It’s like Crysis all over again! …Kind of.
 

What is Ark: Survival Ascended?

To understand what Ark: Survival Ascended is, we first must look at it’s predecessor:

Ark: Survival Evolved is a game from Studio Wildcard that entered early access on Steam in 2015, which means by law it had to be an open-world multiplayer survival game with lots of crafting elements. It was similar to Rust or DayZ but with considerably more dinosaurs. It spent two years in early access before seeing an official release in 2017, with regular updates and paid expansions adding new areas to explore and items to duplicate. In October of 2023, exactly seven years after beginning development on Ark: Survival Evolved, Studio Wildcard released a remastered remake of the game titled Ark: Survival Ascended, which aimed to enhance many of the visuals and mechanics of Ark: Survival Evolved through its use of Unreal Engine 5 over Unreal Engine 4. At the time of publishing, only the base game and the first of five paid expansions are present in Ark: Survival Ascended, with the rest planned to be released through 2024.

Breathing life into an older game by remastering all of it’s content in a more modern engine sounds like a fantastic idea on paper, but the execution has been rough so far, to say the least. Among a plague of glitches and frequent server outages, Ark: Survival Ascended additionally features legendarily high system requirements, particularly regarding graphics cards. With a minimum GPU requirement of an NVIDIA GTX 1080, one can only surmise that a PC capable of truly running this game well on maximum settings would require a GPU that draws infinite power from a fully sealed microscopic black hole, a CPU containing the soul of Johnny Silverhand, and a power supply repurposed from a decommissioned nuclear submarine.

While it’s amusing to balk at the otherworldly requirements of this game and move on with our lives, it begs quite an interesting question: Just what kind of binary beefcake would have to be built to run Ark: Survival Ascended at a stable 60 FPS in 1080p? Well, let’s take a look!

What Do We Need?

Much of this game’s insane requirements come from the graphics, requiring power that puts crypto-mining rigs to shame. As such, our focus will be on keeping costs down elsewhere when possible while we max out our GPU for stable visual performance. For our purposes, we will mainly be concerned with the minimum and maximum graphics settings at 1080p, but just for fun we will also look at performance in 4K as well. We’ll be looking at GPUs first (and in the most depth) before moving on to the rest of the build.

Picking a GPU

Our choices are slim, because in order to even play Ark: Survival AscendedRX at maximum graphics settings even at 1080p, we need one of the 5 most powerful graphics cards currently available on the market (excluding the 3090 Ti since it sells for much more than the 4090 while also performing worse). Just below are the 5 cards capable of running this game “well enough” to meet our needs, broken down below by their average FPS in-game based on 4 common graphics settings. All the following data was obtained from the Jansn Benchmarks YouTube Channel, with all but the 4090 paired to the same AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU, while the 4090 was paired with a Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

• RTX 4090 (24 GB – $2200)
  • low settings at 1080p:      160-190 FPS
  • low settings at 4K:              70-90 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 1080p:      40-60 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 4K:             20-25 FPS
    
• RX 7900 XTX (24 GB – $1000)
  • low settings at 1080p:       150-180 FPS
    
  • low settings at 4K:               55-65 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 1080p:       35-45 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 4K:              15-22 FPS
    
• RTX 4080 (16 GB – $1250)
  • low settings at 1080p:        90-120 FPS
    
  • low settings at 4K:               50-60 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 1080p:       30-40 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 4K:              14-20 FPS
    
• RX 7900 XT (16 GB – $800)
  • low settings at 1080p:        80-110 FPS
  • low settings at 4K:               45-55 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 1080p:       25-35 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 4K:              10-12 FPS
    
• RTX 4070 Ti (16 GB – $800)
  • low settings at 1080p:         60-70 FPS
    
  • low settings at 4K:                40-50 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 1080p:        22-32 FPS
    
  • epic settings at 4K:               8-10 FPS
    

The recommended GPU changes a bit depending on your specific wants and needs, but we’ll go over an overall winner in a moment. First, let’s review how these stack up:

Low settings at 1080p: All of the cards can handle a stable 60 FPS when paired to low graphics settings and a resolution of 1080p, which is a very worrying bar to barely meet when your cheapest option is $800. Although the RTX 4070 Ti comes dangerously close to dropping below 60 FPS at times, it’s able to remain just above, delivering a smooth performance provided you can live with this game on low settings (which, thankfully, still looks pretty good!).

Low settings at 4K: While the RTX 4090 is able to tread water and stay consistently above 60 FPS at 4K with all settings on low, the other cards begin to suffer. The RX 7900 XTX usually hovers around our target of 60 frames per second, but it occasionally drops below our desired figure. The 4080 occasionally hits our 60 FPS goal, but usually hangs out in the 50s, while the RX 7900 XT and RTX 4070 Ti fall short of 60 FPS.

Epic settings at 1080p: With the graphics of Ark: Survival Ascended cranked to their maximum values, even at 1080p the RTX 4090’s performance divebombs, only hitting 60 FPS on occasion. The game should remain playable on the RX 7900 XTX, RTX 4080, and RX 7900 XT, so long as you don’t mind a target of 30 FPS. On a 4070 Ti the game begins to chug, only rarely sputtering out over 30 FPS, resulting in a choppy, stuttery experience that most people would not considerable ‘playable.’

Epic settings at 4K: Okay, I didn’t really expect much here, but I was still disappointed. With an RTX 4090, your $2200 gets you a practically unplayable FPS that rests in the low 20s. The other cards become entirely useless for the Ark remaster under these cconditions, dropping into the teens and even single digit frames per second on the 4070 Ti – an $800 card!

It’s a bit rough of a lineup, but depending on your resolution, there are (some) winners here.

Playing Ark: Survival Ascended at 1080p?

The AMD RX 7900 XT ($800) is our recommended choice for playing Ark: Survival Ascended with a 1080p resolution. It’s tied for the cheapest card on this list and delivers much better performance than the equally expensive RTX 4070 Ti, able to achieve a stable FPS of just over 60 on moderate graphics settings and up into the low 110s when running with settings on low. It can even run epic settings at 1080p with a decent 30 FPS average that won’t sear your retinas. Just make sure your fans have an aggressive curve! Your GPU will be gasping for air every second it’s forced to render higher settings.

Playing Ark: Survival Ascended at 4K?

Not at all recommended, but if you’re dying to try it, probably an Nvidia RTX 4090 ($2200). If you’re willing to play on the strange combination of 4K and low settings, it should stay above 60 FPS… but it’s $2200+ for one part, and at epic settings you’d be getting just 2o-25 FPS. Even if you can get past the monetary cost and the electrical needs of the PSU required to run one (or two) of this GPU, whether this is worth it to you will still depend on whether the kind of performance I’ve just described would even be acceptable to you. Willingness to go down this route may depend on how early you invested in Bitcoin. You’d have much better luck trying 1440p instead, if you’re truly hell-bent on playing Ark: Survival Ascended above the 1080p resolution. And as for us, we’ll be sticking with the 7900 XT pictured above for our example build here.

Picking… Everything Else!

Now that we have the most nuanced part out of the way, we can take a look at what will accompany and entomb our RX 7900 XT.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D ($350)

Generally speaking, the larger a processor’s “L3 cache” is, the more performance you’re going to squeeze out of it during gameplay. This powerful-yet-cost-efficient AMD processor was picked particularly for it’s insanely large 96MB L3 cache, which is quadruple the ~24MB that many mid-range processors currently sport. This will help the GPU while gaming, allowing for a solid FPS gain that doesn’t involve pumping more money into the already-inflated price that the GPU choice lends to this system.

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i RGB Elite ($120)

A liquid cooler like the Corsair H100i makes more room for the GPU to receive fresh air from the intake fans in the front of the case, while also delivering excellent cooling performance to our Ryzen 7 5800X3D. Just make sure to top-mount your radiator to the inside of your case to ensure that fresh air isn’t being heated up before reaching your graphics card; you want your GPU to stay as cool as possible!

Motherboard: MSI B550 Gaming Gen3 ($110)

A solid, full-sized budget board from MSI that doesn’t go crazy with unnecessary features like gigantic SSD coolers or huge chipset heatsinks. The reinforced metal GPU mount prevents sag and motherboard warping over time, and since we will have a big beefy GPU, this could be important!

RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX ($160)

Great standard RAM at a great standard price. One pack of 16GB will satisfy the system recommendations, but to ensure a smooth experience we’d recommend doubling up on this RAM to have 4 sticks equaling 32GB of RAM (as reflected by the price quoted here).

PSU: Corsair RM750 ($110)

Since the 7900 XT graphics card we will be using draws up to 315 watts, we are going to want to step up our power supply to 750 Watts to make sure it can handle the additional power consumption. This efficient, fully modular Corsair power supply is white but comes at a better price than many standard black 750-Watt Corsair supplies on Amazon right now. Since our case will feature a PSU basement anyways, the color is largely irrelevant. If you really prefer a normal black power supply, though, any standard ATX 750-Watt PSU from a reputable manufacturer would get the job done just as well.

Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ($105)

A relatively cheap Corsair case that’s still loaded with features like cable management routing, excellent airflow, and two included fans. The included fans should be used as intakes and the CPU radiator should host the two exhaust fans. If you have a third fan to install, that would create a positive pressure system if mounted as a third fan on the front, which is ideal but not required.

SSD: 2TB Samsung 980 Pro ($140)

An excellent, fast, reliable SSD that fits perfectly into one of two M.2 slots on our MSI motherboard, and affords plenty of storage for other (probably much less demanding) games.

Conclusion

Of course, you’ll need a few other things for a functioning system, including an operating system like Windows 11, as well as peripherals like a mouse and keyboard that don’t affect the performance of the game itself. Without factoring those in, this build comes in just under $1900 before tax, which frankly could have been a whole lot worse.

We did cut a few corners by getting a relatively inexpensive motherboard, case, and set of RAM, but this build should still handily exceed the minimum requirements of Ark: Survival Ascended, run the game well in 1080p, and deliver fantastic performance in practically all other titles.

What do you think of this build? Have any questions or comments? Let us know below! And as always, thanks for reading!

