Unless you have a business or creator model, your laptop probably doesn’t have SD or microSD slots. But no worries, because you can rectify that with a single versatile accessory. Anker’s USB-C SD/microSD card reader is on sale for $9.99 at Amazon, down from its original $17.99. That’s only a buck higher than its all-time lowest price, so you know it’s a real deal.

This card reader is as utilitarian as they come. It’s about the size of a typical thumb drive, so it’ll slip into a pocket and go with you anywhere. It has a USB-C connection, so it’s compatible with pretty much all but the oldest of laptops. It has both SD and microSD slots, so it’s effective for moving data from your dash cam, security cam, action cam, and more.

Some caveats to know before you buy. First, it has a theoretical cap of 5 Gbps, which means a maximum file transfer rate of 104 MB/s—not great for lots of 4K and 8K video. Second, while it does support both SD and microSD activity at the same time, you might experience slowdowns. Third, it may block neighboring ports depending on your laptop’s layout.

But for just $9.99, those trade-offs are well worth it if you can endure them. At 44% off and close to its lowest price ever, this Anker card reader is a no-brainer buy if you don’t have card slots in your laptop.

Price When Reviewed

$699

Best Prices Today: Alienware AW3226Q

I’ve been waiting for ages for an OLED monitor like the Alienware AW3226Q.

Not because it’s the fastest OLED monitor I’ve ever used. It isn’t. Not because it’s the cheapest, either. I reviewed Alienware’s shockingly affordable $350 AW2726DM earlier this week, and that 1440p OLED actually hits a much faster 240Hz.

The AW3226Q is special because it’s the first OLED I’ve used that feels truly uncompromised as an everyday PC monitor.

I’m a writer. I spend most of my working life staring at Word documents, web browsers, spreadsheets, Slack, and all the other decidedly booooring things people actually do with their computers. Traditional OLED gaming monitors have always come with an asterisk for that sort of work: Their unusual subpixel layouts can create visible color fringing around text.

Then, when the workday ends, I’m an intensely competitive gamer who regularly slays noobs at 240Hz and beyond.

Those two sides of my PC life have traditionally wanted different monitors. I’m a filthy monitor pervert who actually swaps out several different models depending on what I’m working on or playing.

But the 32-inch, 4K Alienware AW3226Q finally makes me want the same display for both. At $699, that’s a hell of an accomplishment.

RGB stripe is the real breakthrough

When Alienware announced the AW3226Q, I immediately zeroed in on its new RGB-stripe Tandem OLED panel. I had already seen LG Display’s new RGB-stripe technology at CES, and while improved OLED brightness and other technical advancements are always welcome, this seemingly boring change was the one that really grabbed my attention.

Why? Text.

Most OLED gaming monitors don’t use the conventional red, green, and blue subpixel arrangement that Windows expects, which can result in colored fringes around fine text. Higher pixel densities help mask the effect, and some people are more sensitive to it than others. But once you notice it, it’s hard to stop noticing it.

I notice it.

I certainly noticed it on Alienware’s $350 AW2726DM earlier this week. That monitor is an absolutely killer value for gaming, but between its dimmer panel and visible text fringing, I wouldn’t want to use it as my primary work display.

The new Alienware AW3226Q is different, and you can see its difference in the screenshots above — the left image is Alienware’s new display, while the right image shows text fringing on the otherwise excellent Corsair Xeneon Flex from a couple years back. The Alienware’s traditional RGB stripe makes text look crisp and clean in a way I’m simply not accustomed to seeing from an OLED gaming monitor. Text fringing is all but eliminated. I’ve spent hours working on the AW3226Q, and Word documents and web pages just look right.

That matters more to me than another hundred hertz ever could.

OLED monitors have already conquered gaming. Their perfect blacks, luscious colors, and virtually instantaneous pixel response make them phenomenal for it. Making it just as good for the boring stuff you do between sessions? That’s been the real challenge.

Alienware finally cracked it.

And the image quality is glorious

Don’t let all this talk about Microsoft Word give you the wrong impression. The AW3226Q absolutely rips when it’s time to play. It’s jaw-dropping in action.

The glossy 4K Tandem OLED panel is bright, vibrant, and bursting with contrast. Colors leap off the screen against OLED’s wonderfully deep blacks. Games look sharp at 4K across the 32-inch display, and everything has the sort of visual punch that makes going back to a conventional LCD difficult. Playing around with Alan Wake 2 on this do-it-all beast is simply magnificent.

It’s especially striking after spending time with Alienware’s $350 OLED. I love what Alienware accomplished there, but you can see some of the compromises required to hit that price. Its panel runs darker than I’d like, while the AW3226Q is playing in another league. Everything just has more punch here.

And 4K across 32 inches is a fantastic match. Games look razor-sharp, while the large, high-resolution screen provides plenty of room to spread out when you’re actually getting things done.

The AW3226Q isn’t merely a great gaming display that I can tolerate for work. It’s excellent at both. Finally.

About that 165Hz refresh rate

There’s one obvious objection to calling the Alienware AW3226Q a no-compromises monitor: Its refresh rate tops out at 165Hz.

That’s substantially slower than the 240Hz OLED I reviewed earlier this week, never mind the 360Hz, 480Hz, and even faster displays available to esports diehards these days.

And I can tell the difference.

I’ve become accustomed to 240Hz-and-faster monitors for competitive gaming. Dropping back to 165Hz isn’t some imperceptible distinction that exists only on a spec sheet. If you’re the sort of person who tunes every graphics setting for maximum frames and minimum latency, there are better monitors for that specific job.

For everybody else, 165Hz is fantastic.

OLED’s lightning-fast pixel response keeps motion crisp, and 165Hz is plenty fast enough to make everything from shooters to sprawling single-player adventures feel wonderfully smooth and responsive. It’s also worth remembering what we’re talking about driving here: 4K games at up to 165 frames per second. Even today’s monstrous graphics cards can have their hands full trying to do that in cutting-edge games.

Would I prefer this exact monitor at 240Hz? Of course.

Would I pay substantially more or sacrifice the things that make the AW3226Q so good everywhere else to get it? Nope.

A compromise can exist on a spec sheet without meaningfully compromising the experience. Alienware nailed the balance here.

Alienware compromised in the right places

You can see the same philosophy elsewhere.

The AW3226Q doesn’t have built-in speakers. DisplayPort tops out at 1.4 rather than DisplayPort 2.1. You don’t get the sort of elaborate USB-C docking setup found on productivity-focused displays.

None of that bothers me. Give me the fantastic panel at a great price and cut the extras.

Alienware seems to be settling into a compelling strategy with its latest OLED monitors: Spend the money on the screen and ruthlessly attack the price everywhere else.

The $350 AW2726DM is the extreme expression of that idea. Strip things down, accept some compromises in brightness and desktop use, and deliver the core OLED gaming experience at a price I would’ve considered ludicrous not long ago.

The $699 AW3226Q takes that philosophy upscale. You get a spacious 32-inch 4K Tandem OLED panel with a glossy finish, crisp RGB-stripe text, excellent gaming responsiveness, HDMI 2.1, and a three-year warranty that covers OLED burn-in.

Alienware skipped some luxuries, but it didn’t cheap out on the parts of the monitor I actually care about. I’ll take that trade every time.

Bottom line: The Alienware AW3226Q is what I wanted OLED monitors to become

A year ago, I couldn’t buy this combination.

We’ve had spectacular OLED gaming monitors for years. Fast ones, cheap ones, gorgeous ones. But none I’d happily use for both work and play.

The Alienware AW3226Q changes that.

During the day, I get a large, sharp 4K desktop with crisp text that doesn’t constantly remind me I’m using an OLED. When work ends, I get the deep blacks, vibrant colors, stunning contrast, and instantaneous response that make OLED gaming so sublime.

For $699!

There are monitors better suited to specific niches. I’d pick something faster if competitive gaming was my only priority. Someone building an elaborate one-cable laptop workstation may care more about connectivity than I do.

But I don’t need the AW3226Q to be the best monitor for every niche. I need it to be excellent at everything I actually do. Fantastically, it is.

And for the first time with an OLED, I could put one monitor on my desk and stop thinking about what I’m giving up. This will be my new primary display until Alienware makes me ship it back. No rush, Alienware.

The right monitor can turn any mid setup into one you love using day in and day out—and you don’t have to pay much for it. Whether you’re looking for an extra display for your multi-monitor workstation or just wanting to step up your cheap 1080p to 1440p on a budget, this Asus TUF gaming monitor is a solid pick. You can grab it now for $199 at Amazon, down from its usual $269 and only a few bucks more than its all-time lowest price.

The Asus TUF VG27AQM5A has a modest 27-inch diagonal with a crisp 2560×1440 resolution, which is a big improvement over the fuzzy 1080p displays of yesteryear. Even nicer is the 300Hz refresh rate, allowing you to experience up to 300 frames per second for ultra-fluid motion. And with the 0.3ms response time and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility, you end up with super low blurring and extra sharp gaming visuals.

Just note that you’ll need a machine capable of pumping out that many frames per second to take full advantage of the refresh rate. But even if you can only manage in the 100s, this monitor is still a solid choice—those frames will look great and you’ll have room if you ever upgrade.

Other trade-offs to consider with this monitor: the stock stand only supports basic tilting and swiveling with no height adjustments, so you’ll probably want to mount it on a VESA 100×100 arm; the built-in 2W speakers are tinny and terrible; the brightness is weak at 300 nits and color depth is unimpressive; and it’s slow to wake from sleep.

If none of that bothers you, this 1440p/300Hz monitor for just $199 is a great deal. If you aren’t fully sold on it, check out our picks for the best gaming monitors for more options.

I always say it’s mandatory to have a power bank in your bag when you’re out and about—you never know when you’ll get caught in an unexpected situation as your phone battery inches towards zero. A tiny power bank like the Baseus Picogo AC22 is more than enough for that, and right now it’s on sale for $30 at Amazon (down from its original $40).

It’s tiny in size but don’t be fooled. Its 10,000mAh capacity is enough to refill your phone about two times, which should suffice for a day trip around town or an overnight hotel stay. And it is tiny, physically speaking, measuring just 2.8 x 2.4 x 1.0 inches and weighing just 6 ounces. You can slip it into a pocket, purse, or backpack and not feel burdened.

It doesn’t sacrifice performance for size, either. The Picogo AC22 comes with a built-in USB-C cable that delivers 45W of fast charging, which can restore up to 50% battery in half an hour on most phones. That cable doubles as a carrying strap when you aren’t using it. And if you need to charge a second device, you can use the extra USB-C port (with a separate cable, not included) and charge two things at the same time.

Is it good enough for a laptop? Only ultralight, low-power models—definitely not gaming or workstation laptops—and only if you charge while the laptop isn’t being used. Honestly, if you need a power bank for your laptop, you’re better off with a bigger, faster one like this Anker 165W Laptop Power Bank. But as a phone-only backup charger, the Baseus Picogo AC22 is both affordable and convenient.

Price When Reviewed

$350

Best Prices Today: AW2726DM

Alienware’s $350 AW2726DM OLED monitor is the ultimate PC upgrade for 2026 — and it’s exactly the sort of upgrade PC gamers need this year.

Memory and storage prices are ugly. Graphics cards remain painfully expensive, and whispers say they’re only going to get worse. Meaningful CPU upgrades often drag new motherboards and memory along for the ride. Building or substantially upgrading a gaming PC is harder to justify than usual, even if you’ve got money burning a hole in your pocket.

So don’t. Upgrade the thing you’re staring at instead.

I’ve been testing Alienware’s AW2726DM, a 27-inch 1440p OLED monitor running at 240Hz, and it’s astounding for $350. We’ve watched OLED monitor prices tumble over the last couple of years, especially during sales, but Dell is planting a flag here with an everyday price that finally pushes OLED out of luxury territory and into the mainstream.

Alienware helped kick off the OLED gaming monitor revolution with the legendary AW3423DW, which launched for a whopping $1,400 just a few years ago (and still earned an Editors’ Choice award for its dominance). Now the company is selling a 27-inch, 1440p QD-OLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate for just $350. What a time to be alive!

The AW2726DM’s QD-OLED panel is the star

The AW2726DM’s QD-OLED panel delivers the stuff that makes OLED special: perfect blacks, phenomenal contrast, vibrant colors, and near-instantaneous pixel response. Combine that with a crisp 2560×1440 resolution and buttery 240Hz refresh rate and games simply look and feel fantastic. Dark scenes have actual depth instead of the gray haze you get from typical IPS panels, while motion stays razor-sharp when you’re whipping around in fast-paced games.

