It seems like everywhere you look for headset recommendations, you’ll come across someone singing the praises of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro – us included. It’s the current top pick in our overall best gaming headset roundup and it’s also tremendous when using it on the PS5. You still get all the great features with some new technology including active noise cancellation and improved audio all around. Using a hybrid noise-canceling system with four mics, you can drown out harsh noises from outside your room to the ambient hum of loud fans. But it's the full compatiblity with the PS5’s Tempest 3D audio that give it the edge, which is one of console-specific perks you should expect from a top-end headset such as this one.

Most importantly, the Nova Pro offers some fantastic sound quality out of the box with bold and balanced audio for those PlayStation-exclusive single-player cinematic experiences. Its positional audio is great as well, so it's easier to hear enemy footsteps around the corner or gauge the distance of action happening in a competitive shooter like Call of Duty Warzone or Apex Legends.

The Arctis Nova Pro represents the biggest design shift since the start of the Arctis lineup. Its telescoping arms on its adjustable headband better accommodate larger head sizes and proper fitment. The earcups are also slimmer and sleeker, giving off less of a gaming headset vibe and more of a look akin to wireless headphones without sacrificing the comfort SteelSeries headsets are known for. And one of our favorite features remains intact with a few upgrades: the hot-swappable rechargeable battery system. This means that when the battery runs low during a gaming session, you can quickly change it out without having to plug in, giving you wireless freedom indefinitely.

The Arctis Nova Pro is one of the best headsets you can buy right now, regardless of platform but especially for PS5. It’s well-rounded with uniquely robust features, great sound quality for gaming, and comfort to keep you going. Take our word for it – in our Arctis Nova Pro headset review, it earned a rare 10 for all the aforementioned reasons and more.

The PlayStation Pulse Elite wireless headset turned out to be an absolute beast when we reviewed it, which didn’t come as much of a surprise considering its more affordable counterpart, the Pulse 3D, was already a fantastic headset. It has some versatility with Bluetooth connectivity, but when connected to the PS5 with the USB dongle, you can access EQ settings and 3D audio natively. Additionally, you’re able to get audio feeds from both the PS5 and a Bluetooth device simultaneously. With a sleek unibody design, its on-device controls are easy to use since it’s easy to distinguish each button.

But at the end of the day, it’s all about audio quality, and the Pulse Elite delivers on that front. The planar magnetic audio drivers help minimize distortion and provide tremendous sound quality that’ll get the most out of your games. There’s strong bass that doesn’t overpower other frequencies, and playing games at loud volumes doesn’t sound harsh when it comes to the mids and highs. Especially when you use the right EQ settings, the Pulse Elite sounds tuned just right for each game. Sony's own Tempest 3D audio is the cherry on top, and a single-player game that takes advantage of this feature gives the experience of an immersive soundstage few headsets can pull off right.

For $150, you’re getting a lot for your money. It’s priced well below other high-end headsets, yet performs on par with many of them. It’s also packed with several extra features that make the most of the PS5 as a platform. For all that and more, the Pulse Elite is one of the best PS5 headsets you can get today.

The new Sony InZone H9 II gaming headset impresses on many fronts even with its relatively heftier price tag, but above all else, its positional audio is outstanding. It's built for competitive gaming and by extension, the implementation of Tempest 3D audio on the PS5 is some of the best I've experienced. While the overall sound quality struggles to compete with others in its price range, it's well ahead of the Pulse 3D and Pulse Elite headsets with booming bass and clean mids and treble.

When I reviewed the InZone H9 II headset earlier this year, I concluded, "There's a lot I like about the Sony InZone H9 II gaming headset, especially in its lightweight and unassuming design. It's one of the most comfortable options out there complemented by soft fabric earpads and low clamp force. And when it comes to competitive gaming, the audio profile you get is both punchy and detailed, but it'll take some adjustments to get the best sound out of them for music and other games – once it's set, it shines. ANC performance is fantastic, although it'll emphasize the relatively short battery life. At this demanding of a price tag, you have plenty of great options at this upper echelon of gaming headsets – however, if you're willing to mess with settings to get the most out of it for different listening scenarios, I have no trouble recommending the InZone H9 II."

Although our overall top pick is the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro and the Pulse Elite on the more affordable end of things, the Audeze Maxwell 2 wedges itself in by prioritizing pure audio quality above all else. Relatively speaking, it's not quite as feature-rich or user-friendly (given how heavy and big the headset itself actually is), but playing any of PlayStation's first-party games or a competitive shooter with the Maxwell 2 will show you why it outclasses other headsets in its price range. It's easy to point to the 90mm planar magnetic drives as the standout spec, but Audeze fine-tuned it based on the already fantastic original Maxwell. I often describe the listening experience as having a home theater strapped to your head because not only does every frequency come through cleanly at loud volumes with strong bass, but you also get a spacious sound profile. It's something headsets tend to struggle with, often due to the nature of

Sony owns Audeze, and while there aren't features that go above-and-beyond on the PS5, you get a great implementation of Tempest 3D audio and this is a fantastic option for single-player games. Virtual surround can be hit-or-miss on headsets, but the Maxwell 2 executes on it well. It also nails core aspects you need from a headset; super-long battery life upwards of 80 hours from a full charge, a solid microphone with good noise isolation, and great comfort to wear for long sessions (despite the heavier weight). The USB-C dongle lets you use it natively on PlayStation and PC to make connectivity easy, and it can be used as a wired headset, too.

Spending $300 or more on a gaming headset can be intimidating, but if you're interested in making the jump, you won't be disappointed by the best-in-class sound quality, which is the biggest reason it earned a 9 in my review of the Audeze Maxwell 2.

The latest headset from Razer took me by surprise with how much it genuinely improved over its previous model. With the new BlackShark V3 Pro, you get a rare combo of top-notch audio performance, long-term comfort with sports mesh padding, and powerful active noise cancellation. Even with the sports mesh upholstery on the earpads, which typically doesn't create as good of a seal for natural sound isolation compared to leatherette, it is impressively strong at blocking outside noise through ANC. While many other headsets come with some noticeable distortion with ANC enabled, the BlackShark V3 Pro still comes through with clean and detailed sound quality. So, if ANC is of utmost importance, Razer is doing it better than most here.

While every model of the BlackShark V3 Pro will work on the PS5, there is a white color scheme with blue stitching to match the platform's aesthetic, and it looks fantastic. More importantly, its expansive feature set helps it stand out from a crowded lineup; wired analog audio, Bluetooth, ANC, great microphone clarity, fine-tuned EQ profiles, solid battery life, smart implementation of 3D audio, sensible onboard controls, and the lowest latency (on paper) from a wireless headset thus far. Razer paid attention to the little things, and it paid off in a worthy flagship product.

There was a lot to praise in my review of the BlackShark V3 Pro, even though it comes in at a whopping $250 at retail price. It has a fairly balanced audio profile, but can really sing with punchy bass and clean mids when tuned right, which was apparent in the many rounds of Call of Duty Warzone I played when I was reviewing it. When you stack it against the likes of the Audeze Maxwell and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro recommended above, it easily competes with those high-end juggernauts, making it one of the top gaming headsets for PS5 and one of Razer's best yet.

Years of solid headsets proves that Turtle Beach knows what it's doing, and its high-end offerings have been competitive options for a while now. But as I go down the pricing hierarchy, there are still impressive headsets like the Stealth 500 that punches above its weight. Although it’s quite bulky in its physical build, I find the Stealth 500 to be smartly designed with a super flexible headband that's durable and lightweight, which also translates to solid comfort that’s easy on the ears.

What's most important is sound quality, and what you get from the Stealth 500 is nothing to scoff at. While it may struggle in higher frequencies, which tend to sound a bit crunchy at louder volumes, its strong bass and clear mids make games sound full without coming across as artificial. With the Swarm II software’s Signature Sound profile, you’ll be set without having to fiddle with too many settings. Its positional audio was great as well, which I sussed out while playing ranked matches of Counter-Strike 2, so you don’t really need to shell out the big bucks to get that kind of advantage in competitive games on PS5.

Even at this price point, you get Bluetooth capabilities and can swap between devices with the press of a button. While the mic isn’t anything to boast about, it’s serviceable and can be customized in the software as well. It’s no surprise that there are compromises that need to be made in budget-level headsets, but it gets the essentials right, which earned it an 8 in my Stealth 500 review.

No matter which version of the HyperX Cloud headset you go with, you'll be getting a quality product. If you’re running on a budget and want to get the most bang for your buck, I always recommend the wired HyperX Cloud III, which can often be found below its $100 base price. It punches above its weight with impressive sound and mic quality and great comfort. Plus, it’s built like a brick house so it’s not going to fall apart through years of use.

Out of the box, the Cloud III impressed me with its build and durability – its aluminum frame can be flexed and contorted in any which direction without ever feeling like it’s going to break. Stretching the headset out to fit on your head is super easy and you can toss them on your desk without worrying about damaging them. It's built for comfort as well with dense foam earpads wrapped in a leatherette (just be aware it tends to get a bit sweaty), although its clamp force may be a bit much for some.

At the end of the day, it’s all about sound quality and the Cloud III handles various frequencies wonderfully. In my Cloud III headset review, I felt comfortable tracking enemy footsteps while playing a ton of Valorant and enjoyed the balanced audio in Final Fantasy XIV, which this more budget-friendly headset handled gracefully. Assuming you’re on a budget, you probably don’t want to spend extra on a decent microphone – luckily, the mic clarity on the Cloud III was equally as impressive.

While there is a wireless version of the Cloud III available, the wired model presents some of the best value and performance. Something like the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro is a current analog favorite, but since you're plugging into the DualSense when you're using a wired headset on PS5, it somewhat limits what you can get out of said headset. Thus, the Cloud III strikes the better value proposition.

Gaming earbuds are a fairly recent trend with the notable peripheral companies like Razer, Asus, and PlayStation making their own that are suited for games. It's tough because of the limited driver size and battery life, earbuds tend to make sacrifices in one way or another. But the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are so impressive because of how uncompromising these little rounded buds are.

On top of having solid foundations of sound quality, battery life, and long-term comfort, SteelSeries has one of the most robust software suites, which is easily controllable through a mobile app. This takes out the inconvenience of having to flip through PS5 menus to customize the earbuds, while also letting you access its 100+ custom-tuned EQ profiles easily.

Although there are a few minor inconveniences with how some of its quality-of-life features work (autoplay when taking it on and off, connecting through Bluetooth reliably), the GameBuds do all the important things extremely well. While you should definitely use these as your primary earbuds to listen to music on your phone, they really shine in games with the kind of bold audio experience you expect from a headset. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds in my review, and they'll pair nicely with your PS5.

At $160, these have cheaper base price than the Razer Hammerheads I previously recommended. While I still think the Hammerheads have a very slight edge in sound quality, it's the battery life, software support, and overall comfort that make the GameBuds the best all around.

Best PS5 Headset Changelog

• 2/6/26: Updated our high-end pick from the Audeze Maxwell to its successor, the Maxwell 2. It's a bit heavier, but has an updated strap alongside its outstanding battery and sound quality.
• 8/6/25: The newly released Razer BlackShark V3 Pro replaced the Alienware Pro as the top pick for best noise-canceling headset, which just edged it out with its ANC performance, feature set, and overall sound quality. My former pick is still a great headset, however, which I outline in my Alienware Pro review.

It’s hard not to fall in love with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. You still get all the great features of the previous SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless with some new technology, including active noise cancellation and improved audio all around. Using a hybrid noise-canceling system with four mics, it can drown out everything from harsh noises from outside your room to the ambient hum of loud fans.

Most importantly, the Nova Pro offers some fantastic sound quality out of the box with bold and balanced audio. Its spatial audio onboard is crucial as well, so it's easy to hear enemy footsteps around the corner or gauge the distance of action happening in a competitive shooter. And you can make some next-level customizations to the EQ settings and game-chat mix with Sonar and the SteelSeries GG app – good luck going back to your ordinary headphones for anything but listening to podcasts or the news.

