The holiday season is upon us, and you just found out your kid really wants a 3D printer. What’s the best 3D printer for kids you can buy and still get under the tree in time? We checked Amazon for the best deals on beginner-friendly 3D printers that are waiting in US warehouses for fast shipping to your door.

Best 3D Printer Gift For Younger Makers

Toybox

The Toybox Alpha Three (an upgrade from the version we reviewed in 2023) is priced at $379 through Amazon and offers free shipping even if you’re not a Prime Member. You can also pick up your gift directly through Toybox for $269 (plus tax and shipping), which includes a month of Toybox Pro membership for AI-generated models ready to print.

The Toybox is a simple 3D printer designed to be practically bulletproof, with the smallest build volume we’ve seen on a printer, only 70 x 80 x 90mm. The reason to buy a Toybox isn’t for the printer itself, but for the ecosystem, which is one of the best we’ve ever seen for kids. The Toybox website is designed to be strictly G-rated, so you can let very young makers browse for toy models without worry. They also have exclusive licenses with Hollywood studios, so your kids can access a variety of kid-safe cartoon models.

Best 3D Printer Gift For Kid Makers (and Teen Makers)

Bambu Lab A1 Mini

The Bambu A1 and A1 Mini are both excellent beginner printers for older kids and teens; however, both machines are currently on backorder on most platforms. We did find a couple of full-size A1 printers at our local Microcenter, so be sure to check there if one is within driving range.

You can backorder either printer and hope they arrive while your family is still on winter break. You can always pick up a few rolls of filament to wrap and place under the tree, and let your kids explore the Bambu Lab Academy to learn how to use their new printer before it arrives.

We recommend the Bambu Lab A1 and A1 Mini for families, as these machines are extremely beginner-friendly and feature the easiest-to-use full-color system. The Bambu Handy mobile app is also convenient for beginners as it contains a wealth of pre-sliced models you can send directly to your printer without the need for a computer setup.

Best 3D Printer Gift For Teen Makers

Elegoo Centauri Carbon

The Elegoo Centauri Carbon was the surprise budget printer of 2025, delivering excellent core xy speed and quality with a remarkable $300 price tag. The Centauri Carbon is currently in stock on Amazon and will arrive before Christmas if you order now.

This is a single-color printer, though Elegoo has promised to release a multicolor upgrade “soon.” It is fully enclosed, which is useful for both printing high-temperature filaments or just keeping the cats off your print bed. This printer does not have an app, so you will need a more internet-savvy child to select models from sites like Thingiverse, Printables, or MakerWorld and drop them into Elegoo Slicer or Orca Slicer.

If you're looking for more holiday savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

Buying gifts for someone who owns a 3D printer can feel surprisingly tricky. Makers are picky about their tools, and not every gadget on the market is actually useful. Whether you're shopping for a beginner with their first machine or a seasoned hobbyist who already has a crowded workbench, this list highlights practical, high-impact gifts that every 3D printer owner will appreciate.

Filament Connector from Sunlu

Filament Connector

Sunlu, $42.99

What do you do with those scraps of filament at the end of the spool that are too short for anything important? If you have an AMS, you could set all your nearly empty spools on sequential mode and let the printer handle them. But it’s way more fun to weld the ends together and create a custom spool. The Sunlu Filament Connector is the only tool I’ve seen that will easily melt the ends to filament together without leaving lumps that could clog your nozzle. This tool heats up to 240°C, so it can splice together everything from PLA to Nylon. Just don’t splice your PLA to Nylon, that will never stick.

Nonsticky Nozzle Stuff from Slice Engineering

Nonsticky Nozzle Stuff

Slice Engineering, $14.99

Nozzles don’t have to get sticky and gross with filament build up, not when you have Slice Engineering’s Anti-Stick nano-coating. Paint the transparent repellent on a clean nozzle and it will stay clean for weeks…or months, depending on how often you print. A clean nozzle can prevent many types of print fails and keep filament from forming a blob on the toolhead. The coating works up to 300°C and is suitable for printing all materials. One bottle can hold over 100 coats.

Heat Set Insert Press from Mintion

Heat Set Insert Press

Mintion, $56.99

When your 3D printed project needs a bunch of screws to hold everything together, heat-set inserts are a must. These little metal fittings are warmed up and pressed into printed parts to create strong, reliable threads that won’t strip out like plastic can. You could install a few by hand with a soldering iron, but if you're doing a lot of inserts (or you want every one of them at a perfect 90-degree angle), a small heat-set insert press makes the job fast and neat. This kit comes with a soldering iron, stand, and 30 brass threaded inserts of assorted sizes.

Sticky Build Plates from BIQU

Sticky Build Plates

BIQU: $18.99 and up

Modern 3D printers come with pretty good build plates these days, but BIQU has them all beat with the CryoGrip Glacier and Frostbite. These plates can work at cooler temperatures, hence the frosty names. The Glacier is an all-purpose plate, while the Frostbite is only for PLA and PETG. Either way, prints stick like mad to these plates, which solves most of your first layer problems. They work wonders for anyone trying to print articulated models, so they are a must have for any beginner who prints a lot of fun fidgets and toys. The plates come in assorted sizes to fit every brand of 3D printer out there, so if you’re buying as a gift, make sure you know what type of machine it needs to fit.

Filament Dryer and Storage Box from PolyMaker

Filament Dryer and Storage Box

PolyMaker: $63.99

There are a lot of good filament driers on the market, but the PolyDryer by PolyMaker is one of my favorites. This system uses a removable box that doubles as a storage container, so filament can stay inside the box indefinitely. Hot air from the Dryer Dock is blown through openings in (and drawn out of) the bottom of the storage box. Extra boxes cost $25.49 each (or 4 for $93.49) which can be a bit pricey for storing all your filament, but you can certainly keep a few special rolls nice and snug. The boxes are more than just cereal containers with spool holders: each has its own hygrometer, a spot for color changing desiccant, and a port to feed filament out of so you can print directly from the box. The Dryer Dock gets up to 70°C, enough to dry ABS/ASA and Nylon.

Vacuum Bags and Pump from EIBOS

Vacuum Bags and Pump

EIBOS: $38.99

Once you dry your filament, you want to keep it dry. A cheaper alternative to boxes are reusable vacuum bags with zipper tops. I like the ones by EIBOS, which come with a USB powered pump with an easy use valve on the bag that screws onto the pump, so you don’t need to keep pressure on the pump. It takes about 56 seconds to remove all the air, for a nice dry environment. The bags are custom-made for 1KG filament spools, with plenty of room to spare.

Silica Gel Packets from Dry & Dry

Silica Gel Packets

Dry & Dry: $8.99

Silica packets are incredibly helpful for keeping your filament dry. You can tuck them into filament storage bags and boxes, and every multimaterial box will have a cubbyhole to stuff with packets of desiccant. Though you could reuse the packets that come with new filament, Dry & Dry packets with orange indicator beads are better. The orange beads will turn green when they are saturated with moisture, letting you know it's time to dry them in the oven to revive them. It only takes 2 hours in the oven or 12 minutes in the microwave to get them good as new.

Nozzle Maintenance Kit from Wham Bam

Nozzle Maintenance Kit

Wham Bam, $17

Sometimes the tools that come with a 3D printer aren’t enough. Wham Bam makes a full service kit that fairly brand agnostic and will come in handy whether you have an old Ender or a brand new Bambu. You get a set of nozzle wrenches, needles, and ram rods style nozzle cleaners to force stuck filament out of your way. There’s also a mini silicone “Slap Mat” to protect your bed, a coil of cleaning filament and my favorite tool, a pneumatic depressor to get those pesky collets (or push connectors) to unclench from your Bowden tubes.

Gloop! from 3D Gloop!

3D Gloop!

$14.99 and up

It's not glue, it’s Gloop! Gloop is the perfect gift for any maker because even if they have some, they could use some more. Gloop is a specially formulated “science sauce” that chemically bonds plastics together by melting them a bit. This is way stronger than any glue on the market, as proven by 3D Gloop’s tug of war contests at 3D printing festivals. Due to the chemical interactions, there are specific formulas for the most popular plastics: PLA, PETG, and ABS/ASA. Gloop has a limited shelf life when exposed to air, so only buy the giant vat-o-gloop if you need to assemble a huge model.

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After months of launch hype, announcements, and promising reviews, the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X are finally available to buy.

In our own Asus ROG Xbox Ally X review, we loved its comfortable controller grips and balanced weight, as well as the new Xbox Full Screen Experience. Improved performance at 720p and the Xbox button are a bonus, but there are also some drawbacks. It's more expensive than the previous ROG Ally X, lacks some visual punch versus OLED-based competitors, and doesn't come with a carrying case. There are also some promised features that we have to reserve judgment on. But overall, it did well enough to score four out of five stars and earn a spot on our Best PC Gaming Handhelds list.

Now available to buy, here are all the places you can pick up the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X in the U.S.

Where to buy the ROG Xbox Ally

Where to buy the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

What's the difference between the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X?

As you can see, there's a not-insignificant price gap between the two new Xbox Ally models, so what does $400 extra get you?

Both handhelds come with the Windows 11 Home operating system and the aforementioned Xbox Full Screen experience. They also have the same controls and the same display. The $599 Ally features a Z2 A Processor, whereas the Ally X features the more potent Z2 Extreme Processor, which will boost gaming performance. It also features a larger 1TB M.2 drive, as opposed to the 512GB size of the Ally.

There's more RAM — 24GB versus 16GB — and the Ally X comes with a USB4 port. For the extra beef, the Ally X is slightly heavier, but also has a larger battery. You can see the full breakdown below.

As noted, both the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X are now available to buy from all of the above retail sections. There's no telling how popular either will, or how much stock various retailers have, so if you want to get your hands on one, it's worth moving quickly.

A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Matt Safford showed up to our morning meeting wearing half a headset. "Guess what," he announced. "My headset — the one that I only use for these meetings — just snapped in half. While I was wearing it."

I asked if he'd been putting it on, or fiddling with the adjustments, and he confirmed that he wasn't touching it — it was on his head and it suddenly felt loose, and when he reached up to see what was going on, he discovered it was in two pieces. RIP, Razer Barracuda Pro — the included rigid carrying case isn't quite as much of a benefit if the headset is so fragile it's going to snap in half while it's being used exactly as intended.

This isn't the first time one of us has shown up to the morning meeting in need of a new peripheral, whether it's a headset, keyboard, mouse, or, I don't know... a chair or a desk. And peripherals, especially gaming peripherals, aren't meant to last forever — they wear out (even if you're not a gamer who's prone to fits of rage), physically, and they become dated, technologically. At the rate gaming companies update their lineups, it seems like you should be shopping for new accessories every 2 - 3 years. Of course, gaming companies want to sell you stuff, so that's not a great way to estimate the expected lifespan of your gear.

But you might be wondering just how long your peripherals should last, assuming you're not a competitive eSports athlete or a gaming peripherals editor.

Headsets

Matt's Razer Barracuda lasted about 2.5 years, which is definitely shorter than you should expect a gaming headset to last (and you shouldn't expect any gaming headset to snap at the hinge while you're just... wearing it). But the best gaming headsets won't necessarily last forever, depending on a few factors.

Wireless headsets tend to lose their steam faster because the battery degrades — but you should still be able to get a solid 3 - 4 years out of a wireless headset, if not longer. Wired headsets can last significantly longer if they're well-built, but most gaming headsets are... not that well-built. Still, a decent wired headset should get you a solid 5 - 6 years of use — longer if it has replaceable parts.

Here's what you should look for if you're looking for a headset that won't snap in half:

Asus ROG Delta II comes with replaceable earpads

Logitech's G Pro X 2 Lightspeed also comes with replaceable earpads.

Replaceable earpads: Corsair's Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT has long been a favorite among Tom's Hardware editors. The only gripe? The earpads, which are leatherette-covered memory foam, wear out fairly quickly and are difficult to replace — mostly because Corsair didn't sell them for a long time (though I believe they do, now). Earpads tend to wear out after 1 - 2 years of regular use (or sooner, depending on what they're made of and whether you sweat), so you should look for a gaming headset with replaceable earpads. Some gaming headsets, like Logitech's G Pro X 2 Lightspeed and Asus' ROG Delta II, even come with alternate / replacement earpads in the box.

Beyerdynamic's MMX 300 Pro features snap-off headband padding.

Replaceable headband: Headsets' headband padding also wears out over time (though not as quickly as earpads). A lot of gaming headsets have built-in padding, but we're starting to see more replaceable options — such as the replaceable padding on the Corsair Void Wireless v2 and Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro. You'll also find headsets with alternate headband options, such as the leather strap on the Audeze Maxwell or the "ski-band" strap on SteelSeries Arctis Nova series.

Analog connection: Wireless technology and batteries can fail, but a wired analog connection will basically always work. You might think an analog connection is a given on all headsets, but we're seeing more and more wireless headsets ditch this option completely. Still, there are some, like the Asus ROG Delta II and Logitech G Pro X 2 Lightspeed, that still come with wires.

HyperX's Cloud III S Wireless has sturdy aluminum forks.

Not plastic: Well, not all plastic. Ultra lightweight headsets like the Razer Barracuda and Turtle Beach's Atlas Air are comfortable and, well, lightweight, because they're almost entirely plastic. And while this is great for comfort, it's not so great for durability — if you're looking for a headset that will last, look for one with a well-built metal headband, like SteelSeries' Arctis Nova Pro, and sturdy hinges or forks, like the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless.

Keyboards

A well-built mechanical keyboard can last forever — well, maybe not forever, but at least a few decades (the IBM Model M is basically older than the internet). But while the best gaming keyboards today are mechanical, they're probably not going to last decades (maybe a decade). I tend to refresh my keyboard every 4 - 5 years, but that's usually because it just feels like it's time for an update (or upgrade) — not because the keyboard itself is unusable.

Here's what you should look for if you're after a keyboard that will last more than a couple of years:

Asus' ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless' keycaps are still going strong, shine-free.

Double-shot PBT keycaps: ABS keycaps, which are prone to shine, are common on mainstream gaming keyboards, though we've seen double-shot PBT keycaps on several premium gaming keyboards, such as the Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless and the Logitech G915 X TKL.

Glorious' GMMK 3 Pro series has an optional hot-swappable PCB that accepts both magnetic and mechanical switches.

Hot-swappable switches: Many gaming companies have keyboards with hot-swappable switches, but they're not all the same. Some keyboards, such as the Asus ROG Azoth X and the Lemokey L3, have standard hot-swappable PCBs that accept any and all mechanical switches. Keyboards with magnetic (Hall Effect) switches are often hot-swappable, but most (like Arbiter Studio's Polar 75 Pro) are only compatible with certain magnetic switches, but Glorious' GMMK 3 series does offer a hot-swappable PCB that works with both mechanical and magnetic switches.

The Meletrix Boog75's aluminum case isn't going anywhere, at least.

A solid aluminum build: You don't need a keyboard with a solid aluminum case like the Meletrix Boog75 or the Keychron Q1 HE, but a better build will probably lend itself to a longer lifespan, though perhaps not for the reasons you think (after all, keyboards don't really move much). But aluminum keyboards tend to be better built overall and better able to handle aggressive typing or gaming.

Mice

Gaming mice tend to follow a pretty regular update cycle of about 1.5 - 2.5 years, and this is the one category where the update cycle isn't a terrible indicator of expected lifespan. Your mouse gets a lot more wear than your keyboard does, because it has significantly fewer buttons and it's always moving. (Also, if you are the type of gamer who gets heated, your mouse is probably the easiest thing to slam down on your desk or throw across the room.) Mouse switches and keyboard switches have similar click ratings, but you'll reach that number a lot quicker when you only have two buttons to choose from instead of 88 or 104 (or however many keys there are on your keyboard). That said, while updating your mouse every 2 - 3 years isn't crazy, you should still be able to stretch a gaming mouse's lifespan to 3 - 4 years as long as you're not excessively slamming or squeezing it.

