Tech & Gear

Lighting was one of those things I seriously underestimated when I started streaming. You think about: The webcam. The microphone. The PC. OBS settings. Maybe a Stream Deck if you’re feeling fancy. Then you turn your camera on without a light and suddenly look like you’re broadcasting from the corner of a haunted basement. …At least that’s what happens to me. I’ve been using a roughly $30 ring light for almost two years, and it has done exactly what I

Mechanical keyboards have basically become the default recommendation for gaming. If you start looking for a new gaming keyboard, it doesn’t take long before you’re reading about: Red switches Brown switches Actuation points Rapid trigger Hall Effect sensors Polling rates & approximately 47 other things you didn’t know you were supposed to care about. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here using a SteelSeries Apex 3. It’s a membrane keyboard. I use it for gaming. I use it for work. It’s quiet Has

For FPS games, the best mice combine extremely accurate tracking, low latency, low weight, and (maybe most importantly) a shape you can actually control comfortably. The good news is that gaming mice have gotten ridiculously good. The bad news is that now we have to figure out which ridiculously good mouse is actually worth buying. So that’s what I did. I compared the current FPS-focused mice I’d consider in 2026, from sub-$100 wired options to some pretty ridiculous flagship wireless

The PS5 Pro is better than the PS5. There. Saved you some time. The real question is whether it’s $900 better, especially if you already have a perfectly good PS5 sitting in your house. I own the original disc PS5, not the Pro, so I’m not going to pretend this is a hands-on comparison. Instead, I wanted to look at exactly what that extra money gets you in 2026. And there are really two questions here: “If you already own

I’ve been gaming on PlayStation basically my entire life. I’ve owned every PlayStation since the original, and my current PS5 has spent a lot of time connected to my Sony INZONE M9. And I can’t even lie: this thing is awesome on the PlayStation. My M9 is normally hooked up to my PC, where I obviously have more control over graphics settings. But every time I switch over to the PS5, I’m reminded how good games can look on a

I’m Team PlayStation. I’m pretty sure, like a lot of people, I was gifted my first console as a kid and apparently decided right then and there that this was my hill. I’ve stuck with PlayStation ever since. PS1. PS2. PS3. PS4. PS5. They’ve gotten better every generation, I’ve always liked PlayStation, and at this point there’s a familiarity to it that would make it really hard for me to suddenly jump ship. I’ve also never owned an Xbox. So

I hate overspending. That’s probably obvious if you’ve read basically any of my other gaming gear articles, but keyboards might be one of the easiest places to do it. You can spend $150, $200, or even more on a gaming keyboard and get: Adjustable switches Insanely high polling rates Wireless connectivity Screens Custom keycaps & enough settings to keep you busy for an entire afternoon. Some of that stuff is awesome. The question is whether you actually need any of

There was a time when shopping for a 1440p gaming monitor under $300 meant making some pretty obvious compromises. That really isn’t the case anymore. You can get: 1440p High refresh rates Good color Fast response times & even Mini-LED without blowing past $300. The problem now is almost the opposite: There are so many monitors throwing huge numbers at you that it’s easy to spend money on something you don’t actually need. I use two 27-inch monitors every day,

You do not need a $200 gaming headset to get good sound. I say that as someone who has spent a lot of time gaming with the HyperX Cloud III Wireless. I used it for everything: Gaming Streaming Competitive games Story games And one of the best things I can say about it is pretty simple: It just worked Good sound Comfortable Easy to use. I never really had anything I felt like I needed to change about it. I’ve

I’ll say this right up front: “I’d personally buy a wireless mouse.” My desk has enough cables already I’m not a professional gamer worrying about microscopic differences in latency & I’m currently using a cheap wireless Logitech M510 that I’ve had for more than two years. But that doesn’t mean everyone should buy wireless. If a cable doesn’t bother you, wired gaming mice still make a ton of sense in 2026. You never have to charge them They’re often cheaper