I traded the best gaming monitor for something better | Digital Trends

techDecember 5, 2023 FranklinWilbur

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Call me insane, but I traded the best gaming monitor money can buy.

I’m talking about the Alienware 34 QD-OLED, of course, which I bought about a year ago. I’ve been in love with it ever since, immediately recognizing why it’s widely considered one of the most important gaming monitors released in the last few years. The most recent holiday barrage of deals got me, though, and I sold the monitor, which often tops lists and review charts, in exchange for something completely different.

I picked up the KTC G42P5. I understand if you don’t know who KTC is — I didn’t, either — but I rolled the dice on the display after I found an Amazon deal that was too good to pass up. I’ve had the monitor for about a week now, and I’ve already put it through its paces. And I’m floored.

Hitting the right price

Desktop background on the Alienware 34 QD-OLED. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Let’s start with why I chose this particular monitor, though. It’s a 42-inch OLED display, which, yes, I recognize sounds like a massive size for a computer monitor. It is, but I’m certainly not the first one to put a 42-inch display in front of my PC. And in practice, a 42-inch 16:9 monitor is a lot closer in size to a 34-inch 21:9 monitor like the Alienware 34 QD-OLED than it sounds.

There are several reasons I wanted to switch back to 16:9. I wanted to be able to play console games on my main display without black bars, and I wanted to be able to take 4K screenshots for the performance guides I write here on Digital Trends. More than anything, though, I was just done messing around with the problems 21:9 brings.

The Alienware 34 QD-OLED is great, but I was fed up with playing Elden Ring with black bars or getting sucked out of Alan Wake 2 whenever a cutscene played. At the same time, I didn’t want to give up the perfect black levels of OLED or the massive screen real estate the Alienware 34 QD-OLED offered me. The KTC G42P5 checked all of my boxes, and at a price I could actually justify.

Cyberpunk 2077 running on the Alienware 34 QD-OLED. — Digital Trends

There are a few other options if you’re interested in this form factor. It uses an LG OLED panel, so naturally, you could pick up the 42-inch LG C3 OLED. There are a couple of problems compared to KTC, though. For starters, it’s a TV, so it lacks DisplayPort, and it’s more expensive. I spent $800 on the KTC display, while the LG TV sells for $1,000, or $900 on sale. The LG has some upsides like image processing if you’re not worried about latency, but that didn’t tip the scales for me.

The main competition is the Asus ROG Swift PG42UQ. It’s a 42-inch monitor just like the KTC, and it’s overclocked to 138Hz (also just like the KTC). It’s a near-perfect monitor, but there’s one big problem. It’s $1,400. Even during holiday sales, I’ve never seen it sell for cheaper than $1,200 — that’s a full $400 more than what I spent on the KTC for what is essentially the same display.

An OLED demo on the Asus ROG PG42UQ. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Those are your only two options if you want this form factor. Older LG TVs like the C2 OLED are available, but for above $1,000, and the Gigabyte Aorus FV43U is cheaper, but it’s not OLED. I picked up the KTC G42P5 on sale for $800, but even now, it’s available for $1,000 at the time of writing. That’s still $400 cheaper than the Asus display at list price.

The natural question is, why? If this is the same panel with the same features, why is it so much cheaper than the competition? There are actually a couple of reasons.

Why is it cheaper?

Hollow Knight on the KTC G42P5. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

I’ll assume you’ve never heard of KTC. It’s a Chinese company that started pushing out displays in 2021, and the brand has only recently started making the rounds on Amazon. KTC as a company, though, isn’t new. KTC says it’s been around for 27 years, serving as a manufacturer of displays for companies like Samsung, ViewSonic, and LG. You probably haven’t seen a KTC-branded monitor, but there’s a decent chance you actually have seen a KTC monitor.

The idea here is that the middleman is becoming the seller with KTC, which pushes down prices a little bit. That’s not a crazy idea in the world of tech. Even AMD, Intel’s biggest competitor in the world of processors, started out as a supplier for Intel before breaking off into its own standalone brand.

There’s a practical reason for this particular monitor being cheaper than the competition as well: It doesn’t include a stand. It’s easy to forget how expensive a solid stand for a 42-inch display can be — $125, at least for KTC’s G42P5 stand — and KTC cuts that cost out.

Monitor arm for the KTC G42P5. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

That could be a downside depending on what you’re wanting to do with the display. For me, it was a positive. I was able to save some money because I already had a monitor arm — about $50 on Amazon — and for a display this large, there’s a good chance you’re going to mount it on your wall. There are also TV stands available for the 100 x 100 VESA mount for about $15. Regardless, there are several situations with a display this large where you might not use the included stand, and at least you have the option to skip it with the KTC G42P5.

It’s worth noting that, even with the stand, the G42P5 comes in $200 cheaper than the ROG PG42UQ, so the savings aren’t only reliant on the stand.

