Inside Scoop: The Gear Our Team Can’t Stop Talking About

I picked the CiT Galaxy Mid Tower Case as our budget PC case of the week because it delivers unbelievable value for gamers on a tight budget. At just £29.99, this ATX chassis offers features you’d expect from more expensive cases: a tempered glass side panel and even some RGB bling. The Galaxy sports a slick all-black exterior with a carbon-fibre texture and an angled RGB LED strip on the front that gives it a fun, futuristic vibe. Despite the low price, the build quality impressed us – the steel frame feels sturdy enough (no flimsy tin can feel here), and there were no nasty sharp edges inside to cut your fingers during assembly.

For cooling, the Galaxy has surprisingly good options. It includes one 120mm rear RGB fan out of the box, and you can install up to 8 fans in total (3 front, 2 top, 2 on the PSU shroud, 1 rear) for plenty of airflow if you need in. In our test build, we found the airflow decent thanks to the front panel’s ventilation gaps, though serious overclockers might want to add an extra front fan or two for optimal cooling. The top I/O panel even features an LED button to cycle through ~13 lighting modes, plus USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports for convenient access. Cable management was straightforward – there’s adequate space behind the motherboard tray to tuck cables away, which is a relief in a budget case. We also managed to fit a full-size graphics card (up to 325mm) without issues, and the PSU shroud keeps the build looking clean.

Why We Love It: Simply put, the CiT Galaxy punches way above its weight. For the price of a few takeaway pizzas, you get a stylish tempered-glass case with RGB flair and solid functionality. It’s perfect for first-time builders or budget-conscious gamers who want an attractive case without spending a fortune. Yes, the metal is a bit thinner and it only comes with one fan, but those minor cons don’t overshadow its strengths. We love how this case makes a sleek RGB gaming build attainable at under £30 – a no-brainer pick for our staff this week!

2. MSI MEG CORELIQUID S360 AiO 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler

Next up is the MSI MEG CORELIQUID S360 – a 360mm all-in-one liquid cooler that has dropping jaws around the office. We as staff chose this cooler because it delivers flagship-grade cooling performance and features at a mid-range price. With a triple-fan 360mm radiator and MSI’s Silent Gale P12 fans, this AiO keeps even the hottest CPUs (Intel Ultra 9 and Ryzen 9) running cool without turning your PC into a jet engine. In our testing, it handled heavy gaming and rendering loads quietly – the fans can even stop completely at idle (0 RPM mode) for true silence.

What really makes the CoreLiquid S360 stand out is its built-in 2.4-inch IPS LCD display on the pump. This little screen is fully customisable via MSI’s software – we had it showing CPU temps and funny GIFs on our build, which is both useful and a great conversation starter. Under the screen, MSI cleverly tucked a small 60mm fan in the waterblock to gently cool your CPU VRM and M.2 SSD area. It’s not a huge airflow, but every bit helps for component longevity. Installation was straightforward for an AiO of this size – it uses a standard secure mounting (MSI worked with Asetek on the pump design), and we had no issues fitting it into a mid-tower case. Do note, because of that extra screen and fan, there are a few more cables to manage (USB header, SATA power, etc.), so you’ll want to spend a bit of time on neat cable routing.

Why We Love It: This cooler feels ultra-premium. We love the combination of top-notch cooling performance and bells-and-whistles extras like the LCD display. At its normal price, the S360 is a luxury, but at under £90 it’s an absolute steal – basically high-end cooling for the price of an entry-level kit. It’s perfect for gamers or content creators who want excellent thermal performance and a bit of visual flair in their build (monitoring stats in real-time or just flexing a custom graphic). The only “con” we can think of is its original cost, and that’s been obliterated by the current deal. If you’re considering water cooling, our team can’t recommend this enough while the sale lasts.

3. ViewSonic VX3276-2K-MHD-2 32″ 1440p IPS Monitor (75Hz)

For our monitor pick, we went with the ViewSonic VX3276-2K-MHD-2, a 32-inch QHD IPS display that offers a ton of screen real estate and image quality for the money. This monitor is all about delivering a premium viewing experience without the premium price. The first thing you notice is its modern, minimalist design: ultra-thin bezels and a sleek metallic triangle stand that looks great in any setup. Several of our staff remarked that the VX3276-2K looks more expensive than it is – it really adds a bit of style to your desk. 

