Tom's Hardware

Tom's Hardware

Screenshot of the website in December 2024
Type of site	Technology website
Available in	English, French, Italian, Russian, Turkish
Owner	Purch (Future)
Created by	Thomas Pabst
Editor	Avram Piltch
URL	tomshardware.com
Launched	April 1996; 28 years ago (1996-04)
Current status	Active

Tom's Hardware is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst.^[1] It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The site features coverage on CPUs, motherboards, RAM, PC cases, graphic cards, display technology, power supplies and displays, storage, smartphones, tablets, gaming, consoles, and computer peripherals.

Tom's Hardware has a forum and featured blogs.

History

Tom's Hardware was founded in 1996 as Tom's Hardware Guide in Canada by Thomas Pabst.^[1] It started using the domain tomshardware.com in September 1997 and was followed by several foreign language versions, including Italian, French, Finnish and Russian based on franchise agreements.^[2][3][4][5]

While the initial testing labs were in Germany and California,^[6] much of Tom's Hardware's testing now occurs in New York and a facility in Ogden, Utah owned by its parent company. In April 2007, the site was acquired by the French company Bestofmedia Group.^[7] In July 2013, that company was acquired by TechMediaNetwork, Inc.,^[8] which changed its name to Purch in April 2014.^[9] Purch's consumer brands, including Tom's Hardware, were acquired by Future in 2018.^[10][11]

The site celebrated its 20th anniversary in May 2016.^[12] Beyond continuous publication of the website, it is known for its overclocking championships and other contests.^[13][14]

Editors

Avram Piltch is the current editor-in-chief of Tom's Hardware.^[15] Prior to starting the position in 2018, he worked for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag. Prior to that, John A. Burek, formerly of Computer Shopper, briefly held the role.^[16]

Burek succeeded Fritz Nelson, who served from August 2014 through 2017. Other former editors-in-chief include Chris Angelini (July 2008 – July 2014), Patrick Schmid (2005–2006), David Strom (2005), Omid Rahmat (1999–2003) and founder Thomas Pabst (1996–2001).^[12]

Related publications

Tom's Hardware is owned by Future plc, which also owns a number of other websites. In technology, those include Tom's Guide (formerly Gear Digest),^[17] Laptop Mag and AnandTech,^[18] as well as science sites like LiveScience and Space.com.

In March 2018 the German spin-off was to be closed because of the new data/privacy laws, but continued as an independent site (tomshw.de), with an exclusive licence for the local usage of the brand name.^[19]

In July 2019 the licence was returned. After that the German CEO and editor-in-chief of the gotIT! Tech Media GmbH started a new website Igor´sLAB^[20] and his own Youtube channel.^[21]

Tom's Guide

Tom's Guide (formerly known as GearDigest^[22]) is an online publication owned by Future that focuses on technology, with editorial teams in the US, UK and Australia. Tom's Guide was launched in 2007 by Bestofmedia, which was subsequently acquired by TechMediaNetwork in 2013; in 2014, TechMediaNetwork changed its name to Purch, which was acquired by Future in 2018.^[23] Primarily focused on news, reviews, price comparisons, how-tos and guides, Tom's Guide also features opinion articles and deals content.

The site features coverage on CPUs, motherboards, RAM, PC cases, graphic cards, display technology, displays, storage, smartphones, tablets, gaming, consoles, fitness and health, home, smart home, streaming, security and computer peripherals.

It is the second largest consumer technology, news and review site from the US with 68.4M visits in September 2022.^[24]

History

Tom’s Guide was originally launched as Gear Digest by Bestofmedia before being re-named to Tom's Guide. The publication was subsequently acquired by TechMediaNetwork in 2013; in 2014, TechMediaNetwork changed its name to Purch, which was then acquired by Future in 2018.

While the initial testing labs were in Germany and California, much of Tom’s Hardware’s testing now occurs in New York and a facility in Ogden, Utah owned by its parent company, Purch.

