As 2022 comes to a close we’re looking at the best pieces of gaming tech from the last year, from powerful new components and best-in-class peripherals to complete gaming systems that fit in the palm of your hand.
Our winner for the Best Gaming Hardware of 2022 is…
Valve Steam Deck
The Steam Deck might not be the first or only handheld gaming PC, but it brought the idea to the masses thanks to the backing of Valve and its very reasonable $399 entry price. Its implementation of the Linux-based SteamOS has not been without its headaches, but the ability to easily access most if not all of your Steam library in a handheld form factor – complete with mods, cloud saves, and all the other benefits of playing on PC – has been nothing short of revolutionary.
Here are our nominees for the Best Gaming Hardware of 2022…
The Best Gaming Hardware of 2022
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
In a sea of wireless gaming headsets, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless stands out. Instead of just working with one platform, you can hook up this headset to two consoles, PCs, or any combination of devices. Plus, it also has Bluetooth so you can listen to your mobile devices at the same time.
Of course, this gaming headset offers more than just a myriad of ways to connect, its audio quality is also impeccable, and you can further improve how your games sound by tweaking the EQ through software. Perhaps most importantly, it remains the only headset (aside from its predecessor) to feature hot-swappable rechargeable batteries, allowing you to keep gaming effectively indefinitely without ever having to worry about plugging in to charge.
Alienware AW3423DW QD-OLED
In recent years, TVs and monitors have gone in two diverging directions in terms of the technology they want to focus most on. TVs mostly prioritized picture quality, with market leaders like the LG C2 offering the impeccable visuals of OLED. Monitors, on the other hand, often offered better refresh rates and response times, making them the favorites to be paired with high-end PCs.
Alienware's AW3423DW QD-OLED allows people to have their cake and eat it too. It’s one of the first monitors to utilize QD-OLED technology, which has a wider range of colors than OLED while also offering faster response times. In other words, the best of both worlds, and a glimpse of the best gaming monitors to come.
Alienware AW3423DW – Photos
Valve Steam Deck
The Steam Deck might not be the first or only handheld gaming PC, but it brought the idea to the masses thanks to the backing of Valve and its very reasonable $399 entry price. Its implementation of the Linux-based SteamOS has not been without its headaches, but the ability to easily access most if not all of your Steam library in a handheld form factor – complete with mods, cloud saves, and all the other benefits of playing on PC – has been nothing short of revolutionary.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
The GeForce RTX 4090 blasted onto the scene as the absolute king of consumer graphics cards, with behemoth size, performance, and pricing. At $1,599 it is far out of reach of all but the most dedicated enthusiasts, but the gaming performance it brings to the table makes that price seem almost worth it. Pricing aside, it is truly a remarkable feat of engineering to pack this much power into a consumer-grade graphics card, and it will never not be impressive seeing the latest games at 4K max settings with ray tracing enable still pushing framerates in excess of 100 fps.
Playdate
Five years after the Nintendo Switch blurred the lines between console and handheld, there’s been something of a renaissance in the world of portable gaming machines. On one end of the spectrum are powerful handheld PCs like the Steam Deck. At the other end is the quirky little yellow rectangle that is the Playdate. Outfitted with a handcrank for controls and a curated collection of lofi games, the Playdate might seem a bit pretentious and gimmicky – and it is – but that didn’t stop it from charming its way into our hearts.
All IGN Best of Games 2022 Categories
- Best Game of 2022
- Best Action Game of 2022
- Best Action-Adventure Game of 2022
- Best Video Game Music of 2022
- Best Video Game Art of 2022
- Best Console Exclusive of 2022
- Best Ongoing Game of 2022
- Best Performance in a Game in 2022
- Best Puzzle Game of 2022
- Best Racing Game of 2022
- Best RPG Game of 2022
- Best Shooter Game of 2022
- Best Game Story of 2022
- Best Strategy Game of 2022
- Noteworthy Advancement in Game Accessibility in 2022
- Best Gaming Hardware of 2022