Of all tech-related fields, gaming is one of the most competitive. It’s an industry that never seems to rest. Every year, not only do a staggering number of new games get released, but warehouses full of new gaming tech hit the market.
Modern online gaming is a massive industry with a global market size of over $200 billion, and has seen an influx of players over the past two decades. World of Warcraft started blazing a trail in the early 2000s by bringing MMOs to the masses, inviting players to the land of Azeroth to fight the ancient battle between humans and orcs. Since then, many genres have emerged to satisfy gamers’ needs, including competitive FPS, MOBAs, and even sandbox experiences.
iGaming is often overlooked, but it’s worth mentioning as part of the overall online gaming landscape. The iGaming industry has seen a surge in players over the last few years, with demand for online casino games at an all-time high. This is due to the introduction of mobile gaming, improvements in technology and live games.
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Modern online gaming can take a toll on your equipment. Even when playing slots, you need reliable equipment. With the year half over, here are five of the best gaming equipment released so far in 2024.
Steel Series Apex Pro
Professional gamers take their keyboards seriously, and if you want to take your game to the next level, you should too.
Of the many gamer-focused keyboards released so far this year, the SteelSeries Apex Pro is perhaps the most intriguing. Firstly, it doesn’t take up as much space as you’d expect, despite having all the features you’d expect from a full-sized mechanical keyboard.
It’s also one of the highest quality keyboards on the market, with a very comfortable watch and plenty of gamer-friendly tools and features. It has OLED that works with large keys and a clickable roller as media controls, and it gives you handy feedback on your profiles and settings so you can make tweaks while gaming.
Perhaps the best feature is the OmniPoint switches. Not only are they more responsive than standard switches, they’re also customizable, allowing you to choose the sensitivity level of each individual key. For users who have the time to set up separate profiles for general typing and gaming, this can significantly improve performance levels.
You can also configure the RGB lighting for each key. The configuration process offers a variety of options, including color effects and main and meta key bindings. Finally, there is a pass-through USB with three cable routing options and ports, making this the most customizable gamer and consumer keyboard on the market in 2024.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G14 is truly the best gaming laptop out there. This laptop excels in every way, starting with a 14-inch 2800 x 1800 OLED panel housed in a lightweight aluminum body that feels like a 13-inch laptop.
Weighing just 3.3 pounds and boasting a 12-hour battery life, the G14 isn’t too expensive or underpowered: the main model comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and Nvidia RTX 4046 or 4070 graphics, outperforming all of the competition.
If you want to buy the top-end version with an RTX 4070 and 32GB of RAM, you’ll have to spend around $2,000, while standard models are usually available for between $1,350 and $1,600, making it one of the best value for money high-performance gaming laptops.
Acer ZB253Q GW
This gaming monitor from Acer may not look all that impressive at first glance, but it’s packed with the best monitor technology on the market. With excellent picture quality and top-class motion performance, this 1080p, 24.5-inch monitor offers cutting-edge gaming performance, with colors that rival professional graphic design monitors, and brightness levels that are perfect for gaming in dimly lit rooms.
The refresh rate is an impressive 240Hz, but can be overclocked to 280Hz, ensuring crisp, clear graphics in even the most demanding games. This monitor’s performance levels are comparable to the newer Asus and Alienware devices, which are considerably more expensive.
The monitor is also well-designed, with a small but well-balanced and easily adjustable stand, and it also comes with a two-year warranty, which is an improvement over the standard one-year warranty usually offered on gaming monitors.
Audeze Maxwell
Audeze Maxwell offers the highest level of performance for audio enthusiasts with a series of gamer-oriented features, including low-latency wireless connectivity using 2.4GHz for excellent performance across many gaming platforms, various Bluetooth connectivity options including LDAC, AAC, Bluetooth LE, and wired connectivity via AUX and USB are also available.
In terms of performance, the sound is produced by planar magnetic drivers, with power and precision that ensures every sound comes through with clarity, and there’s even a built-in pinhole microphone so you can chat on the move, so you can use them as regular headphones too.
The downside is the lack of active noise cancellation, but overall the Audeze Maxwell’s excellent sound quality and comfort make it a great choice for gamers.
Grikit KK3 Max
Price is an important consideration when choosing a gamepad, which makes the GuliKit KK3 Max a very competitive choice – it rivals top-tier controllers in performance, but at around $75 it’s a much more affordable option.
If you’re looking for high-end features, you’ll find a lot here, from magnetic Hall effect thumbsticks and triggers to macro support, adjustable back paddles and trigger locks – it’s rare to find a gamepad with all these extra features at this price point.
In addition to these great features, the basics are also great: the design is pleasant, with a responsive layout that can be partially customized, including movable face buttons and a choice of an 8-way or 4-way directional pad. The downside is that the KK3 Max is only compatible with Nintendo Switch and PC, and won’t work with PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series S/X.
If that’s not an issue for you, you’re unlikely to find a better gamepad on the market in 2024 that offers such a wide variety of features at this price.
