Razer Kraken V4
Roll up! Roll up! For the best gaming tech of the year! See which of the releases of 2024 met our exacting standards to achieve the best-in-class and runner-up prizes
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As we come to the end of the year, and with many people looking to make big tech purchases during the holiday/January sales, which have been the best gaming and tech products we’ve seen in 2024? As was the case last year as well, we didn’t really see much revolutionary technology released for the gaming space in 2024 – the vaunted AI-focused CPUs from Intel and their competitors failed to really make much of an impact – so most of our selections are improvements on existing tech that existed before, however this is not necessarily a bad thing.
Many of the picks below have won the top spot primarily because they offer fantastic performance at a reasonable price, and that’s always a good thing in our book. Although we have included some high-price, premium products too, if you’re looking to put together a cost-effective but powerful setup then many of the selections on this guide will do the job very nicely. Read on for all the details!

Endgame Gear is a relatively recent challenger to the peripheral space, launching their first product in 2019, but they’ve impressed us greatly over the last few years. The German brand has repeatedly offered premium-grade products at a very reasonable price point, which is exactly what we like to see. This year their OP1 8K takes our top spot for best gaming mouse, with their KB65HE coming in close runner-up position for best gaming keyboard – we strongly recommend you check out these products plus the rest of their range if you’re in the market for new peripherals.

In second place comes the top place winner from last year – Nvidia. The big green giant isn’t exactly known for their consumer-friendly pricing, and most of their most impressive tech innovations (so far) came in the two years prior to 2024, however they remain the dominant player in the graphics card space, receiving both our best GPU award plus the runner up prize. The company’s DLSS tech, in particular Frame Generation that was introduced with DLSS 3 back in 2022, remains the best performance-boosting innovation we’ve seen in the gaming world for a long time.

Whilst Razer have recently released the Pro variant of the Razer Kraken V4, complete with the (slightly gimmicky) haptic feedback and (admittedly quite nice) OLED Control hub, it’s this standard model that we rate most highly, as it offers solid performance for the price. The voice clarity on these headphones is great and you get a nice bassy rumble for those immersive explosions. Microphone performance is also impressive and the retractable design of the arm both looks better and gives positional superior control, plus it has a very impressive battery life, even with the RGB switched on.

If you’re looking to spend a bit more money, then the Logitech Astro A50 X gets our runner up prize for 2024, coming with its own charging doc that also features a wealth of connectivity ports allowing you to connect to your Xbox, PS5, PC, and an external display. The microphone quality on this headset is particularly excellent, and the general audio quality is solid, though they do lack noise cancellation.
Razer Kraken V4
Logitech Astro A50 X

Endgame impressed us hugely with this extremely responsive enthusiast’s gaming mouse, that offers some of the best specs and features on the market and doesn’t even cost that much! The Engame Gear OP1 8K has the lowest click latency of any mouse we’ve seen plus a 8,000Hz polling rate, featherlight frame, and nice grippy texture, making it perfect for fast-paced competitive gaming. It’s very customizable, including having hot-swappable switches on the main two buttons, plus you can disassemble it with ease. All told, we struggled to find anything negative to say about this product in our review, which tells you all you need to know.

In close second place comes the Razer Viper V3 Pro, which is a stripped-back, purely performance-focused gaming mouse. It might be considerably pricier than our top pick, but it comes with terrific customization options and superb build quality.
Endgame Gear OP1 8K
Razer Viper V3 Pro

If you’re looking for a high-end, full-size wireless board that’s ideal for both productivity typing and gaming, then we heartily recommend the Keychron Q6 Max with Gateron Jupiter Red switches. Although how good a switch feels is subjective to a point, using this keyboard with its milky smooth thick and nice OSA keycaps was one of the nicest typing experiences we’ve ever had, and its fully hot-swappable nature means you can chop and change switches as you like. The software is excellent, build quality is great, there are some very nice color options, and we enjoyed the side-printed key variant in particular. The board is also compatible with Windows, Max, and Linux systems either wired or wireless.

If you want something a bit more affordable that still has premium features and don’t mind a wired-only board, then our runner up pick for the year is the Endgame Gear KB65HE. This 65% size board, the first from the German brand known for their mice (see above), is built like a tank and has terrific software. The KB65HE’s most noticeable feature though is that it comes with Hall Effect switches, which use a magnetic mechanism and have a programmable actuation distance, giving the most precise, customizable sensitivity we’ve seen in a product we’ve reviewed.
Keychron Q6 Max custom mechanical keyboard
Endgame Gear KB65HE gaming keyboard

The HAVN HS 420 and its VGPU brother are definitely among the most innovative PC cases of 2024, and represented the first effort of a new challenger to the premium case throne.
From a raw performance and value-for-money perspective, the standard HAVN HS 420 is the option we’d recommend for most people, but if you’ve got your heart set on a vertical graphics card build for aesthetic purposes, then the HS 420 VGPU is one of the best options out there.

