The best PC hardware and software of 2021/2022
If 2021 was a banner year for PC hardware, expectations came crashing back down to earth in 2022. The reason? Chip shortages and the supply chain crunch. Simply getting your hands on new hardware proved to be frustratingly difficult for most of the year, and even when you could find something to buy, it often sold for a staggering mark-up.
But that doesn’t mean PC vendors took their foot off the gas. We tested some truly impressive hardware in 2022, including blazing-fast next-gen SSDs and notebooks that run laps around yesteryear’s models. Are you into streaming video? Hardware that helps you look and sound as impressive as possible took major strides forward in 2022. And this year we’re expanding our list of top picks to include the best software available, as what you use all that computing power for is just as vital.
For this list, we asked NextGen’s tech experts to share their favorite picks in their areas of expertise. Without further ado, this is the best PC hardware and software of 2021 and 2022. Yes, we’re looking forward to next year, because until even newer products begin launching in 2022, many of the wins on this list will remain very relevant, especially with no end to the chip shortage in sight.
Best thin-and-light laptop: HP Spectre x360 14
PC laptop buyers have an embarrassment of riches to pick from, but for most people, a 360-convertible is the apex machine. Convertibles are basically indistinguishable from traditional clamshell notebooks, but give you all the flexibility of a tablet as well. That means you get touch and even pen support on top of the usual touchpad/keyboard combo.
Our pick for the best thin-and-light laptop easily goes to HP’s wonderful Spectre x360 14, built on Intel’s latest 11th-gen Tiger Lake CPU with Xe graphics. It offers screen options ranging from 1920×1080 IPS to a 3000×2000 OLED display, and with its 66 watt hour battery, you can expect all-day battery performance. Its stylish diamond-cut exterior also tells the world that you actually think differently, too.
Best gaming laptop: MSI GE76 Raider
You know MSI’s GE76 Raider is something special when you have none other than Apple tapping it for comparisons to the hyped-up MacBook Pro with its M1 Max to the GE76. Even better, Apple actually admits that its very best M1 Max MacBook Pro 16 is slower than the Raider in the comparison.
While we don’t think the two laptops are in the same category to even merit the comparison, we’re not surprised Apple focused on MSI’s killer gaming laptop. With its 8-core Intel 11th-gen Core i9-11980HK “Tiger Lake H” processor, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3080 GPU pushing a smoking 165 watt TGP rating, and a buttery smooth 360Hz gaming panel, this hefty 6.6 pound laptop packs some serious gaming and productivity firepower. Did we mention all the RGB, too?
Best GPU: Ryzen 5000 APUs
Usually, this category is called “Best graphics card,” casting a spotlight on the best discrete desktop video card released over the past 12 months. And sure, several new graphics cards were released in 2021, from 1080p-focused offerings like the Radeon RX 6600 and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 to heavy-hitting 4K behemoths like the $1,200 GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. But the chip shortage’s effects were felt most acutely in the graphics space, exacerbated by incredible demand from crypto-currency miners who use their graphics cards to mint virtual coins for real-world profits. Understandably—though disappointingly—every new graphics card launched this year hit store shelves with staggering price tags, though they also sold out instantly only to appear on second-hand retailers like Ebay and Craiglist at up to twice the price of those already-inflated MSRPs. Gross.
So, this year we’re switching gears. The best gaming option for most people with modest budgets isn’t a graphics card at all, but the GPU cores integrated into AMD’s game-ready Ryzen 5000G APUs, which remain in stock in both DIY form and inside numerous prebuilt systems. “You can build a Ryzen 5 5700G machine today and get outstanding CPU performance along with OK gaming performance,” we said in our review. Yes, you’ll need to dial down some graphics options for the best performance, but you’ll be able to play esports games and even triple-A titles at a decent clip at 720p or 1080p resolution. At $259 for the Ryzen 5 5600G and $369 for the Ryzen 7 5700G, they aren’t exactly cheap, especially since you’ll also need a motherboard to plop them into. But remember that you’re getting both a CPU and a doable GPU stand-in for the price. And, hey, they’re actually in stock