For the longest time this Corsair TC100 was our go-to budget gaming chair of choice. But it was recently usurped from its position in our best gaming chair guide by the ThunderX3 Solo 360 for the simple reason that at its regular ~$250 price tag the ThunderX3 chair was absolutely the better deal.
But when the TC100 is suddenly on sale at Best Buy for just $180 then the value proposition swings back in favor of the Corsair chair and there can be no argument. There is no gaming chair at this price level that can come close to offering the build quality or feature set of this comfy Corsair seat. Take a look at the others on offer around the $150 - $200 mark and tell me you'd really trust your spine to them. I'll wait.
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We first reviewed the TC100 nearly two years ago and the review sample has been sat in and sat on in the PC Gamer offices all that time. And it barely shows a trace of wear. If you're going to be sat in something for many hours per day (it's my duty at this point to remind you to stand up every now and then, people) then you want it to look the same years down the line as it did when you first put it together out of the box.
We have a whole heap of different gaming chairs in the office and the same cannot be said for all of them. There is a particularly egregious example of when build quality does not last just a few feet from me in the office right now; its neck cushion has burst like a festering foam-filled boil and something has snapped at a metal weak-point and now the back wouldn't support a kitten let alone a full grown human.
Back to the Corsair TC100 Relaxed though, the armrests aren't technically fully 3 or 4D, but that only affects their adjustability, not their true dimensional representation in the material world. Basically they only have two degrees of movement, and they're not as solid as something like a Secretlab. Nor whould you expect them to be for this far south of $200.
Otherwise you get adjustable lumbar support and a moveable neck pillow. Now, none of these are supremely adjustable, either, but they will still allow for a level of adjustment that should still allow you to position yourself comfortably for a raid.
I do maybe prefer the refinement of the TC100 Relaxed with the material cover in the pictures above, rather than this leatherette coating on offer at Best Buy, but that's near $270 at Amazon today. Though that is an aesthetic not practical preference; with leatherette you are able to deal with any spills with just a wipe of a cloth, while the material cover is less forgiving.
In short, this is an excellent, affordable gaming chair given a price haircut which puts it at its cheapest every price. And, in fact I've only once seen it drop down to that level once before and that was around Black Friday a few years back. If you've been meaning to upgrade your gaming setup, this is one way to make a tangible difference to your gaming world without absolutely bankupting yourself on something with more silicon in it.
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1. Best overall: Secretlab Titan Evo
2. Best budget: ThunderX3 Solo 360
3. Best luxury: LiberNovo Omni
4. Best support: ThunderX3 Core
5. Best big boi: AndaSeat Kaiser 4 XL
6. Best office: ThunderX3 Flex Pro
7. Best budget office: Ikea Matchspel
