8BitDo has a new mobile controller accessory that clips onto your smartphone, and makes it look like there's half a Game Boy snapped onto the bottom third of your screen. It's called the 8BitDo FlipPad, and it's up for preorder for just $30.

There are a few accessories like this, and while I've used a couple, they don't really work for me. I thought I'd like the little button-having plates that only work with that company's specific phone case, but figured out I have strong phone case preferences they don't meet. And while I think there are some great sandwich-style mobile controllers out there, I want something that's easier to carry around with me.

The FlipPad might address that by being a little button-faced puck that sits on a hinge that plugs into your phone's USB-C port, and lets it fold around behind your phone when you need to do, you know, phone stuff. Since it's powered by USB-C, there's no need to fuss with Bluetooth pairing, and response time should be near-instant. Also, there's no battery life to worry about (except, I suppose, on the phone itself). And I love the idea of unplugging it and just sliding it into my pocket. Clean!

The FlipPad's layout and color scheme hint at the original Game Boy (assuming you get the "G Classic" version; there's also a black one), but the button layout is more modern. You'll find four shoulder button stand-ins in a row along the top, and below that a d-pad, ABXY buttons, and start and select, plus the heart and star buttons you'd find on other 8BitDo controllers. I assume those are home and turbo, respectively, but I couldn't immediately suss that out on the 8BitDo site.

The FlipPad looks like a great, pocketable way to play games on your, uh, bespoke classic gaming library software. That said, two things: First, one of 8BitDo's images show a person playing with the FlipPad while behind the wheel of an automobile. I love gaming, but what? Please do not encourage people to game and drive! I'm cycling here! Thing number two: Its look kind of makes me want a Game Boy clone of a shell I can just drop my phone into (especially after seeing it next to a Game Boy in the lead image on The Verge article where I first saw this news), with software that only displays my game inside its green window. Alas, for now, perhaps the FlipPad will have to do. According to 8BitDo's site, it starts shipping July 30.

Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.

After spending weeks testing more than 30 different mice, the Logitech Pro X2 Superstrike stands out as the best gaming mouse because of its unique haptic clicks, impeccable build quality, and comfortable shape.

But players with especially small hands or a modest budget should avoid my top pick. Here's why.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Mice

I started playing PC games and using gaming mice roughly 20 years ago, before I became a professional journalist. I have been writing about PC games for a decade and reviewing gaming mice for the past seven years, first at PC Gamer and more recently at IGN.

Since June 2025 I have been IGN's lead mice reviewer, and over the past year I have used dozens of devices, from expensive flagships to cheap wired ones and everything in between.

I'm familiar with mice from the big-name brands like Razer and Logitech alongside lesser-known Chinese manufacturers such as MChose – which appears in this list – and ATK. My desk seems to be permanently stacked with mice, and even when I'm not reviewing them, I'm switching between them, comparing them, and playing with them in competitive shooters and slower strategy games.

Selection Criteria

To compile this guide I first created a long list of potential competitors, whittled that down to a shortlist, conducted extensive testing, and then picked the winners recommended below.

For my longlist, I wanted to include anything I thought had even a remote potential of winning.

Bluetooth has inherent latency that causes delays between your inputs and the action, so to be eligible for this list a mouse either must have a wire or a low-latency 2.4GHz wireless connection.

They also needed to have at least a 1,000Hz polling rate, which means the mouse reports its position to your PC 1,000 times a second (high-end mice go as high as 8,000Hz), ensuring smooth and responsive tracking. Below that, mice can feel jumpy and rough, especially in competitive scenarios. I've written a whole section about polling rate at the bottom of this list: what it is, why it matters, and whether it actually makes a difference.

Many of the other features you'll find on certain gaming mice – such as a dedicated button to switch DPI (dots per inch, a measure of sensitivity) setting or RGB lighting – are ones I consider entirely optional, and so I didn't mandate them. I'd rather get a mouse in my hand and test it in-game than rely on a list of features, so I cast the net fairly wide.

I also didn't set a requirement for a mouse's maximum DPI. You'll see DPIs in the tens of thousands on marketing material, but most people stick with a DPI of between 400 and 3200.

Mice that I had already reviewed and enjoyed went straight on the longlist – to find others, I spent days researching, picking the mice that were most frequently recommended by other people. More specifically, I read reviews and lists from other critics, both on IGN and elsewhere. I watched videos from YouTubers I trust, such as mel0nFPS, and dug into user-compiled lists and reviews in video comments, article comments and gaming subreddits. I often visit the MouseReview subreddit for work, so I had a sense of that community's recommended mice, but I also spent hours reading posts and comments.

My longlist was roughly 50 mice. I wanted to cut it in half for my shortlist.

For this, I jettisoned mice that were no longer widely available to buy: for instance, I love the Roccat Burst Core, which was a remarkable mouse for $20 when I reviewed it, but it's hard to find nowadays. I also eliminated mice when I found a reviewer I trusted clearly laying out an argument for why the mouse wasn't among the best (TechPowerUp's review of Corsair's M75 Air, for example, which I'd seen recommended elsewhere).

At this stage, I also created sub-categories of mice that I wanted to pick a winner in, because I knew this would help me trim my longlist. I knew, for example, that I didn't want to simply recommend all the flashiest flagship mice with the highest specs, because they tend to be the most expensive at $150 or more. I needed budget options: both a mid-range budget pick, roughly $60 or less, and an ultra-budget option, around $30 or less.

I also knew I needed a list that catered to everyone, regardless of preferences or hand size. I wanted, therefore, to include a specific category for people with small hands and a category to represent the best wired mice for those that prefer a lead (some people never want to charge their mouse).

Lastly, I wanted to include a specific category of ultra-lightweight mice of 40g or less, because I know some people want the lightest possible mouse.

With those categories in mind, I eliminated mice I knew had no chance of winning their respective category: for example, the Keychron M3 Mini is a very good mouse (I gave it an 8/10), but I knew that its tinny clicks would stop it winning.

With my shortlist finalized, I began testing.

How I Test Gaming Mice

A good gaming mouse is well-built, satisfying to use, and performs flawlessly in games of every genre, from point-and-click adventures to competitive multiplayer shooters.

But before I even jumped into any games, I tested the build quality, click feel and shape of each mouse in a systematic way.

I grabbed each mouse and squeezed various parts of the shell, hard, listening for creaking or displacement. I shook each one, checking for any rattles, which could indicate poor build quality.

Then, for every mouse, I tested each button one by one. The feel of mouse clicks is vital, especially for the main left and right buttons, because you're going to be pressing them hundreds of times over any given gaming session. I was assessing how it felt and sounded – was it satisfying to click? Was it too stiff or too light? Was the sound crisp, or flat, or hollow? I checked the integrity of each button, making sure none of them were loose or wobbly, and looked for any alarming amount of pre-travel (the distance the button moves before it clicks) or post-travel.

Next, I tested each mouse in three grip types: palm grip, fingertip grip, and claw grip. Whether a mouse fits your hand will depend on your hand shape, and I could only really assess if it was comfortable to me – my hands, for reference, are about 20cm long by 10cm wide, slightly larger than average for a man. But I used the website Eloshapes to see how the mouse compared to existing shapes that lots of people love (such as Logitech's G Pro series). I wanted a mouse that was comfortable in a variety of grip types and hand positions – and I knew I would further test them when I began playing.

With a mouse powered off, I moved it around my mousemat for a couple of minutes. I combined quick flicks with slower tracking and wide arcs. I closed my eyes and asked myself how it felt to use: was the glide smooth? Were the mouse feet particularly slow, or fast? Again, different people have different tastes, but the most important thing here is whether the mouse is consistent. Does it snag when moving it in a particular direction, indicating sub-optimal feet? Did it scratch my mousepad, suggesting those feet weren't properly mounted? I tested each mouse on three different mousemats from three different manufacturers (Steelseries, HyperX, and Corsair), which all have slightly different textures.

If after this initial testing I still liked the mouse, then I took it forward into three games: Counter Strike 2 for frequent intense firefights and rapid flicks, Marathon for a more movement-focused shooter, and the citybuilder Whiskerwood, a more casual game with slower mouse movement but lots and lots of clicking. For each mouse I spent roughly half an hour in each game – less if I could quickly tell it wasn't going to make the cut, more if I thought it might.

I used this process to build on my initial assessment of the mouse's shape, buttons, and movement, ensuring my judgments held up in game situations and for extended periods. But I was also testing performance. Could I detect any latency (delay) between my input and what happened on screen? Was my tracking responsive, smooth, and jitter-free? Essentially: did the mouse do what I wanted it to do, when I wanted it?

I tested mice at 1,000Hz polling rate by default, but if higher polling rates were supported I tested them in CS2 at 2,000Hz, 4,000Hz, and 8,000Hz, checking for any changes in performance. I stuck to the same DPI of 1,600 throughout.

Finally, I assessed the device's battery life against a manufacturer's claims. Modern gaming mice have battery lives of 50 hours or more, with many over 100 hours, so fully depleting the battery wasn't viable. I therefore searched online for both critic and user tests to ensure those manufacturer claims stacked up. I also timed my own use of the mouse, noting the battery life before and after, to make sure the drain rate was in line with what it should be.

Best Gaming Mouse

Logitech Pro X2 SuperStrike

Also Great

Lamzu Maya X

Best Budget Gaming Mouse

Mchose A7 V2 Ultra

Best Ultra-Budget Gaming Mouse

Glorious Model O Eternal

Best For Small Hands

HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 Mini

Best Battery Life

Razer Viper V4 Pro

Best Ultra-Light Gaming Mouse

Hitscan Hyperlight

Best Wired Gaming Mouse

Endgame OP1 8k v2

Gaming Mouse FAQ

How do I know whether a mouse will fit my hand?

Without a mouse in your hand it's very difficult to know exactly whether it'll suit you, but these three steps should help.

First, measure your hand: Work out if you have a small, medium or large hand. Measure from the tip of your middle finger to the crease in your wrist for length, and the width of the widest point of your palm. Compare that to average figures (you can find plenty online, such as here).

Then, read reviews of the mouse you're interested in from critics and users. Find out their hand size – it'll often say in a review – and see how it fitted them. Googling the name of the mouse plus "small hand" or "large hand" will often surface a Reddit thread of somebody else posing the same question.

Finally, visit Eloshapes, a site that compares mouse shapes. Pull up the mouse you're interested in to find out if it's small, medium or large. Even better, plug in a second mouse, one you're familiar with – perhaps a mouse you've used in the past that fits you well – to see an overlay comparison of the two shapes. From that, you should know if the mice in question will work for you.

What's the difference between fingertip, claw, and palm grip?

In palm grip, your entire palm touches the body of the mouse.

In fingertip grip, your palm is off the mouse and only the tips of your fingers and thumb control it.

Claw grip is somewhere in between: the base of your palm touches the body of the mouse, and then your fingers arc – like a claw – with the tips resting on the mouse buttons. This arc can be more severe or more relaxed (you'll hear people talk about a "relaxed claw" grip).

Generally, larger mice are better for palm gripping, while smaller mice favor fingertip and claw grips, although that entirely depends on your hand size. Theoretically, palm grip is more comfortable and stable, but less precise because you're using your arm and wrist to track, rather than your fingers. Fingertip and claw tend to be better for small movements and micro adjustments. But my advice is simply to test them all and pick the most comfortable position: if you're uncomfortable, you won't play as well.

Wireless or wired?

Wired mice used to perform far better, but wireless tech has closed the gap to the point where they're essentially the same.

Your decision, then, is about battery life and convenience.

You'll never have to charge a wired mouse, which is handy, and you'll never have to worry about losing a dongle.

But a wireless mouse has the advantage of being more portable, and you don't need to thread a cable behind your desk – although keep in mind most wireless mice require a plugged-in dongle.

What is polling rate and does it make a difference?

Polling rate is the frequency that your mouse reports its position to your PC. It's measured in Hertz (Hz) and 1,000Hz is standard, which means your mouse updates your PC with movements and inputs 1,000 times per second, or every millisecond.

High-end mice reach polling rates of 2,000Hz, 4,000Hz and 8,000Hz.

Higher is, technically, better: the more information your PC receives, the more often it can locate the mouse in real time and therefore the smoother your tracking.

Whether you actually feel a difference depends on both you and your PC.

Often your PC specs, rather than your mouse, are the limiting factor, and for higher polling rates to make a difference you'll need a high refresh rate monitor. What's the point in your mouse updating 1,000 times a second if your monitor only refreshes 60 times per second? North of 1,000Hz only feels different if you have a higher refresh rate monitor – at least 144 Hz, but ideally 240Hz or more.

You'll also need to play at high frame rates to notice a difference (again, if you're only getting 60 frames per second, an 8,000Hz polling rate is pointless). That means you'll need a relatively high-end rig – and keep in mind that higher polling rates can, in some games, tax your CPU, reducing frame rates further.

Even with the perfect setup, you may not notice a difference.

Ask 100 people about polling rates and you'll get many different answers. Some people don't feel any difference above 1,000Hz, others swear they can sense the jumps from 2,000Hz to 4,000Hz, and 4,000Hz to 8,000Hz.

I, personally, can feel a difference up to 4,000Hz, although it's slight. Going up to 8,000Hz is basically overkill and drains battery faster, so I usually play between 1,000Hz and 4,000Hz.

