Apple just wrapped up its literally “Scary Fast” pre-Halloween event, and although it was scary short, it was definitely scary good. Cheesy jokes aside, the Cupertino-based company did meet some expectations of announcing its latest silicon, and fans are definitely in for a treat in the coming weeks. Apple has expanded its processors to cover not one, not even two, but three tiers of performance with the M3 family of chips. Of course, these bring with them all sorts of advanced technologies, improved performance, and better efficiency across the board, but their real power lies in how they empower users from all walks of life to do more on their Apple computers without sacrificing other things. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip, for example, might not be thinner than its predecessors, but it boasts of scary powerful performance while still keeping its scary slim profile.
It’s almost too easy to brush off the Apple M3 as just an upgrade from the M2, but anyone familiar with Apple knows that it never does “just an upgrade.” The M3 family represents a huge milestone for Apple’s self-made processors, showing off how far it has come since it debuted the first Apple Silicon three years ago. Yes, there is more of everything, but the highlight is what the Apple M3 enables as far as applications and user experiences go. The next-gen GPU, for example, is now able to support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while the new Neural engine works 60% faster while still keeping data on the device to protect your privacy. What all these translate to is better performance for games, music creation, video editing, and more.
With all that power, you might presume that the M3 is reserved for Apple’s “Pro” machines, but Apple dropped a sweet treat for fans of its more stylish computers as well. The new M3 silicon is also making its way to the 24-inch iMac, finally giving Apple’s super-thin all-in-one computer the upgrade it deserves. An upgrade that delivers 2x more power than its predecessor without an increase in bulk. Better yet, it leaves Apple’s aging Intel-based iMacs in the dust, leaving fewer reasons for buyers not to jump on the Apple Silicon train.
Powered by an M3 chip with an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU, the new M3 iMac boasts double the performance of the older M1 model (there was no M2 iMac). At its event, however, Apple was really driving home how its chips outperform their Intel equivalents, specifically with a 4x increase in performance compared to the 21.5-inch Intel iMac and a 2.5x upgrade versus the 27-inch Intel model. In short, you’re getting desktop-grade performance in a thin and elegant computer that’s no bigger than a thin monitor. All that new power is, of course, put at the service of the user, giving them more options and more capabilities to do the work they need to accomplish or just lose themselves in fantasy worlds of games.
Games, for example, load faster and have higher frame rates thanks to features like Dynamic Caching. It can handle 4K video streams without breaking a sweat either, which means more productivity for creators. And with a gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, all these images come out crisp and vibrant, making the creation process more enjoyable. Of course, that also means that surfing the Web or watching videos are smooth and pleasurable, keeping you glued to your screen, from a safe distance, of course.
The new M3 iMacs bring pro-level capabilities without losing the colorful and playful character that has defined the modern iMac. It still has a striking 11.5mm-thin body that’s available in seven hues to match your style. Best of all, these new iMacs not only use 100% recycled aluminum for the stands but also 100% recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards. Together with the energy efficiency that comes from the M3 silicon itself, these make these beautiful computers the most sustainable iMacs yet. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 is now available for order starting at $1,299 and will be available starting next week.
Apple just wrapped up its literally “Scary Fast” pre-Halloween event, and although it was scary short, it was definitely scary good. Cheesy jokes aside, the Cupertino-based company did meet some expectations of announcing its latest silicon, and fans are definitely in for a treat in the coming weeks. Apple has expanded its processors to cover not one, not even two, but three tiers of performance with the M3 family of chips. Of course, these bring with them all sorts of advanced technologies, improved performance, and better efficiency across the board, but their real power lies in how they empower users from all walks of life to do more on their Apple computers without sacrificing other things. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip, for example, might not be thinner than its predecessors, but it boasts of scary powerful performance while still keeping its scary slim profile.
It’s almost too easy to brush off the Apple M3 as just an upgrade from the M2, but anyone familiar with Apple knows that it never does “just an upgrade.” The M3 family represents a huge milestone for Apple’s self-made processors, showing off how far it has come since it debuted the first Apple Silicon three years ago. Yes, there is more of everything, but the highlight is what the Apple M3 enables as far as applications and user experiences go. The next-gen GPU, for example, is now able to support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while the new Neural engine works 60% faster while still keeping data on the device to protect your privacy. What all these translate to is better performance for games, music creation, video editing, and more.
