It might sound like a gag, but not all the best Prime Day gaming deals are exclusive to Amazon. I mean, the retailer technically hasn't invited the likes of Newegg to its summer party, but that won't stop it from standing outside on the lawn with a bunch of its own Prime Day gaming PC offers. For what it's worth, the California-based hardware store has some tasty discounts to hand out, as you can grab Intel's Core i7-12700K CPU for just $189.99 (originally $449.99) and I'm hyped to see the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 for slightly less at $534.99 down from $559.99. 

Without further ado, here are my favorite Newegg deals you can grab ahead of Prime Day. As I've already touched on, my picks include the core components I'd use to build a PC right now, but you'll also find some other interesting offers that could help you revamp your entire setup. I've also already price-checked everything the retailer currently has discounted at Amazon as well as the likes of Best Buy and Walmart, so you'll be saving as much as possible on new components and tech.

Early Prime Day deals at Newegg

CPU: 12th-gen Intel from $109
GPU: Nvidia and AMD from $179.99
RAM: 32GB DDR5 kits from $97.99
Monitors: Gaming screens from $74.99
Accessories: Wireless gamepads from $18.99
Games: Up to 85% off PC codes and more
Gift cards: Grab $100 gift card for $85

Looking for more summer savings? Swing by Prime Day monitor deals and Prime Day TV deals for display discounts. Alternatively, check out Prime Day Steam Deck deals and Prime Day Asus ROG Ally deals for excellent portable PC offers.

But here we are, a little under a week before Prime Day, and the Wolverine V2 Pro has found itself a new home on the pricing scale. Down from that $249.99 listed price, it's now only $199 at Amazon in the US, which brings it to the same level as the DualSense Edge and the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro. In the UK, we're seeing a deal at EE that brings the pro controller down to £159 - an even bigger discount. 

We'll need to see what's in store for the rest of the PS5 controller pantheon as Prime Day PS5 deals start to arrive officially, but it's a clever move on Razer's part to get out ahead. I actually spotted an even cheaper price for this pad in the US in the last half hour of my working day yesterday, as Walmart laid the price down to just $164, which is cheaper than I've ever seen it. Unsurprisingly, the stock of that offer has dried up, but Amazon's price still leaves it in a competitive position.

Arguably, the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro's closest rival is Nacon's Revolution 5 Pro, as these two best PS5 controller rivals both sport a broader, chunkier design and a lot of pro features. Both also come in a black or white colorway. But do six extra back buttons on Razer's product outgun the four of the R5P? Let's take a closer look.

Should you buy the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro?

The short answer is that it really depends on the games you play. If you want as many back buttons as possible so the face buttons of the controller essentially become redundant, then yes, go for the Wolverine. I wish more controllers had that level of functionality. 

However, if you care about ergonomics, the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro, or indeed, the even cheaper Victrix Pro BFG is what I'd recommend. For some reason, Razer didn't improve on its back button positioning when it brought the Wolverine line over from Xbox, which is a real shame. Its central back buttons have a trigger-like design, but they have next to no tactility, and your fingers very easily slide off them. It's a frustrating flaw in what is an otherwise excellent gamepad.

Nacon does have Razer beat in terms of longevity too, since the Hall Sensor sticks on board the R5P will be immune to stick drift. Razer doesn't feature these, although I've never heard about its controllers succumbing to that nasty controller cancer. On the bright side, its microswitch buttons will last you a long time, and they have to be one of my favorite features of this pad.

I've left the DualSense Edge out of a lot of these comparisons because even though the deal above brings the V2 Pro down to its price point, I think it caters to a different player. The Edge is a pro controller, yes, but with only two back paddles, it isn't as suited to the likes of first-person shooters or more competitive scenes. The Edge is perfect for anyone like me, who now struggles without back buttons, and wants the great features of the DualSense, but a more comfortable grip than the stock PS5 gamepad.

Keep track of other Prime Day happenings with our coverage of Prime Day PC deals, Prime Day Meta Quest deals, and Prime Day Kindle deals.

In what is one of the first official early Prime Day offers, Amazon's alternative has just dropped to a new low. Right now, it's going for only $259.99 (down from $369.99). Considering reMarkable 2's all-in cost is over $500 once you add up the marker and Type Folio, the Kindle Scribe at this price looks pretty appealing.

A previous low of $264 just last month could hint at the Prime Day Kindle deals to come. If the priciest option in the family is heavily discounted, we can cross our fingers for the more affordable ones. Personally, the lowest I expected this to drop to was around $300. That would have seemed fair versus the competition, especially since the Kindle Scribe doesn't purposefully try to limit its own use cases like reMarkable does. 

I can't lie, The reMarkable is my favorite out of the two devices, but there's no denying that if you read comics and books more than you take notes, you'll get more use out of a Kindle Scribe. 

It's worth noting that this is a Prime exclusive deal, so if you're not a paying member, now is a perfect time to take out a 30-day free trial. That way, you can make the most of Prime Day gaming deals as and when they arrive, but you can cancel after the event is done and not pay a penny for the access.

Should you buy the Kindle Scribe?

Against the other, more affordable Kindles, the Scribe is alluring, but do you actually need it? Well, if you're someone who likes to annotate their reading material, the Scribe lets you leave sticky notes in their E-books. This could be massive for any student, or an enthusiast who wants to keep their physical books pristine. 

If the ability to write on the Kindle seems surplus to requirements for you, then a Kindle Paperwhite, Oasis, or regular Kindle is probably the option for you. The clever front-lit display of the Scribe is also found down the price range, so the reading experience can be found elsewhere.  