The monitor itself

The Digital Trends website on the KTC G42P5. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Now, we need to talk about the monitor itself. The KTC G42P5 uses an LG OLED RGBW panel, which is the same panel in later versions of the LG C2. All of that is to say, it looks great. OLED offers perfect black levels for infinite contrast, while brightness, although low compared to LCD, is still enough to overcome most ambient lighting conditions.

Digging into the numbers, I measured brightness at around 400 nits for 10% of the screen in SDR, and that shot up to above 600 nits for a 3% windows in HDR. Those numbers don’t sound high, but remember that this is a 42-inch screen. You don’t want it blasting 1,000 nits at you as a computer monitor.

In practice, I have two windows directly pouring light into my office, and I’ve never struggled with brightness issues, and that’s while running the panel at 30% of its maximum. Unless you have extremely bright ambient lighting conditions, the brightness of the monitor shouldn’t be an issue.

For colors, this OLED panel offers a wide gamut. That means it exceeds 100% of the sRGB gamut, pushing into wider gamut like DCI-P3. In that color space, I measured an excellent 97%.

Color accuracy was a different matter. KTC calibrates each monitor at the factory and includes a report, but the calibration is off, specifically for the DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB color modes. I measured a color error of 6 for Adobe RGB and 4 for DCI-P3, neither of which is great. On the standard mode, the color error was over 3. Ideally, you want to see a color error of under 2.

That’s nothing a little calibration can’t fix. Using the free DisplayCal, I calibrated the monitor, and it was able to achieve a color error of 0.6, which is very good.

It’s always nice when colors are perfect out of the box, but at least you can pull the KTC back if you need great color accuracy. That doesn’t always matter in practice, though. Sure, the colors were off out of the box, but the display still looked great for games and movies before calibration.

Some downsides

OSD on the KTC G42P5. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

There are some downsides here. For starters, the OSD (on-screen display) isn’t great. All of the options are there, but it looks a little janky. For instance, “overclock” is “over clock” in the menu, and some settings just randomly don’t capitalize letters. None of this actually matters for the performance of the monitor, but it certainly makes it feel like you’re getting a cheaper product.

The bigger issue is the Auto-Brightness Limiter (ABL). If you’re unfamiliar, all OLED displays have an ABL that limits the brightness when you reach certain thresholds. In practice, this plays out as the monitor quickly dimming itself when you pull up something very bright like a white webpage, and it gets brighter when you pull up something darker, such as a website in dark mode.

Ideally, ABL should be invisible on a display as it was on my Alienware 34 QD-OLED, but it’s very aggressive on the G42P5. I constantly see the display light up and limit itself as I’m swapping between browser tabs. It’s particularly annoying when I pull up the Windows search bar with a website open, as the screen immediately lights up with my dark mode Windows theme.

This would normally be a deal-breaker, but there are a couple of reasons it’s not for me. First, it only applies with HDR. There aren’t issues in SDR, even if I crank the screen to its maximum brightness. ABL still kicks in, but it’s far less noticeable, and it’s fast enough that you won’t catch it most of the time.

Second, it’s never become an issue in games or movies. There are situations where ABL can kick in and become distracting in media, but it’s not common enough to become a problem. Based on my testing, it looks like ABL kicks in when about 60% of the screen is white, dimming to its lowest point when pure white reaches about 70% of the screen. It’s not enough to turn me off of the G42P5, but it’s my biggest complaint coming from the Alienware 34 QD-OLED.

The final issue is the OLED maintenance feature, but it’s more of an annoyance than a problem. It kicks in automatically, giving you a 20-second countdown before the pixel refresh starts. This has already caught me a couple of times, locking me out of using my PC for a few minutes. Thankfully, you can turn off the automatic pixel refresh if you want.

Trading the best

Lies of P on the KTC G42P5. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

The KTC G42P5 is a perfect answer for me. As much as I loved the Alienware 34 QD-OLED, I’ve been feeling the squeeze of 21:9 for a while, but I couldn’t justify spending $1,400 on the PG42UQ or over $1,000 on a 42-inch OLED from LG. The KTC G42P5 hit the right price with the right features, and with little in the way of sacrifices.

It’s not as seamless as the Alienware 34 QD-OLED, with disappointing color accuracy out of the box and annoying ABL in HDR. Thankfully, those issues are easy to correct, making the KTC G42P5 a suitable replacement. It nails the screen real estate and the excellent picture you get out of OLED, and it comes in at a price that puts monitors like the PG42UQ to shame.

Editors’ Recommendations

Graphics cards are selling again, and that worries me | Digital Trends

techDecember 5, 2023 FranklinWilbur

Graphics cards are selling again, and that worries me | Digital Trends

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

GPUs are selling again. Ever since the GPU shortage, graphics cards haven’t been selling well, but a recent report from Jon Peddie Research shows that trend is changing. The report shows that GPU shipments increased by 16.8% compared to last quarter, which is a positive sign. Still, I can’t help but feel worried about what this could mean for GPU prices.