New titles, new games, new(ish) consoles, and yet we still use the same technology in our game controllers. Sure, the PlayStation 5 controller has some advanced features such as adaptive triggers, but after many months of gaming, you may notice something odd about your Xbox, Switch, or PlayStation controller. Perhaps, your characters walk without input, or the camera moves around slowly. Maybe you wiggle the analog sticks and it’s fine … but only for a moment. One of the sticks has begun to drift on its own.

Enter the Hall Effect game controller. They promise to address the annoying issues that often plague traditional controllers, such as stick drift and similar wear over time. But what exactly are they, and how do they measure up against the standard Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo controllers?

Let’s delve into the magnetic world of Hall Effect game controllers to unravel their magic and see what they are, whether they’re worth preferring, and how some specific models compare.

Hall Effect: The Magnetic Marvel

GameCube Analog Stick
(Photo by Wild Bill)

The gaming companions we’ve grown accustomed to, namely Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation controllers, rely on potentiometers for their analog sticks to help sense direction. Now, a potentiometer is like a tiny volume knob for each analog stick. As you move the analog stick, the potentiometer turns, changing how much electricity can flow through it (or is resisted). This change in electricity tells the computer or console how far (and in what direction) you moved the analog stick. However, it is a physical connection, and over time the parts touching inside the potentiometer can wear out. Such wear might lead to the dreaded stick drift, dwindling precision, and eventually the controller’s retirement.

The Hall Effect, a principle named after physicist Edwin Hall, comes into play when magnetic fields interact with electric currents. In the gaming sphere, this principle morphs into a sensor technology that bids adieu to the physical contact. The heart of this technology lies in the Hall Effect sensors nestled within the joysticks and other control interfaces. Think of this like a permanent magnet and an electrical conductor engaging in a sort of dance, where every move of the magnet alters the voltage in the conductor. This voltage change is then translated into in-game movements or commands. The best thing is, the magnet and conductor don’t touch, which means no wear and tear! At least, on those particular components.

What’s In It For You?

The proposition for Hall Effect controllers is pretty straightforward. No more stick drift, much more durability, no more disappointment as your controller’s sticks slowly stop working properly. They can theoretically endure marathon gaming sessions over years and years. In my opinion, Hall Effect controllers emerge as a worthy gaming partner, to help you achieve your best.

There’s one more thing to mention, though. Whilst we’ve been talking about Hall Effect sensors as a single monolithic thing—in reality there are different designs, and they’re not all made the same. In fact, a new sensor called the K-Silver JH16 was released this year (specifically, in April 2023) and adopted in new controllers. Why is this important? Well, the JH16 offers superior integrated hall effect sensors, better battery performance, and improved centering performance compared to the older modules. So, even though there are plenty of older Hall Effect controllers that are probably still good, I’m limiting the scope of this article to cover the newest controllers that ought to be great.

This unfortunately has the effect of narrowing down our options. Admittedly, there isn’t a huge amount of information on these Hall Effect controllers, so I had to do some searching. Based on what I found, the following is what I can recommend overall. I’d appreciate it if anyone who has had any of the below controllers could share their experiences, especially around longevity—though, to be fair, it’s probably a little too early to tell.

Recommended Hall Effect Controllers

GameSir T4 Kaleid ($42)

• • Pros:
    • Features well-placed back buttons and a comfortable grip
    • Face buttons have a satisfying tactile click, akin to high-end controllers
    • Lighweight (380g), making it easy to handle
    • LEDs add aesthetic appeal (though this might be a con for some)
    • Offers high-end features at a budget-friendly price
  • Cons:
    • Lacks wireless connectivity
    • Unlabelled function buttons can be challenging to use, requiring reference to the manual
    • Turbo Mode feature can be accidentally activated, potentially disrupting gameplay

GameSir G7 SE ($50)

• • Pros:
    • Provides precise control and prevents stick drift
    • Offers a comfortable grip and well-distributed weight
    • Includes customizable back buttons and software customization for button mapping and sensitivity adjustments
    • Durable construction with responsive buttons and secure joysticks
    • Incorporates additional functionalities like volume and chat mixer controls on the D-pad, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a mute button
    • Offers high-end features at a reasonable price
  • Cons:
    • Lacks wireless connectivity
    • Some buttons, like the select button, are awkwardly positioned
    • The controller can be noisy during vibration feedback due to its construction

Mobapad ChiTu HD ($56)

• • Pros:
    • Features original dual-axis ALPS linear motors for vivid vibration feedback
    • About 30 hours of battery life
    • Comfortable and versatile with interchangeable buttons and adjustable joystick caps
    • Near-identical alternative to the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
    • HD rumble, NFC, Switch BAYX layout, and digital triggers
    • Has two buttons on underside of controller for added functionality
  • Cons:
    • Back buttons can be a little awkwardly placed for small hands

Flydigi Vader 3 Pro ($90)

• • Pros:
    • C and Z buttons are well-placed, with membrane switches to prevent accidental button presses.
    • Triggers offer mechanical click emulation and can be changed on the go
    • An impressive 500 Hz polling rate in wireless mode for high responsiveness
    • Four underside buttons, with customizable macro functionality
    • The ABXY buttons provide a tactile ‘clicky’ response
  • Cons:
    • Battery only lasts about 8 hours before needing to charge
    • Trigger vibrations in comparison to other controllers are lackluster, with limited game support and reduced effectiveness in Bluetooth mode
    • Flydigi app is prone to crashing, and lacks essential features like vibration testing, specific game configurations, and reliable firmware updates
    • Should be calibrated before use

Conclusion:

The gaming ecosystem is in a perpetual state of evolution, and Hall Effect game controllers are a shining example of the innovative strides aimed at enhancing our experiences. When your current controller is on its last legs, or perhaps if you’re looking at getting a second one, I think it’d be a worthwhile investment to check these controllers out.

These Hall Effect gaming controllers promise more longevity, and to me that means many more hours gaming and focusing on the things that matter more. As we venture further into digital realms, perhaps it’s time to consider nestling the magnetic revolution in our hands.

Sources:

• Creative Bloq – GameSir G7 review: beats Xbox at its own game
• GameRant – GameSir G7 SE Wired Controller Review
• GamesRadar – GameSir G7 SE review: “Is the standard Xbox controller redundant?”
• GamesRadar – GameSir T4 Kaleid review: “Transparent – in more ways than one”
• China Gadget Reviews – Unboxing MOBAPAD Chitu Pro-HD Mechanical Multi-Platform Gamepad Controller
• Reddit User /u/kaldeqca – Flydigi Vader 3 Pro Review

(Information on Steam’s top games were gathered for this article from Steam Charts)

A couple of weeks ago I went through eight of the most popular Steam games at the time, and linked which Logical Increments PC build tier is needed to play that game at a specific performance level. Well, that proved to be a popular article, so I’m here to round out the list with more of Steam’s most successful titles (and maybe a couple trending ones)!

I strongly recommend also checking out the previous list, and even the much older list I made with similar goals way back in January 2020.

Something that surprised me as I went through the list last month was how closely linked 1440p resolution at 120 frames per second (1440p120) and 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (4K60) were. I guess it’s not too much of a surprise since 4K is more-or-less double the amount of pixels in 1440p, but I still found it intriguing that you could sometimes get away with a system that was one tier lower at 4K60 than the 1440p120 ones. In a way, it makes sense: lower frame rates tend to be more stable than higher frame rates, and your processor isn’t having to work as hard since only half the amount of frames are being generated.

And, as you’ll now see, that trend continues here!

Criteria:

As I mentioned in the previous article, Logical Increments keeps its primary tier list consistently updated, showing you the cost of building systems geared towards particular performance milestones. From the humble ‘Destitute’ system to the jaw-dropping ‘Monstrous’ setup, it shows what is attainable at each price point, offers a roadmap for some upgrading, and generally makes it convenient to knit together a balanced system with top-notch parts.

With that list in hand, we can match each of the most popular games on Steam right now with a Logical Increments tier. In this piece, I cross-referenced eight of the most played Steam games with our tier list to see what is required to hit 60 frames per second at 1080p (referenced as 1080p60), 120 frames per second at 1440p (referenced as 1440p120), and 60 frames per second at 4K (referenced as 4k60).

Back in the old 2020 version of this exercise, I stuck to certain non-negotiables for a system to land in a specific category. In this article and last month’s article, though, I made a few changes:

• The lion’s share of the time, we’re talking 99% or more, it had to cruise within 10% of the minimum frames per second or higher at the chosen resolution. So, I care more about the ‘minimum’ than the ‘average’ frames per second.
• It had to strut with at least very high graphical settings.

What should you do with this information? Find the games you play most often, or at least the games that interest you. Look at the resolution and frames per second you’re interested in, and (assuming you’re not bursting your budget), get the suggested tier for a satisfying, pleasant experience. You won’t have any regrets, as these systems have been vetted to ensure a proper balance of performance and price.

Now, let’s get on with what you came here for! On with the games!

Games:

Naraka: Bladepoint

We covered PUBG, Apex, and Warzone last month, and this is yetanother free-to-play battle royale game. I guess those are pretty popular at the moment? Anyway, this game differs from many others in that it features a melee-based combat system inspired by martial arts. There have been a few comparisons to Apex Legends, but it still stands out with a style that, according to former Rock Paper Shotgun writer Matt Cox, is a game where “fighting game aficionados will feel right at home” with its mix of combos and rock-paper-scissors-style combat. Cox summarizes, “charged attacks beat normal attacks, parries beat charged attacks, and normal attacks beat parries”. But what do you need to run the game? Well, according to its Steam page, it “requires ‘Windows Memory integrity and VBS enablement’ to be disabled.” That’s unusual. But, hey, it’s still popular.

Grand Theft Auto V

Explore the world of Los Santos and Blaine County! …Again! Team up with friends, do missions, go crazy! This game was released on Steam in April 2015, and it has maintained a high level of popularity throughout that time. It’s just a fun multiplayer game with friends. Nothing too stressful, nothing too competitive. So, what do you need to enjoy this level of mayhem? Considering how old the game is, I don’t think you need much. Heck, the minimum requirements include an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 with a 9800 GT or HD 4870! One thing to consider throughout all of this is that MSAA is crazily hardware-intensive, so if you want to play with that enabled, jump up two tiers from my recommendations.

