This is all the best PC gaming gear we recommend in one techie tier list

The PC Gamer hardware team has 60+ years of collective PC hardware-testing experience, and I've personally been at this for 20 years now. So, in our time we've had our hands on just about every important piece of tech that's been released for our favourite gaming platform.

And I think that puts us in a great position to help you find the perfect thing when you're searching for that killer product to make your PC gaming setup complete. Whether you need a new gaming chair, a new processor or SSD, or you want to start fresh with a new gaming laptop or full desktop PC, we've spent time testing a host of different techie treats to find out what is the best in each category.

Best gaming chair

1. Best overall:
Secretlab Titan Evo

2. Best budget:
Corsair TC100 Relaxed

3. Best luxury:
Herman Miller Embody

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

Best gaming laptop

1. Best overall:
Razer Blade 16 (2025)

2. Best budget:
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen 10

3. Best 14-inch:
Razer Blade 14 (2025)

4. Best mid-range:
MSI Vector 16 HX AI

5. Best high-performance:
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10

6. Best 18-inch:
Alienware 18 Area-51

Best gaming monitor

1. Best overall / 4K:
MSI MPG 321URX

2. Best budget 4K:
Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG

3. Best 1440p:
MSI MPG 271QRX

4. Best budget 1440p:
KTC H27T22C-3

5. Best 1080p:
AOC Gaming C27G4ZXE

6. Best Ultrawide:
Gigabyte MO34WQC2

7. Best budget ultrawide:
Xiaomi G34WQi

8. Best 32:9:
Samsung Odyssey OLED G9

9. Best dual-mode:
Alienware AW2725QF

Best gaming headset

1. Best overall:
Razer BlackShark V3

2. Best budget:
Corsair HS55 Stereo

3. Best wired:
HyperX Cloud Alpha

4. Best mid-range wireless:
Turtle Beach Stealth 600 Gen 3

5. Best audiophile:
Beyerdynamic MMX 330 Pro

6. Best wireless audiophile:
Audeze Maxwell

7. Best for streaming:
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS StreamSet

8. Best noise-cancelling:
AceZone A-Spire

9. Best earbuds:
Steelseries Arctis GameBuds

Best gaming PC

1. Best overall:
HP Omen 35L

2. Best budget:
Lenovo Legion Tower 5i

3. Best high-end:
Corsair Vengeance A7500

4. Best compact:
Velocity Micro Raptor ES40

5. Alienware:
Alienware Area-51

6. Best mini PC:
Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT

Best gaming desk

1. Best overall:
Secretlab Magnus Pro XL

2. Best budget:
Ikea Utespelare

3. Best mid-range:
Arozzi Arena

4. Best luxury:
Grovemade

5. Best L-shape:
Flexispot E7L

6. Best budget motorized:
Autonomous Smartdesk 5

7. Best compact:
Corsair Platform:4

8. Best convertible:
VariDesk Pro Plus

Best microphone

1. Best overall:
Shure MV6 USB Gaming Microphone

2. Best budget:
Amazon Basics USB Condenser Microphone

3. Best mid-range:
NZXT Capsule Elite

4. Best USB bundle:
Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set

5. Best looking:
HyperX Quadcast S

6. Best podcasting:
Shure MV7+

7. Best streaming:
SteelSeries Alias Pro

8. Best headset mic:
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS StreamSet

Best webcams

1. Best overall:
Elgato Facecam MK.2

2. Best budget:
Logitech C920

3. Best for streamers:
Streamplify Cam

4. Best 4K:
Obsbot Meet 2

5. Best high-end:
Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite

6. Best low light:
Razer Kiyo Pro

Best graphics card

1. Best overall:
AMD Radeon RX 9070

2. Best value:
AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB

3. Best budget:
Intel Arc B570

4. Best mid-range:
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

5. Best high-end:
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090

Best mini PC

1. Best overall:
Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT

2. Best budget:
Minisforum Venus UM790 Pro

3. Best pure gaming:
Asus ROG NUC 970

4. Best compact:
Geekom AX8 Pro

5. Best looking:
Ayaneo Retro Mini AM02

6. Best iGPU:
Beelink SER9

Best handheld gaming PC

1. Best overall:
Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS

2. Best budget:
Steam Deck

3. Best Windows:
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

4. Best big screen:
Lenovo Legion Go

5. Best compact:
Ayaneo Flip DS

Best OLED gaming monitor

1. Best overall:
MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED

2. Best 1440p:
MSI MPG 271QRX

3. Best ultrawide:
Gigabyte MO34WQC2

4. Best budget ultrawide:
Alienware 34 QD-OLED AW3423DWF

5. Best WOLED:
LG UltraGear 32GS95UE

6. Best 27-inch:
Alienware 27 AW2725Q

Best gaming keyboard

1. Best overall:
Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless

2. Best budget:
Gamakay x Naughshark NS68

3. Best mid-range:
Ducky Zero 6108

4. Best rapid trigger:
Wooting 80HE

5. Best wireless rapid trigger:
Keychron K2 HE

6. Best silent:
Be Quiet! Light Mount

7. Best tenkeyless:
Keychron Q3 Max

8. Best low profile:
NuPhy Air60 HE

9. Best ergonomic:
Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB

10. Best membrane:
Roccat Magma

Best PC controller

1. Best overall:
GameSir G7 Pro

2. Best budget:
GameSir Nova Lite

3. Best high end:
Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC

4. Best wired:
Scuf Valor Pro

Best CPU for gaming

1. Best overall:
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

2. Best budget:
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X

3. Best mid-range:
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

4. Best high-end:
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

5. Best AM4 upgrade:
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D

6. Best CPU graphics:
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G

Best gaming motherboard

1. Best AM5 - AMD Ryzen 9000/7000:
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi

2. Best budget AM5 - AMD Ryzen 9000/7000:
Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WiFi

3. Best midrange AM5 - AMD Ryzen 9000/7000:
ASRock B850 Steel Legend WiFi

4. Best AM4 - AMD Ryzen 5000/3000:
Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming

5. Best LGA1851 - Intel Core Ultra 200S:
Asus ROG Maximus Z890 Hero

6. Best budget LGA1851 - Intel Core Ultra 200S
ASRock B860 Steel Legend Wi-Fi

7. Best LGA1700 - Intel 14/13th Gen:
MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi

8. Best budget LGA1700 - Intel 14/13th Gen:
Asrock B760M PG Sonic WiFi

Best RAM for gaming

1. Best DDR5 overall:
G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32 GB DDR5-7200

2. Best budget DDR5:
Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan DDR5-5200

3. Best high-capacity DDR5:
G.Skill Trident Z5 64 GB DDR5-6400 CL32

4. Best DDR4 overall:
TEAM XTREEM 16 GB DDR4-3600

5. Best budget DDR4:
G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB DDR4-3600

6. Best high-capacity DDR4:
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32 GB DDR4-3200

Best SSD for gaming

1. Best overall:
WD_Black SN7100

2. Best budget:
Biwin Black Opal NV7400

3. Best PCIe 5.0:
WD_Black SN8100

4. Best budget PCIe 5.0:
Crucial P510

5. Best 4 TB:
TeamGroup MP44

6. Best 8 TB:
WD_Black SN850X

7. Best M.2 2230:
Lexar Play 2230

