When people think about upgrading to a big, immersive display, the latest 5K2K monitors from LG and Samsung are usually the first that come to mind. However, while they’re certainly some of the best monitors you can buy, they come with premium price tags of at least $1,000.

Fortunately, if you want more screen real estate but don’t want to pay as much as you would for a high-end graphics card, there are more affordable alternatives. A few months back, I tried out the 5K2K Innocn 401CU and it certainly fits the bill. While it has a list price of $999, I’ve seen it as low as $600 during major sales events.

After looking through the comments on that story though, I was surprised to see how many Tom’s Guide readers thought even that sale price was too expensive for a monitor, with many suggesting buying a budget 4K TV instead. To see if I could find a gem in the rough, I decided to try out Innocn’s even more affordable sibling: the 401CR ultrawide monitor.

At full price, it’s just under $500, but I’ve seen it go for as low as $350 while on sale. At that price, it’s a steal for a flat, 40-inch ultrawide with single-cable USB-C connectivity. Given Prime Day starts today, I expect it to see a deep discount.

If you need massive screen space for productivity and more immersive gaming, this underdog might just be the perfect upgrade for your desk setup.

Flat, wide and fully-specced

At 37.1 x 16.5 x 2.2 inches, the 40C1R is anything but a small display, and at roughly 20 pounds without the stand, it’s on the heavier side, too. Thankfully, Innocn includes a fairly heavy-duty stand with a thick metal baseplate and a plastic vertical arm that’s reinforced with a sturdy metal core.

Having unboxed my fair share of monitors over the years, I really like how Innocn includes a high-speed USB-C to USB-C video cable and a DisplayPort cable right in the box. You don’t get an HDMI cable though, but you likely have several of those laying around anyway. Likewise, you probably won’t want to use an HDMI connection with this display as your refresh rate will be capped at 100 Hz versus the full 144 Hz you get over DisplayPort.

With the monitor lying face down on my desk, you get a clear look at its overall structural design. Right off the bat, I love how Innocn uses standard, square 100 x 100 VESA mounting holes instead of those silly circular 75 x 75 ones you see on a lot of other gaming monitors. This makes it incredibly easy to swap out the stand for any of the best monitor arms since you won’t need to hunt for a proprietary adapter.

Looking at the back of the panel, the connectivity is split cleanly. The power port sits entirely on its own side, which highlights one of my favorite features: a built-in power supply. Just like the more expensive 40C1U, there is no bulky power brick to hide under your desk — just a single standard power cable. On the opposite side of the rear cutout, you'll find the main selection of ports, while the monitor’s physical OSD navigation buttons line the corresponding outer edge.

As for those ports, you get a great selection of connection options, including dual HDMI 2.0 inputs, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack. While the 40C1R drops the built-in USB-A hub found on the premium 40C1U to save on cost, it oddly beats its more expensive sibling in utility: its USB-C port delivers a massive 90W of power delivery as opposed to just 60W.

After unboxing the 40C1R, I installed the included stand using a single built-in thumb screw. With the monitor securely set up and plugged in, it was finally time to see how it performs.

Laptop power with gaming PC framerates

In order to test the 40C1R and make sure it was working properly, I first hooked it up to a MacBook Pro M5 I borrowed from work for another monitor review. Although 90W of power delivery is a bit less than the 140W provided by Apple's included charger, it is still more than enough juice to keep a 16-inch MacBook fully topped off even during heavy workloads. For the rest of the best laptops, 90W will be plenty to fast charge them while connected to this massive display.

With the MacBook Pro plugged into the 40C1R, the monitor’s IPS panel looked vibrant and crisp, with no dead pixels to speak of. While the 40C1R does come equipped with dual 5W built-in speakers, I ended up switching back to the ones on the MacBook Pro after a bit. Still, they are nice to have in a pinch, and they do sound much less tinny than the bottom-tier 2W speakers you find on a lot of other budget monitors.

Sadly, I no longer own a big, bulky gaming desktop anymore (as I’ve been using one of the best mini PCs for both work and play for the past few years) but fortunately, my favorite pocketable mini PC — the Khadas Mind 2S — can be instantly upgraded with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti desktop GPU just by dropping it onto Khadas’ Mind Graphics 2 dock.

Now, I know what you might be thinking when looking at a compact setup like this: airflow. I too was worried about putting this docked mini PC directly underneath the 40C1R at first. However, after pushing the hardware and running a few demanding games on it, I didn’t run into any thermal throttling or heating issues at all. I chalk this up to Khadas' excellent internal cooling design and the fact that the dock's entire outer shell is machined from aluminum, which acts as a giant heatsink.

With the 40C1R confirmed to be fully operational and paired with a surprisingly powerful eGPU dock, it was time to see how this budget-friendly 40-inch ultrawide handles real-world productivity and immersive gaming.

Big screen on a budget

Back when I tried out Innocn’s more premium 40-inch ultrawide, I did play a few games on it. However, with a massive resolution of 5120 x 2160, the Framework Desktop I was using at the time struggled to push smooth frame rates. With a lower — yet still reasonably high — resolution of 3440 x 1440, I knew that my mini PC with its desktop-grade RTX 5060 Ti would have a much easier time keeping up. Likewise, given this is an outright gaming monitor instead of a productivity-first screen like the 40C1U, it actually features a much higher 144 Hz refresh rate.

For the past few months, I’ve been making my way through Death Stranding 2, and on an ultrawide display like this one with a 21:9 aspect ratio, it’s been an absolute joy to play. Not only was the game’s world wider than it was on my PS5 Pro, but I could crank the framerate past 60 fps all the way up to a buttery-smooth 144 fps. In fact, if you’re coming from a console and are playing on an ultrawide, you might end up double-dipping on a few titles just to experience them at full width without any distracting black bars on the sides.

In addition to Death Stranding 2, I also really enjoyed playing my go-to skateboarding game Session and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on this wider display. It also helps that the monitor comes equipped with AMD’s FreeSync Premium, so you can turn on VRR (variable refresh rate) for a tear-free experience. The 40C1R does have HDR support, but I preferred leaving it off since it's an HDR400 panel that tops out around 400 to 500 nits of brightness. Without local dimming, SDR content actually looks a lot punchier.

With an ultrawide display like the 40C1R, streaming content online can be awesome, too... if you find the right video. While most TV shows are locked to standard 16:9, you can find plenty of movies and even some music videos — like Drake’s "2 Hard 4 The Radio" pictured above — that are natively available with a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio. After upgrading to an ultrawide, I highly recommend going to YouTube, searching for 21:9 trailers, and turning the resolution all the way up. You won’t be disappointed.

Overall, I’m quite impressed with the 40C1R, especially given the fact that it’s a four-year-old monitor design. While you might think you need the latest and greatest OLED display to upgrade your desk setup or battlestation, my experience with this monitor proves you definitely don’t.

One for work, one for play

I’ll admit, I was lucky enough to experience Innocn’s latest and greatest 40-inch ultrawide before tying out this more budget-friendly model. However, after thoroughly testing both of them, they each clearly have their place depending on your use case and how much you’re willing to spend.

With its higher resolution and built-in USB hub, the Innocn 40C1U is a fantastic productivity monitor. You can see substantially more on the screen at the same time, and if you want to switch between two computers — say a Mac and a Windows machine like I’m doing here — you won’t need to buy a separate KVM switch. However, for gaming at that native 5K2K resolution, you’re going to need a really beefy graphics card with frame generation turned on for your favorite titles to truly shine.

Given its higher refresh rate and lower price, the Innocn 40C1R stands out as a fantastic ultrawide monitor for gaming, even if the underlying panel design is several years old now. While it comes equipped with legacy HDMI 2.0 ports instead of newer HDMI 2.1 ones, that won’t be a problem since you’re going to want to use a DisplayPort cable anyway to make full use of its faster 144 Hz refresh rate. Although a built-in USB-A hub would have been nice to see, I’m sure most people would rather have the massive 90W of power delivery over USB-C so they can fast charge a laptop and utilize it to its fullest potential at the same time.

Now, would I recommend either of these monitors for gaming on a console? Absolutely not, since even the more powerful PS5 Pro is still strictly locked to a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. That could very well change down the road with the PS6 and Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix, but for now, if you want to experience a wider, more immersive field of view while gaming, PC is your best and only option.

At the moment, I have the Innocn 40C1U set up as my dedicated work machine powered by the ultra-powerful Geekom A9 Max 2026 Edition, and I’m using the Innocn 40C1R right alongside it for gaming. If I was on a strict budget and had to pick one over the other, the 40C1R would easily be my choice because you’re getting a flat, massive 40-inch ultrawide with a high refresh rate and better power delivery over a single USB-C cable. That’s not to say the 40C1U is a bad monitor by any means, but at 100 Hz with a demanding 5K2K resolution, it’s simply much better suited for spreadsheets and content creation than it is for high-framerate gaming.

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The first reviews for the highly anticipated Steam Machine have gone live… and the verdict is decidedly mixed.

The SteamOS-powered mini PC is Valve’s latest attempt to deliver a premium, console-like experience for your Steam library. It starts at $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609 for the 512GB model and jumps to $1,428 / £1,208 / AU$2,228 for the 2TB model with a controller. Yes, this is one expensive piece of kit!

We’ll be getting a Steam Machine in soon for review, so for now, let’s take a look at what some prominent tech reviewers have to say about the Steam Machine.

What are reviewers saying about the Steam Machine?

One aspect that’s receiving consistent praise is the Steam Machine’s design. Digital Foundry calls it “beautiful hardware,” and the other outlets agree that the small cube form factor feels premium and fits a living room setup. Valve’s mini PC apparently runs cool and quiet, and the front-facing ports (such as a microSD reader) are well placed for easy access.

“Valve's beautifully tiny console-like PC is finally here," says Digital Foundry. "And from a form factor perspective, it's kind of irresistible. Imagine a taller Nintendo Gamecube, and you have some idea of how tiny this thing is.”

Another thing reviewers like is SteamOS itself, which I’ve praised on the Steam Deck. Digital Foundry says that SteamOS is “fantastic,” and IGN notes that the Steam Machine boots straight into big picture mode while still letting you drop into the Linux desktop mode for other tasks, if needed. Basically, you get the same basic UI experience as on the Steam Deck, which is great.

Things get more complicated when it comes to performance. Linus Tech Tips, in particular, noted some big swings in their benchmarks. For instance, Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran above 120 frames per second at 4K resolution, but Cyberpunk 2077, with ray tracing enabled, hobbled along at 15 fps at 1080p. However, without ray tracing and the frame-boosting FSR enabled, IGN got the latter to run at 42 fps.

Richard Leadbetter, Digital Foundry

Linus Sebastian, Linus Tech Tips

IGN

Comparison-wise, Digital Foundry says the Steam Machine performs between an RX 6600 and RX 7600, which are GPUs that can deftly handle 1080p/1440p high settings. However, the Steam Machine's 8GB of VRAM becomes a limitation for gaming at 4K with ray tracing.

"It is easily the best living room PC our reviewer has ever used, despite being a bit weaker than either of the base consoles," says IGN.

Naturally, the thing all reviews keep coming back to is the Steam Machine’s price. IGN says the cost is “a major factor in who to recommend this to,” while Digital Foundry wonders if the hardware justifies the cost, given the performance level.

“It cost more than we hoped, and Valve confirmed they feel the same way,” said Linus Tech Tips, which is likely why their video is titled: "Even Valve is disappointed." Linus also said, “I was really hoping that this was going to bring PC gaming to the mainstream living room... But this is a premium price, even though I wouldn't say it's a premium product," says Linus Tech Tips.

Many of the comments across all three video reviews say they can build a strong PC for a similar price, and that it’s hard to justify Valve’s platform over a PS5 Pro (currently $899) or a proper desktop.

IGN had the most positive take, saying: “We love a lot about it, had some issues with it, but overall came away from our time with it feeling very positive.” The outlet specifically says it’s great if you have a large Steam library and want something that just works in the living room without any tinkering.

Outlook

Overall, early reviews of the Steam Machine agree that it is a well-designed piece of hardware that delivers on the promise of a convenient SteamOS living room box. Of course, the main sticking point is whether the performance and convenience are enough to justify the lofty asking price.

Again, we’ll have a full review of the Steam Machine for you soon, so stay tuned for that and additional coverage on Valve’s latest gaming machine.

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The Steam Machine is ready to preorder right now, and I will be getting one to review soon. But beyond my standard testing, I want to open the floor to any questions from you in a live Q&A.

Before we get to that, though, there are some other key questions we need to get to — namely, when you'll be able to buy one, and how much it will cost.

Spoiler alert on the latter: Steam Machine pricing starts at $1,049 (actually not as bad as I expected). But read on for all the information you need if you're keen to pick one up!

When is the Steam Machine launching?

Right now, you can sign up for the Steam Machine model (or bundle) that you're interested in. You'll be placed into a reservation queue and notified via email when it's your turn to purchase — an action that looks set to stop bots and scalpers snagging them all.

The first batch of these emails will be sent starting Monday, June 29th.

How much will Steam Machine cost?

This has been the big question here, and I've got all the details here. You'll be able to order the Steam Machine either on its own or as part of a bundle with the Steam Controller.

• Steam Machine 512GB: $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609
• Steam Machine 512GB + Steam Controller: $1,128 / £938 / AU$ 1,728
• Steam Machine 2TB: $1,349 / £1,149 / AU$2,109
• Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller: $1,428 / £1,208 / AU$2,228

It's also worth noting that the Steam Machine 2TB + Controller bundle also comes with two additional faceplates: red fabric and solid walnut.

Is this a good price for the Steam Machine?

Honestly, given the RAMageddon fears we've all had, and how the huge Steam Deck price increase terrified all of us, this price could have been a lot worse.

That being said, it's still pricey, and Valve is straight up about how this has "proven to be a weird time to launch hardware."

"We felt like we had a good understanding of how those costs might change over time when we first started sourcing them for Steam Machine back in 2023," Valve wrote in its blog post.

"Over the past year or so, that has changed quickly and significantly, most visibly for RAM and storage components."

Because of these, Valve confirms that the company's original price goal is "no longer viable," and that this total reflects "the price of components as we've secured them over the past 6 months."

That being said, though, they do also say that the availability of these precious components has "impacted the number of units" Valve has been able to produce for launch.

Any further questions?

So chances are, with that price, you've got some questions about whether it's worth it for you. I'm getting one to test (a 2TB model to be specific), and can answer any questions you have about the hardware.

I can run tests beyond any of our standard suite for you, give you general thoughts, or see how far I can push the hardware. Whatever you want me to do, just throw your questions in the Live Q&A box below, and I'll start responding after I've fully reviewed the hardware.

And of course, we want to keep this a friendly community chat with all the consumer advice you'll need. Please treat everyone (including yours truly) with respect and avoid any nasty language.

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Hackers are once again targeting gamers on Steam, but this time, instead of using malware-filled games to do so, they’ve switched to hiding malicious code in desktop wallpapers.

As reported by BleepingComputer, these infected wallpapers can prove quite dangerous for unsuspecting gamers as they can provide an easy way to install a backdoor on one of the best gaming PCs or even to hijack their Steam accounts.

Any image you download online could contain malware. However, the hackers behind this campaign are leveraging an incredibly popular Steam app to do so instead. With 20 to 50 million installs according to SteamSpy, Wallpaper Engine is one of the most downloaded apps on the platform.

What makes Wallpaper Engine so popular, though, is that users can download hundreds of thousands of desktop wallpapers made by other users through Valve’s community hub, Steam Workshop. By abusing this feature, the hackers are easily able to disseminate their infected wallpapers.

Here’s everything you need to know about the latest malware threat on Steam and how you can keep your account — and your gaming PC — safe from hackers.

Malicious application wallpapers

For those unfamiliar, in addition to static wallpapers, Wallpaper Engine also supports four dynamic wallpaper types that can render videos, interactive scenes, webpages with audio and video, and applications. That last one is incredibly important in this campaign.

Unlike a JPEG or PNG file, Wallpaper Engine’s application wallpapers are full-on Windows executables that run like any other program on your PC. According to researchers at the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, not only do they pose a built-in security risk, but they’re also currently being used by hackers to deliver malware to unsuspecting Steam users.

In a blog post, Kaspersky’s researchers explained how they discovered dozens of malicious application wallpapers on Steam Workshop, many of which had been downloaded thousands or even tens of thousands of times. By analyzing the application wallpapers in question, the researchers found that the malware is either bundled directly into their installation packages or hidden inside password-protected archives that users are then tricked into opening. Unfortunately, the damage is done immediately after one of these compromised wallpapers is installed.

After a user installs one such asset posing as a game called NTRaholic, the wallpaper launches as expected. However, in the process, a backdoor file belonging to the DarkKomet malware is also installed in the background. In order to search for and steal Steam credentials, a custom version of a system library called ‘AggregatorHost.dll’ is installed as well.

In addition to DarkKomet, Kaspersky’s researchers also found other malware families installed in these malicious wallpapers, like the Lumma and Vidar infostealers. They were even used to spread ransomware, too.

How to stay safe from malware

Fortunately, after Kaspersky alerted Valve about this campaign, all of the infected wallpapers in question were removed from the Steam Workshop. Still, this is an excellent reminder to always be careful when downloading files online, even if they come from a trusted platform.

In order to stay safe from any malware contained within desktop wallpapers, game mods, or games themselves, you definitely want to make sure your gaming PC is protected with the best antivirus software. If you want to be extra careful, you might also consider investing in one of the best identity theft protection services. That way, if your credentials are compromised as a result of what you download online, you have a safety net to help monitor your data and recover financial losses from fraud.

When in doubt, stick to trusted creators when downloading new wallpapers and be extra cautious before running any executable on your gaming PC. This likely won’t be the last time hackers target Steam in their attacks, but Valve has an excellent track record of quickly responding to and dealing with malicious activity on its platform.

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PlayStation has had its turn, and this weekend was time for Microsoft’s Xbox to take the spotlight. The Xbox Game Showcase 2026 promises the latest looks at upcoming games from Xbox Game Studios, alongside new reveals and trailers from some of the biggest franchises around.

The live-streamed event kicked off Sunday at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST, and if one Xbox gaming showcase wasn’t enough, it was immediately followed by the Gears of War: E-Day Direct, with plenty of new information on the upcoming shooter, which is set to release on October 6. Don’t worry if you couldn't watch; you can check out all the biggest announcements and reveal below.

Alongside Gears, we saw more from the new Fable game, a teaser for Persona 5, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 had a presence in a big way, as well as the Halo 1 remake.

How to watch Xbox Games Showcase 2026

Xbox Games Showcase 2026 + Gears of War: E-Day Direct takes place today (Sunday, June 7) at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST.

You can watch the recording via YouTube or Twitch.

LIVE UPDATES

Welcome!

Good morning! Welcome to Tom's Guide's coverage of the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 + Gears of War: E-Day Direct (that's quite a mouthful). We'll have live updates covering all the new reveals and trailers in this live blog. If you're a passionate Xbox gamer, you won't want to miss this mammoth-sized live showcase.

Halo: Campaign Evolved screenshots leaked

There's been a surprising lack of leaks ahead of today's Xbox Games Showcase, but several screenshots of Halo: Campaign Evolved were captured on Xbox's official store page by some eagle-eyed Redditors before being taken down. The screenshots give us a glimpse at Cortana's redesign, along with battles in space and redesigned brutes with beards.

Persona 6 debut?

Several leakers have suggested we could get a look at Persona 6 today, though with Atlus also expected to reveal a release date for Persona 4 Revival at the Xbox Games Showcase, I'm not too optimistic. Then again, that would be peak Atlus.

Don't expect any next-gen console news

Games will be front and center at today's presentation (it is all called the Xbox Games Showcase, after all). But if you were getting your hopes up about new details on Xbox's next-gen console, codenamed Project Helix, I'm here to dash those.

"The focus here is on the games," Microsoft Studios boss Matt Booty said on the latest Xbox podcast (h/t Gamespot). "There won’t be Helix news. Helix will not be in this showcase. We want to get everything about that right."

A new era for Xbox

The showcase will be the first under new CEO of Microsoft Gaming Asha Sharma, who took over for now-retired Xbox boss Phil Spencer in February. Though I don't have high hopes given the show's focus on games, I'd love to see her outline a clearer picture on Xbox's future.

Phil's vision of Xbox's next-gen console as a powerful PC-like machine for your living room sounds tailored toward a pretty niche audience, but with rising costs of, well, everything these days, more and more gamers are getting priced out. Will Xbox pivot to court a broader crowd or double down on what's rumors suggest could be a pricey next-gen console?

Viva Piñata revival?

It's a long shot, but given the recent success of Pokopia, I'd love to see Xbox revive its Viva Piñata series. We haven't gotten a new game since Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise way back in 2008. Cozy games have only gotten more popular since then, and I say it's time to bring it back with more piñatas, bigger gardens, and modern controls.

Just an hour to go...

The Xbox Games Showcase is almost here! In a little over an hour, the livestreamed event will kick off, giving us our first look at games like State of Decay 3, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and new Fable and Call of Duty games.

The red room of death

Yesterday Xbox CEO Asha Sharma shared a snapshot on X of the in-person venue this year's showcase will take place at. It's giving off big "Twin Peaks" vibes to me.

Here we go!

The Xbox Games Showcase is about to kick off! As a refresher for anyone just joining us, you can watch along via YouTube or Twitch when the event kicks off at the top of the hour. Gears of War: E-day will front and center, with its own Direct immediately following the showcase. Also expect to hear more about RPGs like Fable, Clockwork Revolution, and the Persona series as well as a statement of intent from Xbox's new leadership.

New gameplay trailer for Gears of War: E Day

I'm not surprised to see Xbox kick things off with gameplay footage of today's main event: Gears of War: E-Day. A lengthy shot of gameplay showed off combat as chaos erupts through the street. The carnage is every bit as gritty and bloody as expected of the series, complete with chainsaws galore.

The age of Xbox exclusives continues

The new CEO of Microsoft Gaming Asha Sharma revealed Xbox isn't done with console exclusives quite yet. After showing off some gameplay footage of Gears of War: E-Day, the exec announced it would be an Xbox exclusive when it comes out on October 6, 2026. Considering how many previously exclusive Xbox games have made their way to other consoles, it was unclear whether Xbox would continue making them or instead pivot to hedging its bets with wider releases.

Fable revival looks promising

I love RPGs, but somehow never played the original Fable games so I wasn't too hyped for the series revival. After seeing the trailer, though, I'm excited. The writing made me laugh out loud, landing somewhere between Baldur's Gate 3 and Vox Machina with some well-placed F-bombs that actually landed rather than feeling forced. The combat looks stellar as well, with a weight that reminds me of the newer God of War games. Fable will hit store shelves on February 23, 2027.

Halo gets space battles

Three new missions are coming to Halo Campaign Evolved, the big remake of the first Halo, and Xbox showed off an exciting new addition in today's showcase: space flying missions and combat. The missions seem to be prequels to the original's campaign, with the voiceover promising a story "we haven't heard yet" that takes place "one year before the ring." Halo Campaign Evolved releases July 28, 2026.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy up next

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy shifts the spotlight to Sophia in a prequel adventure. The combat and gameplay seems less horror and more Tomb Raider/Uncharted vibes with some of the ancient temples she's seen running through. It comes out August 27 across multiple platforms.

Persona 4 Revival takes the stage

Take a trip to The Midnight Channel with our first real look at Persona 4 Revival. In the same vein as the Persona 3 Reload remake, the PS2 original looks way more detailed this time around with animated cut scenes, vibrant colors, and more detailed models. Atlus is also bringing over the Baton Pass mechanic from P3R for flashy, Persona 5-esque battles.

It's out Feb 18, 2027!

Build your cult in Join Us

Join Us from Wolf Haus Games has the graphics and multiplayer havoc of GTA 6 with the premise of Cult of the Lamb, and I'm here for it. In either single player and 4-person co-op you build your cult and convert followers to your cause while surviving giant tentacle monsters emerging from the Earth and other apocalyptic scenarios. The voice acting is on point too: "You better evaluate your life choices."

A new Senua game on the horizon

We got a look at some of the combat and gameplay for the third game in the Senua series, simply titled Senua, that's coming out next year. The combat has always been on the floaty side, but her hits landed with a satisfying weight and there seems to be plenty of environmental tools you can use in group fights. The trailer showed her kicking over a burning effigy to scatter her opponents.

Fallout 76 gets some new goodies

Bethesda up now with a Fallout 76 update with a seriously catchy jingle. The new Infestations update, which is available now, adds plenty of new baddies to mow through with your friends. And is that new power armor I see? Nice!

Sega's Crazy Taxi revival looks sick

As soon as I heard that "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" I was sat up. Sega's long in development Crazy Taxi revival finally has a name and a slick new trailer. The gameplay footage showed off even more insane antics as players pick up customers and zip around the city. Crazy Taxi World Tour comes out in 2027 across PS5, Xbox, and PC.

Y'all we are so back

Xbox showed off a new Xbox model for the company's 25th anniversary, with a Y2K style I've been chomping at the bit to come back: Those colored see-through casings that were everywhere in the early aughts. The limited edition Xbox Series X25 comes out in November 2026, and while it's not clear if it'll sport any new specs, they nailed the design.

Minecraft Dungeons II gets a new trailer

Mojang Studios returns with its next Minecraft thing, showing off players fighting through dungeons together in a world of blocky, Minecraft-style visuals. Minecraft Dungeons 2 is coming September 29.

The Thieves Guild is back

Some Elder Scrolls news, though not Elder Scrolls 6. Rather, the series' MMORPG entry, The Elder Scrolls Online, is getting a thieves guild expansion that takes players to the high seas and underwater in a hunt for glorious loot. Also making an appearance was Sheogorath, the Daedric prince of madness, and it sure looks like he got transported to Skyrim. The update is coming out July 8.

Genderbent Castlevania, yes please

To celebrate Castlevania's 40th anniversary, we got a new look at Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, a new 2D entry in the series. It looks to be a substantial entry in the series, complete with a sprawling castle map and powers like gravity-flipping and jumping inside a painting. It's coming out October 15, 2026.

Persona 6 got...something

Persona 6 made an appearance at today's showcase, though hardly a substantial one. Instead of any gameplay or a look at the new cast of characters, we got another green-tinged teaser, this time of a graveyard and a couple of collages of people with cut-up pictures. I'm sure it'll all make more sense once Atlus releases the first batch of trailers, which may not be for a while considering we still don't have a release date.

Spyro, my boy!

Would you look at that, Spyro's getting a revival! I loved the games as a kid, and the trailer showed off the iconic purple dragon and some new flight-based gameplay. Spyro: A Realm Beyond takes flight in spring 2027.

Clockwork Revolution confirmed for 2027

inXile's steampunk RPG Clockwork Revolution finally has a release window, and it's 2027. In today's showcase, we got a look at some of the game's core characters and first-person environments. Also: a heist plot! All signs point to it being another Xbox exclusive.

New look at CoD MW4

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4's new DMZ looks tense as hell, and the sound design is entirely too real in replicating bullets whizzing by your head. "Extract or die trying," we're reminded. CoD MW4 is out October 23 with an upcoming playtest set for July.

Onto the Gears of War: E-Day Direct

Studio head Mike Crump welcomes us to the Coalition as the Gears of War presentation kicks off with a bloody countdown. So stay tuned to learn more about the long-awaited prequel.

'The most brutally satisfying Gears yet'

The prequel heads back to Emergence Date, the catastrophic event that forever altered humanity’s fate and set the stage for the war-torn world players first encountered in the original game back in 2006.

Crump promises "the most brutally satisfying Gears yet." With the series leap to Unreal Engine 5, developer The Coalition revisited what made the series resonate in the first place. The team looked back to the iconic "Mad World" trailer for inspiration, seeing in it many of the themes that define the franchise. With the E-Day story, they saw it as the perfect chance to recapture that atmosphere with modern tech that finally allowed them to realize it on the scale they originally envisioned.

Built from the ground up, the game showcases seamless large-scale environments, ray-traced lighting, and real-time destruction for a dramatically reimagined look at the Gears universe while staying true to its roots.

Reimagined combat and movement

The team overhauled the game's movement with smoother transitions, a larger range of cover, and the ability to jump to open up the citywide battleground. You have more choice than ever to tackle each combat puzzle, which can take place across neighborhoods and through multiple floors of buildings. The team built out an extensive tool set for making the world feel lived in too.

E holes are back

The iconic emergence loop for spawning enemies, a core part of the Gears of War combat flow, returns in Gears of War: E-Day. Chippable cover across a range of textures also makes you feel like you're influencing the world. You'll watch "the fall of Kalona" in real time, and The Coalition demonstrated this with before and after shots of the destruction as the Locus overrun the city.

A look at Gears co-op

All four characters are playable, with two-player split-screen available locally. In PvP, maps are designed to feel like classic battles, with the added bonus of new traversal modes to build on the game's revamped movement system. There's also Foreword siege, a 12-player mode that focuses on defending Kalona co-operatively.

That's a wrap!

The Xbox Games Showcase ended with a reel of everything we've seen throughout the show. What was your favorite announcement? Let us know in the comments!

Valve has officially confirmed the Steam Machine and Steam Frame devices will ship this summer, zeroing in on the launch of the highly-anticipated devices that has been in flux since the start of the year.

The company made the reveal in a Steamworks post saying it was expanding its Verified program to include the two upcoming devices.

"Today we are expanding the Verified program to include Steam Machine and Steam Frame, both of which are shipping this summer," the company wrote.

"As with Steam Deck Verified, the goal is to help customers understand the out-of-box experience for a given title on these new devices, and how smoothly a game will run with no user work or configuration required."

Valve confirmed that Steam Machine's requirements are nearly identical to those of the Steam Deck, whilst the Steam Frame criteria is also similar. When it comes to Steam Frame, the "default graphics configuration needs to perform well, text and UI elements need to be clear and legible on the built-in display, and the default controller configuration needs to work well with the Steam Frame Controllers."

Valve also said that games will be checked for Steam Machine and Steam Frame compatibility and both platforms will use a badge system similar to the Steam Deck. Gamers will be able to see at-a-glance if titles will run smoothly on each device.

The question remains: how much are these devices going to cost?

Valve may have confirmed we'll be getting these devices in the next couple of months, but the company still hasn't revealed just how much they'll cost. With the current prices of PC gaming devices skyrocketing due to the RAM crisis, it's probably the thing gamers want to know the most.

Some price leaks back in January suggested between $900 and $1,100 for the different configurations of Steam Machine which would be a tough pill to swallow for a machine designed to compete with the Xbox and PS5. Costs have only gone up since January and Valve recently raised the price of the Steam Deck to compensate.

Over on Reddit, the discussion over Valve's lack of clarity on the pricing is in full swing.

"Anything but release the prices," wrote Reddit user u/jjj44j, while others were under no illusion it's going to be costly. Redditor u/KingoKings365 wrote simply: "my wallet gonna cry" while user u/yeaaahwehere summed it up nicely: "just dipped into my child’s college fund 🙏 can’t wait for this"

Steam Machine and Frame are set to be released this summer, Valve report today from r/steammachine

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Despite the RAM crisis driving up electronics prices, I’m still excited about the next generation of gaming handhelds. That’s especially true now, as Computex 2026 has seen the announcement of three machines. I’m sure these systems will be expensive, especially as the Steam Deck OLED now costs over $200 more than its original price. Still, I’m pretty stoked about what’s coming.

The headline systems are the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ and the Acer Predator Atlas 8, both powered by the new Intel Arc G3 mobile chip. The ROG Xbox Ally X20 is only a superficial upgrade, but a nice one regardless. While each system offers something different, there’s one that’s piqued my interest more than the others.

And which one is that? It’s the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Here’s why.