Does DPI matter?

DPI stands for dots per inch. It's a measure of sensitivity and indicates how many pixels your mouse cursor moves for every inch your mouse moves physically. 800 DPI = 800 pixels for every inch of movement.

It's different to in-game sensitivity, which is a function of both your DPI and the game's settings. For example, if you have a DPI of 800 and an in-game sensitivity of 1, your cursor will move twice as far, per inch, as somebody with a DPI of 800 and an in-game sensitivity of 0.5.

On paper, a higher DPI and lower in-game sensitivity is best for latency and precision, but you probably won't feel a difference above 1,600 DPI. Many pro CS2 players play at 800 DPI or less.

Manufacturers will use the max DPI as a marketing line for their mice – 25,000 DPI! 40,000 DPI! – but ultimately you're never going to set your DPI that high.

Samuel Horti is a freelance reporter and editor specializing in longform journalism and hardware reviews. You can read his work at his website.

The Steam Machine might not be priced like we hoped – courtesy of the ongoing memory shortage – but those who can pony up the cash will get to customize their machine in some very fun ways, thanks to its swappable magnetic faceplate. Also, those boxy, flat sides are just begging for skins, aren’t they?

The unfortunate thing is that, for now at least, almost none of the usual suspects are selling skins, faceplates, or other cosmetic accessories for the Steam Machine. Dbrand did have its Companion Cube enclosure, but, well, we know how that went. And the company isn’t selling its usual collection of skins and wraps for the Steam Machine, at least not yet. JSaux has some cool-looking stuff in the works for later this year, like a clear enclosure and an e-ink display.

Featured in this article

What’s the point of this guide, then?

Thankfully, the Steam Machine’s customization story doesn’t end at stickers and magnetic squares. Unlike the typical home console machine, it’s really a small desktop gaming PC. It’s not as upgrade-friendly as your usual DIY setup, but you can still replace the RAM and SSD, if you want. (Although, given today’s bonkers pricing and how hard it is to replace the RAM, we’re sticking with SSDs for this list.)

Also, Steam Controller skins exist; and if you don’t have or want a Steam Controller, well, you have your pick of the third-party PC controllers, too. Anything that would work on the Steam Deck would work just fine here, too. And let’s not forget that it uses microSD cards, either.

1. The Best Faceplate for Steam Machine

GamersNexus SteamVent Downpourt

2. Best Internal SSD

WD Black SN7100 4TB SSD

3. Best HDMI Cable

Cable Matters 10ft Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable (3-Pack)

4. Best Steam Controller Skins

DBrand Steam Controller Skins

5. Best Steam Controller Alternative

Sony DualSense Controller

6. Best MicroSD Card

SanDisk Extreme 1TB MicroSD Card

You know what’s great? MagSafe. It’s not just because it’s a nice way to charge my phone (questions about how the waste heat affects my battery’s lifespan notwithstanding); I love being able to easily add things like grips or cooling fans to my phone, or quickly slap it on my dashboard before a drive. It’s just nicer than fiddling with clamps, and charging that way keeps my phone’s USB-C port in good shape for when I want faster charging or data transfers, and I haven’t had to deal with a cable whose housing splits open by the plug in literal years.

What if you could do the same thing with your gaming handheld? Well, you really can’t yet, but you can get a little taste with this Belkin Charging Grip for Nintendo Switch 2, a grip accessory I’ve been testing that goes beyond just protection and ergonomic enhancement, to include a back cover and a Belkin-made, magnetically-attaching 10,000mAh battery onto the back of the console. With the grip, you can more than double handheld Switch 2 playtime without fussing with wires or a fully separate external battery. Just slap Belkin’s battery on, plug it in – despite my MagSafe comparison, it doesn’t magically add wireless charging to your Switch 2 – and go.

Design and Ergonomics

If you’ve used the Dbrand Killswitch or Jsaux Split Protective Case, you’ll be familiar with Belkin’s approach here. The Charging Grip, minus the battery, comes in three pieces: two Joy-Con 2 grips and a backplate that clips onto the Switch 2’s main body. The grips slip on over the controllers just like the Killswitch ones, only instead of hooking over the top of the controllers, they hug them near the release triggers. I found that they were actually easier to slip onto the Switch 2’s detachable controllers more easily than Dbrand’s are, and they fit like a glove, with no wiggle once they’re in. As with the Killswitch Joy-Lock grips, you can also force them to detach from the console if you hold it by one Joy-Con and shake it enough, but I wouldn’t call my test of that “normal use.”

I found that I didn’t like how the Charging Grip felt to use. The grippy texture is fine, but something about the way they flares out makes it feel like my hands were pushing them out of my grip during certain movements. It wasn’t bad in full-on handheld mode, but it was distracting when I played with the Joy-Cons detached, and it made my hands reflexively tense up a little bit. It’s not as cramp-inducing as playing with naked Joy-Cons, but it didn’t do as good a job making me forget about the controllers as my Killswitch Joy-Locks do.

One big advantage that Belkin has over other Switch 2 accessories is that it actually fits in the Switch 2 dock. Whether that’s an advisable way to use it, I’m not sure. Belkin assured me its engineers hadn’t found issues with the system overheating, and the cover does have big holes to let the console vent, but the system also seemed hotter than usual when I removed it from the dock after a long play session. It may have been my imagination, and when I removed it I didn’t notice the exterior of the console itself was hotter, but on the plus side, the cover is as easy to remove as it is to put on.

The cover also has cutouts for all the buttons and the Switch 2’s ports. I wish the company had gone with buttons over the top of the power button and volume rocker, the way you might find on a phone case, though. Having to contend with a cutout amplifies the awkwardness of using the Switch 2’s buttons, which are nearly flush with the system, and I kept finding myself accidentally putting the console to sleep when I wanted to turn it down. Also, the slimness that lets the case slip into the dock makes it feel like it’s not terribly protective. (Did I do drop testing to find out? In this video game economy? Hell no.)

With regard to the battery itself: it’s slender and flat, with a single USB-C port and a short, embedded cable that folds into its body and loops up just over your Switch 2 when it’s plugged in, using its right-angle USB-C plug. The magnetic connection between the battery and case is strong enough to to easily snap the battery onto the back of my Switch 2, but only just. The battery never flopped off of my console while I was idly using it, but it only took one firm shake for me to send the battery flying onto the couch I’d aimed it at. I wouldn’t buy this for an excitable kid, lest they fling it off while it’s plugged in and tear a chunk of the inner USB-C tab off, a risk made plain to me, once, when I tried to walk away from a big, heavy power bank with my still-connected phone in hand.

Unsurprisingly, slapping a 10,000mAh battery onto the back of your Switch 2 adds a lot of weight to the console. The Charging Grip itself weighs 0.44 lb, or about half of an original Nintendo Switch. Adding that much weight shifts the balance back and makes the Switch 2 a lot less comfortable to hold. I didn’t mind the heft when I was curled up on the couch with my hands braced on my knees, but it made it a lot harder to hold it in a way that didn’t make me look like a bent-over gremlin when I was trying to sit upright. Maybe this is an old guy thing, but longer play sessions stress the crap out of my neck, so I try not to look down at harsh angles when I’m playing on a handheld.

Battery Performance

Belkin’s claim that the Charging Grip’s battery can get your Switch 2 an extra charge and a half is about right. When I drained my Switch 2 to five percent charge and plugged in the Belkin power bank, the power bank was left with a little over 30 percent once the Switch 2 was full again. A second charge from there got me up to roughly 45 percent.

It took just over three hours of playing Nintendo’s Star Fox demo, Mario Kart World, and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade before I had fully exhausted Belkin’s battery and was back on the console’s internal power. That’s not as good as the battery that Belkin includes in the Belkin Charging Case, which gave me almost two full charges and let me play for more than three and a half hours before I was on internal power, but it’s certainly more convenient to be able to play in handheld mode, ergonomic issues aside.

I love the modularity of the magnetic back cover and power bank combo, and although the Belkin Charging Grip’s, well, grips aren’t my favorite, they do feel good, and fit my Joy-Con 2 controllers. I like that it docks fine without an adapter, and that my Joy-Con 2 controllers didn’t seem any more prone to accidentally detaching from the console with the grips and backplate on than without them.

The trouble is that the power bank adds so much weight when attached that, in most cases, I’d probably rather just plug my Switch 2 into one of the many power banks I already own. I could see it being handy on a plane, where I usually stick it on the tray table to play anyway, but anywhere else that’s not me half-horizontal on a couch just seems like a recipe for wrist and neck pain. And it’s an extra $60 to add the battery, which isn’t cheap. Ultimately, there’s just a lot more value in Belkin’s grips and dock-compatible back cover on their own than there is in the battery-included kit.

Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.

I’ve been conflicted about the latest Intel Core Ultra 200S processors ever since I first reviewed them for TechRadar last year, and I have the exact same problems with the new Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Core Ultra 7 270K Plus as I did with Intel’s first stab at a Core Ultra desktop chip.

On paper, these are genuinely fantastic processors that offer some of the best multi-core performance you’re going to find outside of an AMD Ryzen Threadripper, especially for the price. Even on the gaming front, they aren’t terrible processors and can offer better value for the performance than AMD in a few games. But the gaming performance isn't quite good enough to recommend when better gaming processors exist elsewhere.

Specs and Features

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus are steps up from the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, respectively. The 250K Plus and 270K Plus feature some enhanced Arrow Lake architecture over the base Series 200S chips, including 4 additional E-cores and slightly faster boost clock speeds.

In the case of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, this puts the chip on par with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with 24 total cores (8 performance + 16 efficient) at a slightly slower boost speed (5.5GHz, compared to the 285K’s 5.7GHz boost), though at roughly half the price. For the 250K Plus, the additional cores brings its total count to 18 (6p+12e), compared to the 6p+8e core configuration of the 245K.

Both chips also have some expanded L3 cache, though nothing on the order of AMD Ryzen 3D V-Cache. They are also able to support up to 7200MT/s DDR5 RAM, an increase of about 800MT/s over the baseline Arrow Lake-S chips.

All of this sounds amazing considering the lower price of these two chips, with the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus coming in at $299.99 and the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus settling in at $219.99. For non-gamers, this is absolutely the case; but for anyone who only wants to play games, the value proposition falls off.

Performance

Both the Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Ultra 7 270K Plus punch well above their weight when it comes to multi-core and creative performance, so for productivity or workstation use, I actually recommend considering them if you don’t plan on upgrading past this for a few years.

However, in games, these processors occasionally fall short of their respective Core Ultra 200S non-Plus counterparts. That makes these very difficult processors to recommend if gaming is even remotely important to you.

Synthetic single-core and multi-core performance on these refreshed Arrow Lake CPUs is outstanding, with the 270K Plus managing to fight the Core Ultra 9 285K to an effective tie in Cinebench R23 in multi-core performance and coming within 4% of the 285K’s single-core performance.

Against the best AMD processors, the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus scores a roughly 83% better multi-core performance and a roughly 9% better single-core performance over the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D in Cinebench R23, and even manages to slightly edge out the multicore performance of the Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Against its direct AMD competition, the Ryzen 7 9700X, the 270K Plus gets 117% better multi-core performance, though it is only 2.5% faster in single-core, in Cinebench R23.

For the 250K Plus, I found a full 25% better multi-core performance and a roughly 6% better single core performance in Cinebench R23 over the Core Ultra 245K, and a 35-40% better multi-core performance over its two Ryzen 7 3D V-Cache competitors. Against the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, the 250K Plus pulls down a 107% better multi-core performance in Cinebench R23, and 112% faster multi-core performance in 3DMark’s CPU Profile.

On the creative side of things, the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and Core Ultra 7 270K Plus are phenomenal for creative work on the cheap, especially the 250K Plus, which beats out even the Core Ultra 9 285K by just over 8% in my Photoshop results.

When it comes to gaming, though, the Core Ultra 200S Plus chips just can’t compete with AMD’s offerings, or even their non-Plus counterparts.

In Cyberpunk 2077’s benchmark (no RT, no DLSS, Ultra preset at 1080p), the Core Ultra 250K Plus falls about 2% behind the Ryzen 5 9600X in average fps, which is more or less within the margin of testing variance, so I’d call it a tie here. Unfortunately for the 250K Plus, it is noticeably slower than the 9600X in Total War: Warhammer 3’s battle benchmark (1080p ultra preset), with a roughly 16% lower average fps. Against the Intel Core Ultra 245K, the 250K Plus posts mixed results with a roughly 7% higher average fps in Cyberpunk 2077 but a 14% lower average fps in Total War: Warhammer 3; taken together, scoring about 6% slower in gaming performance overall against the chip it is refreshing.

The Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, meanwhile, has its best result against the Ryzen 7 9700X in Cyberpunk 2077, scoring a roughly 7% better average fps. It’s downhill from there, though, as the 270K Plus underperforms the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in Cyberpunk 2077 average fps by about 25%, and even falls about 4% behind the Ryzen 5 9600X and about 2% behind the 250K Plus.

In Total War: Warhammer 3’s battle benchmark, the 270K Plus does manage to get about 12% better average fps than the 250K Plus, but gets roughly 5% lower average fps than the 9700X and about 8% lower versus the 9800X3D. Possibly worst of all for the 270K Plus, it gets 6.5% lower average fps than the Ryzen 5 9600X.

