The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is already the best gaming processor out right now, but AMD is following up with a mid-generation refresh at CES 2026, with the Ryzen 7 9850X3D.

This new gaming processor is virtually the same as the existing 9800X3D, but with a substantial out-of-the-box overclock, with a Max Turbo Boost of 5.6GHz for the 9850X3D, compared to 5.2GHz on the original processor. That's about a 7% boost to clock speeds, which should make this processor hold a decent edge over most other CPUs you'll find in a gaming PC.

The clock speed is about the only thing changing, though. The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D still has 8 cores and 16 threads and the same 104MB of 3D V-Cache. It also has the same 120W TDP, despite its higher clock speed. So while the 9850X3D will be faster than the 9800X3D, it won't be by enough to convince anyone that already has a 9th-generation Ryzen chip to upgrade.

However, for anyone that hasn't made the upgrade yet, this new processor will be better for gaming than the original, if even just by a little bit. AMD hasn't shared pricing information on this processor yet, though, so it remains to be seen whether or not this chip will be a better value. But with how RAM keeps getting more expensive, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Luckily, even though AMD is essentially replacing the 9800X3D, Team Red will continue to sell the original chip – so even if the 9850X3D is way more expensive, you might be able to get a deal on the slightly slower CPU.

I went ahead and listed out the specs of both the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D below.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Last year, Intel had the best iGPU on the market. This year, it’s broken that record by over 70% with Panther Lake and it's a huge win for handhelds.

“We’ve overdelivered” is how Intel CEO Lip Bu Tan categorized the Panther Lake launch during the company’s CES 2026 Keynote address, and that really does seem to be the case. But the real highlight of the keynote speech wasn’t the engineering behind Panther Lake, but rather the iGPU and the “handheld ecosystem” Intel is building to capitalize on the iGPU’s performance gains.

Formerly known as the 12 Xe-core variant, the new Intel Arc B390 iGPU offers up to 77% faster gaming performance over Lunar Lake’s Arc 140V graphics chip. Intel’s VP and General Manager of PC Products, Dan Rogers detailed the Arc B390’s performance gains and announced a “whole ecosystem” of gaming handhelds. That ecosystem includes partnerships with MSI, Acer, Microsoft, CPD, Foxconn, and Pegatron. So we’ll finally see more Intel handhelds hit the market.

Panther Lake’s iGPU is Truly Absurd

Back when Intel first unveiled Panther Lake in October, the chip’s gaming performance was touted as 50% better than Lunar Lake, and 40% better performance per watt over Arrow Lake. However, at CES Intel upped that expectation by a significant margin. Not only is Panther Lake’s Arc B390 up to 77% better than Lunar Lake’s Arc 140V iGPU, it’s also 73% better on average than AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370’s RDNA 3.5 iGPU.

And it’s even 10% better than the RTX 4050 mobile. Sure, the RTX 5050 mobile does have a bit of an edge, but the Arc B390 is further proof that iGPU gaming is punching well-above its weight class.

Combined with Intel’s new XeSS 3 software with 4x multi-frame generation, Panther Lake’s iGPU could very well replace your old, out of date desktop.

A Handheld-Exclusive CPU

Since Intel’s Core Ultra 300 Panther Lake chip is built on Intel’s proprietary 18A Foundry process node, it can be cut in a variety of different die slices.

According to sources at Intel close to the matter, the company is planning a hardware-specific variant or variants of the Panther Lake CPU die. Currently branded as “Intel Core G3” these processors will be custom-built for handhelds. That means Intel can spec the chips to offer better performance on the GPU where you want it, with potential for even better performance than the current Arc B390 expectations.

This is further indication that Intel plans to lean heavily into the handheld gaming PC segment, which Intel first hinted at last year. Combined with the “Handheld Ecosystem” announcement, this is a clear win for gamers.

The Real Winner is Gamers

The Intel Core G3 processors will reap the full benefits of the new Arc B390 iGPU, and Intel handhelds may finally be a real threat to AMD’s handheld leadership.

