That’s what our tech editors want for Christmas

FYNG Bells, Oh Eldenbaum, All I want for Christmas is Half Life 3, Jingle Spells – it’s December and the usual Christmas carols ring through the sacred GameStar halls. Most of us have been good all year round, have kindly said please and thank you and now hope that there will be one or two packages under the Christmas tree for you too. We asked our tech editors what’s at the top of their wish list. And the answers could not be more varied.

Fitbit Sense 2 against the home office rut

Sandra: This year I became very aware of one thing: I hardly move or don’t move at all during my working hours in the home office. No way to work, I don’t even go to the bakery or take my imaginary dog ​​for a walk – it used to be more pleasant with Nintendogs. But sitting in front of my PC for eight hours and then playing four to five more is not necessarily good for my health – and I notice that. I need constant reminders to exercise and drink enough, so I see potential in a smart watch.

For my Android phone, the Fairphone 4, I need a small watch that will take care of me like you Tamagotchi. The Fitbit Sense 2, which was released this year, comes into question for me. For me, it offers the most added value due to its huge range of functions and the fact that I can achieve milestones a la Animal Crossing every day and be rewarded for doing so. ECG, sleep analysis, step tracking, Google Maps – I hope that this will enable me to achieve a better work-life balance!

Fractal Design Mini-ITX case for tinkering

Nils: I love my current Mini-ITX PC with the Fractal Design Node 202 case. It is not only beautifully compact, but also barely audible. But looking at the new Ridge case makes me itchy to build a new PC with it. Take a look for yourself in the accompanying trailer:

For perhaps the most stylish PC in console format to date – Fractal Design introduces the new Mini-ITX case Ridge

Admittedly, assembling such compact models is much more “fiddly” than with a case of classic size for ATX mainboards. But that also makes the whole thing more appealing because it is less trivial to find the optimal solution for your own hardware.

Speaking of “own hardware”: Since my PC is now almost four years old, there is more than enough scope for upgrading outside of the case. I don’t need a lot of power for games because I primarily play the frugal League of Legends. Lately, however, I’ve been editing videos more and more often, and a CPU with as many cores as possible, a fast PCIe 4.0 SSD and more RAM would definitely come in handy for me.

Reason tells me that I don’t necessarily need a new PC. But I really enjoy choosing new components and installing them myself – and you can treat yourself to that every four years. Sooner or later I will definitely use the Ridge case – unless an (even) more stylish alternative appears by then.

Balcony power plant for everyone: solar cash with a savings function

Frederic: do you know that When asked what I wish for, I always fall into the inner conflict between “I already have everything and others need it more urgently than I do” and “everything I wish for would be far too expensive for a gift” . Ultimately, however, there is one topic that particularly aroused my enthusiasm this year: balcony power plants.

Not only did I talk about it with colleagues, acquaintances or our forest and meadow electrician and researched for umpteen hours, I also made the decision that we should have solar on the roof of our house. A balcony power plant saves energy costs, is environmentally friendly and is a worthwhile investment, especially for someone like me who works a lot from home.

Up to $200 a year remaining in my wallet is not unrealistic. Luckily, one half of the roof faces southwest, so placing it there gets a lot of sun. Thankfully, balcony power plants are now also slightly cheaper in winter due to lower demand. So if you want to do something good for yourself, the environment and your wallet, you are welcome to put a few solar panels under the Christmas tree.

Logitech G733 headset against cable clutter

Simon: For me, the year 2022 was completely under the zodiac sign of wireless headphones. While the clutter of cables in my jacket pocket was somehow part of it since the days of my first MP3 player, about six months ago I realized with some delay how much quality of life Bluetooth headphones actually bring with them.

After the Corona years left their mark on me and I had to get in shape again, I decided to buy wireless earbuds to get myself going with the right acoustics. On the shelves of my local MediaMarkt, my choice fell on the inexpensive JBL Wave 200 Earbuds.

From now on, I could listen to my favorite podcasts while cooking, fall asleep to the relaxing sounds of rain, or use the Doom soundtrack to push myself to new athletic heights.

For my favorite hobby, I would also like a wireless gaming headset so that I can still talk to my Discord or TeamSpeak mates while I’m making a coffee or getting some fresh air on my balcony.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 for work and play

Soren: I wouldn’t have believed that to be possible just a few months ago, but since my review of the Surface Pro 9 I’ve fallen head over heels in love with the hybrid series from Microsoft! So much so that when I return my rental device, I will open my wallet myself and put a copy under the Christmas tree.

Why, why, why – to find out in detail, you can read my test report with some Christmas tea and a few cookies. However, there will be a difference when I buy it privately: instead of the high-end Core i7 model, the cheaper variant with a Core i5 will probably be enough for me, the notebook-tablet hybrid also performs excellently.

In addition, there is enough money left over to buy a keyboard and pen at the same time. Without the – unfortunately expensive – accessories, working with the Surface Pro 9 is only half as much fun. Who knows, maybe this will finally help me improve my awful handwriting, too, although… well, the train has finally left!

A dream of an OLED gaming monitor

In him: Yes, the 42 OLED incher may be a bit “over the top” and also much too expensive for me, but this is about wishes and one can still dream. I’ve had this gaming monitor as a review unit for about a month and a half and I’m still a bit behind on it. Especially when I look at my own ancient monitor, which has a nasty, squishy loose connection on the power connector on the back. Turning the part on or even moving it every time feels like I’m stepping on Thor’s toes personally, because he acknowledges every wrong movement with electricity spattering. In short: It’s a matter of time before I (urgently) need a new gaming monitor, because every test monitor has to go back to the manufacturer at some point.

Since my budget will hardly be enough for the desired Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ, I’m already looking for alternatives. A remote control like the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ would be e.g. B. really great. And a similarly high viewing angle stability and color fidelity, glare-free, 4K, G-Sync, low input lag, short response time, good speakers, sufficient brightness (I like to leave the blinds up sometimes) and at least 32 inches. But cheap please. It can’t be that hard, can it?

Alternatively, the Asus ROG Strix XG438Q would also be nice and even around 1,000 dollars cheaper than the Asus ROG Swift PG42UQ. Lol, what a sum that is… Even if buying is not an option for me, I wish it could be done.

This gamepad has been haunting me for years!

Maximilian: I’ve been looking at this controller over and over since the first generation and then end up not buying it. Because the normal controller is enough and still works perfectly. But the temptation remains, because anyone who has ever held the controller in their hands will immediately feel the value compared to the original.

Because of the rubberized grips, it feels better and more non-slip than the bare plastic of the normal Xbox controller. I personally like the higher weight compared to the original. One of the reasons for this is the built-in battery, which lasts up to 40 hours. There is also a charging station on which you can place the pad when you are not playing. For loading, it automatically slides into the correct position using a magnet. So you don’t have to fiddle around with cables anymore and you don’t have to be afraid that you have placed the pad incorrectly.

But by far the best part is the configurability. You can choose from different thumbsticks in different shapes and heights and swap them out with ease. You can also replace the control pad with a round stick in no time at all. But that’s not all! You can adjust the resistance of the sticks and adjust how far the triggers can be pressed. If the existing buttons are not enough for you, you can plug in up to four “pedals” on the back, which you can easily reach with your middle or ring finger.

All of this is not necessary for gambling, but wishes are also there to treat yourself to something that you don’t necessarily need, but definitely want to have. Maybe the controller will end up under my tree this year.