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After considering more than 400 products from over 110 manufacturers, the editorial teams of the European Hardware Association have now narrowed the field to this year’s finalists – the Best of the Best. Here, we reveal the full list of finalists, with the winners of each category set to be announced at an awards ceremony on June 1st.
On Monday, 1st June 2026, the winners of this year’s awards will be revealed at a special event hosted at the Marriott Courtyard, Nangang, Taipei – ideally located for those preparing to exhibit at Computex the following day.
With a foundation built on thousands of detailed, independent reviews – going back almost 17 years in the case of KitGuru – our awards are uniquely positioned to recognise genuine innovation, enduring quality and the products that have made the biggest impact on enthusiasts and professionals alike.
This year’s ceremony marks 12 years since the first European Hardware Awards, and the process remains as rigorous as ever. Each nomination is the result of extensive testing and real-world analysis by the editorial teams of the nine EHA member publications who, combined, represent an audience of more than 20 million readers across the continent – including Technology Insider (NL), HardwareLuxx (DE), Hardware Upgrade (IT), Geeknetic (ES), Lab501 (RO), Pure PC (PL), CowCotLand (FR), IO-Tech (FI) and, of course, KitGuru (UK).
That huge audience includes PC builders, content creators, gamers, professionals and other early adopters who rely on our insights, month in, month out, to make informed buying decisions. The value of the buying decisions influenced by recommendations from EHA publications, now totals more than £26 billion each year.
The categories have evolved over time to reflect new technologies and emerging trends, but the core voting process remains consistent: Fair, thorough and editorially independent. Products must be available in Europe and final votes are cast only after detailed analysis within each EHA member site.
Having reviewed thousands of hardware options over the past 12 months, we have now narrowed the field to this year’s finalists.
Below is the full list of nominations, sourced from high-scoring, recently completed reviews:-
| PROCESSING |
| Best Desktop CPU |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9700X |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D |
| AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus |
| Best Laptop CPU |
| AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D |
| AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 |
| Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX |
| Intel Core Ultra X7 358H |
| Intel Core Ultra X9 388H |
| Snapdragon X2 Elite |
| Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme |
| Best Smartphone SoC |
| Apple A19 |
| Apple A19 Pro |
| MediaTek Dimensity 9500 |
| Samsung Exynos 2600 |
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 |
| Best AMD ATX / Micro-ATX Motherboard |
| ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X870E Dark Hero |
| ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X870E EXTREME |
| ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X870E GLACIAL |
| GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D |
| GIGABYTE X870E AORUS PRO X3D |
| GIGABYTE X870E AORUS XTREME X3D AI TOP |
| MSI MEG X870E ACE MAX |
| MSI MEG X870E Godlike X |
| MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi |
| Best Intel ATX / Micro-ATX Motherboard |
| ASUS Pro WS W890-SAGE |
| ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z890 HERO |