For anyone who doesn't want to compromise though, the reMarkable has the best writing feel I've ever come across for something that isn't an actual notepad made of paper. Its display has the degree of friction needed to pick up the nuance of my handwriting, where the Scribe narrowly misses out. There's nest to no delay in what you jot down appearing, and that's a tad more noticeable on the Scribe. The sound of reMarkable's scribbles tricks your brain into thinking it's actually paper. It is, if you can stomach this pun, remarkable. 

If, like me, you were targeted by reMarkable's Don Draper-esque marketing, but the price is depressingly out of reach, the Kindle Scribe is definitely a worthy alternative. The writing feel of the Scribe is impressive, and while it isn't quite on par with reMarkable, it does a fine job for the price discrepancy.

We're also keeping track of this year's Prime Day PC deals, Prime Day tablet deals, and Prime Day Meta Quest deals.

Over at Amazon right now, the Super Pocket is now available for just $47.99 (was $59.99). I actually think the best gaming handheld contender is fantastic value even at full price, but this latest offer should be enough to win more of you over. It’s worth noting that this deal applies specifically to the green and black Taito version, which just so happens to be my favorite model. The Capcom edition is still sadly sitting at full price for now, so keep that in mind if you prefer punching cars to bubble bobbling. 

It’s worth noting that the Capcom version did drop to $42 back in March. However, the deal was brief and felt like an extraordinary one-off, as I haven’t spotted any Super Pocket models for that price since. For the sake of $6, it’s probably worth taking advantage of this current offer rather than waiting for that record low to return, as there’s no guarantee that’ll apply to the Taito edition or any other variant down the road.

Should you buy a Super Pocket?

With Prime Day Steam Deck deals around the corner, I know many of you will have big portable spending plans. That’s not something I object to, as handheld gaming PCs and even consoles like the Nintendo Switch will provide a stellar on-the-go experience. That said, for less than the price of many new-release games, the Super Pocket can provide hours of entertainment, and while retro console romps are its specialty, you soon won’t be restricted to 2D outings.

That’s right, thanks to new Evercade Giga carts, you’ll soon be able to play 3D classics like Tomb Raider on the Super Pocket. Yes, I know even Nokia’s failed range of N-Gage gaming phones could do that, but I believe it’ll open the door to more modern releases on the handheld. We’ve already been graced with a bunch of great indie capers on Blaze’s compact console line-up, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume more advanced releases will become a thing on Evercade. 

Of course, even if the Super Pocket and Evercade do primarily stick to 2D games, I reckon that’ll be enough to please most of you out there. Not only is there an Atari woodgrain version on the way, but Blaze continually releases new cartridges for its ecosystem, so you’ll be able to continue building up a physical collection without resorting to emulation. Sure, I know there are benefits to picking up something like the Anbernic RG35XX Plus and loading it with ROMs, but the Super Pocket’s simplicity means it's far more approachable. 

In any case, if you’ve been holding off on picking up the Taito Super Pocket specifically, now’s your chance to grab a pre-Prime Day bargain. If you prefer to keep things authentic, you might want to check out this Game Boy Color AMOLED touchscreen mod instead, as I used it to breathe life into Nintendo’s ‘90s hardware.

Looking for more summer savings? Swing by Prime Day TV deals and Prime Day monitor deals for discounted displays. Alternatively, take a peek at Prime Day tablet deals if you need a new entertainment device. 

That's certainly the case right now. Head over to Anycubic and you'll find the Photon Mono M5s for $269 instead of $579, which is faintly ridiculous (it's also a heavily-reduced £269 in the UK, if you were curious). For context, other retailers are selling it for anything upward of $369. Amazon's actually asking $499.

Oh, and you're getting a 1KG bottle of resin for free with this Anycubic saving. Because the only thing better than a massive price cut is free stuff, it's one of the better reductions I've seen all week. 

Should you buy the Anycubic Photon Mono M5s?

I test 3D printers as part of my job, so rattle through my fair share of them on a monthly basis. In 2023, few came close to the Anycubic Photon Mono M5s. Thanks to self-leveling technology, it's dead-easy to set up and requires very little faffing on the user's part. That makes it incredibly user-friendly for beginners, but also less of a headache where experts are concerned.

It's also boasting high-quality results thanks to a 12K resolution. While that's since been superseded, and self-leveling is becoming the norm nowadays, the Photon Mono M5s was amongst the first to blaze those trails. 

That's why I'd recommend giving it a look, especially if you're new to the hobby. It's a very accessible machine despite having some complex bells and whistles, and that's part of the reason why it shot straight into our list of the best 3D printers. Even now, there's not a lot I can hold against it. 

For more offers, be sure to check out the latest Prime Day gaming deals. As for some inspiration to use your new printer on, be sure to check out the best tabletop RPGs or the best board games.

The specific Prime Day TV deal I’m talking about applies to the 32-inch Insignia F20 Series, as Amazon has slashed the screen down to just $79 (was $129.99). At its current price, it’s undoubtedly one of the cheapest displays you’ll find during the July summer sale, and as someone who worked selling screens in a store for years, even I’m taken back by the idea of a sub-$80 panel in 2024. 

This isn’t the first time Insignia’s budget screen has dipped to its lowest price, but I normally only see it nosedive like this during either Prime Day or Black Friday. So, the fact it’s already down in price a week before Amazon’s big event is an excellent opportunity, particularly if you need a cheap TV right now. There’s no guarantee stock will still be plentiful come  July 17, and while I could be proven wrong, I feel like 720p displays could vanish in the not-too-distant future.

Should you buy the Insignia F20 Series? 

Sure, the Insigna F20 pales in comparison to the best gaming TVs, and its traditional LED backlighting and 60Hz refresh rate aren’t going to blow you away. So, why exactly would I tell anyone to pick up this 720p rectangle in 2024? Well, I’m a big believer in matching screen specs to specific setups, especially if you’re one of the best gaming handhelds that prefer running at lower resolutions. 

