It’s the holiday season, and there’s a huge collection of PC goodies on Newegg that make great gifts for the gamers on your list. While we don’t expect you to drop $1500 on a new gaming PC as a present, vsmaller things like mice, keyboards, and headsets are great ways to improve someone’s daily computing experience.
To help you sort through the selection of options, we’ll offers some recommendations for each category at different price tiers. For each item we’ll include the current price on Newegg.com as of the publication of this guide, though final price and availability may vary.
Mice
RAZER Abyssus 1800 and Goliathus Mat Bundle – $24.99
This is a great combo package for PC gamers who are still looking for simplicity in their gaming mice. Free from RGB lights (just solid green here) and bereft of any extra buttons, the Abyssus focuses on delivering a straightforward and responsive experience without any frills. It’s also on the smaller and lighter side for a gaming mouse, so it’s a nice choice for younger gamers or others with smaller-than-average hands.
This mouse is a few years old at this point, and won’t have the same advanced sensor you can get when you spend significantly more money, but you will get a mouse that looks cool and comes with a Goliathus Speed mouse mat for just 25 bucks total.
Azio ATOM Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse – $43.47
Azio isn’t the most well-known name in the world of gaming peripherals, but the ATOM is a slick option at a competitive price, and it has some big advantages that help it stand out from the crowd. The biggest of all is that the ATOM is in that rare category of mice that are both ambidextrous and feature additional buttons.
There are two additional buttons on each side of the ATOM’s sleek body which can be selectively disabled via a switch on the underside of the mouse. That means that left-handers can use this mouse without fear of accidental inputs. And with multicolor lighting and an ultra-wide scroll wheel, the ATOM offers plenty to enjoy for right-handed gamers, too.
For more information, you can read a full review of the Azio ATOM on Newegg’s GameCrate.
Logitech G502 Hero Gaming Mouse – $74.98
The G502 line has been one of the most popular and best-selling in the gaming mouse world for years now, and the G502 Hero is the latest and greatest update on the design. The G502 offers subtle RGB lighting, a metal scroll wheel, 11 customizable buttons, and five removable 3.6g weights, all combined with Logitech’s HERO 16K sensor – supposedly the most accurate sensor the venerable mouse company has ever produced.
In contrast to the Abyssus, the G502 is a mouse for those who want customizability and options in their gaming peripherals. It’s absolutely packed with elements you can tweak to your heart’s content, so it might not be the right choice for those who are easily distracted. If you’re a power user who wants a high-performance mouse that you can really make your own, though, the G502 is a great choice.
Keyboards
There was a time not too long ago when RGB lighting was a premium feature on keyboards, but we’ve come a long way in just a few years. The white version of the NEON K51 (which is also available in black) is one of the flashiest gaming keyboards that money can buy, and it comes in at a much, much lower price than most of the competition. It features membrane switches with a mechanical feel to them, and they deliver a much more satisfying and audible click than typical membrane options.
Rosewill is Newegg’s house brand, specializing in electronics and computer tech, and the NEON K51 is one of the brand’s most eye-catching products. It’s also very well-regarded by those who have given it a try, currently sitting at a 4 out of 5 egg score with 77 customer reviews.
Read more about the NEON keyboards and check out additional photos over on Unlocked.
HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – $79.99
For some PC gamers, genuine Cherry MX mechanical switches are the only way to go. Switches are the physical components beneath the keycaps of a keyboard that engage when you press down, and give mechanical keyboards their distinctive feel and clicky sound. Cherry MX has long been the top name in the switch game, and though plenty of competitors exist these days, they’re still regarded as the brand to beat.
The HyperX Alloy FPS mechanical gaming keyboard gives you a chance to pick up a board with Cherry MX switches for a very competitive price. It offers variable patterns of red backlighting, rather than RGB, and comes with a surprising host of other features, given its price. For $80 you’re getting a solid steel frame, a carrying case, a USB charging port on the board, and even extra keycaps with special textures you can swap out on your WASD gaming keys.
All that, plus you have your choice Cherry MX Red, Blue, or Brown switches, depending on your preferred level of click.
For more you can read a full review of the HyperX Alloy FPS keyboard over on GameCrate.
Cooler Master CK550 Gaming Mechanical Keyboard – $89.99
For a small step up in price from the Hyper X option, you can go with the Cooler Master CK550 line of gaming keyboards. This board offers Red, Blue, and Brown switches that mimic the general feel of their equivalent Cherry MX counterparts, and also includes full RGB lighting customization.
The CK550 features a brushed aluminum body that reveals the sides of the switches and LEDs beneath the keycaps, which makes this one of the best boards available if you really want to show off your lighting in the flashiest way possible. Using the downloadable software, you can customize your lighting on a per-key basis, while also setting up macros to give you exactly the functionality you need from your board, no matter your game of preference.
Headsets
Turtle Beach EAR FORCE Recon 50 – $37.89
Turtle Beach is one of the foremost names in PC audio, and they offer a selection of gaming headset options that range in functionality and price. The EAR FORCE Recon 50 is the most stripped-down and lightweight of the models available, focusing on delivering lightweight comfort no matter how long you wear them.
If the gamer on your shopping list typically plays with either speakers or earbuds, a quality gaming headset can be a huge upgrade. Even a lower-end headset like the Recon 50 provides better situational awareness for games like Fortnite, in which hearing your opponents approach makes the difference between living and dying.
The Recon 50 is also an ultra flexible headset in terms of functionality, with a removable microphone and a connector that means it will work with almost any system or device, from your gaming PC to your phone.
RGB lighting isn’t always at the top of everyone’s priority list when it comes to a headset, since you won’t be able to see the effects when you’re actually wearing the headset, but the lights look sharp to observers and when you have the headset on a stand on your desk. And if you can get an RGB-capable headset that comes packed with other features for just 50 bucks, as is the case with the Nebula GX60, it’s hard to turn down.
The Nebula Gx60 features customizable virtual 7.1 surround sound, a selection of LED color and pattern options, and handy in-line controls for both volume and lighting. It also has a headband designed for a combination of comfort and durability and a detachable microphone.
It’s an exciting time to be a gamer looking to break free from wires, because wireless gaming tech in 2018 is huge leaps ahead of where it was in years past. Corsair pushed the envelope this year with the performance of their wireless gaming keyboards and mice, and their headset division isn’t lagging behind. The HS70 is a sleek, understated, wireless headset with virtual 7.1 surround sound and a design that doesn’t lean as hard into the “edgy aggressive gamer” aesthetic as a lot of the other products on this list.
Corsair uses premium materials in the construction of the HS70, with metal for durability and memory foam for comfort. And since it offers reliable wireless performance up to 40 feet away and 16 hours of battery life, it’s easy to imagine someone wearing this headset all day long, listening to music or game audio wire-free.
GameCrate has a full review of the HS70 SE if you want more info.
Eye Protection
GUNNAR Gaming Glasses – $69.43
If the PC gamer in your life already has a mouse, keyboard, and headset that keeps them in front of the computer for hours every day, you might want to consider giving them the gift of eye protection. Brands like GUNNAR and others make yellow-tinted glasses designed to minimize blue light exposure that can damage eyes and disrupt our internal clocks.
These glasses are designed to be worn indoors, while you’re using a computer or other screen for an extended period of time. And because they’re from the gaming-focused brand GUNNAR, they’re specifically designed to fit comfortably even when you’re also wearing a gaming headset.
For more gift ideas and deals throughout the month, visit Newegg’s Techmas page.