Battlefield V

Ah, another ‘V’. This first-person shooter interestingly reached its peak popularity for the year on the 27th of November. I wonder how much Modern Warfare 3 influenced that. Anyway, for a game that came out a few years ago, the graphics still hold up nicely and it’s just an all-round fun experience. For the most part anyway.

War Thunder

Even though it came out around 10 years ago in August 2013, War Thunder has been steadily rising in popularity. In fact, its most popular day was around late March or early May of this year. How crazy is that? As a military MMO, this game pays high attention to detail and focuses on realism and authenticity—at least as much as a game can be, whilst still being accessible. Still, it’s got plenty of planes, tanks, and ships.

Football Manager 2024

Well, this is a peculiar one. It doesn’t really need graphics power unless you want to watch your team run around in 3D—but even then the graphics are nothing amazing. Really, this is like a glorified spreadsheet, though I will say it’s become a little simpler and more friendly towards beginners than it used to be.

Warframe

Set sometime in the fairly distant future, Warframe has you team up with other crazy metal ninjas and slice and dice your way through thousands (if not tens of thousands) of enemies that are powerless to stop your onslaught. You can also breed pets, that will help you slice and dicce you way through thousands (if not tens of thousands) of enemies. Grind, collect loot, build more powerful weapons, get more powerful classes (which are also known as frames), and relax as you’ve sliced and diced your way through a million or so enemies and they keep coming back for more.

Tevi

I don’t know too much about this game, as it’s just been released within a day or so of me writing this (which probably accounts for it making its way into this list, by riding a wave of release traffic). But, according to its Steam page, it is self-described as a “bullet hell metroidvania.” Neat! Based on its art style and recommended specifications, I doubt it really requires anything significant considering it’s a 2D game.

Conclusion:

There we go, another list of Steam games completed! I find it a little interesting that the most popular games are mostly older games. I guess those of us suffering from the high prices of the newest and most powerful PC parts this year can be grateful that such popular titles are so easy to run (or maybe I’ve got the causation reversed there).

With rare exceptions such as Baldur’s Gate 3, the games I’ve covered in this article and the previous one are mostly several years old, if not older. Maybe there have only been a few really legendary multiplayer releases in the past few years. If true, that would go to show that a game with solid mechanics and a healthy multiplayer scene really can trump the latest and greatest tech.

What gift do you get this holiday season for the computer builder in your life?

Well, first of all, probably not computer parts! Unless they’ve asked for a specific component, there’s a good chance you’d be giving them something redundant or unwanted.

But don’t worry! There are still plenty of things that the average PC builder could receive that are almost never redundant (like additional storage space) or which a builder is unlikely to have bought for themselves (like an uninterruptible power supply). Good gift ideas for PC building enthusiasts are what this list is all about.

The following 10 gifts ideas cover a spectrum of prices, and are sure to find use on or near the desk of any friend or family member who’s into building computers. Of course, suggestions you get directly from the intended recipient should always be prioritized; but if you haven’t received any guidance from them, these ideas will surely come in handy. Let’s begin!

Tier 1 Gifts ($1-50)

The first tier of gifts is the lowest in price and has the most examples. These gifts will find use by both novice and experienced builders alike.

#1 – Headphone Stand ($9)

A straightforward gift that is enough of an unnecessary nicety that most computer builders won’t already have one. Yet it’s useful enough to be used everyday, while being cheap enough to choose as a budget gift or to throw in as a stocking stuffer. By simply offering a place to safely store headphones, this gift clears up desktop space and provides a cleaner appearance overall.

*Headphones, of course, not included! Unless you also buy gift #9…

#2 – Multiport Power Strip Surge Protector ($22)

Despite their solid metal construction and aggressive, angular designs, computers are soft and temperamental on the inside, particularly regarding electricity. It’s important to ensure that any unexpected changes in the power supplying a PC are controlled by an external device so no expensive components are damaged or destroyed. A surge protector like this one from reliable power accessory brand Anker will prevent unexpected pulses of electricity from damaging computer components while also expanding the number of power ports near the PC, all for only $22! Help the computer builder in your life replace the little ratty power strip they’ve been using since 2014; it’s time for it to go.

#3 – All-in-one Univeral Wireless Charging Pad ($30)

Another gift idea from Anker is their all-in-one wireless charging pad. Having a wireless charger on my own desk has been incredibly convenient and keeps my phone charged up while working from home for evenings, where I don’t have access to another charger. Many high-wattage charging pads require special power adapters to maximize their charging potential, but they often aren’t included with the pad itself. This universal charging pad includes a full adapter built in for no-fuss universal charging straight out of the box. Whether they have an Android or an iPhone, they’ll appreciate having such a convenient location to charge their phone!

#4 – Essential Electronics Toolkit ($30)

Working on computers doesn’t inherently require much more than a screwdriver and some resolve, but having this iFixit essential electronics toolkit would have made my days repairing laptops, computers, and smartphones significantly easier. Including both essential tools like various magnetic screwdriver bits and plastic separators, this kit also includes a variety of useful specialty bits for unique parts and electronics, as well as a couple cleaning tools that are sure to find use in any computer builder’s tool box. As I indicated a moment ago, these tools can also be used to repair laptops and smartphones—provided all appropriate safety and warranty measures are followed, of course!

Tier 2 Gifts ($51-100)

This second tier steps up the price range and has two examples. They remain general enough to find use no matter the experience level of the recipient, while some of the next section is a bit more niche.

#5 – Bluetooth Desk Speakers ($50)

For many computer builders, their audio experience ends with a headphone cable. Speakers alternatively provide a more relaxed listening experience without the headgear, even at volumes low enough to avoid disturbing house- or room-mates. This speaker pair from Edifer features 2.75 inch drivers and a compact design that doesn’t dominate valuable desk space. They can even be placed anywhere thanks to their Bluetooth connectivity, whether that’s a desktop, a bookshelf, or a TV stand. Or they can be connected to a laptop instead, and used as a mobile pair of speakers for parties, elegant dinner events, and various other soirées.

#6 – 2TB External Hard Drive ($70)

External hard drives can store large amounts of data and can be transported anywhere, making them great gifts for computer-savvy travelers that like to watch media on the go. They can load the drive with shows and movies and bring it with them for direct playback on a laptop or tablet, keep it at home and stream directly from it over another service like Plex, or simply use it as a backup for their important data. This Western Digital My Passport drive is a reliable option with plenty of storage for most applications, but it would also be possible to scale this gift up or down according to your gift budget and how much storage you think your gift recipient could use! A lower-capacity 1TB version can be had for $50, or you can spring for up to a 5TB version for $120 if you happen to know a real data hoarder. For reference, to make more sense of what 1TB can hold, it is capable of storing ~158 copies of a 1080p version of the movie Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. That’s a terrible movie—but what they do with the drive is up to them, so we won’t judge. If the intended gift recipient really loves collecting media or really prizes backing up their work, it may be best to spring for 2TB or greater.

Tier 3 Gifts  ($101-150)

This third tier of gifts has three examples at a higher price range than tier 2: a DAC/Amp to boost audio experiences, a more premium storage solution, and a nice pair of headphones at a great price!

#7 – Digital-to-Analog Converter / Amplifier for Headphones ($110)

A Digital-to-Analog Converter, shortened to DAC, is a device that translates a computer’s audio output from digital to analogue, which increases the fidelity of the signal. This gift is a great idea for those with a particular interest in music or even movies and games, as it can increase the quality of computer audio dramatically while the included amplifier permits more powerful higher-impedance headphones to be used. Even “standard” headphones will see a benefit from this compact DAC that requires nothing outside of the box before use. If you’re okay with the gift being less than a surprise, then it may be worth checking if the recipient has a DAC already before buying… though that rule applies to pretty much any gift in this price range and above!

#8 – 2TB M.2 Solid State Drive ($130)

Most computer motherboards now have at least one M.2 SSD slot on them, and the Samsung 980 PRO EVO is a great drive that fits perfectly into that very space. Solid State Drives still command higher prices than traditional hard drives for a given capacity, but their significantly faster transfer speeds and slightly better longevity for most users ensure that any data loaded on the drive can be accessed quickly and reliably. This high-capacity SSD can store dozens of large games while also cutting down on loading times, or an entire library of movies and TV shows. No matter the intended use, this drive would be a welcome gift for any level of computer enthusiast with a port in their machine that can accommodate it. Looking to spend a little less but still want to get them a high-speed internal drive like this one? Select the 1TB option to bring it down to $80!

#9 – Over-the-ear Open-back Audiophile Headphones ($150)

Alright, call me a little biased on this one since these are the headphones I currently use myself, but that just means I’m speaking from experience when I recommend these to anyone who may enjoy a nice set of wired, open-back headphones for their desktop at home. For the current price of $150, this luxurious set is a steal and has far surpassed the audio quality of every other pair of headphones I’ve tried in this price range (even without a DAC). They’re lightweight, comfortable, and have a great sound profile for a huge range of uses, from gaming to watching media to listening to music.

Tier 4 Gift ($151+)

This is the final, most expensive tier of the list. It includes but a single gift, for those who can afford to provide extra stability to a desktop computer this holiday season:

#10 – 600-Watt Uninterruptible Power Supply ($165)

An Uninterruptible Power Supply, shortened to UPS, is a power storage system which continues powering a PC for a limited time in the event of a power outage. The idea is that the power supplied by a UPS is enough to safely shut the computer down in the event of an outage, preventing both data loss and component damage in the process. This particular power supply from CyberPower features 12 outlets, half of them linked to the battery system, and all of them surge-protected at all times. This $165 model is capable of putting out 600 Watts of power, which is enough for most computers, but a few ultra-powerful builds may require the 880-Watt version for $200.