But you still want your gaming mouse to last the full 2 - 3 years, so here's what to look for:

Solid build: This might seem like a no-brainer, but it's still worth mentioning — if you want your mouse to last, it needs to be well-built and sturdy-feeling right out of the box. If the sides are flexing or creaking, or the scroll wheel feels indecisive, or the switches are mushy... it only gets worse, not better.

For wired mice, a drag-free cable like the one on HyperX's Pulsefire Haste 2 is essential

Drag-free or detachable cable: The cable can make or break a mouse's wired experience, and most wired mice come with their cable permanently attached. If you're shopping for a wired mouse, look for one with a lightweight, flexible, drag-free paracord cable, like HyperX's Pulsefire Haste 2, or one that has a detachable cable — like SteelSeries' Aerox series.

Onboard memory: You probably do want a gaming mouse that's at least somewhat customizable, so you can adjust DPI steps and tweak various settings to calibrate the feel perfectly. But once that's set up, you're probably going to go back in and readjust things... never. While the execution of the Cherry Xtrfy M64 Pro's plug-and-play isn't perfect, the idea isn't a bad one — nobody wants a mouse that's forever tied to some clunky peripheral software that stops working whenever you actually try to use it. If you want your mouse to last through Synapse's 243 yearly updates, make sure it has several onboard profiles.

The fancy carrying case and carbon fiber shell aren't going to help the Asus ROG Harpe Ace Extreme significantly outlive its competitors.

Not made of carbon fiber: You don't want a mouse that flexes or creaks, but that doesn't mean you need one made of carbon fiber. The $250 Asus ROG Harpe Ace Extreme is an impressive, ultra-lightweight mouse with a carbon fiber chassis (well, half carbon fiber), but it's going to be subject to the same problems that other gaming mice face as they age: switch issues, an outdated sensor, and connectivity and battery life issues. Splurging on a pricey gaming mouse made of carbon fiber or, I don't know, gold isn't going to get you nearly as far as it will in other categories.

Of course, not all peripherals need regular updates. Audio equipment that isn't worn on your head, such as speakers and microphones, can easily last a decade or more — both physically and technologically. Logitech's top-of-the-line 5.1 surround Z906 system, for example, is almost 15 years old, while Rode's NT1 5th generation got a tech-y update with USB input and 32-bit float audio recording, but is otherwise largely similar to the 34-year-old original NT1. And while the best webcams are all 4K resolution now, it took a pandemic to spur that leap in technology.

Between tariffs and other ongoing forms of inflation, the price of everything seems to be shooting up lately. It’s getting more and more difficult to build a PC for less than $800. However, what if I told you that, as of today, you can build a competent gaming rig for around $400?

You’ll have to make some compromises, particularly on storage and RAM. And you can forget about getting a discrete graphics card. However, you really can build this PC with new parts, and you really can play games on it.

Wondering about an operating system? You could, of course, opt for Linux, or you can check out our guide on how to get Windows 11 free or cheap.

So let's talk about what it takes to put together a PC at this price point. Our most important component is the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G APU, with its built-in RX Vega 8 GPU that runs at 2,000 MHz. The CPU itself has 8 cores and 16 threads running at up to 4.6 GHz.

This is an older CPU having come out in 2021 and using Zen 3 'Cezanne' architecture. It therefore connects to a motherboard with an AM4 socket, not the more modern AM5 sockets for Ryzen 7000 and 9000 series chips.

As you can see, the 5700G is capable of getting a very playable 45.2 fps at 1080p, according to our tests. Instead of costing $359 as it did when it first came out, now it's just $166.

At 720p resolution, we were able to achieve 78.3 fps average with this CPU. Granted, 720p is not an ideal resolution, but for a $400 gaming PC, it's acceptable.

The Ryzen 7 5700G comes with a Wraith Stealth Cooler in the box so there's no need to pay extra for a cooler. For our motherboard, we're going with a Gigabyte B550M K AM4 motherboard that supports this chip out of the box. The only real limitation of this motherboard is that it doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi.

If you want to connect to the Internet -- which of course you do -- you can either use Ethernet or buy one of the best Wi-Fi adapters, which cost less than $50.

Our RAM, which runs at 3,600 MHz, is very important because the speed of the DDR4 memory helps determine the speed of the iGPU. Unlike with a discrete graphics card, there's no VRAM so all the memory used is the RAM. If you can spend a little more money, we'd get 32GB rather than 16GB of RAM.

Our SSD is the Crucial P3 Plus. This is a Gen4 PCIe SSD that runs on low-cost QLC NAND and promises read and write speeds of 4,700 and 1,900 MBps. And it's only 500GB in capacity, which fits maybe one or two large games or several small ones. However, this SSD is more than adequate given a $400 total budget.

For our case, we're getting a Micro ATX Cooler Master Elite 301 Lite with a tempered glass side panel. Not bad for a case from a well-known brand that's less than $40.

Finally, our PSU is a Thermaltake Smart 500W 80+ White Certified PSU, which costs less than $40. It's not Bronze or Gold Certified, but it will get the job done and keep us under budget.

Upgrades

If you can stretch your budget slightly, I'd recommend doing a few upgrades over what we recommended. Namely, get:

• TeamGroup T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 32GB (2 x 16GB) 3600 MHz: $58
• Crucial P3 Plus 1TB PCie SSD: $56
• Cudy New AX3000 Wi-FI 6 PCIe Card: $22

While the desktop remains supreme among many PC gamers, sometimes you just need something a bit more portable. A gaming laptop is a rig on the go, with the power to play games in a size you can take with you.

But when you’re buying a gaming laptop, you’re not just looking at specs. You’re looking at a whole computer, including a built-in keyboard and display. Here, we explain all of the decisions you’ll have to make when buying a gaming laptop so you can get the best one for your needs and budget.

Quick Tips

• Get a good GPU: Most games are GPU-dependent, and you can’t upgrade these in laptops. A good GPU will ensure your laptop plays games at high settings for a few years.
• Consider upgrading later: Many, though not all, gaming laptops let you upgrade your RAM and storage.
• Pick resolution or speed: The fastest displays, going up to 480 Hz, only come at 1920 x 1080 resolution (or, on a 16:10 screen, 1920 x 1200) right now, so a 4K screen will be slower.
• Get a good keyboard: You don’t want to play your games on something mushy or stiff. Some top-of-the-line gaming laptops use mechanical keyboards, which are our favorites.
• Battery life will probably be bad: Very few gaming notebooks get 8 hours or more on a charge, and you need the power supply to get the best performance anyway.

What GPU do you need?

While some games use the CPU, the majority of games are still GPU-bound, so this is one of the biggest decisions you make when buying a gaming notebook. At the moment, the majority of gaming notebooks come with Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs.

The latest graphics cards on the Nvidia series are the newest RTX 40-series cards, from the RTX 4050 through the RTX 4090. On the AMD front, there's the Radeon RX 7000M and 7000S series,  with the main difference being power limits, which are higher on the M line. AMD's latest cards include the Radeon RX 7600M and 7600M XT, RX 7700S and RX 7600S.

A note on Max-Q: Nvidia has changed this from a type of GPU to a set of technologies that laptop manufacuters can choose to use. (Check how to tell if an RTX laptop uses a Max-Q GPU.) The best way to tell if you'll get an Nvidia GPU meeting your requirements is to check the specs, while more and more manufacturers have been listing in full.

The RTX models command a premium. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a deal on a current-generation gaming laptop, keep an eye on our Best Tech Deals page.

• Entry-level gaming: If you don’t need to play on the highest settings, you can go for a RTX 4050 or an older Radeon, which will let you play most games, albeit on middling settings. An RTX 4060 will give you a bit more power, and we generally think it’s noticeable and worth the investment. A laptop with these cards will roughly cost you between $800 and $1,100, though recently we've seen them being slightly more expensive, likely due to the component shortage.
• Mainstream Gaming: Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 is a good middle-of-the-road card that will let you play most games on high settings, though the RTX 4070 or will give you a meaningful bump. Expect laptops with these cards to fall between $1,100 and $1,500, but again, the market is in a bit of flux.
• VR and the Highest Settings: An RTX 4070 will let you play through just about anything on high settings, while the RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 are the most powerful 40-series cards out there and will allow for smoother VR and special effects. These are the cards that will let you start pumping up effects like Nvidia Gameworks. Laptops like this can start around $2,000, and, depending on what other specs you need, go over $3,000. But with the new RTX series, you can play ray-traced video games and get faster frame rates. An RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 may even be enough for you to play games in 4K, depending on the settings that you use. 

What other specs should I look for?

While the GPU is important, you’ll also want to be on the lookout for a good CPU, enough RAM and lots of storage space.

• CPU: Depending on your budget, you can get a very powerful Core i7 CPU or even one that you can overclock such as the Intel Core i9-13900HK. You can also find laptops with desktop CPUs. However, most games benefit more from a quality GPU than a CPU so you can definitely get by with a Core i5 processor.

If you see something older than the most current Intel 13th Gen Core (model numbers begin with 13) or with less power, consider saving a bit. CPUs usually aren’t upgradeable, so you’re making this choice once. Intel launched its 13th Gen Core parts for mobile this year, so they're the most recent.

• RAM: Gaming can be RAM intensive, and 8GB is what we recommend for even average productivity tasks. If you can, you should go for 16GB on a gaming PC. A laptop with an RTX 4050 usually comes with 8GB. Once you get to a RTX 4060 or higher, some will come with 16GB of RAM. If you can’t get your laptop with 16GB of RAM now, consider upgrading it in the near future. Memory is upgradeable in many gaming laptops, so this is an area that you can consider boosting later if you’re handy with a screwdriver.
• Storage: Hard drive or SSD? Why not both? Some budget gaming laptops will come with only a single best hard drive (usually 1TB), but the majority of gaming notebooks also include a small SSD to serve as a boot drive. It’s not uncommon to see a 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD working in tandem in a budget system. If you can get a larger SSD you may see decreased loading times, but that will also cost you quite a bit more money. Make sure you get a faster, 7,200-rpm HDD as opposed to a 5,400-rpm HDD.

Like memory, storage is often upgradeable in gaming notebooks. So if you need more space, you can toss in a 2TB or larger HDD.

What should I look for in a display?

Displays are often overlooked but are hugely important. If you’re not connecting a laptop to a monitor, the built-in screen will be how you see all of your games.

• Size: Most gaming laptops have 15 or 17-inch screens, though there are a few huge systems that have 18-inch panels and a handful of 14-inch systems. What size you like is matter of personal preference, but remember that the larger the screen, the bigger and heavier the laptop.
• Resolution: Never get anything less than a 1920 x 1080 display. It’s rare to find one with a lesser resolution, but if you do, run. 4K (3840 x 2160) screens are an option on some gaming laptops, but you still may need to turn down some settings, especially if you enable ray tracing. More and more laptops are shipping with a 1440p middle ground, which is an excellent choice.
• Refresh rate: Most laptops you’ll see will have 1080p resolution and a 60Hz display. And for many gamers, that’s absolutely enough. Higher resolution displays (2560 x 1440, 3840 x 2160) are pretty, but often top out at 60Hz. That’s why for some gamers, 1080p may be the best option. Some vendors offer FHD displays with a faster, 144 Hz, 240 Hz or even 360 or 480 Hz refresh rate for smoother gaming. Of course, you need a great GPU and to play on settings that emphasize frame rate over graphical fidelity to take advantage.
• Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync: Some gaming notebooks, particularly on the high-end, support technologies that sync the display with the graphics cards, which eliminates screen tearing and ghosting.
• Avoid touch screens: While not inherently bad, touch screens are unnecessary on gaming notebooks (some 2-in-1 models notwithstanding). They kill battery life and can make the display overly glossy.
• OLED: An increasing number of gaming laptops are shipping with OLED display options. These often have slower refresh rates than LED displays, but with deeper blacks and more vibrant colors. Some gamers, however, worry about the possibility of burn-in on these panels. Mini-LED has also proven to show off gorgeous colors without the risk of burn-in.

What should I look for in a keyboard?

If you get an entry-level gaming keyboard, you’re going to get chiclet keys with LED backlighting. But there’s so much more to consider:

• Key Travel: This is how far down you can press a key. In general, we prefer keys with over 1.5 millimeters of key travel, and if you hit 2mm, that’s even better. This can keep you from “bottoming out,” or hitting the keyboard’s frame. When you get to some really expensive laptops, you can even find mechanical keys.
• Actuation: This is how much force you need to apply to a key to press it down. We usually like it between 65 and 70 grams, which is enough to provide resistance without feeling soft.
• Macro Keys: It’s more difficult to find macro keys on gaming notebooks than on desktop keyboards, but it’s not impossible. A good set of programmable macro keys will let you easily complete the most common tasks you complete in games. There’s usually custom software by the laptop manufacturer for this.
• Anti-ghosting and n-key rollover: These are two features that will keep you performing at your best in games. Anti-ghosting means that when you mash on several keys for combos or perform several actions, they will all register. Additionally, n-key rollover means that each key is independent of the others and will be registered no matter which other keys are being pressed.
• Backlighting: While budget gaming laptops will provide backlighting, it’s either just red or white. The best keyboards have RGB backlighting. Some do it by zone (or section of the keyboard), while others allow customization on a per key basis. Some even let you change the lighting depending on the game.

What do specific brands offer?

Each gaming laptop brand has a bit of special sauce. Some have specific hardware designs that stand out while others focus on custom software.

Here are a few to note:

Alienware (Dell) - Alienware has gotten into the thin-and-light game with the Alienware m series, which goes as big as 18-inch on the Alienware m18. Dell also makes its own entry-level machines in the Dell G series..

Asus - Asus’s Republic of Gamers brand has some slick designs. Its ROG Gaming Center software shares device information including temperature, storage and RAM usage, while the Armoury Crate program allows you to customize RGB backlighting. Asus also makes the Zephyrus G14, the best AMD laptop we've seen and the Zephyrus Duo, a popular dual-screen option.

Acer - Acer is known for having affordable hardware, though it has wowed us with innovation like its ridiculous Predator 21X featuring a curved display and mechanical keyboard. The PredatorSense app lets you monitor your CPU and GPU usage and customize fan speeds.

HP - HP’s Omen lineup has a classier design as of late, but maintains a gamer aesthetic. Its app is the Omen Command Center, which details GPU and CPU use, RAM utilization and a network booster that lets you prioritize bandwidth.

Gigabyte & Aorus - Gigabyte and its sub-brand, Aorus, offer some variety. Gigabytes tend to be lower-end with more color options, while the Aorus models are sleek and thin. Whichever one you go with, you’ll get Fusion software for RGB customization. Aorus machines have Command and Control for easy overclocking.

Lenovo - Lenovo’s gaming lineup is called Legion, and has been recently redesigned to be more minimalist. Rather than creating new software, the company altered its Vantage app to focus on CPU, GPU, RAM and HDD info, as well as a button to boost fan speeds.

MSI - MSI’s gaming laptops are often big, black and red, though the company’s recent Stealth Thin showed it can do something more subdued as well. Of course, you’ll always notice the trademark dragon logo. MSI includes its Dragon Center software, which recently went through a redesign. It allows for system monitoring, multiple performance profiles, controlling the fans and customizing keyboard backlighting.

Razer - Did someone say Chroma? Razer’s design is some of the best in the business, and it's known for its RGB lighting. Razer Synapse lets you record macros and set lighting on both laptops and accessories.

How About Battery Life?

The short answer is not to count on your gaming notebook being super portable.

If you’re using your laptop to play games, you need to keep your laptop plugged in to get the full performance out of your GPU. And if you don’t, you’ll be lucky if your laptop lasts an hour gaming. In our testing experience, most gaming laptops last only a few hours on a charge when performing other tasks, but never as long as ultraportables without discrete GPUs. If you need something to last 8 hours while you work, it won’t be a gaming notebook.