The one thing that the 250K Plus and 270K Plus do bring to the table is phenomenal value for their overall performance, but this just doesn’t translate to gaming.

Whereas the 270K Plus offers about 11% better overall performance for the price versus the Ryzen 7 9700X, it gets about 14.5% lower gaming performance-per-dollar, and is currently about 16% more expensive than its direct AMD competition. Against the more elite 9800X3D chip, the 270K Plus sells for about 19% cheaper and offers a fantastic 43% better performance-per-dollar overall, but it’s only about a 4.5% better gaming value than the more expensive 9800X3D. It looks even worse when compared to the Ryzen 5 9600X, a chip that costs about half the price of the 270K Plus, but gets about 6% better gaming performance on average.

The 250K Plus similarly fails to keep up with the Ryzen 5 9600X in terms of value, managing a 4% better overall performance-per-dollar than the 9600X, but the 9600X offers nearly 35% better gaming performance for the price than the 250K Plus. That said, the 250K Plus does offer the third best gaming performance-per-dollar of the current generation of processors, behind the 9600X and the second-place Core Ultra 5 245K, so it might be a good choice depending on your budget.

It’s also worth noting that AMD’s competing chips are much more power efficient than Intel’s latest, with the 9600X and 9700X topping out at 88W, compared to 163.5W for the 250K Plus and nearly 268W for the 270K Plus. Even the 9800X3D scores better than the 250K Plus, with a max power draw of 161.2W. As for thermals, the 270K Plus runs the hottest with a max temp of 90C, followed by the 9600X’s 88C max, the 9800X3D maxing out at 86C, the 9700X hitting a 75.5C max, and the 250K Plus running coolest at a maximum temp of 69C.

Gaming monitors have been getting more popular for all types of gaming, but ultrawide gaming monitors are still something that’s unique to PC gaming. There’s just something about the ability to stretch out the games you’re playing to a wide 21:9 aspect ratio that really sucks you into the game.

Now, premium ultrawide monitors traditionally came at a high premium, costing more than a thousand bucks. That’s where I expected the Alienware AW3426DW to fall, especially considering its gorgeous QD-OLED display and Dolby Vision compatibility. But unlike the gaming PCs that power this kind of display, gaming monitors are pretty much the only thing in PC gaming that isn’t going way up in price, with the AW3426DW coming in at $799.

That’s still a lot to spend on a display, but this is the kind of monitor that you’ll keep on your desk for years, likely through multiple GPU upgrades.

Design and Features

Right out the gate, the AW3426DW has the distinct look of an Alienware gaming monitor. It’s got the same galaxy purple colorway as some of the company’s recent laptops around the back, and it does look stunning, albeit a little plasticky. There are ventilation holes drilled in an oval pattern around the center of the monitor, with an RGB alien head punctuating it on the right.

However, just like any other gaming monitor with a fancy design, the back of the monitor will be facing the wall for most people most of the time. The front of the monitor, on the other hand, is surprisingly no-frills. There’s an Alienware logo emblazoned across the center of the bottom bezel and a lit-up power button on the bottom right corner. But even for a large ultrawide monitor like the AW3426DW, the bezels are surprisingly narrow.

But no matter how narrow the bezels are, that doesn’t stop the AW3426DW from being an absolute behemoth of a display. This thing measures roughly 32 inches wide and 14 inches tall without the stand, and weighs in at about 17 lb. That’s not terrible by any means, especially for an ultrawide display, but you will need to make sure you have the space for it. I, for one, don’t really have the space at home for the AW3426DW to make sense as a daily driver, even if the picture is beautiful enough to make me miss it when I send it back.

I already mentioned the lit-up power button, but there’s another button on the bottom of the AW3426DW, at the center, which will bring up the OSD. There’s nothing particularly special here – you can change picture settings, activate PIP (Picture-in-Picture), and swap between inputs. There is a USB-B port around the back that’ll let you connect the monitor via USB to your PC, and then you can use the Alienware Control Center to change settings like RGB lighting.

And, just like a lot of modern gaming displays, the OSD will let you turn on ‘Alienvision’. Rather than letting you see out into space or anything, this just turns on one of several aiming reticles that stay at the center of your screen. This is especially handy in first-person shooters, as it lets you center your aim, even when your in-game reticle is expanded. Some might call it cheating, but hey, it’s a feature that’s there – take it or leave it.

You can also enable ‘Esports Mode,’ which will essentially turn the AW3426DW from a 34-inch ultrawide into a 25-inch 16:9 display. The benefit here is that it becomes much easier to see the entire screen without having to move your head. For pro gamers that’s simply more important than having a ton of visual real estate that you can’t see at all times.

However, keep in mind that Esports mode drops the resolution to 2368x1332. Instead, I’d recommend manually setting the resolution down to 1920x1080, so that you can maximise your frame rate. Because, really, what’s the point of enabling an esports mode if you’re not going to take maximum advantage of the 280Hz refresh rate while you’re at it.

Even if you can’t fully saturate that high refresh rate, the AW3426DW supports Freesync, and is G-Sync compatible, so you won’t have to worry about screen tearing at lower frame rates. Granted, VRR, in whichever flavor, is expected in a gaming monitor of this caliber. I’m just glad that it supports both of the major solutions for PC gaming.

For everyone who isn’t an esports athlete, you’re going to want to take full advantage of this beautiful display. This is a 34-inch 21:9 panel with a 3440x1440 resolution at 280Hz. And, because it’s a QD-OLED display, it’s absolutely gorgeous, with deep blacks and one of the best HDR implementations I’ve ever seen in a gaming monitor, especially under $1000.

Gaming and Performance

I’ve spent the last three days obsessively playing games on the Alienware AW3426DW, and it is frankly stunning. Even dealing with the headache that is HDR on Windows, I’ve been blown away by how beautiful games look on this display.

Alienware claims that the AW3426DW hits 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and in my colorimeter tests, the monitor absolutely hits that level. It also hits 100% sRGB and 97% Adobe. This isn’t exactly the type of monitor that photographers and video editors are going to go in for, but you can absolutely do that kind of work with this level of color accuracy. And for games, it’s more than enough. Just sailing through the high seas in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced this week, the bright blue water just pops off of the screen.

Even in Diablo 4, which isn’t exactly known for being a visual showcase, the AW3426DW has incredible contrast, especially in dungeons with a lot of dark scenery punctuated by little light sources. Pretty much every game I’ve played on this display has looked stunning, even games like World of Warcraft, which don’t support HDR for some reason.

But it’s more than just a pretty picture. I paired the AW3426DW with a gaming PC running an RTX 5080, and was able to keep the display fully saturated, even if I had to lean on frame gen a couple times to get me there. Games look smooth and feel extremely responsive running on this display, and it doesn’t hurt that Alienware rates the display with a 0.03ms response time.

It’s worth remembering that, while $799 makes the Alienware AW3426DW seem like an expensive piece of kit, it’s quite a bit cheaper than competing monitors like the LG Ultragear UWQHD or the Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDN, both of which come in over $1000. But even with Alienware’s lower price tag, it doesn’t falter in the ways that more affordable gaming monitors typically do.

I put the AW3426DW through Blur Busters, and got nary a trace of ghosting or motion blur when running at the full 280Hz. I also didn’t really experience any light bleeding, even in games with a lot of contrast, or when I ran games at a 16:9 resolution. My only real criticism of the monitor is the plastic back panel, and that’s really not much of an issue once it’s set up on the desk.

That latter point actually comes with the benefit of being easier to move, because it doesn’t weigh 50 pounds like some of the more premium displays do. All told, the Alienware AW3426DW reminded me how much I miss playing games on an Ultrawide display, even though I had to make some questionable organizational decisions to fit it into my apartment.

If you have the space, though, this is an absolutely stunning gaming monitor. The wide aspect ratio really helps keep you immersed in your games, and the OLED display keeps you locked with a beautiful image, especially in games that support HDR. Just make sure you have a beefy gaming PC to power this thing.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

The HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Rare Edition is the seventh Super Pocket device to date from Blaze Entertainment. Part of the Evercade ecosystem, it's the same hardware as previous Super Pockets, but with 14 built-in classic Rare-developed games, with a matching color scheme to boot. Although Rare is now part of Microsoft, this collection highlights some of the best games from the developer's earliest 1983 British computer releases up to the headlining 1998 Nintendo 64 classic, Banjo-Kazooie, which has been rebuilt to run natively. Thanks to its eclectic built-in games and ability to play any Evercade cartridge, this Super Pocket easily sustains the high relative value of its predecessors.

HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Rare Edition – Design and Features

The Rare Edition maintains the same design and features as its predecessors. It's a plug-and-play handheld that comes with a USB-C to USB-A charging cable, quickstart guide, and instructions for Banjo-Kazooie. The other 13 games have control summaries in-game, accessible when pressing the Game Menu button.

The Super Pocket is a compact Game Boy-adjacent size at 3.07 x 4.92 x 0.98 inches and 0.36lbs. Its 2.8-inch IPS display has a resolution 320 x 240, which is a 4:3 aspect ratio. Display options include Original, Pixel Perfect, or Full Screen aspect ratios, as well as Shaders/Scanlines. While you can't adjust the brightness, the screen is easily visible in bright sunlight, although the glossy screen cover is susceptible to glare.

Since many of the games on the Evercade platform are originally of a relatively low resolution with limited detail, the small screen size is generally fine. However, if you're in the 40+ demographic, you may not find it as comfortable as today's larger screens, particular with smaller text. Still, it works well for what it is, especially at the $69.99 retail price.

Below the display is a Game Menu button, direction pad, front speaker, Select/Insert Credit button, Start Game button, and the A, B, X, and Y face buttons. On the rear is a cartridge slot, which includes a blank dummy cartridge, volume control, and R1, L1, R2, and L2 buttons, the latter two of which are used to fast scroll in menus. All buttons are membrane-based, but there's still a good tactile response with a soft click when pressed.

Below the R and L buttons is a rear speaker, which together with the front speaker provides decent sound, even at high volumes. Naturally, for the best sound you'll want to make use of the 3.5mm headphone jack to the left of the power switch at the bottom of the unit. Unfortunately, Blaze hasn't chosen to support Bluetooth audio until the release of its Nexus handheld.

Between the power switch and charging port is a charging indicator light, which shows red when charging or green when fully charged. The 3000mAh battery gets up to four hours or so of run time.

HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Rare Edition – Built-in Games

The 14 built-in games are Atic Atac, Banjo-Kazooie, Battletoads, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, Cobra Triangle, Conker's Pocket Tales, Gunfright, Jetpac, Knight Lore, Lunar Jetman, R.C. Pro-Am II, Slalom, Snake Rattle 'n' Roll, and Solar Jetman. These games originally appeared on the ZX Spectrum, Nintendo 64, NES, SNES, and Game Boy Color, respectively.

ZX Spectrum

Thanks in part to its low price, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum proved to be one of the most popular personal computers in the UK from its release in 1982 to its discontinuation in 1992. Although its base model featured limited memory, sound, and graphics, with the latter's color suffering from attribute clash that caused "bleeding" or flickering when a foreground character interacted with a background, there nevertheless proved a certain charm to the platform. Rare was among the best ZX Spectrum developers, taking good advantage of the bold color palette and crisp 8-bit visuals, and there's a good representation of its best output from this era here. Unlike the rest of the 14 built-in games, it's fair to say that most of these five will be an acquired taste, although arguably worth the effort for those with a more open mind.

Atic Atac (1983) and Knight Lore (1984) are two notoriously difficult isometric 3D action-adventure games, and considered among the best in their class. The former is a fast-paced, gothic-themed maze game focusing on survival and item collection, while the latter is an atmospheric puzzle-platformer that relies more on precision movements. Although the sound can be grating, the high-contrast visuals against the black background really pop on the Super Pocket's display. I also found the controls to be spot-on.

Jetpac (1983) and Lunar Jetman (1983) are two very different games in the same series. The former is a stand-out single-screen arcade-like experience where you build a rocket while defending against waves of aliens. The latter is the vehicle-based sequel that adds gravity and terrain exploration, greatly enhancing the scope. I found both games a bit more difficult to control on the handheld than I'd like, with awkward use of the L1 or R1 buttons to hold a hover.

Gunfright (1985) is a western-themed shooter that has isometric 3D exploration and pseudo-first-person quick-draw sequences. It's a unique and ambitious game, although again, the sound is incredibly grating.

Nintendo 64

Banjo-Kazooie (1998) is the one Nintendo 64 game included, the obvious marquee title, and one of the most acclaimed highlights from Rare's 3D era. Strictly speaking, this is not standard emulation, nor a remake, but the original game logic running natively on the Evercade hardware. This is a good thing because of the obvious lack of the Nintendo 64's analog stick and button layout on the Super Pocket.

The game is a 3D platformer brimming with personality where a bear and his bird companion journey through diverse, puzzle-filled worlds to defeat a wicked witch and rescue a kidnapped sister. While many Nintendo 64 games can look a bit rough, especially on modern displays, this port has a sharper, more refined appearance without changing the original look and feel.

In terms of controls, there's a Replay Mode and Retro Mode. Replay Mode attempts to modernize the controls within the Super Pocket's limitations, while Retro Mode tries to more closely mimic the original control scheme. Whichever mode you choose, there's going to be a learning curve, as there's just no good way to duplicate analog or camera controls with just button combinations. Fortunately, in-game button prompts map to the updated control scheme.