In the runner up category comes the Lian Li Lancool 207, which is a budget-friendly case that nevertheless offers some of the best thermal performance on the market. Although an ATX case, it’s very compact, but doesn’t feel cramped when installing an AIO or similar, in part thanks to its clever PSU and HDD mount placement. It also comes with four pre-installed PWM fans, which is very nice to see!
HAVN HS 420 dual-chamber mid tower PC case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 207 compact ATX case

Our top pick for gaming prebuilt in 2024 is the Talon from Falcon Northwest, which is a very high-price but premium level boutique prebuilt. The Talon has existed for a couple of years now, though in 2024 the company introduced a workstation variant of the computer which can be equipped with Ryzen Threadripper processors and Nvidia RTX 6000 Ada/Professional Quadro graphics. These aren’t likely to be of interest if you’re just looking for a gaming rig, but the Ryzen 9000-series model (we recommend going for the 9800X3D) plus RTX 4080 Super variant say, will annihilate any game you throw at it. Falcon offer excellent build quality, customization options and extras on their builds (including a surge protection outlet), all inside a roomy case (designed in-house) that you can decorate with a UV print design. The performance you’ll get from these PCs is phenomenal, though they remain pretty quiet runners. What really cements the company as worthy of the top place is their stellar customer service plus the 3-year standard warranty (covering parts and labor) plus 1-year overnight shipping service.

At nearly the opposite end of the size spectrum comes our runner-up pick, the Velocity Micro Raptor ES40, which is a portable mini-PC (complete with carry handle) that nevertheless has decent space for upgrades, thanks to its well designed case, plus performs remarkably well in raw performance terms and in terms of thermals.
Falcon Talon NorthWest prebuilt gaming PC
Velocity Micro Rapter ES40 prebuilt gaming PC

In the gaming laptop category our top-most pick and the runner up selection are so close as to almost be even, however the Lenovo Legion 7i just pips the ASUS Zephyrus G16 to the post. These 16-inch gaming laptops both offer solid portability alongside having what we consider to be the optimum-sized display, and are great all-round machines, either one of which would be a great pick.

Although the Zephyrus G16 has the advantage of an OLED display, longer battery life, and being slightly more slimline, the Legion 7i has superior in-game FPS performance thanks to the higher power limit on its GPU, plus superior cooling performance, so if you’re after raw gaming output then it wins out.
Lenovo Legion 7i (Gen 9, 2025) gaming laptop
ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025) gaming laptop

For the past few years the mighty MacBook Air has retained the crown for best general productivity laptop, offering surprisingly good value for an Apple product (until you want to upgrade the memory or storage). Finally though we’re happy to say one of the many competing Windows laptops has finally knocked it off the top spot (though only just).
The ‘Microsoft Surface Laptop’ is actually the 7th generation of these devices but Microsoft have decided to start the naming convention from scratch to signify what a significant update this is. It represents an extensive redesign of the line, with a sleeker and lighter chassis, improved display, more powerful processor, and better battery: all of which compete with the MacBook Air, but with the advantage of the wider number of applications you can use on a Windows machine, plus M.2 storage that can be upgraded after purchase. Speaking of battery, the duration on this laptop is exceptional: coming in around 19-20 hours on battery saving mode, it beats the MacBook Air by a couple of hours (though in the grand scheme of things this isn’t much of a difference). The performance of the Snapdragon Elite X processor is comparable to the MacBook Air M3, and although the latter’s screen has superior contrast and color replication, the Surface still has a very colorful and bright (over 550cd/m²) LCD screen.

