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A Worthwhile Gamepad
Xbox/Microsoft Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
Unlimited (Battery) Power
HP HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless
Access to 100 Games
3 Months of Microsoft Game Pass for PC
Technicolor Audio
SteelSeries Arena 7
Shopping for a PC gamer is a perilous endeavor. It’s easy to be led astray by what seems like a good deal at Amazon or Best Buy. Steep price cuts are tempting, but they don’t always lead to the treasure hoards they promise. Not to mention, PC gamers are a notoriously fickle lot. But what is a PC gamer but an adventurer—a reclusive one, perhaps, but an adventurer nonetheless! To help anyone looking to pick up some gifts for the PC gamer in their life this holiday season, we put together a simple guide. Each item on this list should be welcomed by adventurers of every stripe.
Be sure to check out our many other buying guides, including the Best Budget Gaming Laptops, Best Gaming Laptops, Best Wireless Gaming Headsets, and Best Game Controller guides.
Updated December 2023: We added new picks, like the HyperX Cloud III Wireless headphones, Aerox 9 Wireless mouse, Razer Tartarus V2, and RTX 4060, and updated prices throughout.
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Photograph: Microsoft
A Worthwhile Gamepad
Xbox/Microsoft Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
Some games are just better with a controller, but they can come with disadvantages versus a keyboard and mouse. That’s where highly customizable controllers like the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 can help. It lets you tweak the resistance of its control sticks, swap out paddles and D-pads, and even add extra rear buttons to customize your game. For more options, check out our Best Game Controllers guide.
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Photograph: HyperX
Unlimited (Battery) Power
HP HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless
This headset earned the incredibly rare 10 out of 10 in our review thanks to its unreal 300-hour battery life. We put it to the test and found that after two straight weeks of continuous use, it still hadn’t died. If that wasn’t enough, it has excellent sound, a great wireless range, and is comfortable to wear for hours. We seriously can’t find anything to complain about here.
★ Another alternative: The slightly cheaper Cloud III Wireless (8/10, WIRED Recommends) gets 120 hours of battery life, which is still several times more than most other gaming headsets. We’ve already seen it on a pretty steep sale despite being new-ish, so if you’re looking to save some cash, watch for this one.
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Courtesy of Devolver Digital
Access to 100 Games
3 Months of Microsoft Game Pass for PC
Xbox’s Game Pass is still one of the best deals in gaming. For $10 a month, you can play a rotating roster of hundreds of actually good PC games—no Xbox required. That includes titles like Halo Infinite, Persona 5 Royal, and Deathloop, plus Microsoft’s first-party games, including AAA titles like Starfield that are available day-one via the subscription when they release.
The Game Pass Ultimate subscription (for $17 a month) not only includes all the games in both the console and PC library, but you can stream games from the cloud, so you don’t even need to install them locally to try them out.
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Photograph: SteelSeries
Technicolor Audio
SteelSeries Arena 7
SteelSeries makes some of our favorite gaming headsets, and now the company has ventured into the desktop speaker game. The Arena 7 speakers (8/10, WIRED Recommends) provide rich, full sound and thunderous bass thanks to its massive subwoofer. The two main speakers also come with RGB LEDs that integrate with the rest of SteelSeries’ peripherals to sync up with your giftee’s battle station’s lighting scheme.
★ Another alternative: For a less flashy and cheaper (but still excellent) option, check out the Audioengine A1 ($199). It has a wide soundstage, and the pair of speakers sound fantastic, whether they’re gaming, listening to Phoenix’s new album, or watching a Twitch stream.
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Photograph: Ember
Forever Warm Drinks
Ember Mug 2 (14 Ounces)
There’s nothing worse than spending a couple of hours grinding out an exotic in Destiny 2, then reaching over to find that you forgot about your coffee and it’s cold now. The Ember mug will rescue your loved one from tepid coffee, keeping it at just the right temperature with an internal heating element. The included app makes it easy to adjust the temp to your liking, and it has a tea timer. It’s the perfect companion for long treks through untamed wilds.
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Photograph: Razer
Holiday Lights
Razer Firefly V2
You may wonder why a gamer needs a mousepad with lights on it. They don’t. But I bet you they’d like one anyway. The Razer Firefly comes in two varieties, one with a hard, slick surface and another with a soft texture. Both feel great when gaming, with mice gliding across their surfaces as if they’re skating on glass. The LED lighting underneath adds a nice touch, and if your giftee has other Razer products (like a Razer mouse or keyboard), they can sync ’em up to the same lighting pattern.