With all that power, you might presume that the M3 is reserved for Apple’s “Pro” machines, but Apple dropped a sweet treat for fans of its more stylish computers as well. The new M3 silicon is also making its way to the 24-inch iMac, finally giving Apple’s super-thin all-in-one computer the upgrade it deserves. An upgrade that delivers 2x more power than its predecessor without an increase in bulk. Better yet, it leaves Apple’s aging Intel-based iMacs in the dust, leaving fewer reasons for buyers not to jump on the Apple Silicon train.
Powered by an M3 chip with an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU, the new M3 iMac boasts double the performance of the older M1 model (there was no M2 iMac). At its event, however, Apple was really driving home how its chips outperform their Intel equivalents, specifically with a 4x increase in performance compared to the 21.5-inch Intel iMac and a 2.5x upgrade versus the 27-inch Intel model. In short, you’re getting desktop-grade performance in a thin and elegant computer that’s no bigger than a thin monitor. All that new power is, of course, put at the service of the user, giving them more options and more capabilities to do the work they need to accomplish or just lose themselves in fantasy worlds of games.
Games, for example, load faster and have higher frame rates thanks to features like Dynamic Caching. It can handle 4K video streams without breaking a sweat either, which means more productivity for creators. And with a gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, all these images come out crisp and vibrant, making the creation process more enjoyable. Of course, that also means that surfing the Web or watching videos are smooth and pleasurable, keeping you glued to your screen, from a safe distance, of course.
The new M3 iMacs bring pro-level capabilities without losing the colorful and playful character that has defined the modern iMac. It still has a striking 11.5mm-thin body that’s available in seven hues to match your style. Best of all, these new iMacs not only use 100% recycled aluminum for the stands but also 100% recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards. Together with the energy efficiency that comes from the M3 silicon itself, these make these beautiful computers the most sustainable iMacs yet. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 is now available for order starting at $1,299 and will be available starting next week.
Apple just wrapped up its literally “Scary Fast” pre-Halloween event, and although it was scary short, it was definitely scary good. Cheesy jokes aside, the Cupertino-based company did meet some expectations of announcing its latest silicon, and fans are definitely in for a treat in the coming weeks. Apple has expanded its processors to cover not one, not even two, but three tiers of performance with the M3 family of chips. Of course, these bring with them all sorts of advanced technologies, improved performance, and better efficiency across the board, but their real power lies in how they empower users from all walks of life to do more on their Apple computers without sacrificing other things. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip, for example, might not be thinner than its predecessors, but it boasts of scary powerful performance while still keeping its scary slim profile.
It’s almost too easy to brush off the Apple M3 as just an upgrade from the M2, but anyone familiar with Apple knows that it never does “just an upgrade.” The M3 family represents a huge milestone for Apple’s self-made processors, showing off how far it has come since it debuted the first Apple Silicon three years ago. Yes, there is more of everything, but the highlight is what the Apple M3 enables as far as applications and user experiences go. The next-gen GPU, for example, is now able to support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while the new Neural engine works 60% faster while still keeping data on the device to protect your privacy. What all these translate to is better performance for games, music creation, video editing, and more.
With all that power, you might presume that the M3 is reserved for Apple’s “Pro” machines, but Apple dropped a sweet treat for fans of its more stylish computers as well. The new M3 silicon is also making its way to the 24-inch iMac, finally giving Apple’s super-thin all-in-one computer the upgrade it deserves. An upgrade that delivers 2x more power than its predecessor without an increase in bulk. Better yet, it leaves Apple’s aging Intel-based iMacs in the dust, leaving fewer reasons for buyers not to jump on the Apple Silicon train.
Powered by an M3 chip with an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU, the new M3 iMac boasts double the performance of the older M1 model (there was no M2 iMac). At its event, however, Apple was really driving home how its chips outperform their Intel equivalents, specifically with a 4x increase in performance compared to the 21.5-inch Intel iMac and a 2.5x upgrade versus the 27-inch Intel model. In short, you’re getting desktop-grade performance in a thin and elegant computer that’s no bigger than a thin monitor. All that new power is, of course, put at the service of the user, giving them more options and more capabilities to do the work they need to accomplish or just lose themselves in fantasy worlds of games.
Games, for example, load faster and have higher frame rates thanks to features like Dynamic Caching. It can handle 4K video streams without breaking a sweat either, which means more productivity for creators. And with a gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, all these images come out crisp and vibrant, making the creation process more enjoyable. Of course, that also means that surfing the Web or watching videos are smooth and pleasurable, keeping you glued to your screen, from a safe distance, of course.