And that concludes our list! As always, these ideas are just suggestions and can be tailored to suit the needs of the recipient, such as tweaking the max output of the UPS or the capacity of the SSD, or as ideas for similar gifts. Have another idea for a gift that a computer builder would probably enjoy? Let us know what it is in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

(Information on Steam’s top games were gathered for this article from Steam Charts)

Back in January 2020, I crafted a neat little piece discussing the Logical Increments tier needed to enjoy each of the top games on Steam at the time. Fast forward to now, and oh, how the scene has shifted! Back around that period, we were seeing trade tariffs causing a good bump in prices for PC hardware​. As we ventured into late 2020, high demand meant the cost of PC parts kept climbing, and 2021 brought even higher prices—especially for graphics cards due to a cryptocurrency boom. Oh, and let’s not forget, the world was just getting acquainted with Covid-19, adding a whole new level of complexity to tech market dynamics through supply chain issues.

Now, at the tail end of 2023, with prices and availability having normalized in some (though not all) component categories, and just a week left until Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s about time we take a fresh look at what Logical Increments PC building tier you’d need to dive into the most popular Steam games today. Let’s see what changed in the last few years, and whether that ol’ system still has some life in it, or whether it might be worth a little upgrade. Stick around as we unpack the current gaming demands and discuss today’s tech landscape.
 

Criteria:

Logical Increments keeps its primary tier list consistently updated, showing you the cost of building systems geared towards particular performance milestones. From the humble ‘Destitute’ system to the jaw-dropping ‘Monstrous’ setup, it shows what is attainable at each price point, offers a roadmap for some upgrading, and generally makes it convenient to knit together a balanced system with top-notch parts.

With that list in hand, we can match each of the most popular games on Steam right now with a Logical Increments tier. In this piece, I cross-referenced the 8 most played Steam games with our tier list to see what is required to hit 60 frames per second at 1080p (referenced as 1080p60), 120 frames per second at 1440p (referenced as 1440p120), and 60 frames per second at 4K (referenced as 4k60).

Last time, I stuck to two non-negotiables for a system to land in a specific category. This time I made a few changes:

• The lion’s share of the time, we’re talking 99% or more, it had to cruise within 10% of the minimum frames per second or higher at the chosen resolution. So, I care more about the ‘minimum’ than the ‘average’ frames per second.
• It had to strut with at least very high graphical settings.

What should you do with this information? Find the games you play most often, or at least the games that interest you. Look at the resolution and frames per second you’re interested in, and (assuming you’re not bursting your budget), get the suggested tier for a satisfying, pleasant experience. You won’t have any regrets, as these systems have been vetted to ensure a proper balance of performance and price.

Now, let’s get on with what you came here for! On with the games!

Games:

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is the freshest iteration in the cherished Counter-Strike series, known for its intense competitive gameplay that’s been honed by Valve (and then by millions of players worldwide over two decades). Built on the Source 2 engine, this game was released on September 27, 2023, 11 years after CS:GO. Interestingly, even though it had a massive graphical upgrade and several systems were overhauled (to the disappointment of some), the minimum specifications haven’t really changed that much. Really, any gaming computer built in the last 5 years would be able to run this at 1080p60 without any issues. But I digress. Here are my recommendations:

DotA 2

Another Source 2 engine game. Last time, I said that “the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) Dota 2 was officially released in 2013, and quickly rose in ranks to become one of the most popular games on Steam. Allowing for a range of different gameplay styles, such as strategical and tactical or more aggressive, you can play the game almost any way you want. It has a fairly steep learning curve, and can be an exercise in frustration for newcomers, but once you get the hang of the controls you’ll be greeted with fun, exciting gameplay.” Not much has changed on that front, so let’s see if the recommendations have changed:

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

Released in late 2017, this battle royale game catapulted to the top of Steam’s most popular games, and it hasn’t really dropped from the list. Thankfully, it’s a lot more stable to run these days; in the early years, there were stability and optimisation problems, but hey, that’s now mostly a worry of the past.

Baldur’s Gate 3

A role-playing game released in early August, 2023. Baldur’s Gate 3 received high praise for its narrative, gameplay, and player choice. It has a fantastic amount of flexibility and replayability. You really can play this game any way you want. Its popularity has surprised its creators though, with a peak of around 800,000 players on release, and a current count still above 100,000 months later. The suggestions below include using upscaling technology in the game’s settings; if you don’t want to use it, I suggest going up a tier or two.

Apex Legends

Apex Legends is a battle royale game released in February 2019. Though it’s another game built on the Source engine, it isn’t similar to Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 because the engine of Apex Legends is a fork of the original Source engine from around the time Portal 2 came out. I’d argue that Apex Legends is really pushing the original Source engine to its limits, so I’m interested to see how well it performs on lower-tier systems. Without further ado, let’s check out the recommendations:

Team Fortress 2

Last time, I said that it’s “nearly impossible to get good data on how well current GPUs run this game.” And you know what? That still holds true today, thanks to the age of the game. Team Fortress 2 has been running for around 15 years, and still has popularity and longevity. Which makes perfect sense to me; it’s a great game! My only question is about how well-supported current-generation graphics cards are, comparatively. So, with some interpolation of available data, here are the choices I’ve made:

Call of Duty

So, this part encompasses Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Modern Warfare II, and Warzone. Having both solid single-player campaigns and a “multiplayer combat arena with battle royales, resurgence and DMZ” this game, whose earliest member came out in 2022, does require a powerful system to get the most out of it. I definitely recommend using upscaling tech like DLSS or FSR if the visual artifacts don’t bother you.

The Finals

A really recent entry, The Finals is a new shooter game that’s just been released. As in, I was typing this section the day The Finals was released (in open beta) so there’s not a huge amount of information available yet. To further exacerbate this situation, the system requirements on Steam all say TBD. Lovely. But that doesn’t mean there’s zero info, and we can extrapolate data from similar games and similar engines as well. Anyway, this game is much more arcade-like, and has some really solid destruction physics. Keep in mind though that at present this is in beta, so stability and optimisation isn’t the best yet (and may not be the devs’ current priority).

Conclusion:

Something that surprised me was that for the most part, 4k60 required the same tier as 1440p120, or sometimes even the tier below. Personally, I prefer 1440p120 over 4k60—but for slower, single-player games it’s worth knowing. Nonetheless, whether you are chasing the thrill of multiplayer games like The Finals or Apex Legends, or getting immersed in the narrative of Baldur’s Gate 3, getting the right hardware is instrumental to a good experience.

It’s not just enough to look at the average frame rates, but the minimum you’ll get as well. You want to ensure the experience stays smooth, which is what my analysis has done here. It is fantastic that most of these games don’t require powerful hardware. You can get a fully enjoyable experience at 1080p60 with a fairly budget-oriented system. So, even though games continue to evolve and push new heights with new releases and updated versions, you can still be assured that your old favourites will be hanging around for years to come, and that you’ll have the system to run them.

Sources

• Gamers Nexus – Coronavirus Hits PC Hardware Manufacturing Hard: Z490, AM4, & Computex
• HowManyFPS – FPS Calculator for Hardware, PCs, and Laptops
• PC Gamer – Larian’s boss worried Baldur’s Gate 3 had peaked in early access, so its massive 800K concurrent player launch was ‘way, way beyond’ expectations
• PCGamesN – The Finals system requirements
• RockPaperShotgun – Baldur’s Gate 3 system requirements, PC performance, and best settings to use
• Steam – Call of Duty Store Page
• SteamCharts – Top Games List
• TechPowerUp – Counter-Strike 2 Performance Benchmark Review – 40 GPUs Tested

Today we’re taking a look at used vs. new GPU prices, and whether buying a used graphics card is worth your while.

But before we dive in, some context:

Graphics Cards are Expensive in 2023

Regular readers of this blog will know that, arguably, PC parts are headed in the wrong direction.

To illustrate that point, let’s go back in time. With the help of the wonderful Internet Archive, we can see that as recently as 2017 there were very affordable GPUs on the Logical Increments charts, starting as low as $50, and appearing in the “Minimum” tier.

From about 2018 on to the present day, the cheapest standalone GPU has appeared on the charts at a relatively whopping $90-$100, in the “Entry” tier, an entire tier above “Minimum” for performance.

GPU prices are higher in every single tier if comparing 2018’s chart to today’s. (Excluding 2018’s “Extremist” and “Monstrous” tiers at the highest end of the chart, with their ludicrous, dual-wielded GTX 1080s and 1080 Tis. We have single cards strong enough for those rather absurd price tiers now.)

The most extreme comparison is in the “Superb” tier; when contrasting 2018’s chart to today’s, GPU prices for a balanced “Superb” gaming build have fully doubled.

Can Used GPU Prices Help Save the Day?

 
It’s a compelling question. You can’t get far in discussing today’s new GPU releases (and their high launch prices!) without someone suggesting you skip today’s latest-generation GPUs entirely, and buy a previous generation or used graphics card instead.

Indeed, the previous generation of cards appear prominently on Logical Increments’ charts. They are generally a great value today.

But what about used cards? Unfortunately, Logical Increments’ official chart doesn’t consider any used PC parts. Understandable, but still a bummer for bargain-hunters.

Don’t tell the Logical Increments staff, but hypothetically, if I had made a ‘used GPU chart’ last month, again just hypothetically speaking…

It would look something like this:
 
 

A Chart for Used GPUs (as of mid-October, 2023)

Notes on These Prices

• • The new prices on this chart reflect the latest new GPU prices I saw on the likes of Amazon and Newegg on October 16th, 2023.
  • The used prices on this chart are the best prices I saw on eBay on October 16th, 2023.
  • Price ranges for both new and used GPUs are the lowest prices I could find, while still being able to choose between at least two sellers or variants for the same GPU. (With one exception, see bullet point just below).
  • * As an exception to the above bullet point, the model of new RX 550 4GB linked to on Logical Increments’ official chart was out-of-stock at the time I researched prices for this piece, so I listed the RX 570 8GB as a new alternative. It is available at time of writing at a similar price as shown for the RX 550 on the official chart, but performs better. There is, at time of writing, only one seller for this card selling it new at this price (on Newegg), however.
  • ** The RTX 4060 is mentioned as an additional new price option at Very Good tier, since it has nearly identical performance to the RX 7600 and Arc A770, and identical price to the Arc A770 already included in that tier of the official chart.

Caveat (important!): Used GPU prices change often. This “chart” will probably not be precisely accurate to what you see if you go shopping for used GPUs next week, or even today. If trying to use this as a direct buying guide, your mileage may vary quite a lot.