If you’ve ever plugged a Steam Deck dock and tried to run new games at your 4K TV’s native resolution, chances are you’ve ended up with something resembling a slideshow. That’s largely because Valve’s device is primarily designed to feed its built-in 800p screen with visuals, so you’re more than overworking your portable pal by forcing it to do UHD. The remedy often comes down to setting your resolution to at least 1080p, but scaling things to a larger screen usually leads to soft pixels and textures you probably would rather not see up close.

I’m a retro console nerd, so it’s probably unsurprising to hear that I still have a 720p display as part of my setup. The reason? It makes for a much more pleasant viewing experience when using my Steam Deck OLED or even older systems like the Xbox 360, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Keep in mind that I’m also currently testing the beautiful LG OLED G4 right now, and yet, I still find myself climbing up to my loft gaming space to play those systems on a screen that isn’t full HD. Simply put, lower-spec devices will scale more efficiently to smaller, lower-resolution screens, whereas the latest panels are designed to deliver extraordinary results with Ultra High Definition visuals. 

My advice basically boils down to this – if you merely need a screen for your handheld or an older console, the $79 Insignia F20 will deliver. It’s easy to get caught up looking at massive high-spec panels on Prime Day, but sometimes it’s nice to duck your head into the bargain bin for a browse at more appropriate screens. At its current price, I’ll also be telling my friends and family to consider this screen for their bedrooms or makeshift cupboard-under-the-stairs gaming setup (yes, I know someone with one those), as it’s even got Fire TV smart features built-in. 

Just don’t tell my grandma about this offer, as she wanted a 720p TV to replace her old bedroom screen and I got her to buy a 4K one instead. Whoops.

Looking for more summer savings? Dive into Prime Day monitor deals and Prime Day Steam Deck deals for some excellent upcoming discounts. Alternatively, swing by Prime Day tablet deals if you need a new multimedia rectangle. 

Marvelous though they are, most machines are only able to print with one color at a time. Changing between shades means manually faffing about with different filaments, and it's a drag. With the Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo, though? It's easy. This one can have up to four spools loaded up at any one time, and it can swap between them mid-project without any input from you. 

Honestly, I never want to go back.

Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo features & design

• Multi-color printing
• Speeds up to 600mm/s
• Smart features for smoother prints

In terms of nuts and bolts, the Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo is a high-speed FDM printer capable of producing multi-color models thanks to the accompanying Ace Pro unit. While the Kobra 3 is available for purchase by itself, getting it with the Ace Pro lets you load four different spools of filament at once. The machine will then swap between those spools as and when you want.

No matter what approach you take, you'll get results fast. In contrast to its predecessors, the Kobra 3 is able to achieve speeds of up to 600mm/s. Considering how most printers start to sweat if they approach 300mm/s, that's astounding. 

These aren't its only bells and whistles, either. On-the-go filament drying seeks to keep material a consistent temperature throughout, an algorithm monitors extrusion for smoother printing, auto-resume makes sure you don't lose progress after a power cut, and auto leveling (not to mention auto Z-offset) means that you don't have to prep the machine itself. The Kobra 3 automatically calibrates the print bed by itself, so there's not even a need for leveling paper.

So far as its look goes, the Kobra 3 is my favorite of Anycubic's FDM devices to date. The blend of cool metal, black plastic, glassy elements, and orange highlights makes it feel, in a word, premium. Best of all, it isn't going to take up masses of space on your worktop – it's compact despite having a build volume of 250 x 250 x 260mm.

Just be aware that you'll need to set aside extra space for the Ace Pro if you want to get that too; it doubles the necessary footprint.

Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo performance

• Easy to create multi-color prints
• Incredibly quick
• High-quality results

3D printing is like sorcery when you get started, but as with so much in life, that shine eventually wears off. Novel becomes normal.

Multi-color printing brings a pinch of that magic back for me.

With the option to thread different colors into a model, it allows you to create everything from tokens to fully 'painted' projects that look good off the build plate. Let's say you wanted to print Bowser from Super Mario. So long as you assigned the right colors in Anycubic's Slicer (green for the head, red for hair, yellow for his snout, etc), you won't need to touch it with a paintbrush after the fact. The Kobra 3 will do the work for you.

In theory, anyway. I put this to the test immediately with a project that was less ambitious, but equally precise – tokens for games of Warhammer Kill Team. The cardboard ones you receive in its core set are all good and well, but three-dimensional alternatives made by the community are so much cooler. I've seen folks create these using separate colors for the rims and symbols at the center of each one, and have never been able to recreate it myself, so thought they would be the perfect trial for the Anycubic Kobra 3. With that in mind, I loaded up some Kill Team black and orange and got to work.

To start with, prepping files in Anycubic's slicer was easy. Honestly, it reminds me of Paint; you can scribble freehand, set color by height, or mouse over the surface you want to be a different shade and click with the 'fill' option. I mostly did the latter, because it seemed to be the path of least resistance. And for the most part, it was. Beyond very occasional issues with the software not recognizing a surface I wanted (I managed to solve this with some patience and fiddling of camera angles), it worked exactly as I'd hoped.

Alright, so there's a learning curve. Only painting the top of a surface (AKA the highest flat face of a shape) rather than the whole thing will result in a patchy covering, for example. Missing a side will exponentially increase print time because the Kobra 3 is endlessly swapping colors, too. But so long as you've been thorough in selecting your colors and applying them to more than the uppermost layer, you'll get beautiful results. As a case in point, my tokens came out looking fantastic once I'd learned the slicer's ins and outs.