Some do last long, but that’s often at the expense of the display, and you don’t want to play all your games on a dark, dim or inaccurate screen. Others are getting better Mux switches, which choose between the discrete and integrated graphics based on what you're doing on the PC.

Thankfully, an increasing number of gaming laptops work with both barrel chargers and USB Type-C. The latter won't deliver enough power for gaming, but can top you off if you're doing productivity work. 

Saving Money on a Gaming Laptop

When you're shopping for a gaming laptop, you may find savings by checking out the latest Best Buy promo codes, Newegg promo codes, Corsair coupon codes, Dell coupon codes, HP coupon codes, Lenovo coupon codes or Razer promo codes.

We also maintain a list of the best gaming PC and laptop deals.

Bottom Line

When buying a gaming notebook, get one that will last you for a few years. If you can afford it, get a mid-range to high-end GPU, though obviously a better card will offer better performance. That choice is more important than RAM and the CPU, though you should pay attention to those as well. Storage is the most likely to be upgradeable, but more is better, as games take up a lot of space. Decide if you prefer high resolutions or faster displays and consider what software will be helpful to you, but realize that you won’t get great battery life. How all of those work together determines just how well a gaming notebook does on the Tom’s Hardware test bench.

With more than 40 million units sold and a powerful community of makers and fans behind it, Raspberry Pi is more than a single-board computer; it's a huge platform with an even bigger ecosystem behind it. Whether you want to build your own robot, create an A.I.-powered security camera, or just set up a simple computer for programming and web surfing, the Pi is for you.

You can find great deals this Black Friday season on everything from Raspberry Pi cases to screens, kits, and perhaps even add-on boards. These are great for your Raspberry Pi projects or to give as gifts for the maker in your life. Don't expect to find sales on the bare boards, though, as these never drop below the MSRP.

Best Overall Raspberry Pi Deals

More Black Friday Deals

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• Best Dell and Alienware deals
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• Best Raspberry Pi deals

Lots of people want to play games on the go, but many of them don't want to (or can't afford to) spend thousands of dollars on the most premium gaming laptops around. Some of the best gaming laptops are very expensive. But what if you only have $1,000 or less to spend?

Recently, I've been researching the sub-$1,000 budget gaming laptop space, and was surprised to find it a confusing wasteland that can, if you're not careful, leave you with old or outdated tech in the guise of a deal. (We've listed some of the best gaming laptop deals.) On the other hand, there are a few slightly older machines that can be had for a bargain with some bumped up specs.

Don't know where to start looking for a gaming laptop that costs less than $1,000? Here are my tips: 

Go Straight to the Manufacturer’s Site

If you want to see the latest availability in the plainest terms, consider going straight to the manufacturer. This tip really works for those who sell their own laptops, like Alienware and Dell, Lenovo, HP and Acer. 

If these vendors have 12th Gen Intel or AMD Ryzen 6000, which are the latest CPUs on the market, I've found it is easier to tell on their sites than on stores like Amazon, Best Buy or Newegg (more on that below).

Dell, for example, lets you sort not just by processor, but by processor generation, letting you look for the latest. HP and Lenovo may not be as exact in filtering, but still use exact CPU model names or generations in the listing, leaving no reason for confusion. (You can, of course, always use these sites as homework to buy from major retailers, assuming you can find what you're looking for at those stores.) 

Why am I so insistent on checking chip model numbers? Because tech has a shelf life. Just because you're spending less than a grand doesn't mean you shouldn't get something that will last you as long as possible. (GPUs are a bit less tricky. The latest Nvidia graphics cards have been parts of the RTX 3000 series for a few years now, and if you get an AMD card paired with a recent AMD CPU, it's likely something relatively new.)

There's another reason to go to a vendor over another store. In my experience, if there's a limited number of chips to go around (say, in some kind of chip shortage) I've found a wider variety of configurations in vendor stores than in large retail outlets.

Being able to find the newest stuff and sorting it is important. Both OEMs and stores sell laptops with older chips at a discount. Sometimes there can be two laptops with similar prices, but one has last year's chips, or worse, even older. Which would you rather get?

When to Get Something Old (But Not Too Old)

There are a few times to consider getting a cheap gaming laptop with a last-gen CPU, though you should get the most recent GPU you can afford. . Recently, I found a few deals that I would recommend to people despite the fact that they had last year's chips.

The laptops with 11th Gen Intel processors are often starting at lower prices from manufacturers (at least, until you bump from the lowest specs). But shop around. For instance, I saw a Dell G5 15 with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, 8GB of RAM and 256GB for for $899. I later saw a version for a similar price with an 11th Gen processor, the same GPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage (that's seemingly gone for now — clearly others thought it was a deal).

That's a point where I would say to go for something older. The 16GB of RAM will keep your system relevant longer, and 512GB of storage can hold way more games (or even just a game. 256GB is pretty paltry). That's a quality of life difference that I think makes up for one year of processor generation gains.

But be reasonable. There are laptops that are still on the market with Intel's 10th Gen CPUs (I've noticed that to be slightly a lesser problem for AMD machines, but 3rd Gen Ryzen is out there). Vendors, especially third party sellers on Amazon and Newegg might drop to around $600 for those, and I could understand why a buyer might consider them. After all, a few hundred bucks is a lot. But if you buy something that old, you may be replacing your laptop sooner, and spending more money in the long run.

There are older GPUs out there in the form of Nvidia's GTX 1650 and GTX 1660 Ti. If you can swing it, I highly recommend sticking to the newer Nvidia RTX 3050 (or RTX 3050 Ti if you find a good deal). The low-end GPUs are the fastest to struggle with games, so something more recent is worth it in the long run. That being said, the RTX 3050 has 4GB of RAM, similar to the GTX 1650. If you see a GTX 1660 Ti with its 6GB of memory, that may end up being faster in some titles, especially those with lots of effects. The RTX cards have DLSS support, though, which can help you upscale games at lower resolutions.

Know Where to Look for Specs

So we've determined that most laptop manufacturers make it easy to know what you get. But if you have a Best Buy gift card, Amazon credit, or simply think you can find a better deal elsewhere, there's no harm in looking.

Still, note that you may have to dig to know what you're getting.

Here's an image from Best Buy of a $750 gaming notebook:

For this price, I might recommend this to someone who knows the trade-offs. But if that trade-off isn't worth it to you, you would now know. Be sure to dig into the specs to get exactly what you're looking for.

Not every listing is like this. But I've seen them on Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy and more. Do your homework.

The Trade-Offs You'll Make, and Spec Recommendations

On the one hand, you're on a budget. On the other, you want to ensure that your laptop lasts you as long as possible. Typically, I would suggest a gamer get at least a Core i5 or Ryzen 5, at least 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, as well as a 1080p display. Those might not all be possible in a sub-$1,000 notebook.

At this price range, expect 8GB of RAM, except for the best, rare deals. It's not ideal, but it's doable, especially if you can add more latter (see below). There are 256GB SSDs out there, and that's not ideal. Many of the most popular games these days are 40GB or more, and that's before eventual patches and downloadable content.

Most of the screens we've looked at have 1920 x 1080 screens, which is just fine. (If you see something at 1366 x 768, run far and fast away from it.) Surprisingly, you can get 144 Hz screens on gaming laptops that cost less than $1,000, which is great if you play esports titles. The graphics cards in budget laptops aren't going to push graphics-intensive games fast enough to matter.

So if you can get a Core i5 or Ryzen 5, 8GB of RAM, a 1080p screen above 60 Hz and 512GB of storage, you're in a good place, assuming the CPU and GPU are recent.

One recommendation: do not, under any circumstances, go below 8GB of RAM. I wouldn't recommend 4GB to almost anyone these days, and I think it's a quality of life improvement worth taking time to save up extra for.

Consider a DIY Upgrade

Gaming laptops are typically a bit more upgradeable than ultrabook counterparts. If you're handy with a screwdriver, consider buying something with less RAM and storage, and then adding your own. While your CPU and GPU will be soldered down, most gaming notebooks can have more memory or storage added. You'll have to be willing to reinstall Windows and set everything up from scratch, but if you are, it could be an easy way to make changes as you can afford them.

If you're buying from Dell, HP or Lenovo, you can usually find maintenance manuals for their systems, which will let you know what you can upgrade and what it will require. That way, when you save up, you can buy extra RAM or a bigger SSD later for a better experience (or just make upgrades more cheaply than manufacturers charge for, if you find a good sale).

That being said, if you don't know what you're doing and don't have a friend to help you, consider your circumstances. If you break something trying to upgrade your laptop, it may not qualify for a warranty replacement.

Check for Open Box Deals

If someone ordered something and didn't like it, that could be to your benefit. You might want to head to a local store and see if someone bought something, opened it and returned it. These are harder for stores to get rid of, and they may take some serious cash off of the price tag to move it.

While you can also find these online, I would suggest checking a brick and mortar store first. They may let you inspect the item, since the box is open, to ensure it's still in like-new condition.

If you do decide to buy online, you may be able to find these easily by specifically sorting for these kinds of deals.

Try Streaming Your Games

Look, we're a PC hardware website for enthusiasts. We like owning our gear. But if you're looking at the prices of budget laptops and you can't afford them, you could stream games to your existing gear. You might not get the wide catalog of games or customization options that a PC affords you, and it assumes you have a pretty solid internet connection but it can be cheaper in the short term. That being said, these are subscriptions. They'll add up month over month.

You can stream games to your browser on a computer you already own in various ways, including:

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ($1 for the first month, $14.99 per month after that)
• Amazon Luna ($9.99 per month for the base plan. Some games are available free with Prime.)
• Nvidia GeForce Now (Free for 1-hour sessions on a "basic rig", with $9.99 per month for six-hour sessions up to 1080p or $19.99 with eight-hour sessions up to 4K. You'll need to bring your own games.)
• As part of the new PlayStation Plus Premium tier ($17.99 per month, $119.99 for 12 months)

Getting one of the best SSDs for your system is key because the easiest way to slow down a PC with one of the best CPUs for Gaming is to pair it with slow storage. Your processor can handle billions of cycles a second, but it often spends a lot of time waiting for your drive to feed it data. Even the best hard drive can be particularly sluggish because it has platters that have to spin up and a read / right arm that has to find its way physically to the data sectors you're currently seeking. To get optimal performance, you need a good solid-state drive (SSD).

You can check out our feature for much more on the differences between hard drives and SSDs. While SSDs are almost always faster, there are still instances (like bulk storage) where hard drives are definitely worth considering. Because 10TB hard drives can be had for under $200 and a 4TB SSD will set you back over $400.

If you already know about drive types and want specific recommendations, check out our Best SSDs page. And if you're after an external drive or SSD for portable storage or back up, be sure to check our Best External Drives page. But if you don't have a PhD in SSD, here are a few things you need to consider when shopping.

As drives like Intel's 660p  and its successor the Intel 665p start to undercut mainstream drives on the old SATA interface while delivering more speed, this could be the beginning of the end of our old friend, Serial ATA. That said, Samsung recently released the 870 EVO, so SATA isn't dead yet. And existing SATA drives will have to continue falling in price as well, in order to at least compete on price, since they can't hope to keep up with NVMe drives on performance.

But NVMe PCIe 3.0 drives, once the fastest storage around, have been outclassed by  PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs from the likes of Gigabyte, Corsair, Patriot and Samsung. These drives indeed up sequential speeds dramatically (thanks to a doubling of the PCIe bus bandwidth). But you'll need an AMD X570 or B550 motherboard to run one of these drives at their top speed, or an Intel Z590 motherboard paired with one of Intel's upcoming Rocket Lake-S processors. And in many ways, beyond the obvious bump in sequential performance, users might not see much in the way of real-world benefits from these drives. But there's no doubt that the next generation of PCIe 4.0 drives, like WD Black's SN850, are impressively agile.

TLDR

Here are four quick tips, followed by our detailed answers to many FAQs:

• Know your computer: Find out if you have slots for M.2 drives on your motherboard. If not, you may need a 2.5-inch drive instead.
   
• 500GB to 1TB capacity: Don't even consider buying a drive that has less than 256GB of storage. 500GB offers a good balance between price and capacity. And as 1TB drives slide below the $100/£100 price point, they're great, roomy options as well.
   
• SATA is cheaper but slower: If your computer supports NVMe/PCIe or Optane drives, consider buying a drive with one of these technologies. However, SATA drives are more common, usually cost less and still offer excellent performance for common applications.
   
• Any SSD is better than a hard drive: Even the worst SSD is at least three times as fast as a hard drive in most common use scenarios. Depending on the workload, the performance delta between good and a great SSDs can be subtle. 

How much can you spend?

Most consumer drives range from 120GB to 2TB. While 120GB drives are the cheapest, they aren't roomy enough to hold a lot of software and are usually slower than their higher-capacity counterparts. Many companies have begun phasing out those low capacity. It costs as little as $15 extra to step up from 120 to 250GB size, and that's money well spent. The delta between 250GB and 500GB drives can be small as well. The sweet spot between price, performance and capacity for most users used to be 500GB, but increasingly 1TB is becoming the better choice --particularly when 1TB drives slip to $100 or less.

There are also an increasing number of drives (primarily from Samsung) with capacities above 2TB. But they’re typically extremely expensive in the extreme (over $400/£400), so they’re really only worthwhile for professional users who need space and speed and aren’t averse to paying for it.

What kind of SSD does your computer support?

Solid-state drives these days come in several different form factors and operate across several possible hardware and software connections. What kind of drive you need depends on what device you have (or are intending on buying). If you own one of the best gaming PCs or are building a PC with a recent mid-to-high-end motherboard, your system may be able to incorporate most (or all) modern drive types.

Also, modern slim laptops and convertibles have mostly shifted solely to the gum-stick-shaped M.2 form factor, with no space for a traditional 2.5-inch laptop-style drive. And in an increasing number of cases, laptop makers are soldering the storage directly to the board, so you can’t upgrade at all (it would be difficult to desolder the storage, even using one of the best soldering irons). So you’ll definitely want to consult your device manual or check Crucial's Advisor Tool to sort out what your options are before buying.

Which form factor do you need?

SSDs come in three main form factors, plus one uncommon outlier.

• 2.5-inch Serial ATA (SATA): The most common type, these drives mimic the shape of traditional laptop hard drives and connect over the same SATA cables and interface that any moderately experienced upgrader should be familiar with. If your laptop or desktop has a 2.5-inch hard drive bay and a spare SATA connector, these drives should be drop-in-compatible (though you may need a bay adapter if installing in a desktop with only larger, 3.5-inch hard drive bays free).
   
• SSD Add-in Card (AIC): These drives have the potential to be much faster than most other drives, as they operate over the PCI Express bus, rather than SATA, which was designed well over a decade ago to handle spinning hard drives. They can also access more PCIe lanes than most M.2 drives. AIC drives plug into the slots on a motherboard that are more commonly used for the best graphics cards or RAID controllers. Of course, that means they’re only an option for desktops, and you’ll need an empty PCIe x4 or x16 slot to install them. 

If your desktop is compact and you already have a graphics card installed, you may be out of luck. But if you do have room in your modern desktop and a spare slot, these drives can be among the fastest available (take the Intel Optane 900p, for example), due in large part to their extra surface area, allowing for better cooling. Moving data at extreme speeds generates a fair bit of heat.

• M.2 SSDs: About the shape of a stick of RAM but much smaller, M.2 drives have become the standard for slim laptops, but you'll also find them on most desktop motherboards. Many high-end boards even have two or more M.2 slots, so you can run the drives in RAID.

While most M.2 drives are 22mm wide and 80mm long, there are some that are shorter or longer. You can tell by the four or five-digit number in their names, with the first two digits representing width and the others showing length. The most common size is labeled M.2 Type-2280. Though laptops will usually only work with one size, many desktop motherboards have anchor points for longer and shorter drives.

The largest M.2 drives are 2, 4, or even 8TB. So, if you have a generous budget and need a ton of storage space, there's an M.2 for you.