It’s the sort of upgrade you notice constantly rather than in benchmark charts. A faster graphics card might turn 90 fps into 115 fps. This monitor changes how every one of those frames looks — and they look oh-so-delicious. This is a wonderful gaming monitor.

What about when you’re not actively gaming? OLED’s infamous text fringing is still here if you look closely enough at fine lines on stark backgrounds. It’s not something that bothers me much while gaming, but I can see it around text during desktop use, and I’d think harder about this monitor if I spent eight hours a day staring at spreadsheets and Word documents on it. Mixed work-and-play users should know what they’re getting into.

Brightness is another weakness. The AW2726DM isn’t particularly bright in either SDR or HDR, especially compared to some pricier modern OLED monitors, so don’t buy it expecting retina-searing highlights or a display that can overpower a sun-drenched room. The OLED contrast still makes games look fantastic, but this isn’t an HDR showcase monitor. It works best in darker rooms than brightly lit environments — close the curtains during your midday gaming sessions if you can.

A $350 OLED monitor with smart compromises

Dell also stripped the connectivity down to the bone to hit this price. You get DisplayPort 1.4 and a pair of HDMI ports, but those HDMI connections top out at 120Hz rather than the panel’s full 240Hz refresh rate. You’ll want to use DisplayPort with a gaming PC. There’s no USB hub or USB connectivity whatsoever, either, and no built-in speakers.

Normally, I’d complain more about that stuff. At $350? Eh.

Give me the fantastic panel and cut the extras. I already use a gaming headset or dedicated speakers anyway — duh — and I’d happily trade a USB hub and fully featured HDMI ports for a meaningful reduction in the price of the glorious OLED panel I’m actually looking at. The brightness limitation is harder to shrug off, but even that doesn’t outweigh the quality of the overall gaming experience at this price.

The AW2726DM isn’t a $1,000 flagship OLED that Alienware somehow decided to sell for $350. Dell clearly made choices to get here. You can see those compromises in the brightness, connectivity, text rendering, and bare-bones feature set.

But Dell compromised in the right places.

The 1440p, 240Hz QD-OLED panel at the heart of this thing is tremendous, and $350 makes those compromises much easier to swallow. Rivals are already discounting their OLED monitors aggressively enough to chase Alienware into this territory, and that is exactly what I want to see. OLED is finally becoming something ordinary PC gamers can reasonably consider rather than a decadent display upgrade.

In a year where everything that has to do with the innards of your PC is brutally expensive, Alienware’s $350 OLED is the upgrade PC gamers need. If you’re more of a gamer than an all-day computer worker, don’t hesitate to snatch up this monitor — it’s fantastic and an exceptional value.

You have a fast charger and you have a power bank. But what if you could consolidate both into one tiny device that keeps you charged whether you’re at home or out and about? The Lisen 603 Mini does that, and it’s now on sale for $33 at Amazon—just a few bucks more than its all-time low. The cherry on top? It has a built-in charging cable.

The Lisen 603 Mini is an all-in-one charging solution. Plug it into a wall outlet and use it as a 35W charger, able to juice a modern iPhone by 50% in about half an hour. Unplug it, fold the prongs down, and use it while on the go as a 30W power bank that’s almost as fast as when plugged in. With its 6,800mAh capacity, it can fully charge a phone plus a little bit extra; when drained, it takes about 2 hours to top back up.

But maybe the coolest thing about it is the built-in USB-C cable. It measures 3.3 feet, so it’s long enough to allow comfortable use of your phone even while it’s charging. The only downside is, the cable is NOT retractable. You’ll have to coil it up, which isn’t ideal for pockets but perfect fine for a laptop, backpack, or handbag. There’s also an extra USB-C port to charge a second device, though you’ll need a separate cable and you’ll drain the capacity much faster when two devices are involved.

All-in-one portable chargers like this are still pretty rare. If you’re intrigued, the $33 price tag is good—though the capacity is only big enough for one day for one phone, you’re getting fast charging and a built-in cable.

If two monitors aren’t cutting it for productivity, you gotta throw in a third one—but don’t keep them on individual stands. What you want is a triple-arm mount that lets you position and adjust each display to your exact ergonomic needs. Right now, you can grab this one by Huanuo for $120 on Amazon, down from its original $150. That’s only a few bucks more than its all-time lowest price over the last three years.

This triple monitor mount attaches to your desk with a single clamp (both C-clamp and grommet mounts are provided). It has a primary central arm for the middle monitor, then two articulating arms on left and right for the side monitors. All three are height-adjustable, with the side mounts using a gas spring system and the main mount using a retaining collar that’s tightened and loosened with an Allen wrench.

You’ll be able to use monitors measuring between 17 and 32 inches and weighing between 4.4 and 17.6 pounds. Each arm has full swivel, tilt, and rotation capabilities, so if you want to use your center display in landscape but your side screens in portrait, you can do that. Angle them however you want for best eye comfort, too.

Some caveats before you jump in. It only supports VESA-compatible monitors, so make sure you have three displays that each have either 75×75 or 100×100 VESA mounting holes. And even though it technically supports up to 32-inch monitors, using three 32-inchers together may be tight. You’ll need a very sturdy desk too, otherwise this mount will cause some imbalance and shaking. Frequent ergonomic adjustments are a pain, so expect to find your ideal setup and leave it like that.

If you’re okay with all of that, then you won’t regret this triple-arm mount for your triple monitor setup. If you’d rather stick to a single- or double-monitor workstation, check out the best single and double monitor arm stands.

I turned 39 a few weeks ago. And using Samsung’s high-end monitor makes me feel it, right in my eyeballs. 

The Samsung Odyssey G80HF is a 27-inch, 5K2K gaming monitor. If that sounds a little weird to you, yeah, I think it is — 27 inches is pretty small for the stunning resolution, 5120×2880 at its highest. And frankly, I can’t see details at that size and resolution. Not at just 27 inches, not even from a couple of feet away. 

But wait, this monitor doesn’t have to be just sharp. At its native resolution it pushes 180Hz, which is impressive — more than the somewhat meager Steam Machine can push in most 3D games, for example. But this is also Samsung’s latest dual-mode panel. If you need speed more than you need resolution, you can bump it down to 2560×1440 and go for 360Hz. 

That’s great — a more usable resolution that my hardware can definitely hit. Here’s the problem: I can’t actually tell the difference between 240Hz on my primary, personal monitor (at a similar density, 34-inch, 1440p) and 360Hz on the Samsung in its faster mode. My eyes, which have never been very good, just cannot see anything but a barely perceptible increase in speed on the Samsung. 

This isn’t Samsung’s fault. It’s not my fault, either — there’s nothing I can do about my crappy eyesight except make sure my prescription is up to date. But it does mean that $950 for this monitor, or even the more reasonable $700 it goes for more frequently, just doesn’t make sense to me. It might work for someone younger, or just blessed with better eyeballs. But for me, a $300 QHD monitor at around 240Hz is fine. 

Playing Fortnite in Old Man Mode

This isn’t the first time I’ve had my techy interest intersect with the way my deterioration is proceeding apace. I first picked up Fortnite during the pandemic. I enjoyed it a lot, good movement mechanics, fun weapons. The setup for the Battle Royale mode was wholly unoriginal, of course, but combining it with the building mechanics was novel. There’s just one problem: I can’t build for shit. 

There’s something about the two very different feelings of shooting in a 3D multiplayer game, and building massive, amorphous towers at lightning speed at the same time, that makes Fortnite break my brain. I’ve seen people — younger people, I assume — switch between building and fighting seamlessly. It’s like they’ve been doing it all their lives. But I simply can’t. I’m either building or shooting, not both. 

For the first year or so I’d look for weapons and tools to counter building, like the Star Wars lightsaber to rapidly demolish structures, or Spider-Man web-shooters to quickly gain height, and I’d do okay. But when Epic made no-build mode a permanent fixture to the game, I hopped on it. In my head I call it “Old Man mode,” with no shade intended. 

(Incidentally, I haven’t played Fortnite in over a year. There are too many good games made by real people coming out to waste time with slop.)

It’s possible that this is why I don’t care about adjustable actuation keyboards, which allow for some dazzling moves in online multiplayer shooters. I lack the reaction time and dexterity to actually use “snap tap,” or bind multiple keys or macros to a single button and hit them effectively. And that’s too bad, because these keyboards are all the rage at the moment…to the point where it’s getting harder to find a new, nice keyboard that uses standard MX-style switches. 

I don’t need 8000Hz polling in my keyboard or mouse, either. I suppose it’s possible that a human could tell the difference between a mouse that refreshes its connection to the PC eight thousand times a second versus four thousand times a second, but that human isn’t me. To my knowledge, it never was, not even when I was a teenager who could count frames in Smash Bros. Melee. 

Gaming gerontology

I realize that this may come off as a bit “old man yells at cloud.” And that at least a few of you are thinking that 39 isn’t that old, shut up, kid. Fair. But I have to assume that everybody has to face these sorts of things eventually with their hobbies. The average age of a professional e-sports player is 20-25, with 30 being considered well past retirement age — reflexes and intense schedules give these competitors a shorter peak time than most Olympians. 

So if you’re old enough to rent a car without a co-signer, it might be time to give up any dreams you have of being a professional video game champion. 

Whether or not you can actually utilize the tech you buy is always a good thing to consider. I could drop the price of a pretty good used car on a new PC setup, and feel really good about it for a few weeks. But would it actually enhance the experience beyond my merely “pretty good” Ryzen 7800X3D + 5070 Ti setup? Probably not. Considering my experience with this Samsung monitor, I question whether I’d even be able to tell the difference most of the time. And since any hardware on the inside of a gaming PC is becoming wildly expensive, it’s worth thinking about.

People played video games before I was born, of course. My parents played games while they were dating. But the people who were 5 when video game arcades first started getting popular around 1980 are now looking at retirement. (Or perhaps hoping that retirement will still be a realistic goal in ten years.) By the time my generation is old enough to theoretically retire, we’ll have lived our entire lives with games, even if they weren’t the driving medium for all that time. 

What will a world of greying, wrinkled gamers look like? Will I be huddled around a TV in a retirement home, struggling to pull off a Falcon Punch on my fellow residents? That seems optimistic, for a lot of reasons. But my grandma — almost 90 — got really into Balatro a couple of years ago. So anything’s possible.

Cool stuff from around the web

• Don’t bully your Steam Controller, it’ll scream: The new Steam Controller has a little speaker inside. If you drop it, it might just let out a very familiar-sounding scream. I’ve tested this (yes, I’m a monster), it works.
• A full-sized revival of the Atari 800XL from 1983 is on its way: You get a real mechanical keyboard, a cartridge slot that can play the original games, and 25 built-in titles, including Asteroids, Centipede, and Missile Command, as well as a modern HDMI port. It costs $220, coming out in April.

• AMD-powered handhelds are getting access to FSR 4: The newest in upscaling tech is coming to at least some of the popular, pricey handhelds on the market. Previously it was limited to discrete GPUs from the last couple of generations.
• This case can move its intake fans to point cool air where it’s needed: A neat idea, especially if you’re absolutely obsessive about your internal temps.
• An update to File Explorer will make the tilde key useful: The newest update will let you hit the ~ key to get instant access to your user folder.

Game pick of the week: Wildermyth

Maybe it’s just because my D&D group broke up, but I’ve been craving some turn-based role-playing…and I’ve abandoned too many Baldur’s Gate III runs. If you want something a little more manageable, then you absolutely need to check out Wildermyth. It’s a turn-based fantasy RPG, but the procedural generation randomizes pretty much everything. You won’t ever get the same run twice.

Wildermyth’s combat and other systems are simplified, more of a bite-sized snack of tactical RPG stuff than a full meal. The real treat comes from the way that your party members grow and interact with each other in unpredictable ways. If you play through multiple stories — each an hour or so long — you might find intergenerational threads, or old heroes from previous campaigns coming back in surprising ways.

The game does have a limit to its bag of tricks, so the stories aren’t literally infinite. But for a smaller game that you can play on almost anything, and in shorter chunks, it hits the spot. It’s $25 on Steam.

That’s all for this week. To get my editorials, news picks, and game recommendations delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up for Boost Mode on the PCWorld Newsletter hub. Also check out The Full Nerd for more enthusiast-focused goodies, Prompt Mode for AI tips, Safe Mode to keep your PC and gadgets secure, and Smart Mode to boost your productivity.

When I was reaching out to companies in search of ridiculous standing desk accessories for a recent article I wrote, a laptop stand was on my list of must-gets. I don’t mean the desk converters that give you a standing desk-like experience, but the little ones that just seem to prop the laptop up a bit. As a perennial desktop user they always seemed like a waste of time to me. Just get a desktop, or another monitor, right?