Intel has had a few handhelds over the last few years, but the first MSI Claw was a notorious flop. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ and MSI Claw 7 AI+ were significant improvements over the previous generation, but they were the only Intel handhelds available on the US market from a major brand. The Tencent Sunday Dragon 3D One was also debuted last year, but it was an experimental design that was never given a full world-wide production launch. A version of that handheld launched as the Abxylute 3D One handheld, though it hardly made an impact on the handheld market due to poor reception.

While Intel had an early lead with the MSI Claw 8 AI+’s Arc 140V iiGPU performance, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X took the lead back for AMD with the new Ryzen Z2 Extreme which was a major win for the Ryzen Z2 series as a whole. However, the Intel G3 could change things back in Intel’s favor.

With Intel handhelds now being made by MSI and Acer with custom CPUs built just for handhelds, AMD will see some real competition in the gaming space. And whenever AMD and Intel have serious competition, the true winner is gamers who get better performance from their hardware as both companies push each other to better and better heights.

Madeline (She/Her) is a contributing writer at IGN. She’s been writing about comics, tech, and gaming since 2013. Her byline has appeared at sites like Laptop Mag, PCMag, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, CGMagazine, and Bleeding Cool.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo is back at CES 2026 with an all-new look. No longer sporting a funky, half-sized touchscreen between the main display and the keyboard, the Zephyrus Duo is now a proper dual-screen gaming laptop. With a built-in second display, the Zephyrus Duo lets you game on one display and keep your team chat or raid strategy up on the second display, without needing any extra hardware.

That alone just might make the new Zephyrus Duo worlds ahead of the old model, which felt more like a proof of concept design than a usable gaming laptop.

From a Quirky Prototype to Something Actually Useful

The Zephyrus Duo was last seen in 2023 and featured an awkwardly-sized touchscreen display below the main panel, and that left the Duo with a truly awkward keyboard layout that pushed the touchpad to the extreme right-hand edge in an odd, vertical configuration. While not the worst dual-screen attempt, the original Zephyrus Duo design felt more like a prototype than a usable multi-screen laptop.

This new Zephyrus Duo design offers two full-sized displays that can be used in a top-bottom dual screen, side-by-side book, traditional laptop, and tent configurations similar to the revamped Asus Zenbook Duo that first hit the shelves in 2024.

Clearly, Asus took the two-year hiatus on the Zephyrus Duo to perfect the new, flexible hinge and wait for the right combination of specs to make a fully dual-screened gaming laptop be a functional, useful addition to the ROG gaming laptop lineup.

New Duo, New Specs

Along with the new design, the new Zephyrus Duo comes with a slight twist to its specs. Previously, the Zephyrus Duo featured a powerful Intel Core i9 HX or AMD Ryzen 9 HX mobile gaming processor, but this new model opts for a more energy-efficient Intel Core Ultra 300-H Panther Lake processor, likely due to weight and cooling constraints. The Intel Core Ultra 200HX and Ryzen 9 900l0HX3D processors are notoriously power-hungry and require additional cooling, while Intel’s Core Ultra 300 Panther Lake chip is designed more for thin and light laptops, so it requires less cooling and lets Asus put more power to the GPU, with up to 135W of total graphics power dedicated to the Zephyrus Duo 2026’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 mobile GPU.

The ROG Zephyrus Duo can be configured with up to 2TB of SSD storage and up to 64GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and dual 3K ROG Nebula OLED displays with a refresh rate of 120Hz, a response time of 0.2ms, and a peak HDR brightness of 1,100 nits.

Pricing and Availability

Asus has yet to announce a price or ship date for the new ROG Zephyrus Duo, but it’ll likely arrive within the first half of this year. As for the pricing, if it’s anything like the older models, the new Duo will be a premium investment in the $3,000-$5,000 range.

While that’s a large chunk of change for a laptop, we’ve seen more gaming laptops in that $5,000 range since the RTX 50-series launched last year and it seems that trend will only continue in the 16 and 18-inch desktop replacement segment. But, at least with the Zephyrus Duo, you get two displays for the price.

As cool as gaming PCs are, they pretty much all follow the same kind of formula – a giant metal box with computer parts inside that power computer games. The Asus ROG GM1000, debuting at CES 2026, largely follows this formula too, just with a twist – holographic images projected by the case fans.