• U.2 SSDs: At first glance, these 2.5-inch components look like traditional SATA hard drives. However, they use a different connector and send data via the speedy PCIe interface, and they're typically thicker than 2.5-inch hard drives and SSDs. U.2 drives tend to be more expensive and higher-capacity than regular M.2 drives. Servers that have lots of open drive bays can benefit from this form factor, though it's extremely uncommon in consumer desktops.

Do you want a drive with a SATA or PCIe interface?

Strap in, because this bit is more complicated than it should be. As noted earlier, 2.5-inch SSDs run on the Serial ATA (SATA) interface, which was designed for hard drives (and launched way back in 2000), while add-in-card drives work over the faster PCI Express bus, which has more bandwidth for things like graphics cards. 

M.2 drives can work either over SATA or PCI Express, depending on the drive. And the fastest M.2 drives also support NVMe, a protocol that was designed specifically for fast modern storage. The tricky bit (OK, another tricky bit) is that an M.2 drive could be SATA-based, PCIe-based without NVMe support, or PCIe-based with NVMe support. That said, most high-end M.2 SSDs launched in recent years support NVMe.

Both M.2 drives and the corresponding M.2 connectors on motherboards look very similar, regardless of what they support. So be sure to double-check the manual for your motherboard, laptop, or convertible, as well as what a given drive supports, before buying.

If your daily tasks consist of web browsing, office applications, or even gaming, most NVMe SSDs aren’t going to be noticeably faster than less-expensive SATA models. If your daily tasks consist of heavier work, like large file transfers, videos or high-end photo editing, transcoding, or compression/decompression, then you would be better served stepping up to an NVMe SSD. These SSDs provide up to five times more bandwidth than SATA models (and double that if you opt for a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive), which boosts performance in heavier productivity applications.

Also, some NVMe drives (like Intel's SSD 660p) are edging below the price of many SATA drives. So if your device supports NVMe and you find a good deal on a drive, you may want to consider NVMe as an option even if you don't have a strong need for the extra speed.

What capacity do you need?

• 128GB Class: Stay away. These low-capacity drives tend to have slower performance, because of their minimal number of memory modules. Also, after you put Windows and a couple of games on it, you'll be running out of space. Plus, you can step up to the next level for as little as $10 more.
   
• 250GB Class: These drives are cheaper than their larger siblings, but they're still quite cramped, particularly if you use your PC to house your operating system, PC games, and possibly a large media library. If there’s wiggle room in your budget, stepping up at least one capacity tier to a 500GB-class drive is advisable.
   
• 500GB Class: Drives at this capacity level offer a reasonable amount of room at decent prices, although 1TB drives are becoming increasingly appealing.
   
• 1TB Class: Unless you have massive media or game libraries, a 1TB drive should give you enough space for your operating system and primary programs, with plenty of room for future software and files.
   
• 2TB Class: If you work with large media files, or just have a large game library that you want to be able to access without lots of install shuffling, a 2TB drive is often worth the price premium.
   
• 4TB Class (and above): You have to really need this much space on an SSD to splurge on one of these. A 4TB SSD will be quite expensive -- usually over $400/£500 -- and you won’t have many options. Samsung has been selling 4TB consumer drives for years now, but many other companies have stuck to the 2TB limit unless you step up to pricier enterprise storage.

If you’re a desktop user, or you have a gaming laptop with multiple drives and you want lots of capacity, you’re better off opting for a pair of smaller SSDs, which will often save you hundreds of dollars while still offering up roughly the same storage space and speed. Until pricing drops and we see more competition, 4TB and larger drives will be relegated to professionals and enthusiasts with very deep pockets.

What about power consumption?

If you’re a desktop user after the best possible performance, then you probably don't care how much juice you're using. But for laptop and convertible tablet owners, drive efficiency is more important than speed—especially if you want all-day battery life.

Choosing an extremely efficient drive like Samsung’s 860 EVO over a faster-but-power-hungry NVMe drive (like, say, the Samsung 960 EVO) can gain you significantly more unplugged run time. And higher-capacity models can draw more power than less-spacious drives, simply because there are more NAND packages on bigger drives to write your data to.

While the above advice is true in a general sense, some drives can buck trends, and technology is always advancing and changing the landscape. If battery life is key to your drive-buying considerations, be sure to consult the power consumption testing we do on every SSD we test.

What controller should your SSD have?

Think of the controller as the processor of your drive. It routes your reads and writes and performs other key drive performance and maintenance tasks. It can be interesting to dive deep into specific controller types and specs. But for most people, it’s enough to know that, much like PCs, more cores are better for higher-performing, higher-capacity drives.

While the controller obviously plays a big role in performance, unless you like to get into the minute details of how specific drives compare against each other, it’s better to check out our reviews to see how a drive performs overall, rather than focusing too much on the controller.

Which type of storage memory (NAND flash) do you need?

When shopping for an SSD for general computing use in a desktop or laptop, you don't expressly need to pay attention to the type of storage that’s inside the drive. In fact, with most options on the market these days, you don’t have much a choice, anyway. But if you’re curious about what’s in those flash packages inside your drive, we’ll walk you through various types below. Some of them are far less common than they used to be, and some are becoming the de facto standard.

• Single-Level Cell (SLC) flash memory came first and was the primary form of flash storage for several years. Because (as its name implies) it only stores a single bit of data per cell, it’s extremely fast and lasts a long time. But, as storage tech goes these days, it’s not very dense in terms of how much data it can store, which makes it very expensive. At this point, beyond extremely pricey enterprise drives and use as small amounts of fast cache, SLC has been replaced by newer, denser types of flash storage tech.
   
• Multi-Layer Cell (MLC) came after SLC and for years was the storage type of choice for its ability to store more data at a lower price, despite being slower. To get around the speed issue, many of these drives have a small amount of faster SLC cache that acts as a write buffer. Today, apart from a few high-end consumer drives, MLC has been replaced by the next steps in NAND storage tech, TLC and QLX.
   
• Triple-Level Cell (TLC) flash is slower still than MLC, as its name implies. It’s also more data-dense, which brought about more spacious, affordable drives. Most TLC drives (except some of the least-expensive models) also employ some sort of caching tech, because TLC on its own without a buffer often is not significantly faster than a hard drive.
   
  For mainstream users running consumer apps and operating systems, this isn’t a problem because the drive isn’t typically written to in a sustained enough way to saturate the faster cache. For years, TLC was the technology of choice for mainstream and budget drives, but it too has been supplanted by QLC.
   
• Quad-Level Cell (QLC) tech has become the de facto standard for the next stage of the solid-state storage revolution. And as the name implies, it should lead to less-expensive and more-spacious drives thanks to an increase in density. But this often comes with a lower endurance rating (see below) as well as slower sustained write speeds once the drive's cache fills up.

What about endurance?

These are two other areas where, for the most part, buyers looking for a drive for general-purpose computing don’t need to dive too deep, unless they want to. All flash memory has a limited life span, meaning after any given storage cell is written to a certain number of times, it will stop holding data. And drive makers often list a drive’s rated endurance in total terabytes written (TBW), or drive writes per day (DWPD).

But most drives feature “over provisioning,” which portions off part of the drive’s capacity as a kind of backup. As the years pass and cells start to die, the drive will move your data off the worn-out cells to these fresh new ones, thereby greatly extending the usable lifespan of the drive. Generally, unless you’re putting your SSD into a server or some other scenario where it’s getting written to nearly constantly (24/7), all of today’s drives are rated with enough endurance to function for at least 3-5 years, if not more.

If you plan on using your drive for much longer than that, or you know that you’ll be writing to the drive far more than the average computer user, you'll probably want to avoid QLC drives in particular, and invest in a model with higher-than-average endurance ratings, and/or a longer warranty. Samsung’s Pro drives, for instance, typically have high endurance ratings and long warranties. But again, the vast majority of computer users should not have to worry about a drive’s endurance.

Do you need a drive with 3D flash? And what about layers?

Here again is a question that you don’t have to worry about unless you're curious. The flash in SSDs used to be arranged in a single layer (planar). But starting with Samsung’s 850 Pro in 2012, drive makers began stacking storage cells on top of each other in layers. Samsung calls its implementation of this tech “V-NAND” (vertical NAND), Toshiba/Kioxia calls it “BiCS FLASH.” Most other companies just call it what it is: 3D NAND. As time progresses, drive makers are stacking more and more layers on top of each other, leading to denser, more spacious, and less-expensive drives.

At this point, the vast majority of current-generation consumer SSDs are made using some type of 3D storage. These days, many drives use 96-layer or 128-layer NAND, and technologies to add more layers are always in the works. But apart from looking at small letters on a spec sheet or box, the only reason you’re likely to notice that your drive has 3D NAND is when you see the price. 3D-based drives tend to cost significantly less than their predecessors at the same capacity because they’re cheaper to make and require fewer flash packages inside the drive for the same amount of storage.

What about 3D XPoint/Optane?

3D XPoint, (pronounced “cross point”), created in a partnership between Intel and Micron (maker of Crucial-branded SSDs), is a storage technology that can be much faster than any existing traditional flash-based SSD (think performance similar to DRAM), while also increasing endurance for longer-lasting storage.

While Micron was heavily involved in the development of 3D Xpoint, and intends to eventually bring it to market, as of this writing, Intel is the only company currently selling the technology to consumers, under its Optane brand. Optane Memory is designed to be used as a caching drive in tandem with a hard drive or a slower SATA-based SSD, while the Optane 900p (an add-in card) / 905P are standalone drives, and the Intel 800p can be used as either a caching drive or a standalone drive (though cramped capacities make it more ideal for the former).

Optane drives have much potential, both on the ultra-fast performance front and as a caching option for those who want the speed of an SSD for frequently used programs but the capacity of a spinning hard drive for media and game storage.

But Intel announced in early 2021 that it was discontinuing standalone Optane drives. So unless and until Micron sees fit to bring Xpoint to consumers, the technology seems to be at a dead-end for enthusiasts looking for extreme storage. Perhaps Samsung's Z-NAND tech will step up to take Optane's place.

Bottom Line

Now that you understand all the important details that separate SSDs and SSD types, your choices should be clear. Remember that high-end drives, while technically faster, won’t often feel speedier than less-spendy options in common tasks.

So unless you’re chasing extreme speed for professional or enthusiast reasons, it’s often best to choose an affordable mainstream drive that has the capacity you need at a price you can afford. Stepping up to any modern SSD over an old-school spinning hard drive is a huge difference that you’ll instantly notice. But as with most PC hardware, there are diminishing returns for mainstream users as you climb up toward the top of the product stack.

MORE: Best SSDs
MORE: Best External Hard Drives and Portable SSDs
MORE: How to Sell Your Used PC Components

Nvidia’s RTX 3000 series desktop graphics cards are launched and officially available, but finding one is a huge challenge. The latest card, the RTX 3070 Ti (see our RTX 3070 Ti review) was officially launched on June 3rd but was still showing as "coming soon" on most official stores even an hour after launch. And this follows continuing stock issues with the company's flagship RTX 3080, high-end RTX 3090 and mid-range RTX 3070, all of which were gone within minutes on launch day and have been hard to find ever since.  

Still, with companies promising to restock inventory and cancel scalper orders, it's worth checking on their store pages now and then, which is where this page comes in. Nvidia itself has stated that we should expect shortages throughout the year, but that's all the more reason to stay alert for when opportunities do arise. 

The big issue with getting your hands on these cards is not being able to pre-order them. Instead, you have to sign up for notifications on store pages, or set up a bot of your own (perhaps a Raspberry Pi-powered bot) that notifies you when cards become available. Then, if you're lucky, you can swoop in and buy a card before inventory runs out. We've seen it happen. 

That's why we've collected the different places where you can get your hands on RTX cards all on this one page, so you can prepare to get the new best graphics cards (or systems that include them, which are less likely to sell out) as soon as they become available.

Note that, as of time of writing, we've checked all the listed stores and still don't see any RTX 3070, RTX 3080, RTX 3060 or RTX 3090 cards for sale. However, there's always eBay or other resellers selling some of these cards...for close to or even double the MSRP through Amazon's marketplace.

Live Restock Events

Before we dive into our list proper, we should mention that retailers have started occasionally holding restock events to combat the GPU shortage. The most effective of these are held in person, which helps combat bots. With the pandemic starting to ease in certain parts of the United States, we've been seeing more of these events pop up lately, and it's possible that they might start to become more common throughout the remainder of 2021.

As of writing, the current most recent restock event was held by Best Buy on August 26th. We'll update this page as more pop up.

RTX 3070 Ti: Where to Buy

US RTX 3070 Ti retailers at a glance: Best Buy I Amazon I B&H I Newegg | Micro Center | Gamestop

US RTX 3070 Ti resellers at a glance: eBay I stockX  

The RTX 3070 Ti is Nvidia's latest RTX GPU, and aims to fill a niche between the normal RTX 3070 and the RTX 3080. Our review noted that this card isn't great for mining, and partner cards are so expensive that it might not prove that great for gaming, either. Still, if you can find a Founder's Edition for the $600 MSRP, it's a strong performer and definitely worth snatching up.

This feed doesn't necessarily show when things are out of stock.

• eBay: RTX 3070 Ti cards are currently going for upwards of $1,200 on eBay. Yikes.
• stockX: StockX, a site commonly used for aftermarket sneaker sales, also has RTX 3070 Ti cards on it. These also cost upwards of $1,200.
• Best Buy currently has the RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition listed, which is sold out, plus a bunch of similarly sold outcustom cards.
• Amazon, meanwhile, doesn’t have any official RTX 3070 Ti cards live. Although, some scalpers have put their cards on the site at heavily inflated prices.
• B&H is in almost the exact same situation as Best Buy, with a bunch of sold out custom cards.
• Newegg is where you'll find the widest variety of RTX 3070 Ti cards, but they're all sold out. You might get lucky and win a Newegg Shuffle, though. 
• Micro Center is a bit of an oddity, since all of its RTX 3080 Tis are only available in store. Availability will depend on where you live. 
• Gamestop currently doesn't have any RTX 3070 Ti models listed. 

RTX 3080 Ti: Where to Buy

US RTX 3080 Ti retailers at a glance: Best Buy I Amazon I B&H I Newegg | Micro Center | Gamestop

US RTX 3080 Ti resellers at a glance: eBay I stockX 

The RTX 3080 Ti is Nvidia's latest premium GPU, coming it just below the RTX 3090 in both price and power. We had some issues with the founders edition fan speed in our review, and questioned whether gamers would be better served by just opting for an RTX 3090. Still, there's no doubting that this is a powerhouse, as evidenced by how sold out it is.

This feed doesn't necessarily show when things are out of stock.

• eBay: If money is no object and you're willing to pay more than double the MSRP, eBay has RTX 3080 Ti cards going from upwards of $2,400. Yikes.
• stockX: Similar to eBay, there's also some aftermarket RTX 3080 cards up on stockX, a site commonly used for aftermarket sneaker sales. These range from $2,400 to $2,800.
• Best Buy currently has the RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition listed, which is sold out, plus a bunch of custom 3080 Tis that have yet to get new stock.
• Amazon, meanwhile, doesn’t have any official RTX 3080 Ti cards live. Although, some scalpers have put their cards on the site at heavily inflated prices.
• B&H has a bunch of third party RTX 3080 Ti cards listed, but doesn't have stock.
• Newegg is where you'll find the widest selection of RTX 3080 Ti cards, but they're all sold out. You might get lucky and win a Newegg Shuffle, though. 
• Micro Center only has RTX 3080 Tis are available in store. Stock depends on your location. 
• Gamestop currently doesn't have any RTX 3080 Ti models listed. 

RTX 3080: Where to Buy

US RTX 3080 retailers at a glance: Best Buy I Amazon I B&H I Newegg | Micro Center | Gamestop

US RTX 3080 resellers at a glance: eBay I stockX 

The most popular card of the new series is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. As we said in our RTX 3080 review, it’s both powerful and surprisingly well priced, allowing you to get 30% better performance than the RTX 2080 Ti for $700. There’s no doubt the 3080 is in high demand, which we saw when it sold out within seconds on launch day. That said, a number of retailers have store pages up right now where you can sign up to get notified when they go live again. 