Well consider me suitably chastised and with enough humble pie in my stomach that I won’t need to eat for a week, because these things aren’t as stupid as I thought. In fact, after a couple of months of playing around with one, they’re actually pretty great.

I’m an idiot. And to prove just how much, here are all the useful ways I’ve found to use my new laptop stand.

What’s in a laptop stand?

Just before we dive into what I like about my new laptop stand, let’s just define what we’re talking about. The one I have is this overblown, overpriced thing from Egonofis. Gorgeous as it is – it even matches the wood grain of my desk – it’s completely unnecessary.

Branch does one which is both sturdy and attractive, with similarly wood-grain inspired styling, and it’s well under $100. It also has near flawless reviews with close to 100 of them, which is rare to find on any product, let alone a laptop stand.

Rain Design’s all-metal one isn’t as easy to fold away, but it’s very strong and gives you most of what you need from a laptop stand for less than $50. There are also some capable Amazon Basics models too, which you can have for around $25.

Point being, you don’t need to spend over $200 on a laptop stand. You certainly can though, and there may be some quality of life reasons why you might.

Useful for third screen

Until I can afford that super, ultra-wide gaming and professional grade do-it-all monitor of my dreams, I’m a multi-screen guy. I have a big vertical 4K thing from Dell, and an older but still-good Asus high refresh rate display for gaming. But I could always use more screen space. That’s where the laptop stand comes in.

I don’t want a screen that’s flat down on the desk – it’ll ruin my posture staring at that thing. But with the Egonofis stand, I can have my gaming laptop propped up next to me with something useful on it. Maybe it’s my email, or the various chat apps I use through Rambox.

Whatever I want, it’s right there, and with the stand it’s easy to position it wherever it’s useful or not cluttering up the desk space.

Improving ergonomics and posture

I am an utter bore when it comes to posture during the work day, but when you’ve gone through months of crippling nerve pain, you’ll do almost anything to avoid it. Even using silly laptop stands that prove to be anything but.

I have my desk and monitors setup just how I like them for excellent posture. Proper eye height, proper distance, etc. That’s really hard to do with most laptops, as they’re either down on a desk surface, or you’re crunched up trying to get down to their level. Not so with a laptop stand.

It’s not quite a desk converter, but for getting the laptop up off of the desk and at a better, more neutral, posture-enhancing height, it works like a charm. It’s also easier to position the keyboard at a neutral height and angle for comfortable arm and wrist position. Alternatively, I can more easily attach an external keyboard and maintain the right distance from the screen by making the laptop more vertical.

Great for controller gaming

A laptop keyboard is an important component for day-to-day use, but if you’re gaming with a controller and trying to relax back to do it, I often find myself sitting too far from the laptop to see the screen as comfortably. The keyboard just ends up pushing the laptop further from me because there isn’t the physical space in my cramped office to put it where I want.

With a laptop stand, I can make the most of the space I have, while sitting as close as I like for maximum visual clarity.

Using a laptop like a Kindle

Proprietary Eponym aside (I’m a Kobo man, myself), I’ve found my laptop stand can also be particularly useful for turning my laptop into a multi-device… device. Either propped on its side, or flipped around in tablet mode, I can lift the laptop up into a comfortable, vertical position and prop it up somewhere within easy reach. Combine it with reader mode and a wireless mouse for easy scrolling, and it’s a great way to set yourself up for reading longform documents, website articles, or even an Ebook.

The same goes for watching movies and TV shows, too. With a laptop stand you just have so much more control over how you look at your laptop. That makes it the perfect tool for building out a little media station for watching your favorites. Much better than slouching down and watching it on your lap. My back hurts even writing that.

Better thermals

This one is more important for gaming laptops, but most laptop stands can also act like a basic cooling pad. They don’t (usually) have fans built in, so they aren’t going to increase airflow dramatically, but by lifting your laptop up off of whatever surface it was on, it certainly increases its access to cooler air. Especially if it tends to pull that air in from the underside.

This is particularly useful if you want to use your laptop on a bed or otherwise flexible fabric surface that will almost completely block up any intake and exhaust vents your laptop has, causing it to swiftly overheat.

Using a laptop stand isn’t perfect, but it’s much better than trying to play games on a cushion.

Portability

I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I really miss my home office set up. The multiple monitors, the ergonomic display arms, the keyboard tray and standing desk set at just the right height.

While I can’t bring all that with me when I travel, I can bring my laptop stand. It’s not the same, and I still miss my usual set up when using it, but if I want to bring a little taste of ergonomic home comforts with me, I now can. It’s even the right wood grain.

Regardless of how it looks, though, a laptop stand is an ergonomic enhancer that you can bring with you. Considering the potential for worse posture and bad habits forming when working or living out of a hotel or airport lounge for a while, a laptop stand will now forever be on my travel inventory. It’s that important.

If you’re tired of juggling multiple charging bricks and adapters, you should consolidate. This Ugreen Nexode 100W 4-port charger is down to $39.98 at Amazon (was $54.99), about 27% off its list price. That’s one charger doing the work of four, and that’s a solid price for a gadget that declutters and comes in handy day in and day out.

With its 100W of power delivery, it’s fast enough to handle charging for standard laptops like MacBooks and ultrabooks. Either of the top two USB-C ports hits that 100W throughput when used alone, and you can even use both upper USB-C ports to charge two laptop at once, with the first delivering 65W and the second 30W—the latter is only enough for low-power machines, though, like MacBook Airs and Chromebooks.

When all four ports (triple USB-C and a single USB-A) are in use, it splits up the charge: 45W / 30W / 10.5W / 10.5W. That means you could theoretically charge two low-power laptops and two smaller devices, like a phone and wireless earbuds. Or one laptop and three accessories. Or, again, use the top two only to fast-charge your laptop and phone.

GaN technology keeps it small, measuring just 2.7 x 2.7 x 1.3 inches, so it’s portable and a great replacement for whatever chunky laptop charger you’ve been using. The plug folds flat for travel—nothing will accidentally catch on it, and it won’t scratch anything.

If you want to shrink all your chargers down into a single point, get the Ugreen Nexode for 27% off. Amazon’s prices move without warning, so don’t sit on this for too long if you’re interested.

Tired of feeling cramped on your cheapo 1080p monitor? It’s likely affecting your productivity, which means it’s time to upgrade—and if you hop on it now, you can save a lot of cash. Amazon is selling the Samsung ViewFinity S65TC for 50% off, bringing it down to just $399.99. Yup, Prime Day ended yesterday, but some deals still abound.

Going from your tiny 21- or 24-incher to this 34-inch beauty will redefine how much you can get done and how quickly you can do it. And it’s not just 34 inches with a 16:9 aspect ratio—the S65TC is an ultrawide. That means a glorious 21:9 that actually lets you stack app windows side by side and have room to spare. It also has an aggressive 1000R curve that wraps around your eyes, letting you see everything without even turning your head, minimizing eye strain and bumping up immersion when you watch shows and movies.

Three other standout features. First, the Thunderbolt 4 port with 90W of power delivery means you can connect it to a laptop and it’ll stay charged, freeing you from a separate power tether. Second, you can then plug your keyboard, mouse, and external storage drive into the monitor and access from your laptop—the monitor effectively becomes a dock. Third, it has a built-in KVM switch. If the monitor is hooked up to your laptop and desktop PC, you can use one set of keyboard/mouse for both.

The rest comes with caveats. HDR10 is nice for richer-looking movies and images, but the S65TC lacks the color accuracy needed for professional content creators. Its 100Hz refresh rate is smooth enough for productivity tasks, but combined with the VA panel, it’s not good enough for serious gaming. The aggressive screen curve will distort lines, so it’s bad if you’ll be doing artwork or CAD drafting. And if you aren’t going to take advantage of Thunderbolt 4, you’re paying the premium tax for no benefit.

If none of those caveats filter you out, you’ll come out ahead if you snag the Samsung ViewFinity S65TC for $399.99 while you can. But if it’s still too pricey for you, see PCWorld’s picks for the best ultrawide monitors.

Being a PC gamer in 2026 makes me want to self-medicate. Upgrading your PC hardware or looking for a new laptop is an exercise in self-punishment, as RAM and storage push prices beyond the breaking point. That being the case, if you’re trying to upgrade on Amazon Prime Day, it’s time to look to everything else on your desk.

I’ve made a pick for every major component connected to your desktop PC, and a few more besides. Hopefully you can find a few things you’re interested in, at a budget that works for your wallet. And for more deals, be sure to check out the rest of PCWorld’s Prime Day coverage.

Monitor: Alienware 34-inch OLED 240Hz, $630

If I had a few hundred bucks burning a hole in my pocket, this is the monitor I’d go for right now. With new tech for the OLED panel, 240Hz of speed, and a big-but-not-crazy size, it’s perfect for a lot of desktop setups. If you need something more affordable, be sure to check out the number one pick in our Prime Day monitor roundup, a 27-inch OLED for just $300.

View Deal

Keyboard: Epomaker TH80 75% wireless, $54

Good lord keyboards have gotten expensive, probably because a lot of brands have realized that people are willing to shell out for them. This Epomaker model has all the features I look for — multi-device wireless, hot-swap switches, PBT keycaps — plus a little extra blink and a choice of switches. It’s a great way to get something new (or get into the hobby) for cheap.

View Deal

Mouse: Solakaka SM809, $37

This is the mouse I use every day, a far, far cheaper copy of Razer’s swappable Naga Pro design. It gives you a choice of side panels: Three buttons for shooters and other simple games, or nine buttons for MMOs and MOBAs, plus four more programmable buttons on top. The thing is crazy flexible for the price, just $37 during the sale.

View Deal

Mouse mat: Wolvende felt desk mat, $34

Another one that I’m using right this minute. This super-wide, real felt mat adds a touch of class to my desktop, while still protecting it and giving me a solid surface. If you want something a little more conventional and gamer-y, I can also personally recommend Corsair’s big ol’ mouse mat, just $16 at the time of writing.

View Deal

Speakers: Edifier R1280T, $110

These are the favorite of Reddit’s Battlestation sub, and yes, I use them too. I’ve loved these speakers for years, but I have to admit they’re less of a deal than they used to be after the price jumped up without any new upgrades. Thanks, 2026. Even so, at $40 off the current list price they’re a good discount. Want Bluetooth too? Then go for the $140 version.

View Deal

Headphones: HyperX Cloud Flight 2, $86

For me, a headset pulls double duty: focus for games and flexibility for listening when I’m away from my desk. And nobody beats HyperX when it comes to wireless battery life. This headset claims 100 hours of life in 2.4GHz mode — weeks or months for most users — and 150 in Bluetooth. All for nearly $50 off the retail price, not bad at all.

View Deal

Microphone: Logitech G Yeti Orb, $50

This budget option won’t get you ready to launch a podcast or music career. But for a nice upgrade to spare the ears of your teammates or coworkers, it’ll do fine. And just fifty bucks is more than reasonable.

View Deal

Lights: Quntis Monitor Lamp, $32

Your parents were right: Gaming in a dark room will ruin your eyesight. This monitor bar will illuminate the space both on your desk and on your wall, without washing out what’s on your screen. All for under thirty bucks with a remote control, that’s a steal.

View Deal

I’ve been hoping for SSD prices to drop at least a little during holiday sales—and thankfully, Amazon delivered by slashing the price of the Samsung T9, one of our favorite portable SSDs, down to just $335 for the 2TB model. That’s an all-time low since February, when the prices of SSDs began skyrocketing. Normally, this fast, rugged portable SSD has gone for around $450 on the street, with discounts both small and rare.

View This Amazon Deal

We’re big fans of the Samsung T9, having given it an almost-perfect 4.5-star rating in our review. It offers top-notch performance, with transfer speeds that zip along at up to 2,000 MB/s, a 5-year warranty, and even a textured surface for better grip while out and about. If you need to copy big files across devices while on the go, this is the drive for you.

As crazy as it sounds, Amazon’s 25 percent discount on this 2TB T9 is one of the best we’ve seen in months… even though the prices aren’t quite the same as last year. (You can place full blame for that on AI data centers.) If you’ve been holding out for a good deal on a speedy, reliable portable SSD, this is your chance. Don’t wait on it!

(Unless, of course, you’re holding out for a different kind of SSD sale—if so, check out our round-up of the best October Prime Day SSD and storage deals.)