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Photograph: Amazon
For Competitive Gamers
Logitech G305 Wireless Mouse
A few years ago, you couldn’t compete using a wireless mouse against trick-shotters. There was too much latency (the delay from when the computer registers the mouse’s movements). This wireless mouse—endorsed by pro gamer Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek—is still top-of-the-line. Lightweight, precise, and comfortable, the Logitech G305 has a 1-millisecond report rate and up to 250 hours of battery life (we replaced the AA battery once every six months or so with heavy use). It also comes in white, mint, lilac, and blue.
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Photograph: Dell
Curved Vision
Dell 27-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor
The right gaming monitor can make all the difference when your giftee is playing an intense shooter or fast-paced competitive game. This 27-inch curved Dell monitor is our pick for a budget gaming screen, which is still an impressive upgrade over most common displays. It packs a 1440-pixel resolution, is capable of up to 165 frames per second, and works with AMD FreeSync for smooth motion.
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Photograph: Keychron
Mechanical Marvel
Keychron Q3 QMK Custom Mechanical Keyboard
Keyboards are fashion statements now: pretty pink, lilac pearl, black and red retro, and, of course, rainbow backlit. Keychron’s Q3 is a wired mechanical keyboard that—especially in its beautiful blue color—will ruin all other mechanical keyboards for your giftee. I suggest you snag the model with the Fully Assembled Knob for a satisfying way to control the volume. Keychron has a few more customization options than you’ll find on Amazon (I prefer the Gateron Brown switches). It comes with a color-matching USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter if their PC doesn’t have a USB-C port.
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Photograph: SteelSeries
For Button Mashers
SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless
I have used a gaming mouse with a dozen extra buttons on the side for over a decade, and it’s quite possibly my most powerful productivity and gaming hack. This Razer Aerox 9 Wireless comes with 12 programmable keys that can be mapped to specific buttons on your keyboard, or to any macros you’d like to create.
★ An (out of production) alternative: While the Aerox 9 is a fantastic gaming mouse (and it’s wireless), I specifically use the Logitech G600 ($60). This mouse has been out for over a decade, and it can be kind of hard to find new, though Logitech’s site is still selling it. No MMO mouse has topped this one in terms of comfort or flexibility in customization. It’s also extremely durable. I’ve only had to replace it once in the past decade, and I’m pretty sure it’s my own fault for clicking so dang hard during his games.
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Photograph: Razer
For MMO Die-Hards
Razer Tartarus V2
This is maybe one of those “ask before you buy” gifts, but for people who play MMOs like World of Warcraft or other super complicated games, a keypad like the Razer Tartarus V2 can be a godsend. This device gives you an array of 19 programmable keys, plus thumb buttons, a directional stick, and a scroll wheel—also all customizable—so you can perfectly tailor your game to your hand’s comfort.
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Photograph: BenQ
Night Watch
BenQ ScreenBar Computer LED Lamp
If you’re always finding your gamer giftee in a dimly lit room, and their desk is as cluttered as ever, give them the BenQ ScreenBar. It hangs off the top of a monitor (even curved ultrawides) and illuminates the desk without taking up any space. It has a USB-A plug, so they can just hook it up to their PC.
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Photograph: Valve
Introduce Couch Gaming
Valve Steam Deck
Valve’s initial attempt at a portable handheld had some major bugs when it first launched, but it’s gotten much better with time. And now, with the new Steam Deck OLED, it has a better screen, longer battery life, and all the benefits of nearly two years of bug fixes. The vast majority of games on the Steam Deck work really well. Even when the interface can be wonky, there are plenty of tools to deal with it easily—especially in comparison to some other gaming handhelds.
I have been using the new Steam Deck OLED regularly, and it’s a better experience than the original, even after all the updates. The new model also means the OG is cheaper and it’s incredibly easy to upgrade, so you can get one for your giftee for cheaper than ever.
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Photograph: Facfox
Turn Your Spacebar Into a Snack Bar
Cute Keycaps
Hot trend: Trading out one key in a mechanical keyboard for a super cute keycap. Switch out the escape button for a tiny Poké Ball or the F3 for a pawprint. They can fill the number bar with ducks, because honestly, why not? Or they can make each of their arrow keys a different dessert. Get something that will make your loved one hungry every time they look down. Seriously, these things look so delicious you’ll just want to pop them in your mouth. Don’t, though. They are not food. I learned the hard way.
