LIVE: Black Friday is finally here in Australia — we've found 70+ PC gaming deals already

Little Big PC

Ever since Asus took over Intel's NUC division it's been doing great things. Specifically, the ROG NUC. This small box, or perhaps we can even call it a form factor, houses proper serious components, and there's a range you can choose from to meet your budget.

But I haven't seen one as low as AU$3,099 until now, which is AU$900 off via Mwave.

While all ROG NUC's share the same chassis, the internals differ. But look at what you're getting in this one:

* Core Ultra 9-275HX
* 32GB 6400MHz RAM
* 1TB SSD
* RTX 5070
* Wi-Fi 7
* 40 GbpsThunderbolt 4

That's a heck of a lot of high or top spec gaming power in a chassis that measures 282.4mm x 187.7mm x 56.5mm.

ROG NUCs have excellent thermals, too, but will make a bit of noise under load, unsurprisingly. I've always been impressed with how well designed and engineered they are.

Sane in the Membrane

I reckon AU$50 for a gaming keyboard from a reputable brand is worth writing about. The Corsair K55 Core RGB isn't usually very pricey at AU$79, but it's currently down to AU$50 on Amazon for Black Friday.

This is a wired membrane keyboard. It's really worth dwelling on that "membrane" part if you aren't familiar with the concept. Basically, this is very much not a mechanical keyboard. Instead of clicky mechanical switches they use a rubber dome, which means their sound is soft-verging-non-existent. Detractors of membrane keyboards—and I have to admit, I'm one of those—criticise their "mushiness".

PC Gamer's favourite membrane keyboard is the Roccat Magma Mini, which is currently going for AU$58.95 on Kogan (excluding shipping). So you could go for that if you love or think you'll love membrane, but AU$50 for the Corsair is hard to deny.

Save AU$29.95

Corsair K55 Core Membrane: was AU$79.95 now AU$50 at Amazon

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This discount makes an affordable keyboard much more so, dipping it into impulse buy territory. Membrane keyboards aren't for everyone - they lack the gratifying tactility of their mechanical siblings—but if you like 'em, or are curious, this is a trick. It's a wired affair with ten-zone RGB, spill resistance, and—naturally unusually quiet button presses.

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False Deal Warning

Just a really quick one this time. During my deal browsing I've found a number of Steam Deck "deals" from various retailers, ranging from Amazon through to Dick Smith. Let me be very clear: none of these are good deals. They're actually terrible ones.

Amazon, via a third-party seller, currently has the Steam Deck OLED 512GB model for a Black Friday "discount" of AU$998.99. Move on, folks: That's nearly a full AU$100 more than what Valve sells them for directly, including shipping. It's simply not a deal.

Kogan reckons its Steam Deck deal is pretty sweet too. "Don't pay $1,065", the page says. Pay AU$989 instead! it exhorts proudly. No where is it mentioned that Valve sells them direct to Aussies for AU$899.

Ever since Valve launched Steam Deck in Australia last year, there has not been a single better option to buy one aside from straight from the source. If that changes I'll let you know, but for now: don't be tricked by so-called Steam Deck deals.

Steam Deck Verified

Ever since Steam Deck broke the antipodean barrier and shipped to Australia late last year, I've become a Steam Deck bro. Do not bring up competing handhelds with me: I will punish you with my impeccably correct opinions about the primacy of Valve's machine.

One of the best things about the handheld is that you can try to load anything on it. But it's also nice to just browse a list of games that will definitely play nice with the device, and Green Man Gaming has a helpful approach for its Black Friday sale: it has a neat Steam Deck Verified category with some gnarly discounts.

Here's what I think you should grab:

• Doom (2016) for AU$5.94, down from AU$34.95
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade for AU$27.48, down from AU$54.95
• God of War for AU$29.98, down from AU$74.95
• Hogwart's Legacy for AU$11.47, down from AU$99.95
• Marvel's Midnight Suns Legendary Edition for AU$26.09, down from AU$149.95
• Octopath Traveler II for AU$33.98, down from AU$84.95
• Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection for AU$24.73, down from AU$74.95
• The Séance of Blake Manor for AU$21.07, down from AU$29.50
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus for AU$5.09, down from AU$39.95

What memory apocalypse?

It looks like Mwave is running a counter attack against RAM pricing and scarcity. Or maybe they saved all their stock up for today? Whatever the reason they've just put a whole heap of memory kits up and many are discounted heavily. What. Hell yeah. It's good stuff too, with decent speeds and timings.