Get $115 off Samsung's T9 portable SSD for Amazon Prime Day

Buy now on Amazon

It’s the last day of October Prime Day, which means it’s your last chance to take advantage of this discount on my favorite power bank. Anker’s Zolo power bank is on sale for $32.99 right now, which is just a few bucks higher than the lowest price it hit all year long.

What I love about the Anker Zolo is the built-in USB-C cable. I love that I can just pack this portable battery in my bag and not worry about also grabbing a separate cable. When not in use, that built-in cable doubles as a carrying strap, which is handy when I don’t have a bag. I’ve taken it to concerts, for example, and that loop kept it secure on me while freeing up my hands.

The next best thing about this power bank is its large 20,000mAh capacity. That’s enough to get 3 or 4 full smartphone charges—more than enough for a day trip or a night camping. And it charges pretty fast, delivering up to 30W of charging speed. Have other devices that need power? The Zolo has extra USB-C and USB-A ports, allowing you to juice up to three devices at once. Just note the 30W gets split when multiple ports are in use.

Keep it on you during your commutes and you’ll never worry about your phone dying before you get back home, and take it with you while traveling for use in airports. (It’s small enough to comply with FAA and TSA regulations.) It measures 4.72 x 2.89 x 1.23 inches and weighs 12.45 ounces, so it’s no problem to carry around.

You’ll need Prime for this deal, so grab a free Prime account and snag this discount while you still can. For more great deals, see the best Anker deals for Prime Day and best Prime Day tech deals on Amazon.

There’s a sweet spot I look for when I want to have some fun, a little bigger than standard without being unmanageable. Just enough to enhance the experience, not so big that you can’t fit it into the space available. I am, of course, talking about PC gaming monitors. And absolutely nothing else. For Prime Day, Alienware’s 34-inch OLED gaming monitor is just $630. Nice.

The AW3426DW is an upgrade to Alienware’s already popular 34-inch designs, keeping the semi-standard 3440×1440 resolution (also a “sweet spot” for PC gaming) while boosting the speed up to 280Hz. That should satisfy almost everyone who plays multiplayer games, and/or put your PC through its paces when you’re in a single player and drinking in the visuals. The Penta Tandem panel upgrade also makes text more legible.

This newer model officially supports AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, but like previous Alienware OLEDs, skips extras like USB video. You do get a couple of USB ports (one of them is C with 15 watts of charging) to help with accessories. Otherwise it’s a little barebones, making this display a good companion to a desktop PC but less so for a monitor, unless you have a good dock.

At $629.99, this monitor is a fantastic deal. It’s $170 off the regular list price, and $70 cheaper than you can typically find a 34-inch OLED even on sale, while being slightly faster. If you’re looking for something smaller or more affordable, be sure to check out our Prime Day monitor roundup.

Look, a good electronic screwdriver set is useful in any household. But if your household is the kind that likes to roll up its collective sleeves and dive deep into the bones of DIY desktop computers, a good electronic screwdriver set is downright necessary. Good news! You can grab a beefy 25-piece electric screwdriver set for just $28.50 at Amazon during Prime Big Deal Days — damned near half off its usual $50 price tag.

I’ll take it! No, seriously — I just bought one before bothering to write this to expand beyond my much tinier set.

HOTO’s kit contains 25 different S2 steel bits of varying shapes and sizes, including an extended standard bit for those times when you need to reach far into the guts of your PC. Not enough? The kit also comes with an extender — and all the bits are magnetic so you won’t have to worry about dropping screws into your case’s guts while you’re meddling.

The screwdriver itself offers three different torque settings, a long-lasting 1500mAh battery charged via USB-C, and a circular LED light to improve visibility. Again: Great for DIY desktop deep-dives.

If you don’t own an electric screwdriver set currently, this HOTO set would be a game changer — and you can get it for an incredibly delicious price right now. Don’t wait, though: Amazon Prime Day ends at midnight on Wednesday. Be sure to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best Prime Day tech deals if you’re looking to maximize your dollars!

Get HOTO's 25-piece electric screwdriver set for $28.50 at Amazon

It’s been a brutally bad year for anyone who needs more storage or RAM, but Amazon’s Prime Day is ready to rescue you from misery. Today and tomorrow, you can grab the fantastic 1TB Samsung 9100 Pro SSD for $207 – assuming you’re a Prime subscriber of course. (Here’s how to get Amazon Prime for free if needed.)

I won’t try and oversell that by saying it’s “only” $207 when storage prices have skyrocketed over the past year (thanks, AI). But in this current hellscape, you could do a lot worse. That $207 price is a whopping 39 percent off the drive’s stated $340 MSRP, as well as a solid $40 discount below the $250 price the drive has sat at (or above) since April.

And the Samsung 9100 Pro is flat-out great. Our review hailed it as “the return of the king” upon launch a year ago, praising its chart-topping performance and abundant features. “In the right system with the right software, the 9100 Pro will run rings around the competition,” our veteran SSD tester reported.

If you’re going to spend an arm and a leg for an SSD, might as well spend that money on one you’ll have zero regrets about – especially when you can get it on a rare, substantial discount. Be sure to snag the 1TB Samsung 9100 Pro for $207 before Prime Day turns into a pumpkin at midnight Pacific time, and also make sure you check out PCWorld’s big Amazon Prime Day tech deals roundup for even more juicy sales.

Get the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD for $207 at Amazon

Amazon’s October Prime Day (hopefully) kicks off the holiday sales season, and it’s an ideal opportunity for you to update your home office. From new displays to an update to the humble mouse, these are some of the deals that we’re keeping an eye as the deal days progress.

Keep in mind that Amazon’s October Prime Day deals last just today and tomorrow, October 6 through October 7. However, rival Walmart is running its own sales all week, so that may keep deals in place longer than Amazon planned. If so, expect to see this article updated as warranted.

Remember, some or all of these deals might require an Amazon Prime membership to sign up for. Don’t despair — there are ways to get Amazon Prime for free.

Believe it or not, there are two centerpieces for your desk, your display and the laptop docking station. We have deals on both.

Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock: $149.96 ($50 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? Plugable’s dock is slim, compact, and to the point: It gives you what you want, and not much more. I really like the two dedicated HDMI display ports and the additional Thunderbolt4 upstream port, which can be used for connecting a monitor or for additional expansion.

Why is this deal good? I’ve seen mainstream Thunderbolt 4 docks at $225 to $250, and it’s wonderful to see a focused Thunderbolt 4 dock arrive at a price well under that.

Get the Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock for $149.96 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

I really want to buy a new OLED display for my desk, but the problem is that OLED displays with stunning blacks and high contrast aren’t quite there in the format I’d like: large, 4K, and high refresh rate. So you have a choice: drop down to a slightly lower-res 1440p display, or choose a more traditional IPS panel…which to be honest, works just fine.

High-refresh rate OLEDs are generally considered “gaming” monitors, even if you use them for normal work.

Acer Predator 26.5-inch 1440p OLED (X27U): $314.99 at Amazon

Who is this for? Acer’s Predator 1440p OLED is designed for gamers, but there’s little difference between someone who is using this for productivity or for playing games after hours. Since it offers 99 percent DCI-P3 coverage, you can certainly use it for photo editing as well as shooting aliens.

Why is this deal good? There’s no discount on this display, but it’s at the lowest price in a year, so it’s worth it.

Get the Acer Predator 26.5-inch 1440p OLED (X27U) for $314.99 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

if you’re looking for something a little more productivity focused, however, there’s an opportunity to buy a lovely large 32-inch 4K IPS display, too.

Asus 32-inch 4K Display (VP327Q), $179.00 ($70 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? The selling point here is size: A 32-inch display allows you to see more of what you’re working on, especially for a single display. Is it too large? I don’t think so, especially with the number of pixels it’s pushing. DisplayPort and HDMI connections can accommodate most display outputs. There are built-in blue-light filters, too.

Why is this deal good? Another display that’s at its lowest price in a year. A month ago, this would have cost about $239 or so.

Get the Asus 32-inch 4K Display (VP327Q) for $179.00 ($70 off) at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Don’t forget that laptop! We think that the Asus Vivobook Go is one of the best deals we’ve seen.

Asus Vivobook Go 15, $479.99 ($120 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? My colleague Ashley Biancuzzo says that the Vivobook Go is for anyone who just needs a barebones machine. Just something reliable for browsing or streaming. Whatever it is you do when you’re busy killing time. Check out her roundup of the best Prime Day laptop deals for more.

Why is this a good deal? The Vivobook Go sits in that increasingly important “just enough laptop” category. It’s not trying to be crazy powerful. It’s trying to be consistent. 

Get the Asus Vivobook Go 15 for $479.99 ($120 off at Amazon)

View Deal at Amazon

What would a home office be without a webcam? I reviewed the Obsbot Meet 2 4K webcam earlier this year, and I loved it. Amazon has it on a substantial sale for October Prime Day.

Obsbot Meet 2 4K webcam: $99.00 ($30 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? The fact is that 4K webcams are more common than ever, so testing them really helps determine which webcams work best in low light, which are more color-accurate, et cetera. My review of the Obsbot Meet 2 really helped convince me that this is a webcam that you want to buy. (Sample pictures included, of course.)

Why is this deal good? You will find lower prices on other webcams at Amazon. However, nearly a quarter off on a solid 4K webcam is worth it, I think.

Get the Obsbot Meet 2 4K webcam for $99.00 ($30 off at Amazon)

View Deal at Amazon

Unfortunately, Amazon is not selling the excellent Logitech MX Master 4 mouse as part of its Amazon October Prime Day sales. However, the older MX Master 3S mouse is being offered at a decent discount, which is an ideal opportunity to upgrade if you haven’t done it already.

Logitech MX Master 3S (Bluetooth) Wireless Mouse: $79.99 ($20 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? The Logitech MX Master 3S boasts an incredibly accurate 8,000 dpi sensor and the series’ noted thumbwheel and thumb rest. If you set the MX Master 4 aside, it’s probably the ultimate productivity mouse. The MX Master 4, unfortunately, is not on sale.

Why is this deal good? Logitech was selling refurbs for $50 earlier this year. Fortunately, this deal matches Logitech’s best price of the year, which appeared in August.

Get the Logitech MX Master 3S (Bluetooth) Wireless Mouse for $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

OK, storage prices stink these days, but hang on…what’s this?

Lexar 2TB ES5 External SSD: $284.49 ($95 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? This drive works as an external SSD for PCs and phones with a USB-C port, and also includes MagSafe compatibility for iPhones, which is something you rarely see. It’s a nice, quick way to transfer files quickly from your phone to your PC, and the USB-C cord works as a strap, too.

Why is this deal good? We all know that storage prices have skyrocketed, but the price of this external SSD isn’t bad: It’s the lowest price since February, when the prices started spiking. Amazon says that this drive was about at $180 or so a year ago, but that’s just the way it goes.

Get the Lexar 2TB ES5 External SSD for $284.49 ($95 off) at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

It’s time to upgrade your USB-C cables, especially if you got them over five years ago and they came bundled with a device. Amazon is currently selling a 2-pack of 60W Anker cables for $7.99, which amounts to just $4 a piece. That’s the lowest price we’ve seen on these cables, and a great deal for one of the better value cables on the market.

These deliver up to 60W of charging, enough to fast-charge most phones, and work fine with older, weaker chargers as well as newer GaN chargers. It won’t push power-hungry laptops to their fastest charging speeds, but for phones, tablets, and everyday charging, it’s plenty.

At 3.3 feet, these are shorter than Anker’s 6-foot version, so they’re better suited for charging at a desk or nightstand than stretching across a room. They’re covered in braided nylon and rated for up to 5,000 bends, so they’ll hold up to daily use and pack up without concern for damage.

The first caveat is, these cables aren’t built for fast data transfers. They support up to 480 Mbps, so you can use them in a pinch, but don’t rely on them frequently for large files like 4K videos. If ultra-fast data transfers are a priority, get this Anker USB4 cable instead. It tops out at 5,000 MB/s and it can still be used to charge at up to 240W.

The second caveat is, this deal is Prime exclusive. If you don’t have an active Prime account, learn how to get Amazon Prime for free. With October Prime Day in full swing, you should take advantage and score the big deals going on right now. Not sure what else to get? Check out our roundups of the best Anker deals for October Prime Day and best October Prime Day tech deals under $10.

Would you look at that! We finally have a proper deal on PC storage. Right now, Amazon is selling the 1TB SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD for just $209.99. That isn’t just a big $90 drop from its original $299.99—that’s a brand-new all-time low price for this drive. Given the state of the PC hardware market and skyrocketing SSD prices, this October Prime Day deal is one of the biggest surprises… so get it while you still can.