The new M3 iMacs bring pro-level capabilities without losing the colorful and playful character that has defined the modern iMac. It still has a striking 11.5mm-thin body that’s available in seven hues to match your style. Best of all, these new iMacs not only use 100% recycled aluminum for the stands but also 100% recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards. Together with the energy efficiency that comes from the M3 silicon itself, these make these beautiful computers the most sustainable iMacs yet. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 is now available for order starting at $1,299 and will be available starting next week.
Apple just wrapped up its literally “Scary Fast” pre-Halloween event, and although it was scary short, it was definitely scary good. Cheesy jokes aside, the Cupertino-based company did meet some expectations of announcing its latest silicon, and fans are definitely in for a treat in the coming weeks. Apple has expanded its processors to cover not one, not even two, but three tiers of performance with the M3 family of chips. Of course, these bring with them all sorts of advanced technologies, improved performance, and better efficiency across the board, but their real power lies in how they empower users from all walks of life to do more on their Apple computers without sacrificing other things. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip, for example, might not be thinner than its predecessors, but it boasts of scary powerful performance while still keeping its scary slim profile.
It’s almost too easy to brush off the Apple M3 as just an upgrade from the M2, but anyone familiar with Apple knows that it never does “just an upgrade.” The M3 family represents a huge milestone for Apple’s self-made processors, showing off how far it has come since it debuted the first Apple Silicon three years ago. Yes, there is more of everything, but the highlight is what the Apple M3 enables as far as applications and user experiences go. The next-gen GPU, for example, is now able to support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while the new Neural engine works 60% faster while still keeping data on the device to protect your privacy. What all these translate to is better performance for games, music creation, video editing, and more.
With all that power, you might presume that the M3 is reserved for Apple’s “Pro” machines, but Apple dropped a sweet treat for fans of its more stylish computers as well. The new M3 silicon is also making its way to the 24-inch iMac, finally giving Apple’s super-thin all-in-one computer the upgrade it deserves. An upgrade that delivers 2x more power than its predecessor without an increase in bulk. Better yet, it leaves Apple’s aging Intel-based iMacs in the dust, leaving fewer reasons for buyers not to jump on the Apple Silicon train.
Powered by an M3 chip with an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU, the new M3 iMac boasts double the performance of the older M1 model (there was no M2 iMac). At its event, however, Apple was really driving home how its chips outperform their Intel equivalents, specifically with a 4x increase in performance compared to the 21.5-inch Intel iMac and a 2.5x upgrade versus the 27-inch Intel model. In short, you’re getting desktop-grade performance in a thin and elegant computer that’s no bigger than a thin monitor. All that new power is, of course, put at the service of the user, giving them more options and more capabilities to do the work they need to accomplish or just lose themselves in fantasy worlds of games.
Games, for example, load faster and have higher frame rates thanks to features like Dynamic Caching. It can handle 4K video streams without breaking a sweat either, which means more productivity for creators. And with a gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, all these images come out crisp and vibrant, making the creation process more enjoyable. Of course, that also means that surfing the Web or watching videos are smooth and pleasurable, keeping you glued to your screen, from a safe distance, of course.
The new M3 iMacs bring pro-level capabilities without losing the colorful and playful character that has defined the modern iMac. It still has a striking 11.5mm-thin body that’s available in seven hues to match your style. Best of all, these new iMacs not only use 100% recycled aluminum for the stands but also 100% recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards. Together with the energy efficiency that comes from the M3 silicon itself, these make these beautiful computers the most sustainable iMacs yet. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 is now available for order starting at $1,299 and will be available starting next week.
Apple just wrapped up its literally “Scary Fast” pre-Halloween event, and although it was scary short, it was definitely scary good. Cheesy jokes aside, the Cupertino-based company did meet some expectations of announcing its latest silicon, and fans are definitely in for a treat in the coming weeks. Apple has expanded its processors to cover not one, not even two, but three tiers of performance with the M3 family of chips. Of course, these bring with them all sorts of advanced technologies, improved performance, and better efficiency across the board, but their real power lies in how they empower users from all walks of life to do more on their Apple computers without sacrificing other things. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 chip, for example, might not be thinner than its predecessors, but it boasts of scary powerful performance while still keeping its scary slim profile.
