HotHardware 2018 Deals And Steals Hot Tech And Gadget Gift Guide
Stocking Stuffers For Techies, Under $20
Every year, Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season seem to become more momentous. We have already seen several large retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Microsoft, Sam's Club, Staples, and Target "leak: Black Friday adds in an attempt to offer select deals early. Even with so many deals out there, however, it can be exceedingly difficult to pick the perfect gift for tech-loving friends and family. But we're here to help! This guide aims to help you pick the perfect gift by listing items that are perfect for the tech enthusiasts in your life. Of course, many of these gifts would also work well for your non-tech enthusiast friends, assuming they enjoy using electronics like smartphones or game consoles in their everyday life...
USB Keyboard Vacuum ($9.99)
Keeping your PC and keyboard clean is important if you want to keep them in good working order. This mini vacuum makes it easy to keep your devices clean and it will prove a useful tool for any tech enthusiast. In addition to pulling dirt out from between keyboard keys, this tiny vacuum is also well suited to cleaning dust out of your PC case, heatsinks, or any small crevice.
Hi-Spec 38 Pcs Tool Kit ($9.99)
A well stocked tool kit can make building or maintaining a PC significantly easier. Hi-Spec assembled this tool kit just for those that work with PC and other electronics. It has a number of small screw drivers and a magnetic precision ratcheting screwdriver. The kit includes a 110mm extension socket and heads for philips, flat, torx, hex, and triwing screws. A couple of plastic pry tools -- or spudgers -- are also included, which are extremely useful when tearing down devices such as laptops and tablets.
Steam Link ($2.50)
Grindbay USB Rechargeable AA Batteries ($13.98)
At first glance, these NH-AA lithium AA batteries may not seem like anything special, but they are unique in the world of rechargeable batteries in that they can be directly recharged via a USB port without any other accessories. This makes it easy to charge them on the go, and you won't need to remember to bring a special charger for them -- any USB Type-A port will do. Each battery has a max capacity of 1,450mAh.
Mitid RGB Wireless Keyboard W/ Touchpad ($14.99)
This device uses 2.4GHz wireless technology to communicate with a large number of USB enabled devices including TV boxes and Microsoft's Xbox One -- basically anything compatible with the USB HID standard. In addition to a full keyboard, this device also has fixed function volume buttons and a touch-pad mouse. RGB LEDs help to illuminate the buttons and make the device easier to use the dark.
Intel Wireless-AC 9560 ($14.98)
UiiSii T8 Dual-Driver Earbuds ($18.99)
UiiSii designed these headphones with two dynamic drivers. This has a significant impact on audio quality, as one driver is used exclusively for base, whereas the other driver handles everything else. The resulting reduction in distortion leads to fuller, crisper, higher-quality audio. If you know someone that needs a new set of earbuds, but you don't have too much to spend, these are an excellent option.
Sandisk Ultra 64GB Dual Drive ($18.50)
Sandisk engineered this drive with both a Type-A and Type-C male connector. This allows the drive to connect to a wider array of devices and it helps to ease the transition from traditional USB flash drives to the newer Type-C type drives. This particularl flash drive has a capacity of 64GB and it is rated to transfer data at speeds up to 150MB/s. If you know someone in need of some flexible, portable storage that can connect to just about any modern device, the large capacity and fast speed of this drive will make it the perfect gift.
Cooler Master Master Fan MF120R Air Balance ($19.99)
Cooler Master built this 120mm fan with addressable RGB LEDs. When used in conjunction with a compatible motherboard by Asus, Asrock or MSI, you can control the color and lighting effects of the fan. Cooler Master also designed the fan to be exceedingly quiet, and the company equipped it with rubber pads to reduce noise production created by vibration as well.
Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition ($9.99)
Fallout 76 is here, but to many it's a major disappointment filled with bugs and a disjointed story. If you or someone you know loved Fallout 4, but don't like the new Fallout 76, then give Fallout: New Vegas a try. As the immediate predecessor to Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas has a lot to offer including the ability to craft your own ammo and chems. You can't build your own town, but the game has a highly charged atmosphere as events escalate into a full blown war. In my personal opinion, Fallout: New Vegas also has a far better story that keeps your attention from beginning to end. As this is the Ultimate Edition of the game, you can also dig into the game's four add-ons that complement the main story and give you access to more powerful equipment.
