PC Gamer Hardware Awards: 2025's wildcards—the best of the rest is full of surprises
Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2025 coverage.
My favourite hardware award category is the wildcard by a wide margin. Each year, all bets are off for what to expect from these nominations, and every now and then you may even come face to face with some tech that makes you go, "They make those, now? What a time to be alive!"
Suffice to say, the wildcards are full of surprises, shining a spotlight on the hardware hits that otherwise don't neatly fit into another award category. Your best graphics cards and your best handheld gaming PC are all well and good, but the best gaming router is a decidedly more niche category that doesn't always enjoy quite the same amount of fanfare.
But don't worry, this year's category isn't two kind of good gaming routers and a gaggle of Mesh Wi-Fi devices—though, spoiler alert, the TP-Link Deco BE68 BE14000 does actually feature below. If you're wondering "But why?" or even "Wait, what exactly is a mesh Wi-Fi device anyway?" then read on—there's plenty more insightful surprises among this year's wildcard nominees.
Best of the rest 2025: the nominees
TP-Link Deco BE68 BE14000
For anyone unfamiliar with mesh Wi-Fi devices, the opening paragraph of Nick's TP-Link Deco BE68 BE14000 review breaks it down beautifully. He writes, "They're really just two or more 'routers' that can transfer data between themselves, allowing for a greater wireless coverage in your house. I say 'routers' because that's just one part of what's inside: you've also got a WAP (wireless access point) and a network switch."
So, in short, they're great for extending the range and coverage of your existing at-home Wi-Fi network. If you happen to live in a historic building with who-knows-what in the walls killing off your download speeds, they're great—and the TP-Link Deco BE68 BE14000 impressed in particular thanks to not only its truly massive 8,100 square feet of coverage, but also because of its high transfer speeds and full Wi-Fi 7 spec.
With internet speeds and setups being so variable, this could be the hero you need… though unfortunately, its services come at a steep cost.
Read our full TP-Link Deco BE68 BE14000 review.
Thermal Grizzly Der8enchtable
Of all of our nominations, this is definitely the most 'out, standing in its field' of the wildcards. As Nick explains in his Thermal Grizzly Der8enchtable review, "It's simply an open-platform circuit board that you can connect a motherboard to, and separately control fans, pumps, and lights; it also provides external storage options so you don't have to use those on the motherboard."
While definitely a boon to anyone who tests motherboards for a living, or those who simply love to tinker and overclock their tech, this bit of kit is otherwise a bit niche for most PC gamers… not to mention the almost $270 asking price. On the other hand, it's kind of wonderful that such a niche bit of hardware with a clear, and very narrow use case exists.
Read our full Thermal Grizzly Der8enchtable review.
Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC
"A gamepad?" you may ask, before quipping, "How conventional!" And to be fair, this is perhaps the most sensible nomination out of all of our wildcards. However, when you're going for pro, you've got to go the distance.
The Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K is definitely a PC controller that commits all the way. Enjoying a thoroughly ridiculous 8,000 Hz polling rate, plus TMR thumbsticks alongside Hall effect triggers, this gamepad likely won't be what holds you back in competitive play.
If there are any drawbacks to speak of, it's clearly the price, which, at $200, is a king's ransom for a controller. You can rest assured you're getting a premium-feeling, and robust build quality for the money that will no doubt last you many more awards seasons to come.
Read our full Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC review.
And those are the three wildcard nominations for 2025. Though each bit of kit is definitely for someone, which will claim the crown? You won't have to wait long for the answer, as we'll announce the winners on New Year's Eve.