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 Cover of the March 2025 issue | |
| Editor-in-Chief | Guy Cocker |
|---|---|
| Categories | Computing |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Total circulation (2011[1]) | 192,611 |
| First issue | August 1996 (asboot) September 1998 (asMaximum PC) |
| Final issue | April 2025 |
| Company | Future US |
| Country | USA |
| Based in | San Francisco |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 1522-4279 |
Maximum PC, formerly known asboot, was an Americanmagazine and website published byFuture US. It focuses on cutting-edgePC 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 drives, optical drives, cases, component cooling, and anything else to do with recent tech news. Additional hardware coverage is directed at smartphones,tablet computers, 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 calledboot.boot and sister magazineMacAddict (nowMac|Life) launched in September 1996, when Future US shut downCD-ROM Today.
In March 2016,Future US announced that theMaximum PC website would be merged withPCGamer.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.[2]
The final shipped print issue of Maximum PC was the April 2023 edition.[3] New issues would 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 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 wasHalf-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 beingpuns or word play on the product itself or its function. For example, in a review of two monitors, one section is captionedLCD (pros) vs.LSD (cons). In another it isliquid crystal (pros) vs.crystal meth (cons). Other "Pros and Cons" comparisons have usedB-58 vs.XB-70,Miley Cyrus vs.Billy Ray Cyrus, Delicious vs. Malicious,3dfx Voodoo2 vs.3dfx Voodoo3,Nvidia RIVA 128 vs.Nvidia RIVA TNT,AA Batteries vs.D Batteries,Fast Times at Ridgemont High vs.The Fast and the Furious,PCB vs.QVC,Counter-Strike vs.Hexen II,[a]Matrix vs.Matrix Reloaded,10012 vs.90210,Mars vs.SARS,Super Troopers vsStarship Troopers,Comedy Central vs.Lifetime,QWERTY vs.DVDRAM,Jimi Hendrix vs.Jimmy Fallon,Sly and the Family Stone vs.Sly Stalone,Liberty Bell vs.Taco Bell,KVM, vs.Kia,Form Factor vs.Fear Factor,Nvidia vs.Chlamydia,RAID 1 vs.Police raid,Fat Tire Ale vs.Budweiser,College vs.The Real World, andPowered Sub vs.Togo's Sub.
The magazine claims a 2010 circulation rate-base of 250,000.[4]
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[5] although nothing new has been published since the October 2014 issue.
All but a few of theMaximum PC issues published from October 1998 to December 2008 are available to view on various archival websites, such asGoogle Book Search.[6]
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.[8]
In September 2010, theMaximum PC editors started producing a quarterly magazine focusing on consumer tech. The basic idea ofMaximum PC "Minimum BS" would be preserved in the magazine.[9] The last issue ofMaximum Tech was the Sept/Oct 2011 issue.
AnItalian edition ofMaximum PC was launched in December 2004 byFuture Media Italy, the Italian division ofFuture Publishing, and ceased publishing after only six issues.
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