There's kits from Corsair, Kingston, Crucial, Team T-Force, G.Skill and more. All the good brands, and almost all of them are nice RGB kits, too. Amazing.

Also, if you're a scalper reading this, everyone hates you, but all the good stuff is limited to just a kit or two per customer so it's not even worth trying to be evil today.

I've done a more comprehensive selection of deals you can look at here for these Mwave kits.

Onwards!

Jeez louise, it's actual Black Friday today, isn't it?

Ben and I are on the hunt for new deals right now. Expect an avalanche some time soon, though also, a lot of the sales have been in effect since mid-November.

Oh, and good morning.

The case for this case

If you've been loading up on the bits you need for your new rig, and need a really nice case to build them into, I've just spotted another Mwave drop that's looking good.

It's MSI's MAG Pano 110R PZ Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX Case, and it's down from AU$169 to AU$99 until December 1st.

I have a very high opinion of MSI cases, and currently have both my desktop PC and sim racing PC built into them. Neither are this model, and it's not one we've reviewed ourselves, but it's being praised by buyers and it's not hard to see why. It's a classy and elegant box with tempered glass front and side to make your battlestation look as glorious as it deserves to.

This is definitely a premium-at-budget-pricing situation. You can grab one in either black or white.

Four whole terrabytes

I saw this drop on Mwave and felt an urge to let you know about it, because it's a very good buy.

Lexar's NM790 4TB PCIe 4.0 normally goes for AU$599, but it's down to AU$429 until Monday Dec 1st.

I haven't reviewed this one myself, but Tom's did, and gave it 4/5, praising its "excellent all-around performance."

4TB is pretty damn useful in a gaming PC. Pile up your collection and don't ever stress again about ridiculously large AAA releases consuming all your storage.

PC Game Pass for less

If you want to play the latest military slop bleeding edge first-person shooter from Activision, Black Ops 7 is it. PC Gamer's reviewer was not at all impressed, but hey: these things continue to sell like hotcakes.

If you don't want to pay full price for it (and I recommend you don't) Mwave is offering a very rare discount on PC Game Pass. The discount isn't huge, but it results in pretty good value: AU$36.49 for three months access, down from AU$42.

(In case it's not clear, you'll receive a digital code via email upon buying this. No, you won't have to pay shipping on top of that).

There are some great games on PC Game Pass at the moment: Clover Pit, Total Chaos, The Outer Worlds 2, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Ball x Pit. The list goes on.

X3D for thee

When Dave James reviewed the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D he said it was "The best gaming processor AMD has ever produced." But you probably already know that. Or at least did, until it was upstaged by the newer 9800X3D.

But there's not much in it, and the 7800X3D can still out-perform most other processors in many games. One could say that the X3D series was the nail in Intel's gaming coffin. But I'm not going to say it. I am thinking it, though.

Amazon's selling them for AU584.14 right now. That's down 24%. Which is possibly how much your frame rates will go up by if you add this to your AM5 system. This price is lower that any of the other resellers we've look at.

AU$5 for a gaming headset? Tell him he's... oh wait

Good morning! On this Black Friday eve, I bring you what may go down as the most ridiculous (in a good way) deal of the season thus far.

Fancy a gaming headset for AU$5? Down from AU$79? I am not kidding. This thing:

...is going for AU$5 at Mwave. Although let's be real: you'll need to pay shipping, so the total is actually AU$16.50 (with AU$10.50 shipping factored in, though you can organise a pick-up if you live near Mwave in Sydney).

I have admittedly never heard of this headset before, which is called the Stealth XP Conqueror. But it has a mic, works across all consoles and PC, has 40mm speaker drivers, is apparently "ultra-lightweight", and looks pretty damn edgy too. If you have a non-picky child in the house who likes to game, maybe you can buy it for them. At this price, maybe you can buy a couple of them.

Death is not the end

PC Gamer's favourite gaming mouse is the Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro, and since it released earlier this year it has mostly stuck steadfastly to its RRP. But that's just changed: Amazon is offering it for AU$229.54.

The RRP on this rodent is AU$299.95. Most other Aussie retailers are selling it for around AU$260 for Black Friday, so Amazon has undercut the competition by some distance here, possibly because this particular discount ships from the UK.

