Maximum PC ends print publication

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SamuelL421

Gawd
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Jun 3, 2016
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I'd been a subscriber to Maximum PC since the beginning, I just saw an email come through announcing that the print edition would be ending (or already did?) with the April issue. I knew the day was coming, but it's still a bummer :(. The email explains that the magazine will continue as a digital version... but I fully expect that to be a short-term/low-viability thing, given that their website was rolled into PCGamer years ago and the app version of the magazine has never worked correctly with respect to logins.

The good content round-ups ended years ago along with the more amazing annual dream machine builds, but I still really enjoyed having a physical tech publication that ran current news and hardware every month. Again, the magazine was in decline for a while... but still seems like the end of an era as a long-time reader.

Any suggestions for other (physical) magazines that appeal to the [H] crowd?
 
My last physical magazine was gamepro. Other than a gun or jeep parts catalog that randomly shows up, dont really use them much.

I really didn't think they were around anymore, thought they died off like 10 or so years ago.
 
Well that stinks. Did not know the print version was still around to be honest. This thread inspired me to break out my MaxPC december 1998 "Gear of the Year" edition. Fun to see all the two and three page fold out ads for 3dfx, ATI, and Sound Blaster again. The reader's writes complaining about move from PCI to AGP are interesting too.
 

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Susquehannock said:
Well that stinks. Did not know the print version was still around to be honest.
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yeah, i thought they stopped print publication years ago? i even looked it up at one point because i was subbed for years but took a break for a while because you could go to hardocp or even their own website and get up to the minute reviews that would end up printed in the mag like 2 months later. well still a sad occasion then. R.I.P. 🫥 [F]
 
I think Wired and PC World are still around, but to be honest, I haven't really browsed the magazine section of a bookstore, much less picked up a printed computer magazine, in two decades. The last time I got a magazine was getting a Computer Shopper back in 2002, since I had just moved from Connecticut to Alabama, and my home internet wasn't ready just yet.

With the internet being what it is, I'm surprised that those two magazines mentioned above are still around, and that Maximum PC lasted this long. Heck, even PC Magazine stopped printing at the end of 2022.
 
i was a subscriber until i moved out on my own never really got another sub but when i saw them in grocery id buy them. Then when that massive magazine distributor went out of business it seemed like the magazine market really shriveled up. After that i would grab one when i stopped by Microcenter in the last few years. Last month when i went there they didnt have any MaxPC.
I tried the digital magazine via google play books or whatever and i think i paid for that for some 6 years and only used it once. Not sure what it is for me but nothing beats the print publication.

Sad to see them go. I was honestly considering resubbing again.
 
Wired is still printing new editions every month, as I just received my latest one about 2 weeks ago...

But to be honest, if it weren't for a free subscription I got thru work, I would not pay for it, since every other page is usually just a full page ad of some sorts... and yes I realize that printing full color magazines is an expensive undertaking, and that ad reveuws pay for alot of it, but still, a few less of them and more actual content would be much welcomed :D
 
A friend used to get Maximum PC and it seemed like a decent replacement for PC World which had stopped covering enthusiast pc stuff at that point but I'm with the other posters that didn't even know it was still around. I used to get Computer shopper(the extra large thick as a phone book era was the best) until I got off dial-up and PC World until it went downhill.
dogDAbone said:
Wired is still printing new editions every month, as I just received my latest one about 2 weeks ago...
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I can't think of a publication that has strayed as far from it's roots as Wired has. I still remember the first time someone loaned me one in the early 90's, it was black and white folded and stapled letter size paper with articles on hacking and phreaking along with normal hardware and software stuff.
 
Ebernanut said:
A friend used to get Maximum PC and it seemed like a decent replacement for PC World which had stopped covering enthusiast pc stuff
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Yes. I still had subs to both for a long time, but PC World was more about me keeping up with the industry, and less about specific things I enjoyed. MaxPC did a better job on covering things I personally enjoyed by miles.
 
SamuelL421 said:
I'd been a subscriber to Maximum PC since the beginning, I just saw an email come through announcing that the print edition would be ending (or already did?) with the April issue. I knew the day was coming, but it's still a bummer :(. The email explains that the magazine will continue as a digital version... but I fully expect that to be a short-term/low-viability thing, given that their website was rolled into PCGamer years ago and the app version of the magazine has never worked correctly with respect to logins.

The good content round-ups ended years ago along with the more amazing annual dream machine builds, but I still really enjoyed having a physical tech publication that ran current news and hardware every month. Again, the magazine was in decline for a while... but still seems like the end of an era as a long-time reader.

Any suggestions for other (physical) magazines that appeal to the [H] crowd?
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this was their best issue ever tho

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Reference: https://hardforum.com/threads/post-the-crown-jewel-of-your-collection.1990650/post-1044437070
 
dogDAbone said:
Wired is still printing new editions every month, as I just received my latest one about 2 weeks ago...

But to be honest, if it weren't for a free subscription I got thru work, I would not pay for it, since every other page is usually just a full page ad of some sorts... and yes I realize that printing full color magazines is an expensive undertaking, and that ad reveuws pay for alot of it, but still, a few less of them and more actual content would be much welcomed :D
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Ebernanut said:
A friend used to get Maximum PC and it seemed like a decent replacement for PC World which had stopped covering enthusiast pc stuff at that point but I'm with the other posters that didn't even know it was still around. I used to get Computer shopper(the extra large thick as a phone book era was the best) until I got off dial-up and PC World until it went downhill.