It’s almost too easy to brush off the Apple M3 as just an upgrade from the M2, but anyone familiar with Apple knows that it never does “just an upgrade.” The M3 family represents a huge milestone for Apple’s self-made processors, showing off how far it has come since it debuted the first Apple Silicon three years ago. Yes, there is more of everything, but the highlight is what the Apple M3 enables as far as applications and user experiences go. The next-gen GPU, for example, is now able to support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, while the new Neural engine works 60% faster while still keeping data on the device to protect your privacy. What all these translate to is better performance for games, music creation, video editing, and more.
With all that power, you might presume that the M3 is reserved for Apple’s “Pro” machines, but Apple dropped a sweet treat for fans of its more stylish computers as well. The new M3 silicon is also making its way to the 24-inch iMac, finally giving Apple’s super-thin all-in-one computer the upgrade it deserves. An upgrade that delivers 2x more power than its predecessor without an increase in bulk. Better yet, it leaves Apple’s aging Intel-based iMacs in the dust, leaving fewer reasons for buyers not to jump on the Apple Silicon train.
Powered by an M3 chip with an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU, the new M3 iMac boasts double the performance of the older M1 model (there was no M2 iMac). At its event, however, Apple was really driving home how its chips outperform their Intel equivalents, specifically with a 4x increase in performance compared to the 21.5-inch Intel iMac and a 2.5x upgrade versus the 27-inch Intel model. In short, you’re getting desktop-grade performance in a thin and elegant computer that’s no bigger than a thin monitor. All that new power is, of course, put at the service of the user, giving them more options and more capabilities to do the work they need to accomplish or just lose themselves in fantasy worlds of games.
Games, for example, load faster and have higher frame rates thanks to features like Dynamic Caching. It can handle 4K video streams without breaking a sweat either, which means more productivity for creators. And with a gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, all these images come out crisp and vibrant, making the creation process more enjoyable. Of course, that also means that surfing the Web or watching videos are smooth and pleasurable, keeping you glued to your screen, from a safe distance, of course.
The new M3 iMacs bring pro-level capabilities without losing the colorful and playful character that has defined the modern iMac. It still has a striking 11.5mm-thin body that’s available in seven hues to match your style. Best of all, these new iMacs not only use 100% recycled aluminum for the stands but also 100% recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards. Together with the energy efficiency that comes from the M3 silicon itself, these make these beautiful computers the most sustainable iMacs yet. The 24-inch iMac with new M3 is now available for order starting at $1,299 and will be available starting next week.
What ChatGPT did to search, what Midjourney did to photography, what iPhones did to cameras, the Bored Keyboard is doing to mechanical keyboards. Designed to be the first mechanical keyboard with built-in predictive models, the Bored Keyboard supercharges your workflow by making you type faster, switch between tasks faster, and game more lethally. A touch-sensitive display along the top of the keyboard serves up autocomplete suggestions as you type, boosting your typing speed by nearly 3x. The display also stores items in your clipboard, allowing you to copy-paste text more efficiently, and even lets you toggle between multiple keyboard modes as you work. Think of it as the MacBook TouchBar, but with MUCH more potential, within a mechanical keyboard that’s like a symphony for your fingertips.
The reason why the Bored Keyboard is so exciting is because it thinks outside the box. To be straight, there’s nothing wrong with conventional mechanical keyboards. I’m using one right now, and it serves its purpose well… but it doesn’t explore its potential. The Bored Keyboard does just that – it explores the idea of a keyboard on a much more fundamental yet broad level. It supercharges your typing with autocomplete, gives you a lengthy clipboard that lets you paste stuff you copied 5 hours ago, and even has RGB backlit keys that do everything from highlighting predictive keys to lighting up in zones during games to help you understand where your enemies are located. Not a single mechanical keyboard can boast those features, and let’s face it, Apple clearly didn’t explore the full potential of the TouchBar either.
The Autocomplete feature is easily the Bored Keyboard’s biggest USP. Borrowing from the experience of typing on a smartphone, the mechanical keyboard’s lateral display lights up with word suggestions as you type. See something you like, hit it instead of typing out the entire word. The predictive models get better with time as you keep using the keyboard, shooting up predictions faster and more accurately, effectively reducing the time between thinking and typing so you can work as fast as you think. The autocomplete model doesn’t just work with the English language, it works while coding too, helping you type and push out code fast simply by letting the keyboard complete lines of code for you. Things get even better with the keyboard’s RGB backlights as they predict the next key you want to type before you do. The lights highlight the key for you so you can find the right key faster – a feature that’s incredibly useful for people who aren’t quick typers and who spend time scanning the keyboard as they click each key.