This is SanDisk’s newest SSD model, released earlier this year, and you’re paying for three big benefits. First, its 1TB capacity. That’s a lot of storage space, large enough to hold dozens of 4K movies. Having that much space on hand is great for convenience and peace of mind, especially if you have data-hoarding tendencies—and that’s all the more true if you have a small laptop with a tiny drive filled up by your operating system.

But second, what you’re really paying for is the performance. This SanDisk Extreme is rated for up to 2,000 MB/s, which is blazing fast for a portable SSD. Compare that to SanDisk’s cheaper 1TB SSD at $129.99 for 600 MB/s or Samsung’s T7 1TB SSD at $229.90 for 1,050 MB/s. For similar speeds, you’re looking at Amazon Basics 1TB SSD for $239.90 or Samsung T9 1TB SSD for $254.66—clearly, this SanDisk Extreme is the best value.

Just note that your laptop (or whatever device) will need to support USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 to reach these speeds. Otherwise, it’ll cap out at the top speeds supported by the port you plug into.

Third, you’re paying for its ruggedness. It carries an IP65 rating, meaning it’s sealed against dust, splashes, and spills; it also survive bumps and drops from up to 3 meters high; and it even has 256-bit AES encryption with password protection to keep all your files fully secure.

The SanDisk Extreme 1TB is the best portable SSD deal for October Prime Day, so take advantage if you need a high-performance drive. The one catch is that this is a Prime-exclusive deal—if you don’t have Prime, learn how you can get Amazon Prime for free. And if you still have more shopping left in you, check out the best tech deals for October Prime Day.

October Prime Day is now here, and that means exciting discounts on Anker’s best products. We love Anker because they provide quality devices and accessories at affordable prices, and they have a solid track record of safety and consumer-friendly practices.

But not all Anker products are made equal. I’ve gone through the October Prime Day deals and found the best ones to snag, including ones that have dipped down to record-low prices. These are the deals that’ll save you the most cash without leaving you with buyer’s remorse.

Note: Many of these October Prime Day deals require a Prime subscription. Don’t have Amazon Prime? Get it for free now so you can score the biggest discounts, both on this list and across Amazon during this sales event.

If you’re looking for deals on PC gaming hardware… well, good luck. Even during a big sale event like Amazon’s Prime Day, gaming desktops, laptops, RAM, and storage are nearing unattainable levels of expense. So it’s a good time to upgrade your accessories and external gear instead. Right now, Best Buy is selling an AOC 27-inch OLED monitor for just $300, a fantastic upgrade. Get it soon—I doubt it will last long.

We’ve seen this model, the Q27G41ZDF, before. It’s about as simple as they come in terms of extra features, but with a 2560×1440 panel and speedy 240Hz refresh rate, it’s hitting the sweet spot for PC gaming at the moment. That should be sharp enough and fast enough for most fans of online multiplayer gaming. Otherwise, you get a single HDMI and DisplayPort, plus a headphone jack. It also has a VESA wall mount, so you can use a more flexible, ergonomic monitor arm with it.

This price is about the lowest I’ve ever seen for a new, not-refurbished OLED gaming monitor, and it’s a little surprising that it’s coming from Best Buy. At least a few locations in the US have stock in their retail stores, but those seem to be going fast at this price. My nearest store is already out, and others nearby are spotty. If I were looking to buy, I’d grab one quickly—the same monitor is listed for $320 on Amazon.

If you’re looking to save even more, there’s another AOC model for just $279.99, but that one’s using an older 144Hz panel. For now, Best Buy is, indeed, the best buy. If you’re looking for something bigger or more practical, see our roundup of the best Prime Day monitor deals.

October Prime Day is here! But some discounts are still hard to swallow, given the state of things in the world and the global economy. If you’re like me, your budget is tight—not much room to enjoy Prime Day sales.

That’s why I’ve combed through all the discounts to find the best October Prime Day tech deals for less than $10. Yup, I’m not kidding. This list is for the shopper who’s on an ultra-tight budget and still wants to grab some practical stuff while prices are down below a tenner.

Get Prime for free: Not all October Prime Day deals require a Prime subscription, but the best ones do. If you don’t have an active Prime account, you might be able to get a free one for a limited time. That’ll let you score the biggest discounts, both on this list and across Amazon.

If you’re still stuck on a cruddy 1080p monitor and want to level up your gaming and workflows, stepping up to a 1440p display can be one of the best upgrades you can make. And right now, the Samsung Odyssey G55C is on sale for just $190 ahead of October Prime Day—that’s a big drop from its original $330 and matches the lowest price it’s ever been.

This 32-inch monitor delivers a 2560×1440 resolution and a fast 165Hz refresh rate, which will make your games look sharp and smooth. Its 1ms response time could be faster, but it’ll suffice for all but the fastest and sweatiest esports games. And it has a moderate 1000R curve that adds real immersion as it wraps around your field of view, plus helps to reduce eye strain when doing work or watching movies.

It’s a pretty standard monitor as far as features go, but sometimes that’s all you need in a monitor. Why pay more for extra bling when you don’t need it? This is a good workhorse type monitor for gamers and workers, hitting a sweet spot with its 32-inch 1440p specs while staying affordable.

At $190, the Samsung Odyssey G55C is an easy upgrade for a home workstation on a budget. If it’s not the one for you, check out PCWorld’s picks for the best gaming monitors. And if you want to score more deals ahead of October Prime Day, see our roundup of early deals to score.

Amazon’s October Prime Day is one of the best opportunities for shoppers to score great deals on Thunderbolt docks and their cousins, USB-C hubs, before the holiday season kicks off in earnest. I should know — I’ve been reviewing and tracking them for years and years!

Laptop docking stations, Thunderbolt docks, and USB-C hubs offer an opportunity to connect a variety of peripherals to your laptop — even adding new ports your notebook may lack. Nothing against other retailers, but Amazon has hosted the best deals on all three categories over the past few years. It’s where I’d expect to find most of the deals during its October Prime Day deals (also known as Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, running Oct. 6 and 7) and before.

Deals at a glance

• Best budget docking station: Ugreen Revodok NVMe Docking Station, 100W charging, $56.99 ($23 off)
• Best budget Thunderbolt docking station: Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, 85W charging, $102.33 ($46.60 off)
• Best mainstream Thunderbolt docking station: Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock, 100W charging, $149.96 ($50 off)
• Best mainstream Thunderbolt docking station, runner-up: Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock, 96W charging, $162.44 ($30 off)
• Best mainstream USB-C docking station: Ugreen 14-in-1 USB-C Docking Station, 100W charging, $79.99 ($30 off)
• Best mainstream USB-C docking station, runner-up: Baseus SpaceMate Nomos Air, $63.99 ($36 off)
• Best premium docking station: Wavlink Thunderbolt 5 Dock, 140W charging, $170.43 ($49.56 off)
• Best premium docking station, runner-up: Ugreen Maxidok Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station, $218.47 ($81.52 off)

When I look for a deal, I have an idea of what a docking station should cost, based upon my extensive history of reviewing docking stations. I then compare it against the feature set the dock offers, as well as the historical price of the item as listed on Amazon and on pricing comparison sites. Note that I’m looking to save you money — if there’s an affordable dock that offers a better value at a regular price, I’m going to recommend it versus another, more expensive dock that’s on sale. Some deals are Amazon Prime exclusive — sign up for Prime for free via using our tip!

Below you’ll find the best deals I found, along with an explanation of why you should buy them. If you’re uncertain whether you need a Thunderbolt dock or USB-C dock, see the FAQ at the bottom of this article. Be sure to check out PCWorld’s best Prime Day deals, too!

(Updated at 1:44 PM on Oct. 7)

Best budget docking station deal: Ugreen Revodok NVMe Docking Station, $59.99 ($20 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? If you’re a budget buyer who doesn’t need to connect more than one external monitor, this one’s for you. USB-C hubs and dongles flop all over your desk; this USB-C docking station simply takes that functionality and builds it into a nice compact little docking station. The plus is an SSD slot that can serve as handy local storage. Keep in mind that this dock cuts a few corners; you’ll need to provide your own USB-C power supply (up to 100W, but any USB charger will do) and your own SSD. Otherwise, there’s a USB-C and a USB-A port, HDMI, Ethernet, and a card reader.

Why is this deal good? This dock started off at its $79.99 list and has steadily decreased since then. USB-C hubs can fall into the $30 range or so, but I’d pay a few bucks extra for a nice vertical docking station like this. Oh, and you’ll probably see a lot of Ugreen in these deals — I’ve reviewed a lot of Ugreen docks, and they’re a solid budget brand.

Get Ugreen's Revodok NVMe Docking Station for $56.99 on Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Best budget Thunderbolt docking station: Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, $102.33 ($46.60 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? Amazon’s Basics dock works best for people who want a minimal, affordable dock for connecting to multiple monitors. Note that you’ll have to supply the display cables yourself (you’ll find deals on those lower in this story) and there’s just one legacy USB-A port. On the other hand, there’s an extra Thunderbolt 4 port for further port expansion.

Why is this deal good? This is an affordable dock on a solid sale. I’m not a huge fan of the dock’s configuration, as it feels like you’ll have to plow some of the savings back into cables or a USB-C hub to add some more ports. Even doing so, however, won’t cost more than the dock will at regular price.

Get the Amazon Basics Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station for $102.33 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Best mainstream Thunderbolt dock deal: Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock, $169.95 ($50 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? Plugable’s dock is slim, compact, and to the point: it gives you what you want, and not much more. I really like the two dedicated HDMI display ports and the additional Thunderbolt4 upstream port, which can be used for connecting a monitor or for additional expansion.

Plugable put a very similar dock on sale earlier in Prime Day, but just switched the discount to this dock — which is equally as good — for the second day. It is $20 more, though.)

Why is this deal good? I’ve seen mainstream Thunderbolt 4 docks at $225 to $250, and it’s wonderful to see a focused Thunderbolt 4 dock arrive at a price well under that.

Get the Plugable Thunderbolt 4 Dock for $169.95 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Best mainstream Thunderbolt dock deal, runner-up: Wavlink Thunderbolt 4 Dock, $162.44 ($37.55 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? This is a great mainstream dock at an outstanding price, and I’d recommend it for the vast majority of users who own a Thunderbolt docking station. This dock has a 30W USB-C charging port on the front, and another USB-C port (Thunderbolt 4) on the back which can be used for charging or display. But there’s also a pair of dedicated HDMI ports, eliminating the need for specific adapter cables. I’ve personally reviewed this dock, and found it to be solid, albeit with a few quirks.

Why is this deal good? I tend to expect Thunderbolt docks to hover around $200 or so. Amazon charged a lower price for Prime Day, and this dock has touched $175 before. Now it’s even better than that!

Alternatively, Ugreen’s 8-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 dock is on sale for $161.47 (35% off) but it only has USB-C / Thunderbolt ports as display options. You may find yourself spending more on display cables.

Get Wavlink's Thunderbolt 4 Dock for $162.44 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Best mainstream USB-C docking station deal: Ugreen 14-in-1 USB-C Docking Station: $79.99 ($60 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? If you don’t need the full power of a Thunderbolt dock, this Ugreen 14-in-1 docking station offers a ton of functionality in a more accessible USB-C format: three display ports (two HDMI, one DisplayPort), plus 140W charging via a 27W charger output and 100W upstream to the laptop dock. In addition, there’s an SD/TF card reader as well as a pair of USB-C ports and a USB-A port.

Why is this deal good? The lowest price this dock hit in the last year was $73, but Amazon and Ugreen were charging $120 for most of the year.

Get the Ugreen 14-in-1 USB-C Docking Station for $79.99 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Best mainstream USB-C docking station deal, runner-up: Baseus SpaceMate Nomos Air: $79.99 ($20 off at Amazon)

Who is this for? As the name suggests, the SpaceMate emphasizes a clean, compact design. The SpaceMate Nomos builds on the original SpaceMate design, which, honestly, I didn’t love. Nevertheless, the original Spacemate $199.99 dock is priced at $99.99 today, and the Nomos is even less. You gotta like that trend.

In its favor, though, the Nomos goes back to the basics: two display ports and a smart array of other I/O ports, too. There is a catch: though the dock supports 95W charging, it does not ship with its own (USB-C) charger. You’ll have to buy or supply your own.

Why is this deal good? I rank this below the Ugreen since you’ll have to supply your own charger. Otherwise this is an affordable USB-C docking station that’s received a heavy discount for the October Prime Day sale.