Smooth performance

The original MSI Claw 7 was the first modern gaming handheld to feature an Intel CPU rather than an AMD chip, so it’s good to see the latest iteration pack the new Intel Arc G3 processor.

This silicon is tailor-made for gaming, with fewer CPU cores but the same Arc B390 integrated GPU with 12 XeS cores. In short, it’s a serious gaming powerhouse.

We tested three games, and the results were impressive, to say the least. The frame boosting XeSS 3 is the key to fluid gameplay, as you can see above.

I’m eager to test demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 to see how they run with XeSS on and off. Based on what we saw at Computex, I don’t expect to be disappointed.

Lovely design

Based on what I’ve seen and what my colleagues have said, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ seems to nail the basics for handheld design. The main thing that stands out is that the new Claw is more rounded than its boxier predecessors, which should make it easier to hold. The Xbox controller-like texture should also help with sweaty hands from prolonged gaming sessions.

One major update is that the triggers and analog sticks all use Hall effect technology, which should make them more responsive and longer-lasting. There’s even a new 6-axis vibration motor that gives the device the same kind of rumble support you’d find on gaming controllers. As with the PS5 DualSense controller, you’ll feel it when you walk on different surfaces. This is arguably the feature I want to experience most.

There’s no OLED panel, but the 8-inch 1200p IPS touch display with its up to 120Hz refresh rate should be great for just about any game. Eight inches is also a good spot that’s higher than the 7-inch display of a Steam Deck but not as gargantuan as the 8.8-inch panel of a Lenovo Legion Go.

Lastly, the Claw 8 EX AI+ looks absolutely stunning in that Void Purple finish. I don’t typically care for purple, so this is high praise coming from me.

Outlook

How much will the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ cost? The good news is that it won’t be $2,000 as rumors have suggested. The bad news is that MSI says it is targeting $1,500. Sure, that’s not as expensive as two grand, but it would still make it as pricey as a desktop PC. Even if the price is worth it, that’s still a bitter pill to swallow.

Potential sticker shock aside, I like what I’ve seen of the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ and am eager to test it out.

The MSI Claw series had a bumpy start with its first handheld, but each subsequent release has made major improvements, and the Claw 8 EX AI+ appears to be the culmination of the company’s persistence in delivering a truly stellar gaming device. If this handheld lives up to the hype, it should be worth considering, even if it costs a pretty penny.

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We’ve already seen a ton of new handheld gaming PCs here at Computex 2026 but, instead of going that route, Asus has decided to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its Republic of Gamers (ROG) subbrand with a special edition of the ROG Xbox Ally X.

Dubbed the ROG Xbox Ally X20, this new device uses (mostly) the same hardware as last year’s Xbox-themed handheld. You still get the powerful performance of AMD’s Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip with 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. While not technically an entirely new device, Asus has made some fundamental changes under the hood and has also given the handheld a regal makeover with hints of gold throughout its design.

Asus definitely could have stopped there and called it a day. However, given the recent launch of its new ROG XREAL R1 AR glasses, the company decided to give them the same ROG 20th anniversary treatment too. They’re the same glasses more or less but since they’re intended to be used alongside the ROG Xbox Ally X20, they won’t ship with Asus’ ROG Control Dock.

After going hands-on with the new ROG Xbox Ally X20 and ROG Xreal R1 Edition 20 here in Taipei, I’m quite impressed by how all the little changes Asus made to its handheld make for an even better experience. However, are they enough to justify a bundle that will likely cost a hefty sum once it releases later this year? Find out in my full hands-on review.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 specs

Fit for an anniversary

Just like Microsoft did with its 20th anniversary Xbox Controller, Asus has also given the ROG Xbox Ally X20 a transparent front shell. It looks even better in person and when seeing it side by side with the original Xbox Ally X, this small tweak really makes the upgraded handheld stand out. If that wasn’t enough though, the View, Command Center, Menu and Library buttons now feature gold accents.

In another nod to the Xbox brand, the Xbox button to the left of ROG Xbox Ally X20’s side buttons now lights up green too. Within Asus’ Armory Crate software, you can also tweak its brightness and lighting effects as well. Seeing the Xbox button pulse green was especially cool while trying out the new handheld.

On the top edge of the ROG Xbox Ally X20, you still get two USB-C ports — one USB 4 one and one USB 3.2 one — along with a power button and a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you look closely though, you might notice an extra cooling vent between the main two on the left and right side. Asus reworked the cooling for the ROG Xbox Ally X20 to improve airflow which is why we now have four instead of three vents like on the Xbox Ally X.

Around back is where the ROG 20th Anniversary design changes are the most apparent on the Xbox Ally X20. In addition to a gold badge underneath the right fan, the diagonal line with “Republic of Gamers” written out is now gold too with the letters in a vibrant red. The top half of the back panel is transparent too which lets you see how Asus went to the extra trouble of making the ROG Xbox Ally X20’s fans and heatsink gold too.

Besides these aesthetic changes, the handheld’s grips are now wrapped in a grippy, rubber-like plastic too just like on the Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller. This is another one of those small but very noticeable differences with the Xbox Ally X20. The upgraded handheld felt even better to hold in my hands, speaking of which…..

Upgrades you can feel

As I’ve mentioned, small but noticeable improvements with a touch of gold throughout seems to be the big theme of the ROG Xbox Ally X20. This is also the case with the handheld’s bumpers and triggers.

Asus actually moved the position of the bumper buttons on the device’s motherboard to make them easier and more comfortable to press. While they used to sit on the top edge, they’re now positioned diagonally on the left and right side of the motherboard. This is a small change I know, but having tested the bumpers on both the Xbox Ally X and the ROG Xbox Ally X20 side by side, this tweak is noticeable.

The shape and feel of the ROG Xbox Ally X20’s ABXY buttons are different too and they now feature a slightly more rounded profile. As you might have guessed, this is another nod back to the Xbox controller. One area where Asus is pushing ahead of Xbox though is with the joysticks on this handheld.

Although a lot of people kept asking about Hall Effect joysticks coming to its handhelds, Asus wasn’t quite happy with the tradeoffs that would come with adopting them. So instead, the company went with TMR joysticks on the ROG Xbox Ally X20. In my testing, they were incredibly smooth and responsive which makes me hope this will become the norm with PC gaming handhelds going forward.

Now you might have realized I skipped over the microSD card slot before when discussing the ports on the back of the ROG Xbox Ally X20. Well, that was intentional. You see, this is actually a microSD Express card slot like the one found on the Nintendo Switch 2. While you can upgrade the handheld’s internal storage, if you don’t want to open it up, you can always pop in a microSD Express card to get some more storage space and thanks to its faster speeds, you shouldn’t have any trouble playing even more demanding games off of it.

Transforming with a twist

Now this next upgrade is one that both fighting game and Xbox 360 fans will instantly appreciate. While a 4-way d-pad is perfect for platformers and retro games, it isn’t ideal for 2D fighting titles like Street Fighter. With the ROG Xbox Ally X20, Asus said why not both. So just like on the wireless controller that was released quite late in the Xbox 360 era, this handheld also has a transforming d-pad.

To switch between the two modes, you just pinch both sides of the d-pad, pull up and give it a quick turn. This lets you go from a 4-way to an 8-way d-pad that feels almost identical to the one on the Xbox Series controller in the best way possible.

In case you pull up but don’t quite turn the d-pad all the way, you won’t be able to press it down at all which lets you know you did something wrong. Likewise, the d-pad spins all the way around, so you aren’t stuck going in one direction or the other.

The OLED we’ve been waiting for

Back when my colleague Jason England wrote his ROG Xbox Ally X review, one of his biggest gripes was that it didn’t have an OLED display. Well, Asus must have been listening as the ROG Xbox Ally X20 does and it’s a full-featured one at that. The handheld’s OLED features HDR 1000, comes equipped with VRR thanks to AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and can reach a max peak brightness of 1,400 Nits.

While we’ll have to get one into our testing lab to see for sure, in person, I noticed a stark difference between the brightness of the Xbox Ally X and the ROG Xbox Ally X20 with the two handhelds next to each other. When playing Control and Chronos: The New Dawn, the blacks were quite deep and the colors really popped. However, it wasn’t until I saw the driving game Assetto Corsa running on two devices side by side — one with HDR on and one with it off — that it really hit me.

Speaking of small but noticeable improvements once again, Asus actually managed to fit a larger 7.4-inch OLED screen here without increasing the overall size of the handheld. On the original Xbox Ally X, the bottom and top bezels were the same size. That isn’t the case with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 as Asus shrunk the top bezel to make room for the bigger display, making it smaller than the bezels on either side.

Personally, this was a huge improvement and quite noticeable during my hands on time with the device. For the most part when playing games on a handheld like this, you’re looking up at the top of the device and not the bottom, so the screen feels a lot larger even though the panel is still technically the same size.

Even better together

Now I know most people haven’t tried gaming while wearing a pair of the best smart glasses but if you haven’t yet, it’s an awesome experience. Instead of a 7-inch display — or 7.4-inch one here — by plugging in a single USB-C cable, you instantly get a massive, movie theater-like screen right in front of you.

Asus and I must be on the same page which is why the company plans on releasing the ROG Xbox Ally X20 in a bundle with a special edition pair of its ROG Xreal R1 smart glasses. They’re mostly the same minus the dock and like the handheld, they have some gold accents on the sides.

For those unfamiliar, using these — or any other AR glasses — with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 is about as plug and play of an experience as you can get. You just plug in the glasses on one of the top USB-C ports, put them on and you’re good to go. One cool use case a few of Asus’ staff and I discussed is wearing them while lying back in one of the best gaming chairs so you don’t run the risk of dropping a handheld on your face. I’ve played this way at home and trust me, it’s as comfortable as it is plain cool.

One neat difference here is that when you pair the ROG Xreal R1 X20 glasses with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 is that you don’t have to press the buttons on their sides to tweak picture settings. You absolutely can if you want to though. However, settings like screen size, transparency and even enabling real-time 3D conversion on the glasses are available right within Asus’ Armory Crate software.

I have to admit I stuck to making most of my adjustments on the glasses themselves as I’m quite familiar with Xreal’s AR glasses after I paired them with a portable mini PC for a truly unique setup. However, if this is your first time using them, it will probably be easier making adjustments right on the handheld itself.

This bundle won’t come cheap

Asus gave myself and the rest of the Tom’s Guide computing team a sneak peak at the ROG Xbox Ally X20 at its HQ here in Taipei, with more details likely to come at Gamescom this summer. While we don’t know the official price yet, the ROG Xbox Ally X20 and ROG Xreal R1 X20 will likely be available ahead of the holidays later this year.

The other big news we got out of Asus is that the two will come as a bundle. Given the original ROG Xbox Ally X costs $999 on its own and the ROG Xreal R1 glasses are available now for $849, I doubt this special edition bundle will cost less than $2,000. However, since you aren’t getting the ROG Control Dock with the glasses, that could bring down the price slightly.

We’ll have the full pricing and release details soon enough but after spending an afternoon with the ROG Xbox Ally X20 and the ROG Xreal R1 X20, Asus went above and beyond here for sure. Just changing the color of the handheld’s shell and some of its buttons definitely would have been enough. However, Asus’ engineers went back to the drawing board and made seemingly small but very noticeable changes to the Xbox Ally X.

Now I wouldn’t recommend rushing out to get this bundle if you already have an Xbox Ally X unless you’re a really big ROG fan. Personally though, these improvements and tweaks have me really excited for what Asus will eventually do with its followup to the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.

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The Alienware 34 QD-OLED gaming monitor series has been my favorite ever since the first model launched in 2022. Now, it’s set to receive a new model later this year. While the Alienware AW3426DW isn’t a radical change from the past, it delivers meaningful upgrades for an even richer gaming experience.

Some enhancements include a higher refresh rate of 280Hz, up from the previous 240Hz. The display’s new 5-stack Penta Tandem tech helps deliver darker blacks in bright environments, higher peak brightness, and sharper text with no fringing. As before, the 34-inch curved display does an excellent job of immersing you in games.

The Alienware 34 AW3426DW has debuted at Computex, but I’m currently testing it at the office. My full review will come in due course, but for now, I want to outline the basics of what has a good shot at making our best gaming monitors list. Here’s what I think of the AW3426DW.

Alienware 34 280Hz QD-OLED hands-on: Specs

Alienware 34 280Hz QD-OLED hands-on: Display

Like previous models, the AW3426DW has an immersive 1800R curvature and a sharp 3,440 x 1,440 resolution. Yes, it’s not a 4K OLED panel, but everything looks bright and vibrant. And thanks to the cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio. If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s a sight to behold.

I tested Cyberpunk 2077 on the AW3426DW and was impressed by the rich picture quality. The greater contrast between dark and light elements is noticeable and makes colors feel more vibrant. That said, the standard picture mode isn’t as oversaturated as on other gaming monitors, which helps everything feel more realistic.

Naturally, I’ll need to test more games, and we need to run our display benchmarks to see what the AW3426DW can really do, but for now, I can say it delivers a superlative gaming experience.

Alienware 34 280Hz QD-OLED hands-on: Design

The Alienware AW3426DW has the same design as before, which I certainly won’t complain about because it’s both lovely and practical.

With its panel measuring 32.05 x 14.23 x 4.38 inches, you’ll need a decent-sized table for this beauty, but nothing overly large. The flat stand is pretty unintrusive, so it’s unlikely to get in the way of peripherals like your keyboard and mouse. The cutaway on the stand’s shaft makes cable management easy, and you can raise or lower the monitor to your desired height.

Again, I’m glad Alienware didn’t change the AW3426DW’s design, since it’s about as perfect as you can get. It might not immediately scream “gaming monitor,” but it keeps the focus on the display and, thus, on whatever game you’re currently playing.

Alienware 34 280Hz QD-OLED hands-on: Performance

Performance gets a nice boost thanks to the higher 280Hz refresh rate and lower 0.03ms response time. And as before, compatibility with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync also helps deliver a smooth gaming experience.

To test the AW3426DW, I connected it to the new Alienware 16 Area-51 gaming laptop, which packs an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX CPU, an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU, and 32GB RAM. You won’t need such a beastly rig for this monitor, but it certainly helps.

Thanks to the high refresh rate and low latency, I had a smooth time playing Cyberpunk 2077. I couldn’t get the frame rate anywhere near the refresh rate, but having all that extra headroom effectively eliminated any choppiness. I also didn’t notice any input lag.

Alienware 34 280Hz QD-OLED hands-on: Outlook

I’ll need more hands-on time with the Alienware AW3426DW, but for now, I can say it brings meaningful updates to an already fantastic gaming monitor.

Even if it gets outclassed by the new Alienware 39 5K OLED, it should still be an excellent option for those who want a smaller monitor with excellent features. Stay tuned for my full review!

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007 First Light is a rare game that had me thinking, “I cannot wait to replay this” before my first run was even over. Developer IO Interactive has created the best James Bond game of all time. And yes, I’m fully aware that N64’s GoldenEye is a juggernaut of the shooter genre.

Anchored by a younger Bond, brilliantly brought to life by Patrick Gibson, First Light is the most essential piece of 007 media in two decades. Not since Daniel Craig first donned the tuxedo in 2006’s “Casino Royale” have I been this enamored with the spy espionage series.

By combining the blockbuster spectacle of games like Uncharted and the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy with the player freedom found in IO’s own Hitman: World of Assassination series, 007 First Light offers a cinematic and gripping globe-trotting adventure. And while it modernizes the character in smart ways, it never loses classic James Bond’s soul in the process.

007 First Light is everything a Bond fan could want, and as somebody who has seen all 26 of 007’s big-screen outings, it’s something of a dream game for a longtime fan like me. There’s no question it’s a Game of the Year 2026 contender, and a game worth experiencing whether you’re a Bond veteran or a newcomer to the suave spy. Read on for my full 007 First Light review.

007 First Light: The Basics

• What is it? 007 First Light is a third-person action-adventure title that sees you play a young James Bond taking his first steps into the world of spycraft and international espionage.
• Who is it for? Bond fans couldn’t ask for more, but even newcomers looking for a thrilling and cinematic gaming experience will find themselves swept up in 007 First Light.
• What's the price? 007 First Light costs $69 at Amazon. Or you can spring for the pricy $299 Legacy Edition, which includes a prop replica of the series iconic Golden Gun and some DLC goodies.
• What other games has the developer made? 007 First Light comes from IO Interactive, the creators of the popular Hitman series. The Danish developer also made Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas.
• What games is this similar to? Comparison to Uncharted is obvious, but 007 First Light also takes DNA from IO’s Hitman: World of Assassination series, combining the two into a supremely strong mix.

Becoming James Bond

Unlike the recent Daniel Craig-fronted movies, which largely presented Bond as a grizzled veteran, 007 First Light casts players as a fresh-faced spy. In fact, this spin on Ian Fleming’s character is so new to the world of espionage that he hasn’t even earned the 007 title yet.

The search for the next big-screen Bond is underway, but in the gaming space, IO has nailed the casting with Patrick Gibson, who provides his voice and mocaps the protagonist. Gibson’s Bond has all the hallmarks of the character — he’s charming, headstrong, and the right amount of arrogant — but he’s also a little naive and prone to overestimating his abilities.

The narrative setup is classic Bond fiction, with rogue agents, shadowy organizations, and world-ending stakes. Plus, 007 First Light’s 15-hour campaign takes you all over the world, from Slovakia to Malta, Iceland to Mauritania, and naturally, there are several levels set in London, England. This strong diversity of locales keeps the campaign exciting throughout.

No Bond story would be complete without a suitably menacing villain, and while to reveal the ultimate big bad would be a spoiler, I’ll say First Light’s foe(s) are also excellent. Smartly, the story keeps these cards close to the chest, with the antagonist often shrouded in shadows. This makes the reveal of who is behind the conspiracy at the story's heart very satisfying.

First Light dedicates a surprising amount of time to scene-setting. After an exhilarating opening mission, you’ll spend a couple of hours with Bond in MI6 training. Rather than sap momentum, these intro sequences flesh out the supporting players (including Q, M, and Moneypenny), making me actually care about the larger cast, not just the star.

Tricks of the spy trade

Actually playing 007 First Light is a joy. Levels typically see you starting in a larger hub-style area, looking to gain the intel necessary to enter restricted zones, where you need to sneak past hordes of guards. If you’re spotted? Time to break out the fists, or if the situation is truly dire (and Bond’s life is threatened), whip out a firearm, as you’re granted a License to Kill.

It’s no surprise that the stealth gameplay is superb. 007 First Light comes from the developer of Hitman, after all. You’re given plenty of options to avoid detention. Whether it’s using your Q-Watch to make a laptop short circuit, drawing attention away from your position, or making use of nausea-inducing darts hidden within a power bank.

Before each mission, you must select your gadgets, and while I did find a few more useful than others, it’s fun to experiment with the on-brand gizmos at your disposal.

As noted, when a fight breaks out, Bond first relies on his fists, and the brawls are a blast. The combat system takes inspiration from the Batman: Arkham series, with a focus on single-button counters, and the creative ways you can use your environment never get old. For example, if you’re fighting a thug next to a glass cabinet, Bond will smash the goon into it, dealing extra damage, and maybe even making you wince just a little bit.

Firefights are no less thrilling. Ammo counts are sparse, forcing you to move around the battlefield to pick up new weapons or gain a positional advantage. Each shootout feels like a real battle for survival. And it’s a small thing in the grand scheme, but 007 First Light has some of the most satisfying headshots in any third-person action game in recent memory.

007 First Light truly comes into its own when it combines these three gameplay states across levels. You’ll leap between stealth, hand-to-hand combat, and intense shootouts in a matter of minutes, and when you survive intact, you really do feel like a world-class superspy. Throw in a few high-speed car chases and a handful of fun but simplistic boss battles, and 007 First Light plays as good as it looks. And it looks pretty darn incredible!

James Bond crossed with Agent 47

While 007 First Light often funnels you down linear paths or into restrictive cinematic set pieces, IO Interactive hasn’t abandoned the open approach to level design seen in Hitman. This spin on Bond appears to have taken a leaf out of Agent 47's book!

Throughout the campaign, you are regularly dropped into small but dense sandboxes, given a task to complete, and it’s your job, as Bond, to figure out the best route forward. These include amassing enough money to buy your way into a criminal auction at a seedy market in Mauritania or gaining access to a locked CCTV room during a swanky gala at a London museum.

Objectives can be completed in multiple ways. Take, for example, the museum instance mentioned above. You could pose as a photographer to gain access to the upper balcony, or convince the security personnel you’re their no-show colleague, or you can just opt to pickpocket a keycard and sneak in via the back door. The choice is yours, and having so many options has me already itching to replay several levels to try different strategies.

These sections allow IO to flex some of its crowd technology muscles. The first open level is set in a dingy nightclub, and I spent several minutes marveling at how many NPCs were crammed onto the dance floor. I was even more impressed when I moved across the room, and each clubber responded with vague annoyance when my Bond bumped into them.

More cinematic than a Bond movie

There’s no better way to describe 007 First Light than cinematic. Some levels ramp up the Blockbuster action to such a degree that they put Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to shame. One of my favorites feels like a winking tribute to “Casino Royale” as Bond runs along a skyscraper-sized construction crane while a rooftop sniper takes shots from down below.

Even when you think you’ve experienced the game’s biggest and best set-piece moment, another one comes along soon after. I must have declared “okay, this is my favorite level” more than half a dozen times across my playthrough. Ask me to pick the very best one, and I'd be here all day.

The game’s cinematic quality extends beyond set pieces as well. The appropriate mood is set right out of the gate with a phenomenal Bond theme performed by American singer Lana Del Rey, and that’s just the start of the epic musical score. Even the main menu gets you right into the Bond mood, with a bombastic orchestral track that is simply note-perfect.

In fact, 007 First Light is so slick that the very few clumsy moments stick all the more. Transitions between cutscenes and gameplay don’t always flow smoothly, and there are a couple of needlessly harsh cuts, like a scene where Bond is being slowly lowered into a pit of man-eating crocodiles. An awkward cut to black sucks all the tension from this particular moment.

Nevertheless, these never amount to more than extremely minor blemishes. Overall, 007 First Light looks and sounds incredible with phenomenal visuals on PS5 Pro and first-class audio design throughout.

007 First Light review: Verdict

We’re currently enjoying an era of excellent licensed games, from Hogwarts Legacy to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Even with this strong competition raising the bar, 007 First Light stands out as perhaps the finest example of a popular movie series being converted into a video game.

Almost 30 years after the release of GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64, there is finally a James Bond game to rival that legendary title. 007 First Light is a first-class spy adventure with a gripping espionage story, cinematic gameplay, and a commitment to authenticity that will delight superfans. 007 First Light might just be the best Bond has ever been.

I recently reviewed the LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B, which can hit a 720Hz refresh rate. I thought we couldn’t get higher than that, but LG decided that wasn’t enough and has now unveiled what it claims is the world’s first native 1,000Hz Full HD gaming monitor. No, that’s not a typo, my friends.

During a recent LG event, I got to see the new LG UltraGear 25G590B first-hand. While I wasn’t able to test any games on the prototype model, I did see a test pattern that demonstrated how much smoother things can run at 1,000Hz compared to lower refresh rates. I also learned about some of the AI features meant to provide a more immersive experience.

While I’m not the competitive gamer this monitor is designed for, I’m still impressed that it can hit such a lofty refresh rate. Here are my eyes-on impressions of the LG 25G590B.

LG UltraGear 25G590B hands-on: Display & performance

Most of LG’s recent UltraGear lineup comprises dual-mode monitors, but the 25G590B is 1,000Hz by default. The company told me that this lets players play (and compete) under consistent visual conditions. I take that to mean you won’t have to worry about the monitor's refresh rate when you're using it.

The test pattern I saw showed several slides running at different refresh rates. Naturally, 30Hz to 120Hz looked the choppiest compared to the higher refresh rates. However, all the slides moved very smoothly at 240Hz and up. I’m sure a eagle-eyed esports player could tell the difference between 1,000Hz and 720Hz, but I sure couldn’t. Regardless, I could still see that the 25G590B does indeed offer buttery smooth movement.

This monitor is best suited for first-person shooters like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty, where you need ultra-fast response times to survive. Despite the 1080p resolution, everything from in-game menus to interfaces comes through clearly, even if you’re moving fast in a game. That’s thanks to a new Motion Blur Reduction Pro technology (as LG calls it) that ensures fast-moving objects are sharp and easy to track.

LG says the 25G590B’s IPS panel has a low-reflection film meant to offer consistent color reproduction while reducing glare. There was a light directly above the monitor I was viewing, and I can confirm it didn’t significantly degrade the image quality. This is all meant to increase visibility across various in-game environments.

LG UltraGear 25G590B hands-on: Design

The 25G590B has a 24.5-inch FHD panel. As I was told, this is the size professional gamers prefer because it lets them see everything on the screen without moving their heads.

Design-wise, LG has kept things simple and efficient. For instance, the stand’s base has a small footprint, so you have more room to move your mouse. There are even calibration indicators on the stand to let you adjust the height, swivel, and tilt settings. This way, you can achieve an optimal viewing angle.

The main embellishment is on the back, with a nifty UltraGear Logo that creates ambient illumination. I wasn’t able to test this at the event, but if this is like other UltraGear monitors I’ve reviewed, you’ll be able to customize the RGB lighting to your liking.

LG UltraGear 25G590B hands-on: AI features

The LG 25G590B boasts AI features, such as AI Scene Optimization, which adjusts picture quality to suit different game genres. We didn’t get to see this feature in action, but one of the slides showed how AI is used to improve image quality and clarity. Given how this is a 1080p display, this seems like a smart feature.

Then there’s AI Sound, which will apparently create spatial audio and deliver clearer in-game communications when used with compatible headsets. Sound is almost as important as visuals in fast-paced first-person shooting games, so it’s good to know LG has taken that into account for a competitive-focused gaming monitor.

LG UltraGear 25G590B hands-on: Outlook

I’ll need to test the LG UltraGear 25G590B myself to see if the insane 1,000Hz is more than just tech flexing. Now that LG has taken the refresh rate wars to literal new heights, it’ll be interesting to see if competitors follow suit.

The LG UltraGear 25G590B should launch in the second half of 2026 in select markets. Let us know in the comments if you would want a 1,000Hz monitor or if you think it's overkill.

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The Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS) is the world’s first 6K gaming monitor, according to Samsung. While this 32-inch monitor focuses on high pixel counts, it also has two refresh rates that favor cinematic or competitive gaming.

I recently went hands-on with the G80HS at a Samsung event, and was stunned by the sharp picture quality it delivered in both its 6K 165Hz and 3K 330Hz display modes. Not only that, but the vibrant colors and smooth performance made me demo the monitor longer than I typically would. It’s a thing of beauty.

Though it doesn’t have an OLED panel, its ultra-sharp resolution and immersive 32-inch canvas make for a fun gaming experience. Here’s what I think of the Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS).

Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS) hands-on: Display

Naturally, the 6K resolution is the main draw here. And I have to say, it’s not just number-flexing.

When I played Cyberpunk 2077 on the Odyssey G8, I purposely focused on buildings in the distance. Despite being so far away, I could make out the individual windows and even the dirt around the building’s facade. Of course, objects in the foreground, like the car and the grimy streets I rode across, also came to life in stunning detail.

3K resolution is just slightly less detailed than 6K, but no less stunning. I’m used to 1440p monitors, so the step up from that is noticeable, even if it's not as sharp as 4K. I could tell the immediate difference when I switched between 3K and 6K modes. However, you’re not getting a diminished viewing experience with either mode.

We’d need to get the Odyssey G8 in for testing, but to my eyes, everything looked bright and colorful on the 32-inch display. I don’t know which display mode it was set to, but the colors didn’t appear overly saturated. Despite this not being an OLED panel, you still get excellent overall picture quality.

Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS) hands-on: Performance

Dual-mode gaming monitors are all the rage these days, and the Odyssey G8 follows suit with its two refresh rates.

6K resolution gives you 165Hz, while 3K mode bumps that to 330Hz. 6K 165Hz mode is ostensibly for “cinematic” games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost of Tsushima, where you’d want the very best picture quality. Conversely, competitive gamers who need faster performance can flip over to 3K 330Hz. In this way, the G80HS is basically two gaming monitors in one.

Since I’m not a competitive gamer, I couldn’t notice a huge difference between the modes in terms of performance. However, I’m sure hawk-eyed Esports players will notice the difference right away. Regardless, both modes feel incredibly smooth and responsive.

Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS) hands-on: Design

The G80HS has the familiar design of the Odyssey series, with its sharp angles and relatively dark color way. Besides the display, the only other light source is the RGB ring around the monitor stand, which creates a nice glow when the monitor is close to a wall.

Other features include a flat stand that doesn’t get in the way of your peripherals, and easy access to the ports on the back. I was also able to raise, lower, and tilt the monitor to my liking.

Overall, this is a nice and practical design that keeps the focus on the game you’re playing.

Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS) hands-on: Outlook

Right now, the Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS) isn't yet available to purchase. However, it should cost around $1,600 on Samsung's online store. That's not cheap, but for what it offers, it could be worth it for you.

I’ve tested a lot of the best gaming monitors over the years, so it’s nice to have the Samsung Odyssey G8 G80HS flip the script by featuring a 6K resolution. That might sound ludicrous (and perhaps it is), but there’s no denying that it can offer a truly rich viewing experience.

I can’t yet say whether this should be the new standard, but it’s certainly impressive. I should have a full review of the Samsung Odyssey G8 (G80HS) soon, so stay tuned for more!

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At $499, the HyperX Omen OLED 27q is arguably a lot to spend on a 1440p 240Hz gaming monitor. That’s especially true when you compare it to the wide selection of 1440p monitors on Amazon, most of which sit under $200. Some of those sub-$200 monitors even have higher refresh rates than the HyperX Omen. However, compared to pricier competitors offering similar specs, it's a great deal.

Considering that four of the five displays on our best gaming monitors list have OLED panels, there’s a reason critics keep turning back to the technology, even as more competitive miniLED panels are hitting the market.

OLED has benefits that standard IPS displays have yet to match. From vivid colors to eerily dark blacks, the richness on display is hard to match. OLED does suffer from lower peak brightness, but given that most people sit inches from their monitors, it should still be bright enough for most.

If budget is a concern, then it ultimately comes down to the type of work you’ll need the monitor for outside of gaming. For creatives who need the color accuracy of OLED, the 27q is an easy choice. For everyone else, there might be more to consider. Still, if you've eyed a more expensive monitor at $1,000+, this one is a steal.

Here's my full HyperX Omen OLED 27q review.

HyperX Omen OLED 27q review: Specs

HyperX Omen OLED 27q review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A flat 27-inch 2560 x 1440 QD-OLED monitor with a 0.03ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate.
• Who is it for? Creatives and enthusiast gamers who want the richest colors and top gaming performance.
• How much does it cost? It’s marketed at $499, but at time of writing, it's $399 on HP's website.
• What do we like? It’s hard to match OLED's vividness, and the 240Hz refresh rate makes it a top performer for gaming.
• What don’t we like? There’s no forward tilt, so the display looks like it’s leaning back slightly when on its stand.

HyperX Omen OLED 27q review: The ups

The HyperX Omen OLED 27q delivers the good thanks to its vivid picture quality and fast performance.

OLED or nothing

Fans online jest that once you go OLED, you never go back. That’s the case with the HyperX Omen OLED 27q, or any other OLED gaming monitor on the market.

Given the richness of color and the near-instantaneous response time, jumping to an IPS display can feel like a significant downgrade. Although miniLED monitors are starting to hit the market, the gap in color contrast is closing.