I have to be honest with you: I will never spend more than AU$100 on a gaming mouse. I don't need the DeathAdder V4 Pro. But if you're after the very best gaming mouse on the market it's the obvious choice. Dave James put it succinctly in his review: "For the budding professional gamer, the new DeathAdder has everything you could want. For everyone else it might be a stretch."

Save AU$70.41

Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro: was AU$299.95 now AU$229.54 at Amazon

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This brilliant DeathAdder iteration sits at the top of our best gaming mice list at the moment. It's not a mouse for everyone—most regular gamers won't notice the boosted sensitivity and precision, for example—and the price reflects that. But if you're after a mouse with 45,000 DPI, 150 hours of battery life, Razer's HyperSpeed wireless tech and a light weight of only 56g, this discount will tempt you.

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Crossing the line in style

To the surprise of many, myself very much included, case, cooling and components company Thermaltake got into the sim racing business, with new gear shown off at this year's Computex show.

I like the GR500 cockpit for its mid-range balance. It's built primarily from steel tubing, which means rigidity and ease of construction. The adjustability is good and the seat itself is comfortable and looks extremely sporty.

It's on sale now at 30% off, sitting at AU$1,039.20 right now. With the addition of optional joystick and throttle brackets it'll also do double-duty as a flight sim rig.

Note this is for just the cockpit and seat, wheel, pedals, monitor, talent etc are all extra.

You can have yours in black or white. Stocks appear to be limited though, so shake'n'bake!

Blowing in the wind

Yes, cleaning is a tiresome chore, and double-yes, the exception to that rule is cleaning your PC. Why? Because your PC is your friend, you are proud of your PC and want it to be beautiful, and perhaps to a lesser degree–if you don't keep certain parts of your PC clean it could die.

So, let's make cleaning fun, together, today. ProTip: it's easy and fun. Use an electric air duster and you'll soon be searching the house for other things to blow, it's that nice.

Canned compressed air is yesterday's technology. It runs out, see. Electric dusters is where it's at. They're rechargeable adjustable, and come with nozzles and diffusers for specific jobs.

I found an especially nice one on Amazon while bargain hunting this morning. It's a more premium model, but it's also down from AU$149.99 to AU$99.99 for this sale.

The motor spins at 300,000 RPM. You read that right. That's twice what most other can do, and it comes with a bevy of attachments, including a brush for detail work, which is also great for making your keyboard as-new again.

To oblivion and beyond

A real quick one, because it's selling fast: Fanatical is running limited-time flash sales during its Black Friday proceedings, and among the newest lot is Oblivion Remastered. It's down from AU$84.95 to AU$49.27. The code you receive is redeemed on Steam.

If you fancy a more polished version of Bethesda's classic, with all DLC intact, best snap it up immediately...

Supersize me

I reckon this Alienware's size and res is the sweet spot right now. Yes yes, I know the 2025 Steam Survey says otherwise, at least in terms of what most of you are currently running. But I also know that a monitor is a big investment that people tend to hang onto for many years.

So hang on to this. For dear life. Lol. Sorry. The Alienware AW3425DWM is a 34-inch 3440 x 1440 curved screen with a 180Hz refresh. That's a lot of visual real estate, at a res that any decent graphics card can handle no worries.

It's 31% off its usual price of $749, going for AU$519 in this deal.

Our chums over at TechRadar rate it very highly indeed.

Happy Wednesday! Two more sleeps until Black Friday proper now*.

*Which is a technicality because the sales have definitely already started. See above.

MAGsimum gaming

I was really surprised to find the MSI MAG 244F going for a mere AU$143. It was already cheap at its usual AU$183 price...

It's a sweet-spot 24-inch 1920 x 1080 screen with a quality IPS panel that'll run at 200Hz and a 0.5ms response time.

That's going to pair very well with any budget to mid-range gaming PC, or for faster boxes it'll let you own in ultra detail and ultra FPS.

Valve's first Black Friday

As Andy pointed out earlier today, Steam is having its first ever Black Friday sale. Where games are concerned, it's nowhere near as big as the looming Steam Winter Sale promises to be, but if you're after PlayStation games there are some good pickings.

The reason I bring it up is because there is one excellent, noteworthy deal among Valve's offerings: the LCD model of the Steam Deck is down to AU$519.20, from its usual price of AU$649. That's a AU$129.80 saving.

Storage is 256GB on this thing, with a 7 inch display. While performance is ostensibly the same as the newer Steam Deck OLED models, this older piece of kit has a less powerful battery (expect 2-8 hours of gameplay versus 3-12 hours) and its refresh rate maxes out at 60Hz rather than 90Hz.