The Bored Keyboard’s Clipboard feature is perhaps its most underrated. Think about working with spreadsheets and needing to copy multiple pieces of data and paste them in individual cells. The traditional way of doing it would be to copy one item, go to the sheet, paste it, then go back and copy item number two, paste it again, and repeat the process multiple times. The Bored Keyboard’s clipboard feature eliminates that back and forth. Copy multiple pieces of data, go to your final document, and access each individual copied item through the display on top. Just hit CTRL and the Bored Keyboard reveals its entire clipboard of all the stuff you copied. Click on an item to paste it, or select another item to paste that instead… your clipboard can hold more than one element now, allowing you to bulk-copy and then bulk-paste.
When you begin using the Bored Keyboard for gaming, you realize what I meant when I spoke about a keyboard’s ‘potential’. While gaming, the keyboard’s entire canvas becomes an audio ‘heat-map’. The keyboard listens to in-game sounds to determine where footsteps and gunshots are coming from, lighting up those respective areas. This helps you track your enemies in a much more intuitive way, often even without headphones. The keyboard becomes your pair of extra eyes, keeping tabs on the whereabouts of your enemies for you. Follow the lights and they literally lead to victory.
The Bored Keyboard just continues to tick all the right boxes with its design and software. On the software front, the Bored Keyboard is designed to be entirely open-source. You can customize the autocomplete settings, configure key mappings, set shortcuts and macros, run your own custom scripts/actions, and obviously tinker with the RGB backlight settings. The folks behind the Bored Keyboard encourage you to hack the keyboard to suit your needs, giving you a piece of hardware that truly fits your exact requirements.
On the hardware front, it’s delightfully mechanical, with Gateron switches (red/brown/yellow/blue) and double-shot PBT keycaps that can be hot-swapped to retrofit keycaps of your own. Depending on whether you choose the standard or the premium variant, the keyboard’s body comes made either from ABS plastic or machined Aluminum, houses either a 6000mAh or a 10,000mAh battery, and has either an LCD or a PMOLED lateral display up top. The standard version connects to machines via USB-C or Bluetooth, while the premium model also packs a 2.4GHz receiver.
The Bored Keyboard has a compact 75% layout, which means it loses the number pad, but packs an entire row of function keys. It measures 320mm across (12.5 inches) and 171mm in depth (6.7 inches) thanks to the presence of that added touchscreen. The Bored Keyboard is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS devices, starting at $169 for the standard/basic variant, or $363 for the premium variant, with global shipping included.
Say whatever you want about the GPU market or the general atmosphere of the games industry at the moment, but gaming (particularly, PC gaming) probably isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Besides, even if the gaming industry collapsed, there’ll probably always be a niche community of PC builders who just want to make cool-looking builds.
It’s just unfortunate that some of the best-looking and best-feeling screens that’ve ever existed are finally coming down in price at a time when so many people are unable to get their hands on high-end video game hardware and gaming PC components.
That’s why I compiled a list of the top 10 best designed gaming monitors on the market in 2023, spanning everything from 1080p to 4k and ultrawide – making room for gamers on a budget while showcasing some of the best gaming displays you can find. Note that it’s a little bit different than the list I already created that specifically targets ultrawide monitors that use OLED displays.
1. Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED Gaming Monitor (Best all around)
Alienware’s AW3423DWF is the best all-around PC gaming monitor, featuring a curved 34-inch 3440x1440p 21:9 ultrawide display with 1800R curvature, HDR 400 support, VRR, 0.1 ms response times, and support for both DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0.
Why is it noteworthy?
The AW3423DWF hits that incredibly hard-to-reach sweeet spot in PC gaming monitors, blending the richness of QD-OLED with the wide field of view provided by ultrawide monitors. It somehow manages to juggle all the best parts of high-end gaming displays while remaining, miraculously, under the $1000 MSRP ballpark.
You have to choose between FreeSync Premium Pro support and Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate support
2. ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM (Best 1440p)
ASUS’s ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM is a feature-packed 27-inch 2k OLED gaming display that pushes impressive refresh rates and over 1000 nits peak brightness in HDR mode.
Why is it noteworthy?
OLED is still an expensive luxury in modern gaming monitors, and the ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM packs a lot of high-end goodies like a 240 Hz refresh rate, 0.03 ms response times, and intelligent voltage optimization (to combat burn-in) to name just a few – all for $999.
