Gear

The 13 Best Gifts for the PC Gamer in Your Life

It’s dangerous to go alone! Take these.

Shopping for a PC gamer is a perilous endeavor. It's easy to be led astray by what seems like a good deal at Amazon or Best Buy. Steep price cuts are tempting, but they don't always lead to the treasure hoards they promise. Not to mention, PC gamers are also a notoriously fickle lot. But what is a PC gamer but an adventurer—a reclusive one, perhaps, but an adventurer nonetheless!

To help anyone looking to pick up some gifts for the PC gamer in their life this holiday season, we put together a simple guide. Each item on this list should be welcomed by adventurers of every stripe.

Be sure to check out our many other buying guides, including The Best Gaming Laptops, The Best Gaming Headsets, and Gift Ideas for PlayStation Fans.

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  • Scuf prestige xbox controller
    Photograph: Scuf
    01

    A Worthwhile Gamepad

    Scuf Prestige

    Some people still believe that playing with a controller on a PC, instead of using a mouse and keyboard, puts you at a disadvantage in competitive games. This gamepad aims to prove that notion incorrect. Built from the ground up to provide professional-grade performance and fast response times, the Scuf Prestige is an able companion no matter which battlefield your loved one might find themselves on.

    We like other PC gamepads too. Peruse our buying guide for a few more options.

    $190 at Amazon
    $160 at Scuf
  • Photograph: Razer
    02

    Holiday Lights

    Razer Firefly V2

    You may wonder why a gamer needs a mousepad with lights on it. They don’t. But I bet you they'd like one anyway. The Razer Firefly comes in two varieties, one with a hard slick surface and another with a soft texture. Both feel great when gaming, with mice gliding across their surfaces as if they’re skating on glass. The LED lighting underneath adds a nice touch, and if they have other Razer products (like a Razer mouse or keyboard), they can sync 'em up to the same lighting pattern.

    $50 at Amazon
    $50 at Razer Store
  • Photograph: Obsidian
    03

    Access to 100 Games

    6 Months of Microsoft Game Pass

    Xbox’s revamped Game Pass is better than it has any right to be. For $10 a month, a subscriber can play a rotating roster of 100 good (actually good) PC games—no Xbox required. That includes titles from Halo, Age of Empires, Fallout, Five Nights at Freddy's, and other beloved series, plus dozens of excellent indie games.

    $60 at Amazon
    $60 at GameStop
  • Photograph: Ember
    04

    Forever Warm Drinks

    Ember Mug 2

    There’s nothing worse than spending a couple of hours grinding out an exotic in Destiny 2, then reaching over to find that you forgot about your coffee and it’s cold now. The Ember mug will rescue your loved one from tepid coffee, keeping it at just the right temperature with an internal heating element. The included app makes it easy to adjust the temperature to your liking, and it even has a tea timer. It's the perfect companion for long treks through untamed wilds.

    $100 at Amazon
    $100 at Best Buy
  • Photograph: Amazon
    05

    Nothing Beats a Power Strip

    Belkin 3-Outlet USB Surge Protector

    All PC gamers are in perpetual need of more power, and this is one of my favorites. It's affordable and has a few USB ports, reducing the number of power bricks they need to carry around—especially important if they love lugging around machines and peripherals for old-school LAN parties (maybe once the pandemic dies down). The best part? The plug is adjustable, so you can position it however you like. Seriously, this is one of the most practical things you can buy any PC gamer.

    $16 at Amazon
    $21 at Walmart
  • Photograph: Razer
    06

    Wireless Surround Sound

    Razer Opus Headset

    Razer’s Opus headphones feature active noise cancellation, Bluetooth or wired connectivity, and a slick exterior design. The THX-tuned surround sound makes for an immersive gaming experience, and they were consistently impressive during our testing (8/10, WIRED Recommends), whether I was going for a walk or wading into a gunfight in Call of Duty.

    $200 at Amazon
    $200 at Walmart
  • Photograph: Amazon
    07

    For Competitive Gamers

    Logitech G305 Wireless Mouse

    A few years ago, you couldn’t compete with trick shotters using a wireless mouse. There was too much latency (the delay from when the computer registers the mouse's movements). This wireless mouse—endorsed by pro gamer Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek—is top-of-the-line. Lightweight, precise, and comfortable, the Logitech G305 has a 1-millisecond report rate and up to 250 hours of battery life. It also comes in white, lilac, or blue.