While I can't say this is the best way to play Banjo-Kazooie, it's still a solid portable experience if you put in the effort to learn the controls and don't mind the lack of controller rumble. One thing to note is that, as with other "native" Evercade games, it works a bit different from most other titles in the library. Instead of the usual save states, Banjo-Kazooie uses the original "Witchywarp" pads and save pedestals. You also have to power cycle the handheld to exit the game rather than being able to exit from the Game Menu button.

NES

Although perhaps not as technically well-regarded as the company's ZX Spectrum era, Rare nevertheless made some genuinely fun, and legendary, games for the NES. Many of the releases feature a refined isometric 3D perspective seen in the earlier ZX Spectrum titles.

Slalom (1986) is Rare's first NES release and a simple, fast-paced third-person skiing title. Cobra Triangle (1989) is an ambitious, multi-genre isometric 3D boat combat game. Snake Rattle 'n' Roll (1990) features the popular "eat-to-grow" gameplay mechanic and uses its isometric 3D perspective for exploration. Solar Jetman (1990) is the third game in the Jetman series after Lunar Jetman, and is like an evolved, if overly difficult conclusion to the original series with RPG-like elements. Battletoads (1991), which looked at the difficulty of other Rare games and said "hold my beer," is an iconic, genre-blending beat-em-up. R.C. Pro-Am II (1992) is an elevated sequel to what was already one of the best isometric 3D racing games ever made.

Difficulty aside, I had a great time with these NES games on the Super Pocket. The display and controls are well-suited to the platform's requirements.

SNES

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (1993) is the one SNES game included and the direct sequel to the original NES Battletoads. It's the same type of game on the SNES, just more refined.

For obvious reasons, you won't be able to enjoy the co-op modes on the Super Pocket, but everything else is spot on.

Game Boy Color

Conker's Pocket Tales (1999) is the lone Game Boy Color representative. It's a top-down, action-adventure game that serves as a family-friendly spin-off to the Conker series.

Since it's originally a handheld game, Conker's Pocket Tales plays perfectly on the Super Pocket and is a refreshing change-of-pace from the usual punishing difficulty of most Rare games.

HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Rare Edition – Cartridge Games

The Super Pocket's cartridge slot opens up access to the 87, and counting, Evercade collections, which carry anywhere from one to 20 additional games. It's an impressive list that totals around 750 total games to date, although not every game is the best match for the Super Pocket's built-in controls. This is especially true as Blaze opens up more support for games that benefit from analog controls.

As stated in my previous Super Pocket review, besides certain missing features, like TATE mode, and awkward placement of its shoulder buttons, the other missing functionality is online connectivity. As such, the Super Pockets don't get access to firmware updates or free games of the month, and are also unable to apply any updates to cartridges. On the rare chance a cartridge needs an update to run properly on the Super Pocket, it needs to be done on a mainline Evercade console, handheld, or bartop.

With all of that in mind, the Evercade cartridge collection is generally friendly to the Super Pocket's display and controls. Along with the Super Pocket, Blaze sent over the cartridge for NeoGeo Arcade 4, which features eight NeoGeo arcade games, and Activision Collection 3, which features 13 Atari 2600 games. Both of those recent cartridges are near perfect examples of games that work great on the Super Pocket, thanks to matching controls for the former, and low resolution games for the latter (in fact, the eighth Super Pocket is confirmed to be an Activision Edition). Of course, Activision Collection 3 features Kaboom! (1981), which would normally be a good thing, but not without a paddle controller. Otherwise, no complaints.

If you find you’d prefer to experience the marquee titles on a TV or with native analog sticks, it’s worth noting that Blaze is releasing a standalone Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack (which includes the sequel Banjo-Tooie) soon, highlighting the versatility of this wider ecosystem. That cartridge is also included as a pack-in with the upcoming Evercade Nexus.

Bill Loguidice is a contributing freelancer for IGN specializing in video game and computer hardware and accessories. He has several decades of experience and has written for a wide variety of publications. Bill has authored a dozen mass market books and was a writer and producer on a major feature film documentary on the history of video games.

Let's get straight to the point: if you have the money to spend and want the best sound quality, I'm going to tell you to go with the Audeze Maxwell 2. It's like having a home theater strapped to your head, and nothing sounds as good when it comes to gaming headsets. But there's more to picking out a gaming headset, right? Something like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni has a much wider range of features that turns a gaming headset into an all-in-one audio setup for every device you have. Still, not everyone has the money to blow on these state-of-the-art headsets, so I explored many more options below.

I've been reviewing gaming headsets for nearly a decade, putting them through their paces and breaking down sound quality, comfort, and all the other ridiculous features that manufacturers have packed in over the years. That includes my time here at IGN, having written full reviews of the headsets I'm recommending here alongside 120+ hours of additional side-by-side testing for this guide. With that hands-on experience, I've compiled a list of the best gaming headsets for all price ranges, as well as some alternatives, with all the reasons why you should pick one or the other.

TL;DR: These Are the Best Gaming Headsets:

How I Test Gaming Headsets

The time spent with these headsets for this guide is in addition to the time I spent during their initial review periods to make sure I refreshed my memory, determined if they've held up since then, and got more direct comparisons to make sure I picked the right one over another. To paint a more detailed picture of how I made these picks, here's a breakdown of my selection criteria:

• Audio quality – The expectation is a high-end audio experience that is fine-tuned to games with great positional audio and clarity across all frequencies. Music performance needs detailed sound incrementally pushed with higher volumes. A few exceptions can be made at lower price tiers, but it should not compromise an enjoyable listening experience.
• Comfort – Headsets must be wearable for at least four hours without a break; exceptions for a little sweatiness for leatherette earpads. High clamp force is taken into consideration, but this must be offset by padding that holds up for long sessions.
• Additional factors – Battery life, microphone clarity, and intuitive controls (both onboard and in software) are also factors in the selection process where applicable. Extraneous features such as 3D audio, active noise cancelling, scenario-based sound profiles, or simultaneous Bluetooth are considered as well, and could give the edge to one headset over another, but these are not required features for making the selection.
• Price tiers – There are so many headsets to choose from, so breaking them into price ranges helps 1) you navigate this guide, and 2) create an even playing field for the bevy of headsets that are worth their respective price tags. The following are the price ranges I considered for each category of gaming headset:
  • Best Wireless/Overall: $300 to $400
  • Best Wired: $200 to $350
  • Best Mid-range: $150 to $200
  • Best Budget: $50 to $120

Regardless of how much you're willing to spend, there's a gaming headset that will match your budget without having to sacrifice much on quality. But how did I come to these conclusions? Well, I tested more than 20 headsets, of which I selected a total of 12 for this guide, and used each for a minimum of 10 hours in-game across three different games to gauge their audio performance in various gameplay scenarios: Counter-Strike 2 ranked matches for positional sound in competitive gaming, Final Fantasy XIV raid instances for a "busy" sound experience, and The Last of Us Part II for cinematic single-player games. I also created a playlist on Spotify to hear how different music genres sound on each headset using the new Spotify premium lossless codec available to paying subscribers. This will give you a holistic perspective to cover the bases no matter what kinds of games (or use-cases) you need your headset for, and it's my basis for which all headsets have been equally tested on.

Best Gaming Headset

Audeze Maxwell 2

Also Great

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Omni

Best Wired Gaming Headset

Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro (closed-back) and 330 Pro (open-back)

Best Mid-Range Gaming Headset

Razer BlackShark V3

Best Budget Gaming Headset

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 (wired) and Nova 3 (wireless)

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag came out way back in 2013, and while the game was demanding for its time, PC gaming has come a long way in the last thirteen years or so. If Ubisoft simply released a remaster for the game, it’d likely be extremely easy to run, even on weaker hardware. But, instead, the game uses the same version of the Anvil Engine as last year’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and that game was absolutely gorgeous, even if it was hard to run on low-end hardware.

With Black Flag Resynced, though, Ubisoft seems to have widened the net of hardware that’ll be able to run the game well. Because where I wouldn’t even think about running Assassin's Creed Shadows on a handheld gaming PC, Black Flag Resynced has three whole presets for handheld gaming PCs.

At the high-end, Black Flag Resynced is an incredibly gorgeous and demanding PC game, but it’s still scalable enough to run on pretty much any modern machine. Ubisoft itself is only requiring an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and an AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT to run the game, and that’s not exactly a ton of horsepower.

What’s Old is New Again

Even though Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a remake of a now-ancient game, it’s absolutely stunning. The game looks a lot like Shadows, with luscious vegetation and some of the most beautiful water effects I’ve seen lately. The latter is super important, obviously, as you spend a lot of time on the Jackdaw doing, you know, pirate stuff.

That’s actually where the game performs best, too, in my experience. The worst performance patches are when you’re walking through a crowded street with a lot of NPCs. But when you’re out sailing and engaging in a bit of ship-to-ship combat, frame rates soar. This is likely because the game doesn’t have to render so many individual NPCs, and the wide-open areas make shadow work a lot less demanding.

Luckily, Ubisoft actually included a wide array of knobs and buttons to let you tune how the game looks and performs. Unlike 007 First Light, which launched back in May with no graphics preset and a pretty small amount of individual settings to change, Black Flag Resynced has 10 different presets ranging from “Handheld Low” to “Ultra High”. And beyond just the presets, there are 20 different settings you can tweak to really dial the image in.

Just like with pretty much every modern game, Ubisoft released system requirements for Black Flag Resynced calling out certain resolutions and quality settings for each ‘tier’ of hardware. For its 1440p setup, which I still think is the golden standard of PC gaming, Ubisoft calls for an RTX 3080 or an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. I don’t have a 3080 lying around right now – that GPU is six years old at this point – but I do have an RTX 4070, which performs at about the same level. Now, Ubisoft says it should be able to do 60 fps on the ‘High’ preset with ray tracing set to ‘Standard’ at 1440p, and that’s with dynamic resolution and DLSS enabled.

With those settings, the RTX 4070 is able to exceed that 60 fps threshold, coming in with an average of 76 fps. But, when I turn off dynamic resolution and leave DLSS set to ‘balanced’, the frame rate actually goes up, averaging 100 fps, but with a bit of a softer image. That’s because the dynamic resolution algorithm wants to keep you as close to 60 fps as possible, scaling up the resolution when it has the overhead to do so.

Of course, I’m never satisfied just using a preset, so I did a bit of tweaking, lowering the quality of clouds and getting rid of hair strands, in order to boost water quality, loading distance, and ‘micropolygon,’ which reduces pop-in at the cost of memory – and the 4070 has plenty to spare at 1440p. With my custom settings, I got an average of 101 fps, but with better water and less pop-in. And, sure, hair doesn’t look as good, but does that really matter in a game where you’ll be spending a lot of time on a ship in the middle of the ocean? I don’t think it does.

Even if you don’t like upscaling, my custom settings get an average of 65 fps at native 1440p. However, they do dip down to the high 50s when you’re in a crowd.

Best PC Settings for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

For most people that just want to boot up the game, pick a graphics preset and just start playing, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is one of the best games to do that with. But, if you want to dive in and get the best image without losing too much performance, you’re going to have to tweak the settings a bit. Luckily, I can help explain what all the little knobs actually do.

Raytracing Mode: Ubisoft has included two different types of presets here, just like it did with Assassin's Creed Shadows. The standard mode just enables ray traced global illumination, and the extended mode also enables ray traced reflections. Unless you have a beast of a GPU, I’d recommend sticking with standard. It doesn’t tax performance too much, and it does make the game look quite a bit better.

Raytracing Quality: This changes the resolution and quantity of rays being cast. When you set the ray tracing mode to standard, this will default to Medium. You can turn it up if you want, but it will make a huge impact to performance, especially in complicated scenes and it doesn’t even make that big of a difference to image quality.

BVH Quality: BVH stands for bounding volume hierarchy, which essentially calculates how many objects in the environment rays can bounce off of. Basically, lower settings means light rays bounce off of fewer objects, and higher settings means more light bounces. Just like with ray tracing quality, leave this as-is unless you have a powerful GPU.

Character Quality: This changes how NPCs look. Unlike some games, this is baking in a lot of different settings into one. This will change character meshes, shadows, and can even wipe the beards off of characters faces. I’d leave this on high, because crowds are already the most demanding part of this game, and changing to very high doesn’t really make a difference.

Hair Strands: This setting will animate individual hair strands either just on Edward Kenway’s head or on every character. As cool as the effect looks, I don’t think it’s a really valuable use of GPU resources. But, hey, if not having more realistic hair is a dealbreaker for you, it’s there if you want it. Everyone else should probably just turn it off, though.

Post Effects: Just like with character quality, this setting changes the quality of all the post-processing effects. Things like bloom, LoD and godrays. I leave it on high, but if you like those spiffy little effects, feel free to turn it up a bit, it won’t make that much of a difference to your performance.

Particles Quality: This simply changes the quality of particle effects. There are a lot of them in Black Flag Resynced, so I’d keep it as high as you can without losing performance. However, the stronger your CPU is, the less of an impact this will have.