Our runner up pick the MacBook Air (2024) still retains the crown for speaker performance though: even if they’re not as good as the unbeatable MacBook Pro speakers (the gold standard for any laptop), they still remain superior to almost every other Windows machine.
Microsoft Surface Laptop (7th gen, 2025)
Apple MacBook Air (2025)

The battle for the title of best gaming handheld in 2024 was a very close-run thing, as were graced with two excellent devices this year: the Steam Deck OLED and the ASUS ROG Ally X. Both of these gaming handhelds represent improved versions of products that came out in previous years, specifically the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally, released in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Each handheld has the edge over the other in certain areas, with the ROG Ally X having more processing power, meaning greater FPS in games, plus ‘technically’ a sharper image and a higher 120Hz max refresh rate (compared to the 90Hz of the other device). For us though, the Steam Deck OLED edges into first place, thanks to the greater visual richness of the OLED display, substantially higher peak brightness, greater battery life, and slightly better user interface.
Steam Deck OLED
ASUS ROG Ally X

January 2024 saw the launch of the bulk of the Nvidia 40-series SUPER variants, bringing more cores and greater clock speeds than the standard models, and approximately 15% average FPS increase across the different SKUs. Although the RTX 4080 Super was the model that garnered the most interest initially, overall we think the RTX 4070 Super is the product that is the best offering on a price/performance basis, building on the already pretty impressive RTX 4070, and it’s the model that will be within reach of more consumers compared to the flagship.
Besides the raw power of the card itself, if you’re playing a DLSS-compatible game, the astounding Frame Generation tech the 40-series has access to means you can see performance boosts of 100-300% depending on the title, which is frankly ridiculous. This means the 4070 Super can effectively play AAA titles compatible with this tech at full graphics settings with Ray-Tracing enabled, and still enjoy great FPS.

The RTX 4080 Super does still get our runner-up prize though. If you want a bit more oomph, and don’t mind spending the extra cash to get it, then this GPU will give you performance slightly above that of the original RTX 4080 (we’re talking a maximum of 5%, and often less), but with greater power efficiency and, crucially, a $200 cheaper price on its release.
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4070 Super EVO OC Edition (12GB GDDR6X)
GIGABYTE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Windforce V2 (12GB GDDR6X)

As predicted by virtually everyone in the industry, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is far and above the best processor released in 2024 for gaming. Like the still impressive 7800X3D from last year, and the 5800X3D before that, it uses 3D V-cache tech to give it a significant boost to performance than you’d normally expect from the cores alone, particularly in gaming scenarios. The 9800X3D however brings additional improvements to both cooling and gaming performance over its predecessor, with an FPS uplift of between 7-27% depending on the title. Multicore performance for productivity applications (not the strongest suit of this processor) has also been improved.

If you’re not looking to spend quite this much money, you can instead opt for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X for around $120 less, which, pound-for-pound, is still a great gaming processor, and takes our runner-up prize. The single-core performance on this model is actually similar to that of the 9950X, despite the greater cost of this flagship model, though if you’re after a mega-powerful productivity machine then the multi-core power of the Ryzen 9 9950X might be more tempting.
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

1440p is the monitor resolution best suited to the average gamer in 2024, and the AOC Q27G3XMN is one of the best value screens we’ve seen in this, or any other resolution for that matter. This 180Hz screen combines a VA panel with Mini-LED backlighting, which comes with 336-zone local dimming, allowing for impressively deep blacks and greater color accuracy. It covers at least 100% of the sRGB gamut with solid accuracy in this space, making it well-suited for creative work besides gaming. With local dimming enabled it can reach around 410 nits of brightness, which is respectable; with local dimming disabled it will achieve around 630 nits, which is quite impressive indeed. The c.1ms response time is plenty quick enough for the average gamer that enjoys playing fast-paced competitive titles. All this is available for around $280, which is insanely cheap for what you get (not that we’re complaining!).

If you are looking for something a bit more premium though, then the ROG Strix XG27AQDMG is a sensational OLED monitor with superior response time, contrast, and black points, plus better VRR performance to reduce that screen tearing. It is however over double the price of the AOC screen so it misses out on the top spot.
AOC Q27G3XMN (27″ Mini LED) gaming monitor
ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQDMG (27″ OLED) gaming monitor

The Alienware AW3225QF is a 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor with very few flaws. This 32-inch display has many of the same benefits you’d expect from other OLED models however it has especially good color replication on top thanks the the additional QD layer that gives it a high color gamut and volume; it effectively has 100% sRGB and DIC-P3 gamut coverage and top-notch color accuracy. It also comes with Dolby Vision which is a great addition for content that supports it. For gamers the 240Hz max refresh rate and the extremely fast response times (the latter of which you’d expect on an OLED) are ideal. As you’d expect from an Alienware product the aesthetic design of the chassis and the overall build quality is also terrific. Whilst not cheap, for an Alienware product it’s actually not too highly priced either, with the $50-100 markup over competing models worth paying for the overall quality of this product.