Even if you're not printing with multiple colors, the finished product is still impressive. The machine's self-diagnosing software and cooling mechanisms make sure prints come out looking crisper than I'd expected, and I've gotten. Even the handful of cosplay items I've used it on look grand.

The only thing to watch out for would be the Ace Pro getting itself into a pickle. At some point, filament got tangled as it made its way through the inside of the machine, and that basically knocked out one of my spools until I could take the whole thing apart for removal. It's not a common issue in that I haven't experienced it before or since, but it is a pain if it happens.

Equally, the Kobra 3 itself isn't immune to classic printer problems like blockages. However, it's fairly easy to fix yourself and seems to have been set up so that DIY repairs are as straightforward as possible.

Should you buy the Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo?

If you're on the hunt for a new filament printer (or your first), I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo. It gives you the most versatility in terms of what you can print, and it's incredibly accessible to boot. Veterans will find enough to tinker with to create impressive masterpieces, too.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested the Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo

Our reviewer spent roughly a month using the machine to print a variety of builds, ranging from tokens for tabletop games to terrain for wargaming and props for cosplay. He used a variety of filament types and projects from different creators.

For more on how we review products, see the GamesRadar+ hardware policy.

For inspiration on what to use your 3D printer on once you get it, don't miss our guide out the best tabletop RPGs or the best board games.

In a recent meeting with Maingear's marketing lead, he shared an anecdote - the founder of Maingear actually patented motherboards with rear cable headers ten years ago, but was laughed out of meetings with manufacturers back then. Today, the brand is leading the cable-free charge in prebuilt machines, which will almost certainly become a mainstay for the best gaming PCs.

Sporting some rather monstrous 'mid-range' specs, the Maingear Zero Ruby is available for $2,049 / £1,605 (plus shipping). Admittedly, this is a machine that’s in the uppermost bracket of what you can call mid-range, and you are paying the price for its very up-to-date components. Even so, the reason I'd recommend it to you goes far beyond pure brass tacks, frame rates, or its lack of motherboard cables.

Specs

The Ruby sits as a middle-of-the-road option in Maingear’s admittedly expansive menu of Project Zero gaming PCs. It has seven configurations of these cable-free computers in total, ranging from the Zero Silver, powered by an RTX 4060 for $1,349, all the way up to a Zero Ultimate, which is powered by an RTX 4090 and costs $3,849. All, except the Silver, can be “boosted” for a little extra cash, giving you more storage space and memory.

The boosted version of the Ruby gets you Windows 11 Pro as opposed to Home, 32GB of DDR5 instead of 16GB, and a 2TB SSD, not a 1TB drive. All of those upgrades take the price up to $2,249, but in all honesty, probably aren’t worth that additional cost. If you’re patient enough, an extra terabyte of storage and a RAM upgrade can be much more affordable separately. 

As someone who reviews the best RAM for gaming, I was skeptical about a PC of this price only shipping with 16GB of DDR5 as standard. For the money you’re paying, 16GB does feel a tad stingy, even if it is DDR5. If I’m totally fair to Maingear though, it never felt like the memory on board was bottlenecking the rest of this rig, which goes to show how much one of the best CPUs for gaming can do these days, and just how effective even a smaller amount of DDR5 can be. 

The case Maingear has used for this PC perfectly complements its cableless design. It has three transparent sides so you can peer in at the wonderful components within, and the colorful fans do a grand job of giving it some personality. If I had to nitpick, I’d say the MSI MAG Pano M100 PZ MATX case used is a tad on the heavier side. I know it’s not designed to be an Acer Predator Orion X competitor, but even for a Micro-ATX chassis, it’s fairly large. 

Connectivity is one aspect I’d look into before buying. I was a bit miffed I couldn’t connect up the Elgato Game Capture 4K Pro because there isn’t a spare graphics card slot on the motherboard. There is, however, an extra Gen 4 M.2 SSD slot you can use to add more storage on your own. On the rear IO, the motherboard gives you 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 5Gbps, 3x USB Type A 10Gbps, 1x USB-C 10Gbps, and 1x USB-C 20Gbps. The case then reinforces this with a front USB-A and USB-C port. 

Customer Experience

There are two parts of Maingear’s Zero Ruby that I’d like to evaluate in this review. One, of course, is the computer itself. The second part, however, is the customer experience you get with Maingear as a brand, because so far it’s unmatched by the other prebuilt providers I’ve worked with. 

I believe the goal of a ready-built gaming PC is to provide ease of access to the world of PC gaming. You want a machine like this to be as plug-and-play as a games console, with everything ready to go out of the box. At the same time, you want something that’s futureproofed and isn’t held back by proprietary nonsense, because that’s the exact thing most converted console players are immigrating to avoid. 

Customer experience is so important as a result because prebuild makers have no idea if the person buying a PC is a newcomer grabbing their first-ever rig, or a veteran who wants a new platform they can upgrade down the line. Whoever it is swiping their credit card, these computers are huge investments, and people deserve to be treated well for splashing out on them.

For reference, there’s the likes of Alienware, which makes excellent machines but locks everything behind proprietary walls. There are brands like Acer, who open things up slightly more, while still holding firm to their proprietary Predator motherboards and try their best to hide the parts of their builds that they don’t make themselves.

Then, there are brands like Maingear, who build you a pristine gaming rig, are transparent about the parts used, and lock nothing behind proprietary annoyances. The BIOS is MSI’s own in this build because that’s the motherboard’s manufacturer. There’s no bloatware competing for your CPU’s attention, and the drivers that are preinstalled during the build are only the absolutely necessary ones.

In the box, you get crystal clear start-up instructions in case setting up your first gaming PC is intimidating. A checklist of quality assurance tests lies underneath, filled out by your builder before shipping. That’s the mark of quality from a brand that cares about its customers - the kind of thing you get when you open up a Rode product, for example.

