gaming review websites

The 8 Best Gaming News Sites and Game Review Sites

These are the best gaming websites for video game reviews and news that won't waste your time with unrelated nonsense.

Hundreds of video games get released every year, and there's not enough time to play them all. How are you supposed to know which games are worth your time? Video game news and reviews sites are a good way to keep up with what's happening in the gaming world and see if the latest releases are worth buying.

We've picked out the best game review sites and video game news sites on the internet to help with this. Whether you want to check on a game's quality before buying it, or just want to browse the latest gaming headlines, one of these great game websites will serve you well.

A Word on Mainstream Gaming Sites

Video games journalism has gone through a lot of problems in the past decade. We'll spare specific details here, but suffice it to say that several well-known video game websites have suffered major breaches of ethics: collusion, undisclosed financial ties, and cronyism, among other behaviors.

Additionally, for many gaming sites, the focus has shifted away from reviewing games based primarily on their gameplay and quality. Now, some sites emphasize social and political issues above all else, or even have authors who treat some articles like their personal blog. Other gaming sites have branched out to cover other forms of entertainment (like movies, TV, and music) to the detriment of their gaming coverage.

We encourage you to research these issues and draw your own conclusions about whether you want to follow such mainstream gaming sites. Whatever sites you do choose to read, it's important that you pay attention to the writers you're reading, not just the site. There really isn't a "best game review site" for everyone, since quality differs among the authors at various sites.

1. Destructoid

Destructoid is a great all-around gaming site with a bit of everything. It publishes articles regularly, with lots of news posts, reviews, and features appearing each week. This includes updates on certain games, previews of upcoming games, and opinion pieces.

It's not just a gaming news site, though. Destructoid publishes reviews of console and PC games, as well as mobile titles and even DLC. Its reviews are straightforward, and you can read Destructoid's scoring system to understand how it rates games.

Top off this coverage with video content and community forums, and you've got a solid video game website anyone can enjoy.

2. GamesRadar+

Another gaming news site that offers a healthy balance of content, GamesRadar+ provides news, reviews, features, hands-on looks at new games, and more. You can view reviews and guides for games on your favorite system, or check out the latest news and reviews.

GamesRadar+ doesn't review the volume of games many other sites do. At the time of writing, the site's latest batch of reviews includes a few big-name games, but are mostly hardware reviews. This shows that the staff takes their time and doesn't rush out reviews.

In the reviews, clear Pros / Cons lists and a summary of the verdict make them easy to skim. Overall, GamesRadar+ provides lots of content to check out, as well as quick stories for staying abreast of gaming news.

3. Game Informer

Game Informer is a long-running video game magazine that also has a website. Unlike other gaming websites that also feature content for movies and TV, this one is all about games (occasionally covering movies and TV based on games). You'll find news, previews of upcoming games, reviews, and features.

It's an old-school take on a game website in the overcomplicated modern age, which is welcome. Many of the staff are longtime game players, and the site has a professional feel to it. It summarizes its reviews with a number, which not all gaming sites do nowadays.

Overall, Game Informer is a website run by people who love video games, built for players. The site doesn't review every little game, but what's here is excellent and there's no political nonsense to worry about.

4. Metacritic

If you don't feel like wading through detailed reviews and just want a quick score to see if a game is worth playing, Metacritic is for you. It's not a review website in itself, but instead aggregates scores from various game review websites ( making it an aggregate review site like Rotten Tomatoes ).

Search for a game, and you'll see a weighted score from 1-100. You can click through to read individual reviews, or compare what the critics thought to user reviews.

A lot of the time, it's hard to sum up a game's quality in a single number. Thus, many people have issues with the weight placed on Metacritic, but it's a fine place to start your research on a game. Just remember that a numbered score isn't everything. Consider OpenCritic as an alternative, which addresses some of the problems people have with Metacritic.

5. Nintendo Life

As its name suggests, this is one of the best gaming websites for Nintendo enthusiasts. Nintendo Life specializes in covering the Nintendo Switch, eShop, and similar topics. You'll find reviews, news, features, and even original videos.

The guides stand out here. They provide help for major games, such as type weaknesses in Pokémon or how to spot fake paintings in Animal Crossing. The site reviews downloadable eShop titles as well as mainstream releases, so there's a lot of coverage.

With a pleasant community in the forums and comment sections, this is a must-visit for all Nintendo fans. For similar sites in the same network, check out Push Square (PlayStation) and Pure Xbox .

6. GameSpot

GameSpot is a well-known gaming site that's worth a visit. You'll find popular and recent news on its homepage, along with lists of upcoming games and recent reviews.

The site reviews games, both popular and small, on every platform. For something a little different, you can also check out its video shows and forums to connect with other gamers .

There are some occasional quirks with its reviews, like the writer mentioning that they didn't play through the entire game. Because of this, it is nice to see a summary of what the reviewer played at the bottom of the article. But overall, it's a quality resource.

7. Christ Centered Gamer

With the above discussion of bias in games media, you might think a site with an obvious predisposition is an odd choice to include. But Christ Centered Gamer has received praise for its clear reviews from people concerned about the ethics of mainstream game sites.

Unlike sites that let author biases influence their ranking of a game's quality, this site separates its reviews into two scores. One scores the game technically on its gameplay, controls, and other qualities. The other scores the morality of the game, based on factors like language, sexual content, and similar.

If you're a person of faith, or want more information about video games for your children beyond the basic game age rating , you can take the morality score into account. But if you don't care about that, you can skip right past it and still enjoy a quality review of the game on its own merits.

This page isn't as well-known as some other game review sites, but it's up-front about its biases and hasn't had concerning breaches of ethics. You may find that refreshing.

8. Game Rant

Game Rant has been a trusted source of gaming information for over ten years. As one of the 250+ million readers of the site , you can access the latest news, reviews, features, interviews, and opinion pieces on everything related to gaming. For instance, you can read game reviews (each game is scored on a scale of 5 stars) and explainers on a wide variety of games, from AAA blockbusters to indie gems.