This is intended more as a “for science” general look at the relative prices of used vs new GPUs. We’re trying to answer the question: “how much value is there in buying a used GPU in late 2023?”

There are two main ways to look at the chart above, comparing used vs. new prices:

Two Suggested Uses For This Chart

• • Same price, better performance:
    • Start by identifying a price tier (or a specific GPU) from the official chart (the column on the left), and view the GPUs in the “Used Alternative” column on the right, from that same tier. This should give you a rough idea of what GPUs one can buy used for the same money as the official (new prices) Logical Increments chart.
  • Same performance, better price:
    • Start by identifying a tier or GPU from the official (new prices) chart, and look one tier above (one tier cheaper) in the “Used Alternative” column. This should give you an idea of what pricing I saw for GPUs with similar performance (in some cases the very same GPU model) but cheaper given the used discount.
    • Keep in mind that some tiers on this chart are quite large, and span a wide range of performance and cost. So, to be safe, compare the cheapest “new” option against the most expensive “Used Alternative” in the cheaper tier above it.

Key Takeaways: “Is Buying a Used Graphics Card Worth It?”

So, did we manage to beat the new cards for value? I’d say “mostly yes.” The difference is most pronounced at the lowest-performance end of the chart, but there’s a bit of extra value to be had at most price points when buying used.

To answer that question for yourself, though, you should consider the following key takeaways and additional pieces of information:

Not All Used GPUs Are Good Deals

GPUs from within the same generation, especially with similar names, tend to clump together with a very similar used price, despite large performance differences in some cases. GPUs with better name recognition tend to keep higher prices in the used market compared to more obscure ones. And the most-recent generation of GPUs are rarely very discounted on used shopping sites, to the point where you’d probably just buy those models new if considering them. I attempted to include only the GPUs with good used value in the “Used GPU Alternative” column of my chart.

Looking at benchmarks that directly compare two or more GPUs you’re considering, across multiple games, remains the best way to confirm which of them perform well and which ones aren’t worth the cost.

Low-End GPU Tiers See More Benefit From Buying Used

Let’s take a look at the Modest tier. In ideal circumstances with a strong system (using a good CPU and fast RAM, and so on), an Nvidia RTX 2060 should be roughly twice as fast as an RX 6400. (And the pricing: an RTX 2060 can be bought used for about the same (or slightly less) money as a new RX 6400). That’s double the performance for the same money.

What about Entry tier? Well, if you look one tier up (that’s one tier cheaper) in the “Used Alternatives” column, that’s the same RX 570, but for half the price, albeit with half the VRAM (4 GB). (The 8 GB VRAM version of the RX 570 mostly allows increased texture quality, or dialing up other VRAM-heavy settings like lighting/shadows slightly at some cost to framerate, but without the bad stutters from totally running out of VRAM. The RX 570 isn’t the speediest, so increasing these settings too high won’t be worth the hit to framerate to many gamers. Given the prices, both versions are a good value in my opinion.)

“Okay, sure, the low end has good value used,” I hear you say, “but what about the higher end?”

Savings in the Mid-Tier, but Few True Upgrade Options at the Same Price

Looking at the Fair / Good / Very Good (Part I) combined tier, you can save about $60-$70 buying an RX 6600 or RX 6600 XT used instead of new, a roughly 30% savings.

A used RTX 2070 offers comparable performance to an RX 6600 or Arc A580 at a slight discount. A used RTX 2080 would be somewhat faster than an RX 6600 or RX 6600 XT at a very similar price.

Higher-End Used GPUs Also Offer Savings but Few Upgrade Options

Looking at Superb tier, you can save about $80 on either a 3060 Ti or a 6700 XT by buying used instead of new, a 25% discount. Not too bad. Or one can upgrade to a used RTX 2080 Ti or RTX 3070 for a modest ~10% to ~14% increase in performance respectively, over the 3060 Ti, while still saving a bit of money. (The RTX 2080 Ti has 11 GB of VRAM compared to the RTX 3070’s 8GB VRAM, for shoppers concerned about that.)

In my “Superb Tier (Part II)”, the new RX 7700 XT isn’t an especially strong value — looking at used alternatives, once can upgrade to a used RX 6800 XT for at least a 10% improvement in performance while saving $20-30. Or to a used RTX 3080 at similar performance and slightly more savings ($40-$50), albeit with less VRAM. Or a “sidegrade” from a new RX 7700XT to a used RX 6800 with similar performance (and more VRAM), at a roughly 17% cost savings.

The Used GPU Market Gets Weird Past $500

I wasn’t sure if half the listings I saw in this price range were real, as there were some suspiciously low prices from new eBay users with no feedback/ratings.

Also worth noting: used prices for many current-generation cards at this price point are the same or higher than new! You may have better luck than I did, but I wouldn’t personally spend much over $500 on a used GPU, given what I saw.

Some Sketchy Things About Buying Used

I’ve seen some sketchy things on eBay while researching this article. Listings for just the box the GPU came in, for hundreds of dollars. Listings for just the heatsink or just the cooler shroud, not the actual GPU itself. Listings for just replacement fans for a given GPU. Listings with broken fans or burn marks. Deals that look too good to be true (and some are – I personally tried to buy a GPU for a price so great it looked like it might have been a typo, but the seller canceled the sale. I was able to get a different GPU for a more realistic price a few days later.)

Tips for Buying on eBay

• • Buying Format: If you’re not comfortable with auctions, and prefer to pay a pre-set price, filter “Buying Format” to show only “Buy it Now” listings. There are also “Accepts Offers” listings, for those who like to haggle. (Remember to be nice!)
  • Condition: There are many broken or “for parts only” listings. Filter the “Condition” to exclude “For parts or not working” listings.
  • Price: There are a surprising number of listings for “GPU accessories”, such as heatsinks, fans, and water blocks. Filter most of these out by setting a minimum price of $100, if the GPU you’re searching for costs over $100. You can skim the first several listings you see for a low price that looks appealing, and set the maximum price filter for about $20 or $30 more than that to see what options there are.
  • Read The Listing Thoroughly Before You Buy: Often the title and photo of the listing will seem totally normal, but the description mentions that one of the fans is dead, there is significant cosmetic damage, or the listing is actually for a broken GPU “for parts only” (despite any attempts you may make at filtering these out). And again, some listings are just the box, or just the heatsink, or a GPU that will ship in the box of a different model entirely, or a listing that mentions another model in passing (which coincidentally makes it show up in searches for that other GPU). Make doubly sure you’re paying for what you intend to, before making the purchase.

You should generally be protected if the item you receive doesn’t match the description. Check eBay’s policies about this for the full details. But, as you likely expect, I cannot personally offer any guarantees to you about how the process will go.

Lastly, there are of course some other factors around buying used PC parts. You get a warranty when buying new, which you usually don’t when buying used (though some refurbished units do come with limited warranty periods). You have to do a bit more research to know what you’re looking for and what’s a decent price. You have to filter out broken GPUs and irrelevant listings, and you have to read the listing thoroughly to be clear what you’re getting. You have to be comfortable with not actually knowing the history of the component, and therefore not being able to confidently assess the longevity or internal condition of the part. And you have to trust the seller somewhat.

But if you’re not deterred by any of that, then for sheer price-to-performance alone, used GPUs can help stretch your dollar a bit, for sure.

ASUS announced a potent Steam Deck competitor May 11^th and released the spec sheets for two models that vary in more ways than the different Steam Deck options from Valve. We’ll be looking at the official tech specs for each device and comparing them side by side. There’s some juicy differences ahead, so let’s get started!

ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck: APU

First, we’ll be comparing the APU between each device, which is the combination processor (CPU) and graphics unit (GPU) that makes the funny man on the screen do the little dance. Higher-performance APUs can process more little dances per second. Together with RAM, they determine how pretty the funny man’s face and house look.

The Steam Deck features a relatively older Zen 2 APU from AMD, while the Ally has a newer Zen 4 APU. This allows for a denser layout of processing units in the Ally, increasing performance but also increasing the amount of power drawn. With the smaller architecture comes an increased core and thread count: the base Ally has 50% more cores and threads than the Steam Deck, while the extreme Ally has double the core and thread count.

Processing speeds are much faster on the Ally as well, right around 1.5GHz higher on both models compared to the Steam Deck. CPU-intensive games will almost certainly run better on the Ally compared to the Steam Deck, and the increased CPU performance will help push framerates closer to the 120fps maximum. Performance in this regard seems quite impressive!

ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck: RAM

Next we’ll be looking at RAM, which is where the data that’s necessary for active processes and open applications is temporarily stored for fast access. More RAM means more processes can be worked on at once, and faster RAM means more processes can be done in the same amount of time.

While the Steam Deck features quad-channel RAM (compared to the Ally’s dual-channel), there should be no appreciable difference in performance between the two in this regard. However, the 16% faster RAM speed may introduce a slight performance advantage to the Ally, as AMD APUs are notorious for loving high-speed RAM.

The overall capacity of each is the same across all models in this lineup, with each device featuring 16GB of RAM as the only option. Fortunately, that should be plenty for practically every modern game. The RAM speeds of both devices are quite fast, and will likely deliver the same performance in the majority of games. Not much of a difference in this aspect, so let’s move on!

ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck: Storage

Storage is straightforward—it’s the capacity for all software or data present on the device. Both handhelds feature Solid State Drives (SSD) across the entire lineup, with only the lowest-spec Steam Deck featuring a different type of SSD that may run a little slower than the others we’re looking at. But hey, that one’s only 64GB anyways, so it’s not like you’d be able to run any major brand-new AAA releases from it anyway!

Storage is the only major difference between the various versions of the Steam Deck, with the cheapest model having only 64GB of eMMC SSD storage. The two more expensive Steam Decks feature faster NVMe SSDs at either 256GB or 512GB. ASUS took the liberty of making the storage decision for you, with identical 512GB NVMe SSDs on the base and extreme models. The Ally features a generation 4 PCIe connection, which has double the transfer rate of the PCIe 3.0 in the 256 and 512GB Steam Decks and a little over triple the transfer rate of the PCIe 2.0 in the 64GB.