This feed doesn't necessarily show when things are out of stock.

• eBay: If money is no object and you're willing to pay double the MSRP, eBay has RTX 3080 cards going from $1,599 to $2,100. Good news, though. The $2,100 unit has free shipping.
• stockX: Similar to eBay, there's also some aftermarket RTX 3080 cards up on stockX, a site commonly used for aftermarket sneaker sales. These range from $1,300 to $1,900, but buying from here might mean supporting people who use bots to resell.
• Best Buy currently lists RTX 3080s from Nvidia , Gigabyte, MSI, Asus, PNY and EVGA listed. Prices range from $699.99 to $999.99, depending on model and manufacturer. All are out of stock.
• Amazon, meanwhile, doesn’t have any options straight from Nvidia. Instead, it carries models from PNY, Zotac, MSI, EVGA, Gigabyte and Asus. Amazon currently doesn’t have any prices listed on its available, as it is out of inventory, but you can sign up for notifications on when they restock.
• B&H doesn’t have the Founders Edition, either. Its cards come from PNY, Asus, MSI and Gigabyte, though they're out of stock. You can still sign up for notifications, and prices range from $719.99 to $904.80 depending on model and manufacturer.
• Newegg has a range of models from manufacturers like Gigabyte, Zotac, EVGA, MSI and Asus. They range heavily in price depending on model, seller and manufacturer. Newegg also has numerous RTX 3080 bundle deals that include related gear like motherboards, though these are relegated to the Newegg Shuffle. You can also sign up for notifications here. 
• Micro Center is a bit of an oddity, in that most of its products are only available in store. This can make for more stock, though. There's a lot of options and a lot of local stores to check, but unfortunately, everything still seems to be sold out for now.
• Gamestop has five RTX 3080 models listed, though none are available for purchase. But good for you for getting in the race, Gamestop. 

RTX 3060: Where to Buy

US RTX 3060 retailers at a glance: Best Buy I Amazon I B&H I Newegg | Micro Center | Gamestop

US RTX 3060 resellers at a glance: eBay I stockX

Nvidia's non-Ti version of the RTX 3060 is here and is ready to offer Ampere at lower prices...if you can find it through official sources. Like we mentioned in our review, we think the official $329 asking price is essentially "fantasy land." If you can find it through official stores, what you'll get is a card that tends to place somewhere in between the RTX 2060 Super and RTX 2070 Super in terms of power.

As we're writing this, it's currently an hour after when the card was supposed to launch, and stores are either already sold out or are facing technical difficulties in even displaying their 3060 cards.

This feed doesn't necessarily show when things are out of stock.

• Best Buy currently has several RTX 3060 models listed on its site, including the Founders Edition, although they're all sold out.
• Amazon has a wide selection of RTX 3060 listings from ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, PNY and Zotac, but all are sold out.
• B&H has about a page's worth of RTX 3060 options on its store page, all currently showing a "notify when available" banner.
• Newegg doesn't have any RTX 3060 cards up for sale through the normal store, though you can try to snag a few through Newegg Shuffle.
• Micro Center has different RTX 3060 models shift in and out of availability, though they can only be bought in store.
• Gamestop actually has four RTX 3060 models up on its site, though they're currently not available.

There's also, of course, the gray market.  But with official sources being so scant on stock, even scalpers seem to be having trouble getting inventory. 

eBay: A quick eBay search mostly revealed RTX 3060 Ti listings, though adding "12GB" to the end of our search helped us find more inventory. Prices vary between $800 - $1200, which matches the eBay price trend charts on other Ampere cards we put together for our 3060 review. However, only a few of these listings actually show any proof of having the item in hand, so be careful.

stockX is another reselling site, and it's following similar trends to eBay, with prices tending to land in between $1,000 and $1,200.

RTX 3060 Ti: Where to Buy

US RTX 3060 Ti retailers at a glance: Best Buy I Amazon I B&H I Newegg | Micro Center | Gamestop

US RTX 3060 Ti resellers at a glance: eBay I stockX

The RTX 3060 Ti is no longer the newest RTX 3000 series card, but that doesn't mean stock is any easier to find. Like its younger base 3060 sibling, official stores seem to be sold out across the board. While some stores, like Best Buy, were occasionally refreshing inventory shortly after launch, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. That's a shame, because while we loved the RTX 3060 Ti's value in our review, not being able to buy it from anyone other than a scalper makes that point moot. 

• eBay: If you really want an RTX 3060 Ti card at all costs, you can get one here, thanks to scalpers. Buy it Now prices range from $699 up to $1,300. Beware cheap Founder's Edition listed as they tend to have descriptions saying that "this is just to deter scalpers and is just a piece of paper with a picture of the card printed on it."
• Best Buy: Currently lists a wide selection of RTX 3060 Ti cards, including the Founder's Edition, but they're all sold out.
• Newegg: Lists more than a dozen different third-party cards and all of them are sold out. No Founder's Edition. You can sign up for price alerts for these which presumably would tell you if they came back in stock, or try to snag a card through the Newegg Shuffle. 
• B&H: Has plenty of cards listed, with prices ranging from $399 to $649, but all of them are out of stock and there's no Founder's Edition. You can sign up for notifications for each.
• Amazon: As of this writing, the site didn't even have any listings for RTX 3060 Ti cards, but that could change by the time you read this.
• Gamestop: Like the RTX 3060, the RTX 3060 Ti also has two models up on Gamestop. And like that other model, they're also out of stock.

This feed doesn't necessarily show when things are out of stock.

RTX 3090: Where to Buy

US RTX 3090 retailers at a glance: Best Buy I Amazon I B&H I Newegg | Micro Center | Gamestop

US RTX 3090 resellers at a glance: eBay I stockX

This feed doesn't necessarily show when things are out of stock.

If you want even more power than the RTX 3080, the RTX 3090 is your best bet. Our RTX 3090 review dubs it the heir to the Titan throne and crowns it the definitive "fastest GPU for gaming." It even performs well with SLI, which is rare in modern graphics cards, though you might still have to properly configure your DLSS settings to get the most out of it according to new benchmarking with Watch Dogs: Legion. 

It does cost more than the RTX 3080, starting at $1,500 for the Nvidia Founder's Edition, but seeing how quickly it sold out on its September 24 launch, it's clear demand is just as high as for its less powerful sibling. So just like with the RTX 3080, we've gathered RTX 3090 store pages together so you can be ready to strike when stock comes back in.

• eBay: If your time is worth a lot more than your money, you can grab an RTX 3090 card from a seller on eBay for as little as $2,499.
• stockX: Like eBay, you can also turn to stockX for aftermarket RTX 3090s. This is a site commonly used for designer sneaker sales, and prices range from $2,330 to $3,200. But know that buying from here might mean supporting people who use bots to mark up prices.
• Newegg has the most RTX 3090 listings right now with options from MSI, Asus, EVGA, Zotac and Gigabyte. Prices range around the $1,499.99 to $1,799 point, and you can sign up for notifications on the listings that interest you. Like with the RTX 3080, Newegg also has numerous bundle deals that include related gear like motherboards, but you can only get these through the Newegg Shuffle.
• Best Buy is where you can find the Founders Edition, as well as cards from Gigabyte, Asus, PNY, EVGA and MSI. Prices vary between models, though all are sold out.
• Amazon has RTX 3090 listings from Zotac, PNY, MSI, Gigabyte and Asus' TUF brand, though none have prices listed due to being out of stock . You can sign up for notifications, though.
• B&H has cards from Asus, MSI, PNY and Gigabyte, with prices all above $2000 depending on model and manufacturer. None are in stock, but as always, email notifications are available.
• Micro Center limits most of its products to in-store purchases, which is a double-edged sword, especially during the pandemic. Still, it can make for more stock, though that doesn't seem to be the case quite yet. Click through to check your local store.
• Gamestop: Gamestop has four RTX 3090 cards listed on its site, including options from EVGA and MSI. None are in stock, but it's a good look for the historically console-focused store.

RTX 3070: Where to Buy

US RTX 3070 retailers at a glance: Best Buy I Amazon I B&H I Newegg | Micro Center | Gamestop

US RTX 3070 resellers at a glance: eBay I stockX

Rounding out the RTX 3000-series releases is the RTX 3070, which was originally expected to launch on October 15 but was pushed back to October 29th to increase launch day stock. The RTX 3070 is the most affordable of the RTX 3000 cards, packing 5,888 CUs for prices starting at $499.00 and targeting 1440p gameplay. In leaked tests, it performed slightly better than a 2080 Ti despite its much lower cost, and our own review also compared it to a 2080 Ti. 

Despite the release delay, RTX 3070s repeated the pattern of the other RTX 3000 series card launches and also sold out within minutes after going live. That's not a surprise, given Proshop's inventory numbers before the card went up. Still, we will continue to monitor stock and update this page if we see any.

This feed doesn't necessarily show when things are out of stock.

• eBay: Like the RTX cards that launched before it, the RTX 3070 is all over eBay. Reputable listings seem to start around $600.
• stockX: There are currently a few RTX 3070 units up on stockX for around $1,200.
• Best Buy lists the Nvidia Founders Edition, but you can't order it. It also has sold out options from the likes of Gigabyte, EVGA and PNY. Prices range around the $499 to $569 point depending on product.
• Amazon has two PNY models listed. Amazon isn't taking orders either, but you can sign up to be notified when products become available. 
• B&H has a wide selection of sold out RTX 3070 models listed, including options from Gigabyte, Asus and MSI.
• Newegg has RTX 3070 model listings from manufacturers like MSI, Zotac, Asus and Gigabyte. Prices range around the $539 to $899 point, though all are sold out.
• Micro Center only sells the RTX 3070 in-store, which could make for more stock in the future. All of its 3070 options still seem to be sold out for now, but click through to check your local store.
• Gamestop rounds out its Ampere listings with three RTX 3070 listings, though none are in stock.

Pre-Builts with RTX

US RTX Pre-Built Systems at a glance: iBuyPower I Velocity Micro I Alienware I Cyberpower I Falcon Northwest

RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 cards are still sold out across all stores, but there are pre-built systems that include the cards still available. 

• iBuyPower has desktop systems with RTX 3080 cards available for order. 
• Velocity Micro is still letting you add RTX cards to any of its full tower or workstation desktops. The company is currently quoting about a 2-week lead time for deliveries.
• Alienware currently has gaming desktops and laptops available with RTX cards, although stock can be hard to find. 
• Cyberpower currently has 8 desktops available with RTX 3080s. Expect a 3 week lead time on deliveries. 
• Falcon Northwest is currently allowing customers to add RTX 3080s to their FragBox, Talon and Tiki system orders.

Also, keep an eye on our Best Gaming PC deals page- we'll update it if we find any deals (or more likely at this point, bundles) on systems with RTX cards in them.

External GPUs with RTX

If you have a compatible laptop or other device and need a bit more oomph, external GPU systems have recently become a popular way to achieve just that. On November 23rd, Gigabyte announced the first RTX 3000 series GPUs on the market, the watercooled RTX 3090 and 3080 Gaming Boxes.

As their names imply, these boxes come either an RTX 3090 or RTX 3080 in a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure. A waterblock cools the card in conjunction with a 240mm radiator and a pump, and Gigabyte claims that these eGPUs are the world's first watercooled external graphics cards.

There's no word on pricing or availability yet, but as more units like this launch, they'll be another method to get your hands on Ampere cards.

AMD’s long-awaited Ryzen 5000 line of processors has finally launched, and like the RTX 3000 launch before it, the CPUs sold out almost instantly at launch. Unlike Nvidia with its RTX 3000 graphics cards, though, AMD quickly promised more stock to come soon. That's already come to fruition for lots of the Ryzen 5000 line, though the situation differs from chip to chip.

Also, different stores all have different approaches to selling AMD’s hottest new processors, including AMD's own store. Since we might see even more stock coming in the future, let’s run through America’s major component retailers to get you ready to buy AMD's new chips as soon as they become available again.  

 AMD Ryzen 5 5600X: Where to Buy

US Ryzen 5 5600X retailers at a glance: AMD I Amazon I Newegg I B&H I Best Buy | Micro Center

US Ryzen 5 5600X resellers at a glance: eBay

The Ryzen 5 5600X is the most affordable of the Ryzen 5000 processors and has 6 cores/12 threads of power with base/boost speeds of 3.7/4.6 GHz and a 35MB cache. It’s also the only Ryzen 5000 CPU to come with an included Wraith Stealth cooler, as AMD no longer packs coolers with CPUs that draw over 65W in power. With a $299 MSRP, it was easy for bots to snatch up at launch without much of an overhead cost, but stock has since heavily recovered.

The Ryzen 5 5600X is currently in stock at most stores, including Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, B&H and even AMD's own website. It's also on sale at some sites, with the cheapest price we could find being $272 at Amazon and Newegg.

Microcenter also has stock, but it's limited depending on location and can only be purchased in-store. You can check if your local store has stock here.

Be wary when checking stock on Amazon and Newegg, though. Among the official listings, there's also inflated prices from third party sellers.
 

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X: Where to Buy

US Ryzen 7 5800X retailers at a glance: AMD I Amazon I Newegg I B&H I Best Buy | Micro Center

US Ryzen 7 5800X resellers at a glance: eBay

The Ryzen 7 5800X is, according to numbers from Scan UK, what might be the most popular Ryzen 5000 series chip (although that’s only one retailer). Its 8 core/ 16 thread core count and 3.8 / 4.7 GHz base / boost clock make it an appealing choice given its $449 MSRP, not to mention its 36MB cache.

Luckily, this CPU is currently in stock at most stores. It's also on sale at many stores, with its cheapest price right now being $394 at Amazon.

AMD also has stock if you want to buy directly, but you won't get any discounts.

Microcenter has limited availability in some stores, but you can only buy your processor in person.  You can check your local store for stock here.

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X: Where to Buy

US Ryzen 9 5900X retailers at a glance: AMD I Amazon I Newegg I B&H I Best Buy | Micro Center

US Ryzen 9 5900X resellers at a glance: eBay

The Ryzen 9 5900X is where the Ryzen 5000 CPU series starts to get premium. It’s got 12 cores/ 24 threads and 3.7 / 4.8 GHz clock speeds all for $549. It’s also got a 70MB cache, as opposed to the 35 and 36MB caches on the 5600X and 5800X, respectively.

Among official retailers, the Ryzen 9 5900X is technically only in stock at AMD's own store right now. Antonline does have Amazon and Newegg third-party listings for it, though, but the Amazon listing is $10 more than the ones on Newegg or AMD's own site.

Microcenter is promising limited in-store availability depending on location. You can check your local store here.

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X: Where to Buy

US Ryzen 9 5950X retailers at a glance: AMD I Amazon I Newegg I B&H I Best Buy | Micro Center

US Ryzen 9 5950X resellers at a glance: eBay

Finally, the Ryzen 9 5950X is the most premium Ryzen 5000 CPU available. It’s got 16 cores / 32 threads and clock speeds of 3.4 / 4.9 GHz, plus a 72MB cache. All of that comes at a $799 MSRP.

All the usual official retailers currently have this chip in stock, aside from Amazon. They're also all selling it for $749, aside from AMD's own store, which is still keeping the $799 pricing.

Microcenter's stock depends on your location, which you can check here.

Even with the overall better stock situation, AMD is promising more Ryzen 5000 CPU stock to come in soon. Bots might eat that up first as well, but hopefully now you’re a little more prepared to strike as soon as new deals come in.  

Whether you’re building a custom keyboard or just looking to spice up an old favorite, changing keycaps is often the first stop on the way to personalizing your keyboard. It’s also one of the easiest upgrades a fledgling modder can make, requiring only a keycap puller to get started. 