Both AMD and Nvidia came out of the pandemic highs with new ranges of graphics cards. Nvidia set the bar with pricing higher than we’ve ever seen before, and AMD quickly followed, pricing its cards just low enough to be considered a value by comparison. That’s made the price of building a new gaming PC higher than it’s ever been.

Over the past year, however, it’s been difficult for AMD and Nvidia to keep prices propped up. AMD has cut prices on its RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT, and Nvidia has followed with price cuts to the RTX 4070 and RTX 4080. The only GPU that’s gone in the opposite direction is the RTX 4090, which is likely seeing a price increase due to a recent sanction the U.S. placed on China.

RX 7900 XTX slotted into a test bench. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

With shipments rising again, I’m worried that Nvidia and AMD will reverse course on these pricing drops. That’s problematic considering the cards we’ve seen this generation almost universally arrived overpriced based on the performance they offer.

That’s what has driven a lot of the price drops. As you can read in our RTX 4080 review, for example, it’s a great GPU if you ignore the fact that it arrived $500 more expensive than the card it was replacing ($1,200 compared to $700 for the RTX 3080). AMD’s RX 7900 XTX — the direct competition to the RTX 4080 — drove some of the price drops with drops of its own. Both are solid cards in a vacuum, but they look downright pitiful when you consider how expensive they are.

The cards still sold, but probably not at the rate Nvidia and AMD were expecting. As Jon Peddie wrote in the report: “All through the last three quarters, add-in boards sold, not at normal volumes, and albeit with complaints about prices, but sold, nonetheless.”

There’s another critical factor at play here, though, which basically guarantees that GPU prices won’t fall any further.

Nvidia has reportedly stopped production of the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4080 in order to make room for a rumored Super refresh that’s supposedly arriving at CES 2024 in January. If these Super cards are real, the last several months of lowered prices were likely aimed at clearing the way for them to arrive at the same list prices.

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

It’s great that GPU shipments are improving, but it could mean that prices creep back up overall. It looks like desktop GPUs are driving this increase, too. the report shows that shipments increased overall by 16.8% compared to last quarter, but desktop graphics cards increased by 37.4% compared to last quarter. Desktop GPUs are the driving factor here.

That doesn’t mean that graphics cards will start going above list price, though. The main worry here is that the lowered prices we’ve seen over the past several months will disappear and GPUs will go back up to list price. It’s important to keep a longer historical context in mind. The report says that, although GPU shipments are up for the quarter, they’re still down 5.1% compared to the same point last year.

Peddie sees this as more of a correction, writing, “This bounce back … is being overpraised, when it largely reflects a cleaning out and straightening up of the distribution channel.” I would be remiss to omit Peddie’s warning about these reports, too: “The mistake is the constant search for sensationalism. It’s fatiguing.”

At the risk of diving into sensationalism, the biggest risk right now is that GPUs will go back up to list price, not that we’ll suddenly be in another situation of GPUs selling for two or three times what they’re worth. That’s still cause for concern when the pricing corrections we’ve seen on several GPUs are at risk of disappearing.

Editors’ Recommendations

This is the best Lenovo gaming PC you can buy | Digital Trends

techDecember 5, 2023 FranklinWilbur

This is the best Lenovo gaming PC you can buy | Digital Trends

Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Lenovo’s Legion series is known for its solid lineup of gaming notebooks, but it also includes gaming tower PCs. With an elegant design and standard-size components, the Legion Tower 7i is currently the best Lenovo gaming PC you can buy. In our testing, we concluded it delivers strong performance alongside an appealing and subtle design.

Unlike most prebuilt gaming desktops, it comes with a standard mid-tower chassis. This allows for comprehensive upgrades in the future, meaning you can easily swap out or add parts if or when required. All the parts installed inside the Tower 7i are standard, including the motherboard and power supply.

It also looks elegant with subtle curving around the edges, a sandblasted finish, and a tempered glass side panel so you can show off your internals. While our review unit didn’t include any RGB fans, the retail unit comes with a total of six RGB fans, along with RGB lighting for the Legion logo on the front and the GPU.

Lenovo Legion Tower 7i gaming PC sitting on a table. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

Thanks to the perforated front panel, the case gets plenty of airflow. There’s a 360mm AiO liquid cooler on the front that pulls in fresh air and keeps the CPU well under limits, while two 120mm fans are placed on top and one in the rear to exhaust hot air.

The Legion Tower 7i offers some of the best performance thanks to the top-of-the-line hardware offerings from Intel and Nvidia. Lenovo has notably bumped up the processor class to Intel’s Core i9 series, andit’s paired with an RTX 4080 graphics card. Currently, you can only configure this machine with the Intel Core i9-13900KF processor, with 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory and a 1TB NVMe SSD. Other important components include an 850-watt power supply, 2.5G Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.1 support.

Inside the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends / Digital Trends

In terms of performance, the Legion Tower 7i is exceptional. The Core i9-13900KF is one of the most powerful processors on the market today, which was evident in our benchmark testing. However, there is a concern that restricts the performance of the CPU– the out-of-the-box memory speeds. Thankfully, there’s an easy fix where all you need to do is head into the BIOS and switch to the correct frequencies.

