The best tech gifts for those who spend way too much time sitting at a laptop or desktop PC — whether for work or leisure.
Even though smartphones are the main computers in most of our lives, there’s no beating a proper PC when it comes to productivity, gaming, and content creation. Fortunately, if someone in your life is the type to sit at a desktop or laptop for hours on end, we’ve collected some great recommendations for fun, helpful gifts you can get that person this holiday season.
Our gift ideas range from a sleek monitor light that can help with eye strain ($69.99) to arguably the best PC game of the year ($59.99), one that offers hundreds of hours of immersive roleplaying. We’ve even got some excellent accouterments to level up your desk setup in both the functionality and aesthetics departments, like the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 mouse ($159.99) and a jumbo-size desk pad ($84.50).
So take a gander and let us help you find a great gift for that picky nerd in your life.
price range:
Cable management kit (192-piece)
Gifting someone cable management tools may feel a bit like you’re assigning them homework, but they’ll appreciate it when all their messy cables are tidily routed out of sight thanks to this handy assortment of ties, clips, and sleeves. Well, at least they will once they’ve spent a few hours untangling the rats nest behind their desk.
Price: $14.99
PC Game Pass (three-month subscription)
Giving someone a few months of PC Game Pass grants them access to more than 100 quality titles, including the latest Forza Motorsport, Starfield, and some of the biggest games of the year. There are also surprise hits like Lies of P and indie works of art like Cocoon, making it quite the curated collection of games.
Price: $24.29+
Elgato Stream Deck MK. 2
Elgato’s Stream Deck MK. 2 is a treat for PC power users who appreciate a good button, as the macro controller lets you perform all kinds of one-button tasks. Want a physical mute button for Zoom calls? How about one to kick-start your favorite Spotify playlist? The 15-key MK. 2 can do it all — and that’s before you get into all the built-in features for livestreaming.
Price: $149.99
SteelSeries Arena 7 speakers
The SteelSeries Arena 7 is a 2.1-channel speaker setup with rumbly bass, handy extras like Bluetooth compatibility, and RGB lights that sync with what’s on-screen. It’s a nice set for any gamer who wants to crank their favorite game or tunes, especially since it offers dead-simple setup via USB and compatibility with the PlayStation 5.
Price: $299.99
Herman Miller Sayl office chair
Herman Miller’s Sayl is an ergonomic office chair that’s comfy, supportive, and looks particularly stylish without taking up too much space. Its back offers ample support and ventilation to keep you cooler during the warmer months, and the arms and seat are adjustable enough that your giftee should have no trouble finding the right fit for their body.
Price: $588+
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i
Powered by the Intel® Evo™ platform & 13th Gen Intel® Core™ processor, the Slim Pro 9i is engineered to do it all. Its 360-degree multimode flexibility, stunning display, and four Bowers & Wilkins speakers provide an unparalleled entertainment experience. Its comfort-edge casing with rounded edges provides easier carrying. With the inclusion of the Lenovo Precision Pen 2, this laptop allows you to shape your creativity. Price: $1,799.99
Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 mouse
Logitech’s G Pro X Superlight 2 may have a super long name, but it’s super short on heft, weighing in at just 60 grams. The newer mouse is designed for esports-level gaming performance, but its svelte looks and USB-C charging mean it can do the full-time job thing by day and land those perfect no-scopes in Counter-Strike 2 by night.
Price: $159+
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, one of our favorite gaming headsets, has a simple and straightforward design that won’t look out of place even on a professional Zoom call. Its best assets, however, are the fantastic audio quality coming through its 40mm drivers and its marathon battery life, which nets you more than 20 hours on a single charge.
Price: $309.79+
Keychron Q1 Pro
We doubt you’ll find a better wireless mechanical keyboard for the money than the pre-built Keychron Q1 Pro. Right out of the box, the Q1 Pro offers a sturdy aluminum build with a great typing feel and sound. Anyone who types all day will feel especially fancy with this board, which is also easily adjustable thanks to its hot-swappable switches and great customization software.
Price: $199.99+
Govee DreamView G1 Pro Gaming Light
RGB lighting can be a little gauche, but it’s more cool than cringe when it actually immerses you in a game. The DreamView G1 Pro Gaming Light attaches to your monitor with a small camera that’s designed to match the on-screen action. It’s quite the trip if you play in a dark room, allowing you to bathe your space in colorful light that augments the mood beautifully.
Price: $99.99+
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the best CRPGs of all time, whether you’re a hardcore pencil-and-paper RPG veteran or a complete newcomer. The turn-based combat is exceptional, but the character interaction and roleplaying is its true hallmark. The branching paths of the story offer hundreds of hours of playtime, with exceptional voice acting that makes the characters both memorable and endearing.