You can start by keeping an eye on the latest game releases and developments on the site's Gaming News page. Platformers of all types can get something as Game Rant comprehensively covers PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, & mobile titles. If you are a beginner, the detailed Explainers on each game title can not only help you learn about different games but also make informed decisions about which games to buy.

Websites for User-Written Game Reviews

The above sites are all professional publications for game news and reviews. However, don't forget that there are tons of resources online to read user-created reviews too. Since opinions on games are subjective, you might prefer to read several reviews from everyday players in addition to, or instead of, professional articles.

Anyone with an opinion and a YouTube channel can make a video reviewing a game. If you prefer to watch gameplay for a game instead of just reading about it, this is a great option. Chances are that you'll be able to find someone talking about the game you're interested in. Have a look at the best YouTube game review channels to start.

In addition to being one of the best places for game walkthroughs , GameFAQs is a useful resource for user reviews of games too. Search for a game and check its Reviews tab to see what others thought about it.

These reviews don't follow any particular pattern, so it's up to each person to discuss what they feel is important and structure the review accordingly.

Steam has a handy review system that makes it easy to see what a lot of other players thought about the game. Just scroll down on any game's page on Steam to take a look. You can filter by positive or negative reviews, how long the reviewer played the game, and other criteria. It's even possible to see a graph of reviews over time.

A lot of games feature "funny" reviews, which aren't useful, but you can filter some of those out with Steam's tools. Others can give awards for reviews, and the most helpful ones rise to the top. Even if you don't play on PC, checking Steam reviews for any game that you're interested in is a helpful resource.

The Top Video Game Websites Worth Your Time

The best video game websites aren't necessarily the ones you hear about often. Many game websites have major drawbacks—whether it's a lack of ethics, poorly justified review scores, or a radical bias. But these sites are great places to get your video game reviews, as well as some news.

In addition to these options, it's a good idea to find some Twitch streamers that you enjoy. Game websites employ dozens of people, which makes it difficult to find a consistent voice. With a single streamer, you can understand their preferences and better see if a game is right for you. Plus, seeing a game in real-time for yourself always helps.

The Verge ’s gaming section brings the latest video game news, reviews of the most exciting releases, and interviews with the industry’s biggest names. We cover everything from PlayStation and Xbox blockbusters, to quirky Nintendo games, to the cool indie gems on PC and Android that you might otherwise miss.

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[ Wccftech ]

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Best gaming PCs in 2024: these are the builds and brands I recommend

Everything you need to know about buying the best gaming PC today.

• 1. Best overall
• 2. Best budget
• 3. Best high-end
• 4. Best ultra-enthusiast
• 5. Best Alienware
• GPU hierarchy
• How we test

Gaming PC reviews

🕹️ The list in brief 1 . Best overall 2. Best budget 3. Best high-end 4. Best ultra-enthusiast 5. Best Alienware 6. GPU hierarchy 7. How we test 8. Gaming PC reviews 9. FAQ

The best gaming PC is about finding the right system that matches your needs and your budget. It's entirely possible to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a gaming rig if you want; there's almost no upper limit. But spending your money wisely is a tougher task when you're working to a tight budget, as most of us are these days. In my near twenty-year tenure as a tech journalist, I've reviewed countless gaming PCs. I've gained insights into where you should be investing the bulk of your budget and where compromises can be made. This knowledge is crucial, especially for systems where every penny counts. Yet, even when considering a $3,000 PC, you should still want to ensure your investment in the hardware is sound. Below, I cover the specs you should expect at any given price point and also, given my experience testing PCs built by many different companies over the years, which gaming PCs I believe are the best for your budget. 

Testing every system at every configuration in the rich tapestry of gaming PCs is impossible. But we've had experience with all the main system builders' work and have extensively tested the core parts in each. We are well-versed in identifying which is the best graphics card at each price point and the processor you'll need to make the most of it. So whether you've got a tight $1,000 budget or are willing to spend up to $5,000 on your dream machine, we've got a great recommendation for the best gaming PC for you.

Ever since building my first gaming PC as a teen I've been fascinated by their guts and have turned poking, prodding, and testing systems into a profession. Over the last 20 years or so I've been testing gaming PCs and have always been more interested in how a manufacturer squeezes the best parts and the best performance out of their budget. But I can't lie, I do love an over-the-top big rig, too.

The quick list

The best overall

Advanced Battlestations (ABS) is Newegg's gaming subsidiary and actually produces some damned fine—and damned good value—gaming PCs. It's systems we've personally tested have been well-specced and well packed for delivery, too. This particular machine comes with an outstanding spec for the money.

Read more below

The best budget

This is a good price for a mid-tier gaming PC, especially when many rigs around this price are only delivering you an RTX 3060. The 12th Gen Core i5 is still a really solid CPU today, and the RTX 4060 is a good budget graphics card... just with the wrong name.

The best high-end

iBuyPower is one of the most established names in PC building, and its RDY line of gaming PCs and laptops means you can get a new rig in just a few days. This all-AMD system combines both the outstanding Ryzen 9 7950X3D and the RX 7900 XTX for a real high-end machine.

Ultra-enthusiast

Corsair makes almost every part of a modern gaming PC and knows how to put them together. With the best graphics cards at their hearts, and the finest CPUs, the Vengeance machines pull all that together with a surfeit of Corsair RAM and storage, and arguably the best chip coolers on the market. 

Don't buy without a discount

Alienware is one of the most popular gaming PC manufacturers around, but the shine has slowly worn off for us as Dell's corporate grip tightens. The Aurora machines still look beautiful, but the build quality has been lacking in recent years, and the value proposition all but non-existent. The bespoke components aren't premium, and yet carry a premium cost. 

Recent updates

Updated February 20th to change the recommendations of the best gaming PC and best high-end machines.