In April 2007, the site was acquired by the French company Bestofmedia Group. In July 2013, that company was acquired by TechMediaNetwork, Inc., which changed its name to Purch in April 2014.

The site celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2022. Beyond continuous publication of the website, it is known for its annual CES awards^[25] and Tom's Guide Awards^[26] that are held in June and July each year.

Editors

Mark Spoonauer is the current Global Editor-in-Chief and has been since 2013.^[27] Before that, he worked as the Editor-in-Chief of Laptop Mag since 2003.^[28]

Mike Prospero is the current US Editor-in-Chief alongside Managing Editors Philip Michaels, Jason England, Nick Pino and Senior Deals Editor Louis Ramirez.^[23]

See also

• CNET
• TechCrunch
• List of Internet forums

References

1. Boutin, Paul (May 2001). "People: Thomas Pabst". Wired. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
2. "A Brief History of Tom's Hardware | Purch". www.purch.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
3. Ferrario, Andrea (6 May 2013). "Tom's Hardware è cambiato, vi spieghiamo il perché". Tom's Hardware Italia. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
4. "Presence PC et Tom's Hardware vont fusionner". Presence-PC. 12 November 2007. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
5. Pyyny, Petteri (20 August 2010). "AfterDawn starts publishing Tom's Hardware in Nordic countries". AfterDawn. Archived from the original on 29 December 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
6. "bmp beteiligt sich an Toms Hardware". AktienCheck. 6 October 1999. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
7. Ali, Rafat (8 April 2007). "IT Professionals Network Tom's Hardware Guide Sold". PaidContent. Retrieved 16 November 2013.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
8. Brooke, Eliza (2 July 2013). "TechMedia Network Buys Bestofmedia Group And Steps Up Content-Commerce Integration". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
9. "Introducing Purch: The Definitive Buying Decision Platform". Market Wired. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
10. "UK-Based Future Acquires Purch for $132.5 Million". Folio. 2018-07-19. Archived from the original on 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
11. "Tom's Hardware". Future. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
12. "Tom's 20th Anniversary: A Retrospective With The Editors-in-Chief". Tom's Hardware. 2016-05-27. Archived from the original on 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
13. "Tom's Hardware Launches First Worldwide Overclocking Championship". Bestofmedia Group. 6 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
14. "Tom's Hardware Guide and iRobot Launch Create Challenge Contest for Robot Enthusiasts". Bestofmedia Group. 16 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
15. "About Us". Tom's Hardware. 2017-01-20. Archived from the original on 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
16. Purch. "New Tom's Hardware Editor in Chief Descends on Las Vegas for CES". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2018-05-16.
17. "TG Publishing LLC, a Bestofmedia Group company, Rebrands Gear Digest to Tom's Guide". Bestofmedia Group. 18 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-08-28. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
18. Smith, Ryan. "AnandTech Acquired By Purch". Archived from the original on 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
19. "Past, present and future of TH.de" (in German). 2018-05-13. Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
20. "Igor´s LAB". Archived from the original on 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
21. Igor Wallosek. "Tomshardware.de schließt und IgorsLab kommt". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
22. "Bestofmedia LLC". 2013-08-28. Archived from the original on 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
23. "About Tom's Guide". Tom's Guide. 2022-07-28. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
24. "tomsguide.com Website Traffic, Ranking, Analytics [September 2022]". Semrush. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
25. updated, Tom's Guide Staff last (2021-11-16). "Tom's Guide CES 2022 Awards: How to enter your product". Tom's Guide. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
26. updated, Tom's Guide Staff last (2022-07-22). "Tom's Guide Awards 2022: The best innovations, brands and products of the year". Tom's Guide. Archived from the original on 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
27. "Pardon Our Interruption". muckrack.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
28. "Articles by: Mark Spoonauer | Laptop Mag". LaptopMag. 19 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.

External links

• Official website
• Tom's Guide