Maingear seems to stop at nothing in pursuit of that customer service. Their phone lines are manned six days a week, their engineers are gaming hardware nerds, and their packaging is drop-tested to ensure the unique foam they use protects PCs throughout even the roughest shipping journeys. Perhaps my favorite thing to note is that even after your standard one-year warranty expires, your PC will be viable for lifetime support that’s tied to an individual PC, not the original owner who made the purchase. That means if you sell your computer or give it away to a friend later, the next owner can quote a small serial number on a customer service call and still receive help from Maingear. This is exactly how prebuilt gaming PCs should be - from experience, to support, to the lack of proprietary hindrances.

Performance

To begin, I want to compliment whoever built the PC Maingear sent me. It is pristine. Not one cable is awkwardly poking out and disturbing things, the innards are neat and tidy, and I love that there’s a custom GPU bracket that comes in every Maingear PC that’s removable. There’s clearly a lot of care and attention to detail that’s put into building these PCs, and that’s not always the case.

I’ve been using this PC as a daily driver PC for work and gaming for around a month now. Daily gaming tasks are easy for it, with my most-played game Hunt: Showdown being flung out at 84fps with 4K, maxed-out settings. Senua’s Saga Hellblade 2 achieves 87fps with custom 4K settings, and less technically demanding games like Not For Broadcast give it no trouble at all.

Then we have our testing suite of games and software designed to make these PCs sweat. To begin with, industry-standard benchmarks were on par with my expectations, although the CPU didn’t do quite as well in Cinebench as I would have thought. On the other hand, I noticed that during these intense workloads, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor stayed cool, peaking at 72°C. Credit has to go to Maingear’s own AIO cooler there because it keeps both central components thriving. 

In gaming benchmarking, I was pleasantly surprised with the frame rates in 4K and 1440p. For a GPU with only 12GB of VRAM, I was delighted to see some really decent organic 4K scores. When I reviewed the RTX 4070 Ti, I found that it relied on its upscaling tricks a bit more than other graphics cards over $700, but the 4070 Super feels more honest. 

Ray tracing tasks were handled well, I thought. Returnal and Hitman 3’s 4K, non-DLSS, fully ray-traced benchmarks still make the Ruby struggle, but for something with a 12GB GPU, things could be a lot worse. Nvidia’s prowess certainly still shines through when it comes to ray-tracing, which is easy to see compared to the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT I use in my own build. 

As expected, Quad HD scores were pretty ludicrous when DLSS and frame gen were doing their thing. Even organically, the 4070 Super can churn out triple-digit frame rates in 1440p - with the exception of Total War: Warhammer 3 and Returnal, where it isn’t far off. With DLSS super-charging it, you’ll easily cap out your best gaming monitor’s refresh rate in the majority of games. 

Boosting the resolution even higher, 4K60 is more than achievable if you tune down a couple of settings. This is what I do as a general rule for my PC gaming, and the Ruby hasn’t let me down thus far. 

In general use, I’ve not run into any issues with this build. Being free of bloatware means it’s been so easy to use the Ruby for daily work and as a content creation machine. The only small error, if you can call it one, is that the CPU’s integrated graphics were still enabled out of the box, which can be known to cause some performance issues. I did love inspecting the motherboard’s BIOS though, because there was nothing there that signaled Maingear had planted anything of their own in the mix. I found two AMD EXPO profiles waiting for me, and these allowed me to boost the RAM to its advertised speed of 5200MT/s from its out-of-the-box speed.

Special credit is given to the T-Force SSD Maingear has supplied this PC with. I haven’t had the pleasure of testing out T-Force’s SSDs until now, but this one is easily on par with the best SSDs for gaming on the Gen 4 ladder.

Should you buy the Maingear Zero Ruby?

I can wholeheartedly recommend this gaming PC. If you’re looking for the most up-to-date mid-range prebuild at the moment, you’re going to struggle to beat this in terms of its parts. They all work together beautifully in Maingear’s name, and for either 1440p or 4K gaming, it really is a top-notch gaming PC. 

It isn’t perfect, mind you. I’d argue the price is a tad high for the median stop in the Project Zero family, and I’d have liked to see 32GB of memory for the investment. It is also a bit of a hulk for a micro-ATX PC. Luckily, its cable-free design is the trendsetter I thought it would be, and it really is stunning to behold.  

Even if you don’t go for a Maingear Zero Ruby, Maingear is a brand that should be on your radar if you’re shopping for a gaming PC in the future. It provides some of the best customer experience of any prebuild maker I’ve worked with, and its team in New Jersey shares your disdain for proprietary frustrations.

How we tested the Maingear Zero Ruby

I put the Maingear Zero Ruby through the wringer before writing this review. I tested it as a general-use machine for gaming, work, and content creation. I mainly played games in 4K, playing a wide variety of games to test out its high-end power. For more scrupulous testing of its individual parts, I used industry-standard benchmarking software like 3DMark, Cinebench, and CrystalDiskMark. I then ran it through our usual host of demanding benchmarking games in 4K and 1440p.

Check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy to read more about our testing methods. 

Looking for other gaming platforms? Check out the best VR headsets, the best gaming laptops, and the best gaming handhelds. 

Before we get started, there’s no guarantee that all the best gaming handheld options will show up on Amazon’s sale. Sure, we’re bound to see Prime Day Steam Deck deals pop up in some form, whether they apply to accessories or discounts direct at Valve, but actual device discounts aren’t a given. At the same time, sometimes unexpected record-low prices can pop up on even the latest gadgets, meaning it’s well worth consistently checking in on any desirables regardless.

