The Big Year For PC Gaming Hardware
2025 might not go down as a legendary year for PC tech, but it has still delivered some seriously impressive hardware for gamers. We saw new generations of graphics cards from both AMD and Nvidia, faster SSDs, powerful new CPUs, and plenty of peripherals that genuinely improve the day to day PC experience.
There were bumps along the way. Nvidia’s Blackwell launch was hampered by flaky drivers and black screens, while AMD’s otherwise strong RDNA 4 launch suffered from limited stock and inflated street prices. Memory prices have been soaring thanks to AI demand, and the looming so called RAMpocalypse could keep pushing costs up.
Even so, as 2025 wraps up there is a lot of excellent gear available at or near MSRP again. Here are the standout winners from the PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2025 and why they matter if you are planning your next build or upgrade.
Core PC Hardware: CPUs, GPUs, Storage And Motherboards
Best Gaming CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the all rounder champion for enthusiasts. It matches the gaming performance of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D while also rivaling the standard 9950X in content creation and heavy workloads.
It pulls this off using dual CCDs and the latest generation of 3D V Cache, allowing high clock speeds on both the cache heavy and standard cores. Boost clocks reach up to 5.5 GHz on the cache CCD and 5.7 GHz on the regular CCD. The downside is price. At around 699 dollars it is squarely aimed at high end enthusiasts, but if you want one CPU that dominates both games and productivity, this is it.
Best Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
AMD finally nailed the price performance sweet spot with the Radeon RX 9070 XT. It delivers GeForce RTX 5070 Ti class performance for a lower MSRP of 599 dollars versus Nvidia’s 750 dollar tag.
Launch pricing chaos saw both cards selling closer to 900 dollars, but now that street prices have settled around MSRP the RX 9070 XT is the smarter buy. It offers excellent 1440p and solid 4K performance, much improved ray tracing, and far better upscaling and frame generation with the latest FSR version. For many high end gamers this is the sweet spot GPU of 2025.
Best SSD: WD Black SN8100 PCIe 5.0
The WD Black SN8100 shows just how far PCIe 5.0 SSDs have come. With sustained reads around 14,900 MB per second and writes up to 14,000 MB per second, it is one of the fastest consumer drives you can buy.
Despite that speed it manages thermals well, only briefly touching 74 degrees Celsius under heavy benchmarking. At roughly 250 dollars for 2 TB it is not cheap, but for users chasing the absolute fastest load times and file transfers it is the new benchmark.
Best Motherboard: Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice
Gigabyte’s X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice is the standout AM5 motherboard for value and features. Originally 290 dollars and now around 260, it offers:
- Three PCIe slots, with one PCIe 5.0
- Four M.2 SSD slots, three of them PCIe 5.0
- Ten USB ports on the rear I/O
Gigabyte prioritised storage bandwidth, making this board ideal for users who want multiple fast NVMe drives without spending flagship money. It looks great too, especially in white themed builds, and has all the connectivity most PC gamers will need for years.
Displays, Laptops And Handheld Gaming
Best Gaming Laptop: Razer Blade 16 (2025)
The 2025 Razer Blade 16 is the first gaming laptop in a while that can honestly replace both a work ultrabook and a desktop gaming PC for many users. Razer returned to a slimmer design after a chunkier previous gen, keeping a small bulge under the CPU and GPU area for cooling.
While it cannot run an RTX 5090 flat out in a super slim chassis, that is not the point. The Blade 16 is all about balance. It delivers strong gaming performance on mains power and surprisingly solid gaming on battery. For players who need one premium machine for work, content creation and gaming, this is one of the best options of 2025.
Best Gaming Monitor: KTC H27T22C 3
KTC might not be a big name yet, but the H27T22C 3 proves that budget friendly 1440p gaming monitors can be fantastic. For a price barely above many 1080p panels you get a 27 inch 1440p display with a 210 Hz refresh rate and a 1 ms response time.
The IPS panel looks great out of the box with good brightness, colour and viewing angles and does not really need calibration. You give up some extras like USB ports and a fully adjustable stand, and HDR is only at DisplayHDR 400, but for competitive and casual gamers on a budget this monitor destroys similarly priced 1080p options.
Best Handheld Gaming PC: Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS
The Legion Go S is one of the first handheld gaming PCs to pair serious performance with a lean operating system. Running SteamOS rather than Windows means better efficiency, smoother performance and a more console like user experience.
Powered by AMD’s older but still capable Z1 Extreme chip, it can deliver around 30 to 60 frames per second in most games for a few hours on battery. Some multiplayer titles are a problem thanks to Linux and anti cheat incompatibilities, and the trackpad support is still a bit rough, but for under 1,000 dollars you get a comfortable, powerful and stylish handheld that competes with the very best.
Key Peripherals For PC Gamers
Best Gaming Keyboard: Be Quiet Light Mount
Be Quiet’s Light Mount is all about silent performance. It is the quietest keyboard tested by PC Gamer in 2025, thanks to custom silent tactile switches and heavy dampening that somehow avoids a mushy feel.
Beyond the sound profile it delivers PBT keycaps, per key RGB, a knob, side macro keys and 1 K polling. If you want a gaming board that feels premium, looks great and will not annoy everyone in the room, this is an excellent pick.
Best Gaming Mouse: Corsair Sabre V2 Pro Ultralight
The Corsair Sabre V2 Pro pushes the ultralight trend further, weighing just 36 grams without resorting to a fragile honeycomb shell. It focuses entirely on competitive FPS performance: a great sensor, low weight and wireless freedom.
To hit that weight it strips out RGB, extra buttons and long battery life, but if you play fast paced shooters and want a mouse that practically disappears in your hand, this is one of the most exciting releases in years.
Best Gaming Headset: Razer BlackShark V3
The Razer BlackShark V3 finally perfects the long running BlackShark line. With revised titanium drivers, a larger magnet and a driver plug to reduce distortion, it delivers detailed and punchy audio. It skips active noise cancellation, but that keeps weight down and improves comfort over long sessions.
Razer’s HyperSpeed Wireless tech also offers an ultra low latency 10 ms mode for serious competitive play. If you want a wireless set that combines sound quality, comfort and speed, this is a new top tier choice.
Best Budget Mic: Amazon Basics USB Condenser
Streaming or just want clear voice chat without spending big? The Amazon Basics USB condenser mic is under 30 dollars and dramatically better than you would expect. It offers surprisingly clean, full audio and a sturdy build with just a mute button and simple stand.
There is no software or fancy features, but for entry level streaming, Discord and remote work it is outstanding value.
Wildcard: Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K Controller
Finally, the wildcard award goes to Razer’s Wolverine V3 Pro 8K controller. Aimed at serious PC and console competitors, it offers an 8,000 Hz polling rate, Hall effect triggers and high end thumbsticks for extremely responsive control. At 200 dollars it is an expensive luxury, but it sets a new standard for premium gamepads.
Taken together, the 2025 PC Gamer Hardware Awards highlight a trend toward better price performance balance, smarter design and a real focus on the needs of PC gamers. Whether you are upgrading a single part or planning a full new rig, there has never been a better time to build around genuinely gamer focused hardware.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/pc-gamer-hardware-awards-2025-all-the-winners-from-a-bumper-12-months-of-pc-gaming-tech/