Both on the glass side panel and the front of the laptop, the ROG GM1000 has what Asus is calling 'ROG AniMe Holo', which is essentially lights diffused through the fans in a way that lets them project animated holograms. It's not something that comes through super well in still photos, but it looks incredible in person, believe me.

But the hologram is more than just some throwaway GIFs that Asus is providing. When I saw this PC in New York, I was told that users can upload their own GIFs and even MP4 videos to customize it. So, you could have it loop a holographic version of Shark Tale if you really wanted it to.

Beyond the fancy hologram lighting, however, the Asus ROG GM1000 is pretty standard for a high-end gaming PC. It's a huge full tower packing up to an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card, the former of which is cooled by a huge 420mm AIO cooler. So, even without the fancy lighting, this would be an expensive gaming PC. It also weighs nearly 90 pounds, so you're going to want to make sure you have someone that can help you lift it onto your desk.

But of course, Asus hasn't shared pricing or the release date for the Asus ROG GM1000. It should make its way out over the next few months, but you should expect it to be quite expensive.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

HP is bringing a fresh slate of high-performance gear to gamers at CES 2026 and is combining two of its biggest brands, HyperX and Omen, in the process. Three new gaming laptops, four monitors, and eight peripherals were announced, including new keyboards, gaming headsets, and a flashy tournament-ready controller. And unlike what we usually see with these announcements, the emphasis isn’t just on seconds of peak performance, it’s about sustained performance.

Bringing Brands Together

HP acquired HyperX in 2021 and it seems that its two biggest brands are finally ready to converge. Its flagship line of gaming laptops have carried the Omen branding for years, but beginning in 2026 with the three laptops announced at the show, it’ll now be known as HyperX Omen.

It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean the two lines won’t still have standalone products. All of the accessories announced at the show remain purely HyperX, while gaming monitors follow the laptop naming convention.

HP seems to be leveraging HyperX’s reputation in the competitive peripheral market to emphasize the performance of its systems. Time will tell if there’s more than marketing here, but the on-paper specs of the new systems are impressive.

Three New HyperX Omen Gaming Laptops

Crowning HP’s lengthy list of new products debuting at the show are three new gaming laptops, the HyperX Omen 15, HyperX Omen 16, and HyperX Omen Max 16. Each scales in performance, weight, and assuredly price (HP hasn’t shared pricing details as of this writing), but all three offer Nvidia GeForce RTX 50-series graphics, higher power limits, improved cooling features, and enhanced durability compared to prior releases.

There are important differences between each, such that you can consider each a representative of its own product tier. The HyperX Omen 15 will be available with an entry-level Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 and steps up to an RTX 5060 and RTX 5070. The HyperX Omen 16, on the other hand, starts at the RTX 5060 and tops out at the RTX 5070. The HyperX Omen Max 16 is the only option if you want to increase performance any higher, however, with RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090 options available. Each is also available with Intel or AMD CPUs, so you’re covered whether you prefer Team Red or Team Blue.

It’s not as simple as choosing on the graphics card or processor alone, however, as each model also increases the total power ceiling. Since more wattage usually equates to more performance, the RTX 5070 and CPU combo in the HyperX Omen 15 at 170 watts (W) may not perform as well as the same hardware in the Omen 16, which can reach 200W. The Omen Max 16 raises that all the way to 300W and comes with a massive power brick that can drive 460W.

These new gaming laptops each offer OLED or IPS display options with high refresh rates. The top options for each spec come in at 3K (2,880 x 1,800) resolution, 120Hz for the Omen 15 OLED and 2.5K (2,560 x 1,600), 180Hz for IPS. The Omen 16 bumps that to 2.5K 165Hz OLED and 2.5K 240Hz IPS. The flagship Omen Max 16 ups the ante again with a 240Hz 2.5K OLED option and 3.2K (3,200 x 2,000) 240Hz with an IPS screen.