My intention behind this roundup isn’t just a handheld deals watchlist – I also want to get players thinking about the kind of portable that’d benefit them the most. That’s not to say I’d hold back on shouting about the Steam Deck OLED if it drops to a record low, but I think it’s crucial to weigh up potential discounts alongside what the device will offer you specifically. For some, being able to reach higher frame rates will matter most, while many of you out there will prefer having access to the right library of games. Keep that in mind when perusing my list down below and we’ll be on track to getting you an excellent portable pal for less that’s an exact fit for your preferences. 

1. Nintendo Switch

I’m starting off vanilla, but if I’m being honest, I think a majority of you out there will get more from the Switch than any other handheld. Nintendo’s legendary handheld hybrid has been around since 2017, and it’s starting to show its age a little performance-wise. Still, we’re talking about a system that’ll run the latest Mario romps, provide access to the expanse of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and serve as the perfect party prop for some summer Mario Kart tournaments.  

As for which Prime Day Nintendo Switch deals to look for specifically, I’d keep an eye out for the OG version first and foremost. Chances are it’ll still come in at $299 / £259, but sale events normally create free game bundles that’ll help you save around $50 in total. If you’ve switched your main living room screen to one of the best gaming TVs, then you might also want to consider the Nintendo Switch OLED, as it’ll meet your newfound contrast and color standards in handheld mode and potentially dip below $300.  

2.  Asus ROG Ally 

One of the first premium Steam Deck rivals to enter the scene, the Asus ROG Ally adds spice to Valve’s handheld PC formula. At a glance, both portables offer an extremely similar experience, especially if you primarily use Steam to access the latest games. However, Asus’ beefy alternative boasts a faster 120Hz 1080p display and a higher-spec AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU that can reach much higher frame rates without compromising on settings. Simply put, if you always try to boost fps in the latest games, it’s well worth considering the Ally, even if SteamOS feels much more refined than shoehorned Windows 11. 

Amusingly, the Prime Day Asus ROG Ally deals worth considering will most likely be at Best Buy, as the big box store is an official retail partner. At the moment, there are two models available over there; the top-spec Ryzen Z1 Extreme edition and the watered-down Ryzen Z1 variant. Based on previous discounts and sales, I reckon the former will drop to around $549.99, while the cheaper tier is already down at $399 thanks to a $100 discount. 

If you do stick with the $400 ROG Ally, you’ll end up with a handheld that’s slightly less impressive than the Steam Deck but makes up for it through Windows 11 versatility and nicer screen specs. Using Microsoft’s OS is a double-edged sword since its UI isn’t really portable-friendly, but it’s a cheaper option for those of you with a Game Pass subscription or chonky Epic Game Store collection. Of course, some of you might also want to go grab an Asus ROG Ally X pre-order instead, as the upcoming version promises greater battery life and various improvements. 

3. Super Pocket 

I have a habit of finding ways to chat retro, and some of you will argue that the Super Pocket isn’t a Steam Deck rival. However, I firmly believe it’s a handheld that’ll appeal to almost everyone, and it might sway players who only want to play the classics. At $59 / £49, it’s already incredibly cheap, especially since it’s a Game Boy-shaped portable that runs Evercade cartridges and comes with games built in. That means you’ll have access to over 500 classics across various retro consoles, and you’ll soon even be able to play 3D capers like Tomb Raider thanks to fancy new Giga Carts. 

So, how cheap can a cheap console cheap? After saying that five times fast and having a look at previous discounts, I believe that if the handheld does drop, it’ll likely reach the $40 mark. It managed to drop to $42 earlier this year, so there’s every chance that price tag will return, but I’m hopeful for a new record low. There is a limited edition Atari woodgrain version of the Super Pocket on the way alongside a Technos Edition, and that release might be a nice time to cut the existing Capcom and Taito versions to entice new players. 

4. Ayn Odin 2 

If you’re into the idea of emulating classic consoles on something Steam Deck-shaped, then the Ayn Odin 2 should be top of your list. Armed with Android and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, this beast is going to make short work of even those problematic retro romps that made flagship gaming phones struggle just a few years ago. You’ll even be able to mess with other Play Store releases if you desire, and PC gaming isn’t completely off the cards thanks to Steam Link and other streaming services. 

As for what Prime Day can do for the Odin 2, I’m hoping the sale will spark off its first discount. At full price, you’re looking at $399, and based on similar device discounts in the past, we could see that drop to $299 or even lower. Ideally, I’d like to see it reach $249, as it is admittedly a hard sell when up against the Steam Deck, even though you’re actually gaining excellent features like anti-drift hall sensor thumbsticks, a 1080p screen, and plenty of other premium perks.

5. Lenovo Legion Go 

I have pretty mixed feelings about the Lenovo Legion Go, and I stand by the idea that it feels like a handheld by laptop makers. Still, it wields the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU as the ROG Ally and has a larger 144Hz QHD display on its side – something some of you are going to take full advantage of playing older releases and indie games. Plus, it is technically offering something a bit different with its TrueStrike removable gamepads, even if they do feel pretty rotten compared to PC controllers and other portables. 

I’d be pretty surprised if the Lenovo Legion Go doesn’t return to its lowest price during Prime Day, as we’ve got more Windows 11 handhelds waiting in the wings. Just last month, the portable PC dropped from $699.99 to $579.98 at Amazon, and in my opinion, that price puts it back in the running against the Legion Go. Just keep in mind that big specs and flamboyant features don’t always lead to the best gaming experience, and your $600 could get you either something more refined or a cheaper solution that doesn’t arguably feel like a prototype. 