Get the Baseus Spacemate Dock for $63.99 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Best premium docking station deal: Wavlink 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock: $219 at Amazon

Who is this for? The Apple Mac natively supports Thunderbolt 5, but several Windows gaming laptops do too, and a TB5 dock can future-proof your setup as well as provide a connection to a high-speed single display, if your laptop also supports Thunderbolt 5. This dock doesn’t provide a dedicated display connection, but it’s discounted substantially less than other rival TB5 docks. (Check the list of cables below for upgrade options.) This dock has three Thunderbolt connections, 140W of charging power to the host, and a number of USB-A ports.

Why is this deal good? This was the best Thunderbolt 5 dock deal for Prime Day. At this point, I think it represents the best value for a TB5 dock during October Prime Day. I typically expect a TB5 dock to be priced above $250 and even closer to $300. This dock wasn’t discounted before this October Prime Day, but it certainly is now.

Get Wavlink's Thunderbolt 5 dock for $170.43 at Amazon

View Deal at Amazon

Best premium docking station deal, runner-up: Ugreen Maxidok Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station, $218.47 on Amazon

Who is this for? Consider this a premium Thunderbolt 5 dock for the subset of Windows gaming laptops that include a Thunderbolt 5 port. I haven’t reviewed this dock myself, though Amazon’s customers say that they appreciate the dedicated display ports that eliminate the need for display dongles or converter cables.

Why is this deal good? My original deal in this category was the StarTech Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $275.94, as I preferred the slightly greater array of ports. But the price of Ugreen’s dock is too good to pass up. This dock includes a single display port, which might means that you’ll have to purchase a cable, listed below. Even then, the Ugreen is a better deal.

Get the Ugreen Maxidok Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station at Amazon for $218.47

View Deal at Amazon

Don’t forget dock cables, too

Some docking stations include dedicated display ports, so your display’s HDMI or DisplayPort cable can plug right in. Others don’t, and you’ll need to pair your ports to what the dock offers. Even if your display and dock both support direct USB-C/Thunderbolt connections, chances are that cables won’t be included. Here’s some quick suggestions on what to buy if you need them.

Most Thunderbolt 4 docks support up to two 4K displays at 60Hz. If your display supports both DisplayPort and HDMI, it doesn’t really matter which port you use.

• For a USB-C (Thunderbolt) connection on the dock to an HDMI input on your display: buy these 6-foot Uantin cables for $7.99 (20% off) for October Prime Day.
• For a USB-C (Thunderbolt) connection on the dock to a DisplayPort input on your display, buy these 6-foot Benfei cables for $7.99, 20% off for October Prime Day.
• For a direct USB-C to USB-C connection, Amazon’s own Basics cables work just fine. They’re just $13.49 with no October Prime Day discount.

If you’d like cables that support Thunderbolt 5, those options are also available for slightly more:

• USB-C (Thunderbolt 5) to HDMI: Ugreen’s 6-foot cable costs $15.99 for October Prime Day, a 20% discount.
• USB-C (Thunderbolt 5) to DisplayPort: Warrky’s 6-foot cables cost $9.49 for October Prime Day, with a 32% discount.
• USB-C (Thunderbolt 5) to USB-C: Fitee’s 5-foot cables are $15.99 for October Prime Day. If you’re concerned about certification, Cable Matters offers a similar Thunderbolt 5 cable for $23.99, 20% off.

Other great October Prime Day deals

These aren’t the only October Prime Day deals being tracked by the PCWorld team. If you’re looking to supercharge your home setup with the juiciest tech sales, hit the links for only the best expert-curated picks we’ve found.

• Best Amazon October Prime Day tech deals: Great sales chosen by experts
• Best October Prime Day laptop deals: Gaming notebooks, 2-in-1s, and more
• Best monitor deals for October Prime Day: OLED, home office, and more
• Best October Prime Day mini PC deals: Big savings on tiny computers

There’s a particular kind of frustration that anyone juggling meetings, classes, or creative projects knows well: the good idea that slipped away because you were too busy talking to write it down, the client detail buried somewhere in a call, the lecture point you meant to revisit but never found again. Information isn’t usually lost because we weren’t paying attention—it’s lost because it was never captured in a form we could actually use later.

Soulog Sense, the new AI Voice Recorder with a Personal Context System from Soulog, is built around that exact problem. Rather than treating recording as an end in itself, it treats a recording as raw material—something to be understood, connected, and turned into an output you can act on.

Capture First, Think Later

The device itself is designed to disappear into daily life. At just 0.124 inch (3.15mm) thick, Soulog Sense is slim enough to sit magnetically on a compatible phone or case. Before the first recording, users activate the device in the Soulog App. After that, recording starts with a simple physical sequence: slide the Power Switch up to turn on the device, then flip the Recording Switch up to start and down to stop and save the file. The dedicated power switch also gives users full hardware control when they want the device truly off. With more than 50 hours of continuous recording on a full charge, it’s built to keep pace with a packed week of meetings, classes, or travel rather than needing constant attention.

One of Soulog Sense’s more thoughtful features is 30-Minute Live Rewind. Off by default, it must be enabled in the Soulog App while the device is on. Once active, pressing and holding the multifunction button saves up to the previous 30 minutes of audio—useful when a casual conversation becomes worth keeping before anyone thinks to start record. Live Rewind cannot retrieve audio from before the feature was enabled. As with any recording feature, users should make participants aware and comply with applicable recording and consent laws.

From Recording to Understanding

What sets Soulog Sense apart isn’t just what it captures, but what happens afterward. Powered by Soulog APP, from Capture → Structure → Understand → Connect → Create → Publish, the system doesn’t just transcribe—it works to understand meaning, connect related context across sessions, and generate structured outputs like summaries, key points, action items, owners, and open questions. Unlimited transcription spans more than 120 languages, with support for Vocabulary Management so specialized vocabulary doesn’t get lost in translation.

For professionals tracking client calls or project meetings, Speaker Recognition can recognize and label registered voices—supporting one primary user and up to nine additional profiles, all encrypted and used only with the registered person’s permission. For students and researchers, that same structure helps turn a semester’s worth of lectures into organized, searchable material instead of a pile of disconnected files.

Perhaps Soulog’s most distinctive feature is its Personal Context System, which brings related recordings, images, and files together as a connected body of context. A creator can combine interview clips with reference notes, a traveler can organize voice memos alongside trip photos, and a consultant can bring together research from multiple client calls. Instead of searching through hours of audio for one useful moment, users can ask questions across that accumulated material and trace the response back to its source.

Built for How People Actually Work

Soulog Sense won’t do the thinking for you—it’s a tool for keeping personal context connected so you don’t have to reconstruct it later. For the professional moving between calls, the parent trying to hold onto small family moments, the student trying to truly listen instead of transcribe, or the creative chasing an idea before it disappears, that connection is the point. Capture what matters. Let Soulog keep it together. Turn it into something you can use.

After a recording is completed, the Soulog app can generate transcripts in 120+ languages and, depending on the plan, apply features such as Speaker Recognition, Vocabulary Management, structured AI summaries, and actionable insights. Unlimited transcription and 30-Minute Live Rewind are available on the Free plan. Other advanced features vary by subscription tier and can be explored through a seven-day Pro trial. Check the current plan details for the exact features included.

Order now for a limited-time discount

Soulog Sense retails for $139.99 in the U.S. From September 28 through October 28, 2026, all users can receive 20% off, bringing the early-bird price to $111.99.

October Prime Day (officially known as “Prime Big Deal Days”) is coming next week! If you missed out on June’s Prime Day, this is your chance to snag a bunch of stuff on sale—hopefully stuff that’s already in your cart, waiting for you to pull the trigger.

Prime Big Deal Days runs Tuesday, October 6th to Wednesday, October 7th. But if you have cash to spend right now and you want to score some early deals ahead of the big event, here are some of the coolest tech deals I’ve spotted in the days leading up.

Gamers and PC users will spend hours tuning frame rates, working on a spreadsheet or presentation, or benchmarking a new GPU—but the chair underneath all of it often gets ignored. That’s a mistake, because no amount of horsepower fixes the ache that sets in after a long raid, a marathon coding session, or back-to-back video calls. A stiff neck, a sore lower back, legs that go numb by hour six—none of that is about discipline. It’s about sitting in a chair that was never designed to move with you.

LiberNovo builds two lines of dynamic ergonomic chairs—Omni and Maxis—around a different idea: the chair should do some of the work of keeping you comfortable, not just cushion you while you sit still.

This fall, timed to National Ergonomics Month, LiberNovo is running its Fall Prime Sale, cutting up to 37% off selected chairs and accessories.

The Real Cost of Sitting Still

If you’re gaming for hours at a stretch, running long builds in Visual Studio, or grinding through spreadsheets and back-to-back meetings on a Windows workstation, your body is under the same kind of load whether you’re a competitive streamer or an office IT admin: static pressure, in the same spots, for hours on end. A high-end chair with good foam doesn’t solve that—it just delays the discomfort by an hour or two.

LiberNovo’s chairs take a more active approach. ErgoPulse Motorized Lumbar Support adjusts as you shift in your seat instead of staying locked in one position. An OmniStretch Recovery Mode feature works relief into the middle of a work or gaming session instead of waiting for a break you might skip. And a 105 to 160° recline range lets you swing from an upright competitive-gaming posture to a fully reclined “watching a stream, not playing” position without swapping furniture.

The design idea is what LiberNovo calls a Dynamic Support System: headrest, backrest, armrests and seat move in sync, so support follows the body rather than holding it in one posture.

Shopping for an Ergonomic Chair? Check These Boxes

Not every “ergonomic” chair on the market earns the label. Before you buy, look for three things: adjustability that’s built around different body types (not a single generic frame), ErgoPulse Motorized Lumbar Support that tracks your movement rather than sitting fixed in place, and a recline mechanism that eases you back smoothly instead of dropping you.

Maxis, the headline series in this sale, is a larger-frame chair line engineered for Big & Tall gamers and professionals, sold in Basic, Standard, and Premium tiers across Manual, Electric, and Airflow builds. It’s built with a 52 cm ultra-deep seat for extra thigh support, a wider frame (430 mm across the shoulders, 520 mm at the waist), a U-shaped headrest with 140 mm of vertical and 120 mm of horizontal adjustment, curved arc armrests that keep pressure off your sides, and a six-spring recline system tuned for stability under a bigger frame. The Maxis frame is rated to 399 lb (181 kg) and sized for users from 5’10” to 6’7″ (178–200cm).

Maxis Airflow adds Active AirFlow Ventilation, a sensor-driven seat ventilation system powered by a rechargeable battery—a feature otherwise available only on the Omni Pro.

Omni covers the rest of the lineup: Omni Pro for a full electric feature set, Omni Gen as the do-everything middle option, and Omni SE as a straightforward manual chair for anyone making their first real upgrade from a basic office or gaming chair.

A core engineering feature shared by the Omni and Maxis is the Bionic FlexFit backrest, which uses eight adaptive panels and 16 pivot points to contour along the spine’s natural S-curve.

Why Now Is the Time to Buy

An ergonomic chair is closer to a PC build than an impulse buy—it’s a long-term investment, and LiberNovo has structured the sale that way. Buy early and you get 30-day price protection, plus gifts and automatic savings on qualifying orders, so there’s no incentive to rush the decision just to lock in a price. IT departments and studios outfitting five or more seats can also get bulk pricing across eligible Maxis and Omni models—a solid option for offices doing a round of workstation upgrades alongside new hardware.

Whether you’re chasing lower ping times in a raid, pushing through a long compile, or just trying to make an 8-hour workday less punishing, the LiberNovo Fall Prime Sale is worth a look. Think of it the same way you’d think of a GPU or RAM upgrade: it’s not glamorous, but it changes how every session actually feels.

The LiberNovo Fall Prime Sale runs September 30 to October 14, with some a limited-time Flash Sale between October 6-7 on some products and bundles.

Sometimes you just want to relax and hear your music or movie’s audio without being encumbered by wearing headphones. That’s especially true when you’re enjoying media with friends or family. Of course, laptop speakers aren’t known for having great sound — they often sound muffled, tinny, and/or lacking in audio fidelity. The solution, friends, is a solid set of PC speakers to get the best sound from your media files.

You don’t need to buy a complete 7.1 surround sound system to feel satisfied. For less than $150, you can find some affordable PC speakers that are capable of producing quality audio. Yes, at this price point you will need to make a few compromises, but the best budget computer speakers can still offer an enjoyable listening experience while saving you money. We call that a win-win.