Water Quality: This changes the quality of the water. Honestly, this is probably the most important setting here. This game is famously chock-full of the stuff, and it looks absolutely stunning when it’s maxed out. I would lower other settings just to have the water quality higher. But, obviously if you have a lower-end GPU, you might have to make do with lower settings.

Texture Resolution Quality: This is just the texture quality setting. Turn it down, and the resolution of textures goes down. Turn it up, and the opposite happens. Rule of thumb is to turn it up as high as you can without running out of VRAM. With the RTX 4070, that didn’t happen, but if you have less than 8GB of VRAM, you’ll have to turn this down

Loading distance: This changes the distance at which objects are loaded into the game. Whenever I’m playing a huge open world game like Assassin's Creed, especially when there’s a whole mechanic built around climbing huge towers to scope out your surroundings, I like having the load distance higher. Now, that comes at the cost of VRAM and CPU performance, so turn this down if you start stuttering.

Geometry Quality: While loading distance changes how distant objects are rendered, this changes the quality of nearby objects. There’s very little difference between high and very high, so I’d just leave it at high unless you’re facing VRAM issues.

Micropolygon: Micropolygon sounds like the name of a King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard album, but it’s actually awesome that Ubisoft has included it here. This changes the amount of memory allocated to render objects in the scene. Turning it up reduces pop-in. I’ve been playing the game with this setting maxed out and have experienced virtually no texture pop-in. This is worth cranking up if you have the VRAM budget for it.

Screen Space Effects: This is another setting that changes multiple things, namely ambient occlusion and reflections. These are some of the most taxing effects in modern games, so they should be the first thing you turn down when you’re running into performance problems. On the 4070, though, I run it at high, and have no problem staying above 60 fps.

Light Source Quality: This changes the quality of the light sources in the game. This is another setting that’ll really push your GPU, so I’d leave it high unless you have a powerful card like the RTX 5070 or Radeon RX 9070. It does look pretty good maxed out, though.

Shadow Quality: This changes the quality of shadows, and also how far away from you they can render. Shadows are always an effect that can hit performance hard, but the high setting keeps the game looking rich, without tanking your frame rates too much.

Cloud Quality: This might be a hot take, but I don’t really care how the skybox looks in a game. This setting can make the clouds look absolutely gorgeous, but unless you’re staring at the sky, you’re probably not going to notice it. As such, this is one of the first things I’d turn down, just to move some of the GPU budget towards things that matter, like water quality.

Fog Quality: This setting changes the density of fog effects. Just like with clouds, it’s nice to have really nice looking fog, but not a necessity. Turn it up if you have oodles of GPU budget, but it’s not really worth its performance cost.

Terrain Quality: Another setting that changes two settings. This changes the loading distance of terrain geometry, and also affects tesselation. Leave this one at high, there really isn’t that much of a difference between that and the ultra high setting.

Scatter Density: This just changes the density of clutter on the ground. I have it set to high, but I can barely tell the difference between the low setting and the highest setting.

Deformation: Deformation just changes the quality of things like footprints in the sand. It’s a minor effect, but it’s always cool leaving footprints in the terrain. But this is another effect that you can turn down to save GPU budget.

Terrain Texture Quality: What do you know, a second texture quality setting has appeared! This just changes the textures of terrain, which will be particularly noticeable on beaches. Just like the other texture setting, turn this as high as your VRAM will allow. It won’t really impact performance until you run out of memory.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

There’s no way around it, the Steam Machine is extremely expensive for the level of performance you get out of it. I still think that anyone who’s only looking to play games would probably be better served with a PS5 or an Xbox Series X, especially if you don’t already have a Steam library. In general, the Steam Machine performs very similarly to the PS5, even if it falls short in some of the games I’ve tested.

As a follow up to my review of the Steam Machine, I pulled up four games to test side-by-side with the PS5 in ‘Performance’ mode, which typically locks games to a solid 60 fps, to see exactly how well Valve's mini PC holds up.

And while there are certainly moments where Valve’s little cube falls on its face a bit, I’m still surprised by how much power Valve was able to get into such a tiny package.

Consoles vs PC

It’s so hard to directly compare the PS5 and the Steam Machine. PCs, like the Steam Machine, have way more room for adjusting the way that games look and perform, while consoles will typically have two preset options that don’t really give you a good idea of what's changing.

In general, console games tend to be optimized around specific frame rate targets, changing the internal resolution in order to maintain it. There are some games that’ll let you do that on PC, for sure, but typically it’ll just automatically adjust the upscaling factor for DLSS, FSR, XeSS or whichever other upscaling method the game uses.

For the games that don’t support dynamic resolution, you have to dial in the settings yourself. Typically this means you can scale down the image quality enough to get more than 60 fps in most games – including on the Steam Machine – but particularly busy scenes might cause the frame rate to drop below that target. That doesn’t sound great, but that’s just PC gaming, baby.

Usually, when I’m running weaker hardware, particularly when I’m reviewing something like a handheld gaming PC, I try to target a frame rate higher than 60 when possible, so that when intense effects pop up out of nowhere, I don’t drop to 30 fps. It’s not a perfect solution, and sometimes it straight up doesn’t work, but it’s just a rule of thumb anyways.

How Does The Steam Machine Perform?

To test the Steam Machine against the PS5, I set quality settings to each game’s ‘medium’ preset. Then, I set the outgoing resolution to 4K (3840x2160) with FSR set to ‘Performance’. That’s not a perfect 1:1, but it does give a good baseline of how the Steam Machine performs compared to the PS5. Because while most developers will make finer adjustments to things like shadows or global illumination, generally speaking, the ‘medium’ preset is pretty close to what you’d see on the PS5.

I tested four games; Cyberpunk 2077, 007 First Light, Resident Evil Requiem, and Death Stranding 2. Surprisingly, at least in Cyberpunk and Resident Evil, the Steam Machine had no problem matching the console. However, the other two didn’t quite hold up.

In Cyberpunk 2077, the Steam Machine averaged 68 fps at the medium preset with FSR 3 set to Performance at 4K. There are a couple moments where Valve’s mini PC dips down to 56 fps, but most of the time it’s running at an extremely smooth 60-70 fps instead.

That’s exactly what the PS5 version does, too. CD Projekt Red have put in a ton of work over the last five years and optimized Cyberpunk to run super well on everything. And on the PS5, it runs at a completely locked 60 fps. So it doesn’t quite have the same highs that the Steam Machine version does, but it doesn’t have the same lows either.

However, when I zoom in on Cyberpunk, the PS5 version looks a little bit better than what’s running on the PS5. If I zoom in on Jackie’s earring, you can see much more detail on the PS5 version. Likewise, zooming in on the wallpaper behind him, the little designs are more blurry on the Steam Machine. This is a side effect of the lower texture quality on the Medium preset, and there is probably enough VRAM budget left on the Steam Machine to tweak that.

Likewise, in Resident Evil Requiem, the Steam Machine averages 60 fps, well, 59.74 if you want to be exact. I tested in the first part the game, where you’re walking through a rainy street, leading to the Wrenwood Hotel. There are a couple moments where the Steam Machine drops to the low 50s, like when Grace is talking to the cop in a cutscene, but for the most part the Steam Machine has no problem staying locked between 58 and 63 fps.

The PS5 version, just like with Cyberpunk, is just locked at 60 fps on its performance mode. But while the console version technically doesn’t have the same lows, you probably wouldn’t notice the difference when you’re actually sitting down and playing the game.

The Steam Machine really starts to struggle with 007 First Light, though. I talked about this game a little bit in my review, but the new James Bond game averages 53 fps at 4K, with FSR set to ‘performance’ and a mixture of medium and low settings. However, the base PS5 stays locked at 60 fps on its performance mode. That seems pretty close at first glance, but there are moments where, for instance, lots of explosions go off, where the Steam Machine drops to about 35 fps for a moment.

That’s a lot worse than the PS5, but by dropping the final resolution to 1800p on the Steam Machine, the frame rate goes up to around a 70 fps average, without the same drops. And, even with that lower resolution, the Steam Machine version actually looks a bit better.

For instance, here if you zoom into the explosive barrels and crates in the scene I tested, they actually look cleaner and less fuzzy on the Steam Machine than the PS5. After all, rather than allowing for a lower frame rate, the PS5 drops the internal resolution as low as 720p to keep the frame rate as high as possible.

But even when 007 First Light isn’t pushing either system super hard, the Steam Machine still has a sharper image. At the beginning of my sample, when Bond is walking through the woods, zooming in on his character model shows some extreme aliasing, particularly on his left arm. Then, next to him, vegetation has more robust shadows on the PS5, but at the cost of resolution.

You can make that same trade off on the Steam Machine too, but I, for one, wouldn’t take slightly better shadows at the cost of a fuzzier presentation. Then again, being able to make that choice in the first place is what PC gaming is all about.

The Steam Machine fares its worst in Death Stranding 2. I set the resolution for 2160p, with FSR set to performance and the Medium preset, and only got an average of 35 fps. Some of that boils down to the scene I tested, what with it being night time and having a lot of vegetation and water. But in that same scene, the PS5 is again locked at a steady 60 fps.

But unlike 007 First Light, where it was just a question of tweaking with the resolution to get it to run at the same level as the PS5, I straight up could not get this game running at a steady 60 fps. Dropping the resolution down to 1440p and lowering the settings to the ‘Low’ preset, the game still sat around 45-50 fps.

It wasn’t until I lowered the output resolution to 1080p at the ‘Medium’ preset and enabled Dynamic Resolution Scaling that I was able to get a stable 60 fps in Death Stranding 2. And, that was while I was still playing on a 4K display – that never bodes well.

Looking at this tweaked version of Death Stranding 2 next to the base PS5 on performance mode, it’s a night and day difference. While staying at a locked 60 fps, the PS5 has more dense vegetation and better global illumination and shadows. Meanwhile, the Steam Machine makes Death Stranding look like something from the PS4 era – if not earlier.

It’s still a functional way to play the game, but it looks like what you’d expect from a handheld gaming PC, rather than a desktop machine, no matter how small it is. Keep in mind, though, that Death Stranding 2 was one of the biggest PS5 games last year, so it’s not crazy to assume Kojima Productions put in a bunch of extra work really making it look great on the base PS5. But even then, that gap is still hard to look at.

Still, for the most part, the Steam Machine and the PS5 typically perform at around the same level, plus or minus a few percentage points in Sony’s favor. Even after this testing, I still recommend anyone that just wants a pure gaming machine to stick with consoles for now. The Steam Machine still is, at its core, a mini gaming PC.

Any PC that’s as small as the Steam Machine is – and it’s really small – is going to have some kind of trade off. It’s worth remembering that the Steam Machine is nearly a third of the PS5’s size, and doesn’t get anywhere near as loud under load. That’s still not going to be enough to make the $1,049 price tag worth it for a lot of people, but if you’re in that niche, you’re really not losing that much performance by buying a Steam Machine – at least if you’re not playing Death Stranding 2.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

The Steam Machine is an awesome little system with serious gaming chops and cute aesthetics. They make a great entry-point for PC gaming if you’ve been sitting on the sidelines for a while and want that console-like experience, with some added PC functionality. But like everything else in 2026, they’re a bit expensive, and like everything Valve makes, hard to buy right now.

Fortunately, along with releasing the Steam Machine to the masses, Valve also dropped an updated version of SteamOS which works well with AMD GPUs, making it much easier to build your own homebrew Steam Machine. Yes, Bazzite is an option and is arguably more fleshed out, but if we’re going to be building our own Steam Machine, let’s use the real deal and make it as comparable as we can.

I’ve gone through more retailer listings than I can count, and here’s what I’ve managed to come up with for a DIY Steam Machine that will outperform what Valve made, for (slightly) less money. It’s not as compact, but it’s far more upgradeable, far easier to work with, and with its off-the-shelf components, far easier to fix and maintain, too.

The Build

From the outset, I wanted this build to be relatively compact, but there was no way we were going to be able to compete with the Steam Machine’s super-svelte design. It’s using bespoke hardware to deliver its performance and cooling potential in such a small footprint, and we just don’t have access to that.

What we do have, is an enormous range of components from a massive list of manufacturers, so we’ll be targeting a Micro-ATX system, which is smaller than a standard desktop system, but doesn’t have the price premium of maintenance headaches of Mini-ITX. So it's a mATX motherboard, mATX case, and nothing too huge on the cooling or GPU front.

The total comes in $58 less than Valve’s Steam Machine, giving us a useful saving that is well worth pocketing. However, if you still have that money handy and want to put it to good use, there are some upgrade options that aren’t too expensive you might want to consider. A faster CPU, dual-channel memory, maybe a bump to the next tier of GPU?

Let’s take a closer look at each of these components, why we chose them, and what alternatives there might be if your budget is a little lighter or has a bit more room to manoeuvre.

CPU – AMD Ryzen 5 7600X

CPU Cooler – Thermalright Assassin X120 Refined SE

Motherboard – ASRock B650M-HDV

RAM – PNY Performance 16GB (1x16GB) DDR5 RAM 5600MHz

GPU – ASRock Radeon RX 7600 Challenger 8GB OC

SSD – KingSpec NX Series 512GB

Power Supply – be quiet! Pure Power 12 650W

PC Case – Montech AIR 100 ARGB Micro-ATX Tower

With the recent news that Sony is going to end production of physical discs in 2028, gamers are bracing for an all-digital future. And with an all-digital future, it's almost certain that the upcoming PS6 console won't include any sort of disc drive built in.

