The Tom's Hardware 2017 Gift Guide

Swiftech PWM Fan Controller

Swiftech designed this PWM fan controller to control up to eight fans. This way you can attach more fans to keep your PC cool when it is in heavy use. It also helps keep the PC relatively quiet when it is idle because the fans don't constantly operate at full power.

Fideco HDD Docking Station And USB 3.0 Hub

This docking station can support two SATA-III HDDs, and it connects to your PC using a USB 3.0 port. This allows quick access of the data on the drives, and is an excellent tool to have if you frequently need to transfer data between hard drives. It also has three USB 3.0 ports for connecting other devices.

Seagate BarraCuda 1TB SSHD

Seagate's BarraCuda 1TB SSHD comes with 8GB of SSD NAND that is used as an extra cache by the HDD to store frequently accessed files. This accelerates load times while also maintaining a relatively low price point and a large 1TB storage capacity. There is also 128MB of cache to help improve performance. Its features make it an excellent upgrade for a notebook computer, but it would also work well for a desktop PC.

Fenvi 9801 AC1300 PCI-E Adapter

Fenvi designed this dual-band 802.11ac adapter with a Broadcom BCM94360 Wi-Fi controller. This allows it to send and receive data at 1300 Mb/s. It comes with four antennas to improve signal strength, and supports Bluetooth 4.0. If you're still surfing the web on an older 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi adapter, this could help significantly boost network performance. Who doesn't like faster Internet?

Panasonic Eneloop Rechargable Battery Kit

Panasonic's Eneloop batteries are rated to last for up to 2100 recharge cycles. This kit includes 10 AA batteries with a capacity of 2000mAh, four AAA batteries with a capacity of 800mAh, and a wall charger. Panasonic claims that the batteries can maintain up to 70% of their charge after a five year period.

Asus Travelair N 1TB Wireless HDD

Asus' Travelair N 1TB Wireless HDD has a built-in Wi-Fi transmitter, which lets you wirelessly connect to the HDD and access its data from any smartphone, tablet, or computer. This can be far more convenient than a traditional external HDD, because more than one person can access the HDD simultaneously, and you don't need to have extra wires connecting the drive to your computer. The drive also supports NFC file transfers and has a built-in card reader to further expand its storage capacity.


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Silicon Power 128GB Elite microSDXC

You may question why someone would need to hold 128GB of data on their smartphone or tablet, but if you travel extensively, having this much storage on your phone often comes in handy. That's literally days of videos and music, and it could hold dozens of large Android games. As a word of caution, however, you may want to double-check your smartphone model first, because not all smartphones will accept a 128GB microSDXC.


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Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth 128GB

Flash drives are everywhere, but few can match this one. Corsair designed the Flash Survivor with 128GB of storage space, and it can achieve sequential read/write speeds of 330 and 303 MB/s respectively. At these speeds, it is almost like a thumb-sized SSD. Almost.

Adata UE700 64GB

Adata's UE700 has a capacity of 64GB and can read sequential data at up to 190 MB/s. It writes data at 100 MB/s. It is currently one of the fastest 64GB flash drives on the market.

Kingston Digital MobileLite Wireless Pro G3

The Kingston Digital MobileLite Wireless Pro G3 is unusual because it combines a portable wireless storage device and a power bank into a single device. The device has just 64GB of storage space, but you can be expand capacity with USB flash drives, SD cards, or microSD cards. The MobileLite Wireless Pro G3 transmits a Wi-Fi signal and gives you wireless access to the files stored on the drive. The power bank has a total capacity of 6,700mAh, and it can charge your smartphone or tablet while also giving you access to the stored data.


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Michael Justin Allen Sexton is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers hardware component news, specializing in CPUs and motherboards.
  • JoeMomma
    I have the Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth 128GB. You didn't mention it's main reason for existence. Toughness! It is waterproof to 100 meters and I have seen one dropped from a 10 story building and still work (with a few minor scratches).
    Reply
  • IInuyasha74
    All flash drives are water proof if you just let them dry out first. Had several get dropped in water over the years and continue to work. Just had to let them dry first.
    Reply
  • elbert
    The steam link is on sale for70% off from steam so its only $14.99.
    http://store.steampowered.com/app/353380/Steam_Link/
    Reply
  • BaRoMeTrIc
    Steam Link is currently 14.99 on Steam. So definitely don't buy it from Amazon.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    ^^Wow that's a serious deal for a Steam Link. SOLD! Price is good through 11/6.

    Regarding gift cards for Steam and whatnot, keep an eye on Groupon and Dealcatcher. Regularly you'll see a discounted offering. Here's an example for a $60 12-month Xbox Live (Gold) membership for $48 that Dealcatcher linked to eBay:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Xbox-LIVE-12-Month-Gold-Membership-for-Xbox-360-XBOX-ONE-/141607184417?rmvSB=true

    But I'll wait for Cyber Monday before buying any tech stuff. Almost always you will get a better deal than the so-called Black Friday "deals" out there.
    Reply
  • Firedrops
    That G13 Gamepad really hurts... I wish they'd update it already, don't want to buy Razer and have yet another background software running.
    Reply
  • lazymangaka
    A 128GB MicroSD card is also a must-have for all of those new Nintendo Switches that will be opened on Christmas morning. The 32GB of internal space goes quickly, especially if you're buying most of the games digitally.
    Reply
  • bloodroses
    Not sure I'd put the SNES Classic Edition in the gift guide list. While it's a neat little device for retrogamers, the thing is harder to find than the Tickle Me Elmo was; outside hiked ebay prices.
    Reply
  • rabbit4me1
    Apparently the clown cars inside I guess cuz the guy that wrote this was really a bozo he has no idea what's out for Christmas and he completely missed the Jedi challenge thingy... Sad and he got paid to do this article
    Reply
  • rabbit4me1
    Apparently the clown car is in sight and this bozo doesn't really know what's hot and not for Christmas in the tech world. He completely missed the Jedi challenge thingy you use the cell phone with that's cool as all get out. Sadly he was paid for this ...sad..
    Reply