With SteelSeries’ latest top-end headset, we see the biggest design shift since the start of the Arctis lineup. The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless sports telescoping arms on its adjustable headband so it can better accommodate larger head sizes. The earcups are also slimmer and sleeker, giving off less of a gaming headset vibe and more of a look akin to wireless headphones without sacrificing the comfort SteelSeries headsets are known for. And one of our favorite features remains intact with a few upgrades: the hot-swappable rechargeable battery system. This means that when the battery runs low during a gaming session, you can quickly change it out without having to plug in, giving you wireless freedom indefinitely.

The Arctis Nova Pro is one of the best headsets you can buy right now. It’s well-rounded with uniquely robust features, great sound quality for gaming, and comfort to keep you going. Take our word for it – in our Arctis Nova Pro headset review, it earned a rare 10 for all the aforementioned reasons and more.

Beyerdynamic is one of the many audiophile-focused brands that have entered the gaming headset space in more recent times. Its latest in the MMX 300 Pro and MMX 330 Pro make slight upgrades over its predecessors in overall design, but brings similarly powerful audio performance. It provides the kind of sound quality you’d expect from studio-grade headphones like the DT 770 or DT 990, but packs them into a wired headset that’s easy to wear for hours on end. The two models only have one distinction: The MMX 300 Pro is closed-back and the MMX 330 Pro is open-back. I personally prefer the audio profile of an open-back headset in exchange for natural sound isolation, so it really comes down to preference.

What’s almost as impressive is the microphone clarity, which can rival even some mid-range standalone mics. I tend to see built-in mics on gaming headsets as an afterthought. So long as my voice comes through intelligibly, that’s all I really need from it – but not with Beyerdynamic. So if you really want that all-in-one gaming headset, especially for streaming or recording content, you’ll find that in these headsets.

Personally, I gravitate toward the intentionality and craftsmanship of a wired, analog-driven headset or pair of headphones, and Beyerdynamic's headsets sound beautiful right out of the box. Of course, you can potentially get more out of it if you drive them through a DAC or amp, but they're already tuned with gaming in mind (to emphasize certain sound effects in competitive games) while also delivering the kind of audio experience in other applications you’d expect from headphones at this price range. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the MMX 300 Pro/MMX 330 Pro in my review.

You can ask anyone who has used the Audeze Maxwell if it's worth its price tag, and you're going to get the same answer: It's a resounding yes, including from me. And finally, Audeze refined its top-tier headset with the Maxwell 2, making it the definitive version to get. In the same vein as its audiophile ethos, it sports a sleek, no-frills design that looks more like studio-grade headphones than a typical gaming headset. It also lives up to the expectations when it comes to sound quality, defying the notion that wired headphones hooked through an amp will give you the best listening experience.

The 90mm planar magnetic drivers still jump out of the spec sheet – it's just not something you typically see in headsets, and while bigger doesn't always mean better, Audeze made the most of these drivers. The clarity across all frequencies even at louder volumes is impressive, and the well-rounded bass gives a rich natural audio profile, which is enhanced by the spacious soundstage that comes with its driver and earcup design. It's like having a home theater strapped to your head, as it's suited for both competitive gaming where you rely on detailed sound cues and cinematic experiences where you expect big sound effects to be punchy.

Another thing that jumps from the spec sheet is that weight – 560g makes it the heaviest headset we recommend, by far. Thankfully, the updated strap design (while still a pain to adjust) and the plushy earpads keep the Maxwell 2 comfortable to wear for hours on end. It may be a bit unwieldy, but any shortcomings are far outweighed by the upside, like tremendous battery life, clean microphone, and a no-nonsense app for customization. It sets a high bar for high-end gaming headsets, as I detail in my Audeze Maxwell 2 review, and justifies its asking price.

No matter which version of the HyperX Cloud headset you go with, you'll get a quality product. If you’re running on a budget and want to get the most bang for your buck, I always recommend the wired HyperX Cloud III, which can often be found below its $100 base price. It punches above its weight with impressive sound and mic quality and great comfort. Plus, it’s built like a brick house so it’s not going to fall apart through years of use.

Out of the box, the Cloud III impressed me with its build and durability – its aluminum frame can be flexed and contorted in any which direction without ever feeling like it’s going to break. Stretching the headset out to fit on your head is super easy and you can toss them on your desk without worrying about damaging them. It's built for comfort as well with dense foam earpads wrapped in a leatherette (just be aware it tends to get a bit sweaty), although its clamp force may be a bit much for some.

At the end of the day, it’s all about sound quality and the Cloud III handles various frequencies wonderfully. In my Cloud III headset review, I felt comfortable tracking enemy footsteps while playing a ton of Valorant and enjoyed the balanced audio in Final Fantasy XIV, which this more budget-friendly headset handled gracefully. Assuming you’re on a budget, you probably don’t want to spend extra on a decent microphone – luckily, the mic clarity on the Cloud III was equally as impressive. (And if you're so inclined, the wireless version of the Cloud III goes on sale for a nice price.)

Looking for the right headset in the mid-range can be challenging since you're caught between saving some money going with a cheaper option or tempting yourself on spending a bit more go up a tier. Considering how often the Asus ROG Pelta goes on sale, and the quality you get out of it, it makes for a fantastic choice if you're looking to spend between $110–$150.

We recently reviewed the Asus ROG Pelta and awarded it an 8/10, and our long-time writer and tech reviewer Mark Knapp shares a lot of my same sentiments, saying, "The Asus ROG Pelta is solid, delivering great sound for gaming and an exceptional microphone (something few wireless headsets manage) while managing to be extremely comfortable. As long as you can find a quiet environment to game in, you’ll get great use out of this headset, and you won’t have to charge often. If you want an even more open soundstage, there are high-tier headphones that can do it better, but the ROG Pelta is exceptional when it comes to gaming headsets. Asus has a winner on its hands and it's able to stand out in a crowded field."

We have a total of three SteelSeries headsets currently on this list, but the company has earned its place as one of the top gaming headset makers with the Arctis Nova lineup that covers the entire pricing spectrum. Yes, the Arctis Nova Elite carries a shocking price tag (upwards of $600), but for around $50, you can get the entry level Arctis Nova 1 that shares many similarities. It's super lightweight at 236g and has soft sports mesh padding along with the stretchy suspension band for comfort atop your head. I find the Arctis Nova headsets to fit a little fight, but they feel secure to wear out and its earpads balance out the pressure.

They sound fantastic for the price as well, rocking the 40mm audio drivers that most SteelSeries headsets use. It might not be tuned as precisely as the higher-end entries in the lineup, but the Arctis Nova 1 still puts out decent bass and clear mids and highs even when the volume is pumped up. It's a wired headset so you don't get the versatility offered by others, but the tucked-in microphone offers solid clarity for Discord calls and in-game chat (and you can split the line-in and microphone input for PC users). If you want the best sound for the price, I can't recommend the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 enough.

As I mentioned above, Turtle Beach knows what it's doing when it comes to gaming headsets, and even if I go down the pricing hierarchy, there are still impressive headsets like the Stealth 500 to be found. Although it’s quite bulky in its physical design, I found the Stealth 500 to be easy to wield thanks to its super flexible headband and durability, which also translates to solid comfort that’s easy on the ears.

More importantly, the sound quality you get from the Stealth 500 is nothing to scoff at. While it may struggle in higher frequencies, which tend to sound a bit crunchy, its strong bass and clear mids make games sound full without coming across as artificial. With the Swarm software’s Signature Sound profile, you’ll be set without having to fiddle with too many settings. Its positional audio was great as well, which I sussed out while playing competitive rounds of Counter-Strike 2, so you don’t really need to shell out the big bucks to get that kind of advantage.

Even at this price point, you get Bluetooth capabilities and can swap between devices with the press of a button. While the mic isn’t anything to boast about, it’s serviceable and can be customized in the software as well. It’s no surprise that there are compromises that need to be made in budget-level headsets, but it gets the essentials right, which earned it an 8 in my Stealth 500 review.

Sticker shock will hit you with the $600 SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, but when you're working in genuine audiophile spaces, it comes with the territory. That's a hefty price tag, but what you get in return is a gaming headset that stands on its own atop the bunch for its precisely designed audio drivers and hi-res audio capabilities. If you care about having the absolute best audio fidelity, listen to a lot of lossless music, and want something that is packed with the latest state-of-the-art features geared toward gaming, nothing really comes close to the Arctis Nova Elite. For these reasons, it earned a rare score of 10 in our Arctis Nova Elite review.

Reviewer Will Judd concluded, "The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is the best gaming headset that I've ever tested, offering small, meaningful, and multi-faceted upgrades over the already-excellent Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. As with that model, the key to success here is delivering industry-leading or at least competitive quality in almost every element: audio quality, mic quality, comfort, connectivity, design, software, and features. If you want the ultimate gaming headset at any price – an all-in-one offering that works brilliantly across PC, consoles, and mobile – this is what I'd recommend."

I've tested and used this headset myself, too, and it lives up to all the hype, which was achievable by improving upon the already great Arctis Nova Pro that's stilll our No. 1 recommendation. Again, the Elite is going to cater to a niche crowd, but if you're in that crowd, there's just nothing like it.

The Kraken V4 is Razer's flagship headset that's geared more towards luxury features (whereas something like the Blackshark V2 is more tuned for the competitive scene). And with that particular focus, you get one of the best implementations of virutual surround sound in any gaming headset. That's largely due to THX Spatial Audio and the fact that the Kraken V4 was designed with the feature in mind. Instead of it sounding like you're in an empty hall, there's a lot more detail in the positioning and distance of sound effects, especially when the game or movie you're experiencing was designed with spatial audio in mind. It's not something I'd recommend for competitive gaming, but having good theater-like sound on a headset is tough to find.

In my review of the Razer Kraken V4 Pro, I praised its sound quality, comfort, and surround sound capabilities, but it carries a heftier price tag with it being the Pro mode. While it comes with a robust base station, things like Sensa haptics just aren't worth seeking out. You can get the standard Razer Kraken V4 for significantly less and still get the fantastic virtual surround sound features along with that great audio quality and comfort.

The latest headset from Razer took me by surprise with how much it genuinely improved over its previous model. With the new BlackShark V3 Pro, you get a rare combo of top-notch audio performance, long-term comfort with sports mesh padding, and powerful active noise cancellation. Even with the sports mesh upholstery on the earpads, which typically doesn't create as good of a seal for natural sound isolation compared to leatherette, it is impressively strong at blocking outside noise through ANC. While many other headsets come with some noticeable distortion with ANC enabled, the BlackShark V3 Pro still comes through with clean and detailed sound quality. So, if ANC is of utmost importance, Razer is doing it better than most here.

The Xbox model of the BlackShark V3 Pro comes in a black scheme with green stitching to match the platform's aesthetic, and it looks fantastic. More importantly, its expansive feature set helps it stand out from a crowded lineup; wired analog audio, Bluetooth, ANC, great microphone clarity, fine-tuned EQ profiles, solid battery life, smart implementation of 3D audio, sensible onboard controls, and the lowest latency (on paper) from a wireless headset thus far. Razer paid attention to the little things, and it paid off in a worthy flagship product.

There was a lot to praise in my recent review of the BlackShark V3 Pro, even though it comes in at a whopping $250 at retail price. It has a fairly balanced audio profile, but can really sing with punchy bass and clean mids when tuned right, which was apparent in the many rounds of Call of Duty Warzone I played when I was reviewing it. When you stack it against the likes of the Audeze Maxwell and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro recommended above, it easily competes with those high-end juggernauts, making it one of the top gaming headsets and one of Razer's best yet.