I feel like the pros and cons of Steam Deck are pretty well-covered by now. If you want one, you want one. If I didn't already own an OLED I'd jump at this.

Living in a fishbowl

Corsair’s 3500X ARGB case is one of the most popular out there. It’s got the in-style fishbowl look, with tempered glass front and side to show off all your dazzle bits inside.

There’s quite a few floating around on sale at the moment, with the best price I’ve found being this one for just AU$126, down from AU$159. A couple of caveats being that it’s the one without the iCUE RGB fans and controller, and it’s only in white.

This one does come with the iCue box and fans, and it’s down 25% right now for AU$165.

If black is what you’re after here’s one at 27% off, going for AU$160.65, and it includes the iCUE fans and controller.

If you want to know more, Tom’s has done a review here, mostly liking what they saw but complaining about the price, which is a non-factor while deal week is pumping.

Summer backlog generation

According to our Steam sale guide, the next major event—the Steam Winter sale—kicks off on December 18. But with Fanatical and now Green Man Gaming kicking off their Black Friday sales, you might be able to grab some of the games at the top of your wishlist ahead of Valve's schedule.

Some highlights include:

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for AU$49.24 (down from AU$69.95)
• Borderlands 4 for AU$76.53 (down from AU$109.95)
• The Seance of Blake Manor for AU$21.07 (down from AU$29.50)
• 2k26 for AU$39.13 (down from AU$99.95)
• Heretic + Hexen for AU$12.78 (down from AU$22.45)
• Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army for AU$49.11 (down from AU$77.95)

...and those are just some of the 2025 game discounts featured. Much more where those came from.

Hold the presses! I've just opened Steam and it turns out they are hosting a Black Friday sale too. Go forth and browse.

Four the players

Mwave has carved AU$170 off the RRP of the 4TB Lexar NM790 NVMe SSD, bringing it down to AU$429.

That's a great price for a great deal of storage space, but the NM790 (and particularly the 4TB model) reviewed extremely well when Jacob tested it back in 2023. "If you have a spare Gen4 slot in your machine, and you are desperate for more game storage space, I highly recommend you look to the Lexar NM790 to fill that slot," he wrote.

There haven't been a huge amount of NVMe SSD deals this Black Friday, but hold tight: we're looking.

Save AU$170

Lexar NM790 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD: was AU$599 now AU$429 at Mwave

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Most of us dream of huge storage capacity boosts every night (don't we?), so why not make dreams a reality with this huge chunk off the brilliant 4TB Lexar NM790 SSD? Jacob Ridley adored it upon launch in October, writing in his review that the "Lexar NM790 checks all the boxes" when it comes to price point, speed and capacity.

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Thank you, sir

Last week I highlighted a discount on the GameSir G7 Pro, a controller so good it now sits at the top of our list of the best. The discount wasn't huge: it went down from AU$159 to AU$135, but it must have been attractive enough because Amazon sold out shortly after.

Anyway, I'm here to say the G7 Pro is back in stock for AU$135. That might seem pricey compared to, say, the Xbox controller (which is currently going for AU$69), but the G7 Pro is a brilliant pro controller that can hold its own against the likes of the Xbox Pro Controller, or any equivalent made by any other brand.

I reviewed it myself back in September, and you can read the full thing here, but the short of it is this: clicky microswitches, drift-free TMR sticks, Hall Effect triggers (yep, there are trigger stops) and paddle buttons that you can effectively toggle off and on. And those are just a few of the brilliant features.

Save 15% (AU$24)

GameSir G7 Pro: was AU$159 now AU$135 at Amazon

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A tidy saving on this brilliant PC gamepad (which also works with Xbox consoles, albeit only wired). It features an astonishing 1000 Hz polling rate for higher precision, TMR analog sticks, face button microswitches, Hall Effect triggers, paddle buttons, 2.4 Ghz wireless and Bluetooth: it basically has everything you want form a pro controller, without being priced like a pro controller.

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The almost Steam sale

Fanatical has launched its Black Friday sales and as usual, there's some great bargains to be had. Usually Fanatical sells Steam codes for ever-so-slightly less than buying from Steam itself, but sometimes their deals are outstanding.

Take Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater for instance: it's currently selling for AU$116.95 on Steam, but Fanatical's Black Friday sale has it down to AU$61.98.

