10 Gift Ideas for the Computer Builder in Your Life

Gift Ideas for PC Builders

What gift do you get this holiday season for the computer builder in your life?

Well, first of all, probably not computer parts! Unless they’ve asked for a specific component, there’s a good chance you’d be giving them something redundant or unwanted.

But don’t worry! There are still plenty of things that the average PC builder could receive that are almost never redundant (like additional storage space) or which a builder is unlikely to have bought for themselves (like an uninterruptible power supply). Good gift ideas for PC building enthusiasts are what this list is all about.

The following 10 gifts ideas cover a spectrum of prices, and are sure to find use on or near the desk of any friend or family member who’s into building computers. Of course, suggestions you get directly from the intended recipient should always be prioritized; but if you haven’t received any guidance from them, these ideas will surely come in handy. Let’s begin!

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The BEST Newegg Cyber Monday 2023 Deals on PC Hardware!

Newegg Cyber Monday 2023 sales! These are Logical Increments’ picks for the best Newegg Cyber Monday 2023 deals.

A while after Black Friday caught on, online retailers introduced Cyber Monday in order to get in on the action, with a focus on online shopping. Over time, it became established, and now Cyber Monday is basically just a second Black Friday that happens a few days later!

Newegg has been one of the most consistent sources for Cyber Monday sales on PC hardware, so we’ve focused on them and sifted through the thousands of offers they have up for the event. We narrowed down the choices to just this elite list of what we believe are the 50 best deals of the day. Some of these were Black Friday deals, so if you missed them then, this is your second chance! But there are also new deals here, exclusive to Cyber Monday.

This year’s Cyber Monday sales on Newegg include a good selection of cases, power supplies, and keyboards. The most outstanding discounts are for gaming screens, with some stellar options for really big discounts.

Please note: Some of the best deals are dependent on rebates. Such rebates are reliable, but only if you follow the instructions exactly and submit everything on time, so better be careful!

Rosewill Neon K51B

The 50 best Cyber Monday deals include this mechanical keyboard, slashed from $55 to $20.

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The BEST Newegg Black Friday 2023 Deals on PC Hardware!

Newegg Black Friday 2023 sales! These are Logical Increments’ picks for the best Newegg Black Friday 2023 deals.

Black Friday is the day where a large number of retailers all around the world have the biggest sales of the year. Newegg’s focus on PC hardware makes it one of the absolute best places to find deals for building a computer on Black Friday. We’ve sifted through hundreds of deals to bring you this list of the 45 best deals on PC components, across nearly every important component category. This year has solid deals for both CPUs and graphics cards, which has not happened in quite a while!

But that’s not all—some of the best discounts we found were actually on high-end power supplies and gaming screens. And you’ll find other computer parts discounted nicely in the list below, too.

Please note: Some of the best deals are dependent on rebates. Such rebates are reliable, but only if you follow the instructions exactly and submit everything on time, so better be careful!

Acer Nitro

Black Friday deals, like 20% off on this attractive gaming monitor, are here!

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What Logical Increments Tier is Required to Run the Most Popular Steam Games?

Top Games Header

(Information on Steam’s top games were gathered for this article from Steam Charts)

Back in January 2020, I crafted a neat little piece discussing the Logical Increments tier needed to enjoy each of the top games on Steam at the time. Fast forward to now, and oh, how the scene has shifted! Back around that period, we were seeing trade tariffs causing a good bump in prices for PC hardware​. As we ventured into late 2020, high demand meant the cost of PC parts kept climbing, and 2021 brought even higher prices—especially for graphics cards due to a cryptocurrency boom. Oh, and let’s not forget, the world was just getting acquainted with Covid-19, adding a whole new level of complexity to tech market dynamics through supply chain issues.

Now, at the tail end of 2023, with prices and availability having normalized in some (though not all) component categories, and just a week left until Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s about time we take a fresh look at what Logical Increments PC building tier you’d need to dive into the most popular Steam games today. Let’s see what changed in the last few years, and whether that ol’ system still has some life in it, or whether it might be worth a little upgrade. Stick around as we unpack the current gaming demands and discuss today’s tech landscape.

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The Best Graphics Cards for Video Editing and Animation

In a world where visuals speak louder than words, video editing and animation have emerged as potent tools to tell compelling stories. For professionals venturing into the realms of cinematic or animated storytelling, the centrepiece of their tech arsenal is undeniably the graphics card. The graphical prowess doesn’t just define the quality of visuals but also the efficiency and speed of rendering them.

Here, we unearth the graphics cards that stand out in the tail end of 2023 for their remarkable capabilities in video editing and animation.

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The Best Monitors for Professional Content Creators

4K Monitor Content Creators

Navigating the world of content creation requires more than just a keen eye and creativity; it demands the right tools. Among these tools, a top-notch monitor stands out as a cornerstone for professionals. Whether you’re meticulously editing a photo, crafting a video, or rendering a 3D design, your monitor plays a pivotal role in bringing your vision to life.

In this guide, we’ll delve into the essential aspects of a monitor that every content creator should be aware of. From color accuracy to resolution and beyond, we’ll break down what truly matters. Then we’ll finish things off with a group of strong monitor options for content creators to consider choosing.

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The Raptor Lake (is Barely a) Refresh

i9-14900K

I am always excited by hardware launches! The feeling of fresh, new, unexpected hardware! Progressing technology, things getting faster, or cooler, or cheaper, or all three at the same time. It is wonderful, and it is a feeling I look forward to with each launch…

Intel just launched its Raptor Lake refresh CPUs, adding a (hopefully) fresh coat of paint and renewing its Raptor Lake lineup from last year.

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The “A580 and Other Intel Graphics Cards” Update

Arc A580

One year ago (almost to the day) Intel presented its A770 and A750 cards to the world. These were reasonably priced cards with reasonable performance, but were not added to our build chart then because—in addition to other minor issues with them—they suffered from two major flaws:
 

    1. The performance in old titles was poor.
    2. The performance on old systems (without Resizable BAR) was poor.

It has been a year, and you still need a system that has Resizable BAR, but that is available on all modern platforms launched in the last ~3 years, so it is less of an issue. More importantly, Intel’s latest drivers have dramatically improved performance in older games, between 20%-40%! That is a huge improvement.

Today, Intel launched the A580, prompting a second look into Intel’s previous cards. Since all three are based on the same silicon, we will look at them together.

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