The best gaming PC $1,000 - $2,000

1. Best gaming PC: ABS Stratos Aqua

PC Gamer's got your back Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

ABS Stratos Aqua | Intel Core i5 14400F | RTX 4060 Ti | 32GB DDR5-6000 | 1TB SSD | $1,599.99 $1,099.99 at Newegg (save $300) ABS often puts together great prebuilt bundles, but this one in particular stands out as ticking all the right boxes. You've got a very swift Core i5 14400F, an RTX 4060 Ti with all the DLSS goodies that brings, a 1TB NVMe drive for storage and even 32GB of very fast DDR5-6000. Most prebuilts in this price range stick you with 16GB, but the full-fat 32GB here in combination with some other great components makes this a chunky little gaming machine with serious credentials.

ABS is Newegg's gaming PC subsidiary and as such comes with a wealth of history and expertise behind it. And that's shone through in the machines we've tested ourselves, which have offered both great specs and great value. And there are almost always offers available on ABS systems, too, which makes them a great shout when you're looking for a bargain buy. Like a lot of the other builders, though, I'd prefer better than a one year warranty as standard, but that's my only real issue.

✅ You want to hit 1440p frame rates: The RTX 4060 Ti is able to nail excellent 1080p numbers, but you will also be able to power a 1440p gaming monitor to an impressive extent, especially with DLSS 3.0 and Frame Generation. ✅ You want a ton of RAM: There's nothing in this system that screams 'upgrade me!' and the 32GB of fast DDR5 will see you right for the lifetime of your rig. ✅ You want seriously secure shipping: The ABS rigs we've tested have come so well packaged that it's almost overkill. But a safe PC is a worthy investment in recycled packaging.

❌ You need high-end productivity: The Core i5 14400F is a gaming chip first and foremost. It does have six full performance cores, but it's not a productivity beast. It's certainly no slouch, and has decent multithreaded performance, but it is primarily a gaming chip.

The $1,000 to $2,000 price point is arguably the most important one for PC gaming; this is where the majority of PC gamers will be aiming to spend their budget and for us that's where the best gaming PC really lives. It's a crowded market, but the positive part of that is there are a lot of options to choose from. But this is where it's no longer okay to be going with a last-gen graphics card, because the RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti have now launched and are the best GPUs around this price point.

With RTX 3080 performance from the RTX 4070, and systems on sale for under the $1,500 mark with the Nvidia GPU inside it, there's no longer a case to be made for RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT machines that cost more. And they generally do. The RTX 4070 Ti itself, which you'll find just below the top end of the $2,000 budget, offers RTX 3090-level gaming performance, and considering that was a $1,500 graphics card of the last generation which you'd never find close to this price.

I don't think you need to worry so much about last-gen CPUs, as 12th Gen Intel and AMD Ryzen 5000-series CPUs will still carry an RTX 4070 Ti in gaming terms, but that will limit you in terms of memory. The latest generations from both chip makers come with DDR5 memory, which is much quicker for actual memory intensive productivity tasks. You should also not consider less than 1TB of SSD storage, and ideally 2TB at today's prices.

The specs to expect in a gaming PC between $1,000 and $2,000:

• Graphics card: Nvidia RTX 4070 | RTX 4070 Super | RTX 4070 Ti  | RTX 4070 Ti Super
• CPU: Intel Gen Core i7 12th Gen | 13th Gen | 14th Gen | AMD Ryzen 7 5000-series | 7000-series 
• Memory: 16GB or 32GB DDR5
• SSD: 1TB PCIe  
• PSU: 700W+ 

The best alternatives:

Skytech Siege | Core i5 12600k | RTX 4070 Ti | 16GB DDR4-3200 | 1TB NVMe SSD | $1,599.99 at Newegg Another banger for Skytech, with a decent Alder Lake CPU paired up with Nvidia's RTX 4070 Ti. The back-up spec of 16GB DDR4 and a 1TB SSD is about minimum for a build these days, but at $1,600 this is a good setup for the money.

The best gaming PC around $1,000 or less

2. Best budget gaming PC: Yeyian Yumi

Intel Core i5 12400F | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 | 16GB DDR4-3200 | 1TB SSD | $1,199.99 $799.99 at Newegg (save $400) This Yeyian machine will make for a great entry level 1080p gaming PC, that will really deliver for the money. It might be classed budget, but it will easily get you quality frame rates even at the highest 1080p settings. Yeyian has been around in the US for many years now, consistently making good-value gaming PCs, and it always pops up with well-specced budget rigs.

Yeyian is a California-based gaming PC builder that's been around for the last five years. But, I'll be honest, when I first came across its rigs on US retailers I foolishly presumed it was a brand shipping units in from outside North America. We've seen it providing both well-specced budget gaming PCs at heavy discounts around sales events, as well as high-end machines coming out with the latest and greatest hardware, too. More importantly it has a pretty good basic warranty, offering three years labor, two years parts, and one year's shipping, as well as lifetime tech support. 

✅ You're just after a pure gaming PC: That RTX 4060 will deliver excellent 1080p frame rates and good 1440p numbers, too.  ✅ $1,000 is your limit: At well under $1,000 the Yeyian gives you a bit of breathing room when it comes to your budget.

❌ You need raw CPU power: The Core i5 12400F is a decent gaming CPU, but its six cores won't deliver much in the way of processing power for streaming or content creation. ❌ You really want to push that budget: There are RTX 4060 Ti gaming rigs just under the $1,000 mark if you're happy going to the very top of your budget.

When you're looking for a gaming PC under $1,000 then it's all about the spec and the price, regardless of who or where it's from. Well, within reason. So long as the company you're purchasing from has actually successfully sold gaming PCs before, and doesn't have a host of poor reviews, you just want to make sure you're getting the parts you would hope for at this price point.