But if it’s your first time shopping for aftermarket keycaps, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and confused about what really matters. Product listings often go into detail on the exact type of plastic used, the way the legends are made or the profile they follow without ever explaining what those different qualities mean. Prices can also vary from the very cheap to more than a whole second keyboard.  

After reading this guide, you’ll be able to cut through the noise, know what matters and choose the keycap set that’s right for you and works for your keyboard.

Quick keycap shopping tips 

• ABS is better for color, PBT is better for longevity. While each type of plastic has fans claiming it’s the best, each has its benefits. ABS plastic is better for showing vibrant colors but is prone to shining with extended use. PBT won’t wear down in the same way but isn’t as colorful and is more susceptible to warping.
• Doubleshot legends are usually best, but dye-sublimated ones can be good too. Doubleshot keycaps often have crisper legends, due to the injection molding process, but dye-sublimated keycaps can often look great at reduced cost. Look for close-ups of the legends before purchasing.
• Unless you’re only interested in RGB, avoid thin, laser-engraved keycaps. The cheapest keycaps tend to be thin and backlit with laser-etched legends. These can be great for showing off RGB but are often made from low-quality ABS plastic and don’t feel great to type on.
• The thicker the keycap, the better. Thick-walled keycaps often feel more solid under the finger and are nicer to type on (up to about 1.5mm). 
• Keycap profile affects sound and feel. Watch typing tests and consider preferences before buying. Taller, spherical keycaps, like those in SA profile, often have a lower-pitched and slightly louder typing sound than shorter, cylindrical ones. SA keycaps can also feel more fatiguing and have a learning curve.
• Cheap keycap sets aren’t necessarily bad but often struggle with quality control. Amazon and other marketplaces are flooded with cheap keycaps. Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean bad, but they’re more likely to have quality control issues, like off-center or fuzzy legends. Read reviews when possible and check the vendor’s return policy. 

Which keycaps will fit your keyboard? 

The first and most important thing to consider when shopping for keycaps is which sets will fit your keyboard. The vast majority of keycaps are designed to fit cross stem switches, which includes Cherry MX and its clones. If the top of your switch looks like a “+” then you’re in luck. If you’re using a Topre keyboard or a keyboard with Logitech’s Romer-G switches, the options are much more limited.

Most keycap sets are designed to support the “standard” layout shown in the picture above. Even though many keyboards look the same at first glance, pay special attention to the bottom row and modifiers. 

Gaming keyboards, like the picture above, will often shrink the Windows key and increase the size of Ctrl and Alt to make them easier to access in-game.

Likewise, if your keyboard uses a compact layout, such as the Glorious GMMK Pro (pictured above), keys are often shrunk to achieve the smaller size. This extends beyond the bottom row, so take time to look over the entire board. 

If your keyboard uses non-standard keycap sizes, don’t worry!  The most affordable aftermarket keycaps often only support standard sizing, but many kits include extra keys for exactly this situation. Look for sizing charts on the product page to ensure the kit you’re considering is compatible with your keyboard.

ABS vs PBT keycaps

Keycaps are available in two key plastics: ABS or PBT. Both have dedicated fan bases that fervently believe theirs is the best, but each has pros and cons. Neither is absolutely better than the other, but their strengths and weaknesses can make them a better fit for individual users.

ABS, or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, is a lightweight thermoplastic. It’s a popular plastic used in products throughout our daily lives, including the cases housing many keyboards. ABS excels at representing bright, vivid colors. It is also the plastic used by GMK and Signature Plastics, the manufacturer of some of the most prized custom keycap sets in the world. ABS keycaps tend to have a higher pitched sound than PBT.

The downside to ABS is that it wears down over time, leaving a shiny gloss on the face of the most used keycaps. This shine can make your prized keycap set look worn sometimes mere months after being installed on a keyboard if it’s used enough.

PBT, also known as Polybutylene Terephthalate, is significantly more dense. As a result, one of the biggest selling points of PBT is that it resists shining, even with extended use and is considered more durable. PBT keycaps also tend to be thicker since they use dye-sublimation for their legends more frequently than ABS. 

PBT’s biggest con is that it is unable to achieve the same vibrancy as ABS, so colors tend to be more muted overall. The Spacebar in PBT keycap sets is also more prone to warping during manufacturing, which can interrupt the uniform look of the keyboard or, worse, the functioning of the spacebar. It is rare to see warping reach this level on any but the cheapest PBT sets.

Doubleshot keycaps and other types of legends 

Legends are the letters and symbols that appear on the face of the key, and how they get there is more important that you may think. There are multiple methods manufacturers use for applying legends to save money or increase durability. The most common types, in order of quality are: 

• Pad-printed: This is the most common type of legend printing found on pre-built keyboards but is less common on aftermarket keycap sets, due to lack of durability. Pad printed legends are ink-based and applied directly to the top of the keycap during manufacturing.
• Laser-engraved: Laser-engraved legends are most often found on keycaps with translucent legends to show RGB backlighting. As its name implies, this uses a laser to engrave the legends on the keycap. This legend is prone to chipping around the edges and staining if it is filled in with a light colored material, (such as to create white legends on black keycaps).
• Dye-sublimated: Dye-sublimation legends are created by using heat and dye to permanently stain the plastic of the keycap. These legends are very durable and will not wear out over time but can have softer edges, due to the dying process. This type of legend is most common to PBT keycaps due to their reduced wear and tear versus ABS.
• Doubleshot: Doubleshot keycaps are created by bonding two pieces of plastic for the legend and outer shell of the keycap. When done well, these keycaps are often the most durable and feature the most crisp legends. 

Dye-sublimated and doubleshot keycaps are the best of the four most popular varieties. Quality between the two can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so which is best will vary. When shopping for keycaps, take a close look at the legends to make sure they’re clean and easily legible.

It’s important to note that only laser-etched legends will show RGB backlighting on the letter itself. That said, there are many doubleshot keycaps that use translucent plastic for their legends and will still illuminate. Dye-sublimated keycaps and those with colored legends use opaque plastic throughout their construction, so RGB illumination will be limited to underglow only.

What is a keycap profile, and which is right for you? 

In the world of keycaps, “profile” refers to the shape of each keycap and the contour they create for the whole keyset when installed on the keyboard. A keycap set’s profile directly impacts how familiar it will feel and how comfortable it is to type on, (as well the sound they create: bigger keycaps have a deeper, more hollow sound profile), but should not impact compatibility on most keyboards. 

Keycaps come in two main categories: cylindrical and spherical. Cylindrical keycaps have a “u” shape across their entire surface and usually have flat, angled sides with straight corners. Spherical keycaps have a rounded concave surface, rounded sides and are often much taller. 

While there are many variations on each type, the four main profiles to know about are Cherry, OEM, SA and DSA. Cherry and OEM keycaps are cylindrical and overall very similar, but OEM is slightly taller. OEM profile is very popular on production keyboards, but many find Cherry profile (named after the popular key switch brand) more comfortable because of its lower profile.

SA and DSA keycaps are spherical but are more starkly different. SA keycaps are distinctly vintage and recall the tall, highly contoured keycaps of decades past. DSA is much shorter but when installed as a whole set creates a flat plane for typing. This type of keycap set is referred to as “unsculpted” because of its lack of curvature. Both sets usually involve a slight learning curve since very few pre-made keyboards come with these keycaps.

Other keycap profiles include MT3, ASA and XDA but this just names a few. If you’re new to aftermarket keycaps, we recommend avoiding unsculpted keycap sets, as the lack of contouring can make touch typing more difficult at first. But, like most parts of keyboard customization, it’s really about what style speaks to you the most. 

Keycap thickness 

There’s a reason many vendors quote the thickness of their keycaps: thickness matters. How much it matters depends on your personal preferences. Keycaps with thicker walls often feel more solid when bottoming out and have a deeper sound when typing. By comparison, thinner keycaps often feel less substantial and have a higher-pitched typing sound.

On average, keycaps considered thin usually measure about 1mm. Though the trend has begun to change at the flagship level, even many of the best gaming keyboards typically feature keycaps of this thickness. Conversely, enthusiast mechanical keyboards, such as the Ducky Mecha SF, feature thick-walled keycaps closer to 1.5mm. Keycap thickness is one important element to why enthusiast mechanical keyboards often feel noticeably nicer to type on. Generally speaking, standard PBT keycaps tend to be thicker than their ABS counterparts, but doubleshot PBT and doubleshot ABS keycaps tend to be around the same thickness. 

One important caveat here is RGB backlighting. Thinner walls allow more light to shine through, leading to brighter, more vibrant illumination.

Is it worth paying extra for high-end keycaps and name brands? 

Brands like GMK and Signature Classics have well-deserved reputations for the high quality of their products but also have high prices to match. Don’t feel like you need to pay exorbitant prices to get a high-quality keycap set. While it’s more likely that you’ll have a great experience by paying extra for these brands due to their exceptional quality control, there are great keycap sets from companies like Mistel, EnjoyPBT and Akko that impress at much more affordable prices.

Will I need anything else to change my keycaps?  

Changing keycaps is easy! All you’ll need to get started is a keycap puller. There are no mechanical parts to a keycap and they attach with a simple friction-fit to the stem of each switch. To remove them, you fit the wire loop of the keycap puller under each side of the keycap and pull. Putting the new keycap on is even more simple: line up the stem and press down. It’s that easy. 

Where can I buy custom keycaps? 

There are many places to buy custom keycap sets. Amazon has a wide selection, but search tools can make finding what you’re looking for difficult. The same is true of Chinese wholesaler, Banggood. Keyboard-specific websites like Mechanical Keyboards, KBDFans and KPRepublic also feature a wide array of options often not found on more mainstream sites.

Some of the most highly prized sets are designed by community members and purchased through the group buy system on sites like Geek Hack and Reddit. These sets are often highly themed and produced in limited quantities by companies like GMK, making them quite expensive. Group buying involves paying up front with other community members to fund the production run, then waiting for fulfillment. This process can take months or more and involves significant risk on the buyer’s part, so it’s not something we recommend for newcomers. On the plus side, should the set prove popular, they often grow in value over time. 

Bottom Line

When shopping for aftermarket keycaps, there is only one hard rule: they need to fit your keyboard. From there, it’s all about making that keyboard uniquely your own. If all you care about is looks, it’s easier to get out cheap by buying an affordable ABS set in a color scheme you like. If you’re looking for something more specific or with higher build quality, you’ll have more to consider and probably pay more for the privilege. 

No matter which path you choose, decking out your keyboard with a set of custom keycaps is one of the most fun parts of the keyboard hobby and a gateway to the deeper world of keyboard customization.

The first four entries in AMD’s Big Navi line of graphics cards are finally out, meaning that there’s now a group of worthy contenders to Nvidia’s RTX throne. We spoke highly about both the now-released RX 6700 XT, RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT in our reviews for these cards, praising their price-to-power ratio and their attempt to snag the best GPU crown for Team Red. Our RX 6900 XT and RX 6600 XT review, though, were a bit more mixed. 

These cards are new powerhouses for AMD, packing ray tracing and hitting average frame rates of up to 93 fps at 4K across a 9-game average in our testing. But they also have another potential strength to wield against Nvidia- in an era where pretty much every new piece of fancy tech sells out almost instantly: They’re another option.

That doesn’t mean stock is easy to come by, because like the RTX cards before them, the RX 6800 and RX 6800 XT quickly sold out when they launched early November 18th, and the same happened when custom versions of the cards hit store shelves on November 25th and the RX 6900 XT launched on December 8th.

As with the Ryzen 5000 launch, AMD’s aiming to keep stock high and steady, but we’re not expecting these cards to be readily available for a while. But if you’re struggling to get your hands on a next-gen graphics card, here’s how to broaden your net a bit and maybe find a few active AMD listings for your trouble.

One trick that might sign up your chances of snagging a new high-end card: Break out your Raspberry Pi and use it to build your own bot to snag a card. Using a Pi and the open-source Python-based Inventory Hunter app and the shared code and instructions on Github you give it a shot. If it doesn't work, at least you've killed some time between now and that foggy future where Big Navi cards are actually readily available.
 

Radeon RX 6600 XT: Where to Buy

US Radeon RX 6600 XT retailers at a glance: AMD | Best Buy | Newegg | Amazon | B&H | Micro Center

US Radeon RX 6700 XT resellers at a glance: eBay 

The RX 6600 XT is the least powerful Big Navi card you can get, targeting 1080p performance for an MSRP of $379. It's got 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, 32 CUs and 9.7 teraflops of power. That's a little lower than we'd like for the cost, as we stated in our review.

But even the MSRP is low compared to what aftermarket sales are likely to be. As with other major tech releases as of late, stock is low across the board.

AMD: The RX 6600 XT doesn't even show up on AMD's online store.

Best Buy: Best Buy’s got three sold out RX 6600 XT models on its site, ranging form $379 to $479 in price.

Newegg: Like most tech releases, Newegg's got the widest selection. But all of its cards are also sold out, so you're going to have to resort to the Newegg Shuffle to buy from here.

Amazon: The RX 6600 XT doesn't even show up in searches on Amazon right now, which instead take you to products with similar names.

B&H: There's one RX 6600 XT model on B&H's site, but it's sold out for now.

Micro Center:  Micro Center has four models with limited in-store availability. Prices range from $379 to $549, and stock differs from store to store. 

eBay: We could actually only find one eBay auction for the RX 6600 XT as of writing, and it costs more than double the MSRP. Yikes.

Radeon RX 6700 XT: Where to Buy

US Radeon RX 6700 XT retailers at a glance: AMD | Best Buy | Newegg | Amazon | B&H | Micro Center

US Radeon RX 6700 XT resellers at a glance: eBay 

The Radeon RX 6700 XT is, like we stated in our review, sort of the diet version of Big Navi. It's got 12GB of GDDR6 VRAM, 40 CUs and 12.4 teraflops of power, which lets it hit clock speeds of 2,424 MHz. All of that will cost you $479, which we thought was a touch too high for a card that's geared towards 1080p/1440p performance.

But it's still nothing compared to what you're likely to find right now. As with other major tech releases as of late, the only way you're probably going to be able to buy a Radeon RX 6700 XT at the moment is either going aftermarket or buying an expensive AIB model.

AMD: AMD has a store that lets you buy graphics cards directly through its website, but stock is sold out right now.

Best Buy: Best Buy’s amped up its 6700 XT model selection lately, including one $899 model that's actually available to buy online and one $999 model that's available at select stores.

Newegg: Newegg is where you'll find the widest selection of RX 6700 XT listings, from Asus to Gigabyte to MSI and more, but all the official listings are out of stock at the moment. Watch out for high prices from third-party sellers, though.

Amazon: Searching for an RX 6700 XT on Amazon just brings you to aftermarket sales, so maybe wait a bit before putting it in your search rotation.

B&H: Like Best Buy, B&H actually has 6700 XT models in stock. This includes a $949 model from XFX and a $999 model from MSI.

Micro Center:  Micro Center has several RX 6700 XT models listed on its site, all of which are only available for purchase in store and have limited stock depending on location.

eBay: eBay is an especially dangerous place to search for RX 6700 XT models right now, since anything under around $800 actually won't net you a product if you look at the fine print. Be on the lookout for scammers.

Radeon RX 6900 XT: Where to Buy

US Radeon RX 6800 retailers at a glance: AMD | Best Buy | Newegg | Amazon | B&H

US Radeon RX 6800 resellers at a glance: eBay 

The Radeon RX 6900 XT is AMD’s most recent Big Navi GPU, as well as its most powerful. It has a $999 starting price of and comes with 80 compute units and 23 teraflops of power, plus 16GB of VRAM. Clock speeds start at 1,825 MHz and can hit up to 2,250 MHz when boosted, and the average 4K fps on the RX 6900 XT across our 9 game suite was 85 out-of-the-box and 90.7 when overclocked. 

This card's other big feature is ray tracing, and while all of these numbers and capabilities come together to make an impressive suite, our review concluded that it's not too much more impressive than AMD's other Big Navi given the steep price increase. Hence, you're going to want to be extra conscientious when shopping.

