Season's Greetings!
11/25/2017 Update: added five new items to slides 20 through 24.
11/18/2017 Update: added five new items to slides 15 through 19.
11/2/2017 Update: added five new items to slides 10 through 14.
As we enter the biggest shopping holiday of the year, everyone will be working to find the perfect gifts for the PC enthusiasts in their lives. This can be difficult, but we happen to know a little bit about enthusiasts and gamers, so we put together this gift guide to show you some of the best ideas we've come across for that loved geeky one in your life.
Of course, if you're reading this and you're a regular visitor of Tom's Hardware, you're probably the biggest tech enthusiast you know. If that's the case, simply point your friends and family here to help them find the perfect gift for you.
These aren't your typical PC parts -- the things we usually write about. For gift ideas like that, please visit all of our Best Picks articles (easily accessible from our home page). Also make sure to come back and check out this slideshow again and again, because we'll be updating it a couple times with more ideas.
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Grindbay USB Rechargeable AA Batteries
These batteries have a 1450 mAh capacity, and they are only rated for roughly 500 charges, but they have one special feature: they can be recharged via USB. No need to worry about losing the charger between charges. You can also recharge them anywhere there is a USB port.
Aukey 104 Vintage Typewriter-Style Keycap Set
Aukey designed these caps to mimic the keys of a vintage typewriter, which were (Editor: and are, you young whippersnappers) typically rounded. The keycap market is wide, deep, and often weird, and even these caps are a bit outside of the norm. With these, you're getting a fun look moreso than sublime quality. These caps are made of ABS plastic, and they come with a keycap removal tool to make the replacement process easier. They're Cherry MX compatible, which means you can use them on switches from manufacturers such as Kailh, Gateron, and Outemu.
Metro Datavac Duster
Although compressed air works well for cleaning out PCs, eventually the air runs out. What about something that's more reusable? The Metro Datavac Duster is essentially a compact air compressor designed to push air with sufficient force to clean out your PC without damaging any components. This model is also ESD safe, and it comes with a few attachments to get dust out of those hard to reach places.
LED Light Strip
LED light strips are an easy way to add some color to a PC case. This kit includes four LED strands that are roughly each 20" long. This should be more than enough to cover the inside of the average PC case with the bright 5050 LEDs. The lights are USB powered, but they are not designed to be controlled by USB. Instead, a remote is included to control the color of the lights.
Optimal Shop PSU Tester
Whether you're building a new PC or troubleshooting an existing one, you want to ensure the PSU is working properly. This simple, affordable PSU tester lets you quickly determine if the power supply is providing sufficient power over any of its power connections.
Logitech G13 Programmable Gameboard with LCD Display
This feature rich keypad includes 25 programmable keys, an LCD panel, a thumbstick, and a few other fixed-function keys. The LCD panel can display in-game information, messages from friends, or information about your PC. It also has a soft palm rest for comfort during long gaming sessions.
Nintendo Super NES Classic Edition
The Super NES Classic Edition is designed to look like a miniature version of the classic 1990s SNES console. It also comes loaded with 21 of the best games ever released for the SNES, including The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Super Metroid, Super Mario World, and Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars. This system is an excellent gift for fans of the original, as well as for younger gamers who've never experienced the joys of Super Nintendo.
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Akust Anti-Vibration Rubber Fan Screws
Case fans are essential to keeping your PC cool and functional, but the noise they generate can be bothersome. Anti-vibration rubber fan screws help to remedy this situation by keeping the fans from vibrating against the case, which reduces the amount of noise they produce. Because these are technically unnecessary, they often don't make it into a system builder's budget, which means your techie friends likely won't have them, which will make them very well appreciated.
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Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball
For some, a trackball mouse is a superior alternative to the traditional PC mouse. The mouse remains stationary, while the trackball is maneuvered by your fingers to navigate the cursor around the screen, and some users believe this gives them superior control, but it isn't for everyone. There are newer, more expensive models, but this is one of our favorites.
Netgear AC1200 Range Extender
Netgear's AC1200 WiFi extender's key function is to pick up a wireless 802.11ac signal and rebroadcast it to extend the signal coverage area. In this mode, the repeater can also provide wired network access to PCs via the RJ-45 port. It can also function as a compact router, however, if connected directly to an Internet modem with an Ethernet cable.