Gaming earbuds are a fairly recent trend with the notable peripheral companies like Razer, Asus, and PlayStation making their own that are suited for games. It's tough because of the limited driver size and battery life, earbuds tend to make sacrifices in one way or another. But the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are so impressive because of how uncompromising these little rounded buds are.

On top of having solid foundations of sound quality, battery life, and long-term comfort, SteelSeries has one of the most robust software suites, which is easily controllable through a mobile app. This takes out the inconvenience of having to flip through PS5 menus to customize the earbuds, while also letting you access its 100+ custom-tuned EQ profiles easily.

Although there are a few minor inconveniences with how some of its quality-of-life features work (autoplay when taking it on and off, connecting through Bluetooth reliably), the GameBuds do all the important things extremely well. While you should definitely use these as your primary earbuds to listen to music on your phone, they really shine in games with the kind of bold audio experience you expect from a headset. They'll pair nicely with your PS5 or Switch 2 since you also get a 2.4GHz USB-C wireless receiver for a no-latency connection; this is my preferred audio setup for Switch 2 thanks to the additional USB-C ports, letting me ditch my old wired earbuds for good. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds in my review.

At $160, these have cheaper base price than the Razer Hammerheads I previously recommended. While I still think the Hammerheads have a very slight edge in sound quality, it's the battery life, software support, and overall comfort that make the GameBuds the best all around.

Best Gaming Headsets Changelog

• 2/6/26: The Audeze Maxwell 2 succeeds its predecessor as our choice for best high-end wireless gaming headset. The updated Maxwell 2 is a tad heavier than the original headset, but it also has an updated headstrap that carries that weight well. Meanwhile, its sound and battery life remain best-in-class.
• 11/24/25: The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1 is the new best wired budget pick, and the HyperX Cloud III is now the best wired mid-range choice, giving a wider coverage of price options. Picks have been reorganized based on price range with clearer distinctions between wired and wireless options.
• 10/6/25: The new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite is our latest audiophile recommendation thanks to its new audio drivers and high-res audio capabilities, as it's specifically catered to the audiophile-gaming crossover crowd.
• 8/25/25: The best noise-canceling headset we recommend is now the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro. It replaced the Alienware Pro headset, which is still a fantastic choice, but Razer's new gaming headset edges it out with robust sound quality and roster of cutting edge features, as well as better noise-cancelation. We would still recommend the Alienware Pro if you want something to use as a casual pair of headphones, however.
• 8/25/25: There is now a best mid-range choice that goes to the Asus ROG Pelta, a great all-rounder that fits into the $110 to $150 price range. We recently reviewed it and it checks all the boxes for a gaming headset that's worth its price tag.
• 8/25/25: The best esports headset category was retired, which was going to the Logitech G Pro X 2. It's still one of, if not the, best Logitech gaming headset to date. However, we decided to reprioritize categories that will be helpful to those in the market for gaming headsets.

Lenovo LOQ 15 – Design and Features

The LOQ 15 isn’t about to win design awards. Just like its predecessor, the Lenovo LOQ 15 has a clean design without the extra frills that more expensive gaming laptops seem to require these days. . It’s functional, with a solid feel to it and the ability to smoothly and easily close the lid one-handed.

The port selection includes a USB-A, USB-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, on the right-hand side, and a couple of extra USB-A ports and an HDMI output on the rear. There’s also an Ethernet port if you want to play games where stable Wi-Fi isn’t readily available. There’s no high-speed USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 or 5, but unless you’re planning on transferring RAW image files or UHD video from an external device, that’s not likely to be something you’ll miss. Three USB-A ports are plenty for a keyboard, mouse, and webcam, or other external device, and the USB-C port is great for recharging your phone or connecting external storage devices. Keeping the majority of the connections on the back ensures the cables are tucked out of the way too.

Though the onboard Wi-Fi 6 is hardly cutting-edge, it’s plenty fast for everyday office work and gaming.

At just over 5 pounds, the LOQ 15 isn’t the most portable laptop, but it’s lighter than most gaming laptops and it’s not a chore to carry around – I can’t see it causing much strain being carried around in a backpack either. It’s big enough that I probably wouldn’t want to game on my actual lap, but it’s portable enough that gaming on a train or plain table isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

Lenovo cites RAM and storage upgradeability as a benefit for this laptop, and indeed it is. It’s just a shame RAM is so expensive that actually doing so anytime soon in a budget gaming laptop seems unlikely. The 16GB is fine for most games, but there are some AAA games that demand 32GB for anything beyond low settings, so you may find some experiences limited until you can upgrade.

The model I reviewed comes with a 512GB SSD, which is fine for indie libraries, but while testing a handful of AAA games I often found myself having to uninstall something just to install the next game – though that’s something most people won’t have to deal with. The 1TB model isn’t a big cost upgrade, just adding an extra $100 if you customize the build yourself, so before AI-inspired shortages send that northwards, grab the larger model while you can.

The display is reasonably bright at 300 nits, and its 144 Hz refresh rate is welcome for more casual games and esports – though don’t expect this laptop’s entry-level GPU to be putting out triple digit frame rates in AAA games.

The keyboard is a real contender for one of my favorites in recent memory, with a solid feel and satisfying light click-clack as you type away. There’s 1.5mm of travel, and none of the keys feel crammed together. One of the advantages of a laptop this size is you can let your fingers roam a little more, and Lenovo takes full advantage of this with its keyboard design. There’s only white backlighting, but as long as I can see the keys in the dark, I’m not too concerned with what color they are.

Audio is what you would expect from a more affordable gaming laptop with a mere pair of 2W speakers. There’s basically no bass to speak of and at higher volumes there’s a distinct drop in clarity. The support for Dolby Atmos is a welcome addition if you’re movie watching, but you are 100% better off listening through headphones as you’ll find the experience much improved.

The Lenovo Legion Space software the laptop ships with is somewhat useful, in that it can help you manage power profiles for the laptop’s various components, and it gives you an insight into their utilization, temperature, etc. It’s a handy tool but one that likes to radiate from the taskbar with notifications aplenty every time you boot it up. I don’t need it, I doubt most users do, but it’s there.

What I really wish wasn’t, was the McAffee antivirus trial which had almost expired by the time I got the laptop up and running. I feel like I’ve been haunted by trials of this antivirus for 30 years and they’re still coming. Windows Defender is plenty for most - and anyone who wants more, will want to choose their own. “Free trials,” like this, are more annoying than anything else.

Lenovo Loq 15 – Performance

As much as looks are important for a gaming laptop, performance is still king. That’s not to say that I went into this expecting the Lenovo Loq 15 to be the kind of gaming laptop that dominates the competition; It’s an entry level gaming laptop, after all. But for an affordable device with entry-level components, it was perfectly capable of playing everything I threw at it.

All tests were conducted at 1080p resolution, with maximum settings, and where available, with DLSS set to quality.

In synthetic tests the Lenovo LOQ 15 put out perfectly serviceable numbers. It’s around 30% slower than the Alienware Aurora 16X we reviewed recently, but costs 40% less, and its real-world gaming results are even more impressive.

In Call of Duty Black Ops 7, the Lenovo laptop managed 78 frames per second which looks buttery smooth on the 144Hz high refresh rate display. Cyberpunk 2077 was naturally more demanding, but we still managed to get 49 fps with ray tracing at Ultra settings. We were even able to achieve a playable 32 fps when using RT overdrive, which for an entry-level mobile GPU like the RTX 5050 feels like an impressive achievement.

Unfortunately we couldn’t get the benchmark to finish with Frame Generation enabled - it just crashed towards the end of the benchmark every time I tried running it. Hopefully, it’s just a weird anomaly on our test system, it remains an option for improving performance even further despite the sky-high detail settings.

Metro Exodus: Enhanced continues to be a demanding game for even modern GPUs and the Lenovo LOQ 15 was only able to manage 37 fps there. Very playable, but not the smoothest of experiences when the action picks up. Total War: Warhammer III was much more playable, though, with 84 fps on average for a very smooth gaming experience, despite using Ultra settings.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is one of the newest games in our benchmark list and it shows: The game looks utterly gorgeous. Even on an RTX 5050 we were able to manage 38 fps without frame generation, and 66 fps average with it enabled. I did encounter a strange blocky artifact in the benchmark for this game during testing, but it wasn’t present in the main game itself, so I’m taking that as a weird quirk of the benchmark than any real issue – one worth mentioning just in case, though.

All of that gaming power does come at the slight cost to noise levels. When plugged in and on high performance mode, this laptop does get rather loud and I wouldn’t want to game on it without headphones. But that’s hardly a huge ask. And if you don’t mind taking a slight hit to performance and playing in more balanced power modes, the noise levels are no way near as distinct.

General performance in Procyon was decent – comparable to some other AMD laptops we've reviewed recently like the Razer Blade 16, despite its newer and higher-end CPU. However it’s very clear Intel holds an advantage in these kinds of benchmarks, so consider that carefully if you’re primarily interested in this laptop for general office work.

Battery life, unfortunately, wasn’t amazing. It’s not terrible, lasting just over five hours in our Procyon battery test. But that’s more comparable to high-end gaming PCs with more powerful processors and big, hefty GPUs. The Lenovo LOQ 15 has a small battery, and that helps keep weight and size down, but it’s not the kind of machine you’ll use on the go for a full day of work or play.

I found the Lenovo LOQ 15 AMD a pleasure to use day-to-day. It’s light enough, and I particularly appreciated that despite being an entry-level laptop when it comes to gaming, it’s far from entry-level in style and design. The lid opens and closes easily with one hand, the design is sleek whilst still giving little nods to its gaming chops, like the honeycomb air intake grills on the underside.

The somewhat limited battery life wasn’t an annoyance day to day, but getting a little battery anxiety around a full work day on a brand new laptop isn’t ideal. This is one laptop you’ll want to keep the charging brick handy if you’re planning a long session.

As I outline in detail with my Audeze Maxwell 2 review, this headset outclasses its contemporaries when it comes to sound quality – if that's your priority, your decision is kind of already made (if you're willing to shell out upward of $350). As a follow up to the already fantastic Audeze Maxwell, it refines the tuning of its booming 90mm planar magnetic drivers and slightly tweaks its design for better usability. It's still a hulking headset at 560g, but it remains super comfortable for long sessions and the headband keeps pressure off your head.

Although the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is feature-rich and the official first-party Xbox offers simplicity and performance at an attractive price, the Maxwell 2 wedges itself in the conversation by being the audiophile's gaming headset. It brings incredible clarity across all frequencies and strong bass that doesn't overpower everything else, even if you crank it to louder volumes. It's suited for both competitive gaming and cinematic experiences, which is a testament to its spacious soundstage that lets those audio details sing. It's something gaming headsets often struggle with by nature of their design, but with big drivers and earcups that let that sound breathe, it's like having a home theater on your head.

If you're gaming on an Xbox, you may want to consider the model designated for Xbox since it comes with a Dolby Atmos license (although it's slightly more expensive than its PC/PS5 counterpart). With fantastic battery life and great microphone clarity, the Audeze Maxwell 2 covers all the fundamentals you'd want from a high-end gaming headset, and does so just as good if not better than anything in its price range.

After testing a lot of gaming headsets, it's no small feat that our review of the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is a perfect 10 out of 10. Noise distractions are unavoidable, especially if you live with roommates or in a bustling metropolis, so grabbing a headset with powerful noise cancellation like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is vital. On offer is a hybrid noise-canceling system with four mics that adjust based on what you’re listening to and what it picks up in your environment. Improved earcups also help with sound isolation, and a simple button press activates a transparency mode to reveal what's happening around you.

With SteelSeries' latest, we see the biggest design shift since the start of the Arctis lineup with new telescoping arms on its adjustable headband to better accommodates larger head sizes. The earcups are also slimmer and sleeker, giving off less of a gaming headset vibe and more of wireless headphones look. And one of our favorite features remains intact with a few upgrades in the hot-swappable rechargeable battery system.