You can't argue with that, and when Steam's next sale inevitably lands, Snake Eater will likely get a direct discount but probably not as low as that.

Some other highlights include Ghost of Tsushima for AU$50.32, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves collection for AU$22.11, Stellar Blade for AU$78.06 and the Resident Evil 4 remake for AU$20.38. Have a browse.

Gliding

All this talk of nice mice, and we often neglect the mouse pad they live upon. Not on my shift!

I personally prefer a compact pad like the Corsair MM350 Pro. Anything larger and I'm guaranteed to spill my ramen on it at some point. This Corsair is of the soft variety, and is free from OTT branding. Down 31% at AU$41 at the moment.

But if I was gonna go big I'd be looking at something like the Logitech G840 Extra Large Gaming Mouse Pad. It's also elegantly simple in design, is soft, check, and has a surface that feels great to slide your mouse across. Down to AU$37 from its usual AU$48.

Austere design be damned though, because an RGB ring around the edge of your mouse pad looks damn sexy when the room lights are dim. Damn sexy. Corsair's MM700 RGB Extended XL Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad is a sexy thing, and it's usually AU$109, but stuff that, right now you can call one yours for AU$69. Sweet!

ProTip: Wash it. Frequently if you're serious about precision. Once a month if you're dedicated, every couple of months if you're a bit lazier. In the sink, warm soapy water, and let it dry in the sun.

Tappity tap

I used to settled for budget mechanical keyboards, because all the fancy premium ones are all too expensive. But you use a keyboard constantly, stare at it endlessly, and because it's right in front of you, all pretty and sexy, you love it. A nice keyboard makes you want to game.

So buy one. You can now thanks to some heavy discounts on some properly premium boards.

Like the Corsair K70 RGB Pro. Sitting pretty at AU$159, down from its usual AU$249. Corsair started the whole mechanical revolution, and from the beginning its designs have been stunners, and the build quality superb.

I personally like a more austere design, and the HyperX Alloy Rise 75 Wireless is a personal favourite. It's wireless, too, and is a space-saving TKL design. It's down 40%, from a frankly scary AU$379 to a far more palatable AU$229 at the moment.

If you need to do actual work occasionally and type up a storm, the Logitech G G515 Lightspeed TKL Wireless is a beauty. I used one for a full year for my combo work and gaming rig because it's so lovely to type on, and is delightfully nice to use in games. 44% off right now at AU$152.

Get your stream started

Whether your goals are internet conquest or 'just giving it a go', you need an audio mixer to go along with your mic, PC and talents. I have no talent, so do not stream, but you probably do, so, go for it!

Thankfully the glorious Black Friday deals already underway are offering up so heavily discounted options, greatly lowering the cost of entry into your new career.

The FIFINE Gaming Audio Mixer is going for a mere AU$67.19, down 31% at the moment. It's a 4-channel mixer and it includes an XLP mic input, which we reckon is essential for the best audio quality. With four sliders this is a good starter mixer that ticks all the basic boxes.

Whereas the MAONO Gaming Audio Mixer has a pair of sliders, similar overall specs, but includes buttons for voice changing and effects. It's down 46%, selling for AU$79.99 right now.

Or just go a bit harder and invest in your future with an Elgato Streaming Deck+ straight off the bat. At AU$236 for the sale it's obviously pricier than the two budget options above, but its the big name in streaming decks and gives you six customisable buttons that change function based on your current foreground app, good stuff!

Faster tubes

Unless you've got a network cable plugged into your gaming PC or laptop, there's always a bit of potential for faster internet connectivity. When I upgraded to a Wi-Fi 7 router the improvement over Wi-Fi 6 was wonderful, but it took a while before all my main devices were also Wi-Fi 7 compatible.

If your PC's motherboard is Wi-Fi 6, you can add a card like the Ugreen Wi-Fi 7 BE6500 PCIe Wi-Fi Card to upgrade it. It's selling for AU$67.99 on Amazon right now and it's a top rated device.

If you need a Wi-Fi 7 router, the Mercusys BE9300 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router is on sale for just AU$224. Mercusys is the budget brand of TP-Link if you didn't know, so it's no fly-by-nighter.

Blast it

True, you don't need a sound card anymore. Every motherboard has audio, and some of the premium boards are quite good. But most don't come close to the quality of a dedicated card. Discrete audio suffers less electrical interference and hence, noise, than onboard audio, and in general motherboard DACs are lower quality than you'll find on a good card.