In terms of visuals, the 2560×1440 QHD resolution on a 32″ panel means you get a sharp picture with lots of detail, whether you’re gaming or working. The IPS panel technology provides rich colours and wide viewing angles, so the image stays accurate even if you’re not sitting directly in front (great for sharing a video or split-screen co-op). During our use, we found text and graphics to be crisp and easy on the eyes – plus ViewSonic includes flicker-free tech and a blue light filter to reduce eye strain for those long sessions. The monitor is rated for 75Hz refresh rate and supports AMD FreeSync, which means casual gaming is smooth and tear-free. One of our teammates who tried some Elden Ring on this monitor said the experience was plenty enjoyable; 75Hz is a nice bump over 60Hz, and unless you’re an eSports competitive player, the combination of QHD resolution and decent refresh makes for immersive gaming.

We were also impressed by the little extras: it has built-in speakers (handy for basic audio if you don’t have room for speakers on your desk), and a variety of inputs – including HDMI, DisplayPort, and even Mini-DisplayPort – so connecting a PC and maybe a console or laptop simultaneously is no problem. The panel even supports HDR10 content, bringing a bit better contrast and colour depth when watching movies or HDR games (just keep in mind its brightness is modest, so HDR won’t be as punchy as on high-end TVs).

Why We Love It: This ViewSonic hits a sweet spot for gamers and creators alike. For roughly £160, you’re getting a big, vibrant IPS screen that’s equally suited for productivity and entertainment. Our team loves that it’s large enough to multitask (32″ gives you tons of space for spreadsheets or editing timelines) yet it also shines for 1440p gaming with excellent colour accuracy. One staff member even noted it rivals some more expensive panels in image quality – “it looks a whole lot more premium than the price suggests”. While it’s not a 144Hz+ hardcore gaming monitor, 75Hz with FreeSync is perfectly fine for storey gaming, strategy, and everyday use. Overall, the VX3276-2K-MHD-2 delivers a luxurious screen experience on a budget – that value is why we picked it.

4. 1200W ASUS ROG Strix 80+ Platinum Modular PSU (ATX 3.1)

Power supplies might not be flashy, but the ASUS ROG Strix 1200W Platinum PSU has us genuinely excited (yes, we’re PSU nerds!). This is a 1200W, 80 Plus Platinum-rated fully modular power supply designed for high-end gaming rigs, and it’s currently on offer at £219.99 (was £270). We selected this PSU because it combines rock-solid performance, next-gen readiness, and ultra-quiet operation – a perfect backbone for any serious build. With 1200W on tap and ATX 3.1 compliance, it comes with the new 12VHPWR (12+4 pin) connector out of the box, ready to power the latest NVIDIA RTX 40-series and upcoming 50-series GPUs without adaptors. That means if you’re eyeing a RTX 5090 or running an overclocked 4090, this PSU can handle it with power to spare.

One thing we love is how efficient and cool this unit runs. Thanks to its 80+ Platinum certification and some fancy engineering (ASUS uses GaN MOSFETs internally for improved efficiency and lower heat output), the Strix wastes very little power as heat. In our test bench, the fan barely spun up even under heavy GPU + CPU loads. And for light to moderate use, it has a 0dB fan mode – so it’s effectively silent when you’re just browsing or gaming lightly. When the fan does run, it’s on dual ball-bearings for longevity and is certified by Cybenetics (Lambda A) to stay under 25 dB – in other words, extremely quiet. The build quality here is superb: all Japanese capacitors, large heat sinks, and a beefy +12V rail that stays rock steady. ASUS even includes some nice cosmetic touches like sleeved modular cables and a magnetic badge you can swap on the side to match your build’s aesthetic (gotta have that ROG flair).

With 10-year warranty coverage, we have peace of mind that this PSU will last you many builds into the future. During our evaluation, voltage stability was excellent – and there’s an innovative “GPU-First” voltage stabiliser tech that helps reduce GPU power fluctuation, which can smooth out extreme transient loads from power-hungry cards. It’s a bit of a luxury to have such clean and stable power, but if you’re investing in expensive components, it’s absolutely worth it. We also appreciated the fully modular design; we only plugged in the cables we needed, which kept the test rig tidy. Do note, this is a physically large unit (to fit all that tech and 1200W capacity), so make sure your case can accommodate a 1200W PSU.

Why We Love It: The ROG Strix 1200W Platinum is the kind of PSU that makes our techie hearts happy. It’s cool, quiet, and prepared for the future, allowing us to build dream systems without fear of power limitations. Our staff loves that it can easily feed an RTX 4090 or even two GPUs, all while maintaining excellent efficiency (less wasted heat) and near-silent acoustics. Essentially, it’s an investment in stability and longevity for your PC. If you’re a gamer who plans to push overclocking limits or a creator running multi-GPU setups, this PSU is a no-compromise choice. The only con is the price – and even that has been softened by the current deal. For what you get, £219 is a fantastic value. In short, we chose the Strix 1200W because it makes building a high-performance rig worry-free. No power hiccups, no noise drama – just reliable, clean power for years.

5. ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi (AMD AM5 mATX Motherboard)

Mid-range motherboards often fly under the radar, but the ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi has quickly become a staff favourite for AMD’s AM5 platform. It’s a new Micro-ATX board featuring AMD’s B850 chipset, and it packs an amazing feature set for its £129.99 price (on sale from £164.99). We picked this board because it offers builders a future-proof, reliable foundation for Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 series CPUs without the premium of X670 motherboards. In our experience, the B850M Pro-A ran a Ryzen 7 7800X3D flawlessly, even with PBO auto-overclocking – thanks in part to its robust 8+2+1 phase VRM design with Dr.MOS power stages, which handled the CPU’s power demands with ease. The VRM heatsinks are chunky for a micro-ATX, so we didn’t observe any throttling or stability issues during stress tests.

One of the biggest highlights: storage and expansion options. Despite the smaller mATX size, this board includes three M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs (2 of them PCIe 4.0 x4 and one PCIe 5.0 x4 “Blazing” M.2 for next-gen ultra-fast SSDs). That’s right – you can slap in a PCIe 5.0 SSD and get insane storage speeds on a mid-tier board! Plus there are 4 SATA ports for any additional drives. The primary PCIe x16 slot is reinforced with steel and supports PCIe 5.0 for your graphics card, meaning it’s ready for future GPUs and won’t flinch even with a heavy high-end card installed. We also love the connectivity on this board: you get integrated Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth, as well as a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port. In our office, the Wi-Fi performed fast and stable (great if you can’t run an Ethernet to your PC), and 2.5Gb LAN is a nice touch for those with upgraded home networks or NAS setups.

ASRock didn’t skimp on USB and other I/O either. The rear panel offers a USB Type-C port (10Gbps) and plenty of USB Type-A (including USB 3.2 Gen2 and Gen1 ports) – we counted eight USB ports on the back, which is generous for an mATX board. There’s also HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 outputs for those using Ryzen’s integrated graphics, which is convenient for troubleshooting or if you’re waiting to get a GPU. During our build, the board proved very DIY-friendly: it has BIOS Flashback functionality (so you can update the BIOS without a CPU – a lifesaver for future CPU upgrades), and even an auto-driver installer that kicks in on first boot to help install network drivers easily. Little things like that show ASRock designed this board for a smooth user experience. Aesthetically, the B850M Pro-A is pretty sleek – mostly black PCB with subtle gold accents. It has RGB headers (both 5V ARGB and 12V) if you want to sync lighting strips or fans via Polychrome RGB, but otherwise it’s a professional-looking board (which we don’t mind in a windowed case).

Why We Love It: The ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi hits the value sweet spot for AM5. Our staff loves that you’re getting next-gen features – PCIe 5.0 support, Wi-Fi 6E, lots of M.2 storage – on a board well under £150. It’s the kind of motherboard that lets you build an affordable Ryzen 5 or 7 system now, and still have headroom to upgrade to a Ryzen 9 3D chip later with just a BIOS update. We appreciate the reliable power delivery and cooling on the VRMs; it means even higher-end CPUs run great on this board. Basically, it does everything most gamers or PC enthusiasts need, but cheaper than many alternatives. The only compromises are minor – it’s mATX (fewer PCIe slots than ATX, but still enough for most), and no flashy RGB on the board itself (which some might even view as a plus). Considering the feature set and the sale price, the B850M Pro-A has earned our hearty recommendation this week. It makes building a modern AM5 system simple, capable, and cost-effective – and that’s exactly what we like to see in a staff pick.

