THE BEST HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE OF 2022

THE BEST OF THE BEST, AS CHOSEN BY THE PCWORLD EDITORS.

- BRAD CHACOS

After years of shortages and product delays, the PC industry slammed on the gas pedal in 2022, unleashing bleeding-edge hardware at a truly frenetic pace. A wave of long-lasting, heavy-hitting laptops started the year with a bang. Then the battle turned to desktops, where Intel, Nvidia, and AMD rolled out new generations of processors and graphics cards alike, bolstered by delightful advances in SSDs and new monitors that push pixels harder than ever before. And those are just the tip of the iceberg.

We tested some truly impressive hardware this year-but you'll only find the absolute greatest on this list. And that's not all: Our top picks include the best software available, because what you use all that computing power for is just as vital.

For this list, we asked PCWorld's tech experts to share their favorite picks in their areas of expertise. Without further ado, this is the best PC hardware and software of 2022 and 2023. Yes, we're looking forward to next year, because until even newer products begin launching in 2023, many of the champions on this list will remain very relevant for months to come.

We've also rounded up our favorite work-from-home tech of 2022 (fave.co/ 3YPZjMz) if you're interested in a more productivity-focused look at the year's best options.

BEST HIGH-END CPU: INTEL CORE 19-13900K