| ASUS ROG STRIX B860-F GAMING WIFI |
| GIGABYTE Z890 AORUS MASTER |
| GIGABYTE Z890 AORUS XTREME AI TOP |
| MSI MAG Z890 TOMAHAWK WIFI II |
| MSI MEG Z890 ACE |
| Best AMD Mini-ITX Motherboard |
| ASUS ROG STRIX B850-I GAMING WiFi |
| ASUS ROG STRIX X870-I GAMING WIFI |
| GIGABYTE X870I AORUS PRO |
| MSI MPG B850i EDGE TI WIFI |
| MSI MPG X870I EDGE TI EVO WIFI |
| Best Intel Mini-ITX Motherboard |
| ASRock Phantom Gaming Z890i Nova WiFi |
| ASUS ROG STRIX Z890-I GAMING WIFI |
| GIGABYTE Z890I AORUS ULTRA |
| MSI MPG B860I EDGE TI WIFI |
| Best System Memory Series |
| Biwin Black Opal DW100 Series |
| CORSAIR Dominator Titanium |
| CORSAIR Vengeance RGB DDR5 |
| G.Skill Trident Z5 CK RGB |
| G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB |
| Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 RGB |
| Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 |
| Lexar ARES RGB |
| XPG LANCER RGB DDR5 |
| VISUAL |
| Best Desktop GPU |
| Radeon RX 9070 |
| Radeon RX 9070 XT |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 |
| Best Laptop GPU |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU |
| Best AMD Based Graphics Card |
| ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Taichi 16GB Series |
| ASUS TUF Gaming RX 9070 Series |
| ASUS TUF Gaming RX 9070 XT Series |
| GIGABYTE AORUS Radeon RX 9070 XT Elite |
| GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming Series |
| PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Hellhound |
| SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 9070 XT Series |
| Best NVIDIA Based Graphics Card |
| ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua OC Edition |
| ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Series |
| ASUS ROG Matrix Platinum GeForce RTX 5090 |
| MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G LIGHTNING Z |
| MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM LIQUID Series |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 FE |
| ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme INFINITY |
| Best Gaming Monitor |
| ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQWMG |
| ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN |
| GIGABYTE AORUS FO27Q5P |
| GIGABYTE MO27Q28G OLED |
| MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 |
| MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 |
| Best Professional Monitor |
| ASUS ProArt Display OLED PA27USD |
| ASUS ProArt Display OLED PA32UCDM |
| ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDPG |
| BenQ PD2770U |
| EIZO FlexScan EV2740S |
| Philips Brilliance 27E3U7903 |
| COOLING |
| Best CPU Cooler (air) |
| ARCTIC Freezer 36 |
| be quiet! Dark Rock Elite |
| be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 |
| Cooler Master V4 Alpha 3DHP |
| DeepCool Assassin VC Elite |
| FSP MP7 |
| Noctua NH-D15 G2 |
| Sudokoo SK620V |
| TRYX TURRIS 620 |
| Best CPU Cooler (water) |
| ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III / III Pro |
| ASUS ROG Ryujin III Extreme |
| ASUS ROG Ryuo IV |
| be quiet! Pure Loop 3 LX |
| be quiet! Silent Loop 3 |
| CORSAIR NAUTILUS RS ARGB |
| Lian Li HydroShift II LCD-C |
| TRYX Stage ARGB |
| Best Custom Cooling Brand |
| Alphacool |
| Aqua Computer |
| CORSAIR |
| EKWB |
| Thermal Grizzly |
| Best Thermal Interface |
| ARCTIC MX-6 |
| ARCTIC MX-7 |
| Noctua NT-H2 |
| Polartherm X-10 |
| Thermal Grizzly Duronaut |
| Thermal Grizzly KryoSheet |
| Best Fan Series |
| ARCTIC P Pro Series |
| ARCTIC P Series |
| Noctua NF G2 PWM Series |
| Seasonic MagFlow Series |
| Sudokoo Mach Series |
| STORAGE |