Price: $59.99
LG Ultragear 27GR95QE-B OLED monitor
Modern OLED TVs are a feast for the eyes thanks to their exceptional color, deep black levels, and terrific viewing angles. And now, thanks to the LG’s newer 27GR95QE-B, you can get all that in a reasonably sized monitor with fast 240Hz refresh that keeps up with speedy, twitch-response games.
Price: $850.99+
Ugreen USB 3.0 Switcher
It’s a pain to constantly connect and reconnect your key accessories from a laptop to a desktop. Luckily, Ugreen’s USB 3.0 switcher allows you to plug in four USB devices and quickly swap them between two computers with the press of a button. It’s incredibly handy for sharing your mouse, keyboard, webcam, and other accessories across your home desktop and work-from-home laptop.
Price: $45.99
Large leather desk pad protector
Desk mats are all the rage, but if you want something a little nicer and more refined, this leather desk pad can really fancy up your space. It’s big enough to cover your keyboard, mouse, and other accessories. Plus, it will build up a lovely patina as you use it, as opposed to cloth mats that can get dingy over time.
Price: $84.50
Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers
Technology can be a work of art — something photographer Mark Richards explores in great detail in Core Memory. The hardcover book documents the lovely details of 35 historic machines and computers, including icons like the ENIAC and Apple II. It’s a great collector’s piece for any geek who feels tickled by the nostalgia of vintage computing.
Price: $34.95
Samsung 990 Pro SSD (4TB)
Samsung’s 990 Pro NVMe SSD achieves blisteringly fast read speeds of up to 7,450MBps, making it a superb choice as the boot disc for your custom-built PC or an add-on drive for all your PC games. You can even get the drive with an RGB heatsink for optimized performance and PlayStation 5 compatibility.
Price: $279.99
XPower A-2 electric air duster
Dust sucks. It clogs your PC’s ventilation, it makes your desk look ugly, and it gets everywhere. Thankfully, an electric air duster can blow off all that dust and clean things up, lickety-split. XPower’s A-2 even comes with a handful of attachments that let you access hard-to-reach spots. Just be sure to run a vacuum or air purifier alongside it to capture all the resulting dust.
Price: $39+
GameSir T4 Kaleid controller
GameSir’s T4 Kaleid controller is a slick-looking gamepad with a see-through shell that lets you clearly see its circuitry and colorful RGB lighting. It also frees you from worrying about two things: battery life (it’s a wired controller, after all) and stick drift (because it uses drift-free Hall effect sticks). Plus, it’s compatible with both the Nintendo Switch and PC.
Price: $37.79+
Framework Laptop 13
Have you ever wished you could upgrade your laptop with new internal components like a desktop PC? The 13-inch Framework Laptop has a bit of the MacBook look, but it’s configurable with either Intel or AMD chips and can be easily upgraded or changed later. You can even customize the expansion ports to your liking, freeing you from the throes of #donglelife.
Price: $1,049+
Vornado AVH2 Advanced Whole Room Heater
If you’re the type of person who gets cold hands while typing or gaming, you should first consult a physician about your circulation. Afterward, consider a space heater like the Vornado AVH2, which comes with automatic climate controls that let you dial in the perfect temp. It’s super helpful during the colder months of the year, especially in a drafty space.
Price: $89.29+
Verilux HappyLight Touch Plus therapy lamp
If your giftee is prone to seasonal affective disorder, you can help them try to kick the cold weather blues with this LED therapy lamp. The apt-titled HappyLight creates bright, adjustable light that can make any work or living space feel more full of life on gray and dreary days, helping boost your energy levels.
Price: $46.99+
Ikea Skadis pegboard
A simple wall-mounted pegboard like Ikea’s Skadis can do wonders to keep your desk space organized and lively. It can be a utilitarian storage space for stowing tools and hobby stuff or an aesthetic decoration that lets you suspend plants, cute mini posters, and cards. The world is your oyster when you can hang some cool stuff from it.
Price: $27.99
Lume Cube Monitor Light Bar
A monitor light bar can illuminate your workspace without casting annoying glares on your work. Lume Cube’s offering is especially useful to anyone doing detailed photo, video, or graphical work, which looks most accurate in darker environments. It prevents you from having to work like a cave troll and straining your eyes, providing you with just enough light to keep you comfortable and focused.
Price: $59.99+
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023)
Few gaming laptops are as svelte and enjoyable to use for actual laptop duties as the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. The excellent 14-incher can handle high-fidelity games on its 165Hz QHD screen, but unlike other gaming laptops, it’s actually designed to leave your desk and do the everyday computing thing — without leaving you feeling like you’re toting around a boat anchor everywhere you go.
Price: $1,249.99