AMD: Unlike Nvidia, AMD allows you to buy graphics cards directly through its website. Unfortunately, stock is sold out right now.

Best Buy: Best Buy has beefed up its RX 6900 XT selection, and currently has a $2,059 model from Gigabyte up for sale on its site.

Newegg: Newegg is normally where you'd find the largest selection of RX 6900 XT models, but the site doesn't seem to have any in stock right now, with listings simply pointing to other graphics cards and third-party sales. 

Amazon: Searching for an RX 6900 XT on Amazon mostly brings up third-party sellers, so don't expect to get an official card here quite yet.

B&H: Searching for the RX 6900 XT brings up listings from MSI, XFX and Asus. The XFX cards are actually in stock, starting at $1,799.

eBay: eBay markups for the RX 6900 XT are especially ridiculous, with most reasonable-seeming listings turning out to just be pictures. When you start to look for people selling the actual card, their listings start at $2,000.

Radeon RX 6800: Where to Buy 

US Radeon RX 6800 retailers at a glance: AMD | Best Buy | Newegg | Amazon | B&H

US Radeon RX 6800 resellers at a glance: eBay | stockX 

The Radeon RX 6800 is AMD’s base-level Big Navi GPU, coming in at a starting price of $579 and packing 60 compute units with 16.2 teraflops of power and 16GB of VRAM. Clock speeds start at 1,815 MHz and can hit up to 2,105 MHz when boosted, and the average 4K fps on the RX 6800 across our 9 game suite was 80. Throw in ray tracing, and that’s a pretty impressive suite, coming in just below the RTX 3080 and the RX 6800 XT while only costing $80 more than an RTX 3070. That also means this card is in high demand though, so you’ll want to keep a diligent watch on the following stores.

AMD: While AMD does sell graphics cards directly through its website, stock on all Big Navi cards is sold out right now.

Best Buy: Best Buy’s RX 6800 selection is slim, with the store only stocking the MSI and XFX models, plus a few from Gigabyte. Most are sold out right now, although one model from Gigabyte and one model from XFX have limited in-store availability depending on location.

Newegg: Newegg currently has the largest selection of RX 6800 models, with cards from Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, Asrock, PowerColor and Sapphire. All of these cards are sold out right now, but you can add them to a wishlist to get email notifications for when they restock.

Amazon: Amazon is currently sold out of Radeon RX 6800 cards as well, and searching for them right now simply brings up pages from third-party sellers.

B&H: B&H now has Asus, XFX and MSI RX 6800 cards listed, but none are available.

eBay: As usual, aftermarket sellers have more availability, but the markup here is steep. RX 6800 cards are starting at $700 on eBay and going all the way into the thousands. Value is a key reason to buy this card, making these listings much less appealing.

stockX: This is another gray market site, and it currently has one RX 6800 listing up for a starting price of $1,220. That’s a more than 100% markup.

Radeon RX 6800 XT: Where to Buy 

US Radeon RX 6800 XT retailers at a glance: AMD | Best Buy | Newegg | Amazon | B&H

US Radeon RX 6800 XT resellers at a glance: eBay | stockX 

The Radeon RX 6800 XT is AMD’s big new competitor for the RTX 3080, with our review placing it at a 92 fps average on 4K ultra settings across 9 games. That’s just 4 fps below the 3080’s average, despite the RX 6800 XT costing just $50 less. Assuming you can find it, that’s a great deal, so keep an eye out for this 20.7 teraflops, 72 CU card with clock speeds of 2,015/2,250 MHz and 16GB of VRAM at the stores below.

AMD: Like the RX 6800 and the 6900 XT, you can also buy 6800 XT stock direct from AMD, assuming you can find it. Unfortunately, AMD’s store is sold out right now.

Best Buy: Best Buy only has six RX 6800 XT units listed right now, with thee from XFX, two from Gigabyte and one from MSI. They're all sold out, except for one XFX model with limited in-store availability depending on location. 

Newegg: Newegg has the widest selection of RX 6800 XT listings, with cards from Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, Asrock, XFX, PowerColor and Sapphire. Each of these listings is sold out right now, but you can add them to a wishlist to get email notifications for when they restock.

Amazon: Amazon is currently sold out of Radeon RX 6800 XT cards as well, with searches for them simply redirecting to third-party sellers.

B&H: B&H currently has five RX 6800 XT cards listed on its site. You can't buy any of them as of yet.

eBay: If you don’t mind a markup, you can turn to the gray market to get a Radeon RX 6800 XT, but prices on eBay currently start at over $1000, seriously mitigating the value this card offers.

stockX: B&H currently has four RX 6800 XT cards listed on its site, with two from XFX, one from MSI and one from Asus. You can't buy any of them as of e cost of buying new.

To thrive in the 21st century, children need to not only understand how to use technology but also how to build and control it. That’s why school curricula are so focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). But parents can help children develop those skills outside of the classroom too -- and in a fun fashion. 

The marketplace is filled with STEM toys, also known as STEM kits, that can help your child hone their talents at home. At first blush, the idea of giving an educational toy as a gift may feel like the equivalent of baking a birthday cake made out of broccoli. But the best STEM kits challenge and engage a child more than a video game. Better yet, many of these toys provide a great parent-child bonding opportunity as you work on projects together.

Below we’ve listed six things to keep in mind when shopping for a STEM toy. For more specific product recommendations, be sure to check out our breakdown of the best STEM toys.

1. What type of STEM toy do you want?

STEM toys take various routes to teaching children. Below, we've broken down the most valuable categories, which you can pick from based on your child's current interests and the specific STEM skills you want them to develop. 

Since this is Tom’s Hardware and we’re techies, we’re most interested in the first four STEM toy categories, which are primarily about technology but also some engineering and math. However, there are plenty of great science kits and telescopes out there too. 

• Robot kits: Not surprisingly, these are the most popular STEM toys. But it's not just about feeling like you're in the future. A good robot kit will teach your child how to code by having them write programs that cause a real-world device to move, perform tasks and generate lights and sounds. The best robot kits also teach some engineering skills by having you build the device from parts. Bonus: your kid won't be disappointed when they open up a toy that looks like it's from a sci-fi story.

• Programming kits: Similar to robot kits, these toys have children control a real-world object through programming. However, the device is not what most people would call a robot. Think of a light box or even a drone, for example. 

• Circuit kits: These fun toys teach kids about electricity and electrical engineering by having them build small circuits, complete with inputs and outputs like motors, lights and sensors.

• Kid computers: There are a lot of kid-friendly computers on the market, but only a couple that are explicitly designed to build STEM skills. The Kano Computer Kit with Touch is the best example because it provides the parts to build a working Linux-based computer. Plus, it comes preloaded with a slew of programming challenges for your child to conquer.

• Construction kits: These toys may look a lot like standard building blocks (such as Legos), but also include engineering lessons. Take the Engino Discovering STEM Structures Constructions & Bridges toy. It comes with a booklet that explains physics concepts that kids can grasp by making a structure.

• Science kits: From chemistry kits to microscopes and potato clocks, these more traditional toys teach basic science principles by having kids perform experiment,  just like they might in class.

• Telescopes: For the little stargazer fan in your life, a child-friendly telescope can help them learn about space. Our sister site Space.com has a great list of the best telescopes for kids.

2. What’s age appropriate?

Most STEM toys are marked with an age range, but as a parent it's important to look at the skill-level the product requires and decide for your specific child based on that. For example, the Lego Boost kit is marketed for ages 7 and up, but we’ve seen children as young as 4 or 5 use it intensely. That's because the app doesn’t require reading skills.

Don't underestimate your child’s ability to grasp concepts that you think may be above their head. Also, if you work on a project together with your child, they can still learn a lot even if some of the material's too advanced for them. Maybe your child doesn’t have the reading skills to comprehend the complicated user interface in a programming app on their own, but they can learn how to use it from watching you.

3. Program, build or both?

Some STEM toys give you all the parts to build a robot or device, while others provide a prebuilt gadget that you can program. Both approaches work, but there’s something extra fun and educational about building your own.

If you want your child to learn coding skills, just make sure that that the robot has a robust set of programming lessons and isn’t just a remote control toy that you build. There are also devices like the OWI Robotic Arm Edge that aren’t programmable at all but teach your child a lot about circuitry and electronics.

4. Can you run the companion app?

Many STEM toys require companion apps that run on a phone, tablet or computer. Your child will need access to a compatible device that can run the app. The good news is that the majority of companion apps are available for both iOS and Android.

Check the requirements carefully. And keep in mind that many of these apps are not available for Amazon Fire tablets, the most popular (and best) kids tablets around. Although Fire tablets run a version of Android, they don’t have access to the Google Play store, so any app must be listed in the Amazon App Store for you to use it on those devices.

5. Does it provide instructions and challenges or leave kids on their own?

The best STEM toys provide a guided learning experience that gives children both the tutorials and flexibility they need to make custom projects or programs. Others, especially those more targeted toward older kids / adults, leave you to figure things out on your own.

For example the Sphero Bolt robot ball has a programming mode with a ton of different logic blocks, but also offers tutorials, rather than just a blank canvas with no direction. Meanwhile, the Wonder Workshop’s Dash and Dot robots have a series of increasingly complex coding challenges you must complete in order, each with plenty of instructions to help.

6. Does it use a standard programming language or building system?

Most programmable STEM kits use block-based coding languages that look similar to one another but aren’t compatible with other products. So, while children learn the same basic principles of logic from, for example, Jimu Builder Bots as with Wonder Workshop Dash, their coding systems look different and aren’t compatible with each other.

It’s also worth noting that all the major grown-up programming languages use text, rather than draggable blocks. STEM toy-makers know that, for younger kids, all that reading and typing would be overwhelming. However, it’s always a plus when you can get a STEM kit that allows you to graduate to a standard programming language applicable in the real world, like JavaScript, Python or Arduino.

It’s also helpful if the building materials  a STEM toy uses are compatible with a larger ecosystem of accessories and blocks. In the case of Lego Boost or Lego Mindstorms EV3, there’s a huge world of Lego-compatible stuff out there. On the other hand, Jimu robots use their own set of bricks, motors and sensors that aren’t cross-compatible with other companies’ products.

The best STEM kits for older kids (or adults) use standard controller boards, usually Arduino or Raspberry Pi. There are huge communities and plenty of programming support for both, which are what professional makers use.

Bottom Line

Whatever STEM kit you choose, plan to spend time with your child using it. While many kids are sharp enough to pick up something like a robot kit and build it on their own, the experience of doing these projects with your child is priceless and also helps ensure they have a good time and maintain interest in the toy. 

Editor's Note: This deals has expired. Check out our current list of best black friday deals.

Despite the fact that AMD recently launched the more-powerful RX 590, the now previous-generation RX 580 is arguably a much better deal for 1080p gamers, delivering more than 90 percent of the newer card’s performance at a lower price, with significantly lower power consumption. And when the RX 580 goes on sale, as it is right now on Newegg for an impressively low $155 after $15 coupon code and a $30 mail-in-rebate, AMD’s 8GB card is an absolute steal compared to RX 590s that start around $260 and Nvidia GTX 1060’s hovering at or just above $200.

• Get an MSI Radeon RX 580 RX 580 8G V1 8GB for $155 after $30 rebate and $15 coupon code (EMCERRX23).

While this is a no-frills card with what looks to be a reference-design cooler, $155 is the lowest price we’ve seen on an 8GB RX 580. And this card is an excellent performer for those playing games on a 1080p monitor.

The RX 580 should also remain a sound gaming investment for the foreseeable future. Newer RX 590s are priced much higher for minimal gains. And while we are hearing plenty of rumors about an RX 2060 from Nvidia, pricing of previous RTX cards leads us to believe that card will be priced well above $250 whenever it arrives. So if you opt for this card, you can be fairly certain something much better and less-expensive isn’t going to land anytime soon.

Post-Holiday Deals Coverage

• Best Hardware Deals Overall
• Best GPU Deals
• Best SSD Deals
• Best CPU Deals
• Best Gaming Laptop Deals
• Best Gaming Monitor Deals
• How to Find the Best Hardware Deals

The Dell S2719DGF gaming monitor with QHD resolution (2560x1440) has hit an all-time low price at Best Buy, selling for $279.99 right now, compared to its original MSRP of $399.99.

 - See the Dell S2719DGF for 30 percent off.

When we reviewed this speedy, TN panel monitor, we were in awe with its impressive overclocked refresh rate of 155Hz and FreeSync from 40-155Hz. Our testing also revealed low input lag. The Dell S2719DGF is currently on our list of best gaming monitors as the top 144Hz display. 

And its build quality is as strong as its out-of-box color accuracy. In fact, we think its image is one of the best we've ever seen from a TN panel—so good, in fact, it can be mistaken for an IPS panel, which are known for their great color and welcoming viewing angles.

Portwise, you get one HDMI 2.0 and 1.4, one DisplayPort 1.2, four USB 3.0 ports and one headphone jack.

On the con side, the Dell S2719DGF has room for improvement where contrast is concerned. Uncalibrated and at max brightness settings, it hit 860.7:1 in our testing, despite it’s 1,000:1 listed specification. There is also no gamma adjustment.

However, if you’re looking for a 27-inch QHD gaming monitor with the speed to match your skills, the Dell S2719DGF is worth a look, especially at this price.

For more help determining if this is the right monitor for your rig, check out our monitor buying guide.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we were raving about Dell Alienware's AW3418 monitor dropping to $799. But today, with eBay's 10 percent off coupon (code PHLDAYTEN) the monitor is $80 cheaper, bringing it to $719 when you buy it via Best Buy's eBay store. That's $780 off of its original MSRP.

• View the Dell Alienware AW3418DW, 53 percent off. 
  

The AW3418DW is a monitor fit for gamers with a speedy 100Hz refresh rate that boosts to 120Hz when overclocked. It also boasts a 4ms response time and Nvidia G-Sync, so you can expect stutter-free gaming with your Nvidia graphics card.

What makes the AW3418DW an even better buy is that it doesn’t sacrifice image quality for speed. The panel is IPS, which suggests strong viewing angles and good color. And anti-glare, a WQHD (3440x1440) resolution, plus 1900R curve will help ensure full submersion into your gaming experience.

Ports include HDMI, DisplayPort, audio line-out, a headphone jack and four downstream and one upstream USB 3.0. The monitor also comes with a DisplayPort cable, Mini DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort cable and SuperSpeed USB cable.

For more help deciding if this is the deal for you, check out our monitor buying guide.

More Holiday Deals Coverage

• Best Gaming Monitor Deals
• Best Hardware Deals Overall
• Best GPU Deals
• Best SSD Deals
• Best CPU Deals
• Best Gaming Laptop Deals
• How to Find the Best Hardware Deals

AMD’s Vega cards certainly aren’t the hot new thing anymore, but the Vega 56 still outperforms Nvidia’s GTX 1070 on most of our test titles, making it a good fit for those with a 1440p monitor or a high-refresh 1080p panel, especially at this low price of $329.99 after a $20 mail-in rebate. Until just days ago, this XFX RX Vega 56-model (RX-VEGALDFF6) was selling for $469 on Newegg and it’s still priced at $449 of Amazon. So $329 is a particularly sweet deal for a card this powerful.

Like all Vega 56 cards, it sports 8GB of high-bandwidth (HBM2) memory. And the XFX RX Vega 56-model RX-VEGALDFF6 is no boring-looking reference model. Its pair of fans are a bold red, and the card’s cooling shroud and metal back plate have a cut out between the fans, giving the card stand-out aesthetics that would make it perfect for a system with a tempered-glass side panel or even a vertical riser for showing off your pixel-pushing gaming engine.