At a 2560 x 1440 resolution, it won’t take the highest-end graphics cards to push this monitor. However, getting all 240Hz out of a game like Cyberpunk 2077 or Alan Wake 2 will require an Nvidia RTX 5080 or above. Actually, when testing Cyberpunk 2077 on my gaming rig, which is equipped with an RTX 5090, it struggled to maintain a consistent 240 fps. Granted, that framerate is totally overkill for this type of game.

The HyperX Omen OLED 27q has eight display modes, with some dedicated to genres like RTS, RPG, and FPS. There are also some creator-centric modes, such as Display P3 and sRGB. These modes are the same as you'd get on similar monitors, albeit with more balance between gaming and creativity.

For creative work, that’s where color accuracy and brightness come into play. In our testing, the 27q spanned 116% of the sRGB and 82% of the DCI-P3 color gamuts in the monitor's sRGB display setting. For creatives, the 27q will likely suffice for photo editing and other use cases.

Like all OLED gaming monitors. HDR brightness isn't exactly impressive. This is a small knock, but not out of the ordinary for similar monitors.

Esports performance

My competitive game of choice on PC is Overwatch. My personal monitor is a Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED, a 49” behemoth of a display with an absurdly wide 32:9 aspect ratio. When playing Overwatch, however, it crops down to a 21:9 aspect ratio. It’s also a 240Hz panel, making it a fair comparison to the 27q.

While playing Overwatch, I noticed no difference between the two displays aside from their aspect ratios. I was still able to land headshots with Kiriko’s kunai as efficiently as I always do, depending on how sharp my mind feels at the moment.

That’s the thing with OLED. The technology is rather standardized, meaning the colors, depth, and response times will feel very similar across similarly spec'd monitors. So, if you’ve decided to take the plunge on an OLED gaming monitor, it simply comes down to the size you want and how much you’re willing to pay, in my opinion.

For competitive gamers, the 27q features a crosshair, which places a reticule at the center of your display to make aiming easier. I personally don’t use this function, so I can’t speak to it at greater length. But if it’s a feature you prefer in your gaming displays, know that it’s here.

The 27q also includes a speedrun and countdown timer, which is handy when trying to run through Super Mario Bros. or Sonic Adventure 2 as quickly as possible. I’m not a speedrunner, so this is less useful to me, but I’m sure those in the speedrunning community might find this to be a valuable add-on.

More importantly, the 27q does feature both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium. While on HP’s website and on the monitor's box, only G-Sync is advertised, in the settings, you can enable FreeSync.

HyperX Omen OLED 27q review: The downs

As a gaming monitor, there really isn't much to ding the 27q on. It delivers the performance advertised on the box.

Bland design

I also noticed that the 27q, while being able to tilt backward or turn 90 degrees, had limited forward tilt when affixed to the included stand. As a result, the monitor leans back slightly, making it a bit awkward to look at it directly. Although I did have the monitor rather close to me when it was on my desk. If you move the monitor a few inches back, it should make for a better experience.

The number of ports is also rather limited. It only sports two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Granted, given that this monitor is relatively small at 27 inches, it’s not like you’d be using a KVM switch to use two computers on it simultaneously.

The monitor's design is kind of boring. There also aren’t any fancy RGB lights on the back, although some may prefer that. But other than that, there really aren’t many demerits to throw at the 27q.

Good enough but not standout

There are certainly faster OLED monitors on the market, such as the MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36. But at $870, it's more than double the price of the 27q.

And honestly, at that price, I feel it might be better to opt for a super ultrawide monitor, like the Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED, which is also around the $900 range, depending on sales. That's also assuming your desk can accommodate it.

HyperX Omen OLED 27q review: Verdict

The HyperX Omen OLED 27q is a solid monitor at a competitive price, but it doesn’t do much to set itself apart. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as most OLED displays on the market are rather standardized, meaning that manufacturers don’t have incredible leeway in making their displays more unique. At most, consumers are faced with choosing between higher refresh rates, wide aspect ratios, and sometimes gimmicky AI features.

But this is good for consumers, in my opinion. The commodification of OLED technology means it can reach more people at a wider range of price points. The fact that someone can walk into a Best Buy and pick up a 27-inch OLED monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate would have been unheard of a decade prior. After some online research, I found that 1440p IPS monitors with a 144Hz refresh rate from 2016 were over $700.

Ultimately, I recommend the 27q. I would tell someone with a $200 budget to consider saving up for the 27q. Also, yes. Would I personally opt for the 27q when there are 21:9 and 32:9 ultrawide OLED monitors available on the market? No. But that’s me. For many, a 27-inch display is the perfect sweet spot. It’s compact and is ideal for esports titles like Counter-Strike 2 and Overwatch.

If you’ve been in the market for an OLED display and have the cash to spend, go for it.

AMD just lit a beacon of hope for gamers with older Radeon RX graphics cards. As VideoCardz reports, Jack Huynh, AMD Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computing and Graphics, says the company is bringing its FSR Upscaling 4.1 support to RDNA 3 GPUs this July.

Currently, FSR 4.1 (AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s DLSS) is only available for Radeon RX 9000 cards featuring the latest RDNA 4 technology. When this update goes live in July, Radeon RX 7000 can get in on the upscaling action. Best of all, over 300 games will be supported at launch.

AMD hasn’t forgotten about folks using older RDNA 2 GPUs, as FSR 4.1 will be coming to those cards sometime in early 2027. We don’t yet have a full compatibility list, but this should see support for the Radeon RX 6000 series of desktop and mobile GPUs. That last one is especially worth noting for anyone using one of the best gaming laptops with an AMD Radeon RX 6000 chip.

ML upscaling tech allows low- to mid-range graphics cards to punch above their weight, delivering smoother frame rates and sharper visuals. Nvidia’s DLSS is still the undisputed king of AI upscaling, but AMD has been catching up and is doing admirable work. It was always a shame that FSR 4 was only for newer cards, so it’s great that folks with older Radeon GPUs won’t miss out on the action.

AMD hasn’t said exactly when in July this update will go live for RDNA 3 cards. Still, that’s not too far in the future, so we should soon know how much better games perform and look on those older cards. I’m also curious to see whether this update translates to the best gaming handhelds with RNDA 3 GPUs, like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go 2.

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Alienware's notebooks are among the best gaming laptops available, but they can be pricey for most folks. This is especially true now, thanks to RAMageddon. Thankfully, the company isn’t ignoring the current reality and has just launched a more affordable gaming laptop for PC gamers. Meet the new Alienware 15 (2026) gaming laptop.

Starting at $1,299, this 15-inch laptop packs up to an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and up to an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU. Couple with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage, and you have the basics for playing the best PC games at 1080p resolution and medium to high graphics. While the asking price is still above $1,000, it’s not terrible given current conditions.

I tested a pre-production model of the Alienware 15 gaming laptop and found it delivers a solid experience for those who don’t want to break the bank. Given its price, you’re not getting a premium display or chassis, but if you just want to play your PC games on something reliable, you won’t go wrong here.

Alienware 15 (2026) hands-on: Specs

Alienware 15 (2026) hands-on: Design

At first glance, the Alienware 15 certainly has the iconic look of the company’s laptops, with its all-black shell and Alienware logo on the lid. However, picking it up instantly makes it clear this isn’t just any Alienware product.

The polycarbonate resin lid and bottom have a plastic-like feel that’s a departure from the aluminum casings of higher-end Alienware laptops. While that’s jarring at first, the smooth, contoured lines and overall sleek design help offset that.

Unlike the Alienware 16 Area-51, the Alienware 15 has a full keyboard, which should make number pad users very happy. I don’t fall into that camp, so having the keys I actually mostly located on the left-hand side made it tricky to find my stride when typing. That said, the thick keys and their satisfying travel distance do make this a good laptop for writing.

The lion’s share of the ports is on the left-hand side. This includes two USB-A ports, an Ethernet port, a USB-C port, and an HDMI port. On the left are a lone USB-C port and a headphone jack. Port placement is generally fine if that’s the side you prefer to connect peripherals to, but it could be burdensome if you would have preferred them on the right side or on the back.

Alienware 15 (2026) hands-on: Display

The 15-inch display isn’t terrible, but after testing so many laptops with OLED panels, it’s certainly a step down in both picture quality and overall brightness.

Since this was a pre-production model, we didn’t run our usual suite of display benchmarks. To my eyes, however, the screen is noticeably dimmer and less vibrant than a more premium display.

That’s not to say things don’t appear clearly defined, because they certainly do. The 1200p resolution lets you see everything on the screen in fine detail. However, the muted colors and low brightness make everything look duller than you’d like.

Again, things don’t look terrible on the Alienware 15, but don’t expect a top-end viewing experience when playing games or watching videos.

Alienware 15 (2026) hands-on: Performance and battery life

I tested a pre-production model with entry-level specs. It includes an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, an Nvidia RTX 4050 mobile GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. These aren’t the latest and greatest components, but they’re good enough for playing even demanding games at smooth frame rates.

At default graphical settings and native resolution, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at around 45 to 50 frames per second during my testing. Mind you, that’s without the frame-boosting DLSS upscaler enabled. With this feature turned on, the fps jumped to the low 60s, so it’s definitely worth it for a system like this.

Given its prowess as a gaming machine, the Alienware 15 had no problems handling my average workflow, which usually consists of dozens of open Chrome tabs and the occasional YouTube video running in the background. If you need to get work done, this laptop won’t let you down.

Lastly, let’s talk about battery life. We didn’t run our usual battery test on this machine, but during my testing, I was able to play for close to 90 minutes before the battery life warning appeared. That’s typical for a gaming laptop, so I wasn’t surprised. Naturally, you’ll want to keep this laptop connected while gaming so it keeps running and maintains optimal performance.

Alienware 15 (2026) hands-on: Outlook

Given how expensive gaming devices are nowadays, I applaud Alienware for keeping the average gamer in mind. Both the Alienware 15 gaming laptop and the $349 Alienware AW2726DM gaming monitor exemplify this philosophy.

While I wouldn’t call a $1,299 starting price cheap, it’s still affordable given the current state of things. I’ll have a full review for you once I get to test a final model, but for now, I like what Alienware is cooking up.

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Car culture — something that a lot of games try to nail, but never really quite get the feel of it.

It’s not about features, gameplay, graphics or sound alone. It’s about merging all of these in a way that becomes a genuine love letter to the automobiles. From big moments like grand races or drifts down mountainous Japanese roads, all the way down to the tiniest details like showing your motor at a car meet or the roar of your V8 engine echoing off tunnel walls, every little thing matters.

And like I said, every game I play comes close but no cigar… Until I played Forza Horizon 6 — a truly seamless, accessible celebration of real-world car enthusiasm and easily the best racing game I’ve played in years.

Now let me be abundantly clear: 5 stars does not mean perfection. There’s no such thing as a perfect game. Online multiplayer may still get you some frustrating moments of being used like a glorified wall buffer for other competitors, which the penalty system can sometimes miss in competitive racing.

But make no mistake about it, if you’re a regular racer at heart or someone who’s caught the bug and wants to experience it, there’s nothing more all-encompassing than this. Japan is truly a joy to drive and the pulse of this culture pumps hard in a way you won’t feel in any other sim racer.

Yes, I know that’s a little controversial of me — a sim racer — to say, as the Forza Horizon series definitely leans more towards the arcade than the hardcore (though there is the versatility to make it more sim-feeling).

But through removing barriers to community fun, dropping you in a gorgeously giant sandbox, being true music connoisseurs with the radio stations, giving you all the customization options (including your garage) and making everything flow oh-so fluidly, developer Turn 10 has done the one thing a lot of sim titles seem to forget about in their search for ultimate realism: focus on the fun.

Whatever you want to do, whoever you want to be, it’s all here. Welcome to a new Horizon. You’re going to be here for a while.

Forza Horizon 6: The basics

• What is it? Forza Horizon 6 is a free-roaming racing game with plenty to do in a giant Japan sandbox.
• Who is it for? This is for racing enthusiasts and those who want to explore car culture anew.
• What's the price? Forza Horizon 6 costs $69 from retailers like Amazon.
• What other games has the developer made? Turn 10 has been dedicated to the Forza franchise ever since 2005, and FH6 is co-developed with Playground Games, also currently making Fable.
• What games is it similar to? Forza Horizon 6 takes some DNA from fast-paced arcade racers like Outrun 2 and Sega Rally, throws in some sim credentials like Gran Turismo 7, and drops you into a sandbox like Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown.

The Wangan Stretch: A world of pure scale

It all starts just like any Horizon game, with a theatrical intro that has you experiencing the different core types of racing you’ll be jumping into — a full-on assault of the senses with a perfectly paired soundtrack with drops timed to each big moment and all the visual pomp and circumstance of a Horizon Festival opener.

But while this definitely establishes a real infectious vibe for car lovers, nothing quite prepares you for when the world truly opens up and you see the world for what it really is: a diverse, handcrafted work of art. From the wide-open stretches of roads and mountainous vistas to the bustling neon-lit spaghetti streets of Tokyo, this map (5X bigger than Forza Horizon 5) is a real joy to explore. And yes, that does include a legendary looping highway inspired by the Wangan.

Cars gleam with mesmerizing fidelity as you race through the world, and every finite detail can be observed up close. The faithful recreations of cars old and new give fans of anything on four wheels a lot to love right here. Then there’s the sound engineering, which brings their explosive engines to life in a way that reacts to the world around you. Hearing an engine roar while pelting through a tunnel is a jaw dropping experience.

To top it all off, Turn 10 has thrown in an absolute banger soundtrack — all your usual array of genre-driven radio stations with Japanese flair for good measure. With an all-in Gacha City Radio giving you a full suite to bands like the incredible BABYMETAL popping up in the Horizon XS, it’s all here to immerse you.

Performance-wise, you’re assured up to 60 FPS on consoles, and thanks to DLSS 4.5 support and multi-frame generation, I was easily able to get over 200 FPS at 4K max settings on my RTX 5080 rig. Oh, and shout-out to Steam Deck performance too — running at a nice 35-40 FPS average without any of that awkward rubberbanding you saw in the previous Horizon titles. My flights to and from New York flew by with hours of gameplay.

The way of the Hashiriya: A never-ending checklist

So you’re here in this living, breathing world…what now? Well, there’s a lot to do, and it’s all structured around a simple yet addictive loop of gaining new wristbands based on your way to becoming a Horizon Legend. This will have you doing road (street and now track), dirt and cross country racing, PR stunts and showcases.

Special mention here to the Horizon Rush events — purpose-built courses that feel like a late, great Ken Block Gymkhana event come to life with a true test of technical skill. Each one grabs you by the collar and pulls you into its addictive replayability to nail that best time.

And just like other Horizon games, many side quests become all-encompassing too. Whether it’s watching Japan unfold in storylines that connect you more to the world around you, photography goals to test your snapping fingers, secret aftermarket cars to buy in all kinds of locations, or even food delivery jobs that would make Peter Parker blush in “Spider-Man 2,” you won’t ever be left with an empty world with nothing to do. Oh, and of course, there are over 550 real-world cars to collect, too!

What’s most impressive about all of this is how seamlessly it all comes together — plenty of depth for the pros and maximum accessibility for the fresh players. There are plenty of menus and a lot of ways you can tweak cars for best performance, or you could just skip all that, have next-to-no menu interaction and just drive. Whatever you want to do, Forza Horizon 6 just lets you go do it in its universe.

But believe me when I say this is only half the story, as I’ve not even talked about the multiplayer yet.

Zenki to Kouki: The art of the culture

I’ll be real with you. This is all great, but what tipped it into being a five-star experience for me is how it truly captures the life source of car culture. Too many racing games feel like a sterile interpretation of this essence, and on its sixth iteration, Forza Horizon has finally cracked the code.

It’s the culmination of all of this paired with the evolution of your many, many motors from Zenki (early) to Kouki (late) and imprinting your personality onto your own personal masterpiece. Knowing you’re going to take your ride to a street race or a touge battle (a straight up 1v1 downhill race) or a car meet really encourages you to get into building a relationship with your ride.

Nothing quite felt like taking a Toyota Supra A80 and giving it that aggressive aftermarket look I know and love to match the bonkers performance I’d extracted from the engine. But as I said up at the top, Horizon 6 is not afraid to unleash some of the bonkers fun of this culture and turn it up to larger-than-reality highs.

Want to go drag racing in a limousine? Sure! Throwing your car off a 500-foot jump? Go for it! You even race a damn mech, it's such a cool moment! All these are possible and on paper, it's really silly. But in execution, it's this vibe of anything being possible that makes car culture so great.

At its core, Turn 10 has made a much more focused effort on starting you with a basic car that you turn into your own pride and joy over time with extensive customization tools (you can even customize your garage)! And throwing all this into the mix with everything up above feels almost surgical in becoming a true tastemaker of the culture. Nothing else captures that emotional grasp quite like this.

Forza Horizon 6 review: Verdict

I know you’re going to read a lot of reviews that talk extensively about the huge feature set, the gameplay mechanics, the graphical fidelity and sound production. But in my mind, the sum is far greater than its individual parts as to establish the vibe and feel that truly feels like an ongoing dopamine hit — causing me to accidentally play for 10 hours straight without even realizing.

Forza Horizon 6 is a master class in capturing car culture with technical driving and customization running through its veins, a gargantuan amount of modes to jump into, and an accessible seamlessness to it all. For seasoned veterans, it’s easily the best in the series, and for those getting their first taste of Horizon, it’ll be the best racing game you’ve jumped into in a long time.

With the PS5 Pro now costing a whopping $899, many are wondering whether they’re better off building (or buying) a similarly priced gaming PC.

We touched on this briefly in our PS5 vs. PS5 Pro in 2026 video, but I wanted to dive deeper here. It’s a fair question — yet the answer turns out to be more straightforward than you might expect.

For $899, the PS5 Pro delivers 4K gaming with ray tracing, Sony’s AI-powered PSSR upscaling, smooth 60-120 fps in optimized titles, a fast 2TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7, and full backward compatibility with the best PS5 games and the best PS4 games. Add the optional disc drive for about $80, and the included DualSense controller, and you’ve got a complete high-end gaming rig ready to go straight out of the box.

Sure, the best gaming PCs can do a lot more than just gaming. But with the ongoing RAM shortage driving up prices across the board, even budget machines have gotten noticeably more expensive. Factor in Sony’s all-in-one package, and the PS5 Pro currently offers better value than a gaming PC with comparable specs. Here’s why.

Why the PS5 Pro offers better price-to-performance right now

To match the PS5 Pro’s real-world performance — consistent 4K/60 fps with ray tracing in optimized games, roughly in RTX 4070/5070 territory — you’re generally looking at a gaming PC that runs $1,000 to $1,500 or more for new parts in today’s market. Recent breakdowns from builders and tech channels like Digital Foundry put equivalent rigs in exactly that range.

For example, a solid mid-to-high-end build with an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (or similar CPU), an AMD RX 9060 XT 16GB or Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD typically lands around $963–$1,200 for the core components alone. That doesn’t include a Windows 11 license, a decent case, PSU, or any peripherals.

Pre-built options with matching GPUs usually start at $1,000 and climb to $1,600. The GPUs themselves (RX 9060 XT 16GB and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB) are hovering around $450–$550 on the street right now — and that’s if you catch a decent deal, as component prices keep fluctuating.

Even with the PS5 Pro’s own price increase, equivalent PCs are still pricier to build from scratch.

A head-to-head comparison

To keep it simple, here’s an easy side-by-side look at the PS5 Pro versus a comparable gaming PC:

If you just want to play games without the hassle, the PS5 Pro is the smarter short-term buy. Your total cost of ownership stays lower because you’re not nickel-and-diming for an operating system or basic setup. And if you already own a bunch of PS4 and PS5 games, it’s a natural upgrade path.

When PC gaming wins on value

Before anyone thinks I’m just ragging on PCs, full disclosure: I’m a PC gamer myself. The PS5 Pro makes sense for many people, but there are definitely scenarios where a gaming PC is the better option.

If you already have the basics — a solid monitor, keyboard/mouse, and a Windows license — then upgrading specific components (like your CPU or GPU) can make a lot of sense. You’ll keep enjoying cheaper games through constant Steam sales, which can save you hundreds over time.

Then there’s the huge library of game mods, custom peripherals, and overall freedom that the PS5 Pro simply can’t match. Don’t dismiss the used or refurbished parts market either — just stick with reputable sellers so you don’t get ripped off.

To help you out, here is a strong mid-range PC you should consider if you don't want a PS5 Pro.

Bottom line

For reliable 4K performance with minimal compromises and almost zero headaches, the PS5 Pro is still the safest bet. Yes, it now carries a higher price tag, but it remains the more affordable way to jump into high-end gaming right out of the box. That said, if customization, upgrades, and long-term savings on games are your top priorities, a gaming PC is still worth considering.

More from Tom's Guide

• 9 best MacBook Neo accessories for under $50 you need right now
• Steam Machine leak suggests 4 different models — and a queue system to stop scalpers
• I spent two weeks with the Razer Blade 16 (2026) — and it’s a serious gaming laptop powerhouse

The Steam Controller launched last week and sold out in less than 30 minutes. As expected, eBay listings went live shortly after, with the peripheral marked up by hundreds of dollars. Valve has since implemented a queue system for Steam Controller orders, and if a recent rumor is true, the company will do the same for the upcoming Steam Machine.

As Wccftech reports, a new leak suggests that Valve is bringing back the reservation queue system—the same one used for the Steam Deck’s launch. That alone is interesting, but the leak also suggests how many versions of the PC/console hybrid we should expect.

For those who don’t know, the reservation queue is tied to a vetted Steam account. By requiring a purchase history or a verified account, Valve can prevent scalpers from using thousands of burner bots to swarm checkout pages. Those who’ve had active Steam accounts for an unspecified amount of time will get priority on the line. Anyone trying to flip a console on eBay for a 300% markup will be out of luck.

One of the more interesting details from this alleged leak is that there will be four distinct models. Valve has confirmed 512GB and 2TB models, but we can make educated guesses about the other two. As Wccftech notes, one could have 1TB of storage, while the other could be a bundle with the Steam Controller. I agree with this assessment.

The big question about the Steam Machine is its price. Given the ongoing RAM crisis, it’s safe to assume Valve is waiting as long as possible before revealing the official cost. If the company can keep prices in the $599 to $899 range, it would certainly undercut the PS5 Pro, which now costs $899 after PS5 price hikes.

Given the unofficial nature of this story, please take it with a healthy dose of skepticism. We’ll keep you updated on any further developments, so stay tuned for more!

More from Tom's Guide

• I spent two weeks with the Razer Blade 16 (2026) — and it’s a serious gaming laptop powerhouse
• Best computers in 2026: Our 7 top picks after 500+ hours of testing
• I’ve been gaming for 25 years and these are the best PC controllers in 2026 worth your money

The Razer Blade 16 (2026) is a gaming laptop that makes no compromises. It has an ultraportable design, yet a monstrous gaming beast is packed inside. Though you’ll pay top dollar for Razer’s latest, you’ll get a superlative gaming experience.

Inside, it packs the latest Nvidia RTX 50-series GPU, along with either an AMD Ryzen 9 or an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU. That, along with up to 64GB of RAM, means you’ll have little trouble running the best PC games with graphics and resolution cranked to the max. No matter what I threw at it, the Razer Blade ran buttery smooth.

Like last year’s model, the new Blade 16 has a gorgeous OLED panel that delivers deep contrast and vivid colors. It also delivers excellent HDR brightness for an OLED gaming laptop. Whether it’s your favorite game or a streaming show, everything on the display will look its best.

Design-wise, the Razer Blade 16 impresses with its sturdy, CNC-milled aluminum all-black chassis. Without the green Razer logo on the lid, you might not even recognize it as a gaming laptop. Though not exactly light at nearly five pounds, its thin profile makes it easy to slip into your backpack.

While the Razer Blade 16 (2026) demands a steep asking price and can run very hot during demanding games, it’s undeniably one of the best gaming laptops I’ve reviewed. If you’re in the market for a slim gaming laptop with power to spare, this is the machine to get. Find out why in my full review.

Razer Blade 16 review (2026): Cheat sheet

• What is it? The Razer Blade 16 is a thin and powerful gaming laptop featuring the latest high-end components.
• Who is it for? For anyone who wants a premium gaming laptop and is willing to pay top dollar for it.
• What does it cost? The Razer Blade 16 (2026) starts at $2,399 on Razer’s website. As configured, our review unit is valued at $4,899.
• What do we like? We like the slim design, incredible gaming performance, and vivid OLED panel.
• What don’t we like? We don’t like the steep asking price, and that it runs too hot and loud under heavy load.

Razer Blade 16 review (2026): Specs

Razer Blade 16 review (2026): The ups

The Razer Blade 16 (2026) is an absolute powerhouse thanks to its beefy specs, but its elegant design and superb display also add to its allure.

Thin and light design

The Razer Blade 16 is one of the loveliest-looking gaming laptops I’ve ever reviewed. Its slim profile, rounded edges, and sturdy aluminum frame could make you mistake it for a high-end work notebook rather than a gaming machine. Not only does it look great, but its smooth surface also makes it a pleasure to hold.

Measuring 13.9 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches and weighing 4.7 pounds, the Razer Blade 16 makes for an unobtrusive travel partner. Sure, you’ll feel its weight in your backpack, but it won’t exactly break your back. It’s rare for a gaming laptop to be this thin and light, which is a major selling point.

Despite its thin profile, the Razer Blade 16 doesn’t skimp on ports. It packs nearly all the ports you need, including three USB-A, two USB-C, one HDMI, and a microSD reader. You don’t get an Ethernet port, which is a bit of a bummer, but you still get more than enough ports to make this your primary work PC at home.

The keyboard is another highlight, thanks to its thick, responsive keys. Travel distance isn’t shallow, which makes for a delightful typing experience. I’m also a fan of the touchpad, since its large size makes it easy to make gestures and swipes. While not as good as a proper mechanical keyboard, the board here is quite great for a gaming laptop.

Vivid OLED panel

The OLED panel on the Razer Blade 16 is one of its biggest selling points. Whether it was the neon-drenched streets of Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City or the vast open expanses of Red Dead Redemption 2, everything looked bright and colorful to my eyes. You want games to look as good as they run, and you certainly get that here.

As shown in the table above, the Razer Blade 16 delivers strong SDR and HDR brightness. It also features excellent color reproduction (sRGB and DCI-P3) and color accuracy (Delta-E). These values are comparable to those of other gaming laptops we recently tested, such as the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo and Alienware 16 Area-51.

The only minor downside is that the display is very glossy and easily picks up reflections and glare. You can mitigate this by playing in a darker room, but it’s something to keep in mind before you settle in to play games or watch videos.

Powerful gaming performance

The Razer Blade 16 I tested is a true gaming beast, thanks to its Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU, RTX 5090 GPU, and 32GB of RAM. Those specs also give it plenty of power for video and photo editing. Whether it's demanding tasks in everyday work, the Razer Blade is up to the job.

At 1080p with graphics set to max, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at around 60-70 frames per second during my testing. This is a very demanding game, so having it run so smoothly is impressive. With DLSS 4 enabled, I saw the fps climb to the mid-70s even when I bumped the resolution to 1440p.

In our lab tests, where we run a game’s benchmarking tool with the display set to native resolution and graphics maxed out, the Razer Blade 16 also performed well compared to its competitors. Sure, you’re not seeing the desired minimum 60 fps, but the laptop can still play titles at acceptable frame rates even with everything cranked up.

I should note that while the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo has the same specs as the Blade 16, it didn’t perform nearly as well because of different TDP and thermals—not to mention a different form factor. However, the Alienware 16, with its RTX 5080 GPU and a stronger Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU variant, was about on par with Razer’s beastly laptop.

Strong battery life

It’s usually not worth discussing a gaming laptop’s battery life, since most users keep these demanding machines plugged in for optimal performance. While you won’t get all-day gaming from the Razer Blade 16, it lasts surprisingly long for productivity.

In our battery life test, which involves continuous Wi-Fi web surfing with the display set to 150 nits, the Razer Blade 16 (2026) lasted nearly 13 hours. That’s almost as long as the Dell XPS 16 (13 hours 6 minutes), which is extremely impressive. However, its gaming battery life was just under two hours, which is typical for a gaming laptop.

Razer Blade 16 review (2026): The downs

The Razer Blade 16 is a phenomenal gaming laptop, but it has its shortcomings.

Very expensive

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way — the Razer Blade 16 ain’t cheap! While the starting price of $2,399 might not sound bad for a gaming laptop, you’re settling for a lower-end Nvidia RTX 5060 and less RAM. To get the most from this machine, you’ll want beefier components, which means paying a whole lot more.

If you want to upgrade to a configuration with an RTX 5080 GPU, an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU, 1TB of storage, and 32GB of RAM, you’ll need to fork over a meaty $3,999. If you want to go all out with an RTX 5090, the same Intel processor, 2TB of storage, and 64GB of RAM, prepare your bank account for a $5,599 hit.

Though gaming laptops are notoriously expensive, the Razer Blade 16 demands a very steep price indeed.

Runs loud and hot

Thanks to the Razer Blade 16’s relatively lightweight design, it’s comfortable to keep on your lap while you work. However, if you plan to do anything intensive, like gaming or video editing, you won’t exactly have a “cool” experience.

On its underside, the Razer Blade reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit in our heat test. Since we consider anything above 95 degrees uncomfortable, that’s decidedly too hot.

This is par for the course with gaming laptops, but the Razer Blade 16 also gets very loud when you’re gaming. Because of that, you’ll want to wear a pair of the best headsets to cancel out the constant noise.

Razer Blade 16 review (2026): Verdict

The Razer Blade 16 (2026) is a fantastic gaming laptop that delivers a truly premium experience. Not only can it run even the most demanding games, but it does so in a sleek form factor that fits anywhere. I’ve tested many incredible gaming laptops over the years, and this one is now easily in my top 10. It’s that good.

Of course, the main drawback is the steep asking price. That’s likely due to RAMageddon, which is a shame. However, if money is no object and you need the best of the best, you won’t be disappointed with the Razer Blade 16 (2026). Right now, it’s my favorite gaming laptop of the year.

When Valve finally loosed the new Steam Controller on the world this past Monday (May 4) stock disappeared within 30 minutes and reportedly broke Steam. At the time of writing, it's currently sold out everywhere except for scalper listings on eBay where some greedy pockets are demanding up to three times the $99 price tag.

Today (May 7), Valve announced a new plan to help more gamers get their paws on a Steam Controller. The company also acknowledged that the "experience" of trying to buy it was "incredibly frustrating."

The Steam Controller is one of the best PC game controllers, so it's no surprise that it would get snatched up quickly. Valve's new plan aims to make buying one easier and while circumventing scalpers.

“We plan to continue replenishing stock as we get more in, but in the meantime wanted to share changes we’re making to improve the purchase experience and to limit reseller activity," the Valve announcement says.

Starting on Friday (May 8) at 10 am PT/1 pm ET/6 pm BST, Valve is opening a reservation queue for the Steam Controller. Initially, the queue will only be available in US and Canada with the UK, EU and Australia in the following weeks.

Adding yourself to the queue puts you in line. When stock is available and it's your spot, you will have 72 hours to buy the controller. Order emails will be sent to your associated account.

There are some stipulations.

Valve says that anyone who has already purchased a Steam Controller is ineligible to reserve another one. The company did not specify how long that will last.

Additionally, your account must be in good standing on Steam and you need to have made a purchase on Steam prior to April 27, 2026.

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The Steam Controller officially launched earlier this week on May 4, and it's fair to say that demand was pretty high, with the controller officially selling out in around 30 minutes. That's bad news for any PC gamers hoping to pick one of these gamepads up for themselves, though it isn't entirely unexpected.

Thankfully, there is good news on the horizon, with Valve taking to social media to confirm that more Steam Controllers are on the way. "Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it," the message says. "We're working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon."

