PC Gamer Hardware Awards: 2024's wild cards—the best of the rest
Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024 coverage.
The best thing about a wildcard is you never know what to expect next. They may at first brush appear to be nothing special, only to reveal hidden depths. They'll keep you guessing: Will they draw a card and conjure a figure from mythology—then hit you with an instant kill attack in the fighting game spin-off?
Okay, so clearly I've been playing way too much Persona 4 Golden because it turns out 'wildcard' can mean different things (or so my colleagues tell me). Here, it means we've seen a whole lot of impressive hardware throughout 2024, with the weird and wonderful not always neatly fitting into any one of our headliner categories. Still, outside of the usual suspects such as best graphics card or best gaming monitor for instance, there's a heck of a lot that still ought to get its flowers.
Hence, the wildcard represents our 'best of the rest.' From specialised peripherals, to robust performers that put the 'hard' in 'hardware,' there's quite a mix below. Not only are the nominees as eclectic as you'd hope, but they all scored highly in our reviews too; unlike last year, all three of our 2024 nominees secured a review score of 90 or higher, so you know they're each worth at least another look.
Alright, my colleagues are emphatically gesturing towards the 'get on with it' sign. So, without further ado, here are our three nominees:
Best of the rest 2024: the nominees
Moza R5 Bundle + Performance Kit
Immersive peripherals are not known for their space-saving form factor. Chances are, if you're serious about driving from the comfort of your own gaming chair, you've already resigned yourself to feeding your tabletop and under desk space to your hobby. Well, our first nominee says you might not have to square that circle.
The Moza R5 Bundle and Performance Kit presents a compelling inroad for anyone who really wants to spend some quality time with Euro Truck Simulator 2. Make no mistake, this is a compact, reasonably priced package that also doesn't skimp on build quality, made from robust, metal-constructed parts. Yes, the smaller wheel may well leave some feeling like a young'un playing pretend, but isn't that part of the magic? Honk if you agree.
Besides a wheel that isn't going to make my tiny mitts ache after many hours on the road, the pedals also score top marks for performance. While fine for flooring it right out of the box, what you really want is to pick up the sold-separately Performance Kit. While this add-on ramps up the realistic resistance on the pedals, this will set you back another $29/£29 on top of everything else, and arguably should be included in the base bundle.
Otherwise, this is a premium-feeling peripheral without the premium price tag.
Read our Moza R5 Bundle + Performance Kit review.
Govee x Evangelion Gaming Light Kits
I'm really terrible at rhythm games, but you better believe that I always ace A Cruel Angel's Thesis on Taiko no Tatsujin. Do I always get the full combo? Absolutely not—too often, I'm all caught up in singing along.
Anyway, that little musical aside may go some way towards explaining how I got locked in the Govee x Evangelion gaming light testing room one chilly December morn'. As I stared at the Unit-01 inspired wall lights, I could only think one thing, "These are pretty sick, actually." Miraculously, this was soon followed by a second thought, "I wonder how easy it is to make these look a bit more like Unit-02."
Turns out, not that hard. Either scan the QR codes in the box for exclusive themes you can apply using the Govee Home App, or have a tinker yourself. Though the wall light casings are predominantly Unit-01 purple, accented in green, it's a pretty subtle effect that otherwise allows custom lighting profiles to shine through.
Speaking of a light show, much of Govee's Evangelion collaboration can be set to 'light paint' your space. Whether you're hooking up the upright light bars with an aux cord, or coordinating your lighting fixtures to screen read via Govee's PC app, you can get them all working in concert, painting a picture in light set to—you guessed it—the anime theme song I just won't stop referencing.
Havn HS 420 VGPU PC Case
PC cases are no strangers to glass panelling—after all, what's the point of buying all those hardworking, RGB components if you can't see them? Still, despite being such a common feature, not all get it right.
New brand Havn on the other hand offers something practically prismatic. That is to say, whatever you put inside the dual-chamber chassis of this PC case is going to look exquisite through those glass front panels. That's because, just for a start, there's a whole lot of panoramic panelling to peep through; as Jacob writes in his review, "There are few cases offering as much visibility into your PC's innards as this."
Besides the PC case's single sheet of heat-formed glass, there are more than a few other smart design features that make assembly a doddle. For just a couple of examples, cables are managed through channels running around the back of where you'll pop your motherboard, plus there are sliding guides that make most motherboard installations a breeze too.
If you've been noodling on a real showstopper build (don't ask me about my dollhouse desktop pipe dream—we'll both be here until the new year), this is, ahem, clearly the case for you.
Read our Havn HS 420 review.
And those are PC Gamer's wild card nominations, representing hardware's best of the rest from 2024. Though all three be deserving of the crown, only one can snatch it up. We'll announce the winner (presumably after a flailing, Fall Guys-esque smackdown) on New Year's Eve.