PC Gamer’s highest rated hardware favourites of 2024, plus five dishonorable mentions

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “How much for wireless earbuds that could feasibly pop out of my ears and get lost?” A reasonable concern, but as Jacob wrote in his SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds review, these are a genuine game changer—especially for those with cartilage that doesn’t usually play well with other earbuds. Having ‘weird little ears’ is a pain I myself know all too well. So upon hearing that these earbuds not only sit pretty with a simple push-and-twist maneuver, but also deliver banging audio quality alongside Active Noise Cancelling, I’m starting to think it’s time I broadened my own horizons beyond my trusty over-ear headphones.

You know what they say, ‘with Shure you can be…’ No, no, it’s too obvious. How about ‘Shure: Wrap your vocal chords around this’? Hm, that one definitely needs workshopping. At any rate, Shure definitely doesn’t need to go back to the drawing board with this microphone. Replacing the still well-regarded though now discontinued MV7, the Shure MV7+ podcast microphone refines the user experience in a few key ways, including replacing those fiddly touch panel controls with a more elegant LED touch to mute button. It delivers great sound quality straight out of the box too, and even comes with RGB lighting options.

Most would agree that 1 TB of storage for that price tag is reasonable, but maybe not worth getting excited about. Good thing it’s not the only reason we love this 1 TB external SSD from Adata then; what we want to shout about is just how well pitched this bit of kit is for storing your backlog of games. So long as you have a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port, you’ll enjoy swift file transfers that outpaces much of the competition as Jacob’s Adata SD810 review demonstrates. The device’s IP68 dust and water resistance will keep your files safe through most adventures too. The only downside is that this straightforward SSD doesn’t offer much in the way of drop resistance, so be sure to treat it like a little prince.

This 16-inch gaming laptop is a thing of beauty. So much so that I want nothing more than to rub my face all over that gorgeous OLED screen and aluminium chassis—though such a premium, shiny outer shell would undoubtedly show the telltale smears of my crimes. Instead, allow me to take a brief tour through the specs that inspire such enthusiasm: it’s not just the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, nor the AMD Ryzen AI HX 370 CPU, but the spare NVMe slot that makes this storage sicko’s heart sing. As the other Jacob writes in his review, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 comes right out of the box with one NVMe slot already offering a 2 TB SSD. That’s definitely a welcome inclusion, but I appreciate the option to make the on-device storage even roomier.

If we’re talking just review scores, then technically we have a three-way tie between this MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED gaming monitor, the Alienware 32 AW3225QF, and the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. Each of these gaming monitors netted a rating of 92 from us, and it’s no wonder there is so little in it between then as each uses what is essentially the same panel (made either by Samsung for QD-OLED models, or LG for WOLED displays). However, an obvious point of diversion is the price and on that front MSI has got the competition beat by a respectable margin. What a redemption arc, going from worst laptop last time to best gaming monitor this year!

As Nick wrote in his review of the Blacklyte Kraken gaming chair, it’s not just the name that’s creaky, with questionable build quality too. Besides that, for a chair named after a gangly limbed sea beast, this seat is pretty cramped for tall folks—not so much a throne as a naughty step.

Listen, I’m not going to judge you for your taste in anime…okay, maybe a little but I’ll keep my thoughts to myself. However, what I cannot stay quiet about is the lacking quality of this headset (even with my usually pretty pro-purple agenda). Poorly thought out, sharp (in every sense) design features are the least of your concerns with audio quality as bleak as this. Arguably, the one saving grace for this tortured (and arguably torturous) Sasuke headset is Junae’s entertaining review.

Ah, scratch that redemption arc—looks like we’re back here again. MSI, what happened? We were all rooting for you! Alas, the Titan 18 HX A14V is no great improvement over last year’s showing from the Titan GT77 HX. Both are noisy, and both offer the disappointing contrast of lacking outward build quality despite highly specced innards. And as for the price tag? Forget about it.

Picture this: Your own private, portable cinema experience—any time, any place. It’s a compelling fantasy, isn’t it? Now, here’s a healthy dose of reality: wires, too many wires, and an alarmingly toasty peripheral hooked up directly to your already hefty glasses frames. That’s the Xreal Air 2, which shoots for the moon and unfortunately lands somewhere in Slough. That is to say, it’s not that bad but it isn’t exactly what you were promised either.

After spending far too long tapping away at the low profile keys of a corporate MacBook, you’d think lacking key feedback would no longer phase me. Turns out, it sure can. So, despite the retro design charm of the Logitech Wave Keys, I don’t think I will ever get past Nick’s two word summation of just how unappealing these keys feel.