While this sounds like a crazy increase in speeds over the Steam Deck, no game should ever reach the maximum transfer speed of a PCIe 3.0 SSD, and a PCIe 2.0 SSD should only cause one or two frames lost per second at most. The only noticeable difference between them then, if any, would be slightly improved loading times on the faster drives. Since these storage options are so effectively similar, and since modern games are ballooning in size more and more every year, no matter which you choose… I see a MicroSD card purchase in your future! So, just keep that in mind.

ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck: Screen

Screens are incredibly important on handheld gaming devices, and the Ally does it’s best to one-up the Steam Deck’s screen in nearly every way—and if the tech specs are any indication, it succeeds. Important parts of a screen include the resolution (the number of pixels on the screen), the refresh rate (the number of images the screen can display per second), and the brightness (which is measured in nits).

Like the APUs, the screens are a major point of difference between the Steam Deck and the Ally, with each brand sporting the same screen across all of their respective models. Both the Deck and the Ally include an IPS LCD screen that is about the same physical size.

But the Ally has increased resolution (1080p compared to 800p), double the refresh rate, and 25% higher maximum brightness. These should all come together to produce a brighter, crisper, smoother image on the Ally—but at the certain cost of increased heat and reduced battery life, unless you dial back the performance. Playing games with low resource requirements on the Ally will benefit most from the 120hz refresh rate, creating the opportunity for highly and consistently smooth gameplay. The extra brightness won’t come in much use unless you frequently play somewhere without proper shade, like a nice beach or the heart of a dying star.

ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck: Connectivity

The ports between both devices are largely the same, with each featuring a 3.5mm headphone jack, a MicroSD card reader, and a USB-C port capable of high-speed video and audio streaming. The Ally also lists that the USB-C is a combination port with the “ROG XG Mobile Interface”, a type of external graphics card you can connect to increase the performance of the Ally; but then it isn’t so portable, is it?

As for wireless connectivity, both feature full Bluetooth compatibility to tether your favorite controllers and headphones.

ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck: Miscellaneous

Operating System

The Steam Deck uses the Arch-based SteamOS that was custom created for the device. It’s a fairly smooth UI with some decent settings options, but it lacks compatibility with third-party programs. Windows can be installed and dual-booted from, but the more limited specs of the Steam Deck will hold the performance back.

The Ally, conversely, will come loaded with Windows 11 from the start, allowing for a wider range of compatibility with many programs. For most people, Windows 11 isn’t that much of a deterrence, but to some people it’s a dealbreaker. It will probably bog down the performance a little since the operating system isn’t built specifically for gaming like SteamOS is on the Steam Deck, but Windows 11 opens the door to many applications beyond just playing games on Steam.

Battery

Both have the same battery capacity at 40KWh. Valve estimates that the Steam Deck’s battery powers 2-8 hours of gameplay, and its APU only draws half the power of the Ally at both minimum and maximum wattage. We can conservatively estimate the battery life range for the ROG Ally may be half of the Steam Deck: around 1-4 hours of gaming time, but of course this may vary when you factor in background processes like Window 11 and gaming software suites, as well as any optimizations ASUS implements.

Size and Weight

The Ally weighs about 9% less than the Steam Deck (608 grams and 669 grams, respectively), and has thinner, flatter grips that reduce the overall weight. It’s also a little narrower, reducing its footprint on desks and tables while maintaining the same screen size as the Steam Deck. Height remains almost the same, only 6mm shorter on the Ally, as both devices feature very little vertical bezel around the screen. Not bad! A little more compact while remaining big on features.

Touchpads and Grip Buttons

If you find yourself unsatisfied by the sixteen buttons on a standard controller layout, luckily both the Ally and the Steam Deck have additional input buttons on the back of the grips. While the Ally has two paddle-style buttons on the back, the Steam Deck features four larger buttons that are more flush with the curves of the grips. The Steam Deck additionally features twin touch pads on either side of the screen, something that the Ally lacks entirely, which can not only easily enable mouse control but also provide an extra set of inputs (an important feature in games like Arma or Squad).

Left, in green: Two buttons on the back of the Ally | Middle, in blue: Four buttons on the back of the Steam Deck | Right, in red: Two touch pads on the front of the Steam Deck

Price and a Verdict (Based on One Opinion (Mine))

Now onto an all-important aspect: pricing!

The weaker 256GB version of the Ally is $599 while the more powerful 512GB version is only $100 more at $699.

The Steam Deck is available in three prices: $399 for the 64GB, $529 for the 256GB and $649 for the 512GB.

The increasingly expensive Steam Deck models also include extras like carrying cases, Steam profile bundles, and more premium display glass. Notably, the Ally is the only device that actually has performance differences between the models, and the difference is absolutely massive, to the point where saving $100 isn’t really worth the loss in performance. You’re saving just 14% of the price to have your performance reduced by approximately 67%, based on the maximum number of teraflops per second. You’re also losing a lot of processing power by missing out on two cores and four threads, as well as a little bit of maximum clock speed.

Conversely, the Steam Deck delivers a consistent performance across the board starting at the base $399 version. This model’s price puts the Steam Deck at a very competitive place compared to the Ally, which starts at 50% more but offers a sizeable performance bump. The $529 and even $649 models only gain a faster and larger SSD—and let’s be real, regardless of model you’ll most likely end up with a massive-capacity MicroSD card jammed into the reader that will never leave until entropy destroys the universe.

If you’re looking to play a handful of games that aren’t too demanding, it seems like the $399 Steam Deck is your best bet. If graphic fidelity and keeping performance steady is more important, then it’s probably worth strongly considering the Ally, whether that’s the performance version or not.

Once the Ally is released and a mainstream Steam Deck competitor hits the shelves, it’s really going to beg the question of who the two more expensive Steam Deck models are marketed towards, as there will soon be a $600 alternative that’s significantly more powerful and provides just as much high-speed storage as even the $649 Steam Deck. So maybe a price cut will come to those higher-tier Deck variants? Only time will tell!

Conclusion

For now, this is only the announcement. As more testing is released and we get a better idea of the real performance of the Ally and not just what ASUS tells us, its place relative to the Steam Deck will get clearer. The biggest concerns come from battery life; these are some high specs for a handheld!

The screen is brighter, higher resolution, and with double the refresh rate; the APU pulls up to twice the wattage; and in the background you’ve got Windows 11 and whatever extra gaming suites you have running, too. This battery is going to be carrying the weight of the world on its back, forever doomed to a full recharge after just a few hours of gaming. To every lithium-ion battery conscripted by ASUS into another ROG Ally, I salute you.

What are your thoughts on the ASUS ROG Ally? Would you consider spending the extra money for the performance? Let us know what you think and, as always, thanks for reading!

The i9-12900KS is now among us, and it computes its way across the land like a fearsome giant. Until the next generation of chips releases in the (not-too-distant) future, this is the best CPU for gaming that is available.

It is also a CPU with a massive power draw and large thermal requirements . . . but fear not! If you are considering the route offered by this beefy component, you don’t have to walk the path alone. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how to build an absurdly powerful top-tier gaming system with the 12900KS—all while maintaining system balance and even room for upgrades (many years down the line, when an “upgrade” might once again become possible for this system in a really noteworthy way).
 

CPU: i9-12900KS

The star of the show, the i9-12900KS manages to have the same 16 cores and 24 threads as its sibling the i9-12900K . . . while also providing a whopping 5.5 GHz native max speed. The high core count means this PC would be equally well-suited to workstation or battlestation tasks; but that insanely high top speed is what will make it an extremely capable companion for gaming.

The only concession here toward keeping temps and power bills under control is that half of the cores are Intel’s new variety of ‘efficient’ cores, with lower clock speeds and no multithreading. That should be no issue for this system whatsoever, though, as even the 8 performance cores (and their 16 threads) would be more than enough for any and all available games. With a 150 Watt TDP and a mountain of potential, now it’s just a matter of picking out parts that can support the 12900KS in all you might want to do with it.

GPU: EVGA RTX 3090 Ti FTW3 Ultra Gaming

If we’re putting together a system with the best currently available CPU for gaming, it goes without saying that we should pair it with the best currently available GPU for gaming. That’s exactly what the 3090 Ti is, and this big ol’ triple-fan configuration will do its best to keep the temperatures under control while pumping out the frames. A graphics card befitting of the right hand of the 12900KS.

Motherboard: MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk Wifi

Sporting native wifi compatibility and all the ports you’ll need, this board will be the canvas on which you’ll create this amazing machine. Technically, this mobo supports overclocking of the CPU . . . but with the out-of-the-box temperatures and power levels involved with using the i9-12900KS as a processor, that may be a slightly worrisome (and likely also unnecessary) prospect.

Note: this motherboard will require a relatively up-to-date BIOS version in order to be compatible with the 12900KS; if it doesn’t work out-of-the-box, contact the manufacturer and/or retailer for assistance.

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (2 X 16GB) DDR5-5600

As before, our decision has been guided primarily by what is going to give us the best possible performance for gaming. And when applying that logic to memory, 32GB of DDR5 in dual channel is a natural choice. Overkill? For now, maybe. But software also catches up to hardware before too long, and regardless: pairing faster memory with fast storage (as we’ll be doing below) should keep your loading times to an absolute minimum.

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X73 360mm

Did I mention that the i9-12900KS can produce a lot of heat? I did? And frankly you’re getting tired of hearing about it? Well, I apologize for the bother; let this be the last time I mention it, as this enormous radiator swoops in to address that potential pitfall.

Power Supply: Corsair HX1000 Platinum

Did I, uh, did I mention how the i9-12900KS requires a lot of electricity? Okay, okay, well let’s dispense with that concern too. This 1000-Watt supply should not only be enough to handle the 12900KS and the 3090 Ti, it should have a bit of headroom left over for any small additions or upgrades you may want to make to the build in the future.

Storage 1: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB

A spacious pair of terabytes in an ultra-high-speed format should mean that your entire library of games can be housed entirely on this drive, even several years into the future. Samsung’s SSD’s are renowned for the quality, and this one should also be where your Operating System for the build lives.