I can't think of a publication that has strayed as far from it's roots as Wired has. I still remember the first time someone loaned me one in the early 90's, it was black and white folded and stapled letter size paper with articles on hacking and phreaking along with normal hardware and software stuff.
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Maybe I'll give Wired another shot, I haven't subscribed in a couple years but I always did like the editorials and reporting - the story from a decade ago about John McAfee in Belize (when he was at peak crazy) was probably my all-time favorite article in a magazine. Definitely not the same magazine as its early days where there was some shared DNA with 2600 (speaking of another magazine that isn't what it once was...).

I loved the old Computer Shopper too, I still have one of those from the 90's that I hung onto - nothing like seeing an ad for a Pentium MMX prebuilt for $3k to make you feel better about your $1000+ GPU :p
 
I remember subscribing to Maximum PC eons ago. Everyone once in a while I would get freebie copy. Didn't know they were still in publication. They had great stories and info on the latest and greatest. It's like newspapers; once the digital age came, the physical copies of publications was done.

Now everything is digital form.
 
I got Maximum PC just to check out the Dream Machines and Lean Machines. It was a shame when innovation got a little stagnate and the stopped the annual releases of those. They had some good how to guides, but after a while I had already seen everything in the magazine elsewhere online months before. Publishing deadlines ruined that aspect.
 
I used to subscribe. Then they had a staff change. (Well, that =always= happens...) And the new staff started pushing their San Francisco values in the various tech articles.

I stopped subscribing.
 
I was a subscriber for years and years. I still follow them on YouTube under PC World. Things get particularly fun around new releases for CPUs and GPUs otherwise it's just a podcast you listen to in the background at work.
 
Kinda hard not to miss a well researched, edited, well written pieces that took a month to cook vice today's almost daily force feed YouTube snippets that has as much weight or validity of a feather that flys off the very next day. Some of the YouTube channels have cornered themselves with expensive laboratories, equipment, personnel, costly buildings and studio's and yet put out gibberish pieces for what ever income they can get. Not to mention stores with way overpriced made in China merchandise. Getting more cringy as time goes on in general.

I also see an end to the parade of YouTubers when people finally get tired of listening to nothing. Thought VR would be more prevalent, where you get to hold, look at and even test real cards for yourselves in a session (while streaming the content from actual hardware). See how something works in your favorite game or games first in other words, at least a good feel for it. Rent out a 4090 for a few days and run it through its paces and leave comments, buy and what not as an example.
 
Actually, they are staring it all back up including the "with vinyl" option which allows for 1 or 2 articles to be available for playback from specific record players with a USB option.
 
Liked it back in the day. When I first got into PC building and was learning about various components and how they ranked, that mag appealed. Surprised they hung on with print this long.
 
I only ever cared about print publications back in the day for the free Photoshop filters I'd get in the bundled CD

Even back then by the time it hit print it was outdated so to speak
 
I'm a current subscriber too bad now I have no print magazine subs I could resub to PC Gamer but they just cover games a little bit of hardware.
 
I had a subscription but my favorite magazine to this day is Next-Generation Magazine. Their magazine was not cheap paper iirc and they had through technology coverage and deep dives into hardware no one else really did.

When they canceled it’s print in the US I died on the inside because that was my toilet stack of magazines and the reason I still stay in the crapper longer than 10 mins making my wife question wtf im doing in there lol.
 
MelonSplitter said:
I can't remember what magazine it was that also gave you a CD with game demos. Great times!
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PC Gamer was good for that. I bought the October 2000 edition specifically for the disk with Half Life "Dark Star" and "They Hunger" add ons. Ended up buying DeusEx full game after playing the demo here.

Popped the disk in for bit of nostagilia. Forgot about the Voodoo5 animated gif banner ad at bottom.

v5.gif
 

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Unfortunately, it is not an April Fool's joke, I received my letter stating the April issue would be their last physical edition, they're going digital-only. Since their social media presence is practically non-existent, I don't have much hope.
 
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Print lasts for ever digital just get written over I wonder if Oled e-readers are good for reading books.
 
I used to subscribe but inevitable lag of a monthly magazine killed it for me. Eventually I got to the point where the equipment being reviewed and discussed seemed like old news. On more than one occasion I had hardware in my computer for weeks before receiving the issue talking about it. I loved the dream machine issue though, I wanted a Mountain Mods case for many years.
 
Please stop this discussion. You're making me feel so old and nostalgic. I subscribed to all of them way back when it was boot. I couldn't wait to go to Qwik Check to get the latest copy of Computer Shopper. I always got the CD versions of them. I still subscribe to the digital version. And CPU magazine was awesome in the beginning with with articles from Kyle, Anand, Sharkey and the rest of the real PC people out there. PC Accelerator was awesome too. Sigh.
 
Susquehannock said:
PC Gamer was good for that. I bought the October 2000 edition specifically for the disk with Half Life "Dark Star" and "They Hunger" add ons. Ended up buying DeusEx full game after playing the demo here.

Popped the disk in for bit of nostagilia. Forgot about the Voodoo5 animated gif banner ad at bottom.

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Yeah PC gamer was good too. I have several mags left of both stored for keepsake.
 
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