At the moment that would ideally be an RTX 3060 Ti , which was one of the best graphics cards of the last generation. It's a powerful GPU, not that far off an RTX 3070 , and still has no equivalent from within the new generation of AMD and Nvidia cards. But given the RTX 4070 has now dropped, we are expecting an RTX 4060 Ti soon. But that should mean prices on the RTX 30-series should keep dropping with abundant stock. There are still a lot of RTX 3060 GPUs out there, however, so if you can bag a PC with one of those for $700 or less you're doing well.

Alongside that you'll want either a Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor, but anything from the Intel 11th Gen or AMD 5000-series will be more than enough, and 16GB of RAM. You'll probably only find a ~500GB SSD in these builds, but that's the most affordable upgrade down the line.

The specs to expect in a gaming PC under $1,000:

• Graphics card: Nvidia RTX 4060 | RTX 4060 Ti | Radeon RX 7600
• CPU: Intel Gen Core i5 12th Gen | AMD Ryzen 5000-series 
• Memory: 16GB DDR4-3200 
• SSD: 1TB PCIe 

Ipason gaming desktop | AMD Ryzen 5 5600G | 16GB DDR4-3200 | 1TB NVMe SSD | $849.99 $499 at Newegg (save $350.99) You can game on this machine to a certain extent—the integrated Vega GPU on the Ryzen chip will certainly support 720p gaming at lower settings. But we're listing it here as a good base from which to add your own graphics card for a quick, powerful new gaming PC. The AMD CPU is a good six-core, 12-thread job, and the 16GB RAM will run everything you need.

Ipason gaming desktop | Ryzen 5 5600 | Radeon RX 7600 | 16GB DDR4-3200 | 1TB SSD | $1,399 $849 at Newegg (save $550) If you don't want to get busy with a screwdriver, Ipason has another budget offering, this time with an RX 7600 GPU at its heart. That offers sometimes better than RTX 4060 gaming performance, and the full system comes with a solid back-up spec, too.

The best gaming PC $2,000 - $3,000

3. Best high-end gaming PC: iBuyPower Creator RDY

iBuyPower Creator RDY LCMRG210 | Ryzen 9 7950X3D | RX 7900 XTX | 32GB RAM | 2TB SSD | $2,999 $2,649 at iBuyPower (save $350) This all-powerful, all-AMD machine is monster build for under the $3,000 limit. That 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen chip is a serious productivity chip, and one of the fastest gaming CPUs thanks to its 3D V-Cache tech. Oh, and the RX 7900 XTX is the first chiplet GPU, and a genuine rival for the RTX 4080 outside of ray tracing. Though it will be worth checking with iBuyPower if/when you're buying to ensure you're not getting the AMD-built version of the RX 7900 XTX. They look good, but we've had bad experiences with hot spots.

iBuyPower is a classic name in PC building, and has a whole lot of history when it comes to making machines. We've checked out a number of them ourselves, and while they're not always the most exciting-looking rigs (though the one above actuallly is), they're always well built and well put together. And, if you're after a new gaming PC quickly, these RDY PCs don't have the extra customizations of its more bespoke builds, but will ship in a couple of days.

✅ You want a smart, clean PC: iBuyPower isn't always the most exciting of builders, but the chassis it's used here makes the PC look great. ✅ You want it fast: Speedy delivery on iBuyPower machines means you should get your new PC in around three days. ✅ You want to go AMD: This all-AMD rig delivers the best the red team has to offer all in one impressively affordable package.

❌ You're super into ray tracing: The Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a great straight raster gaming GPU, but it's not the finest graphics card when it comes to running the latest ray traced gaming pretties.

When you're getting to the rarified heights of the $2,000 - $3,000 price point you're really getting into the elite of gaming PC systems. This is where you can start to pull in some really high spec components. Given that you can get RTX 4070 Ti gaming PCs for less than two grand, you really ought to be targeting either the RTX 4080 or the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX at this level.

You can also start to think about high-end CPUs here, too, with Core i7 and Ryzen 7, even Ryzen 9 chips all available within this price range. And that means you're looking at PCs that won't just be fantastic gaming systems, but with effectively workstation-level computational power, too. In this market you should be looking at systems that will make excellent creator machines.

You will arguably see PCs with very similar specs lists at this price point, which means your choice of machine often comes down to secondary considerations, such as shipping time, which brand of components are being used, and such things as warranties and returns. We like iBuyPower RDY machines because of their rapid turnaround from sales which could see you ordering a new rig on Monday and be gaming by Wednesday evening. I also like Corsair's Vengeance machines, because it makes excellent, reliable chassis, SSDs, memory, and cooling itself. Which means it can put high-end supporting parts in your new PC.

This is also where you want to be able to trust the system builders more than just taking a punt on saving $100 on a similar spec, but from a brand you maybe don't know so well. 

The specs to expect in a gaming PC between $2,000 and $3,000:

•   Graphics card: Nvidia RTX 4080 | AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT/XTX
•   CPU: Intel Gen Core i7 12th Gen | 13th Gen | AMD Ryzen 7 5000-series | 7000-series  
•   Memory: 32GB DDR5-5600  
•   SSD: 2TB PCIe 
•   PSU: 850W+ 

Corsair Vengeance a7300 | Ryzen 7 7700X | RTX 4080 | 32GB RAM | 2TB SSD | $3,299.99 at Corsair Not as good value as the cheaper Lenovo with the Core i7 inside it, but with the Corsair machine you are paying for the reassuring knowledge that you're getting genuine Corsair memory, SSDs, cooling, and chassis with its machines. With other brands you might not know what manufacturers' parts you're getting until it arrives. 