CPU cooler on the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i. — Jacob Roach / Digital Trends / Digital Trends

On top of that, you get the full potential of Nvidia’s RTX 4080 graphics. It might not be as powerful as the 4090, but it is still a 4K capable GPU, with Cyberpunk 2077 averaging above 60 frames per second (fps) at 4K with everything maxed out. Additionally, you get all the benefits of DLSS, including the latest generation that offers impressive frame generation technologies. Essentially, you have all the power at your disposal to play almost any AAA gaming title at the highest graphics settings.

While all of this costs close to $3,200, it is important to know that a similarly configured desktop from Alienware is going to cost you at least $600 more. On the other hand, there’s the MSI Aegis RS 13, which is close to $300 cheaper, but comes with a lower-tier processor. Lenovo also offers the Legion Tower 5i, which starts at $799 and is available in various configurations, including with Intel’s 13th-gen desktop processors paired with RTX 30 and 40 series GPUs. If you prefer AMD, then there’s also the Legion Tower 5 series.

Editors’ Recommendations

Logitech made the ultimate gaming headset, but it’s complicated | Digital Trends

techDecember 5, 2023 FranklinWilbur

Logitech made the ultimate gaming headset, but it’s complicated | Digital Trends

Logitech

Logitech has announced its latest gaming headset, the Astro A50 X. It costs a whopping $380, but for good reason: It’s a headset that’s compatible with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X that doubles as an HDMI switcher.

The new device is an evolution of Logitech’s popular Astro A50 headset, which features a distinct base stand. The A50 X builds on that idea in a few ways. One key example is that it’s able to connect to both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. That might sound simple, but the consoles feature different connection methods that make it difficult to find a one-headset-fits-all audio solution.

The A50 X pulls that off in a very surprising manner. The wireless headset comes with a base stand that connects to each console via HDMI and USB. Both the audio and visual from each console pass through the base stand. With a press of a “Playsync” button on the side of the headset (or in a Logitech app), players can switch which console appears on the connected TV or monitor, as well as what audio feeds to the headset. It’s basically an HDMI switch inside of a headset.

The base stand of the A50 X sits on a table. — Logitech

The back of the base also includes a port to connect a PC, though that won’t pass video through. Since its Bluetooth compatible, it can also be connected to mobile devices, the Nintendo Switch, and other devices too. That means that you can hook every gaming system you own up to one headset and flip between them on the fly.

The A50 X boasts some impressive stats to justify its enormous price tag. It features Pro-G Graphene drivers and a high-resolution microphone, and has 24 hours of battery life. It features an open-back design (with no active noise canceling, by design) and allows players to mix their game and chat audio on the fly.

While its features are impressive, the headset does come with some major caveats. The headset’s Bluetooth is actually located in the headset’s base stand. That means players can’t connect the headset wirelessly unless both it and their device are in range of the stand. It’s complicated for those who already use an HDMI switch to manage their systems too, as it can only connect to three devices at once. Logitech doesn’t recommend trying to connect the base to a second HDMI switch at present. That may make the headset a bit of a niche use case.

The Logitech Astro A50 X will begin shipping on December 20 and comes in both black and white designs.

Editors’ Recommendations

The best gaming mouse for 2023 | Digital Trends

techDecember 4, 2023 FranklinWilbur

The best gaming mouse for 2023 | Digital Trends

When selecting a gaming mouse, it’s tempting to prioritize the one with the highest DPI count, but there’s much more to consider in choosing the ideal mouse. In fact, the DPI count may be one of the least relevant factors. The key lies in how the mouse feels and responds to your inputs, as well as its day-to-day practicality. Determining the best option for your needs is crucial for achieving optimal in-game performance.

Drawing from our experience in testing numerous gaming mice over the years, we’ve compiled a list of our top recommendations to guide you in the right direction.

Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2

Best mouse for FPS gaming

Pros

Lightweight and nimble
Responsive with low latency
Up to 95 hours of battery

Cons

Lacks dedicated DPI switch
Not the cheapest

Why you should buy this: It’s the best overall gaming mouse you can buy.

Who it’s for: First-person shooter (FPS) gamers looking for the best

Why we chose the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2:

The Logitech G Pro X Superlight has long been one of the best lightweight wireless gaming mice on the market. This year, Logitech finally introduced a successor. While maintaining the overall shape and design, the newer version improves on almost every shortcoming of the original. It now comes with a USB-C port, an upgraded sensor, an increased polling rate, hybrid optical-mechanical switches, and improved battery life. It is also lighter at just 60 grams.

The new-and-improved Hero 2 sensor now brings in up to 32,000DPI (even though you are never going to game at such high settings) and a maximum speed of 500 IPS. It also supports a polling rate 2,000Hz, which is double of what you get on the original G Pro X Superlight, and the mouse also gets Logitech’s new Lightforce hybrid optical/mechanical switches. This makes it an excellent choice for FPS gamers or anyone who is looking for a premium lightweight mouse that offers excellent response.

Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2

Best mouse for FPS gaming

Razer Orochi V2

Best compact wireless gaming mouse

Pros

Dual wireless connectivity
Can be used with one AA or AAA battery
Lightweight design
Good battery life

Cons

Might be small for some people
No RGB

Why you should buy this: You need a reliable, ultralight mobile gaming mouse.

Who it’s for: Laptop gamers, or gamers who like small mice

Why we chose the Razer Orochi V2:

The Razer Orochi V2 stands out as a compact and efficient wireless gaming mouse, boasting top-tier technology and remarkable battery life in a portable design .Unlike Logitech’s MX Anywhere mouse, commonly chosen for on-the-go use, but not ideal for gaming, the Orochi V2 offers similar dimensions paired with a lighter weight, superior sensor, and 1000Hz polling for swift responses.

The Orochi V2’s emphasis on weight is notable — it weighs 74 grams with a lithium battery and drops to a mere 69 grams with a standard alkaline AAA battery, making it impressively lightweight. This weight optimization contributes to enhanced maneuverability during gaming sessions, providing users with a comfortable and responsive experience. The efficient battery usage ensures extended playtime, reducing the need for frequent recharging or battery replacements.

Compact yet powerful, the Razer Orochi V2 strikes a balance between portability and gaming performance, making it a reliable choice for users who prioritize both convenience and functionality in their gaming peripherals.

Razer Orochi V2

Best compact wireless gaming mouse

Cooler Master MM711

Best budget gaming mouse

Pros

Dirt cheap
Pleasing honeycomb pattern with RGB
Lightweight
Ambidextrous design

Cons

May not be suitable for large hands

Why you should buy this: A highly affordable, lightweight gaming mouse that is functional and looks good too.

Who it’s for: Beginners looking for a low-cost option that doesn’t compromise on design and performance.

Why we chose the Cooler Master MM711:

The Cooler Master MM711 is an affordable and proficient gaming mouse option catering to gamers seeking a flashy, lightweight, and practical device. While visually appealing with its honeycomb pattern and polytetrafluoroethylene feet, it features a simple two-button mouse appearance with essential design elements. The emphasis on comfort and customization is evident, with ambidextrous design catering to both left-handed and right-handed users, as well as various grip types.

The inclusion of Pixart’s PMW3389 sensor means that it offers excellent tracking while the 1000Hz polling rate should ensure a fast and responsive experience. Cooler Master has also incorporated Omron switches for both the left-click and right-click functions, and they are renowned for delivering a comfortable and gratifying clicking sound.

Weighing just 60 grams, the mouse boasts an Ultraweave cable and RGB lighting, offering a balance between portability and gaming performance. Despite its limited additional buttons, the MM711 excels in simplicity for MOBA or FPS gaming. The accompanying MasterPlus+ software is also quite useful as it enables customization of features, DPI adjustment, and lighting, providing a comprehensive gaming experience. While it may lack ergonomic design for larger hands, the MM711’s competitive price of $20 positions it as a reliable choice for beginners entering the PC gaming realm.

Cooler Master MM711

Best budget gaming mouse

Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite

Best MMO gaming mouse

Pros

Variety of customizable buttons
Solid constuction
Compatible with Windows and Mac
Low click latency

Cons

Slightly bulky
Suitable for right-hand users only
Has a learning curve

Why you should buy this: It’s a well-built mouse featuring an array of additional customizable buttons.

Who it’s for: MMO gamers or anyone who wants a gaming mouse with a ton of buttons.

Why we chose the Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite:

The Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite, priced at $80, stands out as the top choice for MMO gaming with its grid of 12 side buttons. The mouse boasts a sturdy construction and features a soft-touch plastic body. The right side incorporates a textured grip, providing an enhanced feel, while on the left, a 12-button side panel adds versatility, allowing you to adjust its position forward or backward according to your hand size. These buttons, featuring varying textures, are easily distinguishable in intense gaming situations.

Ideal for a claw grip, this mouse accommodates hands of any size. Additionally, it proves comfortable for a fingertip grip, except for those with extra-large hands, and for a palm grip, except for those with smaller hands.

With four distinct RGB lighting zones and companion software compatible with both Windows and macOS, this mouse offers extensive customization options. It is notably heavier than most gaming mice at over 120 grams, but that’s due to the array of additional customizable buttons. Thankfully it comes with low click latency, and a low liftoff distance. If you don’t want to deal with cables, the Scimitar RGB Elite also comes in a wireless version.

Corsair Scimitar RGB Elite

Best MMO gaming mouse

Razer Deathadder V3 Pro

Best wireless gaming mouse

Pros

Perfect for palm grip
Fantastic battery life
Lightweight for its size
PTFE feet
Slight tweaks to design look great

Why you should buy this: Carries the legacy of Razer’s premium wireless gaming mouse tech.