Obviously, the lack of a concrete timeline is disappointing for those of you who weren't able to get hold of a Steam Controller during Monday's drop. But at least we have hope that more will arrive in the near future, and disappointed fans won't need to pay overinflated prices from scalpers.

Don't feed the scalpers

You better believe there are scalpers already trying to cash in on the Steam Controller's low stock. The searches are muddied by the fact that people are trying to sell the first-generation Steam Controller from 2015, but the newer model can be found if you look carefully enough.

In fact, two listings I found are trying to sell the controller for $329 and $93, respectively. The latter is also located in Australia, which means you're expected to pay $51 for shipping on top of the already extortionate price.

Needless to say, you should definitely not encourage these people and pay over the odds for your Steam Controller. It doesn't matter how good the new controller might be; it's definitely not worth paying two or three times the official price to get one quickly. Just like the PS5 shortages that kicked off back in 2020, you're just going to have to be patient and wait for your turn to buy.

Your wallet will thank you, and you won't be left with the knowledge that you got ripped off by someone without any scruples.

More Valve hardware may be coming soon

If the impending Controller restock wasn't enough to look forward to, there's speculation that the release of the Steam Machine and Steam Frame may be coming up soon. Both the Steam Machine system and the Steam Frame VR headset have been delayed thanks to the ongoing memory shortages, and there's been no official word on when they might be released.

But the fact that Valve has just imported 50 tons of "games consoles" into the U.S. is hope for some official news soon. Some of this cargo may include new Steam Decks, and considering stock has dried up since the start of the year, that can only be a good thing. But that volume is more than people expected from Valve's handheld, and may mean one of the other systems is on its way very soon.

Sadly, we don't know more than that, and we'll have to wait for Valve to decide when it's ready to unveil a launch date for its upcoming systems. Here's hoping that this happens sooner rather than later.

More from Tom's Guide

• I gave my favorite pocketable mini PC an instant upgrade with this docking station — and now it’s a full-fledged gaming rig
• Steam Controller is sold out! Skip the eBay scalpers and grab one of these 12 alternatives instead
• Valve is 'hard at work' on Steam Deck 2, but Steam Machine and Steam Frame are held hostage by AI gold rush

The new Steam Controller ($99 / AU$149) is arguably the best peripheral for playing Steam games on PC and on the Steam Deck. While we don’t yet have the Steam Machine this controller was supposed to ship with, having it available right now isn’t a bad compromise. Even without its parent console/PC hybrid, this is a brilliant controller that’s a major improvement over the controversial original that launched 11 years ago.

Don’t let pictures fool you, as the Steam Controller is only slightly bigger than an Xbox controller. Because of that, it feels natural to hold. Except for the large touchpads under the thumbsticks and four back buttons, the controller has the same basic layout you’re familiar with from other game pads.

Since this is a Steam device, pairing it with any machine running SteamOS or the Steam App is seamless. It’s also fun, as you can charge and pair the controller to your PC or handheld via an included puck. Though the puck makes charging and pairing simple, you can always connect via a USB cable or Bluetooth connection.

Though it’s pricier than a standard controller and isn’t compatible with gaming consoles, there’s no denying that Valve knocked it out of the park with the Steam Controller. As a dedicated Steam user, I might dabble with other controllers, but this will be my go-to from now on. Find out more in my full review.

Steam Controller review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? It’s an update of the original Steam Controller, with a more ergonomic and practical design.
• Who is it for? This controller is for dedicated Steam users who want a controller that works seamlessly with Valve’s ecosystem.
• What does it cost? The Steam Controller costs $99 / AU$149 and is available only on the Steam Store.
• What do we like? We like the comfortable design, easy pairing with SteamOS, smooth performance, and high customization.
• What don’t we like? We don’t like that it doesn’t support other PC launchers or consoles.

Steam Controller review: Specs

Steam Controller review: The ups

The Steam Controller is the perfect controller for Steam users thanks to its comfortable build, intuitive control layout, extensive customization options, and simple pairing and charging.

Ergonomic design

Design-wise, the Steam Controller is both traditional and unique. The top half has a layout similar to an Xbox controller, with a d-pad, face buttons, thumbsticks, and shoulder buttons. The bottom half is where things get interesting, as it’s rather large to accommodate the touchpads. This also gives your hands more room for a better grip.

The large back buttons are strategically placed right where your middle and ring fingers naturally rest. Since they’re pretty unintrusive, you can ignore them if you’re not a fan of back buttons. Like the back buttons, the shoulder buttons are also smartly placed where your fingers rest.

The controller has the same matte finish as the Steam Deck, which means it not only feels nice to hold, but it’s also very grippy.

Responsive controls

The Steam Controller is not only fun to hold, but it’s also extremely responsive. Valve could have easily just used the Steam Deck’s components, but the company went a step further by including some features you’d only find on pricier pro controllers.

First up are the new TMR thumbsticks, which are designed to be even more responsive and less prone to stick drift than Hall-effect sensors. I’ll spare you the details on how these magnetic technologies differ from one another, but suffice it to say that the TMR sticks on the Steam Deck feel amazing and allowed me to make small and large movements seamlessly.

Then we have the haptic touchpads beneath the thumbsticks. Every click and thumb movement makes them vibrate. Thanks to their large size, you can use them in place of thumbsticks, which isn’t just a gimmick, since it makes playing point-and-click games much more intuitive. The original Steam Controller had super huge touchpads instead of traditional thumbsticks, so I’m glad Valve shrunk them without sacrificing performance.

The other inputs are just as great to use. While I wish the ABXY face buttons were a tad clickier, they work as well as you’d expect. The left and right bumpers are also relatively quiet and have a satisfying travel distance. This also applies to the trigger buttons, though they don’t have trigger locks to cut down the actuation point.

Unique pairing and charging

One of the coolest features is the included Steam Controller Puck. It's a 2.4GHz USB-C transmitter that can also charge the controller and pair it with the device you’re playing on.

Speaking of pairing, you can connect up to four Steam Controllers to the puck in case you want to play games with friends locally. It also magnetically attaches to the controller with a satisfying click.

You connect the puck to your PC using the included USB-C to USB-A cable, though you can theoretically use any cable with power delivery. I like that you can keep the controller connected, easily snap it off to play wirelessly, and snap it back on when you’re done.

Valve claims the controller can last over 35 hours on a single charge. I haven’t had the controller long enough to fully drain it, but it has already lasted significantly longer than the PS5 DualSense. Based on what other reviewers have said about battery life, it appears Valve’s claims aren’t just baseless boasting.

Highly customizable

The Steam Controller offers a slew of customization options. For instance, you can program the dual touchpads to act as a mouse for shooters, a traditional D-Pad for 2D games, or even a scroll wheel for navigating menus. Other features also enable more fine-tuning for specific game genres, effectively giving you multiple controllers in a single device.

Naturally, you can remap all the buttons as you see fit. Beyond that, you can add visual overlays like Radial Menus to your screen to handle dozens of keyboard shortcuts with a quick thumb swipe. You can also make the haptic feedback provide clicks and notches to help guide your movements. These types of controls are perfect for games traditionally played with a mouse and keyboard.

There’s more I could detail, but let’s just say you could spend hours tinkering with all the customization options. And if you don’t, you can always download popular, pre-made configurations that players from the Steam community have created.

Steam Controller review: The downs

The Steam Controller is a brilliant peripheral for dedicated Steam users. However, it has one major flaw for those who play outside of Steam.

For SteamOS only

The Steam Controller works seamlessly with SteamOS. That’s certainly a strength, but it’s also its main weakness. If you hoped to easily use Valve’s controller on other PC game launchers like the Epic Games Store or the Xbox App for PC, you’re going to be out of luck. This also applies to gaming consoles.

If you’re like me and rarely leave Steam when PC gaming, then this likely won’t be an issue. And given how clever the PC gaming community is, I’m sure someone will find a workaround before I finish this sentence. Again, this won’t be the end of the world for most players given Steam’s ubiquity, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Steam Controller review: Verdict

Some believe that $99 / AU$149 is too much for the Steam Controller, but I say the price is more than justified for dedicated Steam users. Sure, Valve’s peripheral costs $20 to $30 more than a standard console controller, but it packs pro controller-like features for $50-$100 less than you’d pay for those premium devices. In that way, you’re actually getting a fantastic deal.

Though it’s admittedly strange to have the Steam Controller without the platform it was designed for, I’m glad that Valve decided to launch this peripheral now so we can get acclimated to it before the Steam Machine’s arrival. Like I said before, switching to another PC controller won’t be easy, since this one gives me everything I need. If you live in the Steam ecosystem, I’m sure you’ll feel the same way.

The Steam Controller launch week has arrived. Valve’s second stab at a dedicated PC gaming pad is now available on Steam. It already looks like a contender for our best PC gaming controller guide. However, it's proving popular and is currently out of stock after selling out in just 30 minutes.

As the name suggests, this PC controller is “built for steam” and is compatible not just with the best gaming PCs but also with gaming laptops, the Steam Deck OLED, and, naturally, the upcoming Steam Machine.

It offers all the basic controller features, including magnetic thumbsticks, haptic motors for rumbles, and 35+ hours of battery life on a single charge. Plus, it also packs two trackpads and mappable back buttons. It’s not a cheap pad at $99, but if you’re a serious PC player, it looks essential.

Again, the controller is currently out of stock as of 5 a.m. ET on May 5. Valve promises a stock update "soon," but we have no idea when that could be.

To that end, keep it locked to Tom's Guide for the latest restock updates. In the meantime, check out our full Steam Controller review if you're still deciding if it's worth all the effort.

Steam Controller - quick links

• Steam Controller: $99 @ Steam (check stock)
• Steam Controller: check stock @ Amazon
• Steam Controller: check stock @ Best Buy

Steam Controller - retailer listings

Welcome to our Steam Controller live coverage

Hello! PC gamers rejoice, today is the day that Valve launches its new Steam Controller, a premium pad designed specifically (and exclusively) for PC gaming, and here at Tom's Guide we'll be guiding you through launch day. In this live blog you'll find the latest news, our hands-on impression and the important buying info.

Steam Controller costs how much?

The biggest question you're probably asking about the Steam Controller is the price, and fortunately, Valve has confirmed this key detail ahead of the order floodgate opening in just a little over four hours time. The pad will cost $99, or for the folks in my native U.K., it'll run you £85. That makes it more expensive than a PS5 DualSense or Xbox Controller, but it is cheaper than either console's "Pro" pad.

Console players, this one ain't for you!

If you own a PS5 or Xbox Series X and you're eyeing up the Steam Controller, don't be fooled into picking one up. This is a dedicated PC gaming controller, and isn't compatible with Sony or Microsoft's gaming consoles. It's designed solely for use with Valve's Steam platform, and Steam-dedicated hardware (like the Steam Deck and the upcoming Steam Machine). Console gamers will need to stick with their DualSense or Xbox controller because the Steam Controller is for the PCMR only.

Steam Controller is just hours away!

Consider this is your four hour warning! The Steam Controller will be available to purchase at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST, as of the time of this post, that is just four hours away. So, if you're already sold, make sure you set a reminder, stock levels are unknown and you don't want to miss out. Of course, you can just stick with this live bog, and I'll be sure to alert you the moment the order button is live.

Here's our Steam Controller unboxing!

One of my favorite parts of getting new gaming hardware and accessories is the first unboxing experience, but if you don't mind having that moment spoiled ahead of time, check out our Steam Controller unboxing video linked above!

We've got our hands on a Steam Controller

My colleague Tony Polanco has spent the weekend with a Steam Controller. I swear I'm not jealous (okay... I totally am)! His initial impressions are pretty darn positive, and he even declares that it "lives up to the hype." If you're on the fence about whether to add one to your cart later today, be sure to read his article right now.

That's one powerful puck!

The Steam Controller comes with an extra in the box, the snappily named, Steam Controller Puck. This little device is a wireless transmitter that serves two purposes. Firstly, it provided a fast/stable connection for your controller, allowing you to use it as a wired pad (if you don't want to use wireless Bluetooth, or USB). It also serves as a charging station, with your Steam Controller snapping onto the puck with a click.

Just look at those back buttons!

One of the things that appeals to me most about the Steam Controller is in the in-built back buttons. Remember, typically on console, you need to spring for a "Pro" controller to get these, but on the Steam Controller you have four out of the box. These can be mapped as you wish, allowing you to pick which inputs they offer.

One hour to drop

We're just one hour away from launch.

While we wait, let us know what interests you about the Steam Controller?

Less than 20 minutes to go!

If you're planning to pick up a Steam Controller as soon as the order button goes live, now is the time to get in position. Get your tab open, and get ready. There's less than 20 minutes until the floodgates open and Valve lets people start purchasing.

Steam Controller orders are LIVE!

• Steam Controller: $99 @ Steam

And just as the clock strikes 10 a.m. PT, the Steam Controller order button has turned blue, and you can now pick up yours. At present, Steam is the only place to purchase a Steam Controller, so if you want one ASAP, get your order in right now.

Steam Controller stock seems to be holding strong

10 minutes later, and the Steam Controller is still in stock. Steam seems to be handling the traffic influx well, I did have a momentary issue reloading the page, but it's otherwise been smooth sailing. I can still add the Steam Controller to my cart with minimal fuss, so if you're late on the scene, you haven't missed out yet!

The dreaded "Out of stock" warning has appeared

Uh oh! Just shy of 40 minutes after the Steam Machine order page went live, and we've got the three words nobody wants to hear: Out of stock. It looks like the interest in this new PC pad has been high, and Valve's supply has run low. I'm staying on the page to see if more stock will appear, fingers crossed for a restock!

Still out of stock...

Hey, all! Tony Polanco here to take over the Steam Controller liveblog for the next few hours. Not only will I keep you updated on availability, but I'll also share some insights into the controller, since I wrote our Steam Controller review.

Right now, the Steam Controller appears to be sold out, as you can see from the image above that I snapped. This is disappointing considering how long people have waited for this peripheral. It's also not surprising given the demand for it. Hopefully, Valve can get more stock as soon as possible.

The Steam Controller is already on eBay

It shouldn't come as a surprise that people are already scalping the Steam Controller on eBay. As you can see above, users are selling the peripheral for $150+ above the original MSRP. There might be more exorbitant prices on eBay, but these are the ones I was able to find. Please wait for a restock and avoid paying these users your hard-earned cash.

Steam Controller sold out in just 30 minutes

Word is spreading that the Steam Controller is now sold out. I just hope most of those orders came from folks who are actually going to use the controller and not just scalpers looking to take advantage of people's excitement for the peripheral.

Yes, it's still out of stock

I realize these posts are getting repetitive, but as you might have guessed, the Steam Controller is still out of stock. It's hard to say whether Valve can restock today or if we'll have to wait a while for a refresh. Regardless, I'll keep an eye on the situation. Hopefully, it'll change for the better soon!

One of the coolest features

Yes, the Steam Controller is still out of stock, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about some of its amazing features.

As I said in my review, one of the coolest features is the included Steam Controller Puck. It's a 2.4GHz USB-C transmitter that can also charge the controller and pair it with the device you’re playing on. It attaches magnetically to the controller with a satisfying click and can be paired with up to four other Steam Controllers.

You connect the puck to your PC using the included USB-C to USB-A cable, though you can theoretically use any cable with power delivery. I like that you can keep the controller connected, easily snap it off to play wirelessly, and snap it back on when you’re done.

The controller is rated for 35+ hours, and in all my time with it (nearly a week), it still hasn’t drained its battery. That's something the PS5's DualSense controller can't match, that's for sure.

A comfortable controller

One of the main concerns folks had (including mine) about the Steam Controller was that it would be too big and heavy. Let me tell you, that couldn't be further from the truth!

Despite its appearance, the Steam Controller is only slightly longer and wider than a traditional Xbox controller. It's also lighter! I've used Valve's peripheral for almost a week, and it's become my favorite PC controller because it's so comfortable and intuitive. Don't let the pictures fool you. The Steam Controller feels great to hold.

Some useful reader comments

This is my last post for the day (don't worry, we're going to keep this live blog going), but I wanted to highlight two comments you might find useful.

TheVaudevillian has been keeping an eye on things since sales went live. They kept getting a "failed to initialize" error when trying to check out, and it took about 5 minutes of repeated clicks to finally complete the order. This is something our own Darraugh Murphy did to get his Steam Controller.

Jarred Hines also points out that stock has been sporadically coming back, saying it usually lasts less than a minute before going out of stock again. This is why we advise staying vigilant.

What Valve hardware is available?

Hey, this is Scott taking over for Tony, and for my first of the day, I thought we could take a look at what is available. Turns out nothing.

Yes, the Steam Controller is still sold out, but if you wanted to get into the Valve ecosystem, let's see what else is available.

Obviously, the Steam Machine and Steam Frame have not yet been released.

Which just leaves the Steam Deck...which is out of stock. Currently, every variant from the 1TB OLED to the 256GB LCD is listed as unavailable.

While we wait

With the Steam Controller immediately out of stock, I have a speculative leak that may be of interest.

Regular VR and Valve tipster Brad Lynch has posted a couple of times regarding recent shipments Valve has received to its distribution warehouse.

The shipments are listed "Game Console." It's possible that these could be Steam Deck shipments or as Lynch hints at, the arrival of Steam Machines.

We can see that "Wireless PC Controllers" arrived on April 4, and started releasing now. So, I expect if its the Machine, we might see it drop in early June. If its Steam Decks, maybe those will be available sooner.

Calling it for today

The Steam Controller is still out of stock as of 4:30 pm Pacific.

But don't worry, we're keeping track and we'll be back to tomorrow to let you know when the controller is available again.

Keep us in your tabs.

Have you managed to order a Steam Controller yet?

Tuesday morning stock check!

It's just ticked over 6:30 a.m. ET, and at present, I'm not seeing any sign of additional Steam Controller stock today. For now, that dreaded "Out of stock" message is sticking around. Some TG readers have reported seeing stock, but it reportedly only lasts for a few moments, so if you do happen to get lucky and get the chance to order, I advise checking out at speed. In the meantime, I'm still monitoring the page, and will update this live blog if the situation changes.

Unfortunately, nothing new to report!

• Steam Controller: $99 @ Steam (check stock)

10:15 a.m. ET, and still no signs of a restock today. After selling out within 30 minutes of launch, there hasn't been a major restock of the Steam Controller, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Valve to find some additional supply soon. Till then we'll keep checking!

Official word from Valve

Things have been quiet regarding restocks, but Valve took to X to make an official statement. Here is what the company had to say:

"Steam Controller ran out faster than we anticipated, and we hate that not everyone who wanted one was able to get it. We’re working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon."

Hopefully, that "soon" won't take too long!

Valve recently imported 50 tons of "game consoles"

The Steam Controller is still out of stock, so we figured we'd update you on something potentially related, namely, the Steam Machine.

As The Verge reports, Valve has supposedly shipped over 45 tons of "game consoles" into the United States. This follows the company shipping about 90 tons of orders since February (via PCMag). While we don't know what these consoles are, they could very well be the Steam Machine.

Valve hasn't disclosed the official price of its console/PC hybrid, but if the consoles the company is reportedly shipping are indeed the Steam Machine, perhaps we'll get an answer soon. Since this isn't official confirmation from Valve, take this report with a grain of salt. For all we know, this could be a new shipment of Steam Decks... a handheld which has also been sold out for some time.

There’s no ideal desk setup that works for everyone. While one person might be content with a laptop or a single monitor, another might want multiple monitors. Likewise, your old desk setup might have been perfect at the time but now, it no longer meets your needs.

As someone who builds desk setups for a living, I’m constantly trying out new configurations when it comes to how many displays I have and what’s driving them. Although I spent years using a single ultrawide monitor by itself, I later added a portable monitor underneath it specifically to keep up with work chats. Of course, I wasn’t done there.

From stacked monitors to dual monitors and even triple monitors, it feels like my desk is constantly evolving and rightfully so. However, at the beginning of this year, I put together a dual-monitor setup that I just couldn’t bear to break down. That all changed though, when I finally had a chance to try out a larger, 40-inch ultrawide.

Even though the Innocn 40C1U’s screen is only six inches wider than the 34-inch ultrawide I’ve used for years now, it’s made a massive difference. So much so that I don’t think I could go back to using a dual-monitor setup anytime soon. If you’ve also been considering upgrading your own desk setup, here’s why you might want to go wider instead of adding another display.

No curves here

At 40 inches, the Innocn 40C1U is certainly an outlier. With most monitors, once you go beyond 34 inches wide, you no longer have the choice between a flat or a curved display. Since I have multiple monitors for my various desk setups stored in a closet, I don’t really have the option to use curved ones as they take up far too much space when not in use.

After eying the Innocn 40C1R online for what seemed like ages, the company reached out and asked if I’d be interested in trying out the more powerful 40C1U instead. Since I just reviewed the Apple Studio Display XDR, I decided to give this 5K2K monitor a try and I’m glad I did.

In the box, you get a surprisingly capable stand along with a high-speed HDMI cable, a USB-C video cable and a power cable. The fact that Innocn includes a USB-C cable in the box is a nice touch. However, like with the LG DualUp monitor I reviewed back when I first started at Tom’s Guide, I would have loved to see a USB-B to USB-A cable included as well — but more on that in a bit

While the 40C1U is definitely on the less expensive side for a 5K2K monitor, I really like how it has a built-in power supply instead of a bulky power adapter with a barrel port connector. Likewise, it has standard 100 x 100 VESA mounting holes instead of the 75 x 75 ones you see on many of the best gaming monitors. If you’ve ever tried to lift a display like that up off your desk using one of the best monitor arms, then you know how much of a hassle it can be.

In terms of ports, the 40C1U has a generous selection on the right side including two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 connection, an upstream USB-C port with 65W of power delivery, two USB-A ports, a USB-B port and a headphone jack. As such, you can connect up to four devices at the same time.

After unboxing the 40C1U and attaching the included monitor stand, it was time to take it for a spin. Given I had a MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip on hand, I figured that would be perfect for testing out this monitor as I previously used that laptop with the Studio Display XDR. Fortunately, there weren’t any dead pixels or other issues to be worried about and everything worked like a charm right out of the box.

With my initial testing out of the way, I decided to build a new desk setup based around the Innocn 40C1U to see just what this 40-inch, 5K2K ultrawide was capable of.

Mac or PC: why not both?

Deciding between a Mac or a PC for work can be difficult which is why many people like myself use both. Normally, I spend my time working on my Mac mini M4 at one desk setup and on one of the best mini PCs at another. This time though, I wanted the best of both worlds and figured having two computers on the wider Secretlab Magnus Evo desk wouldn’t be a problem, so I did just that.

On the left side, I set up that MacBook Pro in a vertical stand with the computer set to not go to sleep with its lid closed. Then on the right, I plugged in the Framework Desktop which, in addition to being a powerful PC for work, holds up surprisingly well when gaming despite not having a discrete GPU.

Normally, you’d need two separate keyboards and mice with a setup like this one. However, remember those USB-A ports and that USB-B port around back? Well, like many of the best monitors, the 40C1U features a built-in KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch. So instead of having to connect, disconnect and then reconnect my mouse and keyboard over Bluetooth, I plugged their respective 2.4 GHz USB dongles into the back of the 40C1U. This let me use the same mouse and keyboard with multiple computers.

Since the USB-C cable plugged into the MacBook Pro handles both video and data, I was able to use my peripherals on Mac with just a single cable. However, because I connected the Framework Desktop via HDMI, I had to connect a USB-B to USB-A cable at the back of the monitor and then plug it into my PC. If you get a monitor with a built-in KVM switch that doesn’t come with this cable, don’t worry. Just like I did, you can likely borrow the one from your printer until you pick up a new one.

What I like about using the Innocn 40C1U with both of these computers is that I don’t have to press any buttons or mess around in the display’s settings menu to use my mouse and keyboard. Instead, I just switch inputs and the monitor does the rest, automatically assigning my peripherals to whichever computer is currently on screen. Having the option to use macOS or Windows 11 while working has been great and I’m kind of surprised I didn’t try something like this earlier.

With my dual-OS desk setup for work finished, it was time to try pushing the 40C1U — and the Framework Desktop too for that matter — to its limit.

Work hard, play wide

Now I know what you might be thinking: gaming on a 5K2K monitor requires a beefy gaming PC. I thought the same thing when I first booted up Steam on the Framework Desktop. Using a massive panel like the 40C1U for gaming seems impractical since you need to render a whole lot more pixels than you would on a 1080p or 1440p display.

I know Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR upscaling tech sometimes get a bad rap due to "fake frames," but in this instance, FSR was a lifesaver. When I first loaded up Death Stranding 2, everything looked a bit blurry at this high resolution. After updating AMD’s software and enabling FSR, however, the game was surprisingly playable.

I did have to drop the game’s internal resolution down to 2560 x 1080 and let FSR upscale it back to 5K2K. Much like when I brought the Framework Desktop to my living room to play on my 4K TV, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip and built-in Radeon 8060S graphics in this mini PC really surprised me.

Playing Death Stranding 2 on a 40-inch ultrawide adds so much immersion. With FSR enabled, my frame rate stayed at around 70 fps — even with the graphics set to high. I also didn’t have to worry about hooking up bookshelf speakers as the 40C1U has built-in audio. While you’ll still want one of the best gaming headsets for a truly premium experience, the monitor’s built-in speakers were more than capable.

It’s worth noting that with its 100Hz refresh rate, the 40C1U is a productivity monitor first and foremost. If you have a powerful GPU or don't mind enabling frame generation, you can certainly game on it, but running games natively at 5K2K will be a tall order for most rigs.

If you’re after a larger ultrawide primarily for gaming, the Innocn 40C1R is the better (and cheaper) choice. It has a more manageable 1440p resolution and a faster 144Hz refresh rate. Still, while it's better for high-speed gaming, you lose out on the incredible clarity and text crispness you get with the 40C1U’s 5K2K resolution.

The cost of simplicity

Deciding between a dual-monitor setup and a single ultrawide is a tough choice. You can pick up a pair of identical monitors — or even use mismatched ones like I did here — for a whole lot less than a massive ultrawide display. However, doing so requires a bit more work, both during the initial setup and in your daily workflow.

With two screens, you have twice the cables to manage. You also might need to swap out your power strip for one with more outlets and be much more deliberate with your cable management. Using a dual-monitor arm can help, but as I’ve found, this often requires longer cables to route through the arms and down to your computer.

When using a single ultrawide like the Innocn 40C1U, you cut your cable count in half. But since the display is so large, you might need to invest in a heavy-duty monitor arm. If you use a standard one, your monitor will likely droop instead of staying firmly in place.

After years of testing both configurations, I’d recommend setting aside some extra cash for a single, wider display. You don't have to worry about lining up bezels or managing a nest of wires. At the same time, both Windows and macOS also tend to play better with a single monitor than they do with multiple screens.

The Innocn 40C1U was the upgrade I needed to finally break down my previous setup and go back to an ultrawide. I’m not saying I won’t build another dual-monitor setup in the future — or finally tackle a quad-monitor one — but for now, I’m more than content using multiple computers on a single, massive display.

More from Tom's Guide

• I built a completely distraction-free desk setup with these 10 gadgets and now I’m truly locked in
• Monitor stand vs monitor arm: how to pick the right one for your display
• I spent a week with dual Apple Studio Displays and realized I’ve been lying to myself about glossy screens for years

The Steam Controller is the real deal. This is my conclusion after having used Valve’s new controller for over 48 hours. Not only is it the perfect controller for Steam users, but it’s also a smart redesign of the controversial original from 11 years ago. It’s a brilliant peripheral that only makes me yearn for the Steam Machine even more.

On top of a more traditional controller layout than its predecessor, the Steam Controller has unique features, such as large haptic touchpads, four back buttons, TMR thumbsticks, and a slew of software-specific customization options. The latter is particularly noteworthy, as you can fine-tune the controller for virtually any game genre. It also just feels good to hold thanks to its ergonomic, lightweight design.

I’ll have a full review of the Steam Controller for you soon. For now, here are my impressions after 48 hours with the peripheral.

First impressions

The official press shots and even reviewers’ photos made the controller appear as big as an old Dreamcast controller, but in reality, it’s just slightly wider and longer than a modern Xbox controller. I do have large hands, so folks with smaller hands might feel differently, but this controller fits my grip nicely.

The controller has the same matte-like finish as the Steam Deck. Thanks to that, it's easy to maintain your grip, even if your hands get sweaty. The ABXY face buttons and shoulder buttons feel like a more rigid, durable version of their Steam Deck equivalents. In fact, you could almost consider this controller a Steam Deck without a screen since it feels so similar.

Setting up the Steam Controller is extremely simple. All you have to do is connect the included receiver puck to your PC via the USB cable, then magnetically snap it to the controller to begin pairing. Snapping the puck on and pulling it off is immensely fun and reminds me of doing the same with MagSafe on MacBooks.

The gaming experience

You know a controller is great when it becomes a natural extension of your hands. That has largely been my experience with the Steam Controller, since it’s so intuitive to use. The TMR thumbsticks respond to even the smallest movements, while the buttons have a nice level of resistance when pressed. And as I said before, it feels awesome simply holding it.

When exploring the open-world setting of Cyberpunk 2077, I had no issues moving around and taking in the dystopian game’s sights. Whether I was walking down a neon-lit street or blasting cyborgs away with an assault rifle, everything felt just right. The triggers are excellent for shooting games and racers alike.

There are a ton of customization options within SteamOS’ Steam Input settings menu. Not only can you remap all the buttons, but you can even program the touchpads to act like a mouse or even a D-Pad. I haven’t toyed around with all the settings, but trust me, you could spend hours messing around with them. This high level of customization lets you tailor controls for specific games and genres.

I don’t play genres like RTS or MMOs that would make greater use of touchpads, but I do enjoy their haptic feedback when I scroll through menus. This isn’t a game-changing feature, but little touches like this make the experience more enjoyable and immersive.

Except for fighting games, where I prefer using a dedicated fight stick, I don’t see myself using another controller for PC gaming since it works so well for the main genres I play.

Outlook

My full review will be posted soon, but suffice it to say that the Steam Controller more than lives up to the hype. It’s a brilliantly designed peripheral that feels like a natural extension of the Steam ecosystem. While it’s not compatible with other PC game launchers, Steam users will be more than happy with this product.

The Steam Controller is already great on its own, but it’s a nice appetizer for the full Steam Machine experience. If that platform can deliver the same smooth and intuitive experience, we’re in for something special. But for now, we can enjoy the Steam Controller for what it delivers—and what it delivers is pretty darn phenomenal.

More from Tom's Guide

• Steam Controller reviews are in: 'I can’t imagine playing my PC games with anything else'
• I just tested the world’s fastest OLED gaming monitor — and its refresh rates are insane
• Nvidia RTX 5070 laptop GPU gets 12GB VRAM — here’s why it's a game-changer

The LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B ($999) is one of the wildest devices I’ve tested. Like most of LG’s current gaming monitors, it lets you switch between two refresh rates. The difference is how high those numbers go: 540Hz at 1440p resolution and 720Hz at 720p resolution. No, those numbers aren’t typos! As things stand, this is certainly one of the fastest gaming monitors you can buy, but that’s not all the UltraGear 27GX790B-B has going for it.

The main complaint I have with every OLED gaming monitor I’ve reviewed is the dim HDR compared to other monitors. LG’s latest bucks that trend by delivering some of the brightest brights I’ve seen on similar devices. In fact, the company claims this is the world’s brightest OLED gaming monitor. I can’t verify if that’s true, but I’m inclined to believe it, especially after our testing.

As with all LG UltraGear monitors, this 27-inch model features an elegant design that’s well-suited for any office or gaming setup. Since this is a gaming monitor, you can enable RGB backlighting for fun. You also get a great range of motion to help you achieve the best viewing angle.