That's obviously devastating for any PlayStation gamers who like to own real copies of their games, but it's also potentially bad for another physical media industry: Movies. The PlayStation 5 is one of the best entry-level Blu-ray players for watching 4K movies these days.

Here at IGN, we cover 4K Blu-ray releases pretty regularly. What I'd like to find out is just how much of our audience that cares about collecting physical movies and shows is actually using their PS5 to watch them?

The PlayStation news isn't going to have any sort of direct impact on the Blu-ray industry any time soon, of course. According a fairly recent sales report, the 4K Blu-ray category specifically saw growth in 2025 for the first time in years. And all of the people who already own a PS5 with a disc drive to watch movies aren't going to lose access to anything.

What could affect the industry is what happens after the PS6 arrives years from now with no way of playing any sort of physical media. Sony isn't just in the video game space, they are also one of the biggest producers and distributors of Blu-rays in general. If the company is looking to move away from producing physical discs for games, movies and shows could be the next step.

What Do You Think?

What I mostly want to know is just how many IGN readers are currently relying on their PS5 to watch the 4K movies they buy. If most people are relying on their console to access this part of their media collection, what does that mean for the future? Please let us know what you think in the comments.

Since its debut in 2020, the Iskur has reigned supreme as Razer’s flagship gaming chair. Just as the Iskur V2 replaced the original and became one of the best gaming chairs, the aptly named Iskur V2 NewGen has arrived to become the new standard Iskur in Razer’s line-up. Its updates are subtle, but they make this already great gaming chair even better.

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen – Design and Features

While the vast majority of gaming chairs are content to offer race car-like aesthetics and bucket-style seats, the Razer Iskur's iconic snake-inspired design stands apart. It's still unmistakably a gaming chair – and a big one at that – but its appearance is more “Razer” than it is “sports car,” and that makes it unique in today’s gaming landscape.

While it feels original, there is no mistaking it for anything but a gaming chair. While it sets itself apart from more generic gaming seats, it shares enough DNA that it’s clearly meant to appeal to “classic” gaming tastes. The backrest and seat are wide enough that I never felt "hugged" in place and was free to cross my legs if I felt like it. Both still feature aesthetic bolsters, however. There’s also Razer’s large three-headed snake logo behind your head (or more correctly, behind the included memory foam pillow) and if you choose the classic black and green, bright accent stitching also pops against the black EPU leather.

If you're considering the Razer Iskur, though, there's a good chance you're choosing it because of its look, not in spite of it. Razer has done a good job of giving the chair a strong visual identity, but the design backs it up with solid build quality and ergonomics.

The snakeskin lumbar support is more than just flashy looks. Behind its upholstery, Razer has implemented an adjustable lumbar system that leverages knobs on either side to position its height and depth. This iteration includes Razer HyperFlex technology which allows it to react to your movements and supply consistent support as you shift position. In theory, you should be able to dial in the support to perfectly match your body, though in practice, it always felt slightly aggressive to me. I didn’t mind, but someone else might.

It also offers a range of other adjustments to cater to different types of gaming or upright work. It features a Class 4 piston, supporting gamers up to 300 pounds, and can extend to offer a height range of 17 to 21 inches. The wheelbase is aluminum for long-term durability and was easily able to support me lying into its 152-degree recline. Sitting upright, its rocking motion can be locked, or you can lock it into a leaning position if that’s your preference. It also features the staple tension knob under the seat to adjust how much resistance you feel when leaning back.

The armrests are worth remarking on for their comfort above all. The foam cushioning Razer uses is clearly chosen with real gamers in mind, leaning in toward their monitors during intense matches. In short, they’re made to be leaned into without causing you pain, and work exceptionally well. The armrests offer all of the expected “4D” adjustments for height, depth, width, and angle. Razer’s armrests always seem to offer a little bit of extra height, and that’s also the case here. It’s a small touch, but altogether, these “4D armrests” wind up feeling slightly more versatile than others carrying the label.

The upholstery is excellent, and more breathable than the prior Iskur V2. It uses Razer's Gen-2 EPU leather with CoolTouch technology and claims up to 13 times improved durability over traditional PU leather. Time will be the ultimate judge of durability, but taking a concerted look at improving the breathability and cooling of a faux leather chair is always worth the effort. If you’re unconvinced, one case of the mid-summer back sweats will set you right, don’t worry.

The other big upgrade coming with the Iskur NewGen is the addition of dual-density foam into the seat. In essence, Razer has added a softer upper layer to the seat while maintaining the same high-durability cold-cure foam underneath. The result is a more comfortable out-of-the-box seating experience without the loss in support that would usually follow as a trade-off.

Overall, the changes with this release are small, but since the NewGen is replacing the existing version, this “new” release feels more like a way to add some extra features and keep the Iskur line competitive while the V3 cooks. It’s a slightly better version of the Iskur V2 we know and love, and since there’s no price increase to go with it, it’s essentially Razer offering more for your money. I’m good with that.

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen – Assembly

Assembling the Razer Iskur V2 NewGen is completely standard if you've ever built a gaming chair before. If you haven't, Razer provides everything you'll need right in the box, including a detailed set of instructions, all of the tools you’ll need, and even a pair of soft fabric gloves so you don’t sully its metal parts with your fingerprints.

There aren't many surprises to be had here, but given the size and weight of the chair, it is beneficial to have an extra set of hands when it comes time to flip it over. Razer has done a good job of simplifying the process, however, so you should be able to do all of the assembly solo if you can get past that last step. The armrests come pre-installed, for example, and installing the backrest was much simpler thanks to a helpful bracket.

With photos included, assembly took about 20 minutes by myself. Newcomers should find it to be an easy project.

Razer Iskur V2 NewGen – Comfort and Performance

Given how similar it is to the original Razer Iskur V2, it should come as no surprise that the Iskur V2 NewGen is even better. As I mentioned in the earlier section, the quality of the upholstery and broader construction is excellent. Given its high asking price, it should feel like a premium seat and truly does, even in comparison to stalwarts like DXRacer and Maxnomic.

I was a fan of the lumbar system on the original V2 and it's largely the same here. Razer's HyperFlex system does a good job of being able to match the curvature of my back and provide the support I need, as well as offering flexibility to match my movements throughout the day. Once I had it dialed, I was able to use it across full work days without back or neck pain.

Part of this is because of the lumbar support system, but it is also because the backrest is contoured around the shoulder to guide you toward its center where its cushioning can best distribute your weight and avoid pressure points that lead to soreness over time. This isn’t snake oil: follow the performance seating industry into its upper echelons and you’ll find that the best chairs consider these same qualities to an even greater degree. How cushions apply pressure to your body makes a difference, which means how and where your body meets those cushions also matters.

I also have to give kudos to Razer for its excellent neck pillow. While it's hardly the only company to offer a memory foam pillow with its chairs, it's shaped to cradle your neck and head and is just oh-so comfortable. I only wish it were magnetic so repositioning it was easier.

The NewGen’s CoolTouch EPU fabric is noticeably softer than traditional PU leather, though I didn’t notice it to be cooler in my testing. I tested the chair in New York in a climate controlled environment and it just felt like a soft, high-quality synthetic leather. My friend that lives in Las Vegas had a different experience and noticed the improvement right away. The fact that he was battling the heat at the same time tells me that my environment probably didn’t bring out the chair’s potential.

The dual density foam was much more noticeable. I have been a fan of this approach in every chair I've tried it in so far because in every case, it has been noticeably softer out of the box than most cold cure foams tend to be. The seat also has microperforations to make it more breathable and to work in concert with the CoolTouch layer in the fabric.

The armrests are again a win for Razer. They feel high quality thanks to their metal construction but also luxurious thanks to the chrome finish. They're very comfortable, and the wider range of adjustments possible make gaming with a controller as simple as gaming with mouse and keyboard and transitioning between the two near-seamlessly.

Overall, the Razer Iskur V2 NewGen is impressive: it offers a strong combination of support, comfort, premium materials, and build quality, topped with an eye-catching style that’s sure to earn a few questions. It feels a bit safe, but given that it’s a small upgrade to an already popular chair, Razer didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. Just polish it a bit, and that’s the Iskur V2 NewGen in a nutshell.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

Now that I’ve spent more time with the Steam Machine, I can’t stop myself from looking at Grand Theft Auto 6 looming on the horizon and thinking about how it’d theoretically run on Valve’s new mini gaming PC. Now, of course, it’s going to be a year or two before Rockstar deigns to grace PC gamers with GTA 6, but once it does, it’ll probably be an incredibly demanding PC game.

Since the Steam Machine came out, its performance has been, well, heavily discussed online, to say the least. It’s not hard to see why some folks are skeptical of Valve's little PC – it does cost $1049 to start and is slightly slower than the PS5 most of the time. In spite of that, though, Rockstar’s last couple of PC launches, namely Red Dead Redemption 2 and the Enhanced Edition of Grand Theft Auto V, have been monuments to the scalability of PC games. So the Steam Machine might be more capable of handling everyone’s favorite crime simulator better than you might think.

GTA 6 Needs to Be On PC First

Now before the Steam Machine even has a chance of running Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar actually has to release it on PC. It’s basically inevitable that a PC version will eventually come out, but, according to a Bloomberg interview with Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, Rockstar instead wants to focus on its core audience – whatever that means – on consoles before releasing a PC version.

This isn’t new, GTA 5 didn’t come out on PC until 2015, two years after it launched on PS3 and Xbox 360, and Red Dead Redemption 2 had a similar gap. But even in the eight years since Red Dead 2, PC gaming has exploded in popularity to the point where Zelnick himself admitted in that same interview with Bloomberg that PC can make up around 50% of a game’s sales these days.

Maybe Rockstar is just stuck in its ways a bit, but at least with Zelnick recognizing the huge market of PC gamers out there, maybe we won’t have to wait a year and a half for a PC port. Maybe, it’ll just be a year instead. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.

It’s All About Scalability

Modern Rockstar games have a bit of a weird history with their PC ports. Grand Theft Auto 4 was an absolute nightmare when it came out, but mostly because it required the dreaded Games For Windows Live – which caused performance problems, compatibility issues, and god forbid you ever try to run it on a second machine.

But in the years since, Rockstar’s games have gotten so much better on PC. While I personally find it annoying that Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t have any strictly defined graphics presets, that’s really only a problem for testing hardware. Thankfully, for actually tuning the game to run on a wide variety of hardware, Rockstar threw in all kinds of graphics options that make it one of the most scalable games out there right now. Plus, the company embraced the Vulkan engine, which also helps it scale, especially outside of Windows 11.

You can, if you want, make Red Dead Redemption 2 look like absolute garbage. That doesn’t sound appealing right off the bat, but it also means that you can get it to run on pretty much anything. Low Spec Gamer, for instance, was able to get it to run on an 11th-gen Core i3 mobile chip from 2020, albeit at around 20-30 fps. For all the talk about the Steam Machine being underpowered, it’s not that underpowered.

Just a couple days ago, Digital Foundry suggested that, based on the trailers we’ve seen so far for GTA 6, the game will probably run at 30 fps on the base consoles, due to the CPU demand of the open world and Rockstar’s preference to lean more towards quality than performance in its console releases. I don’t think that’s wrong, but once the PC version is out there, Rockstar has a track record of giving gamers a lot of knobs to adjust how the game looks and performs.

Running Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K with FSR set to Performance, and all the settings mixed between medium, high and ultra, the Steam Machine gets a solid 65 fps. It does look a bit worse than the PS5 version does, but it runs very smoothly on Valve’s PC. Grand Theft Auto 5’s Enhanced Edition also runs really well on the high preset with ray tracing, getting around 60-70 fps depending on where I am.

GTA 6 is going to be more demanding, for sure – just look at the trailer – but I don’t think the Steam Machine’s problem is going to be a graphics problem. The Steam Machine’s problem is probably going to be a SteamOS problem, especially if you want to play GTA Online.

Anti-Cheat, The Bane of SteamOS

Right now, if you look at Grand Theft Auto 5 on the Steam Deck, the Steam Machine, or really any other PC that’s running Linux, you’ll see a big ol’ banner telling you that it’s unsupported. That’s a bit misleading, the game will absolutely run on SteamOS, but only if you want to play the story mode.

GTA Online, which is certainly not going anywhere once GTA 6 launches, uses BattlEye Anti-Cheat, and that doesn’t play well with SteamOS because it needs kernel access. Now, Rockstar could, with its vast resources, probably get a workaround that runs on Linux. But, remember, this is the same company that says its core audience is console gamers. Even when the PC version inevitably comes out, I just don’t see Rockstar paying much mind to SteamOS compatibility issues.

Because no matter how great gaming on Linux has grown over the last few years, it’s still a very small segment of PC gamers. According to the latest Steam Hardware Survey, Linux makes up for just 3.9% of Steam’s install base. That’s admittedly more than macOS, but I don’t think it’ll be enough to convince Rockstar to change its Anti-Cheat service of choice.

There will come a time when GTA 6 runs on the Steam Machine – I don’t think there’s really a question of whether or not the game will work. However, Valve’s little PC will probably only be able to run the single-player campaign, and at graphics settings that might make it look a bit worse than its console counterparts.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Remember the Honeycomb Aeronautical Echo Aviation Controller, the intense PC flight sim gamepad that came out last year? Well, the company has announced a new one, the Echo Aviation Controller XPC, coming to "wannabe pilots" who own Xbox Series X|S consoles later this year.

