''Maximum PC'', formerly known as ''boot'', was an American

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and website published by

Future US Future US, Inc. (formerly known as Imagine Media and The Future Network USA) is an American mass media, media company, corporation specializing in targeted advertising, targeted magazines and websites in the video games, music, and technology ...

. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs. Component coverage areas include CPUs, motherboards, core-logic chipsets, memory, videocards, mechanical hard drives,

solid-state drive A solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuits to store data persistently. It is sometimes called semiconductor storage device, solid-state device, or solid-state disk. SSDs rely on non- ...

s, optical drives, cases, component cooling, and anything else to do with recent tech news. Additional hardware coverage is directed at smartphones,

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers ...

s, cameras and other consumer electronic devices that interface with consumer PCs. Software coverage focuses on games, anti-virus suites, content-editing programs, and other consumer-level applications. Prior to September 1998, the magazine was called ''boot''. ''boot'' and sister magazine ''MacAddict'' (now ''Mac'', ''Life'') launched in September 1996, when Future US shut down '' CD-ROM Today''. In March 2016,

announced that the ''Maximum PC'' website would be merged with '' PCGamer.com'', appearing as the hardware section of the website from that point forward. The magazine was not affected by this change. Browsing to the http://MaximumPC.com/forum site no longer forwards to the forums and instead forwards to the Hardware section of PCGamer.com. The final shipped print issue of Maximum PC was the April 2023 edition. New issues will continue being distributed through digital magazine formats. In April 2025 it was announced that all publication of Maximum PC was ceasing and the April 2025 edition would be the final issue.

Product reviews

Product ratings are rendered by editors on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. The only product to receive an "11" rating was '' Half-Life 2'' in January 2005, raising some objections from readers. Outstanding products are also given a "Kick Ass" award. Exceptional products with a "9" rating and all products with a "10" rating receive this award. Each review also includes a "Pros and Cons" section, providing a quick summary of the product. Shortly after the "Pros and Cons" first appeared, the editors began attaching humorous notations to their entries, many being

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

s or word play on the product itself or its function. For example, in a review of two monitors, one section is captioned '' LCD'' (pros) vs. '' LSD'' (cons). In another it is ''

liquid crystal Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal can flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a common direction as i ...

'' (pros) vs. '' crystal meth'' (cons). Other "Pros and Cons" comparisons have used B-58 vs. XB-70,

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

vs. Billy Ray Cyrus, Delicious vs. Malicious, 3dfx Voodoo2 vs. 3dfx Voodoo3, Nvidia RIVA 128 vs. Nvidia RIVA TNT,

AA Batteries The AA battery (or double-A battery) is a standard size single cell cylindrical dry battery. ANSI and IEC battery nomenclature gives several designations for cells in this size, depending on cell features and chemistry. The IEC 60086 system c ...

vs. D Batteries, Fast Times at Ridgemont High vs. The Fast and the Furious, PCB vs.

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network and a flagship shopping channel specializing in televised Shopping channel, home shopping, owned by QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group). Founded in 19 ...

, Counter-Strike vs. Hexen II,

Matrix Matrix (: matrices or matrixes) or MATRIX may refer to: Science and mathematics * Matrix (mathematics), a rectangular array of numbers, symbols or expressions * Matrix (logic), part of a formula in prenex normal form * Matrix (biology), the m ...

vs. Matrix Reloaded, 10012 vs. 90210,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

vs. SARS, Super Troopers vs Starship Troopers,

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

vs. Lifetime,

QWERTY QWERTY ( ) is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: . The QWERTY design is based on a layout included in the Sh ...

vs. DVDRAM,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

vs.

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

vs.

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

, KVM, vs. Kia, Form Factor vs.

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled '' ...

Nvidia Nvidia Corporation ( ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang (president and CEO), Chris Malachowsky, and Curti ...

vs.

Chlamydia Chlamydia, or more specifically a chlamydia infection, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Chlamydia trachomatis''. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear, they may occur only several w ...

, RAID 1 vs.

Police raid A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law enforcement officers, which aims to use the element of surprise to seize Evidence (law), evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to Tampering with evidence, hide evidence, res ...

, Fat Tire Ale vs.

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

vs. The Real World, and Powered Sub vs. Togo's Sub.

Notable features

*''How To'' – detailed guides for things like creating a RAM disk or sharing a mouse and keyboard between two PCs. *''Ask the Doctor'' – advice for fixing computer-related problems. *''R&D'' – a look into the inner workings of commonly used hardware today. *''In the Lab'' – a behind-the-scenes look at ''Maximum PC'' testing. This section often includes humorous features sometimes involving "torturing"

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

s. *''Softy Awards'' – a yearly roundup of the staff's favorite new software (mostly utilities) *Facebook poll – A monthly question about anything to do with tech. It includes comments from readers that are usually funny. *''Quickstart'' – a selection of brief news items bringing readers up to speed on notable events in PC technology. *''Comments'' – reader mail and questions *''Dream Machine'' – an annual attempt to build the best-performing PC on the market, using the best components and techniques available. *''Build It'' – a monthly walk-through of a new and interesting PC build, such as a computer submerged in mineral oil. *''Geek Quiz'' – an annual computer/technology quiz that claims it will have even the most hardcore geeks grinding their teeth. *''Gear of the Year'' – a review of the best PC parts for the current year. *''Tech Preview'' – an annual sneak-peek of upcoming hardware.

Circulation

The magazine claims a 2010 circulation rate-base of 250,000. ''Maximum PC'' also provides an archive of back-issues in PDF format free of charge on their website. This archive currently reaches back to the December, 2003 issue although nothing new has been published since the October 2014 issue. All but a few of the ''Maximum PC'' issues published from October 1998 to December 2008 are available to view on various archival websites, such as

Google Book Search Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

Staff

*Editor-in-Chief: Guy Cocker *Staff Writers: Christian Guyton, Sam Lewis ''Maximum PC'' also has many freelance contributors, including Ian Evenden, Kris Butterill, Chris Lloyd, Jarred Walton, John Knight, Alex Cox, Neil Mohr, Phil Iwanuik, Jeremy Laird and Matt Hanson.

''Maximum Tech''

In September 2010, the ''Maximum PC'' editors started producing a quarterly magazine focusing on consumer tech. The basic idea of ''Maximum PC'' "Minimum BS" would be preserved in the magazine.Announcing Maximum Tech. Our latest mad creation
/ref> The last issue of ''Maximum Tech'' was the Sept/Oct 2011 issue.

Italian edition

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

edition of ''Maximum PC'' was launched in December 2004 by ''Future Media Italy'', the Italian division of

Future Publishing Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was founded by Chris Anderson a ...

, and ceased publishing after only six issues.

Notes

References

External links

* Maximum PC Magazine at Archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximum Pc Future plc Computer magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Downloadable magazines Magazines established in 1996 Magazines published in San Francisco