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  1. Hardware

The Hardware We Love

Features
By Maximum PC Staff ( Maximum PC ) published 20 February 2013

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Maximum PC's Best of the Best Updated

Today is February 14th, otherwise known as Valentines Day , but we're not here to share chocolate and roses. No, our true love is in computer hardware ! We couldn't think of a better way to share the hardware we love than to give our Best of the Best section a big update.

This time around we've updated five categories: best mid tower case, best water cooler, best headphones and we've added two new sections: best ultraportable and best gaming notebook.

You can preview the new items we've added to our esteemed list in the gallery below, but if you haven't checked out the section in a while and are wondering what we think is currently the Best of the Best, click here . Agree/Disagree with our listings? Let us know in the comments!

Best Headphones: Razer Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset
If you're looking for a headset with great surround sound, look no further than the Kick Ass Razer Tiamat 7.1 Gaming Headset. The Tiamat also has powerful bass and is super comfortable.

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5

Best Chassis: Thermaltake New Soprano
Chassis fans running at high RPMs can get loud, but the Kick Ass Thermaltake New Soprano case does a great job with soundproofing. The chassis also offers good cooling, easy installation, and slick aesthetics. It's also very affordable to boot.

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5

Best Water Cooler: Corsair H80i
The H80i is the best-performing cooler we've reviewed yet. Yes, this includes double radiator coolers like the Corsair H100. Even more impressive is that it works with Corsair's Link cooling software, which allows you to customize the cool LED light based on temperatures and adjust fan RPMs on the fly. It is indeed one Kick Ass cooler!

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5

Best Ultraportable: Acer Aspire S7
Acer's Aspire S7 really puts the "ultra" in Ultrabook. The notebook is beautiful, well-built, and offers impressive performance. Did we mention it has a gorgeous IPS touchscreen display?

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5

Best Gaming Notebook: Maingear Nomad 15
The Maingear Nomad 15 is one awesome gaming notebook. It's got a beautiful 1920x1080 display and is uber powerful. It allows you to play the super graphically intensive game Far Cry 3 on "high" settings at 1080p with relative ease. What more could you ask for from a portable PC?

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
Maximum PC Staff
Read more
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This is all the best PC gaming gear we recommend in one techie tier list
The Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop, the Elgato Facecam MK.2 webcam, and the HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headset float in the pink swirling PC Gamer recommended badge void.
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