CES 2024 has come and gone, giving us an early look at the latest developments in computers, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors, and all the wearable tech in between. Oh, and some manufacturers also heard you like AI, so they decided to hammer AI into everything. Now that the CES dust has settled, and I've had some breathing room to filter out AI and read up on the gauntlet of computer innovation that came swinging our way, it's time to reflect on the absolute best and most exciting desktop and PC components we saw at CES 2024.

1 Nvidia Super sizes its RTX 40-series GPUs

More of a price cut than a refresh, but still good

Nvidia doesn't think its competition is doing enough to rush its Blackwell GPUs yet, so it gate-crashed the CES party with its 40-series Super graphics card instead. It gave us the RTX 4070 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super, and RTX 4080 Super cards, all of which feature the same silicon that we know and love from the existing 40-series lineup. I look at this refresh as more of a price cut, as it essentially makes the new graphics cards more competitive, especially the RTX 4080 Super.

Nvidia isn't making any bold performance claims for its RTX 40-series Super GPUs. As such, you should expect an average of about 2% to 3% performance improvement in the case of the RTX 4080 Super over the RTX 4080. The RTX 4070 Ti Super, which is now getting an upgrade to the AD103 GPU like the RTX 4080, is about 10% faster than its non-Super counterpart. Lastly, the RTX 4070 Super is also about 15% faster than the regular RTX 4070, and Nvidia says it's faster than the RTX 3090. I tested the Zotac RTX 4070 Super Trinity Black Edition GPU and found it to be almost on par with my overlocked RTX 4070 Ti graphics card, which is great considering it costs $200 less.

2 Alienware 32 4K QD-OLED

The year of 4K 240Hz gaming monitors

I wrote about the monitors at CES separately, but I believe the Alienware AW3225QF 4K QD-OLED monitor deserves another shoutout. This is the only 4K QD-OLED monitor from CES that's already available to buy, while the rest are slated to be released over the coming weeks and months. It's definitely on the expensive side, but its 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh rate make it a fantastic option for both intense gaming sessions and media consumption. As much as I envy the excellent monitors companies have opted to go with, including LG's upcoming WOLED panels, which support up to 480Hz refresh rate, I'm not sure that I want to wait till Q3 2024.

3 AMD RX 7600 XT

Undercuts the RTX 4060 Ti

The $330 RX 7600 XT joins the current crop of RX 7000 series graphics cards. It employs the same GPU as the RX 7600 and the RX 7600 XT, but it comes with more VRAM than the competing products from Nvidia's lineup: 16GB of VRAM, which is more than you get with even the likes of the RTX 4060 Ti and the new RTX 4070 Super. AMD has been offering high memory capacities on relatively cheap GPUs for quite some time now, so it's not surprising to see the RX 7600 XT packing oodles of video memory. It remains to be seen how it stacks up against other available GPUs, but it should bag a comfortable spot in the market considering it's playing in Nvidia's uncharted territory.

4 AMD Ryzen 8000G APUs

Fastest iGPU in the world

AMD brought APUs back into the conversation by introducing its new Ryzen 8000G APU at CES. This combines up to eight Zen 4 CPU cores with up to a Radeon 780M mobile graphics chip that's used in handhelds like ASUS ROG Ally. AMD says the graphics chip is even faster now, and it can help its top Ryzen 8000G CPU hit 60fps in even the most demanding titles like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077.

That's only if you render them at 1080p resolution and with low graphics settings, but even that's nothing to scoff at. $330 for the top-end Ryzen 7 8700G APU isn't a bad asking price either, and I am excited to try it out. The other variants that are highlighted below get cheaper from there, so there are plenty of options for those looking to build an entry-level gaming PC for casual usage.

5 Monokei Systems

Makes me want a low-profile keyboard

Only a handful of keyboards pique my curiosity these days the way Monokei Systems does. For one, it's fully customizable despite being a low-profile keyboard, meaning you can change pretty much everything, like switches, keycaps, and more. I also like the fact that it's made by Monokei, a popular name in the mechanical keyboard space that's known for its collaborations with Singa, TGR, and the like. You know you'll get a tried-and-tested product made by people with deep roots in the enthusiast keyboard space.

Monokei has made it very easy to get onto this keyboard and swap out the components to your liking. I couldn't test this 75% keyboard personally, but my colleague João Carrasqueira, who tried it at CES, liked it so much that he wanted to take it home with him. That's coming from someone who has recently tried other low-profile mechanical keyboards like the Cherry KW X ULP.

6 Thermaltake The Tower 300

A micro-ATX tower packed with features

Not many manufacturers came out rushing with PC cases at CES 2024, but there were a few stand-outs. The one that comes to mind is Thermaltake's The Tower 300 micro-ATX case. It's an octagonal-shaped tower with tons of vents for airflow. You can even throw it on an optional stand to get additional airflow vents on the sides. It's quite the showpiece, and it's certain to become the center of attention in your setup. The best thing about this case is that it's built around the micro-ATX form factor, which has been a personal favorite for me since I built the Asus Prime AP201 PC case.

Some other highlights include a 3.9-inch LCD, tool-free panels for easy access, two pre-installed case fans, support for up to a 420mm radiator, and plenty of clearance for all the high-end components on the market. A case like this is obviously not for everyone, but it's perfect for those who are looking to build a mid-to-high-end gaming PC in 2024 and make it stand out.

Closing thoughts

CES isn't necessarily known for dishing out significant breakthroughs in the PC hardware space, but we still got plenty of exciting first looks, announcements, and more. There was a distinct lack of handheld gaming consoles at CES, with MSI Claw being the only one. But I expect more to show up over the next few months leading up to Computex, so stay tuned.