Who it’s for: Those who want a no-compromise high-end wireless gaming mouse.

Why we chose the Razer Deathadder V3 Pro:

The Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro, an iconic gaming mouse, has undergone significant improvements in its third generation. Weighing just 63 grams, it sheds 25 grams compared to its predecessor, offering a super-light feel without RGB lighting. The palm grip-friendly design, ergonomic shape, and white color option enhance its appeal. With a new microtexture coating on the shell, the mouse ensures a secure grip during intense gaming sessions.

With a 90-hour battery life and the inclusion of the Razer HyperPolling wireless dongle, it provides excellent wireless performance. Razer is also using its new Focus Pro 30K optical sensor for enhanced accuracy, while the third-generation Razer optical mouse switches are said to offer a rapid 0.2ms response time and a 90 million-click life span.

While tailored for esports professionals, its minimalistic button configuration should suit diverse gaming genres or work tasks. With a price tag of $150, the DeathAdder V3 Pro caters to those seeking a high-performance, no-nonsense gaming tool.

Razer Deathadder V3 Pro

Best wireless gaming mouse

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DPI and why does it matter for a gaming mouse?

DPI, or dots per inch, measures the sensitivity of a gaming mouse, determining how many pixels the cursor moves for each inch the mouse is physically moved. While often emphasized, its importance depends on personal preferences and game types.

Here’s why DPI matters for a gaming mouse:

Precision: Higher DPI offers more precise movements, which is crucial for accuracy in games like first-person shooters.
Adjustability: Adjustable DPI caters to different gaming scenarios, allowing for fine control or quick, responsive movements.
Gaming Styles: Preferences vary; some prefer low DPI for control, while others favor high DPI for agility.
Large Monitors: Higher DPI benefits those with larger monitors or higher resolutions, covering more screen with less movement.
Personal Comfort: Ultimately, DPI importance is subjective; personal comfort dictates its significance.

What DPI should I play at?

Although many gaming mice tout sensors with extremely high DPI figures, we’re telling you now: You’ll never use anything above 4,000 DPI. In fact, most pro gamers play at 400 DPI to 800 DPI, with the goal being longer swoops for the same in-game movement, allowing you to take aim with much higher accuracy. This is also why 60% and 65% keyboards are so popular among gamers: They give the player much more space for mousing around without a numpad in the way.

But don’t take that to mean you should ignore all these high-DPI mice. Rather, take the high DPI number as the maker vouching for its sensor’s performance, as high-DPI mice generally have better tracking, zero pointer acceleration, adjustable or pre-optimized liftoff distance, and most importantly, they are capable of high-speed sweeps while maintaining accurate tracking, something that’s important when playing at much lower DPI settings.

Should I buy a wired or wireless gaming mouse?

This one’s really a matter of cost, but generally, our preference goes to wireless mice. It used to be that wireless gaming mice suffered in performance compared to their tethered counterparts due to slow communications and interference, but that’s no longer the case thanks to radio developments over the last few years. Wireless mice today perform as well as, if not better than their wired counterparts due to not having to drag a cable around. The flip side is that they cost more, need to be charged (especially if they have RGB), and tend to weigh a little more, but we believe the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Do I need a ton of buttons?

If you’re an MMORPG gamer, then the answer to this is a resounding yes. But other than that, most gamers should focus on finding a mouse with a comfortable shape, excellent sensor, and light weight, as these will help better your performance more than having buttons that you don’t use. Because, remember, those buttons add complexity and weight, which will slow you down when aiming down sights.

It is also recommended that you invest in a quality mouse pad for seamless gliding. For optimal gaming performance, consider a compact keyboard with a TKL layout and a high-refresh-rate gaming monitor. To enhance your advantage in competitive games, target a powerful PC capable of achieving higher frame rates that prioritizes performance over visual aesthetics.

Editors’ Recommendations

This Lenovo 2-in-1 laptop is discounted from $860 to $500 | Digital Trends

techDecember 4, 2023 FranklinWilbur

This Lenovo 2-in-1 laptop is discounted from $860 to $500 | Digital Trends

Lenovo

Lenovo continues its reign of offering some of the best laptop deals at the moment with the Lenovo Yoga 6 13-inch AMD model down to $600 from $860. A saving of 30% or $260 sounds pretty great although it’s always good to be a little cautious of Lenovo’s overly optimistic estimated value system. Still, what we do know for sure is that $600 for a stylish 2-in-1 laptop is a pretty sweet deal. If that immediately sounds like your kind of thing then hit the buy button otherwise, take a look below at what else we have to say about it.

Why you should buy the Lenovo Yoga 6

Lenovo is one of the best laptop brands out there with that reputation particularly extending to its 2-in-1 range. This particular model has an AMD Ryzen 5 7530U processor along with 8GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. As with the other best 2-in-1 laptops, it also has a great touchscreen. The display is a 13.3-inch WUXGA IPS panel with 1920 x 1200 resolution, 100% sRGB color, and 300 nits of brightness.