USB Keyboard Vacuum ($9.99)
Keeping your PC and keyboard clean is important if you want to keep them in good working order. This mini vacuum makes it easy to keep your devices clean and it will prove a useful tool for any tech enthusiast. In addition to pulling dirt out from between keyboard keys, this tiny vacuum is also well suited to cleaning dust out of your PC case, heatsinks, or any small crevice.
Hi-Spec 38 Pcs Tool Kit ($9.99)
A well stocked tool kit can make building or maintaining a PC significantly easier. Hi-Spec assembled this tool kit just for those that work with PC and other electronics. It has a number of small screw drivers and a magnetic precision ratcheting screwdriver. The kit includes a 110mm extension socket and heads for philips, flat, torx, hex, and triwing screws. A couple of plastic pry tools -- or spudgers -- are also included, which are extremely useful when tearing down devices such as laptops and tablets.
Steam Link ($2.50)
Valve's Steam Link is essentially a tiny computer that lets you stream games from your desktop PC to any other screen in your house. The Steam Link has an HDMI port to connect to a TV, and it has three USB 2.0 ports as well as Bluetooth 4.0 to support a wide range of wired and wireless controllers, keyboards and mice. It's an excellent gift for any PC gamer with a massive Steam library.
Grindbay USB Rechargeable AA Batteries ($13.98)
Mitid RGB Wireless Keyboard W/ Touchpad ($14.99)
Intel Wireless-AC 9560 ($14.98)
If you or someone you know feels like their laptop's Wi-Fi is slowing them down or unreliable, then this Wi-Fi controller may be exactly what you need. Intel's Wireless-AC 9560 is one of the better mobile Wi-Fi solutions available on the market. It is capable of data transfer speeds of up to 1.73Gbps, and it supports Bluetooth 5.0 as well. Just make sure that the laptop you plan to upgrade supports M.2 Key E wireless cards, which many do.
Fenvi NGFF M.2 To PCI-E Wi-Fi Adapter ($15.99)
Fenvi NGFF M.2 To PCI-E Wi-Fi Adapter ($15.99)
This is more of a two-part gift. Whereas Intel's Wireless-AC 9560 is extraordinarily inexpensive, high-quality desktop PCI-E Wi-Fi cards are surprisingly expensive in comparison. A PCI-E Wi-Fi card capable of competing with Intel's Wireless-AC 9560 will set you back at least $50. By purchasing a simple adapter like this one in combination with Intel's Wirless-AC 9560, you can get a top-tier network solution for a much more affordable price of around $30. And it makes an excellent gift, because at the end of day, who doesn't want faster, more reliable Wi-Fi?
UiiSii T8 Dual-Driver Earbuds ($18.99)
UiiSii designed these headphones with two dynamic drivers. This has a significant impact on audio quality, as one driver is used exclusively for base, whereas the other driver handles everything else. The resulting reduction in distortion leads to fuller, crisper, higher-quality audio. If you know someone that needs a new set of earbuds, but you don't have too much to spend, these are an excellent option.
Sandisk Ultra 64GB Dual Drive ($18.50)
Cooler Master Master Fan MF120R Air Balance ($19.99)
Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition ($9.99)
Fallout 76 is here, but to many it's a major disappointment filled with bugs and a disjointed story. If you or someone you know loved Fallout 4, but don't like the new Fallout 76, then give Fallout: New Vegas a try. As the immediate predecessor to Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas has a lot to offer including the ability to craft your own ammo and chems. You can't build your own town, but the game has a highly charged atmosphere as events escalate into a full blown war. In my personal opinion, Fallout: New Vegas also has a far better story that keeps your attention from beginning to end. As this is the Ultimate Edition of the game, you can also dig into the game's four add-ons that complement the main story and give you access to more powerful equipment.