The Omen 15 and Omen 16 are the first laptops from the brand to offer 8,000 Hz polling on the keyboards, akin to HyperX’s top-tier standalone gaming keyboards. The Omen Max 16 appears to be 1,000 Hz according to documentation shared from the brand but is also claimed to be “up to 4x faster” without explaining what it was measured against.

Each model also features revised cooling solutions, a Fan Cleaner mode that aims to clear dust from its fan blades to promote better airflow, and military-standard durability testing. In combination with the higher power limits, all three aim to maintain higher performance in the moment as well as over time.

Laptops are slated to release in “early 2026.”

Four New Displays with Select HyperX ProLuma Calibration

Four new gaming monitors were also unveiled with a similar “performance tier” structure . All four promise high refresh rates and excellent, accurate picture quality. The trend toward OLED is still going strong, with three of the four featuring Quantum Dot-enhanced OLED panels and only the entry-level offering featuring an IPS screen.

That’s the HyperX Omen 24 G2. It’s a 23.8-inch 1080p monitor with a 180Hz refresh rate. It sports two HDMI 2.1 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.4 input and is rated to have a factory calibration with an average Delta E <2, generally considered the standard for creative work.

Stepping up from the are the HyperX Omen OLED 27q and HyperX Omen OLED 27qs, two 1440p QD-OLED displays with rapid refresh rates suited for esports. The 27q is the next step up from the G2 with a 240Hz refresh rate and matching Delta E <2 factory calibration. The 27qs, on the other hand, skyrockets the refresh up to 500Hz, increasing motion clarity and enhancing responsiveness. It also adds an RGB ring along the back of the screen and a USB hub for peripherals and dongles. It’s also the first in this line-up to debut HyperX ProLuma factory calibration, which promises color accuracy of Delta E <1, making it suitable for professional creative work.

The final display unveiled at CES was the HyperX Omen OLED 34, a 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor with a 360Hz refresh rate. It comes with a resolution of 3,440 x 1,400 (the ultrawide equivalent of 1440p) and a comparatively gentle 1800R curvature. Like the OLED 27qs, it also features HyperX ProLuma calibration for <1 accuracy and includes an integrated USB hub.

Keyboards, Headsets, and a High Performance Arcade Controller

Rounding out HP’s CES gaming announcements is a slate of peripherals that lean into competitive performance. Four new keyboards, three new headsets, and a competition-grade arcade controller were revealed.

For keyboards, HyperX continues to balance comfy typing and performance gaming with pleasant acoustics and customizable aesthetics. Three new entries to the Origins 2 line-up were shown, including the Origins 2 65, Origins 2 Pro 65, and the Origins 2 1800. The Origins 2 65 and Origins 2 1800 are both mechanical keyboards that offer 8,000 Hz polling, hot-swappable switches, changeable housings in black, navy, pink, and white, and bouncy o-ring mounting for cushioned keystrokes. The Origins 2 Pro 65 is the magnetic switch variant and offers adjustable actuation points and rapid trigger support through HyperX’s NGenuity software.

While the audio front is less exciting, with the HyperX Cloud Earbuds III and III S being fairly simple wired earbuds (analog and USB-C respectively), HyperX teased an upcoming collaboration with Neurable for an over-ear gaming headset. We looked at Neurable’s tech in the Master & Dynamic MW75 Neuro and were impressed with its ability to actually monitor brain activity through the ear cushions. HyperX’s headset features similar ear cushions with integrated EEG sensors, and though HP hasn’t revealed much more than that at the time of publication, how this might apply to gaming is interesting.

The HyperX Clutch Tachi is a high-spec, lightning fast arcade controller designed for competition. There are no sticks on the Clutch Tachi, but twelve buttons backed with TMR sensors and magnetic switches. According to HyperX, it’s the first arcade controller to leverage TMR technology, which offers even higher resolution than Hall Effect magnetic switches taking over PC gaming keyboards right now. It resolves down to 0.25mm with a 0.1ms response time. The controller is supported by a solid chassis with tournament standard features like customizable button mapping and multiple SOCD modes as well as an integrated wrist rest and metal construction to ensure comfort and stability throughout matches.