What we like
Fantastic price performance
OLED display with 1000 nits peak brightness
Blazing fast
What we dislike
No FreeSync support out of the box
3. LG UltraGear 32GN650-B (Best budget 1440p)
LG UltraGear monitors are generally great across the board, but if you want to play games in 2k for a low price, the 32-inch LG UltraGear 32GN650-B is a fantastic option at between $250-400, depending on whether you find a good deal.
Why is it noteworthy?
It balances strong performance with a relatively low asking price, featuring a relatively high maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz, HDR 10 support, and 1 ms Motion Blur Reduction.
What we like
It’s a 32-inch 2k monitor with decent specs for less than $400
165 Hz refresh rate and 5 ms GtG response times are great for this price range
What we dislike
Underwhelming contrast ratio
Low peak brightness
4. LG UltraGear OLED 45GR95QE (Best 21:9 ultrawide)
The LG UltraGear OLED 45GR95QE is a bit more feature-packed than the Alienware we mentioned earlier, only narrowly taking the trophy for best 21:9 ultrawide. It’s a fantastic 45-inch ultrawide 2k monitor, both blazing fast and featuring incredible HDR support thanks to its OLED display.
Why is it noteworthy?
The UltraGear OLED 45GR95QE is a massive, 45-inch OLED 3440x1440p gaming display with support for 240 Hz refresh rates, all types of VRR out of the box, HDR 400 with a 1500000:1 contrast ratio, and a 0.03 ms response time.
What we like
It’s probably the best 45-inch ultrawide gaming display you can buy right now without delving into 32:9 or 4k territory
What we dislike
Only 800R curvature, meaning the far edges of the screen will seem farther apart
5. Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 (Best 32:9 ultrawide)
The Samsung OLED G9 is an absurdly impressive super ultrawide (5440x1440p) gaming display, spanning a 32:9 aspect ratio with a visual style that makes it look like a piece of futuristic art, thanks to its chrome look and LED back array.
Why is it noteworthy?
It’s the world’s first OLED super ultrawide display. That alone is a huge deal, but yes, it even has all the bells and whistles you could want: 240 Hz refresh rate, 0.03 response time, TrueBlack HDR 400, and a contrast ratio so high it probably doesn’t need to be mentioned.
What we like
32:9 aspect ratio looks incredible with QD-OLED
Samsung Gaming Hub means you don’t even need a PC to play games on it
What we dislike
It costs $1799 – even though the price is coming down slowly
The ASRock PHANTOM GAMING PG34WQ15R2B is a powerful 34-inch 3440x1440p ultrawide gaming monitor that gets rid of a few bells and whistles to maintain wildly good cost performance.
Why is it noteworthy?
It’s hard to call this a bad purchase when it’s literally a 2k ultrawide gaming monitor for $379. It doesn’t include an OLED display or G-Sync Ultimate support, and its VESA DisplayHDR 400 is probably questionable without the former – but that’s a ridiculously low price for something this feature-packed. Its 165 Hz refresh rate, FreeSync support, and 1 ms response times make it a steal at that price.
What we like
Mind-boggling cost performance at $379
21:9 ultrawide with 1500R for immersive 2k gaming
Relatively high refresh rate/response time for cost
What we dislike
It’s not an OLED, and the HDR probably suffers for it
7. Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 UHD (Best 4k)
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 UHD is a high-performance 32-inch 4k curved gaming display – which even won a CES Best of Innovation award in 2022.
Why is it noteworthy?
It was the world’s first 4k gaming display with a 240 Hz refresh rate. More importantly, it’s also an ultrawide display with HDR 2000 support – meaning its peak brightness goes up to 2000 nits.
What we like
High performance 4k ultrawide
Deeply impressive HDR 2000 support thanks to Quantum Dot technology
240 Hz refresh rate
What we dislike
A bit small for an ultrawide with 4k resolution
Like all 4k monitors, it’s quite expensive at around $1499
8. GIGABYTE M27U Gaming Monitor (Best budget 4k)
The Gigabyte M27U is a well-balanced 27-inch 4k gaming display that does some genuinely interesting stuff for its low price of $549.99.
Why is it noteworthy?
It pushes 2160p resolutions at 160 Hz, while maintaining a tight 1 ms response time. At a price below $600, this makes it one of the stronger performers, and is a great alternative to a similarly-priced 2k monitor if you have the horsepower to drive games in 4k.
What we like
Strong cost performance
Multiple HDMI connections – making it a good console gaming monitor
What we dislike
It’s a bit small for a 4k display at 27 inches
9. ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM (Best 1080p)
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM is an impressive 27-inch 1o80p gaming display that checks every single box you could possibly want, minus OLED.