6. Kingston FURY Beast RGB 16GB (2x8GB) DDR5 5600MHz Memory Kit

Last but not least, we have the Kingston FURY Beast RGB 16GB DDR5-5600 kit – our go-to memory pick for this week. We chose this 16GB (2x8GB) kit because it offers the perfect blend of next-gen performance, reliability, and a touch of RGB style, all for just £57.99 (down from ~£71). For any gamers building an Intel Ultra or AMD Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 series system, DDR5 memory is the new standard, and 5600MT/s is a sweet-spot speed that gives you a nice boost over base DDR5 without breaking the bank. In our testing, enabling the pre-set Intel XMP profile in BIOS was a one-click affair – the kit instantly ran at the advertised 5600MHz speed and CL40 timing without fuss. If you’re on an AMD system, it’s a similar process (most AM5 boards can use the XMP or have an equivalent AMD EXPO setting).

We found 16GB (dual-channel) is still plenty for gaming and everyday use in 2025 – it handles all current games (even memory-hungry ones like Microsoft Flight Simulator or Chrome with 37 tabs, haha) just fine, and you can multitask with Discord, Spotify, etc., in the background with no slowdown. The Kingston FURY Beast modules also have a few enthusiast perks. They feature a sleek black heatspreader that keeps the DIMMs cool, and on top is a customisable RGB light bar. Using Kingston’s FURY CTRL software or your motherboard’s RGB software, you can synchronise the lighting with the rest of your setup; the RGB effects are smooth and vibrant, and Kingston’s Infrared Sync tech ensures the two stick’s LEDs stay perfectly in sync with each other. In our build, the subtle glow from these RAM sticks really added to the PC’s look without being overpowering.

What about reliability? Kingston is a brand our team trusts deeply – many of us have used Kingston memory in builds over the years with great results. The FURY Beast DDR5 kits carry a limited lifetime warranty, which speaks to their durability. We pushed this kit a bit to see if there was overclocking headroom, and we actually got it running at 6000MT/s (with slightly looser timings) in one of our test boards – though your mileage may vary, and honestly, the real-world difference was minor. The point is, it’s quality memory that at stock settings delivers the bandwidth advantages of DDR5. Another thing we like: these modules support Plug N Play at 4800MT/s, meaning they’ll boot at a safe default speed on any system and then you can engage the higher XMP speeds manually – a hassle-free experience.

Why We Love It: The Kingston FURY Beast RGB 16GB kit represents the next-gen memory that doesn’t break the bank. At around £58, you’re getting high-speed DDR5 from a top manufacturer – truly a fantastic deal for a gaming rig upgrade. We love it because it lets anyone jumping to DDR5 do so confidently: you get that 5600MT/s performance for fast game load times and snappy overall system response, attractive RGB lighting to complement your build, and rock-solid Kingston reliability backed by a lifetime warranty. 16GB is the perfect capacity for a mid-range gaming PC in 2025, and dual-channel ensures you unlock maximum CPU performance. If you’re building an AM5 or Intel Ultra system on a budget, this kit is a no-brainer. In short, the FURY Beast RGB gives your system the beastly speed and looks it deserves, at a price that’s easy to stomach – and that’s why it’s a staff pick winner for us.

Conclusion

Thanks for checking out the staff picks this week! We had a blast gathering our favourite deals and gear for you. From cases and coolers to monitors and memory, these are the products we’re excited about right now, and we think you’ll love them too. Remember, we do CCL Staff Picks every week, so be sure to subscribe to our newsletter or follow us so you never miss out on the latest recommendations, hot deals, and exclusive competitions. Feel free to reach out to us on our socials or in the comments if you have any questions about this week’s picks – our team is always happy to help. Happy building and see you next week for more top picks!