Every year, hundreds if not thousands of new products arrive for the PC gaming platform. From core components like graphics cards, Us, and motherboards to accessories like headsets, chairs, and mice, we have more options than ever to customize our gaming rig and environment to our personal tastes. But while many products are good or even great, only a few reach the lofty heights of being the best.
But what does best mean? It's not just the fastest or craziest parts that will win, though those are certainly factors. We also love a great value, and it's awesome to see and test new products that move our industry forward. Every product that we've selected is something we can recommend with confidence that you'll be wowed by the experience. Some of our picks may not be affordable, but these are still our favorites.
Over the next two weeks, we'll be publishing our picks for the best hardware in each of eighteen categories. We only have one rule, and it's that a product has to have been released in 2017 in order to qualify. We love many older products and they continue to work great, but sometimes they're not as readily available, and we still want to recognize the advancements that have happened this year, not in the past.
Gear of the Year Winners
Best U of the Year: Intel Core i5-8400
We're all finished with our awards for 2017. Thanks to all the companies who pushed the boundaries of what we can expect from computer hardware. We look forward to seeing all the new tech that 2018 will bring us!