The latest headset from Razer took me by surprise with how much it genuinely improved over its previous model. With the new BlackShark V3 Pro, you get a rare combo of top-notch audio performance, long-term comfort with sports mesh padding, and powerful active noise cancellation. Even with the sports mesh upholstery on the earpads, which typically doesn't create as good of a seal for natural sound isolation compared to leatherette, it is impressively strong at blocking outside noise through ANC. While many other headsets come with some noticeable distortion with ANC enabled, the BlackShark V3 Pro still comes through with clean and detailed sound quality. So, if ANC is of utmost importance, Razer is doing it better than most here.

The Xbox model of the BlackShark V3 Pro comes in a black scheme with green stitching to match the platform's aesthetic, and it looks fantastic. More importantly, its expansive feature set helps it stand out from a crowded lineup; wired analog audio, Bluetooth, ANC, great microphone clarity, fine-tuned EQ profiles, solid battery life, smart implementation of 3D audio, sensible onboard controls, and the lowest latency (on paper) from a wireless headset thus far. Razer paid attention to the little things, and it paid off in a worthy flagship product.

There was a lot to praise in my review of the BlackShark V3 Pro, even though it comes in at a whopping $250 at retail price. It has a fairly balanced audio profile, but can really sing with punchy bass and clean mids when tuned right, which was apparent in the many rounds of Call of Duty: Warzone I played when I was reviewing it. When you stack it against the likes of the Audeze Maxwell and SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, it easily competes with those high-end juggernauts, making it one of the top gaming headsets for Xbox and one of Razer's best yet.

With a little tweaking in its settings, the Xbox Wireless Headset provides rich sound quality well-suited for gaming, whether it's for competitive multiplayer or cinematic single-player games. It’s the most straightforward solution for a headset on Xbox consoles, and its sleek design and simple user experience are indicative of that. Those who gravitate towards bigger or looser headsets may have trouble getting it to fit right, but the dense padding makes for great comfort across long sessions.

The key improvements with this new model, albeit marginal, are in battery life and microphone quality as I explained in my review. While these may seem like minor upgrades, this updated version of Xbox’s official flagship headset is still has a strong foundation to make for an incredible value.

The reasonable price tag, balanced sound, and simple connectivity to the Xbox Series X/S of Turtle Beach's Stealth 500 earn it a spot on this list. The design isn’t revolutionary, but in my review, I found the unibody build easy to contort to fit my head while remaining lightweight and durable. Unfortunately, the ear cups aren’t adjustable and the headband can’t extend. Still, the stretchable strap inside the band makes for a secure fit and the plush padding on the earcups kept the headset comfortable for hours.

The Turtle Beach Stealth 500’s fantastic sound quality is the main reason to grab this headset. It outperforms many other budget headsets, delivering a well-rounded audio performance with a clean bass and decent mids and highs, as long as the volume isn’t too loud. Even in action-packed games with tons of sound effects, the headset handled everything with ease, and positional audio, like footsteps and helicopters overhead, was discernible for a leg up in competitive shooters.

Should you need to change the sound profile of the the headset, Turtle Beach’s Swarm II app makes it easy to swap between a few audio presets, and pressing a button on the earcup switches between four audio presets. I found the Signature Sound was the best preset for well-balanced and bold audio in most games.

No matter which version of the HyperX Cloud headset you go with, you'll be getting a quality product. If you’re running on a budget, I always recommend the wired HyperX Cloud III, which can often be found below its $100 base price. It punches above its weight with impressive sound and mic quality and great comfort. Plus, it’s built like a brick house so it’s not going to fall apart through years of use.

Out of the box, the Cloud III impressed me with its build and durability – its aluminum frame can be flexed and contorted in any which direction without ever feeling like it’s going to break. Stretching the headset out to fit on your head is super easy and you can toss them on your desk without worrying about damaging them. It's built for comfort as well, with dense foam earpads wrapped in a leatherette (just be aware it tends to get a bit sweaty), although its clamp force may be a bit much for some.

At the end of the day, it’s all about sound quality and the Cloud III handles various frequencies wonderfully. In my Cloud III headset review, I felt comfortable tracking enemy footsteps while playing a ton of Valorant and enjoyed the balanced audio in Final Fantasy XIV, which this more budget-friendly headset handled gracefully. You probably don’t want to spend extra on a decent microphone – luckily, the mic clarity on the Cloud III was equally as impressive.

Gaming earbuds are a fairly recent trend with the notable peripheral companies like Razer, Asus, and PlayStation making their own that are suited for games. It's tough because of the limited driver size and battery life, earbuds tend to make sacrifices in one way or another. But the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds are so impressive because of how uncompromising these little rounded buds are.

On top of having solid foundations of sound quality, battery life, and long-term comfort, SteelSeries has one of the most robust software suites, which is easily controllable through a mobile app. This takes out the inconvenience of having to flip through PS5 menus to customize the earbuds, while also letting you access its 100+ custom-tuned EQ profiles easily.

Although there are a few minor inconveniences with how some of its quality-of-life features work (autoplay when taking it on and off, connecting through Bluetooth reliably), the GameBuds do all the important things extremely well. While you should definitely use these as your primary earbuds to listen to music on your phone, they really shine in games with the kind of bold audio experience you expect from a headset. For all that and more, I gave a 9 to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds in my review, and they'll pair nicely with your Xbox.

At $160, these have cheaper base price than the Razer Hammerheads I previously recommended. While I still think the Hammerheads have a very slight edge in sound quality, it's the battery life, software support, and overall comfort that make the GameBuds the best all around.

Prebuilt gaming PCs have always had a problem with proprietary hardware, and the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i really does show we're through those dark ages. It used to be that if you bought a gaming PC from Lenovo or Dell, you'd get a tower that was plenty powerful for the time, but because it was using some bespoke motherboard or power supply, you were limited when it came to upgrading your system.

The tower has been updated with new hardware, now with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and an RTX 5080, but when we reviewed it we were surprised by how much more it costs this time – even if it has genuinely excellent gaming performance. Not much other than the price and the components have changed, though.

You still get a straightforward mid-tower case housing industry-standard hardware, making it incredibly easy to fix it if something breaks or upgrade once new hardware comes out. Don't get me wrong: The Tower 7i does fall into some of the same pitfalls of any prebuilt system these days – Lenovo cheaped out a bit on the memory and the motherboard – but because all the components are the standard size, you can just swap both of those components out for better stuff when you can afford it.

This results in a gaming PC that's not just great because it plays games well, but because it serves as an entry point to customizing your own system. Building an entire system from the ground up can be an intimidating and time-consuming thing; upgrading one or two parts of your PC is way more approachable.

When you're getting a prebuilt gaming PC, you're generally looking for something that works but also looks amazing. To be honest, there aren't a lot of PC manufacturers that really nail the latter – especially among big names. But the Asus ROG G700 genuinely looks amazing, even if it leans a little further toward its "gamer" influences than some people may prefer.

This gaming PC has RGB-lit panels in several areas, bedecked with ROG logos. This is something the company likes to do with its motherboards, but now extends to the case itself. To be fair, part of this is because Asus didn't include an expensive motherboard like the ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme. But it still kind of looks like a high-end motherboard is in there, as long as you don't look too closely. Asus also hid the power supply and all the cables under a PSU shroud. That's relatively common, but what sets this one apart is a bit of prose about "being unconventional" that's backlit by RGB. Never change, ROG.

As for the system itself, the model we reviewed is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, 32GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. That's more than powerful enough to handle most games at 4K, with only Black Myth: Wukong falling below 60fps with everything cranked. If that build is a little too much for you, you can get it with an RTX 4060 for much less, but I would advise getting at least an RTX 5060, especially for the premium Asus charges for putting this rig togther.

Not all gaming PCs are either prohibitively expensive or lack power with dated hardware, and the iBuyPower Trace 7 Mesh Gaming Desktop is proof. With it comes the latest 14th-generation Intel Core i7 processor for speedy performance in everyday tasks and games. When paired with the best budget GPU, Nvidia’s RTX 4060, this rig has enough processing headroom to sail through games in 1080p at high frame rates. Looking to play in 1440p? It shouldn’t have a problem cruising through non-ray-traced games like Total War: Warhammer 3.

The iBuyPower Trace 7 Mesh Gaming Desktop is even a viable option for those ready to dip their toes in game streaming, as its current-gen processors partner perfectly with the 32GB of high-bandwidth DDR5 RAM. So, running Twitch along with a game shouldn’t slow things down too much. Storage wasn't overlooked: A 1TB SSD is baked in for speedy app launches and saves.

Even if this gaming PC isn’t as powerful as some premium options, it still gets hot. Luckily, the case is roomy with mesh at the front and top panels for proper airflow and ventilation. Three ARGB fans at the front and one at the back aid in keeping things frosty. However, better cooling options couldn't hurt. Luckily, iBuyPower has made things relatively easy to upgrade. With Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series and 15th-gen Intel Arrow Lake processors dropping sometime in the not-too-distant future, it’s nice to have the option to update hardware rather than starting from scratch. Just be sure the B760 D5 motherboard and 600W PSU can handle those newer components.

Given all that's on offer for less than $1,500, the iBuyPower Trace 7 Mesh Gaming Desktop is a great value. What helps elevate this budget gaming PC even further is the inclusion of a gaming keyboard and mouse with some flashy RGB lighting. These aren’t the best peripherals out there, but perfect for those just beginning their gaming journey.

Shopping for a mini gaming PC is an exercise in compromise. You can get an extremely small gaming PC like the Asus ROG NUC, but in order for the chassis to get down to that size, there are major losses in performance. Asus handles this by equipping the ROG NUC with a mobile-class RTX 5080 and an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, the latter of which is typically found in Ultrabooks. This is more than enough horsepower to power most games at 1080p, but you will run into issues at higher resolutions, especially in demanding games like Black Myth: Wukong.

Now, I haven't reviewed this year's model of the Asus ROG NUC. However, I did review last year's Asus ROG NUC with this in mind, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it handled games at 1080p. At that resolution, I was able to run pretty much any game under the sun at maxed-out settings while maintaining 60fps. That's impressive, given that the PC is basically the size of a cable box and can fit pretty much anywhere. And now that it's been updated with Blackwell graphics, that performance should be a bit better – though Nvidia's RTX 5000 series hasn't had quite the glow-up some folks were hoping for.

All of this makes it an excellent home theater PC that can also play PC games. And if you're comfortable tweaking game graphics settings, this mini gaming PC would make a perfect companion for a 4K TV. You can store your media library there and have instant access to your movies and TV shows, while also being able to boot up Steam and play your games when you want to. Just keep in mind that you can likely get similar performance from a gaming laptop most of the time.

For about as long as I've been playing PC games, Maingear has been around making some of the most gorgeous gaming PCs on the planet. The company has always had a great eye for detail and backs it up with one of the best warranties in the business. The downside? They're super expensive.

Even with that in mind, I was impressed by just how pretty the Maingear Rush Artist Series was when I reviewed it. Essentially, Maingear took the Lian Li O11 case and airbrushed art onto it, and you really need to see it in person to grasp just how gorgeous it is. Every inch of this gaming PC oozes with detail, and it's one of the few times where I can't look away from it, even though I'm pretty burned out on flashy RGB lighting at this point.

A good gaming PC is more than just how it looks on your desk, though, it needs to perform. Luckily, you can configure the Maingear Rush basically however you want to. Maingear's website will let you build anything from a entry-level model with an RTX 5050 and a Ryzen 5 processor to the configuration I reviewed, with its RTX 5090 and Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Just keep in mind that the more power you pump into this thing, the more expensive it's going to be – and it doesn't exactly start cheap.