Storage 2: Seagate IronWolf 4TB

For absolutely all other storage needs, including video files and recordings, music, documents, random programs, and any games that don’t fit on the main drive years and years down the line, here come the incomparable price per gigabyte of high-capacity HDD storage space.

Case: Corsair 7000D Airflow

The two main things to know about the 7000D is that it has a sleek look, and that it is enormous. Yes, yes, it also has a nicely designed mesh exterior to help with, as its name strongly hints, airflow. But its hugeness and its beauty are its more interesting details. This absolute unit of a case will comfortably house all the bulky top-tier parts in this list, while declaring its elegance and its power for all the world to see.

Total Cost: $3200

In conclusion, this premium i9-12900KS machine should be able to shrug off the workload of 4K gaming at a smooth frame rate, while also capturing footage and/or streaming, while also playing music or videos on a second display. Its fans may whir to a significant degree to keep everything operating safe and smooth, but that comes with the territory when taming a beast like this.

Yes, it is a machine with a high price tag, but purchasers can take some solace in the fact that building a PC even nearly this powerful about a year ago could have cost about twice as much. That said, it’s still not a PC build for the faint of heart (nor, naturally, for the lean of wallet) . . . but if that doesn’t describe you, and you simply must have the very best gaming rig right this very moment—here it is.

Daniel Podgorski
is the Managing Editor for Logical Increments. He is also the writer, graphic designer, and video/audio editor behind The Gemsbok blog website and The Gemsbok YouTube channel.

The prices for building a gaming desktop PC have improved over the past few months, but they might still be too high for you. In fact, they even be so high that you consider purchasing a gaming laptop instead. As the name suggests, a gaming laptop is a laptop made with gaming in mind; big companies like Razer, Dell, and MSI make lots of these nowadays. These laptops can be attractive options for more on-the-move, lower-budget, and/or younger players as they tend to be a little cheaper and a lot more portable than desktop alternatives.

In this article, I will explore if this is a viable alternative to building your own desktop. I’ll be covering a selection of important topics, starting with those that favor the laptops and transitioning toward those that favor the desktops.

This comparison will be mainly aimed at people wanting to play games on their system. You could also use this comparison for picking a system for similar workloads like video editing or 3D rendering, but the article is written with gaming in mind. Now, let’s get to it!

Cost of Laptops vs Desktops

The first topic is cost, and gaming laptops tend to be cheaper (especially after factoring in the computer itself, the operating system, and the monitor and keyboard).

Let’s compare the current ‘very good’ tier from our main chart against a laptop that is getting sold for the similar figure of 949 USD as a sample:

You can see from this test that laptops can sometimes be cheaper, despite not suffering too much in the performance department. The laptop has worse (but reasonably comparable) specs and a lower price tag. When you factor in that the ‘very good’ tier PC does not include an operating system, a screen, a keyboard, or a mouse/trackpad—the prices diverge considerably wider. Now, the laptop is only going to achieve its peak gaming performance when the system is plugged in, which hampers the portability I’ll be covering below, but for now we’ll set that aside.

This better bang-for-the-buck performance-wise is caused by multiple things. Obviously, there’s that list of bundled features. But within the device, the core components are usually soldered to the motherboard, which means that the motherboard doesn’t need to have unnecessary ports, slots, or devices. Laptop parts can also be built with one certain situation in mind, which gives companies room to strip down unused functions. Less features on each component often means that the production price is lower.

But it’s not all peaches and cream with the lower cost. Aside from the smaller storage, single-channel RAM, core spec differences, etc—there are a number of conventional compromises involved to achieve the lower price:

The operating system of a laptop is almost always cluttered with an array of bloatware programs that were pre-installed due to a marketing arrangement between the software publishers and the laptop manufacturers. Motherboards, RAM, and other unexciting components like the power supply tend to be not just lacking features but also of lesser quality in laptops (although directly comparing laptop and desktop motherboards and PSUs is slightly unfair, because of the different requirements for those parts). And you also have to keep in mind that the screen of a laptop is  physically smaller and often has a lower refresh rate than desktop monitors.

Portability of Laptops vs Desktops

Laptops are more portable than gaming desktops. Obviously. Moving your desktop setup from A to B is a bigger task than moving your laptop (and maybe a mouse) from A to B. This might actually be the main selling point of laptops for the vast majority of users.

You won’t have to carry these around! Well, at least not the keyboard…

This is a nice feature for people that are always on the move, for work or school for instance. You can also use this to take your gaming setup with you on holidays or long flights. Lastly, this means that you can utilize your system in casual spots like cafés, if you have the confidence. It gives you quite some freedom when you are able to play your favorite games wherever you want.

Prepare for more obviousness: the reasons laptops are more portable are because they are much thinner and lighter than desktops, have all functional peripheral needs integrated into them, and can run on battery power for a while. Unless you’re planning to drag a generator around in addition to your tower, you’re probably not going to be able to run a desktop with ease away from a wall outlet.

The only real complication for this otherwise oh-so-straightforward section is, as noted above, that gaming performance tends to suffer on battery (as system components are throttled to preserve power), and that gaming drains the battery at a considerably higher rate than other ways of using a computer.

Up-front Work of Laptops vs Desktops

The last primary advantage of buying a laptop instead of building your own PC is that your system is already built for you. Laptops don’t require any assembly, and most ones can be booted up out-of-the-box (when plugged in of course, since they tend to not be fully charged). The fact that they don’t require any assembly means that you will save time, and that you will be protected from making any system-breaking mistakes. And component compatibility is obviously not even the remotest concern for a laptop user.

There are even some minor additional virtues along these lines. For example, you don’t have to keep a lot of boxes around of all your components just in case you have to RMA a product (just a laptop box). And the operating system is pre-installed and pre-configured, making the system plug-and-play.

Now, I’ve already mentioned earlier that the pre-installed OS is a double-edged sword—as it usually comes crammed full of versions of Candy Crush, desktop applications for services that work fine as websites (like Twitter), redundant and bothersome virus protection software, and other junk. But that’s not the only caveat here. It’s also worth pointing out that some of the work being avoided, such as installing an OS, takes 20 minutes at most. And it being a small pre-assembled device also means upgrades and customization are harshly limited, moreso even than prebuilt desktop PCs… but that will be discussed more in a bit.

Still, though: not needing to build, however easy we believe building a PC to be, will be a strong enticement for many.

Heat and Noise of Laptops vs Desktops

The chance of this happening is somewhere around zero. But a hot, loud laptop is something that most laptop users are used to.

So, a laptop wins in all of the foregoing sections… but not here. One major downside of a laptop is the fact that a mobile device is far more likely to overheat. Not just sometimes—most of the time when it is under full load. Now, overheating won’t destroy your laptop unless something is seriously wrong with it (or the ambient temperature is extremely high). In fact, nowadays there are a lot of systems that will automatically shut down the laptop if temperatures reach a dangerous level, though that isn’t the best thing.

More commonly, if the temperatures are high, the laptop will simply switch priorities to cool itself off. The performance of the CPU, GPU, and/or other parts will be capped to below max, and the laptop fans will spin very fast (making a loud noise). This is something that most laptop users will just have to accept. Whenever you put it under full load, or boot it up, it will drop in gaming prowess and it will be really loud.

This can really be a downside if you want to play recent hard-to-run titles, or just want to game without headphones. Playing games mixed with loud fan noise isn’t a great experience, and no one likes their system to be regularly running below peak performance.

Of course, there are fixes, like buying a laptop cooler, or just preemptively limiting the hardware so that it never runs hot, but those ‘fixes’ may be worse for most users than the problems they’re intended to address. After all, a laptop cooler reduces portability, and hardware limiting directly lowers framerates (as well as being an arguable a waste of money, since you still paid for the components’ full abilities). In the end, playing on a laptop often means having a hot, loud gaming session.

Upgrades and Customization of Laptops vs Desktops

The second major disadvantage to a gaming laptop is upgradability. A laptop is barely upgradeable. When you want to get more performance, you often have to buy an entire new system. Laptops are not built to be upgraded. The GPU and CPU are soldered to the motherboard, and often there aren’t even any free RAM slots or space/ports for extra storage.

This chip has been soldered to the board.

This can be a big downside for many, since it is usually far more expensive to buy a new laptop than to just upgrade one, two, or three components. The impact of this disadvantage will differ from person to person. If you plan to play the same games for the foreseeable future, you won’t need better hardware next year or the year after that (unless those games become increasingly performance-heavy). If you plan to play the newest games every year, you will have to upgrade more often, and this downside of not being able to upgrade will hit you harder.

There are upgradeable laptops out there, but they tend to be extra-expensive, and your upgrade choices will still be very limited. And you can simply employ external hard drives for extra storage space, though that again counts as a limitation on the portability of a self-contained laptop system.

Screens of Laptops vs Desktops

Seeing detail on a small screen can be tough.

The last disadvantage of note is that the screen size of a laptop is… small. You will most surely get a bigger screen when you use a desktop and buy a stand-alone monitor. Laptop screens are often in the range of 14-17 inches (for 1080p screens, that is). 1080p desktop monitors tend to be within 21-27 inches. If you like to have a bigger screen to see everything better, laptops are not for you.

A smaller screen makes it more difficult to see certain details, so games where you need, for instance, to look for enemies in the distance—might be less fun on a laptop. And if you want to use your laptop for workstation tasks in addition to gaming (like 3D rendering, photo editing, or video editing), it may also be annoying to have to zoom in to see the details that you are working on.

Moreover, as mentioned earlier, refresh rates tend to be lower on laptops than desktops; this has been less true in the last couple years than it was previously, but it’s still fairly conventional to see 60 Hz or 75 Hz monitors on gaming laptops. So, even in situations where the laptop is overcoming its potential specification and heat disadvantages to pump out high frame rates, the effort may be going largely wasted on a low-refresh-rate screen.

Conclusion

In conclusion, laptops can certainly be a viable alternative to a desktop system—even for gamers.

This, however, depends on what you need and what you want. You have to ask yourself a few questions to find out what best suits your needs: Is saving money high on your priority list? Does your system need to be portable? Do you want to build your own system? Are you okay with a loud system? Does your system need to be upgraded in the future? Would a small screen be a problem for you, or is that not particularly important?