6. Razer Edge 

I admittedly have a problem with the Razer Edge at MSRP, but it’s actually an incredibly versatile Android handheld for the right price. It might feel more like a phablet considering it uses a separate Kishi mobile controller, and it’s firmly a Steam Deck alternative rather than a fully-fledged rival. Nevertheless, the flexibility of its OS means it can serve as a powerful emulation device, a way to play Play Store favorites like Call of Duty mobile, and even double up as a makeshift PlayStation Portal. 

Mentioning the PS Portal is important, as I’m hoping the Edge will drop down to the same $199 price tag as Sony’s remote player. I don’t think that’s too unreasonable given that it dropped down to $249 back in May and stayed at that price until now, and I suspect the extra $50 will make all the difference to units shifted during Prime Day. 

Despite possessing an AMOLED screen and an impressive 144Hz refresh rate, you ideally don’t want to be paying anywhere near Steam Deck prices for the Edge. It really needs to drop to at least $250 before becoming a valid alternative in my books, and I genuinely think most players will love taking it on your travels for that price. 

Handy handheld pointers to consider 

The handheld market is an everchanging monster, which makes keeping up with the on-the-go Joneses a pain. We’re on the cusp of finally getting a Nintendo Switch 2, not to mention more companies are entering the portable PC ring to throw punches at the Steam Deck. Therefore, I’d ask yourself the following questions before clicking buy on a handheld, regardless of the price during Prime Day: 

What games do you actually enjoy? - The Steam Deck might be impressive, but if you haven’t got a massive library tied to Valve’s storefront, you could technically start fresh using any vendor. The same goes for if you would rather do backflips in Mario Odyssey than marvel at the glorious visuals of big releases, as you might be better off building up your Switch library before its sequel arrives instead.

Do you care about performance? - No one likes choppy visuals, so this point is more targeted towards those of you who are used to PS5 or high-end PC gameplay. If sticking with 720p and lower frame rates gives you the ick, you’ll naturally want to select a handheld with a little extra horsepower. Otherwise, consoles like the Switch are probably going to look just fine even in 2024.

Do you use streaming services? - If you’re already paying for a bunch of cloud subscriptions and aren’t fussed about downloading games, picking up a lighter-weight handheld for streaming might be the right option. Portables like the Logitech G Cloud and Razer Edge benefit from a longer battery life and light form factor thanks to their mobile innards, which is possible since they don’t have to run games natively. 

How often will you actually use it? - This is a question no one asks enough, as I know a few friends who tend to pick up handhelds that end up gathering dust. If you really only need something to keep your hands busy when occasionally traveling, or you’d rather save big adventures for the living room, you may want to just pick up something small and cheap like the Super Pocket or the Anbernic RG35XX Plus. Both of these great value handhelds have a bunch of classic games and cost well under $100, providing a plethora of games for when you occasionally need them.

Looking for more summer offers? Check out Prime Day TV deals and Prime Day monitor deals for big screen savings. Alternatively, swing by Prime Day tablet deals for a bunch of great general-use devices. 

 Naming conventions among the best graphics cards can be a bit confusing. Compared to last gen’s RX 6800 XT which is a much-loved mid-ranger, this feels more like an architectural refresh rather than a full generational step up. Arguably, the RX 7900 GRE is the true successor to the 6800 XT, but that’s not to say this card should be slept on.  

Compared to the competition, a price tag of $499 / £479 for a mid-range card with 16GB of VRAM is generous. The RTX 4070 range comes in well over that price point, no matter the variant you choose, and it’s worth noting that those only pack in 12GB of VRAM.

Design

For this review, I’m checking out Acer’s Predator BiFrost OC board, which, as you’ll see from the table below, touts a faster boost clock than AMD’s in-house version. As a result, it comes in above MSRP. You’ll likely find minor price discrepancies no matter what GPU you go for, but from a quick look, there are options available under that suggested price tag to offset the pricier variant I’m checking out. 

The 7800 XT sits bang smack in the middle of AMD’s RDNA 3 range, and with three siblings on either side of it, it might just be the value sweet spot to slot inside your best gaming PC. 

I was lucky enough to test out and review both the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and the RX 7900 XT, so I’m already well aware that AMD is packing a lot of underappreciated heat with RDNA3. I personally love that for your money on the red side of the GPU war, you tend to get more VRAM for your money than equivalent Nvidia products - even if that VRAM is sometimes a little slower. That dominant brand tends to be more stingy with memory and uses its DLSS upscaling and frame generation as its main selling point. While this certainly works for them, I’d always prefer to have more memory so I have more headroom for higher resolutions and for content creation tasks. 

In terms of the physical design of the Acer model I’m testing, you’ll notice a few Predator logos and three of the brand’s Frostblade 3.0 fans, but compared to my Acer Predator BiFrost Intel Arc A770, the design of this feels scaled back. There’s no RGB to be seen, but matte black surfaces make it look like something that would fit in with any of Christian Bale’s Batman utensils. In short, it looks badass, and its chunky build lets you know there’s serious power within.

Bulky as it may be, I had no issues at all slotting it into my ITX PC. It's 281.9mm long by 104mm wide and has a height of 60.9mm, so it won’t demand too much real estate. Two 8-pin connectors are all you’ll need to hook it up to your power supply, no need for a swanky new cable like some of the higher-end Nvidia 40 Series offerings.

Features

One of the big draws of upgrading to newer GPU architecture is, of course, the upscaling and frame generation tools you get access to. AMD has opened up FSR 3 to its older generations too, but the newer GPUs are the ones that will likely reap the most benefits from it because they’re set up architecturally to do so. Until more support for FSR 3 arrives, Adrenalin software that helps you manage graphics settings and driver updates has you covered.

I must say, even since reviewing the RX 7900 XTX and XT, I feel like Adrenalin as an app has really improved. All the parts are easily navigable, and make Intel’s Arc control look like a toddler's first attempt at drawing a house. Besides my preferences not saving across a firmware update, and the app upsetting a few of my keyboard shortcuts, it’s performed brilliantly, never slowing down performance. 