Plus, with a sound card you can still utilise your motherboard's audio as a second device, meaning you can split game and voice into two independently controllable streams which can be very handy indeed for fine tuning the balance between them both.

Mwave's running a sale on Creative devices right now. For AU$79 you can grab the classic Creative SoundBlaster Audigy Fx2, which is a good basic card. Or step up to the Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus. This is a properly premium card that'll dazzle in games and is also superb for music. It's AU$215 and well worth it in my opinion.

Hot machines

Something I've learned about gaming laptops is that leaving them on a flat surface is sub-optimal for thermals for many models, and if your surface isn't completely smooth and flat ie. a couch, then it's even worse. Many laptops have air intakes on the bottom which means constricted airflow, but even if they're on the edge or rear you still want a decent amount of space around the machine for good intake.

So, invest in a laptop cooling pad, easy. It doesn't need to have fans, even a little bit of elevation is enough to improve things.

The TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad has 6 fans, which is overkill, but what I really like is its high elevation angle plus large slab base, along with the stand raiser that stretches full width of the base. That helps in case of bumps to prevent it tipping over easily. It's AU$42.30 now.

Thermaltake's done a good job with the aluminium body in its Massive A21 Aluminum Notebook Cooler which has a large single fan, though the stand isn't full width so not good for couch gaming. AU$49 is decent value too.

Or go full beans with the slightly OTT llano V10 Gaming Laptop Cooling Pad. At AU$127.99 it's not as cheap as the others, but it's a monster and that's still a 20% discount.

Outreach

Most people unbox their new monitor, attach the stand and plonk it on their desk, and there it will stay until the asteroid hits. But have you considered using a monitor arm instead of the stand? Here’s why that’s an interesting proposition:

1. It clears up all the desk space under the monitor. You can then put things there, or position your mouse pad and keyboard in the perfect spot as they no longer need to make allowances for territorial invasions by the big stupid monitor stand.

2. It lets you position the monitor perfectly, and, adjust it effortlessly. How many of you prop your monitor stand up on books because the default height is too low? Everyone? Thought so. With a monitor arm you can get it right up there at the perfect level, all with vastly improved aesthetics. AND, you can move it around to suit the game you’re playing at the time, or, when you need to actually work and want it a bit further away. All with a gentle push.

3. Just do it because it looks slick and sexy. You don’t need any other reason. Monitor arms are futuristic and cool.

So here are a couple I’ve found that you might like to consider if you’re serious about transformative desk ergonomics.

This one is cheap, at AU$29.99 discounted for BlackFriday by 33%. It’s simple, and rated for up to 10kg. Pretty good for a typical 1440 screen.

This one is strong. Also rated at up to 10KG, I like this one because I have one, though I only use it do display a small 19-inch second screen that I use to display Slack so I can torment Shaun with time wasting frippery during the day. I favour over-engineering, you see, and this one is an unyielding arm of Thor. It's going for AU$39.99 for Black Friday.

This one is big. It can heft up to 18kg, which means screens in the 30-49-inch range. Phwoar. It's 27% off, at AU$64.67.

ProTip: Don’t cut it too fine when it comes to rated weight. Get one rated at more than the weight of your screen, because sag is bad, and a monitor crashing onto your fingers and desk is also quite bad.

Also check the weight of your actual monitor, and don't go by the screen size a monitor arm company says it can lift. An old 27-inch screen is much heavier than a new 27-inch screen. And OLED is much lighter than LCD.

Accelerating

Ben here checking in for the afternoon shift. I’ve been yearning for an AMD X3D processor recently. My sim racing rig currently gets by with a Ryzen 7900, which is actually a pretty good AM5 CPU if you enable PBO to unleash its full power mode, making it basically equal to a more expensive 7900X.

But most games—and pretty much all sims—do a whole lot better with an X3D. I’m probably looking at about a 20% uplift if I drop a 7800X3D in. More like 30% if I go full fat with a newer, but pricier, 9800X3D.

So I’m thinking about this deal on Amazon right now. $639 for the 7800X3D, which is down from the usual AU$765. Looking around, that’s equivalent to the best prices other shops are selling it for in Australia right now, with most shops actually asking more than that.

