Our top picks in every category
The short answer for all 19 kinds of kit we rank: the one we'd pick for most people in each. Open any list for the full Top 10, including our budget pick.
Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›
Networking
Best network switches (25) ›Best Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems (10) ›Best firewalls (8) ›Best Wi-Fi access points (8) ›
Network switches · Best for most peopleMikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+INFour SFP+ ports plus one 10/100/1000… · Gigabit copper port · RouterOS or SwitchOS selectable via dual…7.8~£121.19
Wi-Fi routers and mesh · Best for most peopleASUS RT-BE92UWi-Fi 7 · Tri-band: 2.4 GHz · One 10 Gbps WAN/LAN port and one 2.5 Gbps…7.4~£198.99
Firewalls and security gateways · Best for most peopleUbiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Max2.3 Gbps IDS/IPS · Five 2.5G/1G/100M/10M RJ45 ports · UniFi Application Suite7.3~£272.40
Wi-Fi access points · Best for most peopleUniFi U7 ProWiFi 7 · Tri-band: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz · One 1/2.5 GbE RJ45 port7.3~£180
PC parts
Motherboards · Best for most peopleMSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFILGA 1851 · Intel Z890 · ATX, PCB 243.84 x 304.8 mm7.5~£283.89
Power supplies (PSUs) · Best for most peopleCorsair RMx Series RM1000x Fully Modular Power Supply1000W continuous · Measured Cybenetics Platinum: 89-91% at… · ATX, 160x150x86 mm7.7~£130
CPU coolers · Best for most peopleARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 240AIO liquid, 240 mm radiator · Intel LGA1851 and LGA1700 · Radiator 277 × 120 × 38 mm8.1~£59.99
Graphics cards · Best for most peopleGIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080 GAMING OC 16GGeForce RTX 5080, 10752 CUDA cores · 16GB GDDR7, 256-bit bus, 30 Gbps memory… · L=340 mm, W=140 mm, H=70 mm6.9~£1,510
Accessories
Mice · Best for most peopleLogitech MX Master 3S Bluetooth EditionBluetooth Low Energy · Darkfield optical sensor, 8,000 DPI on… · 500 mAh rechargeable Li-Po7.3~£69
Headsets and headphones · Best for most peopleSteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro WirelessSimultaneous 2.4 GHz wireless and… · Active noise cancellation with… · Retractable boom mic with ClearCast Gen 27.0~£199.99
Monitors · Best for most peopleDell UltraSharp U2724D27 inch · 2560 x 1440 · IPS Black, 2000:1 typical contrast, 350…7.1~£300
Webcams · Best for most peopleOBSBOT Meet 2 AI-Powered 4K WebcamUp to 4K at 30fps and 1080p at 60fps · 79.4° diagonal · Phase-detection autofocus with manual…6.9~£128.99
Hardware security keys · Best for most peopleYubico YubiKey 5C NFCFIDO2 L2, CTAP 2.1, FIDO U2F · USB-C 2.0 · 100 discoverable FIDO2 credentials on…8.1~£60
Storage
NAS · Best for most peopleUGREEN NASync DXP4800GT4 × SATA 3.5"/2.5" bays · AMD Ryzen Embedded R2514, 4 cores / 8… · 8GB DDR4 4800MHz installed7.5~£529.99
External SSDs · Best for most peopleSanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD 1TB1TB · USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, USB-C connector · 2000MB/s7.8~£155.99
NVMe SSDs · Best for most peopleSamsung 990 PRO 2TBPCIe Gen 4.0 x4, NVMe 2.0 · 7,450 MB/s · 6,900 MB/s7.4~£329
Power
Computers
Mini PCs · Best for most peopleGMKtec NucBox M5 Ultra AMD Ryzen™ 7 7730U Mini PCAMD Ryzen 7 7730U, 8 cores / 16 threads · 2 x SO-DIMM slots, DDR4 3200 MT/s · PCIe 3.0 M.2 2280 SSD, 512GB pre-installed…7.0~£289.99
Single-board computers · Best for most peopleRaspberry Pi 5 4GBBroadcom BCM2712 · LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM · microSD card slot with SDR104 support7.9~£105.60