PC Gamer Reader Awards - the wildcard category!

[PCG Dave]

What's the PC gaming gear that you've fallen in love with? It doesn't matter whether it's the latest Nvidia graphics card, a 2000-series AMD CPU, or that grinty gaming mouse you picked up a few years back but now can't bear to be without. Whatever it is, we want to know about it.

And we're not necessarily talking about what you think your most powerful superstar component is, or your most expensive purchase, we'd like you to tell us about the different parts of your gaming setup that mean the most to you. If you're regularly gaming with it today, and it sparks joy, then we want you to tell us just why that particular slice of PC gaming has found a place in your heart.

Over the next two weeks we're going to find out just what our PC Gamer readers are gaming with and why you love the kit you do. So each day there will be a new category of gear and we'd love you to get involved and tell us which products speak to you and why. Then we will gather all the entries together, come up with a shortlist for each of the following categories, and you will then have the chance to vote on which products should get the coveted PC Gamer Readers' Award.

• Graphics card
• Processor
• Laptop
• Monitor
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Headset
• Microphone
• Wildcard entry!

Today we're asking about your wildcard pick for beloved PC gaming gear.

Is there some potentially obscure part of your PC gaming setup that you cannot bear to be without, but that doesn't necessarily fall into a simple category? Do you swear by your Gunnar Optiks, is the brilliant TrackIR strapped permanently to the top of your monitor, or do you genuinely love your virtual reality headset?

Tell us in the thread below, without quoting the original post, first with the name of the product in question, and then just a line or two about why it means so much to you.

 

[Rivereyes]

Fallout 3 CE Vault Boy Bobblehead. Has been with me across the world since I originally got 'im back in '08. Totally boosts gaming performance, science is for nerds.

 

[Hilad]

Feit Electric RGB Smart Bulbs. I love them because I don't even have to take my hands away from my computer to kick on the lights to see where my pen disappeared to. They work with my Google assistants, and enable me to see when I want to, and not see when I don't.

 

[Malos]

I'm surprised to see no mention of chairs. We take for granted our backs, sometimes we don't realize the cons of using poor design chairs. ive had several types of chairs from cheap standard ones to expensive "gaming chairs" and neither made me fall in love like my herman Miller. Being 27 now (yikes im getting old) I found myself having no more pains and really happy on longer sessions when playing games with the boys. I wish I knew what I've been missing all these years

 

[Crafty]

For me, its my gaming chair. This might sound super weird but I love my chair. Its not even a $300 one or anything like that. In fact, I got it for free! So one day, I was just driving and I decided to pick up a chair I saw on the side of the road. It was in great condition and the most comfortable chair I've ever sat on.
EDIT: I don't even know if it has a name or anything,

 

[noillas]

One thing I absolutely love is the HyperX Cloud USB sound card. This thing is so incredibly useful for me. It has a mute switch for my headset or literally any headphones I plug into them that have a microphone, so that is super convenient for me. It also has volume adjustments for both sound and the microphone , so makes it super quick to turn down the volume if I need to. Since it is a sound card, the sound output from it is pretty good too, and it's on a long enough cable that it can act like a headphone extension cable for me. I have had this thing for about 5 years now and it still works, and all I have to do is just switch headphones if I want.

 

[jalore]

Will have to put any large screen HDTV. I'm visually impaired so having a HDTV hooked up instead of sitting really close monitor has been a blessing. Can sit comfortably and see everything in a lazyboy and a tv tray/ hospital tray and be able to browse, game etc...

 

[Isaac]

It's not really that obscure but I would probably have to say my Elgato Key Light would be my pick. It's a remote controled light I use for streaming and video calls, it honestly is a high quality product too. I'm sure many streamers already know about this product, but I get many people ask me what it is when they see it over my monitors.

Key Light MK.2

Elgato Key Light ist ein WLAN-fähiges Leuchtpanel mit 160 hochwertigen OSRAM-LEDs mit 2.800 Lumen für professionelle Studioanwendungen. Über die Control Center-App lässt sich Key Light ein-/ausschalten, Helligkeit und Farbtemperatur einstellen und mehr.

www.elgato.com

 

[Special44]

The Nvidia shield!

I have always wanted to play my PC like a console and now I can! My computer is in another room, and streaming to my shield in my living room. With an Nvidia shield, gaming in my living room already blows the PS5 and new XBOX out of the water. I stream at 4k, 60fps, with an M.2 SSD, and with ray tracing, the Nvidia Shield will run anything my high end gaming computer will throw at it.

 

[veoviscool12]

My PS2-to-USB controller adapter. It let me experience a whole bunch of PSX and PS2 games that I borrowed from the library (my favorite of the bunch being FFIX). I also spent countless hours tweaking x360ce files to play PC games that were designed for controllers, like Mark of the Ninja, Super Meat Boy, and Monaco.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

Logitech G13 Game Board.

I have a medical condition that makes WASD nearly impossible. The G13 lets me map WASD to a little stick that I can control with my thumb. And it's super easy to set up profiles for all my games. I even use it on other types of game like Strategy. It's a lot more convenient to have something that's 1/3rd the size of a standard keyboard on my desk with all the controls I need mapped to it.

Before the G13 I really like the Nostromo Speedpad but my Speedpad stopped working once I upgraded to Windows 7 and then Windows 10. And from what I can tell the newer device put out by Razer (who bought it from Belkin) is pretty much inferior to the older one.

Both the G13 and the Speedpad are no longer being produced and I dread the day when my G13 dies and I can no longer find a suitable replacement.

 

[Krastoff]

Masking tape.

Cut one small piece and stick your mouse cable behind your monitor. Tadaaa, mouse bungee! No more cable drag or snag, and is way more friendly to the environment than another superfluous piece of plastic on our desks.

 

[spvtnik1]

Over a decade ago I interned somewhere and saved a small veneered wooden platform, maybe about three inches high, from the dumpster. It fits a mid-sized ATX case perfectly and has trustfully served as the platform for my PC. I wish I had grabbed the other one I saw, because it also makes a fine monitor stand.

 

[Frindis]

Sound BlasterX Katana Soundbar: Really good sound, with the option to choose or make your own sound preferences. Visually it looks also quite nice because of the black aluminum soundbar and the amount of different color and lighting pulses you can choose from. It does not light up your whole living room as some alien spaceship, but just enough light so you get that extra little bit of atmosphere when you are playing games or watching movies.