Pretty tempting… if you’re also tempted but aren’t running an AM5 board and the main mission is doing it on the cheap, I’ve had a bit of a hunt around and found this MSI Pro B650M-P mobo going for AU$226. It’s a micro ATX and thus only has a single PCIe slot, but for a budget build that’ll only ever run need a slot for a graphics card, it’s all you’ll need. I should note it also doesn’t have a PCIe 5.0-capable M.2 socket, but the two PCIe 4.0 x4 m.2 slots onboard will still do you for up to 7,000-7,500 MB/s, which is still stupid-fast.

If you need a cooler to go with that, Corsair's selling its basic Nautilus 240 RS Liquid CPU Cooler AIO for AU$97.75 for Black Friday, and the 360mm model for AU$119.

Titanic

It's hardly surprising that Secretlab is getting in on Black Friday sales—it never misses an opportunity to make the most of big events like this. But since the Secretlab Titan Evo is the best gaming chair, and has been for a long time, it's worth pointing out that the model is available right now for AU$749, down from AU$799.

According to our expert Jacob Ridley, the Titan Evo is "the benchmark by which we judge all other gaming chairs." In other words, if you've got a budget in the realm of AU$800, and need a gaming chair, this is absolutely the one you should get. AU$50 off should sweeten the deal.

Totally wired

Though it released seven years ago, the HyperX Cloud Alpha is still the best wired gaming headset according to PC Gamer's experts. Perhaps that's no surprise: although there's a lot of competition in this field, most tend to vie for the wireless market nowadays.

This headset is comfy, has great audio, and is pretty damn affordable even at its usual street price, which tends to hover around the AU$150 mark. Right now, Amazon is offering it for AU$80.67, which is a sterling discount on a robust piece of kit.

That ships from Amazon UK and will arrive by Wednesday, December 3, in case you're considering it for a birthday gift.

In the words of our review: "Despite the narrowing of the gap between this and the chasing pack, and despite Steelseries’ increasing dominance in the wireless headset market, for a cabled headset under $100, this should still be your first consideration."

Duality

I am no fan of the PlayStation DualSense controller. Sure, the haptics are great, and it's overall a brilliant thing to handle, but I've had two rendered useless within the space of a year thanks to stick drift and trigger button problems. I blame them entirely for becoming a Hall Effect extremist.

However: I know they're popular. They also go on sale rarely nowadays, with several PS5 price hikes eliminating super-steep discounts on these things. So, if you happen to main the DualSense as a PC controller, they're currently down to AU$85 on Amazon.

Usually they hover around the AU$99 mark if you're lucky, so now's the time to pounce if you like 'em.

Enviable

Back in the heady days of early 2023, the Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 was PC Gamer's favourite gaming monitor. That's no longer the case—you can see how our ranking looks here—but it's still a superb OLED gaming monitor for people prepared to spend well north of a grand on a screen.

It's a 34 inch, 3440x1440 affair with the aforementioned glossy OLED panel, a 175Hz refresh rate and a speedy 0.1ms response time. "If Alienware's very similar 34-inch model was the OLED monitor we've been waiting for, Philips has just bested it," Jeremy Laird wrote in his review. "Thanks to a glossy panel coating, the OLED tech really sings. HDR games? They positively sizzle. A few minor OLED limitations remain. But this is as good as gaming monitors currently get."

Long story short: local retailer Mwave is currently selling the Envia 34M2C8600 with AU$700 shaved off the (winceworthy) AU$1,699 RRP. In other words: it'll set you back AU$999 right now, with free shipping.

Questmaster

For my inaugural actually-useful post (because the "hello" post below doesn't count) I thought I'd draw attention to the Meta Quest 3S deals going around. I wrote about them on Tuesday and there's been a fair bit of interest since. Meta is selling them direct for AU$420 for the 128GB model, or AU$560 for the 256GB model, but Amazon actually beats 'em with AU$418 for the 128GB model, and AU$550 for the 256GB model.

I'm always kinda surprised by how popular Meta Quest deals are whenever I do deals coverage for PC Gamer. Not because they aren't good devices—we review them well—but it's sometimes easy to forget that VR does have mainstream appeal beyond gamers and tech-enthusiasts.

Wow, are we live? Has Black Friday already started even though it's eight days until actual Black Friday?

Myself and Ben Mansill weren't planning on starting this live blog until next Friday, but because the deals are coming thick and fast—via the likes of Mwave, Amazon, eBay, Secretlab, HP, etcetera—we've decided to go live today. We'll be highlighting any significant deals we find here in this live blog, so keep an eye out.