Best Buy is one of the better places to look for great value gaming PC deals if your focus is on affordable prices without scrimping on quality. That’s what we’re seeing here, with the MSI Codex Z2 gaming PC down to $900 from $1,200. It’s the gaming PC I would recommend to many people on a budget, with a good mix of hardware for this price. If you’re looking to spend under $1,000 and want some cool RGB lighting, read on and we’ll take you through what it has to offer.
MSI features in our look at the best gaming PCs for beginners, and that’s the kind of vibe we’re getting from the MSI Codex Z2. This particular model has an AMD R5-8400F CPU along with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. None of that is top of the line stuff, but it’s ideal for some mid-range gaming without spending a fortune. It’s also great to see a reliable 1TB of storage when a lot of cheaper models stick with a barely adequate for gaming 512GB.
There’s also an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics card, which is perfect for the price range. Hook up one of the best gaming monitors and you’re all set. Don’t worry about a 4K screen — aim for a 1440p one or a reliable full HD model with a high refresh rate and low response time.
Away from the core specs, the MSI Codex Z2 also looks great. It has some great RGB lighting and a modular design in mind, so you can easily upgrade components over the coming years. A side window allows you to see all your components too, and it has a really cool aesthetic in general. As an added bonus, the MSI Codex Z2 comes with a keyboard and mouse, although we’d recommend investing in one of the best gaming mice or best gaming keyboards for the ultimate experience.
Usually $1,200, the MSI Codex Z2 is down to $900 for a limited time only at Best Buy. Ideal for anyone looking for a mid-range gaming PC, it has all the basics you need. Check it out fast before the deal ends very soon.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Google DeepMind's AI world model Genie 4 can now build interactive worlds that you can explore and reshape as they run. It also generates ambient sounds, music, and dialogue that respond to your actions.
The new world model builds on Genie 3 with improved realism, more natural human movement, and better simulations of real-world physics. It could eventually help with everything from game development to training robots.
Apple has an incredible talent for making me admire its products while simultaneously questioning what on earth it's thinking with the pricing. This isn't even something as bizarre as a monitor stand, but the audacity for starting a new laptop lineup from $2,000 doesn't surprise me.
The newly announced 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 is just the latest to showcase this. The funny thing is, I already know that it's going to be a reliable workstation. You get a powerful new 2nm M6 processor, a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display, and up to 24 hours of battery life. We were impressed by the M5 MacBook Air, so the high-end M6 powered MacBook Pro definitely won't let us down.