XFX Radeon RX Vega 56 RX-VEGALDFF6 for $329.99 after rebate ($140 off)

More Holiday Deals Coverage

• Best Hardware Deals Overall
• Best GPU Deals
• Best SSD Deals
• Best CPU Deals
• Best Gaming Laptop Deals
• Best Gaming Monitor Deals
• How to Find the Best Hardware Deals

SSD prices have continued to drop throughout the year and we’ve seen some great SSD deals this holiday shopping season. But nothing has come close to this steal from Amazon on Crucial’s roomy 2TB MX500 SSD.  At $209, that’s not only an incredible $291 off the original $499 MSRP, but it works out to what may be an all-time low (at least on a big-name drive) of $0.10 per gigabyte.

This 2.5-inch SATA drive from Crucial won our Editor’s Choice award when we reviewed it earlier this year, thanks to its solid performance, competitive pricing, high endurance rating and data-saving host power failure protection. It also has a five-year warranty and excellent software. This is a very good drive at a stunning price, and one of the best storage deals—or deals period—that you’re likely to come across this holiday shopping season.

Crucial MX500 2TB for $209 (37% off)

More Holiday Deals Coverage

• Best Hardware Deals Overall
• Best GPU Deals
• Best SSD Deals
• Best CPU Deals
• Best Gaming Laptop Deals
• Best Gaming Monitor Deals
• How to Find the Best Hardware Deals

With some great AMD Ryzen 2 (aka Ryzen 2000 series) CPUs on the market, many people are looking for the right motherboard to go with their new chips. AMD's latest chipset is X470, which supports higher RAM speeds, works with Ryzen 2 chips out of the box (no BIOS update needed) and adds StoreMI, a feature which lets you turn any drive into a cache drive. 

If you've browsed the leading retailers you'll find dozens different X470 offerings with prices ranging from $120 to $300. With so much to choose from and specification sheets that look eerily similar, let’s pull out our magnifying glass and see what’s going on under the hoods. Below, we list several of the most interesting models and describe what you can get in the entry-level, mid-range and high-end price range.

Examples of X470 Motherboards

Entry-Level Motherboards

Running between $120 and $160, these boards sacrifice aesthetics and compromise on certain features in order to be more affordable. Fortunately, these products support the standard X470 connectivity options including M.2 NVMe, increased PCIe Gen3 lanes, and 10Gbps USB. Also, each of these boards is equipped with various forms of video out, so you can use them with AMD chips that have integrated graphics.

On the lower end of the price range, IO shrouds are removed and provide minor board illumination through the Vreg “heatsinks” or back side of the planar. As prices move higher, you'll find integrated Wi-Fi, illuminated Promontory chipsets and other key features such as PCIe strengthening materials and improved audio codecs.

Digging even deeper, the majority of the entry-level X470 boards utilize six or more phases on the Vcore rail, so overclockers should have enough reliable current to sustain modest overclocks. However, their Vreg cooling designs are modest at best, so plan on deploying fans appropriately to compensate.

Some key features to consider: the Gigabyte Aorus Ultra Gaming is the only one to support the Realtek ALC1220 codec, Biostar offers the Mini-ITX form factor with their X470 GTN, ASRock Master SLI/AC provides WiFi, and MSI Gaming Pro provides an angled USB3.0 header. 

Mid-Range X470 Motherboards ($160 - $200)

In the $160 to $200 range, you'll get better looking boards as most light up the chipset and Vregs while some even illuminate the audio quadrant . In this tier, manufacturers introduce their premier brands, including ASRock's Fatal1ty, MSI's Gaming Pro, and Gigabyte's Aorus Gaming so blending top-tier features into this space is expected.

All full-size boards provide six SATA3 ports for internal storage and provide two M.2 connectors except for the Biostar GT8. In all cases, utilizing the second M.2 will deconfigure various PCIe slots, so consult the specification sheets and manuals accordingly. The M.2 placement for these products is a mixed bag, with Asus' X470 Prime and ASRock's Fatal1ty Gaming K4 placing them above the primary x16 PCIe and below the chipset, while Gigabyte's Aorus Gaming 5 and MSI's Gaming Pro Carbon place them between the PCIe x16 slots. This is important for builders who do plan on using X470’s multi-GPU setups and avoiding excess heat on their high-performance drives.

A few mid-range X470 boards implement debugging features and onboard on/off switches for overclocking and each board utilizes slightly larger heatsinks on their Vregs which makes moderate to heavy overclocking feasible. Most of these boards use eight phase Vcore rails as well.

If you want to use these boards with an AMD processor that has integrated graphics, you're in luck. The mid-range boards provide DisplayPort and HDMI outputs. For higher resolutions on integrated graphics, look for boards that provide HDMI 2.0. As expected, Ryzen 2000 series fully supports all the IO slots on the boards but A-series or Athlon series processors don't always work with them all.

High-End X470 Motherboards ($200+)

If you're willing to spend more than $200, you can get one of the high-end X470 motherboards and say goodbye to compromises of any kind. Aesthetics of every single board in this category are handcrafted to fit a specific style, with the Asus ROG Strix X470-F's more angular and aggressive styling contrasting with the ASRock Taichi's rounder black-and-white style. Builders have access to a variety of points including addressable, RGBW, or standard LED headers.

Angled headers are a common sight in this segment, especially with SATA3 and USB 3.0 headers. All the boards provide a combination of at least five 4-pin fan headers and all include some sort of dedicated AIO or water pump PWM headers. USB connections are abundant, with all boards supporting USB3 Gen2 case headers, USB 3.0, and USB 2.0.

Hoping to upgrade from a Ryzen 2400G to a 2700X or similar? Unfortunately, only the lower priced Asus Prime X470-Pro and ASRock Taichi boards supply video output. From a networking perspective, Asus is the lone brand that doesn’t always provide Wi-Fi in this price range, while others support 802.11ac and Bluetooth radios. Most boards still rely on the Intel I211AT gigabit controller, though MSI's Gaming M7 AC employs the Rivet Networking E2500 gigabit controller for improved network performance.

All boards in this range include on, off, and clear BIOS features of one form or another, so pick the location and button quality that fits your needs. The NVMe and M.2 placement strategy are like the mid-range options for this segment as well, though the ASRock Taichi board places the secondary below the PCIe slots in order to fit the elegant Promontory heatsink.

Power delivery designs start to go a little overboard with many of the boards driving 8, 10, or 12 phases for the Vcore rail which is tailored for heavy, long-term overclocks. Asus' Crosshair VII includes their LN2 support and Gigabyte's Aorus Gaming 7 offers a superior Vreg cooling design so professional overclockers will be well-suited here while saving $30 compared to the next tier.

Over-the-Top ($250+)

When you spend more than $250 on an X470 motherboard, you expect it come with everyting including the kitchen sink and you won't be disappointed. Asus’ 2nd ROG Crosshair VII includes bundled Wi-Fi, which is not available on all of its cheaper boards, and has the overclocking features we’ve come to expect from the Crosshair lineup. ASRock's Taichi Ultimate opts to bundle in on-board 10Gb copper ethernet, along with a secondary gigabit NIC and Wi-Fi. Beyond that, these boards are very similar to the previous offerings, so make sure these features are worth your money.

Bottom Line

When shopping for an X470 motherboard, consider your needs. If you just need basic functionality, go for a board in the entry-level tier. If you need more ports and better aesthetics, up your budget to at least $160. Finally, if you want the best looking motherboards or need extra features such as an on/off switch or diagnostics monitor on the board, you may need to spend more than $200.  No matter your budget, as long as you can spend at least $125 or so, you can find a good X470 motherboard and, if the board you want today seems a little out of reach, remember that there are frequent sales and price changes.

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Tablets are the first-device of choice for kids, because they're cheap and so easy to use that even preliterate children can master them in minutes. But no matter what Apple says, kids eventually need to learn how to use actual computers with keyboards and windowed operating systems.

There are some applications that only run on a computer and there are others that just work better with a keyboard and mouse. Many schools now use Chromebooks. And, if you're a tech enthusiast, you may want junior to take mommy or daddy's grown-up PC for a spin. 

If you're thinking about introducing your child to computers, you're probably wondering just how old your kid needs to be before they can grok concepts like moving a mouse around, clicking on icons or navigating through text-heavy menus. While you shouldn't expect your toddler to master the Linux command prompt, children as young as two can have meaningful interactions with a PC.

Here's what to expect at every age.

Infants (0-2)

It probably won’t come as a surprise, but infants and computers don’t really mix. Babies simply don’t have the physical or cognitive skills to make it worth your time or theirs. The one notable exception is that they may enjoy video chatting with familiar family and friends. On the high end of the age range, they may also enjoy pressing keys and mimicking what they see parents and siblings doing.

Toddlers (2-3)

This is when kids typically start to show more curiosity about the computer and when many children head into the “button-pushing” stage where any button or switch is fair game.

Kids at this age:

• Should always co-use with adult, meaning that adults will need to be hands-on or use guiding hands with the keyboard and/or mouse, especially when navigating menus.
• Should have minimal computer time overall, limited to a few minutes a day.
• Are able to start recognizing letters and numbers on a keyboard.
• May or may not start to show interest in using the mouse – follow their lead in terms of skills.
• Enjoy simple cause & effect games (ex: press a button and something happens)
• Should learn “gentle hands” – no banging, hitting, dropping, throwing the keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.

Don't consider buying a child this age their own computer. Give them limited time on your PC.

Preschool (3-4)

By now, kids are more likely to start engaging with software and will enjoy games and activities like puzzles, drawing, matching, etc.

Kids at this age:

• Will still co-use with an adult, but increasingly enjoy taking control of the mouse/keyboard.
• Should still have time limited to just a few games or activities a day.
• Hunt & peck on the keyboard.
• Are capable of basic mouse use.
• Can use a word processor for learning letters and spelling their name.
• May use computers in school in limited ways.
• Should learn to wash hands before use.
• Will continue to work on using gentle hands.
• Need to be taught to keep snacks and drinks away from the computer.

“By the age of 4/5 most children have the fine motor skills to manipulate a mouse,” says Dawn Cunningham, a licensed pre-school educator in Somervile, MA. “If they haven't used a computer before, they will likely require a demonstration and possibly some hand-over-hand assistance.”

Preschool kids are still too young to use a computer independently, so don't consider buying them one.

Elementary (5-7)

At this point, kids are able to use a computer with some independence and to enjoy complex and time-based games and activities. They are able to start coding with simple tools like Scratch.

Kids at this age:

• Require an adult present, but should retain control of the mouse and keyboard.
• Will need longer chunks of computer time to complete age-appropriate activities and school work.
• Are able to use a mouse with basic comfort.
• Are likely to be using a computer regularly in school as part of their learning process.
• May be learning to type in school.
• Are able to enjoy simple games independently.
• Should start learning about internet safety and family technology rules.
• Can be expected to log in/out of accounts with username/passwords written down

Keri Wilmot, a pediatric occupational therapist in Dallas, TX, explains, “At early ages, it’s about practice and building confidence… as well as finding games and activities that are fun and developmentally appropriate, so they can build their skills rather than become frustrated by complicated functions.”

Kids in the 5 to 7 age group don't really need their own computers, but enterprising parents can consider a durable Chromebook like the Asus C202SA, which can survive 4-foot drops onto concrete. The Kano Computer Kit, which teaches children how computers work, is a great learning tool for this age group.

Tweens (8-12)

Not surprisingly, this can be a challenging age. Kids will start to seek more independence and privacy, but are not mature enough to always make the best decisions, especially when it comes to online interactions. They are also likely to start getting personal devices, making it even more important to emphasize rules and expectations.

Kids at this age:

• Should have an adult nearby, but generally allowed to work independently.
• Are able to use proper typing technique (if taught).
• Are likely to use a computer as an integral part of their school day (including standardized testing).
• Are able to play complex games.
• Should know all the basics of the menus – open, save, print, etc.
• Should be able to explain and follow family internet safety expectations and other computer rules.
• Will test limits.
• Require filtering / Internet management software as they start to explore with more freedom.

Because they can work independently, tweens are prime candidates to get their own computers. When computer shopping for tweens, consider the following:

• 13 to 15-inch laptops: If you're buying a laptop, get one that's fairly portable, but that still has some screen real estate.
• Refurbish an older PC: If you have a decent, older computer, you can hand it down to your tween and have them help you fix it up, adding RAM or upgrading to an SSD.
• Durability is key: Travel-friendly laptops, which are meant to survive a fall, are preferable.
• Invest where you can: Expect your tweens to enjoy gaming or editing videos for their YouTube channel. They'll need a machine that can handle more than word processing and web surfing.
• Pick a familiar platform: If your family has Windows PCs or Macs, get them one of those. Stick with these if your budget allows to allow for software compatibility and gaming speed.

Teens (13-18)

Teens may still not always make the best choices, but they are capable of creating complex projects and artwork using a computer. A little encouragement in that realm can help push kids from consumers to creators.

Kids at this age:

• Work independently.
• Still need adult oversight through checking logs, history, etc.
• Are able to create high-end content, find information, and communicate
• Require internet safety reminders and refreshers and ongoing conversations about expectations.

If you're giving your teenager a computer, keep these tips in mind:

• Match their interests: If your kid does design work for the school newspaper, a large screen and discrete graphics make sense. If they are primarily typing research papers and using social media, a lightweight laptop is a good idea. If you have a lot of money, a gaming rig isn't out of the question.
• Build together: Tech-enthusiast parents can teach their kids about computers by picking out the parts and putting one together.
• Make it college-ready: If your teen has only a year or two left until college, consider buying a computer that will meet their needs, even after they go away to school.

Which OS is Best for Kids?

When it comes to operating systems, adults tend to feel strongly one way or another. Kids, on the other hand, are highly adaptable. With a bit of coaching, they have little problem adjusting between a Mac and a Windows-based system. They may use a Chromebook at school. The best choice for your family is whatever OS you are already using. This will allow you to help out, model good choices, and focus on enjoying time together. Paired with your technology/media use plan, and your Internet filtering/monitoring solutions, you should be fine with whatever option you choose.

It also may seem that young kids could struggle with menus and navigation if they haven’t yet learned to read. While this is a valid concern, by the time kids are old enough to take the lead, it’s typically a moot point. Even kids in preschool can learn to find menu options by location and using the first letter of the word. You may actually be surprised to find that your little one can start to recognize words (just as they recognize icons) that they frequently see and hear, such as save, exit, and print.

Health and Safety Tips

No matter which age kids are, you need keep them safe by following these tips:

• Create a family technology agreement that specifies limits, expectations, recommended behaviors, etc. Have everyone sign it. The AAP has a tool for creating a Family Media Plan that can help you..
• Encourage frequent breaks to stretch, get physical activity, and avoid eyestrain.
• Set up computers in a way that is ergonomically friendly for the age/size of your kids. They may need a booster seat to use a mouse, monitor, etc., at appropriate angles.
• Enable internet filters that allow you to block/manage your kids’ access to online content. Young kids may only need access to a few games and favorite websites, while older kids may need broader access for school projects and creative activities.
• Teach kids to never share personal information, such as full name, phone number, birth date, school, address/town, passwords, etc.
• Show kids how to avoid clicking on pop-up ads and banners. Set expectations that they will ask permission before downloading files.

Protecting the Computer from the Kids

While some families have multiple computers, others may have access to just one. Learning to keep those machines in good shape is part of being a responsible computer user.

• Use “gentle hands” – never bang on, drop, hit the computer, keyboard, or monitor.
• Keep drinks and snacks away from the computer.
• Encourage hand-washing before use, especially after meals.
• Use virus protection software.
• Reiterate the importance of not clicking on banner ads and pop-ups, of asking for help if there is any confusion, and of never downloading software without permission.

Making the Right Decision for Your Family

In the end, there is no magical age where kids suddenly are able to use a computer with ease. While basic reading and fine motor skills help, there’s still a learning curve to get past. And kids who are solely used to tablets may have a more difficult time making that transition than kids who have had computer access all along. If you’re interested in having your child use a computer, your best bet is to start the introduction at a young age and give them more freedom and opportunity as they get older. Not only will they have time to learn and grow, but you’ll be able to emphasize healthy habits along the way.

MORE: How To Build A PC (For Kids)