In close second place however is the Samsung Odyssey OLED G80SD S32DG80 aka the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 (although this latter name is less specific and includes a couple of different models). This monitor does not come with Dolby Vision and in our opinion looks slightly less nice aesthetically, however it does come with integrated applications (e.g. Netflix) plus a remote control, so is possibly the better option for those after a dual-use monitor/TV. The Samsung also has a more matte screen than the Alienware, which may be preferable for productivity use in brighter environments, or might be less favourable if you like that glossy look.
Alienware AW3423DW (34.18″ QD-OLED) curved gaming monitor
SAMSUNG Odyssey OLED G8 (G80SD) (32″ 4K) gaming monitor

Both of our top two gaming TVs this year are from Samsung, who really smashed it out the park this year, at least in the upper price bracket. Hisense released some great affordable TVs which we’d certainly recommend from a value perspective, but they’re not quite the best for gaming due to their mediocre motion handling. By contrast, our top pick, the Samsung QN90D, handles motion like an absolute dream and so it’s perfect for watching fast-paced sports games or console/PC gaming. This mini-LED TV with a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz with four HDMI 2.1 sockets that support 4K resolution at this refresh rate (though consoles will be capped to 120Hz). You also get FreeSync Premium Pro which effectively keeps any screen tearing to a minimum when gaming. Besides this there are a number of dedicated gaming features including a Gaming Hub which enables you to easily access cloud services like Xbox Live and GeForce Now.

If you’re looking for an OLED TV instead and don’t mind splashing a bit more cash then the Samsung S95D is our runner up pick, which has even better design than the QN90D and superb picture detail, along with similar gaming features, though it does cost a pretty penny.
Samsung QN90D (144Hz, Mini-LED) 4K TV
SAMSUNG QN65S95DAFXZA S95D (120Hz, OLED) 4K TV

The Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE won our air cooler award last year, and the company has taken the top spot once again with their Phantom Spirit 120 EVO. Once again, the level of cooling performance you get for a product that retails at just $42.99 (at the time of writing) is mind-boggling: better performers do exist but they can cost around double the price, so for most consumers this is definitely the option to go for. Build quality has not been skimped on either and it’s a quality piece of kit overall.
The fans of the Phantom Spirit 120 EVO run very quiet during general use, though it does get quite loud when you put it under strain and the fans run at max speed, it’s also quite large and will cover over your RAM slots, so be aware of this if trying to fit it in a smaller case or if you want your RAM RGB in full display. Still, if these minor negatives don’t put you off, there’s no reason not to buy this product.

All that being said, if you’re looking for something even cheaper then the FROZN A620 PRO SE from ID-Cooling performs almost as well for even less money (around $29.99). Although its build quality isn’t quite as good, it’s still a solid device that punches massively above its weight.
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO CPU cooler
ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE CPU cooler

ID-Cooling released two very impressive AIO coolers in 2024: the FX360 PRO followed by the FX360 INF AIO. Both of these are hugely impressive from a price/performance perspective but it’s the latter one that we most recommend. Cooling performance on Intel CPU’s is some of the best around, regardless of price point and on AMD processors it still performs fantastically – definitely beating the competition in terms of performance per money spent. It’s got good build quality, is easy to install, and the only real downside is that the warranty is limited to three years, whereas competing models generally give longer.

If you’re looking for something more premium however, the Lian Li HydroShift LCD 360S costs around $100 more but comes with a customizable LCD screen, excellent build quality, and tidy look once installed thanks to the flexible tubing and daisy-chained fans. It’s a bit on the larger side so you need to make sure you have sufficient clearance and does get loud at max RPM, but if you’re fine with both of these the six-year warranty is very impressive.
ID-Cooling FX360 INF AIO CPU cooler
Lian-Li HydroShift LCD 360S AIO CPU cooler

Elgato’s Neo range aims at bringing a full suite of affordable products for any first time streamer setup and/or online productivity users, and includes a stream deck, microphone, key light, capture card, and a webcam, it was the latter of these though that really impressed us. The Elgato Facecam Neo is quite simply the best affordable webcam on the market; its image quality is more like what you’d expect from an upper-mid range model, and it’s designed to be plug-and-play whilst simultaneously having an impressive amount of tweakable features to help you get the most out of it.

Our runner up prize goes to the Shure MV6 microphone, which similarly punches well above its price point in terms of build quality, solid audio quality, and intuitive features. Of particular note is the auto levelling setting, which adjusts the audio levels in step with you moving around your desk very effectively.
Elgato Facecam Neo
Shure MV6 gaming microphone
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