You do get more than just the PC for your purchase, though. The computer comes with free tech support for life, which will follow the PC even if you sell it. Maingear's tech support will walk you through all kinds of troubleshooting and in the off chance something does need a repair, the company offers free labor on all repairs and upgrades; you just pay for shipping and new components if necessary. That's probably not enough to sell it to experienced PC builders who can definitely get a PC with similar specs for much less. But if you don't want to deal with servicing your rig, the extra money you pay for this Maingear system might just be worth it.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is the most powerful graphics card on the market right now, there's no way around that. But I still wouldn't recommend most people buy it. This is a $1,999 graphics card to start and it's not exactly super available on store shelves right now. We've even started seeing scalpers selling this thing for $9000 on eBay, just a day after launch. If you do have the funds to get your hands on it, though, you can expect the best 4K gaming experience money can buy, even if it isn't light-years ahead of the RTX 4090.

When I reviewed the Nvidia RTX 5090, I found that it's around 20-25% faster than the RTX 4090 at 4K, with the performance lead obviously waning at lower resolutions. That's a relatively small gen-on-gen performance uplift, but at the end of the day, faster is faster. The RTX 5090 largely gets its larger performance from an absolutely massive GPU, with 21,760 CUDA cores, which can boost up to 2.41GHz. That's a sizable jump from the RTX 4090, and it's possible primarily through a much larger power budget. This graphics card requires 575W of power to run, which is the most power a consumer graphics card has ever required – including back in the days of dual-GPU graphics cards like the AMD Radeon R9 295X2.

As such, you're going to need a serious power supply to keep this GPU fed with power. Nvidia recommends at least a 1,000W unit to pair with the RTX 5090, but I'd recommend going a little beyond that, with something like a 1,200W PSU, just to make sure it stays efficient when you're really pushing it to its limits. Because this graphics card will hit that power limit, especially when DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Generation is enabled, and that's largely the reason to get this graphics card.

Essentially, DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Generation, or MFG, uses the AI Tensor Cores to generate up to 3 AI frames off of each rendered frame. This can hugely improve your framerate, but can introduce serious latency if you're not already getting a solid frame rate. This is a feature you should only really enable if you're already getting 60-70 fps, but it's going to be rare to find a PC game that the 5090 is going to have any trouble hitting that frame rate on.

Every GPU generation is a gamble of whether or not it's going to be a huge improvement on what came before, or just fall flat. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 kind of leans towards the latter option, but that's not to say it's a bad graphics card. While I wouldn't recommend anyone who has an RTX 4000 graphics card to upgrade to the 5080, it's a good upgrade for anyone that's been waiting a couple of generations for a new graphics card.

In my review, the RTX 5080 only ended up being around 11% faster and 8% faster than the RTX 4080 and RTX 4080 Super, respectively, at 4K. That's one of the weakest generational uplifts for a graphics card in years, and it remains slower than the last-generation flagship, the RTX 4090. But given that the RTX 4090 is still way more expensive than the RTX 5080, this is still the best Nvidia graphics card you're going to get around a thousand bucks – assuming you can find one.

The main reason the RTX 5080 isn't much faster than its last-gen counterpart is because Nvidia didn't shrink the manufacturing process, remaining on a similar 4nm node, while also not drastically increasing the amount of CUDA cores on offer. Luckily, that helps avoid the massive power requirements seen on the RTX 5090, with the 5080 'only' requiring 360W of power to run. That means you don't need to fork over the cash for an expensive high-wattage power supply, which means more cash for the games you want to play.

And while this graphics card might be a little disappointing for anyone who keeps a laser focus on graphics cards every generation, playing games on this thing is awesome. Throughout my entire test suite, the only game that didn't get 60 fps at 4K was Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition, and that was because I was running it without DLSS with Ray Tracing cranked up. Turn on DLSS, and that number is going to hit the triple digits, just like pretty much any AAA game on the market right now. Add in DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Generation, and you should have no problem fully saturating a high-refresh 4K monitor. Just make sure you can hit 60-70 fps before you turn it on.

If you ask me, 1440p is the gold standard PC gaming resolution. Not only are the monitors much cheaper than their 4K brethren, but they’re much easier to power with affordable graphics cards. You can absolutely strap an RTX 4080 Super into a gaming PC to play games at 1440p, too, but you’re better off dialing in the performance and saving more money for games. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super is the perfect Nvidia graphics card for 1440p, no matter what games you’re playing.

In my review, I found that the RTX 4070 Super is easily able to play the most demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p, delivering 91 fps on the Ray Tracing Ultra preset. And in games like Forza Horizon 5, that number goes up to 158 fps, proving the RTX 4070 Super is capable of high frame rate gaming at 1440p. And at $599, it’s much more affordable than the RTX 4070 Ti or RTX 4070 Ti Super, which will set you back $749 and $799, respectively.

The only downside is that Nvidia didn’t upgrade the VRAM when refreshing the RTX 4070. You’re still getting 12GB of GDDR6X memory, which should be plenty for most games, but you might find it getting stretched in more demanding games like Black Myth Wukong. This is especially unfortunate given you can get the RTX 4060 Ti with 16GB of VRAM at a lower price – even if the RTX 4070 Super will outperform the 4060 Ti in every game regardless.

According to the latest Steam Hardware Survey, 1080p is still far and away the most popular display resolution for PC gamers. While that number has been going down over time, it makes sense why so many people still play at 1080p. It’s simply more affordable to play at this resolution, as you don’t need an extremely powerful graphics card to play even the most impressive AAA games. Plus, because of the low power demands for this resolution, it remains extremely popular among esports players, who can get insane frame rates that are just not possible at 4K.

And that’s what makes the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti such a great 1080p graphics card. The RTX 4060 Ti is affordable at $399, and is easily able to play any game at 1080p at a high frame rate – and I don’t mean just 60 fps. You see, in my review, I found the RTX 4060 Ti to exceed 100 fps in most of the games I tested. In fact, the only game that it didn’t top 100 fps in was Cyberpunk 2077, with 76 fps, but that number went all the way up to 122 fps once I enabled Frame Generation.

In most of the games where a super high frame rate will actually matter, the RTX 4060 Ti can easily reach upwards of 200 fps. Games like Overwatch 2, Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 will love the extra frames this GPU can spit out.

One thing you have to be aware of, though, is there are technically two different versions of the RTX 4060 Ti: An 8GB model for $399 and a 16GB version that costs $499. For most people who just want to play games at 1080p, the 8GB version is going to be fine. And while, yeah, 16GB is better, it’s really not worth adding an extra $100 to the price tag for the two games that need more than 8GB at 1080p.

If $399 is still too expensive, you can still pick up the Nvidia GTX 1660 Super even if it's an ancient graphics card by today’s standards. The GTX 1660 Super is built on the Nvidia Turing architecture that powered the RTX 2080 back in 2018. However, while it’s more than a little outdated at this point, it can still deliver solid 1080p gaming, especially in less demanding games like League of Legends.

If you’re going to compromise and get this older graphics card, keep in mind that you’re missing out on many of Nvidia’s best features. This GPU doesn’t have RT cores, so it doesn’t support ray tracing, and it doesn’t have Tensor cores, which means no DLSS.

When I reviewed the GTX 1660 Super for TechRadar, I was amazed by just how well it performed at 1080p for the price. That was five years ago at this point, but Nvidia still hasn’t released a direct successor to this budget graphics card. That’s a shame, because Nvidia’s graphics architecture has grown a lot since then, and another budget card is long overdue. Luckily, Nvidia still hasn’t discontinued the GTX 1660 Super in the years since it launched and you can find it for as little as $180. Five years later and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super is still the best Nvidia graphics card under $200, however shameful that is.

The Lexar Play Pro is the fastest and most capacious card available. Supporting read times up to 900MB/s and storage space up to 1TB, this is handily the best MicroSD Express card out there right now. After a few months of wobbly stock issues, you can now more reliably find this card out in the wild at the typical retailers. Unfortunately, it is quite expensive. But if you do want the best SD card for your Switch 2, it’s worth investing in the Lexar Play Pro for a fast card that won't degrade quickly.

MicroSD Express cards have been out long enough now that we're starting to see more affordable cards from some of the biggest brands. While it's not quite as cheap as the Onn MicroSD Express card you can buy from Walmart, this Samsung card is extremely affordable for what it is. At the time of writing, you can get a 256GB version of the card for $32, while the 512GB version is a bit more expensive, at $99.

There are some caveats to this one, of course. While we found in our testing that the Samsung P9 MicroSD Express card has solid sequential read and write times, it lacks a bit when it comes to random read and write speeds. What that means is that you can copy your games over to this SD card super fast, but it's not going to have the fastest load times. That doesn't mean the load times aren't fast, though; we were able to load up Donkey Kong Bananza in 21 seconds and Tears of the Kingdom in 9 seconds. So while there are faster cards out there, you're only really losing out on a second here and there.

But for most people who just want reliable expansion storage for their Switch 2 that's not going to break the bank, you can't really go wrong with the Samsung P9. It's not the absolute cheapest on the market, but you can bet it'll last a lot longer than that Onn card.

I have so many SanDisk SD cards lying around, and that shouldn’t be super surprising. Over the years, SanDisk has become one of the most prolific SD card manufacturers, and now it has a MicroSD Express card. Unlike the Lexar version, SanDisk doesn’t have a fancy name for its card. Though this card does come in a 512GB-capacity version now, 256GB would mirror the internal storage of the Nintendo Switch 2.

Still, doubling your storage isn’t a bad deal, especially if you can find this card at a lower price. It’s also not quite as fast as the Lexar Play Pro, coming in with a read speed of up to 880MB/s. That’s a minor enough disparity that you’re not going to notice any difference when you’re loading up Mario Kart World, but 20MB/s is still 20MB/s.

Samsung’s MicroSD Express card is the one that’s being sold directly by Nintendo, which definitely gives it some weight. Since it came out back in May, Samsung has released its actual speeds and feeds. This MicroSD card gets 800MB/s of read speeds, which doesn't make it the fastest SD card here, but it'll still load games plenty fast. Plus, it has Mario on the retail packaging, so that's a bonus, right?

The card does come with a three-year warranty, but Samsung only offers it in a 256GB size. That basically doubles the initial storage of the Switch 2, but it would still be nice to see a 512GB or 1TB option for true game archival – especially as it's the official option.

At the end of the day, it being the "official" MicroSD Express card for the Switch 2 doesn't mean much. It might have received Nintendo's seal of approval, but this MicroSD card isn't going to be much different than any other card on this list, at least beyond the red paint job.

While it would be nice to be able to say something like "a MicroSD Express card is a MicroSD Express card," they're not all created equal. More premium cards will be able to transmit data more efficiently, while cheaper cards are obviously going to slow down a bit. But when we're talking about a 512GB SD card that is 40% cheaper than the same size option from Lexar, a slower speed might just be worth it.

Onn is Walmart's budget tech brand, and that should set some expectations right out of the gate. In fact, when we reviewed the Onn 512GB MicroSD Express card, we found that while the Nintendo Switch 2 worked with no issues, it had data transfer speeds that were a bit slower than the console's native storage. That sounds bad, and it's not great, but at the end of the day that's only going to result in another second or so added to transfer times here and there. Definitely not the end of the world.

But what was surprising about this Onn card was that it was reliable, which is where I typically expect budget storage devices to fall flat. Throughout our testing process, performance stayed steady rather than running into the same issues that the PNY 128GB MicroSD Express card ran into. Of course, like any SD card, it'll likely degrade over time, but as long as you're not looking for long-term game archival, it'll get the job done.

MicroSD Express FAQ

How much storage do I need?

While the 256GB that the Nintendo Switch 2 has is paltry, it might be enough if you only play a few games every year. However, if you're the type of gamer that needs to install everything that comes out, even if you only play it for five minutes – you know who you are – you're going to need quite a bit more space.