Above the display is a full HD IR Hybrid webcam with dual microphones and a privacy shutter. The Lenovo Yoga 6 13-inch AMD also comes with a Lenovo digital pen so you can be more accurate with your movements on screen while the backlit keyboard has a fingerprint reader for added security.

Adding to the useful features, the Lenovo Yoga 6 13-inch AMD also promises an all-day battery life like the best laptops along with rapid charge technology. There’s also support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos so you get vibrant colors and great audio, whether you’re watching a movie or calling someone. Combined with the laptop’s 360-degree hinge, it’s perfectly versatile for work or pleasure. Think of it as the ideal addition if you can’t decide if you need a tablet or a laptop.

Packed with more features than you’d expect at this price, the Lenovo Yoga 6 13-inch AMD is normally $860 at Lenovo. Right now, you can buy it for $600 so you save $260 off the regular price. A great 2-in-1 laptop for many different purposes, check out this doorbuster deal before it ends very soon.

Editors’ Recommendations

Intel says AMD’s Ryzen 7000 is snake oil | Digital Trends

techDecember 4, 2023 FranklinWilbur

Intel says AMD’s Ryzen 7000 is snake oil | Digital Trends

Intel

In what is one of the most bizarrely aggressive pieces of marketing material I’ve seen, Intel is comparing AMD’s Ryzen 7000 mobile chips to snake oil. Over the weekend, Intel posted its Core Truths playbook, which lays out how AMD’s mobile processor naming scheme misleads customers.

There’s an element of truth to that, which I’ll get to in a moment, but first, the playbook. Intel starts with claiming that there’s a “long history of selling half-truths to unsuspecting customers” alongside images of a snake oil salesman and a suspicious used car seller. This sets up a comparison between the Ryzen 5 7520U and the Core i5-1335U. Intel’s chip is 83% faster, according to the presentation, due to the older architecture that AMD’s part uses.

AMD's 2023 naming scheme for mobile processors. — AMD

Intel has a point here. Last year, AMD changed its mobile naming convention, which obfuscated underpowered parts using an older architecture. Instead of matching architecture with generation, as Intel and AMD have done for years, AMD now says all of its mobile processors are part of the latest Ryzen 7000 generation regardless of the architecture they use.

Now, the third number in the name shows the architecture the CPU uses. For example, the Ryzen 5 7640U uses the Zen 4 architecture, while the Ryzen 5 7520U uses the Zen 2 architecture. It’s clear how this can be misleading when a chip using an older architecture is shown alongside the latest generation of CPUs.

It’s a little ironic coming from Intel, though. This was a few years ago, but it’s hard to forget that Intel sat behind its 14nm node introduced with Skylake on desktop for years, making incremental performance improvements with each generation that followed.

Some of that still applies today. Intel just released its 14th-gen processors for desktop, which are basically rebranded versions of its 13th-gen Raptor Lake processors. There are some performance improvements, but they aren’t very large. Similarly, we’re about to get 14th-gen Meteor Lake processors for laptops, but we aren’t seeing those chips on desktop, creating a mismatch for what “14th-gen” means for Intel across its product stack.

An Acer Aspire 3 laptop listing at Best Buy. — Digital Trends

Still, Intel’s shuffling with naming shouldn’t distract from AMD’s fault here. The Ryzen 7000 naming scheme is confusing on mobile, and it can mislead buyers into buying a processor that’s older than what the name implies. There are laptops using these chips, too. For instance, the Ryzen 7 7520U is featured in the Acer Aspire 3, which is an affordable laptop

Thankfully, AMD’s chips aren’t available in a ton of laptops, at least not compared to Intel. Otherwise, the naming scheme would be a much bigger issue.

Intel’s playbook holds some truth, even if it is a little aggressive. Regardless, it’s proof that it’s always important to read up on a product your interested in buying, no matter if it comes from AMD or Intel.

Editors’ Recommendations

Need a new laptop? Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is $400 off | Digital Trends

techDecember 4, 2023 FranklinWilbur

Need a new laptop? Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is $400 off | Digital Trends

Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

If you’ve been waiting for great laptop deals on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 range, you’re in luck. Best Buy currently has $400 off the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 so you can buy it for $900 instead of $1,300. A great option for students who want to look stylish or anyone who wants a laptop a little different from the rest, here’s a deeper look at what to expect before you buy it.

Why you should buy the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is a pretty sleek option even if Microsoft has yet to break the best laptop brands world. It has an Intel Evo Platform Core i5 processor paired up with 8GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. Those are all the essentials you could need from this kind of laptop.

Even more of a highlight is the 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen. Looking good and offering a great resolution of 2,256 x 1,504, its 3:2 aspect ratio stands out from the crowd. As a touchscreen, you can always choose to be more hands-on with your work too if you prefer that over using conventional controls. The screen also has Dolby Vision IQ support for better visuals while there’s Dolby Atmos support for the speakers so it’s a good system for streaming movies on.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is also focused on portability as demonstrated by its 18 hour battery life, super sleek design, and lightweight build. It’s that laptop you can take to class or a coffee shop without worrying about it taking up too much room in your bag. Not needing the charger so often is a huge advantage too.