Why is it noteworthy?
If you value extremely high frame rates over fidelity, you can’t get a much better display than the ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM. Not only does its 1080p max resolution make it a lot friendlier with older gaming hardware, but it can also run at up to 280 Hz refresh rates, has excellent support for motion blur reduction, and it even does HDR 400.
What we like
One of the fastest monitors on the market thanks to 280 Hz max refresh
Gorgeous IPS display
What we dislike
At $299, it’s a bit pricy for a 1080p display
10. Samsung Odyssey Ark (Most excessive)
The Samsung Odyssey Ark is an oddity; this 55-inch Quantum Mini LED monitor shifts between being a 1000R 4k ultrawide display… or turning vertically into something totally different.
Why is it noteworthy?
It’s an absurdly large 4k ultrawide monitor with a 1000R “sound dome” and the ability to turn vertically, enabling cockpit mode – which lets you stack three screens vertically instead of having a single wide-spanning ultrawide view. This allows it a level of versatility unseen in any other monitor that – mixed with its Quantum Mini-LED display – combines to produce an experience that can only really be described as excessive for most gamers in 2023.
What we like
Its Quantum Mini-LED display makes its colors pop and produces incredibly rich blacks
It’s huge at 55 inches
You can switch between ultrawide and cockpit mode
What we dislike
It probably won’t fit on most desks
Its 165 Hz refresh and 1 ms response times underwhelm for the price and size
The average human makes roughly 1 million keystrokes each year… marking a major area for an ergonomic intervention. Unveiled today, the Logitech Wave Keys wireless keyboard joins the company’s Ergo line-up as a budget-friendly ergonomic keyboard to create a comfortable, reliable, and tactile typing experience. Designed to pair perfectly with the Lift Vertical mouse, the $59.99 Wave Keys offers a budget-friendly alternative Logitech’s $119.99 Ergo K860 split ergonomic keyboard launched back in 2020. Adopting a similar form factor, the Wave Keys gets its name from the unique wave-shaped form factor that’s a cross between traditional flat keyboards and those ergonomic spherical keyboards from the 1970s. This unique curved shape, along with the padded palm rest allows your hands to rest more naturally on the keyboard, enabling a comfortable experience for your fingers, wrists, and your palms… and I say this with a certain degree of confidence as I type this article out on the Wave Keys myself!
The first impression you get with the Wave Keys is how comfortably petite it is. The keyboard measures less than 13 inches across (375.97mm), occupying the same horizontal space as a conventional 15.6″ laptop, but has a 96% layout, putting it in compact full-sized territory. That means the keyboard sports a num-pad along with a function row, giving you every key you could need. The function row is also feature-optimized to do useful things like take screenshots, toggle the emoji menu, mute/unmute your microphone during audio/video calls, and even play-pause actively playing content.
The keyboard’s biggest highlight is its wave-shaped design, a feature it borrows (and refines) from its predecessor, the Ergo K860. Unlike the K860’s split-key format, the Wave Keys has a continuous key layout and features larger mechanical keycaps that offer a comfortably tactile experience. It’s not as quiet as the K860’s chiclet-style keycap, but it isn’t as noisy as some other mechanical keyboards either.
The wave-shaped hump at the center of the keyboard is something the Logitech design team arrived at after years of designing, prototyping, and refining. The keyboard was carefully crafted with multiple rounds of user testing including at Logitech’s Ergo Lab and has a stamp of approval from US Ergonomics.
Other ergonomic considerations are the padded palm-rest along with height-adjustable tilt-legs that give the keyboard up to 4° of elevation for easier typing over longer periods of time. The palm rest (yet another feature extended from the K860 line) does make the keyboard wider than most, measuring 8.6 inches (218.9 mm) from top to bottom, but it vastly enhances the keyboard’s comfort levels, allowing it to live up to its ergonomic character.
The Wave Keys runs on Bluetooth as well as Logitech’s Bolt receiver, which additionally supports the Lift Vertical mouse.
The Wave Keys supports connections to up to 3 devices at the same time, allowing you to switch between them using the first three buttons on the function row. The keyboard connects to different devices using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), supporting operating systems like Windows, MacOS, iPadOS, Chrome OS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Alternatively, it ships with the Logi Bolt USB receiver that plugs into a USB-A port, letting you connect using Logitech’s more secure wireless protocol. Additionally, the free Logi Options+ app lets you customize your keyboard experience by changing what the function buttons do, adding software/program-specific shortcuts, or even enabling Smart Actions that allow you to automate multiple tasks with a single keystroke so you can streamline your workflow. The Wave Keys runs on two AAA batteries, and Logitech touts an impressive 3-year lifespan before the batteries need to be replaced.