Unfortunately with the special storage standard the Switch 2 requires, large-capacity MicroSD Express cards can be quite expensive. Getting an affordable 256GB MicroSD Express card will double your storage, which should be plenty for most people. But if you want a lot of buffer room, I'd recommend a 512GB card just to be on the safe side.

Or you could just go all out and get 1TB of storage. That'll be expensive, but you'll probably never have to think about Switch 2 storage space ever again. Only the most archival-obsessed people need something like that, but, again, you know who you are.

How fast is MicroSD Express?

SD Express is theoretically much faster than older SD cards, and that largely comes down to how it interfaces with the device. Rather than connecting to a bespoke SD card interface, SD Express uses PCI Express 3.1, which is what SSDs use on PC.

Don’t go expecting a MicroSD Express card to be as fast as the NVMe SSDs in handheld gaming PCs, though. While the full-sized SD Express cards can come close, with read speeds up to 3,940MB/s, the MicroSD Express cards can only hit a maximum of 985MB/s. Still, that’s much faster than the older MicroSD cards used by the original Nintendo Switch.

How long will a MicroSD Express card last?

Just like any SD card, MicroSD Express cards aren’t meant to be used for long-term data storage, and so they have a shelf life. How long they’ll last depends largely on the environment it's being used in and whether or not you’re dropping it. I wouldn’t expect a MicroSD Express card to last more than 5-10 years before it needs to be replaced, so be sure to keep anything important backed up.

How hard is it to install a MicroSD Express card?

Once you actually have a MicroSD Express card, it's relatively easy to upgrade your Switch 2 storage. Make sure your console is off, and then open the kickstand at the back of the console, and look along the bottom for a small MicroSD Card slot, where you can insert the extra storage. You can check out IGN's comprehensive guide to installing a MicroSD Express card for more details.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Design and Features

Just because it’s smaller than the Area-51 doesn't make the 16X Aurora sleek — it’s still a chunky beast, but I’m not mad about it. The indigo colorway spreads like a silk sheet over the Aurora’s anodized aluminum lid. I love this color way more than what the Area-51 is wearing (teal), which is ironic because that’s the more expensive one.

The curved edges around the lid, hinge, and sides give a soft approach, which is a refreshing break from the usual edgy gamer look. With little-to-no flex over its iridescent Alienware logo, this gaming laptop is hella sturdy. It stacks up to 14.05 x 10.45 x 0.76~0.92 inches and 5.7 pounds.

Popping open the hood revealed more of the same sleek colorway, this time on a magnesium alloy frame with a nice satin finish. There’s a curved palm rest for comfort and ease of lifting the lid. Meanwhile, the keyboard is neatly packed in the center, but supports only one-zone RGB lighting, which looks cheap. The touchpad sits just underneath, somewhat smaller than I expected, and the bezels on the display look a bit thick due to the angled lip.

A neat feature about the underside is there’s a thick slab that props the laptop up, with vents all around it to ensure good airflow. More laptops need better cooling designs like this — there’s nothing more annoying than an underside that gets scorching hot because you positioned it on the wrong surface.

Configurations

The Alienware 16X Aurora is a classic mid-range gaming laptop, but it comes in pricey compared with other rigs in its category. But that’s what you get when you’re looking to buy from a premium brand like Alienware. Here’s what’s packed in the unit Dell sent me for review:

This review unit costs $1,999 (seen for $1,649), which is up there for an RTX 5070 gaming laptop. It also comes in an RTX 5060 version for $1,549. But if you’re looking for something cheaper than that, you need to lose the “X” in the Aurora 16X (yes, really).

The 16X Aurora comes in two GPU variants, including the RTX 5060 and RTX 5050, and both opting for an Intel Core 7-240H processor. They cost around or under $1,000. But wait, what does the “X” really lose you? Well, you drop to a 120Hz display with lower brightness, a 720p webcam, and you lose the Thunderbolt 4 port. The latter two are pretty insignificant, but losing the display is tough.

Display

While I will continue to rant about Alienware needing to offer OLED or Mini-LED options for their gaming laptops, the Aurora 16X’s IPS display is quite stunning.

This display is plenty bright, rated at 500 nits, and offers a crisp 2560 x 1600 resolution, so I could admire the sharp strands of hair on Naoe Fujibayashi’s head in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Making my way through Hijacked in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the brown wood planks contrasted well against the milky white ship, which was dreamy enough to get me killed by some jabroni running out of the cabin.

With Nvidia G-Sync to reduce screen tearing and the 240Hz refresh rate, getting in car chases across Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 felt satisfyingly smooth as I drifted back onto the highway. However, keep in mind that if you want to use the full breadth of the 240Hz refresh rate, you’ll need to turn down the graphics quite a bit. An RTX 5070 can’t get you quite that far on the highest settings – especially at 1600p.

Everything In-Between

There’s a decent number of ports to get your essential peripherals all connected to the Alienware Aurora 16X, even if you don’t have Bluetooth accessories. There’s a Thunderbolt 4 slot for fast connectivity (great for external storage) as well as an additional USB Type-C port. You also get two USB Type-A ports and a headphone jack to connect legacy devices. Then there’s an HDMI 2.1 slot to connect to an external display, and an Ethernet port to speed up your internet speed. But with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, you shouldn’t have to worry much about connectivity.

The keyboard is comfortable thanks to the cushy palm rests, but the key travel is a bit short. It’s okay to type on, but it’s not satisfying to use when gaming. I wish the keyboard was a bit higher on the deck. The angled palm rest makes it feel like my hand is sliding off when in the WASD position. And the touchpad is in a similar boat where it’s unpleasant to use – it’s too resistant, stiff, and small.

Laptop webcams are almost never good, and the Alienware 16X Aurora’s 1080p shooter is no exception. It’ll get you through video chatting with friends, but between the grain imposed over the image and the washed out colors, I wouldn’t try to stream with this thing.

Dolby Atmos isn’t enough to elevate the speakers beyond middling. The dialogue in Cyberpunk 2077 sounded crisp, but combined with the gunfire and techno music, it felt more like a muddled mess. It gave me a headache listening to it for a short while. I highly recommend gaming with headphones.

Performance

The Alienware 16X Aurora delivers all the performance you expect from an RTX 5070, hitting solid numbers even in the highest settings on intensive AAA games. However, you may struggle in certain areas, especially if you’re averse to supersampling technology.

Before I got to the crunchy numbers, the Alienware 16X Aurora suffered from some serious stuttering while gaming. I updated my graphics drivers and Windows 11, and yes, turned it off and on again. I took a peak at the Alienware Command Center (Settings > Performance) and saw that Hybrid Graphics was enabled, which allows the laptop to switch between integrated and discrete graphics to save on battery life. I disabled that with the MUX Switch and games ran fine after that.

I reached out to Dell for some insight, and a representative tried to replicate the issue on a different machine, but didn’t see the stuttering. I have experienced issues with hybrid graphics on other gaming laptops, so it might not be a problem on 16X Aurora, but if you run into it, you now know what to do.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ran smooth as I started rinsing fools through a Japanese feudal castle and a war-torn Alaskan town. The benchmarks reflected that great performance, too, proving that the Alienware Aurora 16X can handle competitive games at the highest settings. However, as I mentioned earlier, the Aurora isn’t taking full advantage of its 240Hz screen. If you want higher frames, you need to turn the graphics down.

On a more intensive test, the Alienware 16X Aurora cleared 30 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at its native resolution set to Ray Tracing Ultra. However, Ray Tracing Overdrive proved to be too much for it, and that tracks with most mid-range gaming laptops. But if you run it at 1200p, you’ll get playable frames at the highest settings.

With no upscaling technology, the 16X Aurora’s RTX 5070 did decently well on the Metro Exodus benchmark, scoring close to 60 fps at 1200p on the highest settings. But it failed to get past the 30 fps threshold at its native resolution.

In games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, you can see the benefit of frame generation technology. At Ultra High settings on its native resolution, the Alienware 16X Aurora jumped from unplayable to an average of over 50 fps.

Battery Life

Gaming laptops typically don’t last very long in the battery life department, although they’ve improved over the years, with laptops like the Razer Blade 14 hitting over 7 hours. But the Alienware 16X Aurora isn’t a 14-inch gaming laptop with reduced power output. Its chunky 16 inches lasted only 3 hours and 20 minutes on Procyon's Office Productivity Battery Life Test. (This is with hybrid graphics enabled.)

The Alienware 16X Aurora isn’t going to get you very far when gaming on battery alone, not to mention the fact that the performance will tank as well. I highly recommend keeping the Aurora 16X plugged in at all times.

Although the Xbox Core Controller doesn’t necessarily revolutionize the standard Xbox controller we once knew and loved, it does offer some necessary updates that PC gamers will appreciate, which we’ve highlighted in our Xbox Core Controller review. The new cosmetics are a nice touch; the all-black Xbox button, for instance, matte bumpers and triggers, and an overall more comfortable design. There are also a ton of Xbox controller colors to choose from.

The controller's hybrid D-pad is extra responsive and allows for an easier distinction between the cardinal and diagonal inputs, which is ideal for those who love fighting games. Of course, the rest of the buttons and sticks remain reliable and consistent, and the textured grip on the triggers, bumpers, and back case keep the controller in hand even during heated moments. All of these improvements mean a new level of precision and control. There’s also now a dedicated Share button that makes capturing screenshots and video clips a breeze.

Many of the Xbox Core Controller’s buttons, triggers, and sticks can be customized via the Xbox Accessories app when downloaded from the Microsoft Store on PC, and you can save profiles to avoid the hassle every time you switch games. Remapping can also be done using Steam; however, there will be more limitations than when using an Xbox Series X|S. Connecting to a PC is simple, as USB-C support provides a plug-and-play solution. For wireless connectivity, Bluetooth is available or Xbox Wireless via a dongle with supported devices. The Core Controller's biggest flaw is that it uses AA batteries; you can shell out some extra dough for a rechargeable battery pack.

During our hands-on testing of the PowerA Enhanced wired controller, we found it to be an excellent and affordable PC controller option. PowerA’s updated model, the Advantage, makes some meaningful improvements without increasing the price tag. It comes with a removable 10-foot USB-C cable, a significant upgrade from the MicroUSB on the Enhanced model, for seamless PC connection. Unfortunately, wireless and Bluetooth connectivity are still excluded from this budget gamepad, but you do get a 3.5mm jack to plug in a great gaming headset.

The PowerA Advantage sticks to the familiar shape and feel of the Xbox Core Controller, featuring all the typical Xbox controls, even taking a page out of the Xbox Elite Controller’s book with two small, easy-to-reach buttons on the underside for shortcuts; it’s slightly less robust, but still punches far above its price class. The backside of the grips feature a slight texture, although it’s not enough to add significantly more control like rubberized grips can. Dual rumble motors and impulse triggers are even available for better immersion. And don’t worry, they’re accurate and subtle.

What makes this controller a true standout is the three-level trigger stop switches, which are not available on the PowerA Enhanced model and are a rarity in controllers of this price range. It's a boon for fans of FPS games who want to step away from the mouse and keyboard occasionally without shelling out tons of dough for a pro-level controller. The thumbsticks are shorter and feature a good amount of tension. While those sticks are great for precision, the extra force required can be a hindrance in certain games. The rest of the buttons are responsive and reliable, putting it on the level of a first-party controller.

In our hands-on review of the Hyperkin Competitor, we found it offered a convincing simulcrum of the Sony DualSense controller for PC and Xbox, with PlayStation-style symmetrical sticks, a similar black-and-white color scheme and upgraded internals. That includes Hall Effect sensors under each thumbstick and trigger, which boost durability and aid precision with smaller deadzones. The sticks themselves are particularly worthy of praise, with anti-friction rings and metal stems that produce a fluid, linear feel, though it is a touch light in comparison to the console controller it emulates.

In terms of pro-level features, the stand-out is the inclusion of two rear buttons, mapped to A and B by default. These are placed directly where your middle fingers can actuate them, with locks nearby to prevent accidental presses if you're not using them and a mapping button to reassign them.