Why you should trust PCWorld for budget computer speaker reviews and buying advice: PCWorld’s PC speaker reviewers have tried most of the budget speaker models on the market, so they know the ones that stand out from those that don’t quite hit the mark. Our testing criteria is also as thorough as it gets. To test each speaker, we set it up in a typical environment — on a desk in a home office — and play a variety of audio tracks while pushing a speaker system’s sound capabilities to the limit. We consider everything from the practicality of the design, to the audio fidelity. We also compare and contrast models to make recommendations based on our findings.

Other speakers that we liked

While the above speakers are the best value and fall into the category of budget, we also liked the Creative Pebble Nova and the Logitech Z150. The Creative Pebble Nova is a premium speaker offering premium sound for $279. It features excellent connectivity supporting 3.5mm aux-in and Bluetooth. This speaker also has a unique bowling ball style design.

The Logitech Z150, at $35, is a simple plug-and-play speaker supporting a 3.5mm aux-in cable. It’s quite small and lightweight and has a strong volume and output for such a small device.

Can you get a better deal?

We at PCWorld are constantly on the hunt for better deals. Amazon and other retailers are frequently running deals throughout the year, so you should have a chance at snaring a discount if you time your purchase for the sales.

While the prices in this list are updated daily, they do not account for special offers or deals. It’s best to check our PCWorld deals articles to see what offers are available each week. Additionally, it’s worth keeping an eye out for deals at sales events such as Amazon Prime Day in the summer and Black Friday at the end of November to see what special offers are available.

How to choose the best PC speaker

One of the first things you should do is decide on a budget for your PC speaker system. Most of our picks in this chart fall into the cheaper budget range category of $100 or under. These are speakers which offer good value for money so they’re a good place to start if you don’t want to spend a lot.

Size

You’ll have to decide on the size of the speaker system you want. For this, consider the room size you’re wanting to fill with sound. If you have a large room and want to fill it with audio you may want to invest in a speaker system with more than two speakers, preferably with a subwoofer, so a 2.1 speaker system. If you’re trying to fill a small room, you can get away with a smaller speaker system, so with just two satellites or a 2.0 speaker system.

Connectivity

Next think about the connectivity you’ll be needing. This will dictate how you’ll use your speakers and with which devices. Will you need wireless Bluetooth as well as wired connectivity? Or just wired connectivity? If you want to use your speakers with your smartphone as well as your PC, I’d recommend you get speakers with Bluetooth functionality also. Then, not all wired connectivity is the same. You may want to consider whether you need USB-C connectivity or just 3.5mm aux-in?

Ease of setup

Different speaker models can have different degrees of setup, some being tricky and others being relatively easy. The Bluedee soundbar, for example, is a relatively easy option to set up requiring just one cable. It may be tricky to know which models are hard to set up and which ones aren’t just by looking at them. The best way to find out how easy or hard a speaker is to set up is to read our PCWorld reviews.

Sound

It’s true that not all speakers sound alike. Some sound warm and champion the mid-tones and others are more skewed to the bass or treble tones. You should decide what you need the speakers for when considering the kind of sound you should get. Will you be listening to music? in which case you’ll need a deeper bass presence, or will you just be playing games and need a speaker that is well represented in the mid-tones? Again, the best way to tell how a speaker sounds is to read our PCWorld reviews where we evaluate them for you.

What do you do when you need to charge two devices? One option is to use a multi-port charger with multiple cables. Another option is to use a single USB charger with a single cable—like this Anker 2-in-1 USB-C splitter cable that’s now on sale for $15.99, matching its lowest price ever.

On one end, it has a typical USB-C connector. Plug that end into any USB-C power adapter, ideally one that can put out up to 140 watts because that’s how much this cable can support. The other end is split into two USB-C connectors for two different devices, like a phone and a tablet, or a phone and a laptop, or a phone and earbuds. You get my drift.

The cable itself is 6 feet long, with the main end stretching 5 feet and the split end up to 1 foot (though it can be shortened with the cable slider). That’s long enough to plug into a wall and not be tethered too closely, and two people can charge phones while still using them comfortably. Just be careful when packing it away, as cables of this length can tangle.

One caveat worth knowing is that the power delivery isn’t so straightforward. Only when charging a single device does the cable actually deliver the full 140W it’s capable of. When charging two devices and one uses more than 100W, the cable maxes out at 130W. If neither device uses more than 100W, the cable only maxes out at 100W. The first device plugged in gets the higher share.

October Prime Day (officially known as “Prime Big Deal Days”) is coming next week! If you missed out on June’s Prime Day, this is your chance to snag a bunch of stuff on sale—hopefully stuff that’s already in your cart, waiting for you to pull the trigger.

Prime Big Deal Days runs Tuesday, October 6th to Wednesday, October 7th. But if you have cash to spend right now and you want to score some early deals ahead of the big event, here are some of the coolest tech deals I’ve spotted in the days leading up.

Try shopping for a USB-C cable and you can’t help but notice the disparities in cable pricing and performance claims. They’re just cables, right? How can they really be that different?

At PCWorld we’ve used our share of USB-C cables and can say with total confidence that, indeed, clear differences exist. Perhaps that’s in the construction quality among cables, or their relative performance, whether you’re talking about charging or transferring data.

Our hands-on evaluation of numerous cables — ranging from the biggest, most-recognizable brand names to the cheapest of the cheap — reveals some clear winners.

For these USB-C cable reviews, we don’t trawl consumer reviews like some “reviewers” — we purchase the cables retail and test each one personally, examining how they are physically wired, the resistance, and the accuracy of the embedded eMarker (if it has one). We performance test them on their claims, be it charge rate, transfer rate, or display support.

Our picks of the best USB-C cables below are separated into two groups: those cables that are best for charging, and those best for both charging and fast data transfer.

Best USB-C cable for charging

For most people the above cables are what you’re looking for: reliable and fast charging. For those who also want to transfer data or connect a monitor though, these are our picks:

Best USB-C cables for charging and transferring data

Other USB-C cables that we tested

Compared to our picks above, we wouldn’t advise purchasing any of the other USB-C cables we tested. Why settle for something inferior? But we understand some will want to see which cables didn’t make the cut and why.

How PCWorld tests USB-C cables

We purchased retail USB-C cables for this roundup. We physically measured and weighed each cable and examined each connector. A proper USB-C cable should use a one-piece shell rather than a folded shell with a visible seam in it. None of the cables we purchased used the lower-strength folded shells.

We do want to point out that weight does tend to matter. All cables are essentially tiny metallic wire strands bound together with insulation. Sure, the connector, housing, braiding, and outer shell are all factors in its weight, but lighter-duty cables literally have fewer wires and are far lighter. For example, the Cable Matters high-performance USB4 cable is 32-inches long and weighs more than the Amazon Basics low-performance USB 2.0 cable, which is more than twice as long.

That’s not always better though, as a cable with more wires that are a heavier gauge—or thicker—are less pliable and also take up more space in your bag.

You’d think you could tell whether a cable is USB-C 2.0 by looking at the wires in the connector but that’s not the case. Some cables use connectors with pins that aren’t hooked up to anything.

For example, a USB-C cable that is fine for charging but a dog in data transfer will show up as being wired only for USB-C 2.0, as you can see below by the green LEDs. The “CC” LED indicates the Cable Configuration channel is wired up correctly. 

A full-featured USB-C cable has additional wires to carry higher-speed data and the USB Cable Checker 2.0 shows this Cable Matters USB 4 cable in the picture below with the correct wiring all available. The small LED display also tells us that the cable has an ID e-Marker chip, the shell is properly grounded to the cable, and it does a quick resistance test too. The cable tester also checks to see if the metal shell of the cable is grounded to the ground wire of the cable, which is required by spec. Every cable here was properly grounded.

Resistance is futile

The resistance check from our cable checker is quick and dirty, so we augmented that by also measuring the resistance of the cable’s ground wire and vbus wire using a milli-ohm meter connected via a pair of USB-C breakout boards. The breakout boards at both ends add about 30 mohms to the total. By spec, a USB-C cable should not exceed 83 mohms on the ground wires and 167 mohms on the voltage bus.

Many of the cables we tested were within spec or close enough that it didn’t matter, since there’s likely even more resistance we’re not able to account for with our method. We definitely could tell which cables used heavier-gauge or thick wires with less resistance to restrict the flow of electricity, and which ones cheaped out.

What did the e-Marker say?

Since each of the more advanced cables carries an e-Marker that tells the computer what the cable can do, we noted that and the validity of the e-Marker’s claims. All but one of the cables met those claims, but the one that was wrong was way, way wrong. It claimed USB 3.2 10Gbps transfer speeds and a 1-meter length, when it literally didn’t have the wires for the faster transfer speeds and was actually 2 meters long.

We then looked at how fast the cable would charge and transfer data, and whether it supported an alternate mode to run a monitor, using real-world hardware.

For charging speeds we recorded the maximum wattage at which the cable could charge an Asus ROG Strix 15 gaming laptop over its USB-C port using USB-Power Delivery with an Aukey USB-PD charger as the source while the laptop was under load. USB-PD today is is capable of 240 watts. Any USB-C to USB-C cable should handle 3 amps at 20 volts, or 60 watts. All of the USB-C to USB-C cables fell into the standard 60-watt, 100-watt, or 240-watt camps.

We didn’t test the temperature of each cable’s housing, but we did test the cheapest cable by running it at 5 amps and 20 volts for an hour. The housing heated up by 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cable itself became relatively warm (see the thermal image below). Not ideal, but it did this without failure. We subjected other cables to two-hour loads without failure, as well.

For one final charge test, we tasked each cable with a 20 volt, 3 amp and 20 volt 5 amp load (for the 5-amp rated cables) and measured the voltage delivered at the end of the cable using our CT-3 meter.

The cables with the thinnest-gauge wires add more resistance, which in turn reduces the voltage delivered to your laptop, tablet, or phone.

For data transfer, we measured the speed using Crystal Disk Mark 8 while plugged into the USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port of an MSI Prestige 14 Evo laptop. Since the cables can also be used to transfer data from a Thunderbolt storage drive, we measured how fast that happened using a high-speed SSD-based SanDisk Professional Thunderbolt G-Drive. We found three transfer modes among the cables tested: Thunderbolt 20Gbps performance, Thunderbolt 40Gbps performance, or zero performance because the cable would not work at all with a Thunderbolt drive.

Our last test looked at each cable’s capability running an Asus ROG Strix 17.3-inch portable gaming monitor. The monitor is a high-performance gaming monitor with a resolution of 1920×1080 and refresh rate of 240Hz—which is basically the same bandwidth requirements of a standard 4K 60Hz display.

Why you should trust PCWorld

PCWorld has been testing hardware since the 1980s. Our reviewers are thorough in putting all products through their paces, evaluating them for performance as well as critical usability standards. If we wouldn’t want a product for ourselves, we won’t recommend it.

The best USB-C hubs add ports to your PC, providing connections to legacy peripherals like mice, keyboards, printers, or more. If you follow my advice, you shouldn’t pay that much for a hub, either.

Most users will probably be happy with any of my standard hub recommendations. But if you want to go further, I have additional options for more specialized purposes. Those include USB-C docking stations that sit on your desk, plus some higher-end alternatives: DisplayLink docks, as well as the best Thunderbolt docks. They cost more, but provide more functionality. (A FAQ at the end of this roundup can help you decide.)

I keep at least one of these lightweight little USB-C hubs in my backpack at all times. You should too!

Why you should trust PCWorld for USB-C hub reviews and buying advice: PCWorld has been supplying news, reviews, and recommendations for the best computing products since our first magazines hit newsstand shelves in 1983. We maintain a rigorous testing process, and our reviews are not influenced by advertisers or other considerations. Most of these products were purchased directly by PCWorld reviewers, but in certain cases review units have been provided by the manufacturers.

Other USB-C hub/dock reviews and features

• Anker Nano 13-in-1 USB-C dock review: This combo USB-C dock/hub doesn’t deliver the amount of charging power I’d hope for, though the two-for-one special is unique.
• Mokin 160W GaN All-in-One Station: With great power comes great…performance.
• Ugreen’s $5 cable deal: Deals come and go, but check back for an attractive price.
• USB-C buying guide: Our friends at PCWelt have some advice on how to differentiate USB from Thunderbolt.

How to choose the best USB-C hub

You’ll want to do a careful of assessment of your work equipment and your needs in order to find the right hub or dock for yourself.

First, take stock of your peripherals

Here’s where to start: Take a look at the peripherals you own, or plan to buy. Do you have an old external hard drive that uses a traditional USB-A cable? Do you manually back up photos from an SLR camera via its SD card? Or is your Wi-Fi connection unreliable enough that you’d prefer Ethernet? Figure out what ports you’ll need. This advice is for Windows users; Macs have their own limitations on USB-C connections.