The insanely high refresh rates are certainly impressive and ensure that everything runs buttery smooth. However, unless you’re a professional gamer, you likely won’t be able to tell the difference between what you get here and what you’d get from a similar 240Hz monitor. In fact, I even question whether professionals can tell the difference.

Other than refresh rates that feel like tech flexing and the monitor topping out at 1440p, I have little to complain about. Faults aside, it’s certainly one of the best gaming monitors, especially if you want such high refresh rates. Find out more in my full review.

LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B is a 27-inch OLED gaming monitor featuring two refresh rates: 540Hz at 1440p and 720Hz at 720p.
• Who is it for? For competitive gamers who need the absolute highest refresh rates.
• What does it cost? The LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B costs $994 on Amazon.
• What do we like? We like the elegant design, high HDR brightness for an OLED gaming monitor, and relatively affordable price.
• What don’t we like? The super high refresh rates aren’t essential for most gamers, and the display tops out at 1440p resolution.

LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B review: Specs

LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B review: The ups

The UltraGear 27GX790B-B impresses thanks to its insanely high refresh rates, bright HDR brightness, and overall sleek design.

Lovely design

The 27GX790B-B has the classic LG UltraGear design, which is to say that it’s sleek and elegant. I like how the all-silver understated aesthetic can work just as well in an office environment as it would in a proper gaming den. Even the RGB lighting surrounding the monitor arm on the back is relatively subdued, should you choose to turn it on.

Gliding the monitor up and down along the stand is a smooth process, as is tilting it forward and back for that perfect viewing angle. If you want, you can also rotate the monitor a full 90 degrees for vertical orientation—something I certainly appreciate.

You get a good amount of ports, including two HDMI, one DisplayPort, a lone USB-C, and a pair of USB-A. All the ports are located on the back, so you’ll need to turn the whole monitor and stand around to access them. The button to switch from 540Hz to 720Hz is conveniently located underneath the display’s bottom bezel, along with the OSD joystick.

The wide and flat stand keeps the monitor in place even when you’re swiveling it. It’s also large enough to place items like your phone or an extra controller. The shaft doesn’t have an opening for tucking your cables through, but this isn’t a deal-breaker.

Vivid display

The 27-inch OLED panel on the 27GX790B-B is a sight to behold. Even though it tops out at 1440p, you get sharp, crisp picture quality when playing games or scrolling through websites. The OLED itself delivers strong contrast between dark and light elements, which helps oversaturated colors look even more vivid.

I played Cyberpunk 2077 on this monitor and was impressed by how vivid the dystopian Night City looked. All the cars, buildings, pedestrians, and holographic displays popped out, heightening my immersion. Similarly, YouTube videos and websites looked great.

The 27GX790B-B has 14 display modes, including modes dedicated to game genres like FPS and RTS. Most of the modes are only slightly different from one another, depending on their intended function. If these presets aren’t to your liking, the “Personalized Picture” mode offers a greater degree of customization.

One of the big selling points here is the HDR brightness, which LG claims is the highest ever for an OLED gaming monitor. To that end, let’s take a look at what our lab results had to say about the Max Brightness display mode.

As you can see from the table above, the LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B produces oversaturated colors (sRGB and DCI-P3) and decent color accuracy (Delta-E). We saw similar values across most of the other modes. The Alienware AW2726DM also produces oversaturated hues, though it has better color accuracy (closer to 0 is best).

You’ll notice that the LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B delivers significantly higher brightness than its Alienware counterpart. While 561 nits across 10% of the display might not sound impressive, keep in mind that this is nearly double what most OLED gaming monitors deliver. It makes a huge difference, making everything appear more vibrant.

Smooth performance

Thanks to its “Dual Mode” feature, discussing the 27GX790B-B’s performance isn’t as straightforward as it is with other gaming monitors. The default setting is 1440p at 540Hz. With the press of a button, you can switch to 720p at 720Hz. Both of these are tailor-made for professional competitive gamers or hardcore enthusiasts.

Regardless of which mode you choose, both have the same low response time of 0.02ms. Compatibility with Nvidia G-SYNC Compatible & AMD FreeSync Premium Pro also ensures smooth performance.

For my testing, I had the 27GX790B-B connected to the new Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop, which packs an Intel Core Ultra 9 “Panther Lake” CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 mobile GPU, and 32GB of RAM. That’s a pretty powerful gaming laptop, but even with such a rig, you’ll struggle to get frame rates that match this monitor’s refresh rates—even if you drop the graphics settings to low and disable all effects like ray tracing.

That said, even if you can’t get a game to run at 540 frames per second, games will run very smoothly. During my time testing Cyberpunk 2077 on this monitor, I never experienced screen tearing or input delays. The low response time also contributes to the excellent performance.

Simple UI

The 27GX790B-B has the same simple and clean interface I’ve come to expect from UltraGear monitors. This is where you’ll find the aforementioned display modes, along with picture adjust, sound, input, and general options. Everything is easy to locate.

The OSD (On Screen Display) joystick under the display is small but intuitive to use. You don’t have to apply much pressure when you’re moving it up, down, left, or right with your finger.

LG’s interface is pretty bare, but I like the simplicity since I always know where to find what I’m looking for. As I’ve said in previous reviews, the less time I spend fiddling around in the menu, the more time I can spend actually playing games.

LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B review: The downs

The LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B is certainly impressive, but its defining feature is also its greatest weakness.

Obscenely high refresh rate

The big selling point of this monitor is its super-high refresh rates. While it’s certainly impressive to see a monitor going as high as 720Hz, I don’t think it’s completely necessary.

The main issue is that very few games can achieve frame rates high enough to match the refresh rate. Perhaps you could pull it off if you’re playing an ancient game on the lowest possible settings and on a gaming rig with an RTX 5090 GPU and an obscene amount of RAM, but that’s the only scenario I can imagine.

Then there’s the loss of visual fidelity. 540Hz at 1440p looks fine, but everything looks very blurry when playing at 720Hz at 720p resolution. I understand you’re prioritizing performance over visuals, but if you can’t clearly see enemies in a game, is the extra refresh rate even worth it?

I realize I’m not the target esports player who would want such ludicrously high refresh rates. I might feel different if I had the reflexes and timing required for professional gaming. But as an average gamer, I’d rather have a monitor with a more modest refresh rate.

No 4K option

This ties into the last point, but to achieve such lofty refresh rates, resolution had to take a hit—hence why this isn’t a 4K monitor. That’s a shame, considering how the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B has a default setting of 240Hz and 4K resolution.

Again, I’m sure professional gamers are fine with sacrificing visuals to achieve the best performance possible—but I’m not that kind of gamer!

LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B review: Verdict

There’s no denying that the LG UltraGear 27GX709B-B offers unprecedented performance. It also delivers astonishing HDR brightness for an OLED gaming monitor. For what you get, it’s certainly worth considering, even if it's admittedly for niche use cases.

That same focus on a specific audience is also this monitor’s greatest weakness. Yes, it’s cool that it can achieve such monumental refresh rates, but most folks don’t need that level of performance. And while the $999 asking price isn’t offensive, something like the $349 Alienware AW2726 has excellent performance and picture quality for a third of the cost—even if it doesn’t get nearly as bright.

The LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B isn’t a gaming monitor for everyone, but it’s arguably the best at what it does. For that reason, I say check it out if you are a hardcore competitive gamer who wants what is arguably the fastest gaming monitor available.

The Steam Controller is here, but the Steam Machine and Steam Frame have been delayed due to the ongoing RAM price crisis. However, Valve Programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais spoke to IGN and confirmed that while there isn’t an exact launch timeline, “things are going well” and we can expect news “soon.”

But his comments looked further into the future too, as he confirmed that the company is “hard at work” on Steam Deck 2 — echoing a lot of what Griffais told me in terms of wanting to see a “worthwhile performance upgrade to make sense.”

RAM is the pain point

It’s the most obvious answer, right? And Valve confirmed as much in its blog post about having to “revisit” when it will ship and how much it will cost. And Valve hardware engineer Steve Cardinali said as much in his time talking to Polygon — the hardware’s not the problem, but the RAM inside it is.

“This doesn't have RAM in it, and it's not as complicated to start getting out the door for us,” Cardinali said. “We're ready for it. We wanted to build up quantity so that we could try to address everybody who wants one at launch, but it's possible that the demand for it far exceeds our expectations.”

It’s another of the many memory-related struggles the consumer tech industry has faced ever since the massive AI data center buildout spiked the cost, including the PS5 price hike recently.

However, there are some reasons to be optimistic about the near future (tariff refunds, Chinese RAM foundries picking up the consumer slack, etc), and all eyes are on Microsoft, Google and Amazon’s investors’ calls tomorrow to see whether there are any signs of a bubble pop.

We’ve just got to wait and see.

Predicting the launches

So while Valve has (understandably) not confirmed a timeline given everything that’s happening, it's time for me to put on my tin foil hat and lay out some predictions of my own. And it made me think about MediaTek’s comments about having “cautious optimism” about a “slowdown” in RAM price rises.

In case you missed it, MediaTek’s Head of Global Sales Eric Fischer talked about how the huge initial demand for memory-heavy products early this year is probably an illusion of people panic buying before it gets worse. He said that we’re on our way to a moment where “the consumer’s ability to spend” breaks, and the industry will adjust in the second half of the year.

With that in mind, allow me to paint a timeline for you:

• Steam Machine and Steam Frame: It’s clear Valve is working hard behind the scenes to figure out RAM supply and the pricing strategy for this. I know the company said to expect news “soon,” but as for a launch, I’d look more to maybe Summer/early Fall 2026. The company’s waiting this spike out, just like we are.
• Steam Deck 2: For the worthwhile gains Valve is looking for in silicon performance and power efficiency, we need to look at this as more of a console generational leap more than the iterative curve of annual computing chip versions. I’m expecting an early 2028 launch.

But what do you think? I’ll throw up a poll to get your thoughts on when you think these devices will land!

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The Steam Controller is almost here, and I couldn’t be more excited. The first wave of Steam Controller reviews began circulating today (May 27), and they’re almost universally positive. I was already on board when Valve announced the controller and the Steam Machine, but after reading some reviews, I’m even more eager to get hands-on with this peripheral.

This isn’t the same Steam Controller from 11 years ago. It features a brand-new, more ergonomic design. Standout features include TMR thumbsticks, large touchpads, and a unique USB dongle that also serves as a charger. Though the controller looks large and unwieldy, reviewers say it feels extremely comfortable.

I’ll have a full review once I’ve had some hands-on time with the Steam Controller. For now, here are the three main reasons I’m excited to try it.

TMR thumbsticks

Hall Effect magnetic sticks and buttons have been all the rage for gaming controllers in recent years, but Valve has taken the next step by using more advanced TMR technology. In short, these sticks should be even less prone to stick drift because they use magnetic sensing with no physical contact, unlike traditional analog sticks. This should, in theory, keep the sticks performing like new for many years.

The Scuf Valor Pro controller I reviewed also features TMR sticks, which I find extremely smooth and responsive. Given that the Steam Controller uses the same technology, I’m expecting a similar experience. Thankfully, virtually all reviews I’ve seen say the sticks are great to use and extremely responsive.

I’ll need to test the controller’s thumbsticks for myself to see if they’re up to snuff, but I have faith they’ll be as great as I imagine. This alone could make the relatively steep $99 asking price more than worth it—but there are other features I’m excited about as well.

Customization

Since it’s designed for PC gaming, the Steam Controller is highly customizable and reprogrammable, so you can adjust it for whatever game you’re playing.

You can remap every digital control to virtually any PC input, such as keystrokes, gamepad buttons, mouse clicks, or more. Reviewers say that sensitivities for analog sticks, triggers, touchpads, and gyro are also adjustable. For instance, triggers support separate actions for half-pull and full-pull, allowing for more in-game actions.

Some reviewers say that programming the controller can be daunting because there are so many customization options. Given the numerous inputs, I’m inclined to believe this.

I’m eager to dive into the Steam software configurator to explore all the customization options. If said options are as robust as reviewers claim, it’s understandable why so many of them now consider this the perfect PC gaming controller.

Battery life and charging

Valve claims the Steam Controller can last 35+ hours on a single charge. Reviewers who tested the controller said this claim isn’t just boasting, as none of them had the controller run out of power even during extended sessions. Considering how the PS5 DualSense lasts eight hours if you’re lucky, over 35 hours of endurance would be incredible.

Charging the controller is interesting because it’s done via the included “Steam Controller Puck.” This is a small 2.4GHz USB dongle that doubles as a magnetic charging dock and snaps onto pins on the back of the controller. The puck connects to your PC or Steam Deck via a 5-foot USB cable. Before you ask, the cable connects to the puck via a USB-C port, in case you want to use a different length cable. Additionally, there’s a standard USB-C port on top of the controller if you want to charge it that way.

The only concern I have is that the puck reportedly connects only one way and can be finicky on some desks. Bluetooth is supported as a backup, but it’s not recommended for the best performance, as Gizmodo notes. This, like everything else, is something I’ll need to experience firsthand to see how it works.

Outlook

With most reviewers saying the Steam Controller is now their preferred way to play PC games, I’m very stoked to try it for myself. The original Steam Controller was unconventional and polarizing, so it’s good to see the company release a controller that has received so much universal praise.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Steam Controller, and let us know in the comments if this is a peripheral you’re interested in.

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The first reviews of the Steam Controller have gone live. This peripheral is effectively a redesign of the original Steam Controller from over a decade ago, and is meant to complement the upcoming Steam Machine. It’s also compatible with PC, and of course, Valve’s own Steam Deck.

As we reported over the weekend, an industry insider named Brad Lynch on X found evidence of a "Steam Controller Unboxing" video that was uploaded to SteamDB. Soon after, reports of a potential Steam Controller price leak circulated online, suggesting the peripheral would cost $99. Given how reviews have gone live, it seems some folks spilled the beans prematurely.

The Steam Controller features TMR thumbsticks, rumble support, capacitive touch, and gyro controls. Like most controllers, it has four face buttons, four shoulder buttons, and the aforementioned pair of thumbsticks. Unique inputs include the large touchpads beneath the thumbsticks and four back buttons.

We’ll have our review of the Steam Controller soon. For now, here’s what tech reviewers are saying about Valve’s new peripheral.

What are reviewers saying about the Steam Controller?

Steam Controller reviews are largely positive, with many sites and YouTube channels saying this is now their favorite PC game controller. That’s high praise, especially considering how controversial the original Steam Controller was.

TechRadar’s Matt Hanson says the Steam Controller is “a massive improvement over the flawed original, offering some great innovations while also coming with a more conventional — and user-friendly —design.”

This is a sentiment that PCMag’s Will Greenwald shares, saying that the controller is “fundamentally better in every way thanks to a deep feature set, terrific feel, and customizable controls like those on the Steam Deck.”

“I’ve spent so much time with Valve’s second attempt at its Steam Controller that I can’t imagine playing my PC games with anything else,” says Polygon’s Giovanni Colantonio. Similarly, IGN’s Bo Moore said it was his “favorite controller for PC gaming.”

So what do reviewers love about the Steam Controller? Matt Hanson says the more conventional design is a major factor. “This makes it much easier to get to grips with if you’re used to other gamepads.” Gizmodo’s Kyle Barr echoes this sentiment, saying that the “new Steam Controller feels far more natural for anybody used to a PS5 DualSense-like design.”

The new thumbsticks also won over reviewers, thanks to TMR technology for improved performance. Not only does this lead to quicker actions, but it also allows them to glide smoothly.

“The new thumbsticks are no slouches, either, thanks to tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) technology, which is the tech of choice for most premium gamepads. This uses small magnets to measure even the smallest of movements, which improves precision, and excels in genres such as shooters and racing games, where even the smallest of movements need to be accurately recorded and reflected in-game,” says Matt Hanson.

Kyle Barr says that the Steam Controller’s “joysticks have the right amount of resistance to add a tactile feel to your movements.”

One sticking point is the controller’s price of $99. While that’s certainly less than many “pro” controllers like the PS5 DualSense Edge, it’s still $20-$30 more expensive than standard PS5 or Xbox controllers. However, given its features, most reviewers say the price is justified. “But considering everything it does,” says Will Greenwald, “the Steam Controller is a worthwhile purchase if you mostly play games on Steam.”

Right now, it seems like the Steam Controller is a hit among reviewers, and I’m certainly eager to go hands-on with it myself. I’m curious how the gaming community will view Valve’s latest peripherals. It won’t be long to get that answer, as the Steam Controller is set to launch on May 4.

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Shortly after I began writing for Tom’s Guide, I covered a news story about an Asus gaming monitor boasting a 240Hz refresh rate. At the time, my team and I thought it was over the top. Who but the most hardcore gamer needed such high refresh rates? In the years since, we’ve only seen refresh rates on certain gaming monitors climb even higher.

What’s the point of all this? Simply put, the higher the refresh rate on the best gaming monitors, the smoother everything looks on screen. For competitive gamers, matching a game’s frame rate to a high refresh rate makes your actions feel fast and responsive. But even if you’re just a regular gamer, you can still benefit from a higher refresh rate.

I’m currently testing the LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B ($994 on Amazon), a dual-mode monitor that can switch between 540Hz at 1440p and 720Hz at 720p. This monitor completely blows away the Alienware 500Hz monitor I reviewed a couple of years ago. While testing it, I can’t help but ask the obvious question: Do such high refresh rates truly benefit gamers, or is this all just flexing?

For this article, I’ve reached out to two Future colleagues: Brandon Hill from Tom’s Hardware and Dave James from PC Gamer. As hardware reviewers, they know their stuff and provided me with some great insight on this topic. Here’s what they had to say about high-refresh-rate gaming monitors, along with my own thoughts.

High refresh rates can be beneficial

Not everyone chasing ultra-high refresh rates is doing it purely for bragging rights. I checked in with my colleague Brandon Hill, senior editor at Tom’s Hardware, and he’s a firm believer that high-refresh-rate monitors are a boon for gaming — so long as you have the hardware to push them and the personal drive to take advantage of them.

He regularly games on a massive 49-inch 240Hz DQHD QD-OLED paired with an RTX 5090. Even with that kind of power, he often hovers around 180 FPS in Battlefield 6 while keeping the graphics settings high. “I prefer eye candy over insane refresh rates,” he told me.

The same thinking carries over to today’s dual-mode monitors. Brandon gets why the most hardcore esports players “would kill to eke out every possible frame to gain the upper hand online,” especially when you’re talking pixel response times in the 2ms range and super-low input lag. But he’s quick to admit he’s not in that camp. “I play for fun, not for competitive aspirations.”

Given the choice between 540Hz at crisp 1440p or 720Hz at 720p on something like the Sony Inzone M10S II, his pick is an easy one: “I’d choose the former every single time — and twice on Sundays.”

I agree with Brandon’s take here. While you certainly want games to run as smoothly as possible, it shouldn’t be at the expense of visual fidelity. My eyes scream whenever I switch to the LG UltraGear’s 720Hz mode since it’s locked to 720p resolution. And since I legit cannot tell or feel the difference with 720Hz gaming, sacrificing visuals really makes no sense.

Bragging rights?

Dave James, Editor-in-Chief of Hardware at PC Gamer, has a similar perspective about the benefit of insane refresh rates on gaming monitors. They can surely be beneficial, but they do feel like companies flexing what their hardware can achieve.

Dave says it largely depends on who you are and what kind of games you play. For those of us who mostly enjoy single-player or co-op experiences, he argues that 144Hz is still a fantastic refresh rate, with 240Hz now a realistic and worthwhile target. He understands why competitive players want to chase the absolute highest refresh rates they can manage, but stresses that they only become relevant “if you have a system that can drive frame rates to match.” This is something that’s getting easier thanks to upscaling technologies.

When you can actually keep up with the monitor, Dave says playing a competitive shooter on a super-fast screen “almost becomes like looking through a window.”

That said, Dave is much more skeptical about the other end of the spectrum. Once you get to numbers like 720Hz that are extremely difficult to fully utilize, he believes it shifts away from actual benefit. “Beyond genuinely achievable frame rates, these extra high refresh rates become less about gaming and more about numbers on a spec sheet you can use for marketing and one-upping the competition,” Dave told me. “At this level, those numbers aren't for us gamers.”

This is where I fall on this topic. I find it very impressive that LG and others can achieve such lofty refresh rates on their respective gaming monitors. However, it’s hard to see how this benefits anyone but the most hardcore professional gamers.

Bottom line

After hearing Brandon and Dave’s thoughts and spending time with the LG UltraGear 27GX790B-B, my stance hasn’t changed much. These insanely high refresh rates are impressive, but they’re not essential for most gamers.

If you’re an esports competitor, monitors like this can give you a real edge. For everyone else? 144Hz or 240Hz at crisp resolution still delivers smooth gameplay and great picture quality without any sacrifice.

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Intel’s Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme handheld chips are expected for a Computex reveal, and I couldn’t be more excited. AMD has dominated this space, with its processors powering the best handheld consoles like the Steam Deck OLED, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go 2, and more. While handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ have used Intel chips, they’re still behind their AMD-powered counterparts. But with Panther Lake-driven handhelds, we could finally see the balance of power shift.

I’ve tested many Panther Lake laptops, including the Dell XPS 14, Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro, and MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, and I’ve never failed to be impressed by their gaming performance—especially since these aren’t gaming machines. That experience has led me to wonder what Panther Lake could do for handhelds. If the leap between Intel Core Ultra Series 1 and Series 2 in handhelds is any indication, Series 3 should deliver significant performance and efficiency gains.

Nothing is official yet, but since Intel already announced custom chips for handhelds are coming, it’s not unreasonable to expect we’ll hear something soon, especially with Computex just around the corner. While the prospect of Panther Lake handhelds is exciting, there is one thing that concerns me.

Panther Lake power

To be fair, there will be performance differences between a laptop and a gaming handheld. While both prioritize energy efficiency, handhelds have to nail it so folks can play games for more than a few minutes. I wanted to make that clear before moving on, as I’m not expecting a 1:1 experience from a Panther Lake handheld. That said, my experience with laptops running Intel’s latest chipsets sets expectations for what we could see.

The three laptops I mentioned in the intro all have the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU, an upper-mid-range chip in the Panther Lake lineup. In our gaming performance test, which uses the built-in benchmark tool with the game’s graphics settings set to high and the resolution set to 1080p, we recorded impressive results across the games we tested.

The key here is that we enabled Intel XeSS 3.0, which is the company’s version of the upscaling tech Nvidia and AMD use to boost performance. For example, Cyberpunk 2077’s performance went from an abysmal 19 frames per second to a comparatively ultra-smooth 80 fps on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro. XeSS, like Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR, is a literal game-changer and is vital for smoother performance.

Rumors suggest that the Panther Lake handheld chips are stripped-down versions of the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, with fewer P-cores to improve power management. This makes sense for the reason I stated at the start of this section — you don’t want a chip that’s so powerful it drains the battery too quickly.

If the rumored Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme chips can match the performance we’ve seen in Panther Lake laptops, handhelds are about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Intel Arc G3 chips

Speaking of the Arc G3 chips, here’s what we’ve heard so far. According to VideoCardz, Intel could debut two handheld chips at Computex 2026. The Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme are reportedly tied to a Q2 2026 window and are expected to have a lifecycle through Q2 2027.

On X, a leaker named @9550Pro posted what is reportedly a CPU-Z screenshot of the Intel Core G3 Extreme (via Notebookcheck). However, another insider, Jaykihn, claims the listing is false and that the Core G3 Extreme will be renamed the Intel Arc G3 Extreme. Regardless, the chip appears to be a stripped-down version of the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, as I mentioned earlier.

According to VideoCardz, the chips have reportedly undergone internal testing, and MSI and OneXPlayer are expected to be the first to use Intel’s handheld processor. MSI is a logical choice, as the company has used Intel chips in its MSI Claw handhelds. There’s no evidence that Asus or Lenovo will update their handhelds with Intel’s chip, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

The big catch

While I’m certainly looking forward to handhelds powered by Intel’s Panther Lake chip, that enthusiasm is tempered by the issue that’s plagued consumer tech since late last year. Thanks to RAMageddon, handheld gaming prices are out of control.

The most extreme example of handheld price hikes is the Legion Go 2 with 2TB of storage, which now costs $2,849 (up from $1,479). The original asking price was already steep, but paying nearly $3,000 for a gaming handheld is wild, given that most of these devices used to hover around $600-$900. Those days are very much over.

Given these conditions, I’m scared to even think about how much any handheld with an Intel Panther Lake chip will cost. I doubt a Legion Go 2 variant with these chips would have radically different pricing. Maybe it costs less, maybe a little more, but either way, we have a good (or bad) idea of what to expect in terms of cost.

Outlook

With no official word on Panther Lake handhelds, we’ll have to wait for Intel to finally reveal what it has cooking. As I said, with Computex starting on June 2, it might not be long before we get to see something.

We should also keep in mind that the AMD Ryzen Z2 and Z2 Extreme are out there to ensure Intel doesn’t have an easy time of it. And this is perhaps wishful thinking on my part, but it would also be interesting if Qualcomm decided to put its Snapdragon X2 chips in handhelds.

Regardless, the handheld market should experience a significant shake-up sooner rather than later. Can Intel gain a firm foothold in this space? We’ll just have to wait and see.

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Intel could debut two handheld chips at Computex 2026. That’s according to VideoCardz, which obtained information about a possible announcement at this year’s big Taipei-based tech conference.

It appears the chips in question will be called Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme—with the former presumably being the base model and the latter being the more powerful version. VideoCardz says the chips are tied to a Q2 2026 window and are expected to have a lifecycle through Q2 2027. If that’s accurate, then a Computex 2026 reveal makes sense.

An X leaker named @9550Pro posted what is reportedly a CPU-Z screenshot of what could be the Intel Core G3 Extreme (via Notebookcheck). Earlier leaks claim this chip has 14 CPU cores total, including two P-cores, eight E-cores, and four LPE-cores. That said, another notable insider, Jaykihn, claims the listing is fake and that the Core G3 Extreme will be called the Intel Arc G3 Extreme. Regardless, the chip appears to be a stripped-down version of the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H chip we recently tested in the Kojima Edition of the Asus ROG Flow Z13.

VideoCardz says that the chips have already undergone internal testing and that MSI and OneXPlayer are expected to be the first to use Intel’s handheld chip. MSI certainly makes sense, as the company used Intel chips for its MSI Claw handhelds. Right now, there is no evidence that Asus or Lenovo is joining the Arc G3 party. However, the likes of Acer and Microsoft might, as their respective logos appeared during Intel’s “handhelds unleashed” reveal at this year’s CES.

As always, take this news with a grain of salt as these chips haven’t officially been announced. That said, given how Intel had a dedicated talk about handhelds during CES, it’s a safe bet we’ll hear more soon—whether at Computex or elsewhere.

We’ll keep an eye on this story and hope that any potential handhelds featuring these chips aren’t insanely expensive. Stay tuned!

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The Minisforum G1 Pro isn’t your typical mini PC. Instead, it feels like a true small form factor (SFF) rig thanks to its internal, desktop-grade power supply and its dedicated GPU. We aren’t dealing with a power-limited laptop chip here; instead, you’re getting a low-profile Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060.

After seeing the G1 Pro at Computex last summer, I knew I had to get one in for testing. I’ve been using it for both work and play for almost two months now, and it hasn’t disappointed on either front. With an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX processor and 32GB of DDR5 RAM under the hood, the G1 Pro handled my daily workload with ease. Then, when work was done for the day, it transformed into a console-like gaming powerhouse capable of playing the latest AAA releases with the settings cranked.

Still, at $1,439, the G1 Pro is more expensive than your average mini PC — though it’s still significantly cheaper than the Asus ROG NUC. There are also some trade-offs to consider: its small footprint means a sparse port selection for accessories, and the G1 Pro can get loud when you push its hardware to the limit.

My Minisforum G1 Pro review will help you decide if this is the best mini PC for your setup and if it really packs enough of a punch to make you consider ditching your console for good.

Minisforum G1 Pro: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A gaming-focused mini PC with a desktop-grade power supply and GPU.
• Who is it for? Gamers who don’t have the space for a full tower, those who like to travel with their gaming PC and people who want workstation power in a small form factor with the option to play demanding games too.
• What does it cost? The Minisform G1 Pro costs $1,439 at Minisforum and Amazon.
• What do we like? Its console-like design, the fact that it uses desktop-grade components, that you can swap in more RAM or storage, how there’s no bulky power brick and that you can even upgrade its GPU.
• What don’t we like? The form factor limits port availability and it can get loud when playing demanding games cranked up to max settings.

Minisforum G1 Pro: Specs

Minisforum G1 Pro: The Ups

The Minisforum G1 Pro is far from your standard mini PC. However, its powerful components and upgradability make it just as useful in your living room as it is in the office.

Even sleeker than a console

At 12.4 x 8.5 x 2.25 inches with a white outer shell, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the G1 Pro and Sony’s PS5. Personally, though, I prefer Minisforum’s more uniform design. On the left side of the G1 Pro’s case, there are two triangular sets of vent holes while the right side is completely flat.

A black strip runs between the two sides and on the front, there’s a high-speed USB-A port, a USB-C port (that can do video out), a 3.5mm audio jack and the power button. There are also customizable RGB lightstrips on either side of the G1 Pro’s front ports.

Now around back is where things get interesting. In the center, you get two more high-speed USB-A ports, another USB-C port (that can also do video out), an HDMI 2.1 port and surprisingly, a 5 Gigabit Ethernet port. Then on the left side, you get another HDMI 2.1 port, two DisplayPort 2.1b connections and a DisplayPort 1.4a one too from the G1 Pro’s dedicated GPU. Finally, there’s a standard PC power port along with an on/off switch on the right side.

Unlike with the PS5, the G1 Pro comes with a vertical stand in the box. It screws onto the bottom of the device using a thumb screw for additional support. While you can technically use the G1 Pro horizontally too, doing so is a bit awkward because when you flip it over to have its vents facing up, the Minisforum and AtomMan logos are upside down. Now if you were to mount it under your desk horizontally, this wouldn’t be the case and the device would still have plenty of airflow.

Just like with my PS5 Pro or Xbox Series X, one of my favorite things about the G1 Pro is that it doesn’t have a bulky power supply like the Geekom A9 Max and many of the other mini PCs I’ve tested. In fact, the only other mini PC I’ve tried that uses an internal power supply is Apple’s Mac mini M4.

Since standard PC power cables are incredibly cheap, I plugged one in at my desk and had another in the entertainment center under my TV. That way, when I did want to play some of the best PC games on a large screen, I could just move the G1 Pro into my living room.

Console aesthetic, workstation performance

The G1 Pro may have a more gamer-friendly aesthetic but unlike the AtomMan G7 PT, it won’t look out of place in an office setting. Sure, its white shell and unique design will draw attention but not the unwanted kind.

While the G1 Pro may be marketed as a mini gaming PC first and foremost, it’s a surprisingly capable work machine too. A big reason for this is because of its upgradeability. For instance, while my review unit shipped with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, you can actually put up to 96GB of RAM in its small case — but more on that later.

In terms of my daily workload which consists of dozens of Chrome tabs opened simultaneously and editing images in GIMP, the G1 Pro never missed a beat. It handled everything I threw at it with ease with plenty of power left over for more demanding tasks.

In the table above, you can see how well the G1 Pro fared compared to the competition. It held its own in Geekbench’s single-core tests in our lab, but its multi-core results weren’t nearly as high as those from the A9 Max, Framework Desktop and even the Intel-powered AtomMan G7 Ti. Still, when transcoding a 4K video to 1080p in our Handbrake test, the G1 Pro finished the task in just over three minutes.