The best gaming PC $3,000 - $5,000

4. Best ultra-enthusiast gaming PC: Corsair Vengeance i7400

Intel Core i9 13900K | Nvidia RTX 4090 | 64GB RAM | 2TB SSD | $3,949.99 at Corsair   The Vengeance gaming PCs combine rock-solid build quality with high-end component choice, and ultimately a decent price for an RTX 4090 system. That's obviously the star of this system, sporting more video memory than you can shake a pair of RTX 3080s at, and a monstrous slice of GPU silicon at its heart that can tear through games at 4K and render scenes like a pro graphics card. It's also arguably the only RTX 40-series GPU that actually feels like a proper generational upgrade over the previous generation. Where Corsair's Vengeance machines stand out is in the fact it can build around the core components with its own supporting cast of kit. From memory to SSD to cooling and chassis, Corsair make some of the best kit around, and putting it all together in one quiet, cool, and stylish package is where its systems shine. 

Corsair has been quietly—and sometimes not so quietly—making some of the best PC parts for years, with only the core componentry of GPUs, CPUs, and motherboards a place it hasn't touched. So, with the best PC cases around, it stands to reason they would make some great full systems. Again, the use of standard components makes upgrading down the line easier, and as it's Corsair you're getting some of the best memory and power supplies around, too. They do generally come in a lot more expensive than the competition, but at this level you really do pay for what you get.

✅ You want the best CPU/GPU combo around: The Corsair machine comes with the best Intel processor and Nvidia graphics card, but doesn't surround it with unnecessary extras simply to hike up the price. ✅ You want a cool and quiet rig: The chassis and cooler combo means you're getting an setup that's able to keep those high-end components running at top speed without getting too shouty. We love the black monolith of a chassis, and Corsair's AIO coolers are some of the best.

❌ You want a statement piece: This isn't some fully water-cooled setup, with hard tubing and multiple radiators, and RGB'd to within an inch of its life. Those can be gorgeous machines, great for a tradeshow floor, but you're paying for a tubed setup that locks you out of system upgrades down the road. 

Although $5,000 is a lot of money to spend on a gaming PC, this isn't money-no-object territory and you still want to make sure you're getting the performance you're paying for. That means making sure you're not spending over the odds on useless extras thrown into a build just to hike up the price to make it seem more 'premium' than it really is.

What this budget does mean, though, is you getting your hands on the finest gaming graphics card ever made by humankind. The RTX 4090 is the top of the stack, and the only GPU from Nvidia's RTX 40-series that really does feel like a whole new generation of graphics silicon. It's expensive, but it's genuinely delivering gaming performance you can't get anywhere else. 

What you then need to decide is whether you want to go AMD or Intel for the supporting cast. The Intel 13th Gen Core i9 chips are excellent gaming processors, and deliver a huge amount of multi-threaded performance for any kind of productivity workload you'd care to throw its way. But, on the flip side, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D delivers the highest potential gaming performance you can get from a CPU thanks to its 3D V-cache chiplet.

That extra cache will mean your high-end GPU has the best chance to shine, and the 16 full cores of Zen 4 processing means you still get workstation-level productivity chops, too. All that said, there are really only a few frame per second in it between the Intel and AMD options when you're talking about the sorts of high resolutions you're going to be pushing the RTX 4090 through.

When you're spending this much you could consider going all out on a full closed-loop liquid cooling array. Such systems look spectacular, and genuinely give off that dream machine vibe. Though how effective such arrays are is more debatable. If you're spending big on a system because you want someone else to build you a top-end rig and don't ever want to touch it, such a rig would be great. But if you ever want to get involved with upgrading your core components a closed loop is a real pain in the butt to maintain. Given the diminishing returns of overclocking modern components, such extreme cooling is also not entirely necessary, either.

The specs to expect in a gaming PC  between $3,000 and $5,000:

• Graphics card: Nvidia RTX 4090
• CPU: Intel Core i9 13900K/F | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X/3D
• Memory: 32GB DDR5-5600 minimum
• SSD: 2TB SSD

iBuyPower Element Hybrid Max II | Core i9 13900KF | RTX 4090 | 32GB DDR5-6000 | 2TB SSD | $4,899 $4,499 at iBuyPower (save $400) I called the Hyte Y60 a techie terrarium, and I stand by that. But that's not to denigrate the look of the three-sided tempered glass chassis at all—when it's all built it looks rather stunning. And with an RTX 4090 inside it this powerful machine will really stand out. I'd have preferred to have the full 64GB of RAM, but you are at least getting a 6000MHz kit here.

DigitalStorm Aventum X | Core i9 13900K | RTX 4090 | 64GB DDR5-5200 | 1TB SSD | $5,596 $5,346 at DigitalStorm (save $250) Okay, yes, we are topping the $5K mark here, but if you want a stunning liquid cooling setup then the Aventum X will deliver. Though you are paying a hefty premium for that loop, and it's only for the CPU. And it does mean if you want more storage or faster memory the price will creep up.

5. Best Alienware gaming PC: Alienware Aurora R16

Alienware Aurora R16 | Intel Core i7 13700F | Nvidia RTX 4080 | 1TB SSD | 16GB DDR5-5600 | $2,499.99 $1,949.99 at Dell (save $550) It's not often that an Alienware gaming rig will pop up that actually has a hell of a lot of tech inside it for a surprisingly competitive price, but here we are. This Aurora R16 comes with the second-tier Ada GPU, the RTX 4080. It's an RTX 3090-beating card with 16GB VRAM, and with the latent power of DLSS and Frame Generation. The 24-thread Raptor Lake CPU is great if you're talking about productivity, and you do get 16GB of relatively speedy DDR5. The 1TB SSD is a bit weak in terms of storage—I'd much rather have a full 2TB SSD at this price. Our major issue with recommending Alienware PCs now, however, is the bespoke hardware inside either locking you out of future upgrades, or locking you into an unnecessarily expensive upgrade path.

When I was a whelp I used to hanker after Alienware PCs and laptops, but as I've gotten older, so Alienware has changed. It's become more and more like its corporate Dell overlord, and far less tantalising a prospect. My biggest issue is the use of proprietary components, which would be fine if they were the finest, and beyond reproach, but you will find other equivalently priced builds with superior motherboards and power supplies that you can also upgrade in the future. And price is definitely an issue, too, with the Alienware premium not really buying you anything tangible for the extra. I will reiterate my mantra, never buy a full price Alienware, because they only become worthwhile with a hefty discount.

