeon 890M graphics, and enhanced security features.

Intel announces Core Ultra 200 series desktop CPUs, the first desktop AI processors on the market

By John Loeffler Last updated 10 October 24

Intel brings the AI PC to the desktop with the first desktop processor featuring a built-in NPU

AMD announces a new update to address Ryzen 9000's performance woes ahead of Intel Arrow Lake launch, but it has already blown its early advantage

By John Loeffler Published 30 September 24

AMD rolls out fixes to its rocky Ryzen 9000 series launch, but they come too late to gain a head start over Intel's coming Arrow Lake chips.

Two cables, Thunderbolt vs USB, against a two tone TechRadar background

Thunderbolt vs USB: Which is the best port?

By Allisa James Published 28 September 24

It's the ultimate showdown, Thunderbolt vs USB, as we look to find the best port and cable for the job.

PS5 Pro pre-orders as it happened: how the first day of pre-orders for regular and 30th Anniversary PS5 Pro consoles panned out

By Rob Dwiar Last updated 26 September 24

Our live blog provided all the latest updates as PS5 Pro pre-orders, and 30th Anniversary Collection pre-orders began and got underway across the globe.

A screengrab from the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark tool

Why every PC game needs a built-in benchmark tool

By John Loeffler Published 16 September 24

How is it that only a select few PC games have built-in benchmark tools? This absolutely needs to be in every game, not just the most graphically intensive titles.

How to use a Chromebook

By John Loeffler Published 14 September 24

If you're wondering how to get the most out of your new Chromebook, I'll show you how to use your Chromebook to get the most out of it.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

Hands on: MSI Claw 8 AI+: will the second time be a charm for MSI? It sure feels that way

By John Loeffler Published 10 September 24

Not yet rated

IFA 2024 I got to spend some time with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ at IFA 2024, and from what I saw, the second-generation Claw just might be the PC gaming handheld we've been waiting for.

An Intel Lunar Lake chip riding shadowfax at dawn of the fifth day at the battle of helms deep

Lunar Lake is coming to save Intel like Gandalf at Helm's Deep

By John Loeffler Published 9 September 24

IFA 2024 Intel Lunar Lake just might be the most impressive tech I've seen in years, and Qualcomm and AMD aren't going to be able to compete, giving Intel the space it needs to rebuild itself.

The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 in a masculine hand

Hands on: Acer Nitro Blaze 7: Acer gets in the PC gaming handheld game, but is it enough to Blaze a trail out of a crowded field?

By John Loeffler Published 6 September 24

Not yet rated

IFA 2024 The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 is the latest gaming handheld to hit the market, but some key points aren't known, so it's hard to tell if it will be a success.

Best of IFA 2024 awards – our 12 favorite tech reveals at the show

By Matt Bolton Published 6 September 24

From hybrid gaming laptops to AI home robots to elite turntables, IFA brought innovations of all kinds.

Intel Lunar Lake powered devices at IFA 2025

Intel comes roaring back with new Lunar Lake chips to battle AMD and Qualcomm with all-day battery, AI, and serious gaming performance

By John Loeffler Published 3 September 24

Intel Core Ultra 200 Series laptops are finally here to help Intel steal back some AI PC thunder from AMD and Qualcomm.

A Lenovo small business server, one of the best small business server options, against a techradar background

Best small business server of 2024

By John Loeffler Last updated 21 August 24

Updated We compare the best small business server models for small and medium businesses.

A person using a laptop and a smartphone together.

Best font resource of 2026

By Steve Paris Last updated 16 August 24

Updated We list the best font resources, to make it simple and easy for you to discover and manage new font styles for your business media, whether digital or print.

Best 3D file converter of 2026:

By Michael Graw Last updated 16 August 24

Updated We list the best 3D file converters, to make it simple and easy to save 3D files as different compatible formats, including proprietary ones for use in other applications.

Best PowerPoint to PDF converter of 2026

By Richard Sutherland Last updated 15 August 24

Updated We list the best PowerPoint to PDF converters, to make it simple and easy to export your presentation files into portable document format files.

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