Using a combination of a Microsoft Store discount code and the current discounted prices on CDKeys for Microsoft gift cards, you can net yourself substantial savings on both of Microsoft's current gen consoles. We've saw this deal several months ago, but it's pleasant to see it again, and allows you to save a fair bit on both consoles.

The principle for redeeming both of these discounts is the same - as opposed to paying for the Series X or Series S by means of a card or PayPal, you can load up Microsoft gift cards onto your account to give you a balance equal to, or as close to the amount of the console's purchase price with the respective discount code, and pay for them that way. If you'd be paying by more normal methods, the Series X would be £321.75 and the Series S would be £178.49. However, the way of getting them cheaper is through current discounts from CDKeys on Microsoft gift cards.

To break this down further - for the Series X discount, you'd need enough gift cards to have £330 on your Microsoft account balance which works out to:

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Chillblast has just announced a new range of pre-built gaming PCs that aim to provide good all-round specs, beefy performance and fantastic aesthetics for what are generally decent prices. Named Edge, this range of three new PCs hits the mid-range, upper-mid-range and absolute top end of the market in generally compelling packages that you may well want to consider.

For most people, the Karve (from £1,449.95) is likely to be a good choice, pairing a six core & 12 thread AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, a derivative of one of our favourite budget CPUs with an RTX 4060 Ti to offer a system that should muster 1080p HFR gaming, and push into 1440p. Elsewhere, this PC also doesn't skimp on components with a 240mm AIO for cooling the 5600X, as well as offering a 2TB Crucial P3 Plus inside for storage, which is an excellent PCIe 4.0 SSD in a good capacity, 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, and an 80+ Gold-rated Corsair RMe 750W PSU for powering the system. The 4060 Ti inside is also vertically mounted for better aesthetics, which goes hand in hand with the white case that the Karve comes in.

Going up the price ladder, the Vantage (from £2,029.99) swaps to using a Hyte Y60 case, which is in-keeping with the trendier angle Chillblast is going for with these new PCs, and packs in Intel's marvellous i5-14600K CPU with 14 cores and 20 threads. This is a CPU that, in our testing, offers strong performance in content creation workloads, and while it isn't as impressive as AMD's -X3D chips for gaming, it's still more than competent. This is paired with an RTX 4070 Super, which is the best of Nvidia's Super refresh of cards, and offers fantastic results at 1440p with RT on demanding titles such as Cyberpunk 2077, as we noted in our review. The Vantage uses the same Crucial P3 Plus 2TB NVMe drive, adds in 32GB of DDR5-5600 CL40 RAM, and opts to up the PSU to an 850W 80+ Gold Corsair RMe option. The 14600K is cooled by a 360mm AIO this time, while the 4070 Super is also vertically mounted, too.

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I'm in a bit of an odd position when it comes to the idea of building a computer for gaming. Having written about computer hardware for years, I'd like to think I've got a good handle on what the best components are for the job. However, I've never actually built a PC, despite wanting to for years. After years of using an older HP Envy machine with quite dated components, I decided it was time for a change, and that I wanted a do-it-all gaming PC that would last me as long as this previous option has.

A combination of excitement and inexperience meant I ended up going a tad overkill - and that became an eye-opening experience, given it instilled a lot more fear into to me get things right. Building a high-spec rig as your first ever isn't the easiest, given the overarching thought of cost in your mind when building, and how any mistake could be a costly one.

Still, I feel I learned a lot along the way, as theory ran up against reality, and I hope you find my chronicle useful - or at least interesting! Scroll along to read the piece from front to back, or use the links below to jump ahead to the build, benchmarks and final learnings.

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What is an enthusiast-grade mechanical keyboard? It depends on what you're into - it might be a super-fast gaming board for esports, an ultra low-profile work keyboard equally adept for Mac or Windows, or even a full-fat custom keyboard with unique switches and a compact form factor. Today we've got examples of all three, giving you an idea of what sorts of keyboards are out there and which you might prefer.

Here are three reviews then: the low-profile Mistel AirOne, the rapid trigger Meletrix BOOG75 and the custom-built Keychron Q1 Pro with MX Purple switches designed by Cherry and British keyboard maker Glarses. All are fascinating options in their own right, showing the breadth of the enthusiast keyboard market in spring 2024.

Buy:

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We're in the middle of a bit of a monitor revolution that comes around once every few years, as new panel types take hold and wow the crowds. That's certainly the case in 2024 with a slew of new monitors based around Samsung's third-gen QD-OLED panels.

We've been focusing on the 32-inch 4K 240Hz offerings, which include the sublime Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDM, which we lauded as the best gaming monitor we've ever tested, while the Alienware AW3225QF is the best value option for UK buyers.

Since then, I've been testing MSI's competitor to both of these, the catchily-named MPG 321URX, and it's also a fantastic gaming monitor - and one that looks like the best option for those in the US, given a lower introductory price on the opposite side of the Atlantic. But how does it compare to the Dell and Asus models we've tested already?

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Sony's Xperia 5 V was described to me by a representative as their more trendy flagship, designed for younger people and influencers. Well, on the first part, I feel like I'm the target market; the second part perhaps not so much. Priced at £819 and seemingly only available in the UK at present, the Xperia 5 V represents the mid-range option with Sony's latest Xperia lineup of handsets, flanked by the flagship Xperia 1 V and the much more affordable Xperia 10 V.

The Xperia 5 V comes with last year's flagship Qualcomm chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (the same as the recently reviewed Honor Magic V2 RSR Porsche Design), 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. There's a reasonable dual camera setup with a 48MP main snapper and 12MP ultrawide, while the display is a tall and skinny 6.1-inch 2560x1080 OLED. You also get a Micro SD card slot and a headphone jack, rarities on any phone these days.

In the hand, the Xperia 5 V feels excellent. Its matte finish is smooth to the touch and is comfortable to hold. In terms of its looks, the Xperia 5 V is reminiscent of Sony phones from years gone by, opting for a thin slab with more rounded corners. This design may be a little out of kilter compared to more modern flagships and mid-range choices, but I don't mind it.

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