✅ You just want plug and play: Alienware machines will just work out of the box and with the might of Dell behind it you can be relatively confident that you'll be looked after if something goes awry. ✅ You're into the aesthetic: Alienware rigs look good, and unlike any other machine on this list. The curvy chassis are a world away from the boxy towers otherwise used. But they certainly are big...

❌ You want peak performance: We've not had great experiences with recent Alienware machines delivering the performance their parts ought to. That's often down to the bespoke nature of the components and sometimes ineffective cooling. ❌ You want to upgrade your PC in the future: No PC is truly future proof, no matter how much you spend, so either you upgrade your rig, or you buy a new one. With Alienware, you're largely locked into the latter by its use of bespoke motherboards, chassis, and PSUs. ❌ You want value for money: The deal above is a rarity for Alienware PCs. More often than not you'll be paying well over the odds for a machine that performs notably worse than an equivalently priced system from pretty much anyone else.

Alienware is one of the biggest names in gaming PCs, with a heritage stretching back to the dawn of time. Well, 1996 anyway. With a penchant for stylish designs and high-performance hardware it cemented its place in the burgeoning sphere of gaming-focused PCs. In 2006 it was bought wholesale by corporate PC giant, Dell, and that helped bring an economy of scale to the brand that previously it didn't have access to.

But that hasn't necessarily meant those economies of scale have been passed on to the consumer, as Alienware has always kept itself as a premium tier brand within the Dell portfolio. Which was fine when it was offering a premium experience to the people who bought its PCs.

For years we have had Alienware on the top of our best gaming PC lists, because historically its systems could be relied upon to deliver a top-tier experience and premium performance. In recent times, however, we've reviewed different Alienware gaming PCs and have found they fall short of our expectations. Given some performance issues, cooling problems, and concerns around bespoke components, we would categorically say you shouldn't buy a full price Alienware PC and only look to pick one up when they are heavily discounted. 

The bespoke components used inside them sometimes fall short of the sort of performance you'll get out of motherboards, coolers, and power supplies you can buy from other named brands, such as Corsair, Asus, or MSI. They are also generally designed specifically for use exclusively inside Alienware's own chassis, which means those cases don't allow for third-party upgrades down the line. At least not without some serious modifications. At best that locks you into the Alienware/Dell ecosystem of high-priced hardware, and at worst locks you out of upgrading your expensive rig at all in the future.

GPU hierarchy: How do the GPUs stack up?

The most important component for any gaming PC build will always be the graphics card. That will give you the best idea about how one machine matches up with another just in terms of raw gaming performance.

Below, we've listed the slew of GPUs we've had over the past couple of years listed in terms of their Time Spy Extreme index score as a way to put them in some consistent hierarchy. This doesn't cover the performance difference between graphics card in every instance, as differences in how they handle ray tracing other graphical effects can play a part. But this is a handy one-shot method of getting a rough idea of how the various cards from these various generations of GPU stack up against each other.

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How we test gaming PCs

We spend a lot of time testing gaming PCs to ensure that we know what sort of experience you would get should you spend your hard earned cash on one. Experience is an important factor—you want to know that pulling your new rig from its box that it's going to work as soon as you plug it in, and let you get up and gaming as soon as you can download your favourite games.

But the general feel of using a PC is one part of it, it's also important to get the relative performance numbers to be able to see how a given machine performs in games compared with other systems. We run a selection of benchmarks to gauge CPU performance, storage performance, and of course gaming performance.

We are now using Cinebench R23 and X264 to test the processor—which will tell you both how good the CPU is, as well as how good its cooling is—and Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers and 3DMark to test the storage inside a PC. For the gaming side, we use 3DMark Time Spy, Hitman 3, Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, F1 22, Far Cry 6 and Warhammer III to give us 1440p frame rate metrics.

We will get inside the machine to see how well built it is, and how well the builder has tidied up the mass of cabling that always lurks inside a gaming PC. It's also important to know how much of an upgrade path a system might have, whether there is space inside for a extra storage, or more memory, etc.

Value is also a key concern for us. A gaming PC represents a large outlay, and no matter whether it's a $900 or a $5,000 machine, it still needs to be able to justify its cost by the quality of the build and the components inside it.

Velocity Micro Raptor Z55

The Velocity Micro Raptor Z55 delivers monster gaming performance for a massive amount of money. It's hardly a value proposition. But if you're totally price insensitive and you favour engineering depth over snazzy styling, this could be your kind of machine.

PC Gamer score: 75%

MSI MEG Trident X2

I just can't get over its ludicrous price. In fairness to MSI, pricing is variable. We're still early in the RTX 40-series and 13th Gen product cycles. That means the Trident X2 is sure to have a long shelf life. If MSI were to drop pricing to more palatable levels, my conclusion would be different, but at this price there's simply no way I can recommend the Trident X2. Shop around. You'll find something just as good and have enough money left over for a game or ten, a decent monitor or… you get the picture.

PC Gamer score: 52%

Lenovo Legion Tower 5

The Legion Tower 5 is a well-made system, with clean cable management, quiet operation, and space to upgrade. But the uninspiring component choice and relatively high price make it a difficult system to recommend against the competition.

PC Gamer score: 69%

Acer Nitro 50

When you can get an RTX 3060 Ti-powered machine with double the SSD space for just $100 more, it's really hard to recommend a machine like this. 238GB of NVMe storage just isn't enough, and the HDD won't save you—however large it is.

PC Gamer score: 65%

Build Redux 'Good'

The name may be basic, but this is a quality build that focuses on gaming first and foremost. Shame a bit more attention didn't go into the storage though.

PC Gamer score: 85%

HP Omen 45L

HP's Omen 45L is superb for 4K gaming with its i9 12900K, RTX 3090, and 64GB of memory, but all that comes at a steep price.