It looks like the same controller that the company released last year, just with a big Xbox button at the top of the pad. It's still lousy (complimentary) with buttons, rear rudder sliders, throttle sliders, switches, and knobs inspired by actual flight controls. It's apparently everything required for "pitch, roll, yaw, throttle, trim, and core aircraft systems."

The Echo Aviation Controller XPC shares little in common with any of the Xbox controllers you've come to know and love. It does have a TMR analog stick, but instead of rear buttons, it features sliding, hall effects rudder sliders that move in opposition to each other – when one goes up, the other goes down – to simulate actual aircraft rudder pedals. Its face buttons sport the usual Xbox-style ABXY layout, except they're on the left side of the controller, just above the analog stick, rather than on the right. (You probably won't be playing any FromSoftware games with it, although I'd be delighted to try. Can't make me any worse at Elden Ring than I already am, right?)

This new flight pad will have some customizability, like the original. You'll be able to swap out the caps on the sliders, for instance. It appears as though this one will work wirelessly or wired, based on the promo images Honeycomb shared with IGN. (The previous model uses a USB dongle for wireless connectivity, rather than Bluetooth.) And although it's designed for the Xbox, it will still work on a PC, making it potentially an even better choice.

To see the controller in action, check out Honeycomb's YouTube video for the original, which does a pretty good job showing the customizable throttle sliders and how each of its numerous controls work. The original costs $150, but the press release didn't say how much the Echo Aviation Controller XPC will cost when it's released in the fall.

Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.

Turtle Beach may be one of the most well-known brands in video game audio, but it still has to show up when it comes to new product releases. That’s more true now than ever, which makes its new flagship, the Stealth Pro II, important. It’s part of a burgeoning class of gaming headsets that splits the difference between gaming and audiophilia, headphones you might wear on a commute and a headset that you might wear at a competition. The result is one of the best, but most expensive, gaming headsets of the year – and you might want to consider saving up.

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II – Design and Features

Released only two years ago, the original Stealth Pro was a value-oriented alternative to headsets like the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. If you wanted access to an infinite battery system – in my opinion, one of the absolute best advancements gaming headsets have seen in years – you could expect to pay big. And while that was true of the Stealth Pro as well, it came in around $30 cheaper, which made it a decent option if you didn’t mind making a few concessions.

One of those concessions was definitely appearance: the original Stealth Pro looked too utilitarian for its price point. Its successor suffers none of these same stylistic missteps. Quite the contrary, it actually seems obvious that Turtle Beach plans on gamers using the Stealth Pro II throughout the day whether they’re gaming or out in public.

The headset is available in white or black, but both look equally slick. The earcups are bigger and more ovular to seal better around each ear. The feel of the fabric is softer and feels more breathable in side-by-side tests, though I doubt most people could tell without having both headsets to directly compare against. The headband has now adopted an elastic weave like the AirPods Max, which I found immediately more comfortable.

Aesthetically, I’m a big fan of the clean, mixed-materials look Turtle Beach went for here. Each earcup blends matte plastic with a color-matched hybrid fabric cushion and a brushed aluminum face plate. It’s a material sandwich and makes the Stealth Pro II feel more luxurious and carefully crafted than the majority of gaming headsets. With the microphone removed, the only real tell that it’s a gaming headset at all is if you happen to recognize the Turtle Beach logo.

The headset's most notable feature is the return of the hot-swappable battery system and its base station charging dock. This was present on the original Stealth Pro and, as it has been on each of the handful of headsets that have featured it, is probably the single best quality-of-life feature headsets have acquired in recent years. The system comes with two batteries. While one is powering your headset, the other is safely in the charging dock, ready to be swapped in at any moment. The dead battery goes back to recharge so you always have a full battery ready to go. The changeover is fast but there is a short drop out in between.

The batteries have been massively upgraded, more than tripling uptime each, with around 40 hours of real-world gaming. It’s long enough to effectively not worry about and to guarantee that the other battery will be completely charged and ready to go when the time comes.

The sound quality and audio processing, including active noise cancellation, have all been tuned up and upgraded. The headset comes with Turtle Beach’s Eclipse Dual Drivers, which are bigger (60mm versus the Stealth Pro’s 50mm) and now house a subwoofer and tweeter on each side, physically separating the bass from the mids and highs. The updated drivers also offer a wider frequency response range of 10 Hz to 40 kHz, which is well beyond the bounds of human hearing. While the human ear typically caps out at 20 kHz, this sonic overhead allows the drivers to reproduce audible sounds with plenty of headroom so that everything you do hear is pristine

Active noise cancellation has also been improved and is much more effective at blocking out the typical sounds of a human home. That said, the cabin pressure effect is especially noticeable, so I’d avoid this headset if you’re sensitive. I found myself popping my ears more than any pair of ANC headphones I’ve used (and I’ve used a lot).

The microphone is great. As a bit of a microphone nerd, I couldn't be happier to see this level of quality on a wireless gaming headset. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II features a large nine-millimeter unidirectional microphone, capable of delivering a full-bodied sound typically reserved for desktop microphones. It is detachable, so you can take it on the go without giving away that you’re wearing a gaming headset. The software also allows you to apply different EQs, so you can dial in your perfect “radio voice.”

As the focus on sound quality and the detachable microphone implies, this headset is designed to be just as good for music and calls as it is for gaming. It supports Bluetooth 5.3 in addition to the 2.4 GHz connection to its docking station, and both can be used simultaneously. It’s perfect for when you’re playing a game or getting work done but don’t want to swap devices just to take a call.

The controls are located on the back of each earcup and are overall simple and intuitive. You can control your game-chat mix, volume, ANC, and listening mode without opening the software or removing the headset. With a little practice, you can even swap the battery without taking the headset off, and the magnetic faceplates are keyed so the logo will always face the right way.

The last big feature also represents a major upgrade: CrossPlay 2.0. Included in the carrying case is a small USB Type-A dongle that communicates with the base station. Plug that into a second console or PC and you can switch between them on the fly with a press of the dedicated button on the right earcup. According to the product page, you can even purchase additional dongles and connect up to four devices at a time.

Finally, as a quick reminder: though this headset comes in Xbox/PC and PS5 versions, if you happen to own both systems, the Xbox version is the way to go. The PS5 version will work on PlayStation and PC, but lacks the chip necessary to work with Xbox. The Xbox version works with all three natively.

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II – Software

The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II uses Swarm II for all of its software configuration options. Though it's not absolutely required, it's worth downloading at least once to personalize the sound, microphone monitoring level, and other parameters before relying entirely on onboard controls.

Swarm II is a bit rudimentary compared to more developed apps like Corsair iCue or Razer Synapse. The UI, while functional, is comparatively simple with fewer options and less polish. This is especially true when trying to update the firmware after first connecting it. The update process stalled out no fewer than four times, requiring me to hard terminate the process. My final successful attempt was painfully slow, 15 to 20 minutes, during which time the headset couldn’t be used or else it would freeze again. Thankfully, with everything finally, wincingly updated, it has been running smoothly since.

Settings are split across four tabs within the software app. The first controls your levels, including volume and mic gain, ANC, sidetone, Superhuman Hearing, and a noise gate. Moving down a tab, you’ll find the equalizer settings for the headphones and mic. Each offers 10 bands and a selection of quick presets to customize your sound. Of course, if you’re comfortable working with EQ settings, the best results will always be what you can dial in yourself, but it’s nice to see set-it-and-forget-it options for the choosing too.

The third and fourth tabs allow you to assign functions to the headset’s multifunction roller and button on the left cup. There aren’t many options, but it’s good to see some programmability for those who want it. The last tab houses power settings and hotkey assignments for those features you may need sometimes but otherwise want turned off, like Superhuman Hearing.

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II – Fit, Comfort, and Performance

The best sounding headset in the world isn’t worth much if it isn’t comfortable to wear, but Turtle Beach has nailed it, at least as far as my head shape is concerned. The cushions are supple and provide a solid, isolating seal. Even though the headset is actually rather heavy by most standards, the mesh headband does a good job of distributing its mass and warding off hot spots. It’s not completely triumphant over wear-time soreness, but I’m usually able to wear it for several hours before needing a break, if I do at all.

Out of the box, the sound wasn’t to my taste. The dual-driver system absolutely provides a bigger and more powerful low end. The tuning Turtle Beach landed on here is downright boomy, like a bass guitar playing in an empty swimming pool–powerful, but lacking definition and at times overwhelming

Thankfully, this isn’t a problem that can’t be fixed. Using Swarm II, you can correct most of these issues and get the headset sounding quite good. These custom EQs also get saved to the headset itself so you can access them on any machine (or just keep the app from using resources in the background on PC). Using the EQ above, I was able to get rid of the boominess and bring the mids and highs forward so you can make out those important details and audio cues. It doesn’t take long to correct, if your taste is similar to mine, but it’s dismaying that only the Vocal Boost rectifies the overwhelming low end – at the expense of everything else.

Once it’s dialed in, however, the Stealth Pro II is capable of sounding quite good. Using the preset above, I found a happy medium between bass and resolution, music and gaming where each sounded full and detailed. There’s something about the design of these drivers that makes the bass sound slightly off… there’s an elastic quality to it, almost like there’s electricity vibrating within each note.

As I mentioned earlier, the active noise cancellation is very good. It is noticeably stronger than the original Stealth or the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. The cabin pressure effect could be a major issue for sensitive users, however, so this isn’t a headset to buy blind just based on noise cancellation alone. I do love how well it works, though. With a game or music running, it effectively blocks out the outside world until you’re ready to hear it again.

The battery system is excellent. Turtle Beach’s claims of roughly 40 hours of uptime for each battery have proved to be relatively accurate. Never having to stop and plug in or worry about running out of charge mid-match is freeing. It lets the Stealth Pro II be a truly wireless headset without the sacrifices typically associated with that. I’m not usually one to stress about batteries, but even I feel a certain amount of freedom from knowing that it’s not worth worrying about anymore.

The base station is on the simple side, but I like how the illuminated ring around its base acts as an indicator light for connectivity and microphone status. An eject button beneath the battery glows with separate illumination to tell you how close the battery is to being charged. There’s no OLED screen or menu system like some of the competition, but honestly, once I have set up other base stations, I rarely ever do more than swap batteries.

If you have more than one console, CrossPlay 2.0 explodes the headset’s versatility. I was able to swap between my Xbox and PS5 with a single button press, which is about as easy as cross platform compatibility comes. Like the battery system, this is a fundamental feature that’s indispensable if you play games on more than one platform.

No matter which platform you use, the microphone will be consistently solid across each. It’s surprisingly full-bodied and very clear, so without touching any settings, I would be fine using it for streaming. Once you customize it, it’s even better, so I highly recommend doing so. I recorded some test tracks using Audacity and was impressed at how crisp I sounded. I even had a friend comment on how good my new mic sounded during a match of Battlefield 6.

Hyperkin's young sub-brand Drakong is putting out a new Xbox and PC controller, called The Challenger, that's planted firmly in budget territory at just $35. And, somehow, it's packed with pro controller creature comforts that could make it a real contender in a crowded field of great controllers.

The Challenger looks and sounds like a pretty standard, pro-style controller. It's got textured grips and hall effects sticks, two programmable back buttons, and even haptic feedback, hall effects analog triggers. It even has a 3.5mm headphone jack on its bottom edge. It ships with a 10-foot USB-C cable, as well.

So what corners did Drakong cut? Well, the obvious one is in the fact that this is a wired-only controller. I'd be curious to see how it feels in-hand, too. Can you feel the seams on your palms? Are the buttons clicky in all the wrong ways? Is the traditional four-way d-pad absolute trash?

That's all impossible to know until a reviewer you trust gets their hands on it, or you take the plunge yourself. Thankfully, at $35, it won't set you back too far. The Challenger is available to order today, at Amazon and Drakong says shipments will start going out on July 9th.

Wes is a freelance writer (Freelance Wes, they call him) who has covered technology, gaming, and entertainment steadily since 2020 at Gizmodo, Tom's Hardware, Hardcore Gamer, and most recently, The Verge. Inside of him there are two wolves: one that thinks it wouldn't be so bad to start collecting game consoles again, and the other who also thinks this, but more strongly.

Valve may have revolutionized mobile PC gaming with the Steam Deck, but more and more handheld gaming PCs keep coming to market, giving it some stiff competition. There are even handhelds out there like the Legion Go S that use Valve's handheld operating system but with more powerful hardware. Microsoft isn't sitting on its hands, either. The company teamed up with Asus to launch the excellent ROG Xbox Ally X, which debuts a new Xbox Full Screen Experience that should be making its way to other handhelds within the next few months. (Hopefully, Microsoft also takes that time to iron out some of the kinks with the new UX.)

TL;DR – These Are the Best Handheld Gaming PCs:

Rather than dealing with the bulk of a gaming laptop, handheld gaming PCs keep far more compact dimensions, making it easier to play from just about anywhere. Even though these devices are obviously significantly smaller than a gaming PC, it doesn’t mean they’re underpowered. Many handheld gaming PCs are packing the performance prowess to cruise through AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077. If you get sick of playing on a smaller screen, a great Steam Deck dock works seamlessly with most handheld gaming PCs so you can hook up to your gaming TV.

