Ultimate festive gift picks the HardwareZone Team would choose with no budget caps

Christmas gift guides are usually about what you should buy, sensible picks, safe choices, and crowd-pleasers that won’t raise eyebrows. But what if budgets weren’t part of the equation? For this list, we flipped the script and asked the HardwareZone team a simple question: what would we buy for ourselves if we were really indulging this festive season?

The result is a wishlist of dream gadgets, premium upgrades, and little luxuries we’ve been quietly eyeing all year, the kind of gifts that spark genuine excitement and make everyday life noticeably better. From top-tier tech to indulgent lifestyle picks, this guide is a peek into what the HardwareZone staff would unwrap on Christmas morning if we were treating ourselves properly.

The gift list

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

S$2199 (without AppleCare) 

Kenny Yeo - I’ve been reviewing iPhones for a long time, and I haven’t got this excited about one in a while. But truly, this year’s iPhone 17 Pro Max is fantastic. It’s powerful, battery life is great, and Cosmic Orange is a bold new colour. But most of all, I love the improved image processing pipeline, which produces noticeably more natural-looking photos. It’s interesting to see where Apple will go from here, but for now, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is what I want most for Christmas. If you’re curious, check out my detailed assessment here.

Lego Icons 10356 Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D

S$559.90

Ken Wong - This marries two of my favourite things: Star Trek and Lego. I want this set so much that I don’t think I’ll be able to open it when it comes, and it will sit mint in the box while I just admire it.

VIVE Focus Series

S$1,699

Issac Lee - I’ve been a user of the original HTC Vive and I think it’s time for me to get an upgrade! The HTC Focus has better tracking and is completely standalone, removing the need for setting up base stations and trackers. More info about it here.

ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 OC Edition Gaming Graphics Card

S$5,237.58

Cheryl Tan - If someone else is footing the bill, why not go for broke? I might have just upgraded to the Radeon RX 9070 XT (which lets me game comfortably in 4K on the titles I dabble with), but I wouldn’t say no to an RTX 5090 for extra frames when gaming. Check out the awesome review of it here.

Pro-Ject Audio Systems Signature 12.2

S$19,999

Liu Hongzuo - Pro-Ject Audio Systems is an Austrian manufacturer of audiophile products known for its vinyl-playing turntables. For Christmas, I’d like to receive their Signature 12.2. Made from 100 machine-cut parts and 10 layers of hand-painted chassis, the Signature 12.2 is a classic reinvented, with great attention paid to every detail. Fittings, like its 12-inch aluminum tonearm and belt-drive flywheel, are all improved with better counterweights, anti-skating, and vibration-free components or design, and it’s a steady beast with a 10kg aluminum platter for holding precious vinyl records while playing.

ASUS ROG Cetra True Wireless Earbuds SpeedNova

S$228.66

Kelvin Leong - Having a good, comfortable communications headset is important to me, as I often spend hours playing online multiplayer PC games with my friends. However, my ears always feel warm and uncomfortable when using headphones for more than an hour. The ASUS ROG Cetra True Wireless Earbuds SpeedNova does not present this issue, since it’s a pair of earbuds rather than headphones. Its ASUS Republic of Gamers pedigree means it is specially designed for gamers and packed full of gamer-centric optimisation features, including dual-mode Wireless that lets you use Bluetooth or the provided wireless dongle for low-latency true wireless gaming. It goes without saying that it also features the much-needed active noise cancellation to keep me focused when fighting boss mobs. Don’t forget, ASUS also clinched the highest vote share in our Readers’ Choice polling for their favourite gaming headset brand, so I’m not alone. Time to level up!

Waizowl OGM Cloud

S$110

Glenn Chua - I’ve been using a SteelSeries Sensei Ten mouse for six years, and even though it’s getting outdated, I haven’t found anything that could quite replicate its unique shape. That is, until I heard of Waizowl’s attempt at doing so: the OGM Cloud. It rips off the Sensei Ten’s shape to the millimetre, but also updates the design with a newer sensor and wireless connectivity. Until Steelseries makes a follow-up to the Sensei Ten themselves, this may be a worthy successor.

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