HP was out to impress with this line-up and offered a good mix of subtle iteration and meaningful advancements. No release dates or pricing were revealed but all products are expected to release in 2026. Stay tuned for our thoughts as we go hands-on with this gear and share even more of what CES has in store.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.

If you're anything like me, you've been in countless situations where your raid leader is yelling at you to "focus up" and "pay attention". It's something I've always struggled with, but at CES 2026, Neurable and HyperX have a concept gaming headset that might go some ways towards fixing that problem.

The gaming headset itself doesn't really have a name yet, given that it's still in its alpha phase, but what it has sensors in the earpads that can read your brainwaves, to track things like stress levels, focus and cognitive load. And what you're able to do with that data is where the actual potential is.

Brain-Powered Gaming

When I tried on this prototype headset in Las Vegas, Neurable CEO Ramses Alcaide and Research Scientist Dr. Alicia Howell-Munson had me do a run on Human Benchmark's Aim Trainer to get a baseline reading of my response time. I got a score of around 605ms – I never said I was good at shooters. But after that first run, they opened up a program that projected a bunch of dots rotating in a pattern that somehow represented my brain.

The goal, really, was to condense the dots down into a small focused circle by relaxing and hard-focusing on something, to essentially clear out my head. I sat back in the chair, took a deep breath and focused. And, well, I didn't quite get to the "pure focus" point that's intended. After all, it's CES, it's kind of hard to focus on any one thing right now.

But I did succeed in making the brain-dot-galaxy-thing smaller, which I'll take as a small win. Then, after going through that process I was told to take the Aim Trainer test again, where I ended up with a slightly better score of 559ms. That's an 8% improvement – not the best, but again, this wasn't in the most ideal environment.

How Does It Work?

Traditionally, EEG sensors that track your brain waves have been these big, bulky, science fiction looking things, that you'd typically find in a hospital or laboratory. But over the last 14 years, Neurable has been working on a way to shrink that technology down to something that can be worked into headphones. This gaming headset isn't the first time Neurable has done this, either. In 2024, the company teamed up with Master & Dynamic to make the MW75 Neuro LT, traditional headphones with the same EEG technology.

Those headphones were focused more on improving productivity, but the core concept is similar. Sensors in the earpads pick up EEG signals from your brain, which you can use to train yourself to focus better.

Usually, just having some sensors in the earpads wouldn't be enough to pick up signals from all over your brain, and this Neurable headset is no different. Instead, it picks up the signals it can read from the sides of your head and uses an AI algorithm to infer activity elsewhere in your brain. It's imperfect and probably not medically accurate, but for the purpose of training yourself to focus, it's a good place to start.

Neither Neurable nor HyperX has announced anything close to a release date, price or even whether or not this will actually make it to market. But if there's a headset that can help me focus after three hours of progression raiding, I'm at least interested.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Valve may have revolutionized mobile PC gaming with the Steam Deck, but more and more handheld gaming PCs keep coming to market, giving it some stiff competition. There are even handhelds out there like the Legion Go S that use Valve's handheld operating system but with more powerful hardware. Microsoft isn't sitting on its hands, either. The company teamed up with Asus to launch the excellent ROG Xbox Ally X, which debuts a new Xbox Full Screen Experience that should be making its way to other handhelds within the next few months. (Hopefully, Microsoft also takes that time to iron out some of the kinks with the new UX.)

TL;DR – These Are the Best Handheld Gaming PCs:

Rather than dealing with the bulk of a gaming laptop, handheld gaming PCs keep far more compact dimensions, making it easier to play from just about anywhere. Even though these devices are obviously significantly smaller than a gaming PC, it doesn’t mean they’re underpowered. Many handheld gaming PCs are packing the performance prowess to cruise through AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077. If you get sick of playing on a smaller screen, a great Steam Deck dock works seamlessly with most handheld gaming PCs so you can hook up to your gaming TV.

While we’re in the midst of a handheld gaming PC revolution, we've gotten our hands on a good chunk of these highly-capable devices. Below are the current four we deem worthy of consideration right now.

1. Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

The Best Handheld Gaming PC

2. Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS)

The Best SteamOS Handheld Gaming PC

When the Lenovo Legion Go S first came out in February 2025, it was a hot mess. The configuration Lenovo initially released was bogged down by the weak Z2 Go processor, which didn't pair well with Windows. And because it was both running Windows 11 and had 32GB of memory, this weaker handheld was just as expensive – if not moreso – than the original Legion Go that preceded it. But Lenovo has righted the ship by launching the Go S with the Z1 Extreme and SteamOS built-in.

This system is still expensive. You're looking at $829 to get this model, but that's only a bit more than the Asus ROG Ally X, which ended up being slower, if only by a bit, in my tests. When I reviewed this new Lenovo Legion Go S, the SteamOS-powered handheld beat out the Ally X in synthetic benchmarks by as much as 9%. That's not bad, considering that handheld had the performance crown before this system came out.

The elephant in the room is the Steam Deck. Even three years after its release, it's still an incredible and popular handheld, and it's not hard to see why. It's easy to use and it's literally half the price of the Go S. But not only do you get a higher resolution display with this Legion Go S, you also get as much as double the performance. I was able to get a solid 60fps playing Baldur's Gate 3, and that's something I straight up couldn't do on the Steam Deck. Whether or not that's worth the higher price tag depends entirely on what you're looking for.

A great handheld gaming system is about more than just raw performance. It also needs to be comfortable to use, and despite the sytem being one of the largest I've used – and I've used a lot of them – it's extremely comfortable. The Lenovo Legion Go S has rounded edges that give you something to hold on to, and the textured finish makes it harder to slip out of your hands.

The Go S also has one of the most beautiful LCD displays I've seen in a while and proves that OLED isn't the only way to get a great picture in 2026. It's not quite as colorful as the Steam Deck OLED, to be fair, but it still made any game I played on it look awesome.

3. Valve Steam Deck

The Best Budget Handheld Gaming PC

4. Lenovo Legion Go 2

Best Gaming Handheld With an OLED Screen

Upcoming Handheld Gaming PCs

Now that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is out, we're kind of in a holding pattern for a while. We'll probably see other handhelds using the Z2 Extreme trickle out over the next year or so. It's also likely that we'll see some Intel-powered devices featuring the new Panther Lake architecture.

Beyond that, we will probably see a Steam Deck 2 at some point, but Valve has repeatedly said that it's waiting for a "more significant" generational lift to launch its sequel. Given that the Steam Deck is nearing 4 years old, we could see a new device launch sometime next year at the earliest. We'll see!

Handheld Gaming PC FAQ

Should I buy a handheld gaming PC or a gaming laptop?

Depending on how you want to game and what games you want to play will determine whether you should grab a gaming laptop or handheld PC. Handhelds score higher points in longevity, battery life, optimization, portability, and thermals. But handhelds are only designed to play games up to a certain specification. Gaming laptops cram in the latest GPU, CPU, and RAM, likely sacrificing battery life, thermals, and price. However, some are absolute beasts ready to take on even the most graphically intensive games. Laptops offer more functionality when it comes to editing and other work.

Check out our guide on the Steam Deck vs. gaming laptops for more information.

What’s the best Steam Deck alternative?

The Lenovo Legion Go S is one of the best Steam Deck alternatives. This gaming handheld offers the same easy-to-use interface as the Steam Deck, along with speedy performance, and a stunning design. It does run into some of the same problems as the Steam Deck, notably around installing games that aren't on Steam – but you can get around that with some tinkering.

How does the Switch 2 compare to the Steam Deck?

On spec, the Switch 2 is delivers better performance than the Steam Deck. Check out our in-depth comparison to find out more.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

CES 2026 is officially here and running through January 9th, 2026. Every year, this is the show where all the latest hardware and tech goodies for the coming year are shown off – whether they're new gaming laptops or some concept that'll never actually see the light of day. There will be a lot going on, but luckily I'll be on the ground in Las Vegas, sorting through everything.

Now that the show is open, I've seen plenty of exciting new gaming tech, but the week is just starting. I'll continue to update this article as we find cool new gear and gadgets, so stay tuned.