| Best Hard Drive |
| Seagate EXOS |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro |
| Synology HAT3310 Plus |
| WD Purple Pro |
| WD Red Plus |
| WD Red Pro |
| Best SSD |
| CORSAIR MP700 PRO XT |
| Kingston Renegade FURY G5 |
| KIOXIA EXCERIA Plus G4 |
| KIOXIA EXCERIA Pro G2 |
| Lexar NM1090 PRO |
| Samsung 9100 Pro |
| SanDisk Optimus GX Pro 8100 |
| XPG MARS 980 BLADE |
| Best NAS Device |
| ASUSTOR Flashstore 12Pro Gen 2 |
| QNAP TBS-h574TX |
| QNAP TS-432X |
| QNAP TS-h1290FX |
| Synology DiskStation DS1525+ |
| Synology DiskStation DS1823xs+ |
| Synology DiskStation DS925+ |
| UGREEN iDX6011 Pro |
| UGREEN NASync DH4300 PLUS |
| Best External Storage |
| ADATA SE880 |
| ADATA SE920 |
| Kingston XS2000 |
| KIOXIA G2 Portable |
| LaCie Rugged Pro 5 |
| LaCie Rugged SSD4 |
| MSI DATAMAG 40Gbps |
| Samsung T9 |
| CASE & PSU |
| Best ATX Case |
| Antec Flux Pro Noctua Edition |
| ARCTIC Xtender VG |
| Cooler Master Cosmos Alpha |
| Cougar FV270 |
| ENDORFY Aquarius 8000 Corona |
| HAVN BF 360 |
| HYTE X50 |
| Lian Li 217 INF |
| NZXT H9 FLOW RGB+ |
| Best Micro ATX / ITX Case |
| DeepCool CH170 Digital |
| Fractal Design Era 2 |
| NZXT H2 Flow |
| NZXT H3 Flow |
| Thermaltake The Tower 250 |
| Best PSU Series |
| Antec Signature |
| be quiet! Dark Power 14 |
| be quiet! Power Zone 2 |
| Cooler Master X Silent |
| CORSAIR HX Shift |
| FSP MEGA GM |
| FSP MEGA Ti |
| MSI MPG AI1600TS |
| Seasonic PRIME TX |
| PERIPHERALS |
| Best Gaming Mouse |
| ASUS ROG Harpe II Ace |
| be quiet! Dark Perk Series |
| CORSAIR Sabre V2 Pro Wireless MG |
| ENDORFY LIV Plus Wireless |
| Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE |
| Razer Viper V3 Pro |
| Razer Viper V4 Pro |
| Best Gaming Keyboard |
| ASUS ROG AZOTH 96 HE |
| ASUS ROG Falcata |
| ASUS ROG Falchion Ace 75 HE |
| be quiet! Dark Mount |
| CORSAIR Galleon 100SD |
| CORSAIR K100 AIR WIRELESS RGB |
| CORSAIR MAKR Pro 75 |
| Glorious GMMK 3 Pro HE |
| Keychron K2 HE |
| Keychron K5 Max QMK/VIA Low Profile |
| Keychron Q1 HE |
| Best Router |
| ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 |
| ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE19000AI |
| ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 |
| ASUS ZenWiFi BT10 |
| FRITZ!Box 4690 |
| FRITZ!Box 5690 Pro |
| FRITZ!Box 7690 |
| TP-Link Archer BE800 |
| Best Gaming / Office Chair |
| Fractal Design Refine Mesh |
| HATOR Arc 3 |
| LiberNova Omni |
| noblechairs EPIC |
| noblechairs HERO |
| Sharkoon Office Pal C20 |
| Best Streaming Equipment |
| CORSAIR Galleon 100SD |
| Elgato Game Capture 4K X |
| Elgato Stream Deck + |
| Elgato Stream Deck + XL |
| AUDIO |
| Best Gaming Headset |
| ASUS ROG Kithara |
| Endorfy Viro Plus USB |
| Fractal Design Scape |
| HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 |
| Logitech G Astro A30 LIGHTSPEED |
| Sharkoon Skiller SGH40 |
| SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite |
| Best Headphone |
| Apple AirPods Max 2 |
| ASUS ROG Kithara |
| Bowers & Wilkins PX8 s2 |
| Fosi Audio I5 |
| Fractal Design Scape |
| Kiwi Ears Serene |
| Nothing Headphone (1) |
| Sony WH-1000XM6 |
| Best Earphones |
| Apple AirPods Pro 3 |
| ASUS ROG Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds |
| Creative Aurvana Ace 2 |
| Edifier NeoDots TWS |
| HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 5 |
| Kiwi Ears Astral |
| Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro |
| Sony WF-1000XM6 |
| Yanyin Canon Pro |
| Best Speakers |
| Creative Pebble Nova |
| Edifier MR3 |
| Edifier MR5 |
| Edifier QR65 |
| Edifier S880DB MKII |
| Kanto Audio REN |
| SYSTEMS |
| Best Mini-PC |
| ARCTIC Senza AI 370 |
| ASUS Ascent GX10 |
| ASUS NUC 15 Pro+ |
| ASUS NUC 16 Pro |
| ASUS ROG GR70 |
| Geekom A9 Max |
| Lenovo Yoga Mini I |
| MSI Cubi NUC AI 1UMG |
| Best Gaming Desktop System |
| CyberPowerPC PBM U97 PZ |
| Cybertek Celeste |
| GIGABYTE AORUS Prime 5 |
| MSI MEG Vision X AI 2nd |
| PCSpecialist Luna Recon Master |
| Best Notebook (non-gaming) |
| Acer TravelMate P6 14 AI |
| Apple MacBook Neo |
| ASUS ExpertBook Ultra |
| ASUS ProArt P16 OLED |
| ASUS ProArt PX13 GoPro Edition |
| ASUS Zenbook A14 |
| ASUS Zenbook A16 |
| ASUS Zenbook DUO |
| Geekom Geekbook X14 Pro |
| HP ZBook Ultra G1a |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Ultra |
| MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ |
| Best Gaming Notebook |
| Acer Predator Helios 16 AI |
| Acer Predator Helios 18 AI |
| Alienware 16 Area 51 |
| ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 |
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 |
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 |
| Dream Machines RT5090-16PL32 |
| GIGABYTE GAMING A16 |
| HP OMEN MAX 16 |
| Lenovo Legion 9 |
| MSI Raider A18 HX |
| MSI Titan 18 HX AI |
| Best Creator Laptop |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2026) |
| ASUS ProArt P16 OLED |
| ASUS ProArt PX13 GoPro Edition |
| ASUS Zenbook DUO |
| GIGABYTE Aero X16 |
| MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ |
| Best AI Laptop |
| ASUS ProArt P16 OLED |
| ASUS ProArt PX13 GoPro Edition |
| ASUS Zenbook A14 |
| ASUS Zenbook A16 |
| ASUS Zenbook DUO |
| Lenovo Legion 9 |
| MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ |
| MSI Titan 18 HX AI |
| Best Gaming Console / Handheld |
| ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X |
| Lenovo Legion Go 2 |
| Lenovo Legion Go S |
| MSI Claw 8 |
| Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Valve Steam Deck OLED |
| MOBILE / SMART LIVING |
| Best Smartphone |
| Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max |
| Google Pixel 10 Pro |
| HONOR Magic 8 Pro |
| Nothing Phone 4(a) PRO |
| OPPO Find X9 Pro |
| Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
| Vivo X300 Pro |
| Best Wearable |
| Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro |
| Apple Watch 11 |
| HUAWEI WATCH GT 6 Pro |
| HUAWEI WATCH Ultimate 2 |
| Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 |
| BEST VALUE CATEGORIES |
| Best Value CPU |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7500F |
| AMD Ryzen 5 9600X |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9700X |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 225F |
| Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus |
| Best Value Graphics Card |
| ASUS Prime GeForce RTX 5070 OC Edition |
| GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9060 XT Gaming OC 16G |
| MSI GeForce RTX 5070 12G Ventus 2X OC |
| Palit RTX 5060 Ti INFINITY 3 OC 16GB |
| PNY GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Triple Fan Plus |
| PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 Hellhound |
| ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5070 SOLID |
| Best Value Motherboard |
| ASRock B850 Steel Legend WiFi |
| ASUS TUF Gaming B650E-E WiFi |
| MSI B850MPOWER |
| MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI |
| Sapphire Nitro+ B850A WiFi 7 |
| Best Value Memory Series |
| CORSAIR Vengeance NON-RGB DDR5 |
| Kingston FURY Beast |
| Lexar ARES RGB |
| Netac Z RGB DDR5 |
| Patriot Viper Elite 5 Ultra Series |
| Best Value Internal Storage |
| Acer FA300 |
| ADATA Legend 900 Pro |
| Kingston KC3000 |
| Kingston NV3 |
| KIOXIA EXCERIA PLUS G4 |
| SanDisk Optimus GX Pro 8100 |
| XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE |
| XPG MARS 980 BLADE |
| Best Value Cooling Solution |
| ARCTIC Freezer 36 |
| ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III / III Pro |
| be quiet! Pure Loop 3 |
| be quiet! Pure Rock Pro 3 |
| Cooler Master V4 Alpha 3DHP |
| CORSAIR Nautilus 360 RS |
| Montech NX600 Air Cooler |
| Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE |
| Best Value PSU Series |
| ADATA XPG Core Reactor II VE |
| be quiet! Pure Power 13 M |
| CORSAIR Rme |
| ENDORFY Supremo FM6 |
| FSP Mega |
| FSP Vita GM |
| LC-Power LC P2 3.1 |
| Seasonic CORE |
| Best Value Case |
| Cooler Master QUBE 540 |
| CORSAIR 3200D RS ARGB |
| CORSAIR Frame 4000D RS ARGB |
| CORSAIR Frame 4500X |
| DeepCool CH690 |
| Fractal Design Pop 2 Air RGB |
| Montech KING 65 Pro |
| PHANTEKS XT M3 |
| Sharkoon AK7 ARGB |
| Thermalright A70 Vision |
| XPG VALOR AIR NANO |
| Best Value Gaming Keyboard |
| CORSAIR K55 RGB Pro XT |
| Dark Project ALU87A |
| ENDORFY Thock V2 Series |
| Epomaker TH108 Pro |
| HATOR Skyfall MAG Ultima 8K |
| HATOR Skyfall Pro Series |
| MSI FORGE GK600 TKL |
| Best Value Gaming Mouse |
| ENDORFY LIV Plus Wireless Onyx |
| Epomaker Click |
| HATOR Quasar 3 Ultra 8K |
| Logitech G305 Lightspeed |
| MCHOSE A7 V2 PRO |
| Sharkoon FIREGLIDER One |
| Sharkoon SGM50W |
| Best Value Gaming Monitor |
| AOC AGON PRO AG276QZD2 |
| ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQWMG |
| GIGABYTE MO27Q2 |
| GIGABYTE MO27Q28G |
| GIGABYTE MO27U2 |
| iiyama GB2791QSU-B1 |
| KTC H27E6 |
| LC-Power LC-M27UFD |
| LG UltraGear 27G850A-B |
| MSI Gaming MAG 245F X24 |
| Best Value Laptop |
| Acer Aspire Go 15 |
| Acer Nitro V 16 AI |
| Apple MacBook Neo |
| ASUS V16 Gaming |
| ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED |
| Lenovo LOQ 15i Gen 10 |
| PCSpecialist Lafite AI AMD |
| Best Value Desktop System |
| CyberPowerPC PBM U97 PZ |
| Geekom A6 |
| Lenovo LOQ Tower Gen 10 |
| PCSpecialist TOPAZ NOVA R |
| Best Value Smartphone |
| Google Pixel 10 |
| Google Pixel 9a |
| HONOR 600 Lite |
| Nothing Phone (4a) |
| Poco M8 Pro |
| Xiaomi 15T |
| OVERALL |
| Best Gaming Product |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D |
| Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE |
| MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G LIGHTNING Z |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 FE |
| Best Overclocking Product |
| ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 16GB GDDR7 OC |
| ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z890 APEX |
| MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G LIGHTNING Z |
| Noctua NH-D15 G2 |
| Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut Extreme |
| Thermal Grizzly DeltaMate GPU Block |
| Thermal Grizzly WireView Pro II |
| Best AI Hardware Solution (Consumer) |
| AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395 |
| ASUS Zenbook A14 |
| ASUS Zenbook A16 |
| GIGABYTE AI TOP Atom |
| NVIDIA DGX Spark |
| Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme |
| Best New Technology |
| AMD FSR 4.1 |
| GIGABYTE X3D Turbo Mode 2.0 |
| NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 |
| NVIDIA DLSS 5 |
| OpenClaw |
| Samsung QD-OLED Y26 |
| Product of the Year |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D |
| AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D |
| Apple MacBook Air M5 |
| ASUS ExpertBook Ultra |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus |
| MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G LIGHTNING Z |