PC Gamer score: 79%

iBuyPower RDY SLMBG218

Focusing on the processor makes for an interesting build, but there are simply better gaming machines out there for the same cash. If you like to marry serious productivity with a little gaming though, there's plenty to like here.

PC Gamer score: 80%

Despite some minor pain points with the RAM speeds and storage space, ABS is still charging a fair price. There's more than enough potential to upgrade and it still aces both productivity and gaming performance at 1440p.

PC Gamer score: 86%

Origin Millennium

The Origin Millennium is a beast of a machine that showcases the size and power of the RTX 3080.

This RTX 3070 Ti spec of HP Omen 45L strikes a good balance of high performance, cooling ability and good looks. About the only thing really missing from the equation is the price. If you can get it for well under its current price, it goes from being good to excellent.

PC Gamer score: 81%

Alienware Aurora R14

If you care about gaming and not the minutiae of the PC it runs on, Alienware systems are worth a look. This Ryzen Edition with its 5900X and RTX 3080 is powerful, but do not pay full price. You're sure to find it at a steep discount as the launches of next gen products draws near.

PC Gamer score: 73%

The Set's a good-looking compact entry-level PC that suffers from disappointing CPU performance and distractingly loud fans.

PC Gamer score: 68%

NZXT Streaming PC

As a mid-range streaming PC, NZXT's system ticks all the necessary boxes, and its N7 B550 upgrade ensures you get all the connectivity and sockets you need for all those peripherals. You are paying a premium, however, so if you're just looking for a pure gaming machine those extras might seem an unnecessary luxury.

PC Gamer score: 83%

Alienware Aurora R13

The Alienware Aurora R13 isn't for everyone, and this 64GB spec probably isn't for anyone. If you're a dedicated PC tweaker looking for a new base system to upgrade down the line, you'd want to look elsewhere anyways. But if you just want a simple, good-looking PC that will tear through gaming frame rates out of the box, the Aurora R13 comes with far better-value specs lists than this.

Corsair One A200

Corsair delivers a welcome burst of gaming performance to its compact gaming PCs with the a200, bringing the best of AMD Ryzen and Nvidia GeForce into a single, compact machine.

PC Gamer score: 87%

Gaming PC FAQ

Why buy a prebuilt gaming pc.

One of the most significant advantages of building your PC is the ability to hand-pick every single component in the system. This enables you to take your time shopping around for deals and finding the best combination of parts to fit your budget and performance needs. The downside for most inexperienced builders is that this process can take some time and cause quite a headache if something goes wrong. You only get warranties on the individual components, not your finished build, and this is where the best prebuilt gaming PCs shine.

What do you get for your money in a prebuilt PC?

When you pay the premium to configure or purchase a prebuilt PC, you pay for more than just the parts. You pay for warranty service, support, and peace of mind that professionals put your system together. These are some of the things we value highly when considering what the best gaming PC is. We also look at other selling points, like design, upgradability, and anything you wouldn't be able to do when building it yourself. 

What sets a prebuilt machine apart from a DIY build?

One of the most significant factors that make PCs stand apart from the competition is the design. Prebuilt systems like the Alienware Aurora R10 or Corsair One use unique in-house chassis designs you wouldn't be able to purchase when building it yourself. You can take some comfort in knowing that these systems were designed and built specially to house your configuration, though that can make upgrading more awkward later on down the line.

When we set out to choose our top choices of prebuilt gaming PCs, we look at almost every major manufacturer and system integrator to find the best combination of value, reliability, customer feedback, design, and performance for various budgets and needs.

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Dave has been gaming since the days of Zaxxon and Lady Bug on the Colecovision, and code books for the Commodore Vic 20 (Death Race 2000!). He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later. When he dropped it out of the window. He first started writing for Official PlayStation Magazine and Xbox World many decades ago, then moved onto PC Format full-time, then PC Gamer, TechRadar, and T3 among others. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck.

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‘suicide squad: kill the justice league’ announces huge, emergency changes.

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Say what you will about Rocksteady, staring down the barrel of a live game with 200 peak players nightly on Steam , but they’re still doing things. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has come out with a substantive new blog post that details big changes coming in Episode 2 of its poorly-received Joker season in a few weeks. Here’s a summary of the list, but you can read the whole thing here if you want.

• You can now get all tiers of Infamy sets from Mastery 1, even if higher ones will be more rare than lower ones.
• The difference between the difficulty and power of different Tier sets will be flattened more, and Tier 3’s will be easiest to leverage with any playstyle.
• There will be four new Master “grades,” different levels of power for these weapons that will increase with higher Mastery levels. You can also now craft Master versions of weapons.
• Corrupted Items are sort of Diablo-style “Ancient” items that are super rare Notorious drops with incredibly high stats. An example given: “The standard version of this red-hot Grenade sets all enemies hit on fire, and increases the radius of your next Grenade by 50% for each enemy you Burn, up to a maximum of 200%!” And then the Corrupted one: “Instead of increasing the blast radius, instead the damage of your next Grenade is buffed by 200% for each enemy you Burn, up to a maximum of 1000%!!”

Suicide Squad

• You will now be able to break down items you don’t want from the mission complete screen rather than them going to automatically gunk up your inventory.
• Mutators are now no longer build-restricting annoyances, but they are changing them to be gameplay bonuses to help players instead and encourage more diverse playstyles rather than hugely limiting builds that are viable.
• There will be more Incursion mechanics during missions. Examples given are Incursions that have Burning enemies take double damage (good for a character like Joker) or crits deal 150% more damage (good for many builds, Deadshot mainly). I don’t quite get how that’s a “mechanic,” as it sounds like a mutator, but we’ll see.
• You will be able to craft legendary items from previous episodes of the game.
• Promethium costs will be lowered for all Incursion missions.
• There will be three more Invasion difficulty levels for Metropolis’ open world itself, given that it’s too easy if you have a crazy strong endgame build. These will have unique rewards and resources and XP gains.

