PC Advisor


PC Advisor was a monthly computer magazine and website that ran from August 1995 to July 2017. It was published by IDG in the UK, which also publishes Macworld and Digital Arts.
In June 2017 PC Advisor was rebranded Tech Advisor, which continues to operate as a website and monthly digital magazine focused on consumer and small business technology buying advice.
PC Advisor magazine offered advice on various aspects of PCs, related items such as digital photography, the internet, security and smartphones, and other personal-technology products and services.
PC Advisor was the UK & Ireland edition of IDG's PCWorld.

Description

PC Advisor's slogan was "Expert Advice You Can Trust".
Each month PC Advisor ran tests on various areas of the IT world from new pre-built desktop computers and laptops, LCD displays, graphics cards, motherboards, PDAs, wireless network routers, printers and many more. The magazine also included many reviews from products across the IT board including phones and accessories, cameras, and software from a wide range of vendors.
Each issue of the magazine featured a cover disc - either a DVD or a CD. The discs contained full-version commercial software products, as well as commercial software demos. In 2010 PC Advisor also became one of the first UK ESD vendors of Microsoft's Windows 7 and Office 2010 products.
PC Advisor 's website hosted one of Europe's largest online communities with its tech forums and was considered one of the most popular technology magazine websites.

History

The print publication first appeared on UK news-stands in August 1995 with an October cover date. The website was launched in 1996.
In 2007, PC Advisor print magazine had an audited rate base of 65,160 readers and a claimed 195,480 readers.
PC Advisor's editorial team routinely recommended best-in-class hardware and software products, while the PC Advisor Awards ran annually, with awards chosen by a combination of the editorial team and readers. In 2009 it also ran a UK Broadband Survey in association with Broadband Genie, and published Home Broadband Surveys annually.
In 1997, PC Advisor was given an official seal of Approval by the British Association of Criminal Experts. It achieved a '3-star' rating in three different categories, which is the highest level of rating for a non-forensic and expert publication. The magazine received 3 stars in each of the following categories; Academic Opinion, use as a Reference Source and use of Plain English.
The editorial team behind PC Advisor was awarded Content Team of the Year in the 2014 British Media Awards.
In 2016 PC Advisor was recognised as the UK's most popular tech website by Hitwise.
PC Advisor ran for 264 issues, with the last being July 2017.