What better gift is there than the gift of choice? With a Steam gift card, the PC gamer on your list can get anything they want from Valve’s vast library of computer titles, from recent hits like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and The Witcher 3 to old-school PC classics like Doom and such beloved indies as Hollow Knight and Stardew Valley.
Credit: Steam
If the PC gamer on your list loves retro games, the 8BitDo SN30 is absolutely essential. This affordable throwback controller replicates the timeless feel of the classic Super Nintendo pad, while offering a variety of slick color schemes that pay homage to the Game Boy Classic. Whether you’re fighting your way through Cuphead or throwing it back with Sonic Mania or the Mega Man X Legacy Collection, the SN30 is the ultimate companion for platformers and retro games.
Credit: Laptop Mag
Forza Horizon 4 isn’t just one of the best racing games on PC – it’s one of the most fun open-world experiences out there, period. Playground Games’ latest arcade driving game sets you loose in beautiful Britain, where you can race and tackle a wealth of fun activities as the seasons dynamically shift in real-time, offering new environmental challenges at every turn. With hundreds of cars to unlock and tons of customization and multiplayer options, this is the ultimate game for the driving fanatic on your list.
Credit: Microsoft
Every serious gamer needs a great headset, and the HyperX Cloud Alpha is as good as it gets in the sub-$100 price range. This sturdy and attractive headset offers rich, immersive audio within a premium aluminum design that supports a pair of supremely cozy memory foam earcups.
Credit: HyperX
Carry your new gaming laptop and accessories around in style. No matter what brand your notebook and peripherals are, they’ll fit comfortably into Alienware’s Vindicator series of bags. We love this messenger bag for its variety of pockets, including six zippered compartments for your cables and thumb drives and a padded area dedicated for a notebook up to 15 inches.
Credit: Mobile Edge
If you’re willing to splurge for the gamer on your life on a laptop that looks as good as it performs, the MSI GS65 Stealth Thin can’t be beat. This notebook crams an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GTX 1070 Max-Q graphics into a super-slim, droolworthy chassis, allowing you to crank up the latest PC games and even some VR titles – and look good doing so.
Credit: Laptop Mag
The latest Call of Duty game mixes up the series’ tried-and-true formula to great success. An all-multiplayer experience, Black Ops 4 offers classic competitive Call of Duty multiplayer with unique character powers, the beloved Zombies mode, and a brand-new Battle Royale experience dubbed Blackout. Whether the gamer on your list is seeking some great co-op zombie action or wants to fight to be the last player standing, they’ll find something to love in this game.
The Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum is our favorite gaming mouse forgood reason. This $57 mouse is comfortable for both palm and claw-grippers and has granular weight control. Throw in large, smartly-placed buttons and a refined scroll wheel and you have a great mouse for any game genre.
The Dell G7 15 proves that you can get the gamer in your life a great gaming notebook without busting your bank account. Packing up to an Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GTX 1060 graphics, this affordable powerhouse can handle hot games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Shadow of the Tomb Raider at respectable settings. And thanks to the G7’s refreshingly slick white, blue and black color scheme, the gamer on your list will play in style no matter where they are.
Credit: Laptop
If the gamer in your life takes their Call of Duty or Fortnite sessions seriously, the Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller is well worth the investment. This premium pad sports a weighty, soft-touch coated design, complete with a variety of swappable analog sticks and d-pads that allow you to customize the controller to your playstyle. Factor in rear-facing paddles for additional controls and hair-trigger locks for faster gunshots, and the Xbox Elite controller is the ultimate competitive edge.
Credit: Xbox
If you’re a streamer who doesn’t have the money or the space for a green screen, the Logitech C922 Pro Stream Webcam is the next best thing. It takes all of the best features of the Logitech C920 — a normal webcam with great picture and sound quality — and adds the Personify ChromaCam software to let you float above the action or sit in front of custom backgrounds. It can be a bit finicky to start, but once you get it working, it looks amazing. Credit: Logitech
Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your Shopping List
The Best Gifts for Business TravelersThe Best Gifts for Mac Owners and Apple FansThe Best Gifts for Kids
Laptop Upgrade Guide
Previous TipNext Tip
How to Tell If You Can Upgrade Your LaptopHow to Install an mSATA SSD Boot DriveHow to Upgrade Your Laptop’s Hard Drive to an SSDHow to Install an M.2 SSD in the Lenovo ThinkPad T440sHow to Upgrade the RAM on the Lenovo ThinkPad T440sHow to Upgrade the RAM (Memory) on a LaptopHow to Upgrade the SSD in Your MacBook ProHow to Upgrade Your Alienware 17’s SSD and Hard DriveHow to Upgrade Your Alienware 17’s RAMHow to Upgrade Your Dell XPS 13’s SSDHow to Upgrade Your ThinkPad 13’s RAMHow to Upgrade Your ThinkPad 13’s SSDHow to Upgrade Your ThinkPad T460s’ RAMHow to Upgrade Your ThinkPad T460s’ SSD