Keep in mind that you may want to use both a mouse and keyboard, and possibly connect a printer, too. You can disconnect a keyboard to print, but it’s kind of a pain. Even if you own a modern 2026 laptop, you may still have hardware from several years ago. A hub bridges your laptop to its peripherals, but can serve as a bridge to the past, too.

Next, check out what ports your laptop already has

It’s also important to take stock of your laptop or tablet’s ports: Does it have one USB-C port or two? If your device only has one port, is there a separate charging connection? If your laptop or tablet has a USB-C port and uses it exclusively for charging, you’ll want to buy a USB-C hub with a dedicated charging input port.

Note how much input power the port allows, and confirm that it will be sufficient for your laptop. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to choose between charging your laptop and accessing other devices, which makes little sense. Most laptops will pop up a warning about a “slow charger” if your laptop’s not getting enough juice.

Video adds another wrinkle. Older laptops often included dedicated video ports, often HDMI; modern laptops in 2026 may include a dedicated video port as well. But video can also run over the USB-C port through a technology called DP Alt Mode which enables certain USB-C ports to send video signals to external monitors using the DisplayPort protocol, via the USB-C cable.

The problem, even as manufacturers like BenQ admit, is that these cables aren’t often properly labeled. There’s no way for us to tell you whether your USB-C port can support video passing over it. You’ll need to consult your laptop’s manual to tell. If the port does support video, you can either use a USB-C hub to connect to an external monitor. Alternatively, you can run the USB-C cable to a display with a USB-C cable input. These USB-C displays have only been available for a few years, but they provide an alternate way of routing video out of your laptop.

Assess your laptop and peripheral power needs

Desktop hubs will often take power in from an external charger like the one you plug into your phone, and use it to power your laptop. On these hubs or dongles, there will be a dedicated USB-C input port to accept power, but not data. A powered laptop docking station, on the other hand, ships with its own charger — which may be hardwired into the docking station and take will power in and also push it out to peripherals.

As I noted above, the input power to your laptop needs to be sufficient to power it. But if you’re investing in a powered USB-C docking station, check our reviews to see how much power the hub or docking station can push out to peripherals. The 2026 iPhone 17 Max consumes 40W of charging power to fast-charge the phone; most docking stations won’t get near that. But an older phone, such as an Apple iPhone 14, only needed 30W of charging power. Older phones need even less power to fast-charge them.

You certainly don’t have to buy a USB-C docking station or hub to charge a phone; most hubs weren’t built with them in mind. It’s useful to know, however, what your hub or docking station will be able to do or not do.

Making sense of the USB-C technologies

A USB-C port on your laptop can either run at 5Gbps or 10Gbps, with the latter being almost ubiquitous these days. That’s plenty of bandwidth for a printer, a mouse, a keyboard, or a hard drive, even all at once. Products like displays, Ethernet, and high-speed SSDs gobble up that bandwidth, however.

Display technologies tend to have the most influence over what you should buy. If you simply want to connect to an external 1080p display — or two — a USB-C dongle should work fine, provided that the dongle has the available ports. It’s certainly the cheapest option. If you want to connect more displays with higher resolution, you may have to examine other choices.

Traditionally, the only other alternative was a Thunderbolt dock. Provided your laptop had a Thunderbolt port, Thunderbolt’s 40Gbps bandwidth allows for two 4K displays, running at 60Hz, plus various peripherals. (You can use a 10Gbps USB-C dock even if you have a 40Gbps Thunderbolt port, but only 10Gbps of that throughput will be available to the 10Gbps dock.) Thunderbolt is usually associated with laptops which use Intel processors; laptops with AMD Ryzen or Qualcomm Snapdragon chips inside use the “generic” equivalent, also called USB4.

There are also two intermediary technologies to choose from: a DisplayLink USB-C dock, and a USB-C dock that takes advantage of something called HBR3 and DSC.

DisplayLink, owned by Synaptics, uses software compression between your laptop and the dock to approximate a Thunderbolt experience over a generic USB-C connection. It requires a software driver, but our experience is that it’s an excellent choice for office work, but not gaming. Here are the best DisplayLink docks and why to buy them.

HBR3 with Display Compression (HBR3 with DSC) is essentially an industry standard version of DisplayLink. The problem? The technology hasn’t been widely publicized, let alone supported. Our experience has been that docks that support HBR3 work well with laptops using 12th-gen Core processors on up. Laptops with a 10th-gen Core chip inside them aren’t supported, and 11th-gen Core laptops are iffy. If you own a laptop chip with a 12th-gen Core chip or one that’s even more recent, you stand a good chance of success. Otherwise, don’t bother.

Finally, don’t worry about platform branding

Because USB-C is common among Macs, Windows PCs, and phones, some hubs align their branding with a particular platform. Go ahead and use that USB-C that’s billed as being “for MacBook Pro, Chromebook, and XPS” with any Windows PC — we did, and it works just fine. You won’t need any special software or drivers. 

After testing our USB-C hubs, we can confirm that some no-names perform just as well as their more well-known counterparts, and for less money, too. One thing to keep in mind: Because price is so critical to our recommendations, know that some of the prices may change as manufacturers offer sales. Therefore some hubs we didn’t recommend primarily based on price could become more purchase-worthy. 

We’ve given you a lot of detail on what makes a good USB-C hub or dongle and what to consider when buying one. In general, however, these are fairly inexpensive, flexible ways to upgrade your laptop, and I’d recommend always carrying one in your laptop bag!

I don’t know how your tech drawers look, but mine are filled with wires I’ll likely never use again because technology has advanced quite a bit. Thankfully, USB-C seems to be here to stay since there is no wrong way to plug these things in. It’s not just smartphones, tablets, and laptops that use these, however, but also a long list of gadgets.

We’ve scoured the market for hidden gems: 14 gadgets that will make you think “Wow, I didn’t know I needed that, but it will make my life so much easier!” Let’s dive in and see what cool devices you’ll be able to use your type-C cables and ports with.

Unihand rechargeable hand warmers

As the weather is getting colder, you sometimes wish you could warm up your hands a bit faster. Well, these $20 hand warmers are rechargeable and perfectly ready to keep your fingers toasty for up to 20 hours on a single charge. These gadgets feature a temperature sensor chip that helps you pick one of three temps for precise control. There are plenty of colors to choose from, too.

Firrax 74-in-1 mini electric screwdriver

If you often have to fiddle around with your computer or other gadgets, this Firrax mini electric screwdriver kit may be just what you need. This pen-shaped screwdriver features three LED lights so it’s easier to see what you’re working on. The screwdriver has a stylish base so you can hold it on your desk, and a whole collection of 64 S2 steel bits. The screwdriver can be charged via USB-C and it can last for hours — the manufacturer says it can drive over 500 screws before needing a recharge. This super fun electric screwdriver usually goes for $36, but can often be found on sale.

Anker Nano Power Bank

One thing you need to have in you bag/pocket/backpack is a power bank because you never really know when your phone will fail you and cry for a recharge. Well, the Anker Nano power bank is tiny enough to fit just about anywhere. It comes with a foldable USB-C connector and a port on the side so you can charge two devices at once if you need to. The 5,000mAh capacity is just about enough for a full phone recharge, so it will be great in a pinch. It’s also only $27.

Endoscope camera with light

Although it’s not something you’ll use every day, this USB-C endoscope camera can definitely come in handy. You just plug it in your phone, install and app, and see everything your camera does. Our team swears by it, using it for finding whatever they dropped behind the desk, while working on the car, or looking for pipe leaks. Since it has an IP67 rating, you can even plop it in your aquarium. The camera comes with a 16.4ft semi-rigid cable and several accessories, including a hook, magnet, and a mirror. You can get this one for $60 or less.

Blukar flashlight

I don’t care who you are—you need a flashlight. The smaller, the better, because you get to shove it into any pocket. This model from Blukar comes with a built-in 1800mAh battery that you’ll recharge with one of those many type-C cables you have in that tech drawer we were talking about. It can work for up to 16 hours on a single charge, which is pretty decent. There are four different lightning modes to cycle through, including one that will help you signal for help. Plus, one of these is just $9, so no excuse to pass on this one.

Heat It insect bite healer

Anyone plagued by mosquitoes in the summer will be particularly pleased with this ingenious gadget. This tiny device, which can be easily connected to your smartphone via USB-C, can significantly reduce the itching of bites and stings with targeted heat.

You simply charge the small Heat It bite healer via the app and then hold it on the bite. The heat then does the rest, breaking down the proteins in the mosquito bite that cause the area to swell, itch, and hurt. A true must-have for summer, and it costs only $30.

A tiny air pump

Also perfect for summer is this small air pump from Cycplus, which fits in any bag while on the go. Not only can it inflate a bicycle tire in two minutes at the touch of a button, but it’s also USB-charged. According to the manufacturer, it’s suitable for mountain bikes, road bikes, motorcycles, and even cars!

In addition to being an air pump, this practical gadget can also be used as a flashlight or power bank for on-the-go use — all things that come in very handy on a bike ride. And at just $36, it’s highly recommended if you need quick help with a flat tire.

USB-C mini fan

These little fans are also pretty ingenious; you can easily carry them in your pocket in the summer and quickly use them whenever you need them. Anyone who’s ever sat on a crowded subway train in 30-degree heat and wished for at least a little fresh air will love this gadget.

The mini fan, which costs just $16, has a USB-C port and can be easily powered by power banks, computers, laptops, or USB chargers. There are even smaller and cheaper fans available that can be connected directly to your phone, costing under $10 each. But these also provide less powerful airflow, so we recommend the standalone version.

Reading light with a book clamp

Anyone who enjoys reading a lot, sometimes late into the night, will appreciate this little gadget: a reading lamp that you can simply clip onto your book. It may not be groundbreaking, but with a total of three color temperatures and five different light modes, you can individually adjust how much light you need for reading.

The Gritin reading lamp costs just $9 on Amazon and features a 1200 mAh battery that lasts up to 80 hours depending on usage. Afterward, you can easily recharge it via USB. You can swivel the neck of the lamp back and forth as desired, and there’s even a small charging indicator. What more could you want?

External DVD Drive

If your laptop is like mine and lacks a DVD drive, then this little gadget will come in handy for you. This Amicool external DVD drive uses a USB-C (or USB-A) to connect to your laptop and give yout he optical drive you sometimes need. It can read and burn DVDs and CDs with ease, allowing you to install software, copy files, back up data, play games, and so on. You won’t even need to install drives as this thing is plug and play. While this thing’s usually $29, you can often get it for around $20, which is an absolute bargain.

Type-C microSD card reader

Most laptops nowadays don’t come with a card reader anymore (I know mine doesn’t), so finding other ways to get data off those little buggers is a must. Whether you need to pull data off your dashcam’s card or if it’s from your camera, this tiny Ugreen USB-C microSD reader will work just fine. This reader is tiny enough that you should probably put it on a keychain of some kind. If you’d rather a slightly more versatile version, Ugreen has a model that also works with SD cards and features both USB-C and USB-A connectors. Any of these will cost you less than $10, so they’re worthwhile investments.

USB-C to HDMI adapter

If your laptop has a USB-C port but you haven’t updated your monitor in ages, your display won’t feature a Type-C port. This Anker adapter fixes this problem for you, enabling you to connect the regular HDMI cable you plug in your monitor with this gadget. The adapter supports resolutions of up to 4K at 60Hz, which is pretty awesome. This is also a nifty way to connect your phone or tablet to your monitor or TV. This thing’s $17.

Electric Air Duster

This tiny little thing is going to be such a useful gadget to have. Despite its size, it has quite a lot of power and you can use it easily to clean up crumbs from your keyboard and the dust from your PC tower, clean the vents in your car or the dryer lint trap, for instance — it’s great to use every once in a while. You can also use this tiny gadget to inflate mattresses when camping or your kid’s floaties. The best part is that you can use a regular USB-C cord to recharge it. This Wolfbox MF100 electric air duster is usually $90, but you can get it on sale quite often.

Measuring Tools

This pocket-sized laser measuring tool will make your life so much easier because it’s sooooo compact. Whenever you take on any DIY projects, whether it’s anything serious or you’re just putting up a painting, this laser measuring tool will be useful. It has two measuring modes, it’s quite accurate, and features a hidden OLED display that tells you exactly what it measures and the battery life. It even comes with Bluetooth so you can record more data after connecting it to your phone. And of course, you can charge it with a USB-C cable. This Hoto tool is usually $45, but we’ve seen it on sale for closer to $30 quite often, especially if you have a Prime subscription.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 16, 2025, but was updated to include additional devices.