Available in a variety of colors at this price, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is suitably personal to you. It’s neat to be able to veer away from the standard black exterior that we usually see from laptops with the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 feeling like it’s rivalling the likes of Apple’s range in terms of style. Speed wise, it won’t compete with most of the best laptops but as a general all-rounder, it’s still pretty appealing.

Usually priced at $1,300, you can currently buy the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 for $900 at Best Buy. A considerable saving of $400, this could be the perfect gift for a loved one this holiday season. Check it out now before the deal ends very soon.

Editors’ Recommendations

Alienware Gaming Laptop with an RTX 4090 is $700 off Today | Digital Trends

techDecember 4, 2023 FranklinWilbur

Alienware Gaming Laptop with an RTX 4090 is $700 off Today | Digital Trends

Digital Trends

One of the best gaming laptop deals comes, predictably, from Dell. Today, you can buy the Alienware m16 gaming laptop for $2,800 thereby saving $700 off the usual price of $3,500. A high-end gaming laptop, this is one that will prove to be a fantastic investment for your gaming future. If you’re keen to learn more, take a look below at what we have to say about it or simply hit the buy button to get straight to the specs and making a purchase.

Why you should buy the Alienware m16 gaming laptop

Alienware is responsible for many of the best gaming laptops with a penchant for offering high-end hardware. This particular model boasts a 13th-generation Intel Core i9 processor teamed up with a huge 32GB of memory and 2TB of SSD storage. Continuing its powerhouse reputation, it also has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with 16GB of dedicated VRAM. That’s a fantastic set of specs to ensure that you won’t have any trouble playing the latest games for a long time to come. If you’re looking ahead and want to make sure you can play games in style for a while to come, this is the solution for you. It won’t become out of date any time soon.

The Alienware m16 gaming laptop also has a great display with a 16-inch QHD+ panel with 2560 x 1600 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, 2ms response time, and 100% DCI-P3 support. Alongside that is Nvidia G-Sync + DDS support to ensure your games will always look fantastic. Above it is a full HD IR camera for taking video calls or recording reaction videos.

You might notice that Alienware isn’t listed among the best laptop brands but that’s because these days, it’s part of Dell, so you’re getting a ton of reliability here. The Alienware m16 gaming laptop uses Alienware Cryo-tech, an advanced cooling technology, to keep things ticking along nicely. There are also four fans with ultra-thin fan blades while seven heat pipes keep the internal temperature regulated. You also get exceptional audio thanks to Dolby Atmos support while even the keyboard is great thanks to being an Alienware M Series 1-Zone AlienFX keyboard.

Packed with all the features possible to make gamers excited, the Alienware m16 gaming laptop is currently down to $2,800 from $3,500 at Dell. A considerable saving of $700, this is your chance to grab a fantastically high-end laptop for less. Check it out now before it sells out.

Editors’ Recommendations

One of Samsung’s Best Curved Monitors is $600 off Right Now | Digital Trends

techDecember 4, 2023 FranklinWilbur

One of Samsung’s Best Curved Monitors is $600 off Right Now | Digital Trends

Samsung

Samsung has one of the best monitor deals for avid gamers who want their games to sparkle on screen. Today, you can buy the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor for $900, saving a huge $600 off the regular price of $1,500. A fantastic investment for anyone keen to enjoy a truly immersive gaming experience, it’s part of Samsung’s cyber week deals season so don’t count on it sticking around for long. Here’s what we know about it.

Why you should buy the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor

Keen to rival the best gaming monitors, the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor is perfect for immersive gaming. It’s Samsung’s largest 1000R gaming monitor, matching the curve of the human eye while offering the screen space of two 27-inch panels.

The monitor uses Samsung QLED technology to offer pixel perfect picture quality with more vivid colors too. There’s 125% more color space compared to sRGB while Samsung HDR 1000 provides fantastic depth and level of detail in every scene.

It can also handle speed with a 240Hz refresh rate which sets it apart from the best monitors thanks to its focus on fast-moving action. A response time of just 1ms means you can react quickly to anything that unfolds. There’s also Nvidia G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro support so the monitor matches every frame from your graphics card without missing a beat.

It makes sense to hook the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor up to one of the best gaming PCs so you reap the full benefits. Also, thanks to the 32:9 aspect ratio, you can easily open many windows at once for those times where you need to do plenty of multi-tasking. If you work from home and love to game, you’ll look at your monitor often so the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor is a great investment to ensure maximum comfort and efficiency every time.

Usually priced at $1,500, the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor is currently down to $900 for a limited time only when you buy direct from Samsung. Unlikely to be $600 off for long, it’s a smart move to buy sooner rather than later if this is the gaming monitor for your needs.