Another area where the G1 Pro really excels is with connectivity. In addition to Bluetooth 5.4, you also get full Wi-Fi 7 support. When connected to one of the best Wi-Fi 7 routers in the other room and running a speed test, I saw download speeds of 1.5 Gbps which is quite fast over Wi-Fi. Then again, if you have a real need for speed, you can always use an Ethernet cable to connect the G1 Pro directly to your router using the 5 Gigabit Ethernet port around back.

The biggest difference between the G1 Pro and the rest of these mini PCs though is in gaming performance, especially since it’s the only one with a dedicated, desktop-grade GPU.

Not your average mini PC GPU

Typically when gaming on a mini PC, you’re relegated to using either integrated graphics or a discrete laptop-style GPU. The latter is obviously better but with the G1 Pro, you don’t have to settle for either of these lesser options. Instead, you have the power of a discrete, desktop-grade Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU at your disposal.

The G1 Pro is mainly designed for playing games at 1440p. However, as I had it hooked up to a 4K gaming monitor, I leveraged Nvidia DLSS 4 — and then later DLSS 4.5 — to bump up the framerate in more demanding games.

With Super Resolution enabled, Death Stranding 2 ran like a charm on this smaller, console-sized mini PC. I also played through a bit of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart with DLSS enabled for equally impressive results. As it’s still in development, I even ran the demo for the upcoming skateboarding sim Skate Style natively and even at 4K, it looked and ran great.

In our lab tests, the G1 Pro performed well across the board without DLSS enabled. We saw 90 fps in Red Dead Redemption 2 at 1080p, while Cyberpunk 2077 saw a less than ideal but still playable 45 fps at native resolution. With DLSS and upscaling enabled, though, you can easily push past 60 fps in the most demanding AAA titles.

Having a desktop-grade Nvidia RTX 5060 installed from the get-go is one of the most compelling things about the G1 Pro. However, just like its RAM and storage, you can actually swap out your GPU later on if you need even more power.

Small but surprisingly expandable

Opening up the G1 Pro to make upgrades is surprisingly simple. After removing the vertical stand and two screws on the base of the machine, the vented side panel just slides right off.

Doing so lets you see the Nvidia RTX 5060 from Gigabyte on the left, a large blower-style fan above the CPU in the center and the 350W power supply on the right. Despite the G1 Pro’s smaller size, Minisforum managed to pack a lot of powerful components into this case with well-managed cables to boot.

Now you can add more memory or storage, but doing so requires unplugging the power supply’s main connector and removing the CPU fan. While one of the M.2 SSD slots is occupied with a 1TB drive, there’s a free one next to it. In total, you can add up to 8TB of storage with a 4TB SSD in each slot. Minisforum even includes an extra SSD heatsink in the box, which is a nice touch for those adding a second high-speed drive.

Although you can’t see it here, there’s a single stick of 32GB DDR5 RAM underneath the CPU cooler. However, there’s a second, free slot next to it. Once RAMaggedon is behind us, you could utilize both to configure the G1 Pro with a whopping 96GB of memory.

A quick note on the single-channel RAM configuration my review unit shipped with: running a PC in single-channel mode does lead to a bottleneck, which is likely why those Geekbench multi-core scores from earlier were lower than expected. However, if you do decide to upgrade the G1 Pro’s RAM, you can just add another 32GB stick; if you had two 16GB sticks, you’d have to ditch them entirely to reach 64GB or more.

Though 96GB of RAM will definitely be overkill for most, if you’re using this mini PC for 8K video editing or running LLMs locally, it’s nice to know that you have plenty of room to expand in the future. Speaking of which, since the G1 Pro uses a standard GPU — albeit a low-profile one — you could theoretically swap out the included RTX 5060 with an RTX 6060 once Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs hit the market.

Minisforum G1 Pro: The Downs

The Minisforum G1 Pro is truly a remarkable mini PC that breaks new ground. However, it’s not without its downsides, which include a sparse port selection for your accessories and fans that can get quite noisy when running demanding workloads or graphically-intensive games.

Port shortage (but not for video)

Just like with the AtomMan G7 Ti, I wish the G1 Pro had a few more USB-A ports. Since I switch between computers so much, I prefer using a 2.4 GHz USB dongle for my mouse and keyboard as opposed to Bluetooth. This lets me quickly get up and running when setting up a new PC.

You do get three USB-A ports — one on the front and two on the back — with the G1 Pro. However, since I have a pair of Kanto Ora bookshelf speakers hooked up via USB along with the dongles for my mouse and keyboard, I found myself at a loss when I wanted to plug in the dongle for a controller. One more USB-A port to get the total up to four would have been a nice addition here.

While you don’t get quite as many USB-A ports as you do on a machine like the Geekom A9 Max, you do get loads of video out ports. Both the front and back USB-C ports are capable of video out, but the G1 Pro also features two HDMI 2.1 ports and two DisplayPort connections.

If you want to run a multi-monitor setup, the G1 Pro is more than capable of doing so with ease. However, if you have a lot of older accessories that use USB-A, then you’ll likely need to pair this mini PC with a hub to get all the ports you need.

The beast unleashed

Let’s face it: mini PCs can get noisy due to their smaller size, and the G1 Pro certainly suffers from this, but only when pushing the machine with demanding games or intensive workloads. With my sound meter, I measured 40dB when using this mini PC for work which is roughly as loud as a quiet library. However, when I booted up a resource-intensive game like Death Stranding 2, I saw sound levels reach as high as 60dB.

Although 60dB is quite loud if you have the G1 Pro sitting right next to you on a desk, switching to a pair of wired USB-C headphones did the trick and made that extra fan noise a lot less noticeable. One of the best gaming headsets would have worked just as well.

To help manage the noise, Minisforum’s pre-installed software allows you to switch between Work, Gaming, and Beast modes. These modes adjust the Ryzen 9's power limit from 60W all the way up to a staggering 100W. Depending on which one you use, the G1 Pro will prioritize either a quiet workspace or raw performance. While the software is intuitive and easy to use, I would have liked to see a dedicated physical mode switch on the front of the case, similar to the one on the AtomMan G7 Ti or G7 Pt.

Minisforum G1 Pro: Verdict

The Minisforum G1 Pro certainly lived up to the initial early impression I had when I first saw it at Computex last summer. It’s sleek, small and packed with powerful but more importantly upgradeable components and this really helps set it apart from other mini PCs as well as Minisforum’s previous devices.

At $1,439, it is more expensive than a console as well as most other mini PCs. However, for the price, you’re getting a dedicated Nvidia GPU which gives you access to DLSS and loads of other features. At the same time, you’re not stuck with soldered RAM and also have the ability to add more storage or even to swap out its low-profile GPU for a more powerful one down the line.

Despite its small package, the G1 Pro delivers both as a gaming machine and as a workstation. While I would have loved a few more USB-A ports, that’s by no means a dealbreaker. The same is true for heightened noise levels under heavy load since wearing a pair of headphones completely drowned out all that extra sound.

If you’re looking for a mini PC you can also game on and don’t want to be stuck with a laptop GPU or an external GPU dock, the G1 Pro is an innovative and fantastic machine for both work and play.

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• I took the Framework Desktop out to my living room and I can’t believe I’m actually gaming in 4K on an iGPU
• I spent a week with this AI-powered mini PC and the buttons on the front earned it a permanent spot on my desk
• I paired a pocketable mini PC with a pair of AR glasses and even I was surprised when it became my go-to travel setup

The Alienware AW2726DM ($349) is something that’s becoming rarer these days: a premium device that won’t break your bank account. Sure, there are similarly-priced or even cheaper gaming monitors out there, but few have all the features you’ll find here.

So what do you get for $349? For starters, a 240Hz refresh rate that helps your games run buttery-smooth, along with a super low 0.03ms response time that offers virtually no lag. The 1440p resolution ensures a clear and sharp image on the 27-inch display, and the OLED panel delivers excellent contrast levels and vivid colors.

Aside from the relatively dim HDR and lack of RGB lighting, you’re not dealing with many trade-offs. The AW2726DM is so good, I’m half tempted to tell you to stop reading here and go out and buy one now. Of course, if you want to know more, then keep reading. Suffice it to say that the AW2726DM is one of the best gaming monitors you can buy — and good enough to find a home in my personal setup.

Alienware AW2726DM review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The Alienware AW2726DM is a 27-inch OLED gaming monitor featuring a 240Hz refresh rate, 0.03ms response time, and a 1440p resolution.
• Who is it for? For anyone who wants a decent-sized and feature-rich gaming monitor that’s extremely affordable.
• What does it cost? The Alienware AW2726DM costs $349 and is available now on Dell’s website.
• What do we like? We like the affordable price, vibrant image quality, small footprint, and its host of gamer-friendly features.
• What don’t we like? We don’t like the relatively dim HDR and lack of RGB.

Alienware AW2726DM review: Specs

Alienware AW2726DM review: The ups

The Alienware AW2726DM is a spectacular gaming monitor thanks to its rich feature set and jaw-dropping low price.

Vibrant OLED panel

The OLED panel is the star of the show, especially at this price. At 27 inches, you get just enough space to see everything clearly, even small text. The sharp 2560 x 1440 resolution also helps everything appear nice and sharp, even if it’s half the pixels of a 4K monitor. Thanks to the screen size, you also have enough space to place several open windows or apps.

When I tested Cyberpunk 2077 on the AW2726DM, I was impressed by the richness of the colors and the overall sharp image quality. The holographic fish floating above Night City’s busy financial district, along with the towering buildings and bustling streets, made you feel like you were in the middle of this cyberpunk dystopia.

As you can see in the table above, the AW2726DM delivers oversaturated hues on its standard setting. Color representation (sRGB and DCI-P3) is well above the target 100%, which makes the colors very rich. Color accuracy (0.24) is also quite strong. The numbers don’t lie, this monitor delivers some truly vivid colors.

The Alienware AW2726DM has 11 display modes. This includes modes dedicated to game genres like FPS, RPG, and Sports. The modes are only slightly different from one another, depending on their function. If you’re not happy with any of the preset modes, the “custom color” option allows you to create one from scratch.

Understated design

The Alienware AW2726DM has an understated all-black design that makes it look more like a standard monitor than a gaming device. While it won’t draw attention when you’re using it around others, I personally love its simple, elegant chassis.

The 27-inch monitor rests on a sturdy 8.80-inch stand that doesn’t take up much space on your desk. Since the stand is flat, you’re able to place items like a game controller or phone to keep your desk even tidier. The bearing ring on the base of the stand lets you turn the entire thing 360 degrees.

It’s easy to move the monitor up or down 5.2 inches along the shaft’s stand with minimal force. You can also rotate the display a full 90 degrees if you need it to be vertical. The display tilts 5 degrees forward and 21 degrees backward. All of this lets you achieve your desired viewing angle.

Lastly, there's the port selection, which includes a pair of HDMI ports, a lone DisplayPort, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Reaching the ports is easy since you can turn the monitor 360 degrees on its base. While the port selection isn't extensive, you get the bare basics.

Excellent performance

The AW2726DM delivers phenomenal performance thanks to its buttery-smooth 240Hz refresh rate and fast 0.03ms response time. Keep in mind, those are features you usually get with more expensive gaming monitors. Compatibility with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync also helps deliver smooth gaming performance.

For my testing, I had the AW2726DM connected to the new Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop packing an Intel Core Ultra 9 “Panther Lake” CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 mobile GPU, and 32GB of RAM. You don’t need such a powerful gaming laptop or gaming PC for Alienware’s monitor, but that type of rig can help you utilize it to its full potential.

Cyberpunk 2077 ran like a dream thanks to the 240Hz refresh rate. I also didn’t notice input lag since the response time is a low 0.03ms. Professional gamers who are used to playing on something like the Alienware AW2524H with its insane 500Hz refresh rate might notice a difference, but average gamers like myself won’t. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed by the AW2726DM’s performance.

Clean interface

The Alienware AW2726DM has the same basic interface as other Alienware gaming monitors I’ve reviewed, such as the Alienware AW3425DW.

The user interface maintains its familiar look, featuring a black-and-gray background contrasted with blue-and-white text. Despite the extensive array of options, including display modes and various lighting adjustments, the clean layout ensures that navigating the settings is straightforward.

The OSD joystick used for sorting through menus is very responsive and easy to reach. Its flat, concave top allows you to have a firm hold as you’re clicking through the menus.

Alienware AW2726DM review: The downs

You’re getting fantastic value with the Alienware AW2726DM, but some compromises were made to keep its price affordable.

Not the brightest OLED

This is an issue with virtually all OLED gaming monitors I’ve ever reviewed, but the AW2726DM doesn’t deliver overly bright HDR. In fact, SDR brightness is overall dim across its various display modes.

As you can see above, the HDR brightness is about 340 nits at 10% of the display, so you do get good contrast between dark and light elements. Still, don’t expect eye-scorching levels of brightness even in the dedicated HDR modes. SDR brightness is also lower than the competition.

While I wish the display got brighter, you won’t exactly be squinting when using the monitor. Our office is pretty well lit, but the monitor’s lighting was suitable for the environment. I imagine it would look just right in my comparatively darker apartment.

No RGB

Alienware and RGB lighting are pretty synonymous, so it’s interesting that the AW2726DM has no RGB lighting of any kind. Even the Alienware logo on the back remains dark.

The lack of RGB isn’t a big deal for me since I’m neither for nor against it. And even if there were some RGB lighting on the back, it’s not like I’d be able to see it when I’m in front of the display. However, if you do like RGB, you might be disappointed.

Alienware AW2726DM review: Verdict

On its own, the Alienware AW2726DM is a brilliant gaming monitor that ticks all the right boxes for picture quality and performance. The fact that it only costs $349 just makes it all the better, especially during a time when gaming devices are becoming so expensive.

While you’re not getting bright HDR or RGB lighting, the AW2726DM’s faults are easy to overlook given its generous asking price. If you’re looking to upgrade your gaming den with a new or extra monitor, don’t pass up on this one. Right now, it’s the best value gaming monitor out there. As I said in the headline, it's so good that I'm buying two for myself!

As you may have seen, we rather love Pragmata right now, and I can give all you PC gamers out there the lowdown on how well it’ll run on your rigs. Spoiler alert: just like Resident Evil Requiem, path tracing adds a night and day difference.

So I threw it at my pricey RTX 5080 and mid-range RTX 5060 Ti rigs to see how far I can stretch those fidelity settings with DLSS 4, and how well it performs with this incredibly demanding graphical tech running.

What settings should you use?

As I always say, Nvidia’s DLSS is a helluva tool for extracting more gameplay value out of your GPU — provided you use it the right way. Because sure, a game can look smooth, but if you’re adding all the AI trickery on top of a game that is running at 20 FPS, it will not feel smooth to play.

That’s why you’ll need to go into the settings to tinker the base rate a little before overlaying DLSS features. Just as a general reminder:

• If your game is a slower-paced single-player title, aim for 40 FPS
• Need quick reflexes? Aim for 60 FPS
• For competitive multiplayer, either don’t use it or aim for 120 FPS

From mine and Tony’s time playing Pragmata, you can safely put it in that 40 FPS target category. There is combat that requires you to dodge attacks and shoot, but with plenty of time to telegraph enemy moves, the really fun puzzle elements and button-based quick-time events, you’ll still get a game that feels good to play at this level.

By the numbers

So allow me to introduce you to the machines that will be taking this on (quite proud of my rebuilds):

• Remember that PC I built for myself at Scan computers? I’ve done a transplant into the gorgeous Micro ATX case you see in the top image — doing some space saving while preserving power. It packs an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, RTX 5080 and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. You can watch the whole big build here.
• The second is a modified RDY Element 9 Pro R07 — sporting an Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, RTX 5060 Ti (16GB) and 32GB of DDR5 RAM.

Same rules apply as my Requiem testing, so I’m stress testing at resolutions fair to each card (4K for the 5080 and 1440p for the 5060 Ti) at maxed out path tracing settings. Of course, as I said above, you can tweak some graphical settings to squeeze even more frames out of the base rate.

And as you can see, the multipliers really start to pile on the additional frames nicely here — making the game look silky smooth.

Latency checker

So there’s big frame rates happening up above, but that’s half the story. As I said up above, the game’s got to feel smooth too, and in this stress test (just like what happened with Requiem), this is where it becomes clear that DLSS 4.5 performance is your go-to option if you wanna go all-out in the settings.

DLSS always comes with a small penalty to that base frame rate, as the GPU’s attention is turned to the AI background work. And while these are mostly playable, Quality or Balanced upscaling does lead to some noticeable latency. Performance is your sweet spot.

Path traced sci-fi fun

If you follow my advice from up above, you’ll have a great experience with what has become one of my personal surprise favorite games of 2026. Path tracing really does make a material difference to the visual fidelity here and draws you into the immersion of this fascinating sci-fi world.

I demoed this game a few months ago and immediately fell in love with the hybrid shooter/puzzler gameplay, but I did feel a little nervous about how far this could go before it becomes tiresome. Turns out the answer is it never gets old! New layers of complication are added over time and discoverable elements keep things fresh. Oh, and the boss battles are epic.

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• PC sales are up, but don’t be fooled — IDC report warns RAMageddon is just getting started
• I tested DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Multi Frame Generation: It’s not just AI trickery, it’s Nvidia’s cheat code for 4K 240Hz and a true console killer
• I really wanted to love the Asus TUF Gaming A14 (2026), but it’s an expensive heartbreaker

The Alienware AW2726DM is the gaming monitor we need right now. With RAMageddon driving up the price of electronics, a $349 device that’s so feature-rich is almost miraculous. Yes, there are similar monitors out there, but none offer this kind of bang for your buck.

I’ve been testing the new Alienware monitor for a week after first seeing it at a press event, and it’s been a revelation. You get a sharp 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED panel with a smooth 240Hz refresh rate and an ultra-low 0.03ms response time. Thanks to those specs, everything looks and runs like a dream. The fact that there are virtually no compromises for the price is wild.

I’ll have my full Alienware AW2726DM review for you soon. Right now, here’s why this affordable gaming monitor has won me over and why I’m ready to buy at least two of them for my own home setup.

Display

Naturally, the star of the show is the display.

While I’m slightly more partial to 34-inch monitors, I won’t say no to a more compact 27-inch display — especially when it looks this good. This size helps the 2560 x 1440 resolution look sharp and lets you clearly see everything on the screen. For work, you also get plenty of space to comfortably keep several windows open.

Cyberpunk 2077 ran buttery-smooth on this monitor, thanks to the 240Hz refresh rate. I also didn’t notice input lag, since the response time is a low 0.03ms. I’ve only seen that on much more expensive monitors. Unless you’re a professional gamer who needs an even higher refresh rate, you won’t be disappointed with the performance.

There are nine main display modes, and each delivers generally oversaturated colors that make games look vibrant. You can see a handful of the modes in the table above for reference.

HDR brightness isn’t all that bright, but that’s something I’ve come to expect from OLED gaming monitors. As you can see above, the brightness is about 340 nits at 10% of the display, so you do get good contrast between dark and light elements. Still, don’t expect eye-scorching levels of brightness even in the dedicated HDR modes.

Design

Since the Alienware AW2726DM is a 27-inch gaming monitor, it’s easy to find a spot for it in just about any gaming or office setup. I’ve been using it at the office, and no one has caught on that it’s a gaming monitor.

The square 8.80-inch stand provides sturdy support. Its flat design lets you easily place items like your phone or an extra controller on it, helping keep your desk tidy. You can glide the monitor 5.2 inches along the stand’s shaft, rotate it 90 degrees, and tilt it 5/21 degrees. There’s also a bearing ring on the base that lets you turn the entire thing 360 degrees.

The monitor has a simple, all-black design that I quite like. There’s an understated Alienware logo on the right side, but nothing else beyond that. One concern is that there is no RGB lighting, even for the logo. I personally don’t mind this since I’m somewhat neutral on RGB lighting, but it’s worth noting as one of the few trade-offs.

Alienware AW2726DM Outlook

I still need to test more games before rendering my final verdict, but given what you get for the price, I can already see the Alienware AW2726DM finding a spot on our best gaming monitors guide. You get a sharp, vivid display with excellent performance in an easy-to-manage design. It ticks all the right boxes.

At the risk of undermining my own review, I say just go out and buy the Alienware AW2726DM now. As I said, I’m seriously considering buying a pair for myself. That price is extremely enticing. But if you’d rather wait for my full review before pulling the trigger, keep it locked here. Stay tuned!

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• Pragmata is my favorite surprise game of 2026
• I’ve used a MacBook as my primary computer for two weeks
• I just tested the Dell XPS 16 and it’s my new favorite Windows laptop

Thanks to RAMageddon, pricing for the best handheld gaming consoles has skyrocketed. One of the more extreme examples is the Legion Go 2 with 2TB of storage, which now costs an eye-watering $2,849 (up from $1,479). No, that’s not a typo. At this price, it can feel like you need to mortgage your house just to game on the go.

However, not all hope is lost. Right now, you can still buy new or near-new gaming handhelds in the $400 to $650 range, or roughly the launch price of the original Steam Deck. Whether you’re into indies, older AAA titles, or Nintendo exclusives, there are still affordable devices that won’t put you in serious debt.

I’ve reviewed or tested all the big-name gaming handhelds released over the past four years, so I know which machines are best suited to specific users. To that end, I’ve put together this guide to help you buy your perfect handheld. I’ll cover what to look for, where the real value lies, crucial warnings if you’re buying used or certified pre-owned, and spotlight three systems worth your hard-earned cash.

Figure out what you actually need

Given the ongoing RAM crisis, the first decision is how much you’re willing to spend. Devices in the $300–$500 range offer solid entry-level performance, while $500–$700 handhelds strike a great balance of power and features. Naturally, these prices have ballooned, but keep them as your north star so you don’t get hosed.

Which games matter most to you? If you’re into blockbuster PC titles and Xbox Game Pass, a Windows 11 handheld like the original Asus ROG Ally is still a fantastic option. Conversely, if you’re into Nintendo exclusives or more family-friendly titles, the Nintendo Switch 2 is your best bet. The Legion Go S with SteamOS is also great for indie games, emulation, and some older AAA titles.

Battery life is another key factor. You’ll typically get around 2-3 hours on demanding titles, though less intensive games can last much longer depending on settings. Don’t expect any of these machines to last all day without charging.

Display-wise, I say don’t focus too heavily on OLED machines right now, as they’re either sold out (Steam Deck OLED) or far too expensive (Lenovo Legion Go 2). That said, if you truly want an OLED handheld at an affordable price, you can generally find the original Switch OLED for under $300. Just a reminder: this handheld is nearly five years old.

Lastly, consider which operating system you’ll use regularly. SteamOS is one of the most intuitive, since it delivers a console-like experience right out of the box. On the flip side, Windows 11 might be painful to use on a handheld form factor, but it offers greater flexibility, as it’s compatible with virtually all x86 games and applications. On that last point, buying a handheld with a microSD card slot and a dock (usually sold separately) can add more value.

How to save money on a handheld in 2026

There are several ways to save money when buying a gaming handheld right now.

First, you don’t necessarily need the latest and greatest handheld — especially at current prices. Prioritize older machines over bleeding-edge flagships. This has been a good rule in the past, and it’s even truer now. You can still have a lot of fun with an older model.

Speaking of older models, shopping through official refurbished programs and big retailers’ open-box or certified pre-owned stock can save you 15–30%. These handhelds have undergone full testing and come with return policies, which should give you some peace of mind. I wouldn’t have recommended used machines before, but they’re a worthwhile option in 2026.

Other ways to save include bundle deals and flash sales on Steam, Best Buy, Amazon, and Nintendo’s site. I suggest skipping random eBay “deals” unless you’re willing to take the risk; certified options from reputable retailers are much safer. Speaking of gray areas, retro emulation handhelds can cost $40–$100, but don’t ask me how these companies obtain these games.

Three handhelds to buy right now

Here are three standout options that deliver great value without draining your wallet. Prices fluctuate, so check the links and stock today.

Tips when buying used or certified pre-owned

For the most part, certified pre-owned and open-box items from Amazon and Best Buy are safe bets. These handhelds have been inspected, usually come with a 30–90-day return policy, and may include a warranty. However, here are some things to keep in mind.

• Test immediately: To ensure you didn’t buy a faulty machine, check the joysticks for drift, buttons for responsiveness, the screen for dead pixels or backlight bleed, and battery health. Run a few games for 20–30 minutes to check for overheating or Wi-Fi issues.
• Battery life: Handhelds are power-hungry, so older units can have degraded cells. Refurbs directly from manufacturers like Valve or big retailers tend to be safer options since they do thorough testing.
• Warranty: I keep hammering this point, but please stick to official or big-retailer CPO for coverage. Avoid random user listings.
• Red flags: Watch out for prices that seem too good to be true, vague seller descriptions, no actual photos of the unit, or “for parts only” listings. Always verify the exact model and specs so you don’t get fleeced.
• General rule: Double-check any listing under $300 that claims to be “like new” for modern PC gaming. It could be a retro-emulation device, which is great for classics but not for modern titles.

Game smart, not expensive

Buying a gaming handheld is more challenging these days, but with the tips I provided in this article, you should be able to find something that makes you happy.

The RAM crisis is likely to last for the rest of the year, but if you play it cool, you can still find an excellent machine that won't drain your bank account. Happy hunting!

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Pragmata is a game I didn’t know I wanted. While I was certainly intrigued by its initial announcement, I was still undecided, even after playing it at a press event, since the puzzle-based combat is admittedly strange. However, now that I’ve finished it, I can safely say that it’s not only another bona fide hit from Capcom, but a title that leaves a lasting impression.

At its core, Pragmata is a third-person action-adventure shooter. However, instead of mindlessly shooting at the game’s myriad robotic foes, you must first complete a mini-game to lower their shields and make your weapons more effective. While this can slow down combat, it leads to more engaging and thoughtful encounters. Toss in an enthralling science fiction story with genuine heart, and you have almost everything you’d want in a video game.

Pragmata proves there’s still innovation to be had in the AAA gaming space. Find out more in my full review!

Pragmata: The basics

• What is it? Pragmata is a science fiction, third-person action-adventure shooter.
• Who is it for? For anyone who enjoys science fiction, smart shooting games, or is a fan of Capcom.
• What's the price? Pragmata costs $59 at retailers like Amazon.
• What other games has the developer made? Capcom has released notable games such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, and Monster Hunter, among others.
• What games is it similar to? Pragmata is very unique, but if I had to compare it to anything, it has bits of Nier Automata, Death Stranding, and Dead Space.

I, Robot

During what should have been a routine job on a lunar research station called The Cradle, protagonist Hugh Williams loses his team of fellow engineers to a moonquake. He soon meets an android girl he eventually calls Diana, who can hack into enemy robots' shields so Hugh can take them out more effectively. The two must then continue working together to escape the moon and reach Earth safely.

While the mystery behind what’s happening on the moon is plenty interesting, the heart of Pragmata’s story centers on Hugh and Diana’s father-daughter relationship. As the game progresses, Hugh teaches Diana what it’s like being human, while Diana, in turn, helps Hugh deal with some of his past trauma. It’s a sweet dynamic that only gets stronger as the story progresses.

I went in expecting a decent sci-fi story, but Pragmata overdelivered thanks to its endearing characters and unique twist on the lunar setting. Even after finishing it, it’s a story I’m eager to revisit. Plus, Diana is insanely adorable thanks to her bubbly personality and boundless curiosity.

The Terminator

Pragmata’s combat mechanics are its most defining feature. Since you have to complete a mini-game to disable enemy shields so that Hugh’s shots do serious damage, every single encounter is its own mini-game. This is especially true since you need to remain on the move as robots won’t just stand around waiting for you to disable their defenses. Combat can feel strange because of this dynamic, but once it clicks, it’s immensely rewarding.

The actual mini-game itself appears as a grid overlaid in front of your targeted enemy. You need to move across this hacking matrix by pressing the corresponding face button to move up, down, left, or right. While early encounters have simple grids with no obstructions, later grids can have rigid paths you must follow so you don’t get stuck or suffer damage by moving to the wrong node. This can get frustrating, especially when multiple foes are coming at you. Thankfully, there’s a way to turn things in your favor.

You’ll find or unlock different Hacking Nodes, which you can equip and which will appear on the hacking grid. Passing through these nodes can have effects like boosting your damage or allowing you to hack multiple robots at once, for example. There are quite a few Hacking Nodes you can try out, and they can certainly turn battles in your favor.

Hugh starts with the equivalent of a handgun, but eventually finds analogs for shotguns, missile launchers, sticky bombs, and many more. Except for your primary firearm, all weapons have limited ammo and break when they run out. Because of that, you’re forced to use all the weapons in your inventory that are scattered across the levels. This prevents you from sticking to just one gun, which helps keep you engaged in each enemy encounter.

Diana’s hacking ability is powerful, but she needs time to recharge the hacking gauge after a successful hack, which further heightens the tension during battles. Conversely, Diana can also employ an “ultimate technique” called the Overdrive Protocol, which can hack all enemies at once. The gauge for this technique fills up every time you defeat enemies, so it’s best to have it reserved for when you’re truly overwhelmed or when facing a boss.

Speaking of bosses, Pragmata has some truly inspired boss encounters that are reminiscent of the over-the-top bosses from Resident Evil Requiem — only with this game’s hacking mini-game tossed in. I won’t ruin things, but boss battles are a true highlight here, even if some are tough as nails.

Forbidden Planet

Pragmata takes place on a lunar research facility, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be staring at the interior of a space station or on the lunar surface for the entire game. One level is set in a 3D-printed version of New York City, while another is made to resemble several natural environments. Of course, with the station’s operations not exactly going right, these faux environments have weird distortions or replications — akin to the AI slop you see online. These environments, while twisted, were carefully designed by the developers and look fantastic.

Some of my favorite parts take place on the lunar surface. Since gravity is weaker outside the facility, Hugh’s thrusters allow him to jump higher or hover longer. This not only looks cool but adds another dimension (pun intended) to combat. I wish the game had more of these outdoor sections, but the ones we get are very memorable.

The environments are relatively enclosed and small, but there are plenty of hidden goodies to discover. This includes lunafilament that’s necessary for upgrades, along with items you can gift to a very appreciative Diana. The levels have a deliberate design, so if you see an area that appears inaccessible, there’s always a way of getting there.

On that last point, certain areas will require you to use your hacking abilities to access them. These mini-games are often easier since they don’t always have a time limit, nor are you being attacked. They can be a tad too simple, requiring nothing more than the correct button presses, but they do a nice job of breaking up the combat and making you feel like you’re exploring a real space station under lockdown.

Caves of Steel

When you need a break, you can use "Escape Hatches" (the game's fast-travel and checkpoint system) to return to the central hub known as The Shelter. Not only does it let you unwind, but it’s also where you can purchase upgrades with all the lunafilament and other resources you’ve discovered. One terminal is dedicated to upgrading your defenses, Diana’s hacking, and your primary weapon. The other lets you unlock more weapons, hacking abilities, suit upgrades, and more.

One item type you’ll find along the way is Cabin Coins, which you can give to a robot that’s appropriately called Cabin for rewards that you unlock via a Bingo display board. The rewards in question can be hacking nodes, files on enemies, upgrades, and more. Cabin can also change the music within the Shelter and lets you participate in various combat and time trials.

The Shelter is also where you develop your relationship with Diana, either by talking to her or gifting her items. This includes things like RC cars, sand castles, a tree with a swing, a slide, and other things kids enjoy. Seeing her marvel at these Earth-based items and play with them is extremely cute. It’s one of the game’s most charming aspects.

Ghost in the Shell

Pragmata is an absolute visual feast, which is no surprise given how it’s driven by the RE Engine — the same engine the equally gorgeous Resident Evil Requiem runs on. All the environments come to life thanks to their stunning level of detail. This is especially true for the manufactured locales, with their surreal aesthetic.