While we’re in the midst of a handheld gaming PC revolution, we've gotten our hands on a good chunk of these highly-capable devices. Below are the current four we deem worthy of consideration right now.

1. Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

The Best Handheld Gaming PC

2. Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS)

The Best SteamOS Handheld Gaming PC

When the Lenovo Legion Go S first came out in February 2025, it was a hot mess. The configuration Lenovo initially released was bogged down by the weak Z2 Go processor, which didn't pair well with Windows. And because it was both running Windows 11 and had 32GB of memory, this weaker handheld was just as expensive – if not moreso – than the original Legion Go that preceded it. But Lenovo has righted the ship by launching the Go S with the Z1 Extreme and SteamOS built-in.

This system is still expensive. You're looking at $829 to get this model, but that's only a bit more than the Asus ROG Ally X, which ended up being slower, if only by a bit, in my tests. When I reviewed this new Lenovo Legion Go S, the SteamOS-powered handheld beat out the Ally X in synthetic benchmarks by as much as 9%. That's not bad, considering that handheld had the performance crown before this system came out.

The elephant in the room is the Steam Deck. Even three years after its release, it's still an incredible and popular handheld, and it's not hard to see why. It's easy to use and it's literally half the price of the Go S. But not only do you get a higher resolution display with this Legion Go S, you also get as much as double the performance. I was able to get a solid 60fps playing Baldur's Gate 3, and that's something I straight up couldn't do on the Steam Deck. Whether or not that's worth the higher price tag depends entirely on what you're looking for.

A great handheld gaming system is about more than just raw performance. It also needs to be comfortable to use, and despite the sytem being one of the largest I've used – and I've used a lot of them – it's extremely comfortable. The Lenovo Legion Go S has rounded edges that give you something to hold on to, and the textured finish makes it harder to slip out of your hands.

The Go S also has one of the most beautiful LCD displays I've seen in a while and proves that OLED isn't the only way to get a great picture in 2026. It's not quite as colorful as the Steam Deck OLED, to be fair, but it still made any game I played on it look awesome.

3. MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

Best Handheld Gaming PC for No-Compromises Performance

4. Valve Steam Deck

The Best Budget Handheld Gaming PC

5. Lenovo Legion Go 2

Best Gaming Handheld With an OLED Screen

Upcoming Handheld Gaming PCs

Now that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is out, we're kind of in a holding pattern for a while. We'll probably see other handhelds using the Z2 Extreme trickle out over the next year or so. It's also likely that we'll see some Intel-powered devices featuring the new Panther Lake architecture.

Beyond that, we will probably see a Steam Deck 2 at some point, but Valve has repeatedly said that it's waiting for a "more significant" generational lift to launch its sequel. Given that the Steam Deck is nearing 4 years old, we could see a new device launch sometime next year at the earliest. We'll see!

Handheld Gaming PC FAQ

Should I buy a handheld gaming PC or a gaming laptop?

Depending on how you want to game and what games you want to play will determine whether you should grab a gaming laptop or handheld PC. Handhelds score higher points in longevity, battery life, optimization, portability, and thermals. But handhelds are only designed to play games up to a certain specification. Gaming laptops cram in the latest GPU, CPU, and RAM, likely sacrificing battery life, thermals, and price. However, some are absolute beasts ready to take on even the most graphically intensive games. Laptops offer more functionality when it comes to editing and other work.

Check out our guide on the Steam Deck vs. gaming laptops for more information.

What’s the best Steam Deck alternative?

The Lenovo Legion Go S is one of the best Steam Deck alternatives. This gaming handheld offers the same easy-to-use interface as the Steam Deck, along with speedy performance, and a stunning design. It does run into some of the same problems as the Steam Deck, notably around installing games that aren't on Steam – but you can get around that with some tinkering.

How does the Switch 2 compare to the Steam Deck?

On spec, the Switch 2 delivers better performance than the Steam Deck. This is mostly thanks to the newer GPU architechture, and the inclusion of DLSS, which helps upscale games using AI. Check out our in-depth comparison to find out more.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

There's this idea that a gaming PC is inherently a giant tower of metal and plastic that takes up so much space that you need to have a dedicated desk to handle it. These days, especially now that the Steam Machine is finally here, you don't need a massive hog of a tower to get incredible gaming performance. Instead, the best mini PCs can take up as little space as a cable box.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Mini PCs for Gaming:

There are inevitably some downsides when going with a mini gaming PC instead of a full tower. For one, the smaller form factor means there's simply less space for high-end graphics cards and CPU coolers. As such, you probably won't find many mini gaming PCs out there with an RTX 5090 and an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, at least not at a price that doesn't rival a down payment on your house. Instead, you're more likely to find something like the GMKTec Evo-X2, which uses a powerful APU, rather than discrete graphics.

Different PC manufacturers deal with the space constraints in different ways. For instance, Asus bought out the NUC (next unit of computing) brand from Intel to make desktop PCs that use mobile hardware to fit into extremely small cases. Other companies, like Zotac, found a way to shove powerful desktop-class hardware into a tiny chassis. They'll be inherently harder to service or upgrade than other towers, and also much more expensive, but hey, at least they're tiny.

1. Asus ROG NUC

Best Mini PC for Gaming

2. MinisForum X1-255

Best Budget Mini PC for Gaming

3. Steam Machine

Best Mini PC for Living Room Gaming

4. Corsair One i600

Mini PC With the Best Graphics

5. Mac mini M4

The MacOS Option

How to Pick the Best Mini PC for Gaming

Just like with any gaming PC, finding the best mini PC for gaming is all about what games you're looking to play, and at what resolution. Mini PCs are much smaller compared to desktop PCs, and even some laptops, and size constraints naturally limit the components included.

GPU

If you want to play the latest titles without any hiccups, you'll want to aim for a mini PC with a solid GPU. Look for models that come equipped with modern graphics like the Nvidia RTX series or AMD Radeon cards rather than integrated graphics. However, if you’re on a budget and you’re not fussed about playing games that have just been released, you could get away with something less powerful.

CPU

A good CPU is crucial for gaming performance and overall system responsiveness. Aim for mini PCs with mid-to-high-end CPUs, ideally with around 4 cores, 8 threads, and a high clockspeed – around 4.0GHz or higher – just so your computer doesn't grind to a hault when you're trying to multitask. Similarly, you’ll need a decent amount of RAM (at least 16GB) and storage (at least 512GB SSD) to run and store your games smoothly.

Ports

Once you’ve nailed down the specs, make sure the mini PC has enough ports for your peripherals, as well as HDMI or DisplayPort outputs for connecting to external monitors or TVs. Thunderbolt ports are also a nice bonus if you plan on connecting high-speed external storage or other devices.

Mini PC FAQ

Are mini PCs good for gaming?

It kind of depends on what you mean by "good for gaming." It's unlikely that you're going to find any mini gaming PC that's going to be great at 4K gaming, but lower your expectations a bit and these tiny machines can surprise you. If you mostly play games at 1080p, especially if you play a lot of indie games, even mini gaming PCs with integrated graphics are good enough these days to give you a solid gaming experience. We're entering an age of PC gaming where basically any PC can play PC games to some extent and mini gaming PCs are certainly no different.

What is better: mini PC or PC?

Again, this depends entirely on what you're looking for. Because, yeah, a full-sized gaming PC with a Ryzen 9 processor and an RTX 5090 is going to wipe the floor with every mini gaming PC on the market when it comes to pure performance numbers. But no matter what you've heard on Reddit, performance isn't everything. Take it from someone that lives in a tiny NYC apartment: Sometimes having a small gaming PC is extremely important and can make up for the lack of performance, especially if you're pairing it with a lower-resolution gaming monitor.

What are the downsides to a mini PC?

When you're getting a mini gaming PC, you're going to have to make compromises in at least one of three categories: price, performance, and upgradability. There are some tiny gaming PCs that pack high-end desktop components, but you're going to have to fork over a huge wad of cash for them. On the other hand, there are some really affordable mini gaming PCs out there, but those are mostly using integrated graphics and are really only good for playing PC games at 1080p with medium-high settings. If you want a PC with swappable components, you really only have a few options in a small form factor, though these tend to be more powerful (and expensive) than other mini gaming PCs.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

PC gaming might have a reputation for being loud and obnoxious at times, but gamers who’ve explored beyond the big esports and AAA games knows there’s subtlety and nuance too, and the same can be said for gaming hardware. Sure, Corsair sells giant flagship gaming rigs packed with the most powerful components possible. But, it also sells much more compact, quasi mini gaming PCs that are much more powerful than their appearance might suggest.

That’s where the Corsair One A600 fits in, and though 2026 prices mean it’s also several thousand dollars, you get a lot for your money. It’s an attractive, and impressively quiet system, with some neat little features that really help it stand out from the pack.

Design and Features

The Corsair One A600’s case is compact and attractive, in the same way Apple’s Cheese Grater-style Mac Pro was. It is solid and well built, with some tasteful lighting effect bars along a few of its axes that don’t feel overwhelming the first time you turn it on.

Although taking off the magnetically-attached dust filters is super-easy – they’re , getting the side panels off proves far more difficult. They’re attached with only a couple of little screws, but they’re really little. I had to dig through my collection of screwdrivers to find one that would actually fit them, and even then getting them out wasn’t easy.

Once you do get them off, all you really see is the dual watercooling loops, and they’re seriously tight. I’m not even sure how long it would take me to take it apart and get at the motherboard, there are just so many sticker-covered screws in the way.

So, obviously, this isn’t a system Corsair expects you to maintain or easily upgrade yourself. This is a pre-built that’s designed to remain that way until you switch it out for something else. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but if you’re looking for a PC with more of a DIY-vibe, this is not it.

One little feature that I absolutely adore with the A600 is its rear I/O light. I’ve been building PCs for almost 30 years and it’s never not been a pain plugging cables into the right ports without some kind of external light source. The A600 comes with a touch and motion-activated spotlight that illuminates all the rear I/O connectors and their labels, making it much easier to plug everything in where it should be.

It’s a subtle tweak but one that’s super welcome. One of the best quality-of-life improvements on a desktop PC I’ve seen in quite some time.

The I/O is robust on the Corsair One A600, too. There are plenty of USB-A and USB-C ports, 5 Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 7 for ultra-fast networking, and the back even has easy-access BIOS flash and CMOS reset buttons. Considering how difficult it would be to get at the internal battery, that’s a really welcome addition.

Software

Credit to Corsair, it doesn’t fill your new gaming PC up with bloatware, only bundling two Corsair apps: the Corsair Diagnostics tool for troubleshooting issues and stress testing components, and the Corsair One Dashboard. The latter is a super-lean app that lets you adjust the lighting and cooling of the system, while giving you simple, clean readouts for CPU and GPU temperature, and the various fan speeds in the system.

There are plenty of better hardware monitoring apps out there, but for a simple, off-the-shelf solution that will help gamers make the most of their new Corsair PC, it’s all you need.

Performance

As you might expect with one of the best gaming CPU and GPU combinations, all chilled under watercooling, the Corsair One A600 is an excellent performer. Even at 4K with all the settings cranked, it manages 176 fps on average in Forza Horizon 5 with just DLSS upscaling giving it a boost. With frame generation it blew right through 200 fps and looks gorgeously smooth on a 240Hz OLED gaming monitor.

If you play more demanding games, this PC is more than up to the challenge. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, 4K Ultra High settings proved no problem, with 64 fps average. In Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition at 4K Extreme settings, it manages 66 fps average, even without any upscaling. It delivered much the same again in Cyberpunk 2077 when I turned on RT Overdrive – though tapping up frame generation lets the Corsair A600 boost even that demanding game to over 100 fps.

By contrast, Total War: Warhammer III was a breeze, sitting just under 100 fps even when conducting large and complex battles. If you’re an esports gamer, rest assured that mainstream games like Call of Duty Black Ops 7 run fantastically well, hitting 144 fps even when running at almost maximum settings.

I did hit a strange anomaly there, though, where turning on frame generation actually decreased FPS in that particular game, but considering frame gen tends to worsen input lag slightly, it’s probably something you’ll be turning off during intense multiplayer action anyway.

The most stark takeaway from all my gaming testing, though, was just how quiet this system was. The watercooling on the CPU and GPU, as well as the new thermal channel design Corsair has built into its custom case, go a long way to keeping noise levels down, even when the system is working hard. Anti-vibration mounts on the side panels further enhance the quiet gaming experience, making this a serene way to game.

It’s not often you can comfortably play top-tier AAA games at the highest of settings without resorting to headphones, but with the Corsair One A600 you absolutely can. I was testing it in the peak of a Spring heatwave, too, with ambient temperatures in my office around 26 degrees Celsius. The fact the GPU idles at less than 30 degrees even in that environment is impressive.

That was on the Balanced cooling mode, too. Switch to Quiet and the fans become basically inaudible until you do something demanding.

The A600 is more than ready to get some work done too. In the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark, it scores just shy of 9,300 points that’s more than the 9900X3D managed in our recent review. The eight cores are going to hold you back from the professional performance of the seriously top chips, but know that if you want to use this as a whisper-quiet work PC with the ability to rip high frame rates in your favorite games after hours, it’s more than up to the task.