Everything Announced So Far

A Lenovo Rollable Gaming Laptop Concept That'll Be Awesome For Big RPGs

CES is all about new and exciting ideas, even if those ideas never actually make it to market. One of the coolest things I saw at the show was a concept gaming laptop from Lenovo that starts out with a 16:9 aspect ratio, but through a rollable OLED display, can extend out to a 21:9 or a 24:9 display. There were some rough edges, as you'd expect from a prototype, but it's an awesome idea that I'd love to see work its way into an actual gaming laptop. If it ever does come out, though, brace yourself for the assuredly high price it'll command.

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 Finally Comes With SteamOS

When the Lenovo Legion Go 2 came out a few months ago, it suffered from the same problem a lot of Windows 11 handhelds have – and that's Windows. However, here at CES, Lenovo is doing the same thing it did with the Legion Go S and launching a version that comes with SteamOS. It should be a much more usable version of that handheld gaming PC, but it does come with a slightly higher entry price – $1,199 instead of $1,099.

Razer Goes Full AI

Razer, which has traditionally been known for gaming peripherals and "lifestyle products" has pulled a complete 180, launching a wide range of AI concepts and products. Key among them is a gaming headset with cameras in it, which will let you yap to an LLM about things you see, whether that's a videogame or a restaurant menu.

DLSS Multi-Frame Generation Goes Even Faster

When DLSS 4 came out with the RTX 5090 at last year's CES, its headline feature was Multi-Frame Generation, which used AI to generate up to three frames per rendered frame in PC games. This year, Nvidia launched DLSS 4.5, which improves the algorithm, and allows it to go up to 6x frame generation, generating five frames per rendered frame.

AMD Makes The Best Gaming Processor Slightly Better

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has been the best gaming processor since it came out in late 2024. We still have a while to wait until a true next-generation follow-up, but AMD is launching the Ryzen 7 9850X3D to tide us over. This is essentially the same processor, just with a 400MHz higher clock speed. That's definitely not worth upgrading to if you already have a new-ish processor, but if you've been waiting to upgrade it might be the way to go. Or at least it will be once AMD announces an actual price for it.

Intel is Making Its Own Handheld Gaming PC Processor

The AMD Z-series processors have been powering the best handheld gaming PCs for a few years now, but now Intel is throwing its hat in the ring. Team Blue told us about the Intel Core G3, a handheld-exclusive processor built on the Panther Lake architecture. We don't know anything about specs or when this will actually come out, but if it means more awesome handhelds, I'm not complaining.

Asus and Xreal Are Teaming Up to Make Ultra-Fast Gaming Glasses

XR glasses that plug into a device and act as a display have been around for a while, but they haven't exactly been good. That looks to be changing, with the Asus ROG Xreal R1 gaming glasses, which gives you a 1080p display at a 240Hz refresh rate ... that you can wear on your face. Of course, the glasses sport RGB lighting and a super angular docking solution, but that's only to be expected.

Asus Gaming PCs Are Getting Weirder – In a Good Way

You can always count on Asus to have some unique PC designs, and CES 2026 is no different. The company announced the ROG GM1000, a full-tower 90-pound behemoth of a gaming PC that has lighting tech that can project holograms through its fans. This is something I really struggled to get any kind of good photos of, but trust me that it looks really cool. Plus, Asus assured me that these holograms are customizable, allowing you to upload gifs or videos. I'll let you imagine the possibilities there.

A Dual-Screen Laptop?

The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo isn't exactly new, but at CES 2026, it's getting a radical redesign. Rather than having one large main display and then a weird small secondary display mounted above the keyboard, the new Zephyrus Duo is basically two laptop displays attached to each other, opening kind of like a Nintendo DS. Don't worry, though, you don't have to deal with a touch screen keyboard, it'll come with a detachable keyboard.

HyperX and Neurable Are Making a Brain-Scanning Gaming Headset

Do you have trouble focusing in competitive games? Well, Neurable and HyperX are collaborating on a gaming headset that uses sensors in the earcups to scan your brainwaves. It'll then use software to train you to relax and focus, so you can get locked in before your next match. This is just a concept, but Neurable has released a headset like this before, so who knows – maybe it'll actually come out.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra