Nvidia GeForce GTX 295
It was a near-run thing, picking a high-end graphics card to recommend for Christmas. ATI's Radeon HD 5870 and Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 are both excellent choices. The GeForce, however, has an edge in performance thanks to its dual GPUs onboard, and is our cost-is-no-object pick for this Christmas. It has an immense amount of memory (1792MB), the fastest memory bus, the highest clocked GPU and the best overall performance of any card on the market. It was also the fastest card we'd ever seen when we first tested it this year (though not any more). That said, the Radeon HD 5870 is about $80 cheaper on average and manages to almost catch the GTX 295 with only a single GPU. We fear for Nvidia once the dual-GPU RadeonHD 5870 X2 comes out. (It may even be out by the time you read this). Rating: 5/6 - Price $600
ATI 5770 graphics card
If the GeForce GTX 295 or Radeon HD 5870 are a little too rich for your blood, then look to ATI's mid-range 5700 series. ATI has been putting out excellent high-performance parts at a mid-range price lately, and the pick of that group is the new 5770. Essentially a trimmed down version of the 5870 (which is unquestionably the fastest single GPU on the planet right now), the Radeon HD 5770 is also manufactured on a 40nm manufacturing process and runs at the same clock speed as the 5870. It has only half as many processing units, however. Rating: tba - Price: $290
Creative Inspire T6160
An affordable set of 5.1 channel speakers, the Inspire T6160 delivers impressive audio quality for the price. It's not the bee's knees of gaming audio, but it makes a great gift for someone hoping to set up a surround sound gaming rig who can't afford a 7.1 channel receiver. It comes with a subwoofer and 5 satellite speakers and is particularly potent at delivering bass - great for those who love to play first-person-shooter games or annoy the neighbours. Rating: 4/6 - Price $83
Plantronics Gamecon 777 headset
If it's multiplayer gaming you crave, then a surround sound speaker set is not going to cut it. A gaming headset is what you need, and a number of products are available that deliver more than the cheapie Skype headset you're probably used to. The Razer Barracuda HP-1 and Logitech G35 are excellent headsets, but our current price/performance pick is the affordable Plantronics Gamecon 777. It's a USB headset capable of delivering "virtual" Dolby 5.1 surround sound. If you have a high-end audio card, you can also connect it to a 3.5mm port, but it drops to stereo if you do that. It delivers excellent audio and heavy bass (perhaps a little too heavy at times), and is a bargain at the price. Rating: 5/6 - Price $90
Asus VK266H LCD monitor
A full HD 26in monitor with a 2ms grey-to-grey response time, the VK266H is just the kind of monitor you need for immersive gaming. There are bigger around, but after 26in you tend to head into the stratospheric price zone, while the VK266H can be found for a little over $500. In addition to its excellent picture, ghost-free motion and bevy of inputs (HDMI, VGA, component and DVI), the VK266H also sports internal speakers, an embedded 2 megapixel Web camera and a microphone. That means you can voice chat without wearing a sweaty headset - though the embedded mic can pick up audio from a loud stereo system if you're not careful. Rating: 4/6 - Price $518
Benq W1000
A 1080p DLP projector that won't immediately send you to the poor house, the W1000 is suitable as both a gaming and home theatre projector. It puts out 2000 ANSI lumens and has a contrast ratio of 3000:1. It has a lot of inputs, ready for pretty much anything you want to plug into it, including VGA, HDMI (x2), component, composite and S-Video. It also has a good throw ratio for home cinema environments, of 1.59-1.9:1. For a projector at this price range, you really can get more features than this.
Logitech G-19 Keyboard
Okay, we know it's a lot to pay for a keyboard, but the Logitech G-19 is seriously funky. Its best feature is the embedded 320 by 240 LCD panel at the top of the keyboard along with a mini-computer embedded in the keyboard itself. This can display game details like health and ammunition or a speedo - but it can also show YouTube video and play media stored in a folder on your PC. You can even watch YouTube videos while you're playing games (though why you'd want to, we're not sure). You can also program up to 36 gaming macros onto the keyboard, you can change its backlight colour to any you desire and there are a heap of media buttons to control playback. Rating: 5/6 - Price $275
Logitech MOMO Racing Force Feedback Wheel
Nobody does over-the-top gaming accessories like Logitech, and if you're in the market for a force-feedback driving wheel, there's none better than the MOMO Force Feedback Wheel. It comes with a two-pedal plate as well as the wheel, and then programmable buttons are embedded in the wheel itself. If you're into driving games get this, screw it onto a desk and use a projector to get the full driving experience. You won't regret it. Rating: 6/6 - Price $110
Microsoft Sidewinder X8 Wireless Gaming Mouse
With its responsive scroll wheel, light design, extremely fast tracking technology and comfortable grip, the X8 would be a great choice for any gamer. But it's the extra features that really make it shine: a tilt wheel, five programmable buttons (and two more if you count the tilt wheel), quick sensitivity changing, replaceable mouse feet (for different surfaces) and a very cool play-and-charge cable for when you run out of power mid game. Just snap on a magnetised USB cable in a second and you're gaming again with nary a break. Rating: 6/6 - Price $85
Big Game Releases This Christmas
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare redefined military shooters, with a human story and brilliant gameplay and graphics. We expect no less from the sequel. Price: tba
Assassins Creed 2
While the original was spoiled a little by repetitive gameplay and a bland palette, the sequel, set in renaissance Italy, promises to rectify those mistakes and more. Price: tba
Dragon Age: Origins
An epic fantasy action RPG, the likes of which we've not really seen since the last Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age comes from the best RPG development house in the business. Price tba
Left 4 Dead
With its manic multiplayer zombie action, the first Left 4 Dead was a surprise hit, and this sequel is all about adding to that. Expect new weapons, zombie breeds, survivors and general insanity. Price: tba