Tom's Hardware

• 1. Introduction

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  Tom's Hardware began in 1996 as a one-man operation called Tom's Hardware Guide, founded in Canada by Thomas Pabst. At the time, the internet was still finding its footing as a place for serious technical journalism. Pabst built a site that would grow into one of the most recognized names in technology media, covering everything from CPUs and graphics cards to storage, smartphones, and gaming consoles. What made it last? How did a site launched in the mid-1990s survive multiple acquisitions, a shifting media landscape, and the rise of video reviews? And who has been steering it through each transition?

• 2. From Canada to Global Brand

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  Thomas Pabst ran the site under his own name from 1996 through 2001, guiding it through its earliest years. The domain tomshardware.com went live in September 1997, giving the publication the web address it still carries today. Early testing labs were set up in Germany and California, reflecting the international ambitions Pabst had from the start. Franchise agreements brought the site to Italian, French, Finnish, and Russian audiences, expanding its reach well beyond North America. By May 2016, the site was marking its 20th anniversary, a milestone few technology publications of its era managed to reach.

• 3. Acquisitions and Ownership

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  In April 2007, the French company Bestofmedia Group acquired Tom's Hardware, beginning a decade of ownership changes. July 2013 brought another shift when TechMediaNetwork, Inc. purchased Bestofmedia; that company then renamed itself Purch in April 2014. Purch's consumer brands, including Tom's Hardware, passed to Future plc in 2018. Testing operations that once ran from Germany and California had by then consolidated largely in New York and a facility in Ogden, Utah, owned by Future. The German edition had a particularly complicated path: in March 2018, it faced closure because of new data and privacy laws, but it continued instead as an independent site at tomshw.de under an exclusive local license. That license was returned in July 2019, after which the German CEO and editor-in-chief launched a new site called Igor's LAB alongside a dedicated YouTube channel.

• 4. The Editors Who Shaped the Site

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  Omid Rahmat held the editor-in-chief role from 1999 through 2003, succeeding founder Pabst. David Strom and Patrick Schmid each passed through the position in 2005 and 2005-2006 respectively, before Chris Angelini took over in July 2008 and served until July 2014. Fritz Nelson followed, serving from August 2014 through 2017. John A. Burek, who came to the role with a background at Computer Shopper, held it briefly before Avram Piltch took over in 2018. Piltch remained editor-in-chief through June 2025, when Paul Alcorn succeeded him. Alcorn had previously served as the site's lead editor for CPU coverage, making him a known quantity inside the newsroom before stepping into the top role. On the 6th of August 2025, the site launched Tom's Hardware Premium, a subscription-only tier, marking one of its most significant product moves in years.

• 5. Tom's Guide and the Future Family

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  Tom's Guide began life under the name GearDigest, launched by Bestofmedia in 2007 before being renamed and folded into the same ownership chain that eventually brought it to Future plc. As of September 2022, the site recorded 68.4 million visits in a single month, making it the second-largest consumer technology news and review site from the United States. Mark Spoonauer has served as Global Editor-in-Chief since 2013, having previously led Laptop Mag starting in 2003. Editorial teams now operate in the US, UK, and Australia. Future also owns Tom's Guide's sister publications including Laptop Mag and AnandTech, as well as science-focused outlets LiveScience and Space.com, making Tom's Hardware one node in a broad network of specialist media properties.