While the environments and character models are stunning, I was most impressed with Diana’s lifelike hair. Actually, I think obsessed might be a better word, since I can’t recall seeing hair look this natural and realistic in a video game. You can really see how lifelike her hair appears when you’re out on the lunar surface, and her hair begins floating around her like she’s underwater. Diana’s hair is almost like a character in its own right!

I played the entire game on PC and found it incredibly stable. There was never an instance where I had to endure weird bugs or glitches. In fact, I also barely heard my PC’s fans go above a whisper, which is a testament to how well optimized this title is. I played some of it on the PS5 Pro and found it looks and runs just as phenomenally. Unless a future patch messes things up, you should be in for a smooth gaming experience.

Pragmata review: Verdict

While the main story takes around ten hours to finish, you can extend your playtime with a boatload of post-game content, as well as completing all the in-game missions and finding every hidden collectible. Trust me, there’s a lot to do even when the credits roll. This is a game that keeps on giving.

There’s more I can say about Pragmata, but I want you to experience it yourself. It truly is one of this generation’s finest titles, a big-budget game that dares to be different. Pragmata is a fantastic reminder of why I love video games and is easily one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve had in a long time. Capcom is firing on all cylinders these days, and Pragmata is more proof of that. Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on this one!

Last year, I wrote about how the Plugable 14-in-1 USB-C dock helped me turn my 13-inch MacBook Air M3 into my primary computer. However, that was a short-lived adventure, since I soon reverted to switching between my PC and the MacBook depending on what I needed to do. I’ve now fully committed to this venture and don’t plan to look back.

As I explained in my previous post, I’m constantly switching between macOS and Windows 11 computers for work, which helps me stay familiar with both systems. But at home, I want things simpler. Since I use the MacBook Air M3 much more than my PC, it just makes sense to make it my primary machine.

What did I do differently this time to successfully use a MacBook as my main PC, and have I completely given up on PC? Read on to find out!

Plugable 14-in-1 USB-C dock

This post is a quasi-sequel to the Plugable USB-C dock story, since this device lets me use my MacBook Air effectively as my sole computer. That’s because it has all the ports I need for the peripherals I connect to my PC — specifically, my webcam, microphone, speakers, and monitors.

You can read my full account of this Plugable USB-C dock in the previous story, but suffice it to say, it’s a fantastic device that makes my current setup possible. Though pricey even at its current discounted price of $179, it’s well worth the money for turning a MacBook into your main computer.

The apps and peripherals I use

The main reason my previous attempt didn’t work is that I didn’t account for the gaming podcast I host. I have the OBS streaming software on my PC for that task, and OBS is also available for Macs. However, while OBS does have an export feature for transferring all profiles and scene collections from one computer to another, it doesn’t work across different operating systems. Since I have limited free time during the week to manually recreate my OBS setup, I left it alone — though it was always in the back of my mind.

When I recently took a staycation, I decided to finally hunker down and manually recreate my podcast setup on the MacBook Air M3. I uploaded all my relevant files (movies, animations, music, etc.) to Google Drive, then downloaded them all to the MacBook. It took close to three hours, but I had successfully set up the MacBook Air for my podcast. I’m happy to report that I’ve successfully streamed three shows so far.

When I first started using Macs in 2021 after years with Windows, I was disappointed that some of my go-to apps weren’t available. Now, every app I need is available on the App Store.

The apps in question are Logitech G Hub for my webcam and streaming light, DaVinci Resolve for converting MP4 to MP3, Audacity for editing audio, Elgato Wave Link for my mic, and, of course, OBS. To my surprise, Razer Synapse is now available for Macs, though the program doesn’t list my Razer Barracuda Pro headset as compatible. This is fine, since the headset works perfectly well on the Mac via Bluetooth.

The other main program I use is Logi Options+ for my keyboard and mouse. This program has been available for Macs for a while and is a great way to keep those two peripherals (and the webcam and streaming light) up to date. In case you’re wondering, I prefer using Logitech G over Logi Options+ for the webcam, since it gives me greater control over image configuration.

What about gaming?

MacBooks let me do almost everything I need for work and personal use. However, the main reason I’ve been unable to fully jump ship is because of gaming. Don’t get me wrong, Mac gaming has come a long way, with heavy hitters like Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and even Crimson Desert available on Macs. Unfortunately, many PC games are still unavailable for macOS.

While I was setting up OBS on the MacBook Air, I realized I hadn’t jotted down the exact bitrate I streamed at (to ensure everything went smoothly). Since I already had my TV connected to my PC via HDMI, I used it as a monitor while I searched for what I needed. That was when the obvious hit me: Since I already prefer playing games on my LG OLED TV, why not just use my gaming rig purely for gaming?

Before, I had to switch from my monitors to my TV for PC gaming. Now I can just turn on the PC and play games on my TV. It’s a bit odd to use my PC only for gaming, but it works out well. I mostly game on a PS5 Pro, so I rarely play PC games. But when I need to use it for reviews, I’m ready.

In case you were wondering, my PC is a little over four years old, but it’s still plenty powerful to play modern games. It packs an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU, an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, and 32GB of RAM. Thanks to that, I can still play most games at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second (or higher). I also paid close to $4,000 for my rig near the end of 2021, so there’s no way I can just let it collect dust.

Bottom line

It has been two weeks since I began using the MacBook Air as my main computer, and I’m more than happy with the results. I’ll probably swap the Air for a MacBook Pro, since it can get hot during streams due to its lack of internal fans. But that’s about it. Transferring apps and profiles should be a cinch. That said, I’m not in a hurry, since everything is working so well at the moment.

Moving forward, I’ll use the MacBook Air for all my main work and streaming, while keeping my Windows PC on standby for serious gaming. It’s a setup I’m glad I finally made a reality.

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Nvidia has just dropped DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and I’ve been testing it for the past week. This takes the idea of multi-frame generation and adds automation to it, so AI only generates the frames you need rather than going over the top, and in my time using it, Team Green has created a far smoother experience with lower latency because of it.

It’s a better balance of making sure your GPU’s raw rendering skills and AI trickery work hand-in-hand to deliver more consistently stable gameplay. But while you’ll hear a lot about this being big for 4K 240Hz monitors, I found that this is the missing piece to using your PC as a games console replacement — a dream I’ve had for years. Let me explain.

What is Dynamic Multi Frame Generation?

Up until now, Nvidia has dabbled in Multi-Frame Generation — you can think of this like the manual transmission in a car. Each gear has its benefits for more speed, but if you slow down at these higher gears, it’s hard to get back up to speed. This can be felt in the form of latency if you poorly optimize your game from the jump.

Dynamic Multi Frame Generation switches that out with an automatic transmission, which changes gears (frame multipliers) based on the intensity of the scene — ensuring you’re at the max speed of the display you’re on at all times. This ensures you only get the frames that you need, and produces a far smoother experience with less latency.

In this beta, you’ll see two presets in the Nvidia app:

• Preset A: The brute force option. This will take a look at literally everything on screen as one frame and generate. Much wider compatibility, but can come with some issues of smearing in-game UI elements with the background.
• Preset B: In this model, DLSS is able to look at both the in-game visuals and the UI separately. This can help keep your on-screen text razor sharp, but compatibility is limited as it requires developers to isolate the layers.

But as I always say (following on from poorly optimizing your game), it’s critical that you use this the right way. I’ve got a full guide on my resolution scaling and frame generation preferences, but to summarize real quick, it’s important that your base frame rate before turning on any AI trickery is strong.

Because if your game is running at 20 FPS, slapping on this DLSS coat of paint will make it look smoother, but it’ll still feel like 20 FPS.

• If you’re in a single player game with slower pacing, 40 FPS is enough.
• Need faster reflexes? Start at 60 FPS.
• Competitive multiplayer? Don’t use it or build from 120 FPS.

Got it? Good. Let’s get into the results of my testing.

By the numbers

So let’s test what Nvidia has here — starting with its main focus upon making the most of a 4K 240Hz monitor. I’ve got my RTX 5080 rig that I built with Scan computers here in dear old Blighty, and the Alienware AW2725Q monitor. If you want to see how to build a PC like this for yourself, the guide is just below.

Anyway, let’s get into it. Put simply, monitors of this caliber are no longer just future-proof hardware — RTX 50-series is able to fully utilize them and get 100% of the experience you pay for.

In games like “Dragon Age: The Veilguard,” you’re seeing a base frame rate of 53 FPS get effectively upshifted heavily to saturate the monitor’s refresh rate. On the opposite end of this, “God of War Ragnarok” already has a strong base performance, so DFG essentially downshifts to a lower multiplier for the smoothest possible image quality.

Another way to look at it is those 1% Lows. This is the lowest frame rate you see 1% of the time (as the name suggests), and it’s a good way to track whether the game will visibly stumble at any dramatic rate.

On average (including some loading scenes, so data is a little bit off), you’re looking at an average of 115 FPS across all my tests, which is an excellent floor of the performance — well above the variable refresh rate threshold and eliminating visible judder.

The beauty of this restraint is fully realized in the latency, though. Multiple generated frames are often criticized for adding a floaty input lag. Of course, this comes down to how to tame the technology in many ways. But with an average of 33-45ms, my data proves Nvidia has overcome this hurdle.

To put it in perspective, Cyberpunk 2077 with everything turned up and maintaining only 45ms of latency is a landmark achievement to squeeze up to 240Hz gaming.

To my eyes

As for the visual element of it (numbers are good, but it’s got to look good too), same as I found when going eyes-on back at CES 2026, You’ll struggle to notice when the multiplier shifts — there’s no identifiable switch up or stuttering at all in all the games I tried.

There are some small ghosting issues I did spot. The most prominent one being in “Hogwarts Legacy” around this teacher’s hair, but most impressively, none of this impacts the UI. One of the most common problems with frame generation is that it can make on-screen elements like a health bar or button prompts smear into the background of the game.

And that’s the magic of Preset B isolating static elements from the game visuals. Menus in “Spider-Man 2,” “Hogwarts Legacy” and “Forza Horizon 5” remain perfectly clear even as the 3D world is being interpolated at a 4-6x rate.

TV time

Now, you’re going to hear Nvidia talk a whole lot about making the most out of high refresh rate hardware, which Team Green absolutely does here. But I wanted to see whether it could fix one problem I’ve always had — playing PC games on my TV.

It’s been my dream to have a cheaper RTX 5060 Ti rig plugged into my big screen to replace my console setup. A lot of these single-player games that Dynamic Multi Frame Generation is perfect for usually run at 30 FPS on Fidelity mode and 60 FPS on performance.

While a PC can smash that barrier already (and latency issues are felt much less with a controller), there are two key issues:

• UI smearing: The brute force frame generation option has viewed the entire game and its UI as one picture. When blown up to a massive TV, that means you can see the UI elements start to smear and ghost — especially when the picture behind it is moving fast (think like a racing game).
• The VRR stutter: When framerates can change quite dramatically on a PC game, most HDMI 2.1-armed TVs can suffer from gamma flickering. Without the variable refresh rate of a gaming monitor, the locked refresh rate of the big screen behaves a little weird with this.

With Dynamic Multi Frame Generation (and Preset B), it was my hope that beyond the marketing messages, this could be the key to having my PC become the all-in-one gaming desk machine and TV setup.

And you know what? It absolutely nails it. Of course, if you're looking at this from a keyboard and mouse/your face close to a monitor perspective, some of those latency numbers could be a problem. But for the couch gaming side of things (average response time on a PS5 or Xbox Series X sits between 100ms and 150ms), these numbers are actually a win for the TV rig.

Of course, it's worth noting that this is a stress test. I wanted to see how far I could push this on an RTX 5060 Ti rig with settings turned all the way up — lowering the base frame rate target to what a console hits at 30 FPS and seeing how it fares.

If you want something more responsive, you can tweak those settings down a tad. But for my time playing with a controller, I certainly didn't notice any input latency at all.

The UI remains mostly rock solid thanks to preset B isolating the in-game visuals from the on-screen elements, and generating only the frames I need keeps things feeling responsive while eliminating any flickering.

Verdict: a console killer?

So the main thing I want you to take away from this is that Dynamic Multi Frame Generation is not just for the enthusiast with the 240Hz monitor. It’s for the rest of us gamers who want their PC to act like a polished, reliable appliance in the living room.

For years, my “PC as a console” dream died at the hands of micro-stutters, UI ghosting and the constant need to babysit settings. While the latter of those three could do with some work (looking at you, Microsoft), Nvidia has finally automated the two headaches away.

It’s the first time that AI hasn’t felt like a “more frames” button, but rather a “better experience” brain. By letting it decide when to push and when to pull back, your PC stops feeling like a hot rod and starts feeling like a refined supercar of a high-performance console.

Put simply, if you’re on an RTX-50 Series GPU, this isn’t just a toggle — it’s the new standard.

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I never thought I’d go from carrying one of the best mini PCs in my pocket to dropping it in a dock and instantly being able to play AAA games. That was until I tried Khadas’ new Mind Graphics 2.

Unlike other mini PCs, where you have to open them up to upgrade their RAM or storage, the Khadas Mind and now the Khadas Mind 2 can be upgraded in seconds with two unique docks. While the Mind Dock adds more ports and a handy volume knob, the Mind Graphics dock takes things to a whole new level with a desktop-grade GPU.

This isn’t your standard USB4, OCuLink, or Thunderbolt-powered eGPU dock either. Instead, it uses Khadas’ proprietary 122-pin Mind Link connector for an even faster connection. Paired with an Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti, the new Mind Graphics 2 has more than enough power for the best PC games, but you can also use its GPU to turbocharge creative workflows like photo or video editing.

After trying out the original Khadas Mind with the first Mind Graphics dock, here’s what it's been like using the more powerful Mind 2S with the Mind Graphics 2 for a week, and why it will be hard to go back to a standard mini PC.

Part GPU, part workstation

At 7.83 x 5.24 x 4.33 inches, the Mind Graphics 2 doesn’t take up all that much space on your desk at all compared to a DIY eGPU dock. Still, though, it makes the Mind 2S at 5.75 x 4.13 x 0.79 inches look absolutely tiny in comparison. In the box, you get the Mind Graphics 2 and a power cable, besides an original Mind, Mind 2, or Mind 2S mini PC; that’s all you need to get started.

There are quite a few handy ports on the front, including a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-C port, and an SD card reader, along with a customizable indicator light above the Khadas logo. This is a nice change from the Mind 2S and Khadas’ other pocketable mini PCs, which only have a power button up front.

Around the back of the Mind Graphics 2 is where things start to get interesting. You get dual HDMI 2.1b ports, a DisplayPort 2.1b, two USB-A ports, a USB-C port, and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port. That USB-C port isn’t for connecting peripherals, though. Instead, you can plug one of the best laptops into it and take full advantage of the RTX 5060 Ti inside, even if you don’t have one of Khadas’ mini PCs.

The Mind Graphics 2’s CNC unibody aluminum shell doesn’t just give this eGPU dock a slick look; it also acts as a secondary heat sink. In fact, this is why you can run a desktop-grade GPU in a small 2.5-liter space without it sounding like a jet engine. However, it is on the heavier side at six pounds, but this helps keep it firmly planted on your desk even while you’re disconnecting and plugging in new cables around back.

On top of the Mind Graphics 2, there’s a cutout that houses a male Mind Link connector. To start using this eGPU dock with one of Khadas’ mini PCs, you just drop the device on top, and it magnetically connects to the Mind Graphics 2. It almost feels like magic, and the first time I docked the Mind 2S, it reminded me of inserting an iPod into one of those fancy speaker docks back in the day.

Not so mini anymore

To test out the Mind Graphics 2, I decided to swap out the Mind Dock I was using at my Logitech MX Master Series-themed desk setup. Even with the extra height from this eGPU dock, I still had plenty of clearance under my main ultrawide monitor, and I was also able to plug in my dual portable monitors on either side of it to power my less conventional triple monitor setup.

In order to get the Mind 2S, I reviewed working with the dock, and I had to update its firmware. However, once that was done, the Mind Graphics 2 and the RTX 5060 Ti inside it showed up in Device Manager in Windows 11 instantly and in the Mind app.

In the Mind app, you can see the device info, update its firmware, and change the color of the indicator light above the Khadas logo on the front. One big change that I like about this new version of Khadas’ eGPU dock compared to the original Mind Graphics is that it now comes standard with 16GB of VRAM. Previously, there was an 8GB version as well as a 16GB version.

It’s always great to have options, but with PC games becoming increasingly demanding — especially on an ultrawide monitor — I’d much rather have 16 than 8GB of VRAM.

The Mind 2S looks great on top of the Mind Graphics 2, and the two make a nice pair. I also really like how my stationary peripherals are plugged into the dock itself, but I still have spare USB ports on the back of the Mind 2S as well as on the front of the dock for plugging in external drives or charging my other devices.

Besides its desktop-grade GPU, the Mind Graphics 2 has a couple of other neat tricks up its sleeve. For instance, on the right side of the dock, there’s an integrated fingerprint scanner as well as volume buttons.

The fingerprint scanner also works as a button, and when pressed, it instantly mutes any audio coming from the Mind Graphics 2’s built-in dual 5W speaker system. Need a microphone for video calls or even your favorite AI chatbot? Well, there are also dual microphones inside the Mind Graphics 2 as well.

Using the Mind 2S with the Mind Graphics 2 was perfect for my daily workload. I had extra ports and an SD card reader front and center where I needed them, and I really appreciate having a fingerprint scanner for quickly logging into Windows each morning.

I’ll admit that most of my work takes place in a browser these days, but I did mess around in Windows and let a few apps, including GIMP and Steam, default to using the Mind Graphics 2’s RTX 5060 Ti instead of the integrated Intel Arc 140T GPU on the Mind 2S.

Now, if I still edited video like I used to back in the day, this dock’s extra graphics power certainly would have come in handy. Instead, though, I decided to put it to the test by loading up a few of my favorite PC games.

From rendering to gaming

As I found out when I used the Mind 2S to build a proper triple-monitor setup on a budget, its integrated graphics actually let me play some less demanding games as well as some older titles quite well. With it connected to the Mind Graphics 2, though, I could finally step up to playing the latest games with ease.

Since I grew up skateboarding every day, I’ve always had a soft spot for skate games. Normally, when testing out new mini PCs with either an integrated or a discrete GPU, I like to boot up the skateboarding sim Session. This time around, though, I decided to test out the Mind Graphics 2 with the upcoming game, Skate Style. It uses a similar control scheme where each of the joysticks on your controller is mapped to either foot, but as you can see in the picture above, the game has a much more polished look to it.

With the Mind Graphics 2, I was able to crank up the graphics settings as well as enable DLSS for an additional performance boost. While the game is still in early access, it ran great on this setup, even on my ultrawide display. It’s a testament to the 122-pin Mind Link connection; there was none of the 'stutter' you usually associate with external graphics solutions.

From there, I decided to up the ante by playing a bit of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart with all the bells and whistles enabled. Even when playing in 21:9, it ran smooth as butter at a steady 60 fps. The monitor I’m using here is more productivity-focused with just a 60Hz refresh rate. However, I do want to try out the Mind Graphics 2 with one of the best gaming monitors to push the framerate even further to 120Hz or even 240Hz in games that support it.

I also fought my way through the last boss in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but since that game doesn’t have native 21:9 support, I didn’t take any photos. Likewise, I picked up the Dead Space remake on sale, and that game ran great, too, in ultrawide mode.

I still need to put the Mind Graphics 2 through a bit more testing, but based on my experience so far, it’s an excellent addition to Khadas’ growing Mind ecosystem. I really like how this accessory takes one of the most unique mini PCs out there and instantly transforms it into a true gaming rig, albeit in a much smaller form factor.

Managed modularity

Now at $1,349, the Mind Graphics 2 certainly won’t be for everyone. You can definitely cobble together your own external GPU dock for a whole lot less, but that kind of defeats the purpose. The Mind Graphics 2 is an elegant solution to a common problem, needing a bit more graphical prowess for more demanding workloads and of course, playing the latest PC games when you do get some downtime at the end of the day.

Another reason you might consider a pre-built eGPU dock like this one is for all of the extras. In addition to all those video out ports around back, you’re also getting a few handy front ports, a fingerprint scanner, and built-in speakers and microphones.

Now, if you don’t need a GPU and want to beef up Khadas’ Mind, Mind 2, or Mind 2S, there’s always the standard Mind Dock, which also adds more ports, built-in speakers, and, as I mentioned, a tactile volume knob. Having used both, I like the low-profile design of the latter, but turning a pocketable mini PC into a gaming rig just by docking it can’t be beat.

Khadas isn’t stopping with an eGPU dock, though, as the company also recently released its Mind x Play add-on for its mini PCs. Instead of letting you play games, that accessory actually takes one of its Mind mini PCs and turns it into a laptop, complete with its own screen, keyboard, trackpad, and built-in battery. I’m planning on trying that out next, but I also want to see how the Mind Graphics 2 adds to the company’s upcoming Mind Pro mini PC.

I never thought I’d be docking and undocking a mini PC like this one, even after using it on the go with a pair of AR glasses, but here we are. Sure, it’s a bit niche, but if you want a mini PC you can bring to the office for work and then magnetically attach to an eGPU dock for some gaming when you get home, you won’t find anything else like the Mind and Mind Graphics 2, and trust me, I’ve looked.

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AI is not just a chatbot you talk to — it’s the primary driver of modern PC gaming performance. Leading this charge is Nvidia’s DLSS, which can unlock high-end fluid visuals without needing top-tier hardware (provided you use it right).

And that’s why I’m here to break it all down. What is DLSS? How does it work? How can you make the most of it? And what is the deal with the DLSS 5 controversy? Let’s get into it.

What is DLSS?

Deep Learning Super Sampling (or DLSS for short) first debuted in 2018, and it’s a combination of AI tricks to boost a game’s performance — allowing players to prioritize either high-end visuals, faster frame rates or a balance of both. Neural networks have been fed millions of hours of gameplay and trained on Nvidia’s supercomputers to deliver this.

Back in 2017, Nvidia saw an AI revolution coming and introduced Tensor Cores into its GPUs. These are engineered to be the bedrock of deep learning and inference, which can essentially allow your graphics card to work smarter not harder in rendering games

Over the years, many layers have been added onto this AI-fueled cake. But at it’s core, DLSS does business in two ways:

• Super Resolution: Rendering a complex AAA game at full resolution is a taxing ordeal — especially when you throw things like ray tracing into the mix. So with Super Resolution, the GPU renders the game at a lower resolution, uses AI to look at the picture and upscale it to look like native quality. This can massively reduce the hardware strain.
• Frame generation: To smooth out the frame rate, DLSS is able to analyze every frame generated by the GPU and fill in the gaps with AI frames. With DLSS 4.5, Nvidia is able to inject up to six additional frames.

Beyond that, there are additional things Nvidia has thrown into the mix, such as:

• Dynamic Frame Generation: Proactively adjusting how many frames it adds to adhere to the maximum refresh rate of your monitor
• Ray Reconstruction: Instead of having the GPU brute force all the light and reflection calculations in path tracing (a crazy intensive task), Nvidia’s AI model replaces this with a neural network trained on how light works in the real world to do all those calculations instead.
• Nvidia Reflex: We’ll talk more about latency in the next section, but Reflex is a key technology Nvidia introduced to keep games feeling responsive even when stuffed with AI frames.

And that in a nutshell is DLSS. But just like any technology, you’ll only get the best results if you use it right.

How to use DLSS the right way

If you’re looking at this thinking “I’ll just turn everything up to max, slap DLSS on it and call it a day,” stop it. That’s like trying to win a F1 race in a minivan just because you put high-performance racing tires on it.

And as the guy who has tested all the best GPUs, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to tame this beast.

My Super Resolution preferences

Yes, DLSS 4.5 super resolution is capable of some bonkers things (like upscaling a 240p picture to a better-than-expected 4K image). But as a general rule of thumb in real-world gaming, the more “input pixels” the AI has to work with, the more aggressive you can be with upscaling.

Here are the four DLSS modes you’ll see in your game settings:

• Quality: This renders the game closest to native resolution (normally around 66-70% of resolution).
• Balanced: Finding the mix between getting the best possible textures and frame rates, this will render the game at 58% of your targeted resolution.
• Performance: One step down to maximize frame rate, this will often go for 50% of the resolution.
• Ultra performance: If you want to go all out on frames, ultra performance will target 33.3% of the total resolution being rendered by the GPU.

Now I’m about to start talking about three presets here that you can access from the Nvidia app settings. These presets are three different neural networks Team Green has made to fuel its resolution scaling. Here’s a breakdown of them:

• Model K: This is DLSS 4 and much better-built for quality and balanced DLSS modes
• Model M: This is DLSS 4.5 with a model tuned for performance mode
• Model L: This is an offshoot of DLSS 4.5, which is meant for ultra performance mode

Got that? Good. Now let’s break down which ones are best for you by the resolution you want to play at.

• Gaming at 4K? Use Performance (or Balanced) Mode: In the Nvidia app, this is labeled as Preset M, and in my own testing, I’ve found it to be the sweet spot at 4K. This will typically render a game at 50% of the resolution (1080p), and given how good this model has become over the years, the difference between this and Quality mode is nearly invisible in motion (unless you’re seriously pixel peeping). But at the same time, the FPS gain is massive.
• 1440p or 1080p? Stick to Quality: Turn on Preset K and stick with Quality (or Balanced at a push). Performance or Ultra Performance can lead to some losses of finer details in complex textures like hair or grass — leading to a soft image. For example, Ultra Performance at 1080p would be trying to upscale from as low as 480p.

Chances are you can get away most of the time with just sticking to Balanced mode. But there are finer tweaks you can make to get even more out of it.

My Frame Generation preferences

So this is where I get into latency — the difference between how smooth a game looks and how it feels. Let me break it down.

Let’s say you’ve got a game playing at 30 FPS before you turn on any AI trickery. If you take that number and divide a thousand by it (1,000 ÷ 30), you’ll get the gap between frames which is 33.33 milliseconds.

Now if I turn on multi-frame generation at 4X and up that to 120 FPS, it’ll look smoother, but game inputs are locked at that 30 FPS, so it won’t feel as smooth. That’s why it’s incredibly important to start with a solid base rate for the game you’re playing before turning on frame generation.

Over my years of PC gaming, I’ve broken it down into three targets in my mind based on what I’m playing to find that right starting point:

• If your game is a slower-paced single-player title, start at 40 FPS: Think like linear story-driven games where twitch reflexes are not needed. RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 are great examples of this, and if the game you want to play falls in this region, you don’t need a lightning fast base frame rate and can focus on upping the graphics settings.
• If your game requires faster reflexes, aim for at least 60 FPS: Whether it’s racing in Forza Horizon 5 or needing to perfectly time parries in Black Myth: Wukong, if faster reflexes are needed, you’ve gotta close that gap between frames rendered before stuffing more AI frames in between them. This would reduce frametime to 16.67 milliseconds — a nice base to build on.
• If you’re in seriously competitive multiplayer, either don’t use it or aim for 120 FPS: A sub 10 millisecond gap between frames is a critical helping hand to being competitive in online lobbies. If you’re particularly clutch and don’t want a single bit of AI trickery getting in your way, don’t use frame generation and focus on turning your settings down instead. But if frame gen is OK, start with a 120 FPS base.

DLSS 5 controversy explained

So now that you’ve got a grip on how to best use DLSS in its current form. Let’s look at where Nvidia’s AI tech is going, because DLSS 5 has caused quite a stir!

Coming this fall, the fifth generation goes beyond the “predictive” modeling of resolution scaling and frame generation, and fuses it with the “probabilistic” elements of generative AI. CEO Jensen Huang calls it the “GPT moment for graphics,” and this comes down to real-time neural rendering.

Basically, DLSS 5 looks at a game on a frame-by-frame basis, and rather than trying to “show you the game better,” it’s now aiming to “show you a better version of the game.” And the results of this pursuit for extreme photorealism is a bridging of the uncanny valley that has the gaming community worried.

Of course, we’re only looking at very small slithers of demos of an early build, but as you can see from certain screenshots, it looks as if the model is adding details that weren’t there originally — like additional hair, fuller lips or a sharper jawline.

There’s changes being made to the cinematic lighting and material depth too, which all contribute to another breakthrough, but one that developers are going to have to figure out the right way to use. Nvidia confirms this is an early build of DLSS 5, and probably with sliders turned all the way to max. So between now and the fall, devs will tune it however they wish.

Outlook

It’s not been the smoothest of rides for Nvidia’s DLSS. With each new version, there’s been a backlash of some sort. But every single time, it becomes the default and if you use this technology the right way, it can unlock gaming experiences unlike anything you’d see elsewhere.

Because more and more, it’s becoming abundantly clear that we’re reaching the limits of how many transistors we can stuff on a chip to make these things work through hardware. So in a moment like this, AI is being used to continue the march forward.

Is DLSS 5 going to be a moment of overreach? Potentially, but then again this is completely controllable by developers who will hopefully find that right balance. But for the PC gamer of today, DLSS is an essential tool in your arsenal that when tamed can be a breakthrough.

More from Tom's Guide

• I went eyes-on with Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation launching March 31 — and it’s a game-changer
• Nvidia just revealed 3 big upgrades to its GeForce Now cloud gaming service — here's what's new
• Testing the MacBook Neo: Can an iPhone chip really run Cyberpunk 2077?

Gaming laptops weren’t exactly cheap, but now, thanks to RAMageddon, finding a solid rig at an affordable price has made things worse. Thankfully, there are still great deals out there, and I just found one that can save you nearly $500 on a killer machine.

Right now, the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 AI is on sale for $450 off at B&H Photo. At $1,399, it’s just $100 more than a 15-inch MacBook Air M5; only this laptop can play the majority of the best PC games. This is one of the better deals for a gaming laptop, so you’d do well to give it serious consideration. Here’s why.

This Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 AI features many high-end components to deliver an awesome gaming experience with few compromises. It packs an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Then there’s the 16-inch 2560 x 1600 panel, with its smooth 240Hz refresh rate. While it’s an LED screen and not an OLED, everything should appear sharp and vivid.

At 14.05 x 10.85 x 0.53 inches and 5.9 pounds, this is one big and chunky laptop. That said, it has an attractive design that hits a middle ground between a gaming laptop and an average work notebook. This laptop’s size also means it has multiple ports, including three USB-A, three USB-C, one HDMI, an Ethernet port, and a headphone jack.

Thanks to its RTX 5070 graphics card, you have access to DLSS 4.5, which you’ll want to enable to help your games look better and run smoother. Nvidia’s frame-boosting and upscaling tech is made for GPUs in this category, so you have little reason not to enable it unless you’re playing a multiplayer game and don’t want the slight input lag that comes with DLSS.

This Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 AI deal would have been great even before the current RAM crisis. Now, it’s an even better overall value. If you’re looking for a powerful gaming laptop that won’t break the bank (and that hasn’t been marked up!), do yourself a favor and get this one. You won’t be disappointed.

Acer's own literature claims its Nitro line of gaming laptops is "known for offering gamers the 'best bang for your buck,'" and they're not wrong. While it's always nice to drool over the most powerful new laptops and desktops, reality dictates that most of us need to be more selective in our purchases to get the best value for the dwindling money in our bank accounts. If you're not one of those who need to play every game at SuperMegaMaxOHWOW details settings, modest gaming systems become more attractive.

Everyone will still have their own definition for what kind of performance is "good enough" for them, so there's still no one-size-fits-all gaming laptop or desktop. To that end, Acer offers many configurations in its Nitro line from low-end basics to high-performance desktop replacements.

At around $849, the Acer Nitro V 16 AI represents one of the least expensive variants of the Nitro V line. And given that price point, it acquits itself quite well.