The Competitor feels quite light and is made of plastic, but it's still reasonably well-constructed given its middling price. The rear grips have a fine texture to them, preventing them from sliding out of slightly sweaty hands, the D-pad feels bouncier than the DualSense's, and the face buttons are a bit small but responsive. Neither too wide nor too narrow, most hand sizes are accommodated here (something you couldn't say about the Xbox Duke remake Hyperkin is also responsible for).

The Competitor sits at an interesting place in the market, coming in around the same price as a first-party controller from Xbox or PlayStation, while offering some advantages (HE sticks, rear buttons) and some disadvantages (wired connectivity and a slightly toy-like feel). Overall though, it does enough right to earn the nod.

We spent a lot of time reviewing the Sony DualSense Controller, and it's another great first-party option for PC, whether you connect it with a cable or via Bluetooth. It's particular niche is playing PS5 ports that support its Adaptive Triggers, which add surprisingly amounts of granularity to the experience. If you're a fan of the output of Sony's game studios, then this might be what sways you to choosing the DualSense over the Xbox Core controller. And unlike the Xbox Core, there’s a rechargeable battery for wireless use, though it's relatively limited at around 10-13 hours during our testing.

As you might be aware, the DualSense was made for the PS5 and continues the company's tradition of opting for symmetrical analog sticks, like the Hyperkin Competitor above. Unlike the Competitor though, this gamepad feels a bit better heavier and better built, while remaining balanced, easy to grip, and ultimately more ergonomic. There are also plenty of DualSense color options available if you don't like the standard look.

With handy support from Steam as well as fan-made software packages, plus increasing numbers of PlayStation-exclusive games ending up not so exclusive thanks to PC ports, full DualSense functionality on PC makes for the best way to play those games.

If you're after a controller that offers the familiar Xbox design but amps up its capability, our review of the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller shows you why it's perfect for your needs. This model features four rear paddles that can have their own actions or can change the function of the face buttons. Plus, all of the buttons on the gamepad are remappable. The D-pad, back paddles, and analog sticks are magnetically swappable for added customization, ensuring the controller feels exactly how you want. Xbox also kept the tunable triggers from the original Elite.

While all of these features sound great on paper, they deliver in real life, too — for the most part. Swapping out sticks and D-pads is easy and helped improve the feel for our reviewer in certain genres, like platformers or fighting games. Setting up hair triggers kept reaction times on point in shooters. The rear paddles may take a minute to master, but are poppy and responsive. However, they don’t make up for the mushy ABXY buttons, which are a major disappointment for such a premium controller.

At least the Elite Series 2 controller adds the rechargeable battery that the Xbox Core controller lacks, and lasts an impressive 40 hours on each charge. In addition to Xbox Wireless when using an adapter with PC, Bluetooth is available for easy pairing with your PC or smartphone. A low-latency wired connection via USB-C is also supported.

One of the most enticing things we found in our review of the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra is its unique “Connected Command Display.” It’s a compact, full-color screen directly on the controller that displays phone notifications and allows on-the-fly setting adjustments, like swapping between 10 different profiles, fine-tuning the vibration intensity, and modifying RGB lighting, which can even change colors to indicate phone notification alerts or a low battery.

The Stealth Ultra features some slightly buggy software that works with a PC to provide a full suite of options for tuning the controller and creating profiles for specific games or desired feels. Everything from joystick and trigger deadzones to joystick response curves and rear paddle button mapping can be done with this software.

Turtle Beach’s offering is wireless, so there’s a 2.4GHz dongle for a lag-free connection to your PC or Xbox. Bluetooth support is handy for your gaming phone. However, when you start experimenting with the display and RGB lighting, the advertised 30-hour battery life quickly drops to around 10 hours.

While all the customizability is great (and honestly overkill), real-world performance is what matters, and the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra is one beast of a gamepad. It features an Xbox layout with tactile micro switches that are sharp and precise, which proved helpful in Dead Cells during testing, where the button timing was flawless. While drifting has plagued other Turtle Beach controllers, the Hall Effect sensors on the sticks prevent drifting and provide nuanced control. The trigger toggle even helped cut milliseconds of crucial time in FPS.

If you play a good deal of arcade or fighting games, do yourself a favor and pick up a great fight stick, and for PC, the Razer Kitsune we've reviewed is a standout option. Rather than including a typical stick on the controller, it has a leverless design offering buttons that move in a full range of directions. Admittedly, there’s a bit of a learning curve to master the Kitsune, but the quicker input speed (milliseconds matter in fighting games), improved accuracy, and easier execution of certain moves are worth the effort to KO opponents.

The Kitsune is a PlayStation-licensed device, so beyond directional controls are the essential PlayStation buttons. Razer opted to use optical switches on this fight stick, and in testing, inputs were fast and reliable while remaining surprisingly quiet, but still delivering a keyboard-like feel. While those buttons offer a distinct feel, the controls are hot-swappable to easily customize the board to your liking.

Like any good fight stick, the Razer Kitsune is sturdy, durable, and large enough to let both hands rest comfortably on it with the buttons perfectly spaced. On top is a removable aluminum plate to add your own flair to the controller, and the bottom features a nice grip, ensuring it stays in place during heated moments. It does all of this while remaining light enough to carry around to tournaments, weighing under 2lbs. Razer also includes a flashy light strip around the edge of the controller and a tournament lock to prevent you from accidentally getting disqualified. Even if it’s designed for the PS5, this controller works flawlessly with PC and seamlessly connects via a USB.

Anyone into sim racing on PC needs a great racing wheel for a deeper level of immersion, and Logitech's Pro Racing Wheel and Pedals are an awesome option – even if they do cost a little over $1,000. As the name suggests, this direct drive motor connects directly to the steering wheel, providing much better control and force feedback than gear or belt-driven alternatives. The system delivers up to 11Nm of torque, which is plenty to feel acccurate feedback about the road surface and how well your tires are gripping it.

You also get additional colour through the wheel in games that support Logitech's TrueForce feature, which adds an extra dimension of telemetry-based feedback beyond what's possible through standard DirectInput. It's also easy to reduce the strength of the force feedback via the Logitech G app or the wheel itself, which has an integrated display and controls to adjust this and many other settings.

The Pro Racing Wheel is available in PC-only, PC/Xbox and PC/PlayStation varieties, with the PC option costing $100 less than the two consoles models. The button layout doesn't change between each model, just the labels, and I found the buttons well-placed and satisfying to push, even while wearing gloves. The 300mm rim is also well-sized, with a slight D-shape that's fine to use for all genres of racing, though rally and drift enthusiasts might prefer to fit the RS Wheel Hub and the RS Round Wheel, while Formula racers have the option of the RS Track Wheel. On the default wheel, the magnetic shifters provide suitably clunky feedback, with dual analogue paddles that are ideal for clutches or handbrakes.

The Racing Pro Pedals are built to the same high quality standard, with the three-item set including a clutch, brake and throttle. The highlight is the brake, which uses a load cell to measure how hard you're hitting it, rather than how far down it's been pressed. This feels more similar to a real race car, and can help you brake more consistently to ultimately improve your lap times. All three pedals are adjustable, though the dialling in the feel of the brake is the most important.

If you're investing this much into a wheel and pedals, then hard-mounting to a rig like the Logitech x Playseat Trophy makes a lot of sense, and I really enjoyed the stability and portability this provided. However, it's also possible to mount the wheel to a desk, which works well enough if you can prevent the pedals for slipping backwards and may be preferable to a fixed setup for some use cases.

Overall, the Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel and Pro Racing Pedals are tremendously powerful pieces of kit that continue to improve as new accessories are released and more games are supported.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller was an innovative controller when it was released back in 2018, and it’s still great today. Unfortunately, the accessible controller market is relatively small, with most top options coming at a premium; that doesn't even include all the necessary peripherals required to make the controller work for your specific needs. While the Xbox Adaptive Controller isn’t cheap by any means, its inclusive, simple-to-use design and compatibility with PC continue to push it above others.

Rather than a typical gamepad, the Adaptive Controller is more of an input hub with a body similar to a fightstick. Its extreme modularity and customizability allow the controller to be adapted for specific abilities. The built-in controls are limited, but it still features two massive remappable buttons on its face, along with a D-pad, view button, and home button.

However, the reason you’ll want the Adaptive Controllers is for the excess of inputs. 19 3.5mm jacks correspond with all the typical controller inputs, including bumpers and triggers, allowing foot pedals, switches, joysticks, and other adaptability aids to be added. I’d recommend picking up the Xbox Adaptive Joystick, which includes the stick, four buttons, and a mounting thread. While it adds $30 to the price tag, the buttons can be remapped, ergonomics are solid, and 3D-printable thumbstick toppers are supported. The joystick can also plug into a standard Xbox controller.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller is an invaluable tool for accessibility, but that doesn’t mean it’s flawless. The learning curve is steep when mastering all the different controls, and sometimes simultaneous inputs aren’t supported, leading to limitations in games. The biggest downfall is the cost of all the extra peripherals required to make this functional controller, but it does support third-party options. Still, gamers have reported that, for the most part, this controller works great, allowing them to play games that weren’t always feasible.

Setup, Design, and First Impressions

Unpacking, maneuvering, and assembling the stand for the 65” QN90F was relatively straightforward. Four screws hold the stand on the base plate and another four screws attach it to the TV. The stand itself is a hefty chunk of metal, satisfying to hold and reassuringly sturdy, and it does a good job of minimizing wobble.

It’s hard for manufacturers to differentiate their TVs via their physical design, especially from the front – they’re all big gray rectangles – but I love the look, feel, and weight of the QN90F. It’s sleek and thin without being OLED-dangerously-thin. The first thing that caught my eye (and not my fingerprints), though, was the matte screen coating, unusual for a TV, which I’ll touch on later in the review.

The power cable is closer to the center of the TV, which is a great change from every other TV having power and IO on completely different sides of the display. I still think the power cable is a bit too short, especially once it's routed through the clever channels built into the back of the display. The rear of the TV is plastic, but it doesn't feel cheap.

IO is excellent, as it should be at this price point. Samsung includes 4 full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, all supporting 165 Hz at 4K. Great news if you’re hooking up multiple consoles. Additionally, there’s an optical audio out, Ethernet, and an RF connection for broadcast. No headphone jack, sadly, which is an omission becoming more and more common.

Samsung is using a common remote across multiple SKUs; this is the same remote (with a neat little solar cell on the rear) that shipped with the S90F. Annoyingly, like LG’s remote, an input selection button is nowhere to be found. Switching inputs means going back to the Home/Start screen, moving left and then down to “Connected Devices,” and waiting for Tizen to catch up to you. Speaking of Tizen…

Tizen: “Preparing. Please Try Again Later.”

"Preparing. Please Try Again Later." This is an actual error message that Tizen displayed when I tried to use the quick settings menu to adjust the QN90F's brightness. I thought I'd experienced it all – the slow navigation, laggy menus, loading throbbers (!) – (read my S90F review for more), but Samsung keeps finding new ways to annoy me. Whether using the Home screen to load a streaming app, switching inputs, or diving into the settings menu, Tizen continues to feel like a low-end mobile phone or some off-brand tablet given away free as part of a promotion.

I may be old school, but I think all the fundamental, device control touch-points of a TV's menu should be as close to the metal as possible, and they should be fast. Backlight brightness, color temperature, local dimming, sound volume, the current input... these are things that shouldn't be knotted up and entangled with the same code that opens and closes your Samsung Motorized Smart Blinds. Yet, with Tizen, every should-be-easy adjustment brings up a loading throbber:

It’s unbelievably frustrating. Samsung needs to take a good look at the Google TV interface from something like the Hisense U8QG. Navigation there is fast and easy. Even Amazon’s FireTV on a lower end model like the U65QF is a joy to use compared to Tizen.