Sustainability also forms a core part of Logitech’s design and innovation approach. The company has touted using PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastics in their products and the Wave Keys is no different, with up to 61% of recycled plastic in its Graphite version, and 46% in its off-white version. The Wave Keys are also certified carbon-neutral and ship with zero-plastic packaging.
The Logitech Wave Keys launches today in two colorways – Graphite and Off White, with a third option named Rose launching in the spring of 2024. The Wave Keys starts at a retail price of $59.99 in North America and €79.99 in Europe, making it a perfect budget pick for individuals as well as for businesses. Visit the Logitech website to learn more.
Cooler Master is getting extra creative with its case designs lately, and it’s all thanks to mods. Back in February 2022, we reported on a Cooler Master case shaped like a giant shoe that was initially invented by a modder named JMDF during Cooler Master’s 2020 Case Mod World Series competition. At some point along the way, Cooler Master decided to lean fully into the sneaker aesthetic – and now we have Sneaker X, a fully-fledged Mini-ITX gaming desktop that represents the inevitable logical endpoint of designing computers to look like footwear.
Cooler Master’s design ethos is made clear in its official Sneaker X video, where it’s shown just how intricate this truly ridiculous-looking desktop needs to be in order to function. The interior is packed with components that look difficult to keep cool given how little airflow is allowed to exist between them. However, an exposed side-vent plus the open roof of the chassis (which unfortunately doesn’t provide enough room for an actual human foot) both likely help heat rise out of the computer’s internal components. There’s also a complex-looking integrated AIO water cooling system connected to a single RGB intake fan on the right side of the case. Yes, you read that correctly: there’s only one visible case fan in the entire build.
The Sneaker X comes in two models, with a few shared technical specifications between them. Every Sneaker X ships with a custom Z790 ITX mobo containing 32 gigs of DDR5 RAM (which, according to an Amazon listing, runs at a base clock of 5600Mhz), a 2TB PCEe 4.0 NVME storage drive, an Intel Core i7-13700K CPU, and the proprietary Master Liquid PL360 Flux “Sneaker Edition” cooling system, all powered by a Cooler Master V850 SFX Gold PSU.
That all sounds great on paper, but for a base price of $3499, the Sneaker X is probably not every PC gamer’s first choice. The base model includes a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 with 12GB of VRAM, whereas the $3799 edition bumps that GeForce RTX 4070 up to a far more powerful GeForce RTX 4070 Ti. You can now buy either PC from Cooler Master’s website to make your sneaker collection a little more high-tech.
“Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one, they fell into darkness…” The Middle-Earth Ringwraith’s fate gets captured beautifully on this greed-eliciting keyboard that I definitely want to get my hands on. Designed as a limited-edition drop, the Ringwraith Keyboard features exceptional build quality, exclusive components, and brand-new case artwork thanks to a collaboration between the folks at Drop.com and Middle Earth Enterprises.
The 80% keyboard boasts a TKL layout and comes with meticulously printed keycaps containing the Quenya language, embedded within a stunning red aluminum outer case. The escape key comes adorned with the eye of Sauron, the enter key with the shards of the sword Narsil, the function key is the ring itself, while the spacebar has the ring’s inscription printed on it. Don’t get too tempted, though… there are only 9 such keyboards forged into existence.
The keyboard isn’t quite for everyone – you’ll either need to have great muscle memory or a working knowledge of the Quenya language, given that all the keys feature the Quenyan script (the real symbols are written in small subscript in the bottom right corner, however). The keyboard features Holy Panda X Switches with Phantom Stabilizers, providing a uniquely tactile bump and ultra-smooth keystroke. The keycaps, however, are swappable and Drop even provides extra caps for the arrow, escape, enter, and spacebar keys.
The 87-key keyboard also comes with an optional set of artisan keycaps (shown in the top corner below), allowing you to add actual 3D imagery to your board. The keyboard has a white backlight for easy typing even in the dark, comes with a USB-C cable and a keycap switcher. The entire set (excluding the artisan keycaps) starts at $149, and is limited to 9 units.
The graphics on the keyboard stay true to the LOTR series with Quenyan inscriptions