    $50 $40 at Amazon
    $50 $40 at Best Buy
    $60 at B&H Photo and Video
  • Photograph: Varmilo 
    08

    Mechanical Marvel

    Varmilo VA87M

    Keyboards are fashion statements now: pretty pink, lilac pearl, black and red retro, and of course, rainbow backlit. Varmilo’s top-rated mechanical keyboard comes in a great variety of colors. Just be sure to ask your loved one what sort of switches they like, because if you guess wrong, you could hear click-clacking from the next town over. (Cherry reds are the safest.) You can read more about switches in our Best Keyboards guide.

    $142 at Amazon
    $156 at Newegg
    $126 at Mechanical Keyboards
  • Photograph: HyperX
    09

    For Team Players

    HyperX Cloud Alpha Headset

    This headset is so soft, it’s more comfortable than wearing nothing at all. You can wear it all day on Zoom, and then all night playing Overwatch. It blocks outside sound well and boasts amazing sound quality too, keeping you focused and immersed in your game.

    $100 at Amazon
    $100 at Best Buy
    $100 at HyperX
  • Photograph: Logitech
    10

    Magic Mousepad

    Logitech Powerplay Wireless Charging Mouse Pad

    The only downside to modern wireless mice is the fact that they need to be charged or have their batteries swapped. This mousepad makes for a delightfully excessive solution to that problem: It charges compatible mice wirelessly so you never need to hunt for batteries or worry about forgetting to plug it in. It's an elegant—if expensive—solution.

    $114 at Amazon
    $116 at Best Buy
    $120 at Logitech
  • Photograph: MSI
    11

    Power Overwhelming

    AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT

    What better way to surprise a PC gamer than with some new gaming hardware? Buying PC components is tricky, and it’s even trickier when you’re buying it for someone else’s computer. So if you’re not sure what kind of graphics card someone might like, it’s best to ask. That said, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 is a solid all-around graphics card that's a good upgrade for your average PC gamer.

    $300 at Amazon (XFX)
    $300 at Newegg (MSI)
  • Photograph: Samsung
    12

    Bigger on the Inside

    Samsung 980 Pro 250GB M.2 SSD

    An M.2 drive is a small solid-state drive about the size of a stick of gum. They’re great because of their small size and large storage capacity, but they can be a bit pricey. If your loved one has room for an M.2 drive in their desktop (you'll need to ask, as not all motherboards support it), the 250-gigabyte Samsung 980 Pro (or 980 Evo, for a cheaper option) is a thoughtful and helpful gift.

    $85 at Amazon
    $85 at Newegg
    $85 at Samsung
  • Photograph: Facfox 
    13

    Turn Your Spacebar Into a Snack Bar

    Cute Keycaps

    New trend: Trading out one key in a mechanical keyboard for a super cute keycap. Switch out the escape button for a tiny Poké Ball or the F3 for a pawprint. They can fill the number bar with ducks, because honestly, why not? Or they can make each of their arrow keys a different dessert. Get something that will make your loved one hungry every time they look down. Seriously, these things look so delicious you'll just want to pop them in your mouth. Don't though, they are not food. I learned the hard way.

    Buy at Etsy
  • Photograph: Getty Images
    14

    Stay a While and Listen

    Shopping Tips

    The best advice I can give when shopping for a PC gaming enthusiast is simple: If you're unsure, just ask. Ask if they have a favorite mouse, keyboard, or headset brand they've been eyeing. Ask if there's anything else they've been thinking about picking up for themselves. If you're still not sure, and you don't want to get them the wrong thing, there's another one-size-fits-all gift that no PC gamer will dislike: a Steam gift card. With this, the PC gamer in your life will be able to pick out a game they want for themselves from a vast online store. Most popular titles are around $60, so use that as a baseline for how much to add to the gift card.

Jess Grey is a product reviewer at WIRED, covering all those devices that make your life easier—and sometimes much more difficult. Since her first byline in Dragon Magazine to her more recent work at Digital Trends, she’s covered a little bit of everything from crime, courts, and patent filings to... Read more
Writer and Reviewer
Cecilia D'Anastasio is a staff writer at WIRED covering the games industry and gaming culture. She was previously a senior reporter at Kotaku, G/O Media's video game vertical. Send tips to Cecilia_D@WIRED.com.
Staff Writer
TopicsShoppingbuying guidesgift guidesvideo games