8. Best for PS5:
Silicon Power XS70

Best gaming mouse

1. Best wireless:
Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro

2. Best wired:
Logitech G502 X

3. Best budget wireless:
Logitech G305 Lightspeed

4. Best budget wired:
Glorious Model O Eternal

5. Best lightweight:
Corsair Sabre V2 Pro

6. Best MMO:
Corsair Scimitar Elite Wireless SE

7. Best compact:
Razer Cobra Pro

8. Best ambidextrous:
Logitech G Pro

9. Best ergonomic:
Keychron M5

10. Best customizable:
Orbital Pathfinder

Best PC fans

1. Best overall:
Noctua NF-A12x25 G2

2. Best midrange:
Noctua NF-P12 redux-1700

3. Best budget:
Arctic P12 PWM PST

4. Best RGB:
Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 RGB

5. Best budget RGB:
NZXT F120 RGB Duo

6. Best for radiators
Arctic P12 Pro

Best mini-ITX motherboard

1. Best AMD AM5:
Asus ROG Strix X870-I Gaming WiFi

2. Best budget AMD AM5:
Gigabyte A620I AX

3. Best mid-range AMD AM5:
ASRock Phantom B850I Lightning Wi-Fi

4. Best budget AM4:
ASRock A520M-ITX/ac

5. Best Intel Core Ultra 200s:
ASRock Phantom Gaming B860I Lightning Wi-Fi

6. Best Intel 14th/13th Gen:
Asus ROG Strix Z790-I Gaming WiFi

7. Best budget Intel 14th/13th Gen:
ASRock B760I Lightning WiFi

Best CPU cooler

1. Best AIO:
Arctic Liquid Freezer III A-RGB

2. Best budget AIO:
Cooler Master MasterLiquid Core II

3. Best high-end AIO:
Be Quiet! Light Loop

4. Best screen:
NZXT Kraken Elite RGB (2024)

5. Best air:
Noctua NH-D15 G2

6. Best budget air:
Arctic Freezer 36

Best external SSD

1. Best overall:
Adata SD810

2. Best budget:
Crucial X9

3. Best for video editing:
Samsung T9

4. Best USB4:
Sandisk Extreme Pro

5. Best thumb drive replacement:
Seagate Ultra Compact

6. Best durable drive:
LaCie Rugged Pro 5

7. Best budget durable:
Samsung T7 Shield

8. Best for backups:
SanDisk Desk Drive

Best PC case

1. Best overall:
Havn HS 420

2. Best budget:
Phanteks G400A

3. Best midrange:
Lian Li O11 Vision Compact

4. Best budget compact:
Thermaltake S100 TG Snow Edition

5. Best high-end:
NZXT H9 Flow RGB+

6. Best Mini-ITX:
Fractal Design Terra

7. Best Micro-ATX:
NZXT H3 Flow

8. Best full-tower:
NZXT H7 Flow

9. Best pink:
Hyte Y70

10. Best looking:
Phanteks Evolv X2

11. Best for beginners:
Be Quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX

Best computer speakers

1. Best overall:
Mackie CR3.5BT + CR8SBT

2. Best budget:
Creative Pebble Pro

3. Best midrange:
Logitech Z407

4. Best gaming soundbar:
Creative Stage Pro

5. Best budget gaming soundbar:
Creative Sound Blaster GS3

6. Best bookshelf speakers:
Kanto Ora

Best Hall effect keyboards

1. Best overall:
Wooting 80HE

2. Best budget:
Gamakay X NaughShark NS68

3. Best wireless:
Keychron K2 HE

4. Best low profile:
NuPhy Air60 HE

5. Best looking:
NZXT Function Elite MiniTKL

6. Best with a numpad:
Keychron Q5 HE

Best gaming router

1. Best overall:
TP-Link Archer GE800

2. Best mid-range:
TP-Link Archer BE9700

3. Best budget:
Asus TUF AX4200

4. Best mesh:
TP-Link Deco BE68

5. Best budget mesh:
TP-Link Deco BE25

6. Best for wired:
Asus RT-BE88U

7. Best Wi-Fi 6E:
TP-Link Archer AXE75

TOPICS

Dave has been gaming since the days of Zaxxon and Lady Bug on the Colecovision, and code books for the Commodore Vic 20 (Death Race 2000!). He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later. When he dropped it out of the window. He first started writing for Official PlayStation Magazine and Xbox World many decades ago, then moved onto PC Format full-time, then PC Gamer, TechRadar, and T3 among others. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck.