CCL Staff Picks Spotlight: This Week’s Top Tech You Need to See

I swapped in the MasterLiquid 360 Atmos ARGB cooler last week, and the difference was immediately noticeable. This 360mm AIO handles my overclocked CPU like a champ – it even kept an Intel i9-13900K “power beast” under control in tests. The triple SickleFlow Edge fans ramp up to 2500 RPM for heavy loads, yet the noise stays impressively low. Build quality feels premium: Cooler Master’s refined dual-chamber pump design and sturdy tubing give me confidence in its reliability (it’s backed by a 5-year warranty, with the pump rated for 210,000 hours MTBF). I love the little extras too – the pump’s top cover is fully customisable. I 3D-printed a custom logo badge for it, snapped it on, and the ARGB lighting made my rig pop with a personal touch. Installation was a breeze; the kit included brackets for both AMD AM5 and Intel LGA1700 sockets, and the clear instructions meant I was up and running in no time. In daily use, my CPU temps are way down and my system stays whisper-quiet even under stress. Who is it for? PC enthusiasts and overclockers who want high-end cooling performance without noise, plus a bit of creative flair. Honestly, the only “con” I’ve found is that the 360mm radiator needs a roomy case – but if you’ve got the space, the Atmos 360 is so worth it. It’s a fantastic value around the £100 mark for this level of cooling prowess, and it keeps even high-end builds running cool and stable. I couldn’t be happier with this upgrade!

2. Horizon Ryzen 7 RTX 5060 Ti Pre-built Gaming PC

As a gamer who doesn’t always have time to build a PC from scratch, I was thrilled with this Horizon Ryzen 7 RTX 5060 Ti pre-built system. Right out of the box, it’s running Windows 11 Home on an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X (8-core, 16-thread) processor, with a generous 32GB of DDR4 memory and a fast 2TB NVMe SSD. In practise, that means butter-smooth multitasking and virtually no load times – I can have games, streaming, and Discord all going with zero hiccups. The GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB GPU surprised me with its punch: it delivers fantastic frame rates at 1080p ultra settings and even holds its own at 1440p. I fired up the latest titles and got silky gameplay plus ray tracing, and with DLSS 4 support I’m squeezing even more performance in supported games. It’s housed in a Montech AIR 903 case with mesh panels, and the three front ARGB fans not only keep it cool but make it look like a light show. Cable management inside is tidy – clearly assembled by folks who care. The Ryzen 7 CPU is kept cool with a GameMax Sigma tower cooler, and even under long gaming sessions the system stayed quiet and frosty. I appreciate that they included Wi-Fi (433 Mbps) onboard, handy for my setup. Another big plus: this PC comes with a 3-year collect-and-return warranty, serviced by MendIT. That kind of aftercare gives me peace of mind that if anything goes wrong, I’m covered. In terms of value, it was originally £1,299 but at around £999 now it feels like a steal for the specs and build quality. To put it in perspective, a similar DIY build wouldn’t save much once you factor in Windows and the warranty. If I had to nitpick a “con,” I’d say the RTX 5060 Ti (being a mid-range card) is best suited for Full HD or QHD gaming – 4K would be a stretch – but that’s exactly what this system is marketed for. Overall, this Horizon PC is ideal for gamers who want a hassle-free package that’s powerful yet affordable. It’s been an absolute joy to game on – truly plug, play, and dominate.

3. iiyama ProLite XCB3494WQSN 34" 1440p Curved Monitor

I never realised how much a 34-inch ultrawide curved screen would transform my setup until I started using the ProLite XCB3494WQSN. This monitor’s 3440×1440 UWQHD resolution and 21:9 aspect ratio provide an expansive field of view – whether I’m gaming, watching movies, or multitasking with spreadsheets, the immersion is real. The 1500R curve is just right: content wraps around my vision slightly, which reduces eye strain and really pulls me into games and videos. As a gamer, I appreciate the 120Hz refresh rate and FreeSync support – gameplay feels fluid with no tearing, and the response time is an impressive 0.4ms (with overdrive) so there’s virtually no ghosting. I tested it with a few fast-paced titles and was delighted by the smooth motion and vibrant colours from the VA panel (the contrast is excellent, blacks are deep for dark scenes). 

What really sets this iiyama apart are its productivity features. It has a built-in KVM switch and USB-C dock, which has been a game-changer for my work setup. I have my personal desktop and a work laptop both hooked up – with one button, I can switch the display and also swap my keyboard/mouse between the two machines. The single USB-C connection charges my laptop, drives the display, and even provides a wired network via the monitor’s RJ-45 port – all with one cable! It seriously declutters my desk. There’s also a 150mm height-adjustable stand plus tilt, so it was easy to get a comfortable ergonomic position. Build quality feels solid; the design is sleek with thin bezels, and it even includes a pair of decent stereo speakers (handy for quick videos or calls). A couple of minor cons: it’s not a HDR display and only hits about 300 nits brightness, so it’s not the brightest for HDR content (which it doesn’t officially support anyway). But for daily use and gaming, it looks fantastic. Also, the VA panel’s viewing angles are good but not IPS-level – not an issue when you’re sitting centred at this wraparound screen. All in all, the ProLite XCB3494WQSN is perfect for both work and play. It delivers an immersive gaming experience and boosts my productivity during the workday. If you want a do-it-all ultrawide without breaking the bank, this is a top pick.

4. 500GB Crucial BX500 2.5" SATA III SSD

Upgrading an older PC with the Crucial BX500 SSD was like giving it a new lease on life. This 500GB drive may be a budget SSD, but it delivers solid performance where it counts: up to 540 MB/s read and 500 MB/s write speeds. In real-world terms, my Windows boot time went from over a minute on an old hard disk to about 15 seconds on the BX500. Launching applications and games feels snappy and responsive – no more waiting around for files to load. Installation was straightforward: it’s a standard 2.5" SATA drive, so I just popped it into a spare drive bay and connected a SATA cable. If you’re cloning from an existing drive, Crucial even provides Acronis True Image software to make data transfer easy (I appreciated that as a non-painful process).

Despite its value price, the build quality seems fine – it’s a lightweight plastic casing (pretty normal for SSDs) but since there are no moving parts, it’s plenty durable for everyday use. One thing I love is that it runs cool and completely silent, unlike a spinning HDD. I’ve now used it for a few weeks as a game drive and haven’t had a single hiccup. It also comes with a 3-year warranty, which is reassuring for a budget-friendly model. Speaking of budget, this drive is extremely affordable. Of course, being SATA III, it’s not as blisteringly fast as NVMe SSDs, but in practise it’s still 3–5 times faster than a typical HDD in throughput (and even more in random access). The only real “con” to note is the lack of DRAM cache on the BX500 series, which means if you do very large file transfers its write speeds can slow down once the SLC cache is exhausted. But for everyday OS usage, gaming, or moderate workloads, you’d hardly notice that. Overall, the Crucial BX500 is perfect for anyone upgrading from a hard drive or adding affordable storage. It’s reliable, easy to install, and gives an immediate performance boost – an absolute no-brainer upgrade for the price.

5. AMD Ryzen 7 7700X – 8 Core / 16 Thread AM5 CPU

As a self-professed PC hardware nerd, trying out the Ryzen 7 7700X was a real treat – this chip absolutely tears through tasks. With 8 cores and 16 threads on the new Zen 4 architecture, it’s a multitasking monster. I do a mix of gaming, streaming, and video editing, and this CPU handles everything without breaking a sweat. Out of the box, it’s clocked at 4.5 GHz base with boost up to 5.4 GHz, and you feel that snappy responsiveness in every application. In gaming, the 7700X shines – I paired it with a high-end GPU, and it consistently pushes out high frame rates. Compared to my previous processor (a Ryzen 5), I noticed heavier games and simulation titles now run noticeably smoother, especially when streaming or running background apps concurrently. It helps that AMD has significantly improved single-core performance with this generation, making the 7700X a dominant gaming processor (rivalling Intel’s i7 chips) while still offering strong productivity performance.

One big advantage is the new AM5 platform. I installed the 7700X on a X670E motherboard with DDR5 memory, and the bandwidth and responsiveness are fantastic. This CPU also supports PCIe Gen 5.0, which means I’m ready for the next wave of GPUs and SSDs. Even though those devices are just emerging, it’s nice knowing my system is future-proof for the next few years. Another neat feature: the Ryzen 7700X has a basic Radeon iGPU built-in, so if my discrete GPU ever needs troubleshooting, I still have display output – a small perk, but it came in handy once already. The chip’s 105W TDP does mean it benefits from a good cooler (and note: it doesn’t include a stock cooler in the box). I used a decent tower cooler (and later tested with the MasterLiquid Atmos AIO from above), and temps stayed under control even in sustained loads. For builders, this CPU was easy to drop in and get going – AMD’s AM5 socket uses an LGA design now, which felt secure and was simple to work with. In terms of reliability, I’ve had zero issues; it’s been rock-solid stable through long rendering sessions. Given the performance, the price point around £250 is very reasonable. You’re getting near top-of-the-line speed without paying flagship premiums. Ideal for: gamers who also do content creation or heavy multitasking. I honestly struggle to find a “con” – perhaps just that you’ll need a new AM5 motherboard and DDR5 RAM (can’t reuse older stuff), but that’s expected with a next-gen CPU. Overall, the Ryzen 7 7700X is an awesome CPU – blazing fast, efficient for its output, and a great investment if you’re building a modern PC that’ll last years.

6. ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 ROG Astral OC 32GB GDDR7 GPU

Let me start by saying: the RTX 5090 ROG Astral OC is an absolute beast of a graphics card. As a lifelong enthusiast, I was like a kid on Christmas unboxing this – the card is huge, nearly four slots thick, and exudes premium ROG quality. ASUS wasn’t kidding about reinventing cooling: this is their first-ever quad-fan graphics card, with three fans on the front and a bonus hidden fan on the backplate for extra airflow. The heatsink beneath is massive, featuring a patented vapour chamber and even a special phase-change thermal pad to keep the GPU as cool as possible. In my testing, the Astral’s cooler is remarkably effective – despite the GPU’s extreme power, my temperatures remained lower than I expected even under full load, and noise levels were surprisingly reasonable (the four fans work efficiently, so they don’t have to spin as fast to move air).

Performance-wise, this RTX 5090 is an absolute monster. With 32 GB of brand-new GDDR7 memory and the NVIDIA “Blackwell” GPU architecture, it chews through games and workloads without breaking a sweat. I’m gaming at 4K (and even dabbling in 8K on a couple of titles), everything maxed out, ray tracing on, and it’s still pushing crazy high frame rates. It’s honestly overkill for my 1440p ultrawide – this card begs for the highest resolutions. Creative tasks are a joy too: I do 3D rendering and the CUDA core count plus that huge VRAM buffer means I can throw large scene files at it and it gobbles them up. One thing I noticed is the improved DLSS 4. With the RTX 5090’s new Tensor cores and DLSS 4.0, games that support it can get even higher FPS with AI upscaling – the results look fantastic, and it’s essentially free performance. The card is factory overclocked (“OC Edition”) and you can tell – it boosts insanely high out of the box, yet remained stable. For those who like tweaking, ASUS’s GPU Tweak III software lets you fine-tune to your heart’s content, but honestly I’m already thrilled with the performance as is.

The Astral’s design is also worth praising. It has a die-cast metal frame and backplate that make it feel robust (and likely help prevent PCB sag given its heft). There’s tasteful ARGB lighting along the shroud’s edges – it’s not too gaudy, just a nice glow that you can sync with your build. Using it daily, the only real cons come down to practicalities: it’s huge and power-hungry. You’ll need a spacious case and a beefy PSU (ASUS even suggests their Thor 1200W – I’m using a quality 1000W and it’s okay, but 1200W+ is safer). And of course, the price tag is as massive as the card – we’re talking on the order of £2,800 currently. This is truly enthusiast-level, no two ways about it. But if you demand the absolute best and have the budget, the RTX 5090 Astral delivers in spades. It’s built for extreme gaming, VR, and content creation without compromise. I’ve been running Microsoft Flight Simulator at max settings in 4K with complex add-ons – a notoriously heavy load – and I’m still hitting smooth framerates that seemed impossible before. In summary, the ROG Astral RTX 5090 is a technical masterpiece. It’s ideal for those who want top-of-the-line performance and are willing to invest for it. Just make sure your case can fit this goliath and your wallet can handle the damage – if so, you will not be disappointed by what is arguably the most powerful GPU on the planet right now.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this week’s Staff Picks! We hope you enjoyed our personal insights on these products. Stay tuned for next week’s picks – our team loves sharing the latest and greatest deals or hidden gems in tech. If you don’t want to miss out on future recommendations, special deals, and awesome competitions, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow CCL on social media. Happy computing!