(Nothing in here about removing the grind to unlock the Joker this season. Probably because they were already were/still are selling the mission skip).

It’s a long list. Essentially all of these are really good changes. I still do not believe this game has a future at all, given the state of things, as I think it’s past the point of possible recovery, but I respect the work that’s being done and the changes Rocksteady is making after listening to feedback.

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for children older than 16 years

Planned Release Date: 30 May, 2024

This game plans to unlock in approximately 4 weeks

“The Zelda vibes from this indie action RPG starring a little guy with a sword are immaculate.” Gamesradar “... promises to deliver a mesmerizing experience filled with stunning visuals, engaging gameplay, and an epic storyline.” Gaming

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About This Game

• Engage in intense battles against 16 different enemies and 10 formidable bosses across over 20 hours of main story and side quests.
• Arm yourself with 4 unique weapons, master dynamic skills and combos, summon powerful constructs, and craft your own combat style.
• Traverse Gliese's diverse landscapes, complete various side quests and uncover remnants left by your creators.
• Test your skills in combat challenges and conquer New Game+ mode for an even greater challenge.

System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-2500k
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 or GTX 960
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or i7-4770k
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060

Versus Evil ® and the Versus Evil ® logo are trademarks, service marks, or registered trademarks or service marks of Versus Evil LLC. All other works, trademarks, and service marks appearing in this work are the property of their respective owners.

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Review: Acer Nitro 17 (2024, AMD)

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With all the chatter about the artificial intelligence features of Intel’s new Core Ultra CPUs, it’s easy to forget that AMD has been busy doing AI too. AMD has outfitted many of its Ryzen processors with neural processing units (NPUs) since mid-2023, and it’s continued to expand its AI offerings ever since.

Acer’s latest Nitro 17 gaming laptop (model number AN17-42-R9TH) is built atop an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, which sits near the top of AMD's product line. If you’re engaging with AI on the desktop, you’ll probably bypass the CPU altogether. With the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics processor in the Nitro 17, everything from gaming to AI image generation gets a significant boost. Aside from the processors, Acer hasn’t exactly pushed the specs to the limit here: 16 GB of RAM and a 1-terabyte solid-state drive are more or less entry-level options today.

That’s just what’s under the hood. On the outside, the Nitro 17 is every bit the beast you are probably expecting, with a 17.3-inch screen (resolution limited to 1,920 X 1,080 pixels), a daunting 34-millimeter thickness, and a weight that tops 6.3 pounds. It is the heaviest and thickest laptop I’ve tested since 2018, and that’s without the power brick (another full pound).

This laptop has been tricked out for gamers—arguably gamers from the ’90s, but gamers all the same. Sharp, angled corners abound from every angle. The screen is spaced away from the back of the laptop by about a centimeter and propped up on a small riser that feels like a separate device bolted on top of the chassis. It’s largely the same design as 2023, minus a few graphical flourishes.

The responsive keyboard rests in a beveled tray, and it’s color-backlit with four tunable zones and a variety of modes that let colors roll across the keys in various patterns. There's a numeric keypad and full-size arrow keys along with custom keys, like a Copilot button and a Nitro key that launches Acer’s NitroSense software, which lets you tune every aspect of the laptop experience. Above the keyboard is a stand-alone button that cycles through four power modes, from Quiet to Turbo, all exactly what they sound like.

A tour around the sides and back of the laptop reveals plenty of ports, including two USB-C ports— one USB 3.2, one USB 4—an HDMI jack, a microSD card slot, a full-size Ethernet adapter, and three USB-A ports—one USB 3.2 and one USB 2.0. Why there’s a crusty old USB 2.0 port on the device I can’t fathom, but with this many connectivity options, it probably doesn’t matter much. Much of the rest of the space around the edges features various vents and grilles for the dual exhaust fans. When they run, which is any time there’s a moderate load on the machine, they can get a bit noisy, though I’ve encountered plenty of louder machines in recent years. I expected more from the speakers on the unit, though they’re fine for casual entertainment and gaming use.

I’ve saved performance for the end because I want to end this review on a high note. The Nitro 17 is a powerhouse that broke records across the board (or approached them in a few cases) on general business apps, AI tasks, and graphics tasks. The GeForce RTX 4060 isn’t quite the top-of-the-line GPU on the market, but it’s no slouch, making short work of any task I threw at it.

The device includes switchable graphics that spin down the GeForce and engage the integrated graphics processor when power isn’t required, or you can configure discrete graphics to stay on (or off) all the time. Oddly, while this significantly impacted performance, it didn’t do much to the Nitro’s battery life. On a YouTube rundown test, I scored three hours and 20 minutes with the GeForce up and running but only 29 additional minutes of running time with it shut off. Either way, battery life is terrible, so you might as well enjoy the graphics boost while the battery is not-so-slowly dying.

The $1,250 asking price is a veritable bargain, and dollar for dollar it represents perhaps the best price-to-performance ratio I have ever seen on a laptop. The somewhat-low screen resolution and poor battery life are my only major concerns here. If you’re looking for top-shelf gaming power and don’t mind the looks and heft of the device, I don’t think you can go wrong with the AMD-powered Nitro 17.

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Take your puzzling skills in new directions..

WordleBot , our daily Wordle companion that tells you how skillful or lucky you are, is getting an upgrade. Here’s what to know .

The editor of Connections , our new game about finding common threads between words, talks about how she makes this daily puzzle feel fun .

We asked some of the best Sudoku  solvers in the world for their tips and tricks. Try them to  tackle even the most challenging puzzles.

Read today’s Wordle Review , and get insights on the game from our columnists.

We asked Times readers how they play Spelling Bee. The hive mind weighed in with their favorite tips and tricks .

Ready to play? Try Wordle , Spelling Bee  or The Crossword .