Acer Nitro V 16 AI review: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? The Nitro is a cost-effective line of gaming laptops intended to maximize performance value by focusing on "good enough" gaming performance instead of fancy cases, lighting, and other frills.
• Who is it for? Those who want entry- to mid-level gaming performance on a laptop that doesn't require a second mortgage.
• What does it cost? This review unit is one of the least expensive in the current Nitro line, with an MSRP of only $849. Many other models are available in varying performance levels for up to $2000.
• What do we like? The Nitro provides excellent gaming value, has a 16:10 display, superb battery life, and is user-upgradeable for storage, RAM, and wireless networking.
• What don't we like? Only 512GB of storage is low for a gaming computer; it comes with plenty of bloatware pre-installed, and the display has mediocre color gamut coverage and no VRR.

Acer Nitro V 16 AI review: Specs

Acer Nitro V 16 AI: The ups

The Acer Nitro V 16 AI has a lot to offer at its price range, including decent performance, strong battery life, and upgradeable storage and RAM.

Design

Acer's focus on reasonable cost-cutting for the Nitro V is obvious at first glance. The chassis is plain black plastic with no lighting or decoration, save for a single inset metallic N logo on the lid. If you want a flashy-looking laptop, the Nitro series is certainly not for you. Cooling vents and heatsink fin stacks are visible from the sides and back. Much of the bottom is vented for cooling intake with additional intakes above the keyboard near the hinge.

The Nitro has a full keyboard, black keys with orange printing, and all keys are backlit. The WASD and cursor keys have white rings on the edges, which outline the keys brightly with the backlighting on. As this isn't a mechanical keyboard, the keystrokes aren't as nice and crisp as those of more expensive laptops. However, it's certainly not bad for a normal laptop keyboard. The switch feel is overall mushy, of course, but it has a consistent firmness to it. The touchpad is spacious with a nice feel and a satisfying click.

Connectivity ports are on three sides of the Nitro, not just two as with most laptops. On the back is the power connector, HDMI 2.1 port, and USB-C port that can also be used for charging the laptop. Three more USB ports are available (two on the right side, one on the left), all 3.2 type-A ports. Apart from the USB ports, the left side also features a fold-down Ethernet jack, microSD slot, 3.5 mm headset jack, and Kensington security lock.

Performance

The short of it is that the Nitro V 16 AI serves its purpose quite well, given its price and intended market segment.

As mentioned before, this isn't a system meant to push intense graphics at ridiculous framerates. But that doesn't mean it won't serve up an enjoyable gaming experience. Playing through games such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is perfectly satisfactory when using an optimized mix of med-high graphic settings.

Looking through our benchmarks, we can compare it to the Lenovo LOQ 15 and Asus TUF Gaming A14. It's important to note that both these systems are significantly more expensive than the Nitro V 16, notably in the GPU department. Again, the RTX 5050 in the Nitro is meant for modest 1080p gaming, while the RTX 5060 in both the LOQ and A14 is significantly more powerful. Despite that disparity, the Nitro still holds its own in a few titles.

In some games like Assassin's Creed: Shadows, the difference in GPUs is quite obvious as both the LOQ and A14 nearly double the Nitro's framerate. In Total War: Warhammer III and Metro Exodus, again, the RTX 5060-powered laptops hold a big advantage over the Nitro. But in other titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Red Dead Redemption 2, the gap shrinks significantly, or even disappears.

Lest you think it's only older games where the RTX 5050 compares favorably, look at Black Myth: Wukong. At 1080p Medium details, all three laptops stay above 60 fps.

In other performance metrics, the Nitro delivers expected results. The A14 has the strongest CPU of the three with its Ryzen AI 7 350. The LOQ and Nitro both use a Ryzen 200 series processor, but the LOQ has two extra cores. While the A14 has an insurmountable lead over the other two, the Nitro keeps it close with the LOQ in many tests despite fewer cores.

For storage, the Nitro seems to match the LOQ. Admittedly, one of the runs for a 25GB file copy on the Nitro took an alarming 132 seconds to complete, while the other two were between 16 and 20 seconds. However, as this was the last run, this was likely due to a solid-state cache overrun, and not something you'll encounter in real-world use (unless you regularly write dozens of GB to your system drive every hour ).

So, while on paper it may appear the Nitro takes a beating from the other two notebooks, consider also that it costs hundreds of dollars less than either. From that perspective, the Nitro is certainly holding its own.

Battery life

Thanks in part to the lower power draw of the "weaker" components, battery life on the Nitro is significantly higher than that of many similar laptops.

In our battery test, which involves continuous web-surfing over Wi-Fi with the display set to 150 nits of brightness, the Nitro lasted nearly 13 hours. That’s fantastic for web browsing and productivity work. However, gaming battery life is capped at around 2 hours.

Excellent connectivity

We've been told for years that type-C is going to replace everything, but that's still nowhere near the case. And since everyone still has keyboards, mice, and USB drives that use the type-A connector, having three of those ports on a laptop is a welcome addition.

The microSD slot is also great for someone who uses a digital camera (whether a GoPro, aerial drone, or otherwise) and doesn't want to carry a card reader adapter with them.

Upgradeability

Being able to upgrade laptop components isn't a given as it is with desktops, so being able to easily pop the case and swap out some parts is a valuable feature. No, you won't be upgrading your CPU or motherboard, but increasing RAM or storage, or switching to an upgraded Wi-Fi card as new standards come out, greatly increases a laptop's usable lifespan.

The Nitro has two M.2 slots for storage. Rather than needing to clone the stock drive and replace it, you can just add a second drive to increase capacity. It's similar to RAM. The Nitro ships with a single 16 GB SO-DIMM, leaving the second slot available. Instead of requiring you to purchase a whole new RAM kit, you can simply buy a matching module to double your system memory.

Acer Nitro V 16 AI review: The downs

The Acer Nitro V 16 AI offers a good enough experience for the price, but this is still a budget laptop with some of the expected setbacks.

Gaming Performance, Pt II

As said before, the RTX 5050 is not intended for higher than 1920 x 1200 resolution. It simply doesn't have the VRAM or processing oomph to handle the 60% increase in pixels to 1440p. So if you have ideas of connecting the Nitro to a higher resolution external monitor, you'll likely be disappointed in the gaming results.

The caveat here is DLSS and AI frame generation, which Nvidia is pushing heavily. In games that implement these features well, the improvement in visual quality and framerate smoothness is amazing. However, that's on a game-by-game basis. And, as AC: Shadows shows us, there are games already released that tax the RTX 5050 to its limit even on lower fidelity settings, and it's not going to get any better.

Storage

The biggest complaint I had about the Nitro while testing it was the storage capacity. Every day that passes, games require more and more storage. Having a drive under 1TB in a gaming machine is a significant limitation.

Yes, it's easy to upgrade the Nitro with a second drive, but the thing only has 350GB available out of the box. That can easily be eaten up by two or three games these days.

Display

The 1920 x 1200 ISP screen uses a 180Hz refresh rate and has a matte finish, which helps reduce glare and reflections. While a 1200p display may not sound like much in a day when 1440p and 4K have all the intention, it's perfectly fitting on this laptop.

However, the Nitro's display has two sizeable shortcomings. First, the color gamut coverage is pretty low at only 64.6% of the sRGB gamut. Compared to the over 100% coverage of the LOQ and A14, it looks particularly bad. But to the gaming crowd, the lack of any variable refresh rate is the bigger blow.

The Nitro, and specifically the RTX 5050, can easily deliver 1080p gaming at medium-to-high detail settings in the 40 – 50 fps range, which is exactly where VRR shines the best.

Bloat

Acer, I need to pick this bone with you, and really, all computer manufacturers.

If I buy a gaming laptop, I want it to play games like Doom, Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, Baldur's Gate, Forza Horizon, or MechWarrior. I don't need pre-loaded shortcuts to install things like Elvenar or Forge of Empires in my start menu. I don't want SweetLabs, AppExplorer, and other adware pre-installed. Okay? Thanks.

Acer Nitro V 16 AI review: Verdict

The secret to a low-cost gaming laptop is quite similar to a low-budget productivity one: don't let the customer notice where the cost-saving trade-offs were made. As long as there are no obvious pain points, the consumer will usually be satisfied with the product. So, did Acer succeed?

Not entirely. Yes, in terms of sheer framerate per dollar, the Nitro V 16 AI posts high marks. Excellent battery life and connectivity add to the overall value, as does the serviceable keyboard and generous touchpad. Moreover, the end user can upgrade the storage, RAM, and wireless networking. That's a winning combination that's hard to beat for the money.

However, the small stock storage drive is a pinch that the consumer will feel sooner or later. But while that can be remedied, the limitations of the built-in display cannot. The limited color gamut is disappointing, but not earth-shattering for a low-cost laptop. At worst, it eliminates the Nitro from any form of serious image or video work, but it was never really a contender there anyway. But had Acer included some form of VRR, the Nitro would be a gaming laptop on a very different level.

With VRR, you can select a detail preset and let VRR pick up the slack to get buttery smooth framerates with no tears or judder. Without, you have to experiment with individual detail settings to find the combo that keeps the game locked above a target minimum framerate, so V-Sync. That's a constant reminder of the laptop's limitations rather than its features and value.

But despite all this, it's hard to hate the Nitro. It's wrong to fault a sirloin for not being a filet mignon when the sirloin costs half as much. Is it wrong to complain about no VRR at this price point? Perhaps. Considering the Nitro can often be found well under its MSRP, that complaint becomes smaller and smaller. At $849, it warrants serious consideration at least.

For the first time in a long while, Nvidia GTC 2026 gave us some huge PC gaming news. CEO Jensen Huang introduced DLSS 5: the “fusion of 3D graphics and artificial intelligence” in his own words, and the response has been…mixed to say the least.

From outlets calling it the most impressive tech they’ve seen in a long time to people throwing out AI slop critiques and comparing it to those face filters you get with certain smartphone cameras, opinions are all over the place. And honestly, I didn’t know how to feel at first — like that damn dress meme in 2015, my mind changed every time I looked at the comparison videos!

So I did what I always do. I followed my late Grandad’s advice to “sleep on it, because you’ll know how you feel in the morning.” And in short, DLSS 5 is absolutely a breakthrough, but game developers have until the fall to find the sweet spot for it in their games. Let me explain.

What is DLSS 5? Let’s explain it with pizza

It feels literally like yesterday that I was talking about DLSS 4.5, but we’re already marching onto the next iteration — and it’s a big one we’ve known was coming for a while now.

“DLSS 5 is the GPT moment for graphics — blending hand-crafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression,” Huang commented.

It’s a fusion of the “predictive” model that’s fueled DLSS for a while now with the “probabilistic” elements of generative AI to bring photorealism to games with cinematic lighting, enhanced material depth, real-time neural rendering and temporal consistency. And all of its capabilities are controllable by the game developers, as they can tune the intensity, color and masking to find an enhancement balance that is right for them.

To break this down, I’m feeling hungry and you know what that means… Back to the pizzeria I go!

Think about previous versions of DLSS as a magic magnifying glass. I love that 8-inch pizza, but I want more of it, so DLSS takes that pizza and stretches it to look like a 16-inch XL — making it bigger without the crust getting too thin or the cheese burning more easily (this is resolution scaling).

Then every now and again, the chef slides an extra few slices into the box between every real slice you actually order, so it feels like you’re eating more at a faster pace (frame generation).

Now, with the fifth generation, there’s an AI master chef that doesn’t just stretch the pizza, it re-imagines it. With settings turned up to max, the chef looks at that cheap pepperoni slice and says “I know what you were trying to do here, but I can do better,” and swaps it with artisanal, hand-cured salami and fresh buffalo mozzarella — even though you didn’t order those things.

Basically, DLSS 5 has stopped trying to “show you the game better,” and is now resorting to “showing you a better version of the game.”

Bridging the uncanny valley

We can’t say any of us didn’t see this coming. Jensen himself talked about it at CES 2026 in a behind-closed-doors Q&A session and shot his shot at a growing “fusion between rendering and generative AI.”

“In the future, it is very likely that we'll do more and more computation on fewer and fewer pixels. By doing so, the pixels that we compute are insanely beautiful, and then we use AI to infer what must be around it.” Huang said. He talked about the “utterly shocking and incredible” results he saw in the labs that looked like “basically a photograph interacting with you at 500 frames per second.”

And now we have our first glimpse at it. In some of the game videos it’s a significant improvement, but in others you can start to spot some creative challenges that will surely be worked out as we close in on an official launch.

Let's start with the faces (yep, we’ve got to talk about Grace’s face in Resident Evil: Requiem). There was a recent brain scan study that showed our brains process “hyper-realistic AI faces” differently than real faces. A sudden spike in activity around 600ms after seeing an image that triggers an internal uneasy mismatch feeling.

That’s what I believe is happening here, and a lot more of it comes down to the cinematic lighting than I initially thought. Based on my time pixel peeping videos and image comparisons, I’d say about 60% of Grace’s face tweaks here can be explained by lighting and material depth.

The remaining 40% is neural rendering — there are definitely fuller lips and sharper jawlines (not that Leon Kennedy needs it, being the smokeshow he is).

In some places, this photorealism really shines — games like EA Sports FC and Starfield truly benefit from this upgrade. But I can appreciate the view around creative interpretation vs AI creating a jarring effect.

There are some other things I noticed, too. Surfaces and textures have been given a serious upgrade, but with DLSS’ reinterpretation of lighting, some of it feels less stylized or moody.

Take this scene from Nvidia's Zorah Demo, for example. Before, there was a warmer hue and intentional shadowing to add depth, but that is re-interpreted with the cinematic lighting in a way that I feel loses the vibe a little.

All-in-all, DLSS 5 is a diamond in the rough. I can see what the intention is, but this is all completely in the hands of devs to use however they wish. Maybe Capcom rolls back on the face tech, or Warner Bros. alters the cinematic lighting. It will take time to find the right balance.

I’ve got some questions

But of course, this is one PC gamer who’s tested all the best GPUs and the tech that enables them — pixel peeping videos and screenshots. I think it’s something we all have to interact with to get a fuller understanding of DLSS 5.

And if Nvidia’s reading this (hi btw), before I (hopefully) get some hands (and eyes) on time with it, I do have some questions to get a better understanding of what’s going on under the hood:

• What is that real-time neural rendering and what has it been trained on?
• How big is the DLSS 5 model now, and what is the goal for it by fall? Currently demos showed on 2 RTX 5090s — so optimization/compression is key.
• What are the controls for more stylized games? Titles that don't necessarily benefit from photorealism with cel-shaded or more artistic graphics.

DLSS5 outlook

The timing of these announcements always makes me chuckle. I know it may be unintentional, but it just feels like once another GPU company announces an update to its upscaling/frame generation tech, Nvidia just says “hold my beer” and takes another giant step ahead of the pack.

Intel XeSS 3 with multi-frame generation? How about a little DLSS 4.5. AMD FSR Diamond? Well, here’s DLSS 5. And honestly, it is a breakthrough — but I can totally understand the mixed response.

In some titles, it is a generational leap forward. In others, it can feel like an AI veneer. But ultimately, the tech is here and devs can turn it up or down however they want. Nvidia isn’t adding slop to games, that team is marching forward to photorealism with another feather in the cap of developers to bring their visions to life.

More from Tom's Guide

• I went eyes-on with Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation launching March 31 — and it’s a game-changer
• Nvidia just revealed 3 big upgrades to its GeForce Now cloud gaming service — here's what's new
• Testing the MacBook Neo: Can an iPhone chip really run Cyberpunk 2077?

Nvidia isn't a company content to sit back and enjoy its wins. Instead, it's always looking to push graphics technology forward, and at its GTC 2026 event, the company revealed DLSS 5, a new technology designed to deliver a significant leap in video game graphics.

"Twenty-five years after NVIDIA invented the programmable shader, we are reinventing computer graphics once again," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, in a press release. That's exciting for gamers looking for the best visuals, which is why the CEO called it a "GPT moment for graphics."

What is DLSS 5 and should you care?

According to Huang, DLSS 5 is about "blending handcrafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression."

Essentially, it's using AI to enhance game visuals by infusing scenes with photorealistic lighting and materials. It sounds like game artists will still make characters, scenes and other aspects of the game by hand and DLSS 5 will come in and make everything look nicer.

Nvidia claims that its AI technology "uses its deep understanding to generate visually precise images that handle complex elements such as subsurface scattering on skin, the delicate sheen of fabric and light-material interactions on hair, all while retaining the structure and semantics of the original scene."

That sounds like the stylistic choices made by developers won't change — everything will just look more realistic.

It sounds like big game publishers are excited to use the technology in their games, with Nvidia touting brands like Bethesda, Capcom and Vantage Studios as using it. Other games that will include DLSS 5 support include AION 2, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Delta Force, Hogwarts Legacy, Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil Requiem, Sea of Remnants, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Where Winds Meet and more.

“Bethesda has such a rich history pushing graphics with NVIDIA, going all the way back to Morrowind, with that incredible water,” said Todd Howard, studio head and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, talking up the technology. “When NVIDIA showed us DLSS 5 and we got it running in Starfield, it was amazing how it brought it to life. We’ve played it. We can’t wait for all of you to do so as well.”

When will we DLSS 5 arrive?

While Nvidia didn't provide an exact release date, the company said it'll be available in the fall of 2026, so we won't need to wait too long to see how it affects games going forward.

And with new game consoles on the way from Sony and Microsoft, it'll be exciting to see how this technology comes into play.

More from Tom's Guide

• I went eyes-on with Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation launching March 31 — and it’s a game-changer
• Nvidia just revealed 3 big upgrades to its GeForce Now cloud gaming service — here's what's new
• Nvidia is bringing a killer app to the Apple Vision Pro — and it's good news for sim racers

In tech, a 2x improvement is great and 10x is generational. So for Nvidia to claim its future gaming GPUs will be 1,000,000x better at path tracing sounds like pure science fiction. But that’s exactly what the company said at GDC 2026, and what’s even crazier is that I think it’s closer than any of us think.

Because today, Nvidia has confirmed you will see the “future of real-time rendering” in CEO Jensen Huang’s GTC 2026 keynote — I think a sneak peek is possible. The obstacle to this at the moment is current GPU hardware is hitting a physical wall where we can’t just throw more electricity at the problem. And the fix? Well, it’s Nvidia’s bread and butter: AI.

What is Path Tracing?

This has been the new hotness in PC gaming. I tested it in Resident Evil: Requiem, and it’s rather incredible. But what it is and how to get there is an impossible-level challenge if using the old ways.

Put simply, it’s physical accuracy. It’s not just a reflection in a puddle, it’s how light from a neon sign bounces off a wet pavement, hits a character’s chrome jacket and subtly tints their skin red. It’s not just the ray traced shiny surfaces of old; path tracing calculates how light interacts with literally everything in a scene in a realistic way.

The end result is probably going to be subtle in some games, but in others (like Requiem) where the finer details really matter in building up the fear, it can be a game changer.

The death of brute force

Like I said, it’s an impossible challenge through raw hardware power. If you had your GPU just brute force full path tracing, your PC would probably melt before it rendered a single frame of Cyberpunk 2077. But as you may have seen reading my Requiem test, Nvidia bridges that gap with DLSS 4 — AI trickery with Ray Reconstruction.

Basically, instead of making the GPU seriously sweat trying to track a single ping-pong ball thrown in a room filled with a billion mirrors, these neural rendering technologies bring in an expert who has seen billions of balls thrown into that maze. They can just look at where you threw it and draw exactly where it’s going to land.

By offloading that demanding task to AI, path tracing becomes much more efficient to do, and then that 1 million time jump starts to sound more possible.

Neural rendering is the whole thing

In our time speaking with Jensen Huang, it’s clear that DLSS is just the start of AI’s impact on PC gaming. The limits of how much more complex GPU hardware can get are starting to be reached, and neural rendering will be the thing that fills in the gap — turning your graphics card into less of a calculator and more of an imagination machine.

“In the future, it is very likely that we'll do more and more computation on fewer and fewer pixels. By doing so, the pixels that we compute are insanely beautiful, and then we use AI to infer what must be around it.” Huang said.

And the results in his words are “utterly shocking and incredible.” He talks about it looking like “basically a photograph interacting with you at 500 frames per second.” And this ties in with what John Spitzer, vice president of developer and performance, said when talking about the future of PC gaming graphics at GDC 2026.

"We're still not where we want to be. We want the real-time images to look indistinguishable from reality. We want them to look like a film,” Spitzer commented.

GTC 2026 is the starting pistol

And as these stars align around everything Nvidia is saying, that brings me back around to this “future of real-time rendering” promise for Huang’s keynote today. To be clear, this is not going to mean new gaming GPUs.

We already know that much from the supply issues around the current RTX 50-series, as Nvidia’s attention is being turned to building the picks and shovels for the AI gold race (or bubble…whichever way you look at it). But Team Green continues to march on in the gaming space, and this announcement should get PC players hyped.

I don’t think it’ll be a finish line, it’ll be a look at the next steps where we could go. After all, Vera Rubin is an architectural glimpse of what gains we may see in RTX 60-series, and that could fuel these big ideas.

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• Nvidia just revealed 3 big upgrades to its GeForce Now cloud gaming service — here's what's new
• Nvidia is bringing a killer app to the Apple Vision Pro — and it's good news for sim racers

Nvidia’s going big at GDC before going even bigger at GTC. But there’s one quiet announcement amidst DLSS 4.5 dynamic multi-frame generation and GeForce Now upgrades that could be a massive one for anyone who owns an Apple Vision Pro — looking for reasons to use it.

Team Green’s CloudXR technology is able to stream PC VR games wirelessly from your gaming PC to the Vision Pro in glorious 4K 120 FPS, and their first target is the ultimate sim rig experience with support for iRacing and X-Plane 12.

Obviously, good news for sim pilots (shout-out), but as you may already know about me, I’m the sim racing guy on the Tom’s Guide team (my bachelor party is literally dedicated to it). One thing is clear: this is a breakthrough for VR drivers like me. Let me explain.

What is Nvidia’s CloudXR?

One thing I have to make clear here is that CloudXR is a very different thing to GeForce Now. Both are game streaming, but while GFN is from Nvidia’s cloud servers, CloudXR streams directly from your own hardware. You’ll need a beauty tower too, because its capabilities are significant.

Think of CloudXR as me vs a strong person taking in a bunch of groceries from the car. I can handle two bags, but if I try to handle more, it becomes a struggle. So my muscly friend comes in and takes the remaining eight bags. We’re technically working together, but let’s be real — they’re doing the heavy lifting (literally).

It’s GPU-accelerated VR delivered wirelessly to a headset with low-latency, which brings a serious graphical turboboost of that Nvidia GPU that you wouldn’t be able to do on the silicon of that standalone set.

And while some people have been talking about beta testing this new feature on the Vision Pro subreddit, this is the first time Nvidia’s officially letting the cat out the bag.

The big win here is foveated PC streaming. Basically, thanks to Apple Vision Pro’s eye-tracking capability, Nvidia’s CloudXR tech can see where you’re looking and render that part of your vision in full glorious detail — while leaving stuff in your peripheral vision and beyond less so. PSVR 2 does something similar with rendering graphics on the PS5, but it doesn’t hold a candle to this.

It’s a huge efficiency gain for your GPU, and provides much more headroom to be able to achieve up to full 4K gaming at 120 FPS in VR.

The Vision Pro’s killer app?

That question is a tricky one to answer — it’s a $3,500 headset after all. But any new features are warmly welcomed to try and get more value from what has quickly become the beta test device for the version of visionOS that will run on a future pair of smart glasses.

But take it from a VR sim racer: there’s no experience quite like it (…except maybe actually driving a race car, but there’s no risk factor here).

I know we’re all quick to talk about the “immersion” of something, and don’t get me wrong, it absolutely is. But there’s something here about it that actually makes you a better driver.

Take trail-braking for example (instead of hammering on the brakes to slow down for a corner, using a more gentle combination of brake and acceleration to maximize corner speed). It’s a tricky technique to learn and while I’m absolutely getting the feedback I need from my sim rig to ensure I’m not over-driving, being able to see the path of a corner is also critical.

Now, on the flat screen of a TV or monitor, that can be next to impossible on long-swooping turns or oddly-angled hairpins that disappear off the side. In VR, I can look to the apex and corner exit and aim my car for it.

Yes, I know this sounds small and that I’m getting really geeky here (sim racing is extremely my thing). But it’s oh-so critical to extracting the slight performance improvements that are the difference between a win and a loss.

Not the only XR upgrade

For the other update, we look over to Nvidia GeForce Now, where on March 19, Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest headsets are getting a streaming upgrade to 90 FPS. It’s great to see these platforms continue to get supported — nothing quite like throwing on my Quest 3S in bed and playing PC games on a gigantic screen on my ceiling.

And as the subreddit community seems to confirm about beta tests, CloudXR is something that can be used across multiple games, which would be huge for the future of PC VR gaming. Getting those cables outta the way is a step towards true plug and play simplicity that can be the biggest thing holding potential players back.

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Nvidia is having a big showing at GDC (Game Developers Conference) this year, with a big focus on some of its gaming-focused AI efforts.

Aside from updates to DLSS 4.5, the big news coming out of San Francisco is a slew of updates to GeForce Now. If you’re subscribed to the company’s cloud gaming service, some of these enhancements should make your play sessions smoother.

From quicker library access to new tools for devs, here are some of the updates coming to GeForce Now soon.

Faster access and smarter features

Using GeForce Now should be a lot faster and more convenient. That’s thanks to single sign-on and account linking on services like Gaijin and GOG, with account linking and game library syncing coming to the latter soon. You’ll no longer have to juggle multiple logins, as you’ll be able to link up and dive straight into your games from platforms like Xbox Game Pass and Ubisoft+.

Discoverability will also be simpler, with in-app labels that highlight which games support cloud play across different subscriptions. This might not sound like much, but it’ll save you time hunting down compatible titles.

If you like VR gaming, Nvidia is also promising smoother experiences with support for 90 frames per second (up from 60) streaming on devices like the Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro.

New AAA games heading to the cloud

In addition to new GeForce Now features, Nvidia also announced a batch of games coming to the cloud service. This includes titles like Active Matter, Samson, Control Resonant, Crimson Desert, and Resident Evil Requiem (among others). All of these games have been optimized for cloud streaming, so they should run well even at lower connection speeds.

On top of that, select Xbox games are joining the “install-to-play” library, meaning you can fire them up instantly without waiting for downloads. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, this integration will be a nice bonus, as it blends seamless access with Nvidia’s powerful RTX servers.

Cloud playtest (for developers)

This one might not directly impact you, but the new Cloud Playtest feature will let game developers run tests directly from the GeForce Now cloud. This will expand testing to virtually any device, which will make it easier for devs to gather feedback without shipping hardware or dealing with compatibility issues.

Some perks include secure cloud-based testing, support for internal, external, and even press playtests, and the ability to capture gameplay footage, webcam feeds, and controller inputs. Big-time publishers like Activision, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Games, and Xbox Game Studios are already on board, so expect this to speed up development for upcoming titles.

Outlook

I consider GeForce Now the best cloud gaming service (sorry, Xbox Game Pass), so it’s exciting seeing what the company is cooking for the service.

While these announcements might not be earth-shattering, I appreciate the focus on making the service easier for both gamers and developers. If you’re not already subscribed to GeForce Now, now might be a good time to try to jump in.

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Nvidia launched DLSS 4.5 back in the middle of January and (spoiler alert) I’ve been really impressed with just how much detail is AI-infused upscaler is able to get from a rendered picture from just 25% the resolution. It feels like a real value booster for mid-range GPUs!

But there’s one feature that we’ve all been waiting for — Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation — the evolution of the frame gen we have right now. Basically, instead of just packing an arbitrary amount of AI-generated frames in between frames rendered by your GPU, dynamic frame gen is able to see what the max refresh rate of your screen is, and only generate the frames it needs to max that out.

We now have a launch date of March 31st (starting in beta), and I got some eyes-on time with the tech. And I gotta be honest with you, this feels like the frame gen tech that tackles the problems PC gamers have head on. Let me explain.

How does Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation work?

Think about it like driving up a steep mountain, and you’re in a car with a manual transmission. To maintain speed, you’ve got to manually shift your gears (like shifting between the different multi-frame gen options), and those gear shifts can cause a clunky pause in your momentum.

Dynamic multi-frame gen works like a car with automatic transmission — intelligently monitoring how hard the engine is working (your system load) and automatically shifting gears (the frame multiplier) up or down depending on what the terrain demands.

And when the road flattens out and the workload lightens, the frame multiplier seamlessly downshifts so your system computes exactly what is needed in every scenario. The end result of this in my testing is an uninterrupted gaming experience, where you’ll really struggle to notice when that multiplier changes, and virtually eliminates any tiny hints of latency.

Gamesmaxxing

So I saw Black Myth: Wukong running on an RTX 5080 machine with multi-frame generation cranked up manually to 6X, and then The Outer Worlds 2 with RTX 5060 Ti with that dynamic frame gen turned on.

The first observation when it comes to Black Myth is just how minimal the latency impact is at full 6X. We are talking only a few milliseconds here, which I didn’t feel at all in the controller inputs — all while showing off exactly what DLSS 4.5 is able to do here.

For example, while toggling to DLSS 4 shows that some of the finer particle details and distant textures are smoothed out/removed, switching to 4.5 really brings these intricacies back to life. You can see it just by looking at the sparks of light around your weapon.

Then, here comes dynamic frame gen, which targets the max frame rate (240Hz) of the monitor. I got the help of an Nvidia rep to hide the stats in the top corner of the screen with his hand — so I can try to guess when the frame multiplier changes based on feeling alone.

Because visually, I could take an educated guess, right? Like, when the screen is not so busy, that multiplier would go down, but when there’s much more textures and characters to render, it’ll go back up. But the transitions felt oh-so-smooth that I didn’t notice a change to the speed of my inputs whatsoever.

That comes down to three key things:

• Eliminating wasteful latency: Let’s say you’ve got a 144Hz monitor, and you’ve got DLSS running a game at 240 FPS. Those extra 96 frames are never seen, but the GPU still spends time computing them. This can create an interpolation gap — you’re over-exhausting your GPU with AI tasks it doesn’t need to do. By aiming for the max frame rate, the backlog is cleared and waste is eliminated.
• Smoother frame pacing: Another side-effect of aiming squarely for your monitor’s exact frame rate is a consistent delivery of said frames. If you manually set to a certain multiplier, there can be a jittery feeling as you go between GPU-intensive levels and calmer ones. This stops the over-delivery of frames in those quieter moments and has it all running at the same pace.
• Prioritizing the base frame rate: Any AI game frame generation is only as good as the base rate of how fast your GPU can render a game. Sometimes your game can look fast, but feel slow, and sometimes that can be exacerbated by clogging it with AI tasks. With Dynamic MFG shifting from 6X down to 2 or even 0X (native), this ensures that the card focuses more on rendering real frames faster.

The end result is a more tamed DLSS frame generation — only using its AI witchcraft when it’s absolutely necessary and making a game feel smoother and more responsive for it.

Outlook

So ahead of its March 31st debut (launching as part of an opt-in Nvidia app beta that you can turn on as an override), should you use it? Based on my time testing it, the answer is “absolutely,” but results may vary.

Of course, this is going to start life as a beta, so there’s that disclaimer out the way. Plus, I tested it in a very specific space ship environment in The Outer Worlds 2 — what would happen if I was to be in the throws of combat on a planet? How will results change across different games?

The answer, as we all explore this tech together, will change on a game-by-game basis — as more and more optimizations are made to work around it.

That being said, if this is what we can look forward to across the over 200 titles that support DLSS 4.5 (and the 20 native integrations currently in the works for upcoming games), this is the final piece of the puzzle that brings the vision of smooth, responsive AI fueled gameplay to life.

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