I think that you can come a lot closer to knowing what the best option is for you by reflecting on and answering those questions. Gaming laptops can be a great option, but they do have drawbacks that interested gamers should bear in mind. I hope that this article cleared things up and helped you with the choice between a gaming laptop or building your own desktop. And feel free to share you thoughts in the comments below!

When you think of gaming on a PC, you probably think of a mouse and keyboard. Controllers have long taken the back seat in PC gaming history but, believe it or not, there’s a handful of games out there that play better with a controller than mouse and keyboard. Yeah, I said it, and I’m not taking it back.

There’s a lot of controllers out in the wild, but which ones are the best? Out of the thousands of controllers, how can you possibly choose? Where do you even begin!?

Well, right here is a pretty good place to start, because this article is all about the 7 best options for PC gamepads you can get in 2022. Let’s begin!

Part 1: The A-list

This first of our two sections of recommendations is for the best PC gaming controllers—those that provide value and function beyond the competition. If you can, it’s recommended you go for one of these controllers first. There’s a reason they’re at the top!

– Xbox One 4th-gen / Series X Controller ($60-70)

“Jack of All Trades”

The Good

• Great value
• Wireless, and comes with USB-C cable for wired play
• Excellent feel and build quality
• Great compatibility with Windows 10

The Bad

• Requires AA batteries for wireless play – Rechargeable battery pack is $25!
• ‘Imperfect’ d-pad (though much better than Xbox 360 d-pad)

More Info

If you ask any of your friends, coworkers, neighbors, or pets which controller they use when playing PC games, odds are they’d say the Xbox One or practically identical Xbox Series X controller. An excellent successor to the Xbox 360 controller, the 4^th generation Xbox controller does just about everything you can ask for at its $60 MSRP. It has both wired (With the included USB-C cable) and wireless (Bluetooth) compatibility, multi-zone rumble features, and analogue triggers. If you watch a retail page for it over a few weeks, you’ll likely find one on sale even cheaper (possibly for $45 or $50), and at that kind of price for this kind of quality it’s hard to recommend anything else. The Xbox Play and Charge Kit, which includes a rechargeable battery for your Xbox One Controller for $24.99, has a phenomenal battery life of up to 30 hours of play time. If you’re looking for a more personal controller, you can use their Design Lab tool to create and order your own controller design for $70. It doesn’t add any features, but it’s a nice touch of personalization for a little extra cash.

– PS4 DualShock Controller ($60)

“Almost Utterly Amazing”

The Good

• Touch pad can work as a mouse
• Works out-of-the-box, either wired or wireless with Bluetooth
• Solid build with a rubberized backing
• No extra cost for rechargeable battery

The Bad

• May need extra configuration for some games
• Short battery life

More Info

Another excellent choice of controller right behind the Xbox One or Xbox Series X, the PS4 controller has many similar features. It has wireless play out-of-the-box and, unlike the Xbox One controller, comes standard with a rechargeable battery pack (as any wireless controller should!). While the Xbox One battery pack lasts up to 30 hours, the PS4 controller lasts a much shorter time, anywhere from 4 to 8 hours. Compensating for the poor battery life, however, is the presence of the unique touch pad. When configured, the touch pad can work as a mouse for your PC, allowing you to seamlessly navigate your computer’s interface or in-game menus without the need for a wireless mouse or using a frustrating thumb stick cursor. Some may also prefer the more symmetrical layout of Sony’s controller compared to Microsoft’s asymmetrical design, but that is largely up to taste.

– The Entire 8BitDo Series ($25-90)

“Retro Gaming Heaven”

The Good

• Wired controller options are cheap
• Great PC compatibility
• SNES-style, best-in-class d-pads
• Perfect for reliving the days where microtransactions were just a daydream in the mind of an evil executive

The Bad

• Though quality control has improved since they first appeared, durability may still be a concern for some
• Wireless controller options are less cheap (but rechargeable batteries do come standard)

More Info

8BitDo attempts to tickle your nostalgia gland with their old-school designs, while also bringing them into the 21^st century by adding modern features like wireless capabilities, improved ergonomics, dedicated software for customization, and 4-6 shoulder and back buttons. 8BitDo’s products are a great way to extend the emulation experience beyond the screen and right into your hands, with controllers that look and feel just like you remember. And even for those uninterested in emulation, the options that resemble early Sony and Nintendo controllers are often the best controller choices overall for playing 2D titles like platformers and top-down shooters—thanks to their excellent classic-style directional pads. 8bitdo has options that are made to replicate controllers from the NES, SNES, Genesis or Master System, PlayStation, arcade, and even the TurboGrafx 16. They also make a handful of other controllers, including teeny tiny portable controllers and even a NES-inspired wireless mouse! Which you choose is up to which design you prefer, or else which retro system(s) you’re most fond of.

– Wired PowerA Controllers ($25-70)

“Budget-friendly Modernity”

The Good

• Cheap(er)
• Many have a smooth matte finish, which has a nice feel
• Typically wired in operation (no batteries or recharging)
• Huge selection of models and colors

The Bad

• Relatively cheaper feel compared to full-priced controllers, but not far off
• Rumble tends to be weak or absent

More Info

PowerA controllers are a great choice for those on a budget wanting a new controller over a used one. PowerA makes official peripherals for a wide range of console manufacturers, and they’ve proven their dedication to providing controllers of similar quality to big-name companies at a much cheaper price. The best way to find a PowerA controller you like is to navigate their website and browse the different console controllers they make. There’s many different controllers for each console, so your individual wants and needs will influence which controller you choose. Switch controllers tend to be cheapest at $28, but the triggers aren’t analogue. Xbox One controllers have analogue triggers but are $10 more at $38. They also make wireless controllers and more niche ones, like fight pads. The choice is yours!

Part 2: The B-list

If that first set of controllers is the A-list, then this is the B-list. While the gamepads in this section are also good or maybe even great choices, they fit more specific niches and may have more potential drawbacks than the A-list. But if they fit your wants and needs better, then get one! You’ll likely still be happy with any of the following.

– PS5 DualSense Controller ($70)

“Unsupported Masterpiece”

The Good

• Fantastic build quality and advanced features
• Wireless Bluetooth support
• Rechargeable battery

The Bad

• No official drivers (works through Steam, and many advanced features aren’t supported)

More Info

Even though the DualSense Playstation 5 controller sports more features the Xbox One and PS4 controllers, the lack of support for said features in most PC games makes this controller harder to recommend. Some PC games support the DualSense’s advanced features—such as Metro Exodus: Enhanced, Call of Duty: Vanguard, and F1 2021—but most do not. The DualSense controller works most easily through Steam, which has official support for the controller and allows for configuration of the controls to suit certain games. You can also use DS4Windows, a program that expands support for the DualSense controller, allowing you to customize light bar color, customize button mapping, and monitor the battery level. Alternatively, you can sit back and hope that official support for this great controller improves some day. I hope it’s soon!

– Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller ($180)

“The ‘Cursed Monkey’s Paw’ of Controllers”

The Good

• USB-C and wireless Bluetooth Connectivity
• Extra components are interchangeable
• Excellent, solid feel

The Bad

• Hyper expensive
• Questionable quality control

More Info

If you can justify the outrageous asking price of $179.99, the Xbox Elite Series 2 is packed with features and customizability that stands without comparison. It sports interchangeable parts, (including thumb sticks, directional pads, and back paddles), a fully textured and rubberized grip, and both USB-C and wireless Bluetooth connectivity. It’s arguably the best mainstream controller you can get your hands on. The only major drawback (beyond costing as much as 3 new video game titles combined) is that they’re prone to developing issues over time, including thumb stick drift, button failure, and dead zone formation. Of course, not every controller is bound for this fate; there’s probably a silent majority of Elite Series 2’s out there that are still running perfectly fine 3 years later. Still, it’s hard trying to justify potentially getting a lemon for this kind of price. If you buy one, make sure to get a new one with a warranty!

– Wired Xbox 360 Controller (Unknown Value of Prehistoric Currency)

“Ol’ Reliable”

The Good

• Good build quality and feel, could probably withstand an atomic blast
• Supported by every program and OS ever dreamt up by humans
• Statistically you have at least one in your closet somewhere

The Bad

• Now almost exclusively available second-hand, making prices highly variable
• Mushy, worst-in-class d-pad
• Wireless use requires an adapter sold separately
• May contain weevils

More Info

After the poorly-received ‘Duke’ controller for the original Xbox, Microsoft decided it was time to produce a controller that fit in the hands of an actual human being; thus, the Xbox 360 controller was born. These controllers are often an incredible budget option for people looking for something that doesn’t feel like a budget controller. Despite their age, they’re an excellent choice due to their indestructibility, ergonomic design, and broad compatibility. Though probably a bad choice for retro gaming due to its unfathomably horrible directional pad, it otherwise remains well-suited to nearly all modern games. The wired USB option is probably your best bet, considering the wireless Xbox 360 controller requires a separately purchased wireless adapter. If you can find one in good shape for $20 or $30, this controller will probably last longer than a new Xbox Elite Series 2.

Conclusion and a Closing Message

All these controllers, like anything in life, have their benefits and drawbacks. None of them are inherently bad choices, and any will likely perform perfectly well for the entire duration you use them for. But when considering a peripheral like this, it’s important to know the downsides that accompany them since for some they can be the sole physical point of contact with a PC while gaming. Nevertheless, for those who are still playing FromSoft games (or any games that started their lives as console exclusives) with keyboard and mouse, I’d very strongly recommend giving a controller a try.

The Xbox One/Series X and PS4 controllers are likely to last you the longest and have the most reliable wireless performance, but each make sacrifices regarding batteries to keep the base controller prices from ballooning up. The PowerA controllers are the least expensive reliable options in the A-list, but they do come with worse build quality and limited features as a result. 8bitdo’s options are in between those extremes, with a range of build qualities and features across their devices.

Any controller can suffer from any relevant issue, and your choice should ultimately take those traits into account. The point is, always select a gamepad (or any PC part, really) that factors in not just the features you want, but the negatives you’re most okay with as well!

Any thoughts, questions, or other comments? Any unmentioned PC controllers you feel should be added to our A- or B-list? Let us know!