Note: You’ll need to know what kind of switches their keyboard uses (like MX switches) and make sure the keycap supports it.
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Photograph: HyperX
Voice Command
HyperX Quadcast S
If your gift recipient streams their games, or just needs to command raids on the regular, a good microphone can come in clutch. For that, the HyperX Quadcast S (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our go-to recommendations. It’s a simple USB mic but has crystal-clear audio quality on par with even some professional gear. It also has customizable built-in LEDs, which look great on camera.
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Photograph: Secretlab
For Neat Freaks
Secretlab Magnus and Magnus Pro Desk
Cable organization is the bane of any PC gamer. It’s so hard to organize those pesky wires! These metal desks from Secretlab are the answer. They have a trench at the back where your giftee can route all their wires and even store a surge protector, keeping the mess hidden. Secretlab also has tons of magnetic accessories you can buy separately, like cable sheaths to hide wires on the underside of the desk, cable clips to hold charging cords in place, and even a headphone holder to suspend them without taking up desk space.
The Magnus is a standard desk and the Magnus Pro is a standing desk that will let your giftee stretch their legs once in a while after long hours of raids.
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Photograph: Monoprice
Nothing Beats a Power Strip
Monoprice 8-Outlet Rotating Surge Strip
It might be odd to give someone a power strip, but any PC gamer will know these are high-value items. We like this eight-outlet surge protector from Monoprice because each plug can rotate, so you won’t end up with one plug blocking another. It’s truly an ingenious design. If they’d prefer a power strip with USB-A ports, then check out this one from Belkin ($16), which has three AC outlets and two USB-A ports at the top.
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Photograph: Nvidia
Power Overwhelming
Nvidia RTX 4060
Few things are more important to a PC gamer than a good graphics card. After a long drought of GPUs being in painfully short supply, the market seems to have stabilized, so now’s a good chance to ugprade. Nvidia’s RTX 4060 line are a solid starting point for gamers who don’t want to break the bank. But if your bank isn’t in any danger of breaking any time soon, high-end cards like the RTX 4080 are insanely powerful and will likely cover your needs for a while.
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Photograph: Western Digital
Bigger on the Inside
WD_Black M.2 SSD With Heat Sink
An M.2 drive is a small solid-state drive you can plug directly into your PC’s motherboard. They’re great because of their small size and large storage capacity, but they can be pricey. If your loved one has room for an M.2 drive in their desktop (you’ll need to ask, as not all motherboards support it), this 1-terabyte Western Digital stick comes with its own heat sink for peak performance.
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Photograph: Logitech
Magic Mousepad
Logitech Powerplay Wireless Charging Mouse Pad
The only downside to modern wireless mice is the fact that they need to be charged or have their batteries swapped. This mousepad makes for a delightfully excessive solution to that problem: It charges compatible mice (G903, G502, G Pro X Superlight) wirelessly so your giftee will never need to hunt for batteries or worry about forgetting to plug it in. It’s an elegant—if expensive—solution. Just make sure to pair it with one of those compatible mice (or ask if your giftee has one of them already).
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Photograph: Getty Images
Stay a While and Listen
Shopping Tips
The best advice I can give when shopping for a PC gaming enthusiast is simple: If you’re unsure, just ask. Ask if they have a favorite mouse, keyboard, or headset brand they’ve been eyeing. Ask if there’s anything else they’ve been thinking about picking up for themselves. If you’re still not sure, and you don’t want to get them the wrong thing, there’s another one-size-fits-all gift that no PC gamer will dislike: a Steam gift card. With this, the PC gamer in your life will be able to pick out a game from a vast online store. Most popular titles are around $60, so use that as a baseline for how much to add to the card.
Eric Ravenscraft is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED, based in Austin, Texas. He’s guided readers on how to use technology for nearly a decade for publications including Lifehacker, OneZero, and The New York Times. He also streams on Twitch for WIRED occasionally and can be found on YouTube… Read more
Jaina Rodriguez Grey is a product writer and reviewer at WIRED covering coffee, sex tech, and gaming. Previously, she was a legal researcher for Thomson Reuters and a tech reporter for Digital Trends. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon, with her partner and a pet rabbit named Lola.