Setting all that aside, once the menu is actually loaded, Tizen behaves like you’d expect for a modern TV smart OS. The Home screen can be cleaned up and calmed down a bit after diving into the Advanced Features menu (turning off auto-playing video is a must!), but Samsung devotes a bit too much screen space to its TV “recommendations,” leaving the app list, which is what you’re likely looking for, as a small, horizontally scrolling band of icons. As a contrast, Google TV surfaces apps in a large format grid, which is much faster to navigate.

Sound

Sound quality on the QN90F is surprisingly good… for TV speakers. Of all the displays I’ve tested so far, I’ve been the most impressed with Samsung’s engineering effort here. Bass extends deep enough to be satisfying for movies and games without booming, mechanical noises, or distortion, and, importantly, speech intelligibility is good. A-OK for general use.

But for the best, engrossing audio experience, we still recommend a surround sound setup or soundbar. Our top pick happens to be Samsung’s own HW-Q990F, which includes a subwoofer for a good reason: TVs simply don’t have the form factor – no front facing drivers for stereo imaging – or enough chassis volume for deep bass.

Reflection Handling and Viewing Angles

Samsung takes the unusual path, certainly for a TV, of shipping the QN90F with a matte AR coating. For those that find the mirror-like reflections from glossy screens annoying, this is definitely a plus, but manufacturers have made great progress on their high-end models, especially in the last few years, at delivering really excellent glossy coatings.

The comparison image above shows the reflection of a compact fluorescent bulb in all of the screens I’ve tested so far, shot with the same exposure, and ranked generally in the order of quality. Samsung’s QD-OLED S90F (currently at the same price as the QN90F) takes the top spot with a truly incredible AR coating, followed closely by Hisense’s U8QG. For those that find the mirror-like reflections from glossy screens annoying, I think the QN90F offers a decent alternative to something like LG’s C5, which is a bit too reflective and a bit too purple.

The macro image above shows how the matte coating diffuses the light from the subpixels behind. This is a fairly coarse and aggressive coating, not my favorite, but the slight reduction in clarity is only visible very near the screen. At typical TV distances, it’s not an issue.

Also worth noting while looking at the macro is that the QN90F uses a BGR subpixel layout, rather than a traditional RGB stripe. If you’re using the Samsung as a PC display, you’ll want to adjust your ClearType settings to reduce color fringing on text. And like many VA panels, the pixels are dimmed in a one third on, two thirds off manner between rows, so the picture is susceptible to a “scanlines” effect.

Viewing angle performance is typical of most VA panels: loss of color and contrast off angle, and dark scenes are especially susceptible to a gamma shift on the periphery of the screen. This is one of the largest drawbacks of VA panels compared to the OLED competition, and Samsung’s own S90F is much better here.

This purple-blue shot, inspired by a fullscreen ad for Amazon Luna during the TV’s setup, shows the color shift off axis, although the photo doesn’t fully capture how it looks in person. I also noticed that the QN90F has a patchy appearance, but only when displaying blue. Otherwise, the matte coating does a good job handling the reflection of the flash.

Color, Calibration, and SDR

For every display I test, my calibration process begins by measuring the backlight spectrum for each of the individual RGB primaries along with a white spectrum. This allows for subsequent performance metrics to be accurately measured with my colorimeter. The color slide above shows three important aspects of the QN90F’s color performance:

1. White spectrum against a mercury reference
2. Individual, normalized RGB response
3. Subsequent chromaticity coordinates compared to the DCI-P3 reference

The peak wavelengths of the primaries, their shape, and their separation (or purity) define the corner coordinates of the gamut triangle. Samsung’s quantum dot backlight does an excellent job of covering (and over-covering) DCI-P3: the three primaries are smooth, separated, and distinct, giving the QN90F rich, vivid color.

In the Expert Settings menu, the default Color setting of 30 gives the best compromise of coverage and accuracy without clipping. Green is spot on, but red and blue do extend a bit past reference. While not perfectly accurate, I’m a sucker for colorful images, so I welcome a bit of over-coverage.

Before I get into the calibration, I need to mention that Samsung doesn’t allow local dimming to be turned off on the QN90F. This is a problem for me, as a reviewer, because I can’t fully disentangle the performance of the LCD panel itself from the behavior of the backlight, making my job quite a bit more difficult (or impossible in the case of lag measurements).

But it’s also a problem for you. Yes, local dimming is one of the reasons you’d buy a TV like the QN90F in the first place, but Samsung ships the TV with a 165 Hz mode, presumably for PC use. Not being able to disable local dimming when in Windows is a bit nuts, and I can’t think of a good reason why Samsung would omit the option altogether. I’ve done my best to mitigate the issue for all subsequent measurements, but I wanted to mention that up front.

Because I’m primarily looking at the TV as a gaming display, I test calibration in the display’s Game mode, making sure that the TV can deliver the same accuracy and performance as in its Film modes but without the processing that can cause input lag.

Out of the box, Samsung has tuned the QN90F extraordinarily well for SDR content. Grayscale tracking is excellent, hitting 6500K in the default Standard WB mode with low Delta E’s across the board. Great job here. BT 1886 gamma is the default, but setting gamma to 2.2 is the right move to better match most sRGB content. Once done, gamma nicely follows the 2.2 target throughout.

Brightness is one of the QN90F’s major strengths. With a 10% window on a black background, local dimming set to high, it’ll do an eye-searing 2370 nits. That’s extraordinarily bright, but still not quite as good as the U8QG, which’ll hit 4000. You’ll likely never see this in real content, though; a white test patch is really the best-case scenario for manufacturers to show off how hard they’re willing to drive (and cool) their backlight LEDs. With a more reasonable 5% gray background, the QN90F tops out around 1400 nits, tapering off to around 760 nits fullscreen. This is a great result, and very good for daytime viewing. 760 nits is roughly 3x what an OLED can deliver, so FALD LCDs are still superior for bright room viewing.

Samsung also does a very good job of keeping the gray background with the 5% slides roughly the same luminance. Other panels really struggle to maintain that 5% level, prioritizing the white patch and letting the background go dim.

HDR, Contrast, and Local Dimming

HDR on the QN90F varies depending on what you’re looking at. Bright content is very, very good: colorful, bright; but dark content is seriously let down by weak, splotchy local dimming performance.

My first impressions of the TV’s local dimming performance were watching Severance and The Gorge on Apple TV, where I saw egregious blooming on dark scenes. It was so bad, I had to double check to make sure the QN90F was actually a VA LCD rather than an IPS. The image above shows the ridiculously distracting, grid-like blooming around Miles Teller’s silhouette.

Checking the native contrast of the panel is very difficult because Samsung doesn’t allow local dimming to be completely turned off. When the TV is first powered on, there is a brief window where LD is disabled, so I was able to get a shot of the panel’s true uniformity:

A little splotchy, but that doesn’t explain the LD performance in The Gorge. The panel’s native contrast ratio is probably around 4600:1, much better than the 1000:1 typical of IPS, but in dark scenes, the QN90F might as well be an IPS.

Samsung’s LD algorithm seems to push near max brightness instead of using a more open LCD position with less backlight output. Exacerbating this is the very grid-like appearance of the zones, which I counted. The 65” version I have in for review uses a 40x18 grid, or 720 zones. In the comparison shot above, check out how blocky and unnatural the backlight zones look for the warning text, compared to something much smoother like Hisense’s U8QG. The U8QG, and other competitors like TCL’s QM8K, at the same price or lower, are offering 2K+ zones, with a smoother, less boxy transition between the neighboring zones.

Unacceptable performance at this price point.

All that said, bright HDR content is pretty impressive. Day racing in The Crew: Motorfest is vivid, colorful, and very bright. The sun in the image above measured at 1008 nits, and the splotchy blooming isn’t visible at all.

EOTF tracking is only OK. With a black background, Samsung does a good job of tracking target luminance all the way up to a peak of around 2200 nits, but tracking (and brightness) gets worse with a 10-nit background, more typical of real content. I’ve noted the 10 nit background peaks on the slides above, and both max out a little north of 1100 nits.

Real content brightness is excellent, nearly topping the chart, but tracking is generally too dark, leading to a fairly high error rate.

Gaming on the QN90F

I’ve been a fan of The Crew series for years, and testing the QN90F gave me a nice opportunity to dive back into Motorfest, a game which usually sees me completely lose track of time. As I mentioned in the previous section, cruising around during the day is awesome: bright (real bright!), and colorful. Dark scenes are still colorful, but Samsung’s LD algorithm leads to too much blooming.

The QN90F supports VRR with FreeSync Premium Pro, and it worked especially well with Motorfest, which is limited to 60 fps. I was using PC mode at 165 Hz, and gameplay was smooth with no stuttering or tearing. One small niggle I found was that 60 fps content in VRR causes the panel to exhibit a faint vertical jailbar effect. As crazy as it is to use a 65” TV as a desktop monitor, it does allow me to catch a few pixel quirks that you might otherwise miss at couch distances.

Another issue is that 60 fps content – a new frame every 16.7 ms – can do a lot to hide the effect of slow response times, which can get lost in the general sample-and-hold blur. Higher refresh rates, like 165 Hz (with a smaller 6 ms window), demand much faster response times, and the QN90F really falters here: its VA panel is the slowest I’ve tested so far, with gamma-corrected response times averaging out to over 22 milliseconds.

That 22 millisecond average comes from a mix of some relatively fast and some very slow gray-to-gray transitions. The slide above highlights (really low-lights!) the rising and falling behavior from RGB 31 to RGB 191. Rising takes 36 ms and falling an even slower 42 ms.

If Samsung implemented some amount of overdrive, like it does on its LCD gaming monitors, many of these could be dramatically sped up, reducing the amount of blurring and trailing behind objects in motion.

The TestUFO pursuit shot of the QN90F at 165 Hz shows off the smearing and trailing behavior behind each UFO, but very dark scenes in games can often be worse, since VA panels tend to have trouble with dark transitions. For example, the 0 to 31 transition takes 46 ms.

Check out the pursuit shot on my S90F review to see the type of motion clarity that can be achieved on an OLED, even at a slightly lower 144 Hz. For gaming, especially high refresh rate gaming, nothing beats OLED. The QN90F is a bit frustrating in two aspects: 1) Samsung could have closed the gap slightly with some overdrive tuning, and 2) Samsung is selling the QN90F at the same price as the far-superior S90F. For almost any scenario where gaming performance is a priority, outside of perhaps the very brightest rooms where the QN90F’s impressive max luminance could come in handy, OLED is the better choice, especially at price parity.

The latency chart is just here for reference. Because Samsung doesn’t allow local dimming to be turned off, I can’t get accurate click to photon times. My testing relies on measuring how long it takes before a USB input/keypress causes the screen to change from black to white, but the backlight behavior is delayed by several frames, so it doesn’t represent real-world latency.

To be sure, though, I spent a lot of time in Game Mode using the QN90F as a PC monitor, and I didn’t notice any particularly bad input lag. I’d expect latency numbers comparable to the other LCDs on the chart.

The Competition

In the LCD realm, Hisense’s U8QG and TCL’s QM8K are simply better than the QN90F. Both are cheaper. The U8QG is brighter, has better HDR EOTF tracking, and Hisense offers way more dimming zones for better control of blooming. The TCL might not be as bright, but, of the three, its response times are much better tuned so high refresh rate gaming will be clearer.

If you’re already looking for a TV at or around the $1300 mark, my suggestion would be to bite the bullet and take the small price jump for an OLED. Samsung’s own S90F OLED is the same price and thoroughly better: similar real scene HDR brightness, lower EOTF error, excellent AR coating, amazing contrast from the perfect blacks and individually controlled pixels, and top-tier motion performance for gaming. LG’s WOLED C5 is another option that won’t disappoint, but at the same price, the S90F is better.