I especially like the ability to record gameplay without hindering performance. This is something Intel needs to improve on desperately, but as someone who livestreams and records gameplay for YouTube videos, it’s a vital feature for me. 

Fluid Motion Frames and FidelityFX Super Resolution are two of the most important features when gaming with one of the Radeon 7000 Series graphics cards. The former is a frame generation tool that gives you some seriously decent frame rate boosts. Nvidia’s upscaling is talked a lot about, but I don’t think AMD gets enough credit for its equivalent. FidelityFX Super Resolution is a clever piece of engineering that renders your game at the resolution below your display’s maximum, then upscales it to give you a performance boost. Both of these will turn on when you activate Hyper-RX mode in the Adrenalin app, but both can be tuned manually depending on your preferences.

A warning though, if you turn these on and Steam or the Windows game bar tells you you’re getting fewer frames per second than before, turn on AMD’s overlay. For some reason, other software can’t track the frames AMD is generating, but the true kick this technology gives your gaming setup is happening, which a trained eye will be able to spot.

Performance

I’m really happy with the Radeon RX 7800 XT because it’s great at doing exactly what I want a mid-range GPU to do. Even if it’s billed as a 1440p driver, I take it to 4K in every game I play, and the 60+ frame rates it pulls out make it an absolute console killer. In games like Hunt: Showdown I get an organic 90fps, but after dialing in FSR and FMF, I get 130fps without the GPU showing an ounce of sweat. 

In Alan Wake 2, which gave the Intel Arc A770 some serious grief, I was able to get over 100fps in 4K thanks to Hyper-RX presets, and combined with my Intel Core i5-13600K processor, Baldur’s Gate 3 runs in 4K at around 75-80fps depending on the scenario.

Streaming and video editing is a similar story. I’ve detected next to no performance dips when scrubbing through 4K video, and although the fans in my PC kick up a storm in those heavier Adobe Premiere Pro sessions, the GPU never seems to mind and keeps a solid ambient temperature in the 60s (centigrade).

This was something I found during industry-standard benchmarking too, as 3DMark’s Time Spy test peaked in the 70s, and Fire Strike’s average temperature was a toasty 71. Scores here weren’t quite as beefy as I’d hoped, but still trumped the Arc A770 I was using before.

But of course, to really test out a GPU you need to make it sweat, and there’s nothing better for that than running it around a lap of our benchmarking games. For these tests, we’re trying to work the board to its limits, so all of the settings are cranked up to full at the two highest resolutions. 

The number of triple-digit frame rates in those benchmarks is impressive and speaks to the value for money that can be had here. These are especially demanding games cranked up to eleven, and I found during some more general gameplay tests that fiddling around with settings menus creates positive results in each testing category. 

For comparison, the RTX 4070 Super achieved the same 104fps in Returnal at 1440p when we reviewed it, although we did test it in a different system. Even so, in 4K, the 7800 XT continued to give it a run for its money with a compared 60fps. In fact, there were even some instances where the 16GB of VRAM may have given it an edge at 4K. Again, keep in mind that we tested it in a different system so it isn't a totally fair test, but the 4070 Super scored 104fps in Hitman 3 to the 7800 XT’s 116fps. Totally concrete comparisons aside, these are interesting numbers when you think about the price of both GPUs.

Perhaps most impressively, FSR and FMF are working really well to deliver at least 20-30fps boosts in each game. To be totally fair to Team Green, the 4070 Super’s DLSS performance bumps were more helpful overall, and when ray tracing is involved, Nvidia still leads the charge. Still, for a mid-range GPU, performance across the board for a much more reasonable price tag makes this a dark horse worth considering.

Should you buy the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT? 

It’s pretty hard to argue with the 1440p and 4K performance this GPU gives you for what will likely be under $500 if you buy at the right time. I’d say for anyone looking to upgrade to a capable 16GB graphics card from either AMD or Nvidia’s most recent generations, the 7800 XT is one to seriously consider. For the money, you compete with an RTX 4070 Super that would demand a lot more from your pockets, and with Team Red’s homegrown version of DLSS, you won’t feel like you’re missing out on much. 

As much as I appreciate the RX 7800 XT, I can understand the frustration of anyone who already has the RX 6800 XT and was hoping for a bona fide step up. Graphics card manufacturers shouldn’t be playing sneaky and confusing games with naming conventions, but if it’s any consolation, the underrated mid-range performance of last-gen’s Dark Horse has survived here. If you aren’t attracted by the performance boosts you see here, you can always consider the RX 7900 GRE, which isn’t a lot more expensive. 

As a daily driver for me, I’m very happy with the 7800 XT at the moment. It provides 4K gaming, easy content creation, and great software I can use to finetune things how I like. Short of going for an Intel Arc A770 with 16GB, you’re going to struggle to find a current-gen, 4K-capable GPU that’s better value than this.

How we tested the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT

I put the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT in my own personal gaming PC for around two months before writing this review. In that time, I've used it to play hundreds of hours worth of games. Alan Wake 2, Hunt: Showdown, Planet Zoo, Dishonored 2, and Baldur's Gate 3 are just a few of the games I've played with it in my own time before formally testing it. I compared my experience closely to my time with the Intel Arc A770, a competitor GPU with 16GB of VRAM for a budget price. 

For formal testing, I put the graphics card through our wringer of benchmarking games and software, noting frame rates and comparing them across our previous reviews. 

For more on the ways we test out the latest graphics cards and computer parts, check out our hardware policy.

For more PC part buying advice, check out the best CPUs for gaming, the best RAM for gaming, and the best PC cases.