PC hardware in 2024 experienced underwhelming launches, unwanted delays, and faulty products. Next-gen graphics cards from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have been delayed until next year, and the CPUs that we did get this year were lukewarm, at best. Tall marketing claims fell flat in the face of third-party benchmarks, and pricing remained a thorn in the side of gamers eyeing new GPUs.
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It's only reasonable, then, for me to put together my PC hardware wishlist for 2025 -- the things I want to see from manufacturers and the industry in general. This covers CPUs, graphics cards, SSDs, and motherboards, as we head into a year when DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 might fully replace previous-gen standards, hopefully ushering in a new (and possibly more affordable) era of desktop computing.
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5 Cheaper Gen5 SSDs
It's about time
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PCIe 5.0 (or Gen5) SSDs have been on the market for quite a while now. For all that time, we've been whining about how they do virtually nothing for gamers. Well, 2025 seems like the right time for technologies like DirectStorage to finally become mainstream in games, making Gen5 SSDs more attractive not just for productivity workloads but also for PC gaming.
For Gen5 SSDs to become more palatable to new builders and those looking for upgrades, we need to see prices come down fast.
As it stands right now, you have to shell out almost 100% more on a Gen5 SSD over a Gen4 model for the same capacity. For Gen5 SSDs to become more palatable to new builders and those looking for upgrades, we need to see prices come down fast. We keep seeing faster and faster Gen5 SSDs hit the market, breaking previous records in terms of sequential read/write speeds, but it's about time we started some record-breaking prices too -- in the downward direction.
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4 More affordable motherboards
I'm sick of spending $200 on a motherboard
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It wasn't too long ago that motherboards used to cost a small portion of the entire PC budget. I still remember buying an Asus B350 motherboard back in 2017 for only around $115 (using 2017's USD-INR conversion) for my Ryzen 5 1600 system. Fast-forward to 2022, and I saw myself spending $190 on a budget B550 motherboard. In 2024, we see motherboard pricing climbing higher and higher.
I know people have gotten used to $200-$300 motherboards, but I would like to see decent options in the $150 range in 2025.
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With the launch of the new Arrow Lake and Zen 5 processors from Intel and AMD respectively, a flurry of new motherboards have landed on the market. These boards come with a significant price markup compared to previous-gen boards, with AMD's 800-series just being minor refreshes. I know people have gotten used to $200-$300 motherboards, but I would like to see decent options in the $150 range in 2025.
Considering that no one should really be buying the disappointing Ryzen 9000 CPUs -- whether building new or upgrading from Zen 4 -- the 800-series AMD motherboards need to get really cheap really soon. Even the Arrow Lake CPUs don't offer much in terms of generational gains, so PC builders can realistically hold out on picking up the new Intel 800-series motherboards, forcing some price corrections next year.
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3 More competition from Intel
Lack of competition is good for no one
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2024 was a disaster for Intel -- the Raptor Lake CPUs had to go through an exorcism to work normally again, its stock price dropped to 2012 levels, and there were even talks of splitting into two entities. Then came another setback as the long-awaited Arrow Lake CPUs launched to terrible reception. Gaming performance was slower than Raptor Lake as well as Zen 5 (and Zen 4), and productivity gains weren't anything to get excited about.
For next year, I want Intel to go from a lopsided CPU lineup to something actually worth considering.
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In a nutshell, Intel managed to reduce power consumption compared to the abnormally high levels seen on the Raptor Lake chips without any significant performance gains. Teething issues are expected on a new platform, but this was a shockingly poor showing. For next year, I want Intel to go from a lopsided CPU lineup to something actually worth considering.
Rumors suggest there might not be another desktop lineup until 2026, so microcode updates are all we can look forward to in 2025. Hopefully Intel also accompanies that with some price adjustments, as the launch pricing for the Arrow Lake CPUs is nothing short of incredible, especially with Ryzen 9000 CPUs already seeing price cuts across the board.
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2 Strong generational gains from Zen 6
AMD's Zen 5 was a nothingburger
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Intel wasn't the only one to launch a lackluster CPU lineup this year. AMD's Zen 5 processors turned out to be Zen 4 with new names and higher prices. With only 2-3% gains in gaming, even after the new 105W BIOS update, there was little reason for anyone to consider the Ryzen 9000 CPUs. Even for new builders moving to AM5, the Ryzen 7 7700 is the perfect entry point, allowing you to save money while waiting for the next big thing from AMD.
High double-digit performance gains, better thermal efficiency, and reasonable pricing -- this is the trifecta AMD needs to be aiming for.
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This next thing (i.e. Zen 6) needs to be a massive improvement over Zen 5, not just because it's a new generation, but also because it needs to remove the bad taste Zen 5 left in our mouths. High double-digit performance gains, better thermal efficiency, and reasonable pricing -- this is the trifecta AMD needs to be aiming for. Intel's debacles might have made AMD complacent, but I sure hope things don't stay that way in 2025.
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1 Value-for-money and power-efficient GPUs
Wishing for a unicorn
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Graphics cards have been the biggest roadblock for PC gamers who want great performance without blowing a hole in their wallet. And this has been the situation for a few years now, showing no indications of changing anytime soon. Nvidia will most likely announce the RTX 5000 series at CES in January, and no one's holding their breath for any price reductions.
With AMD formally exiting the high-end market (at least for the upcoming generation) with the RX 8000 series, and Intel not even a blip on Nvidia's radar, Team Green is free to charge whatever it wants (while giving abnormally low VRAM). Plus, rumors indicate that the RTX 5000 cards will require even more power from your PSU, with some reports even pointing to them requiring dual 16-pion connectors, although this one's far less likely.
Nvidia might be looking to corner the high-end market, but this might allow AMD and Intel to capture the mid-range and budget market share.
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Any hope for graphics cards offering decent performance-per-dollar without sky-high power requirements is now resting on AMD's shoulders, as the company focuses on the mid-range and budget segments. Intel's Battlemage needs to shake things up significantly if it wants people to take notice. Nvidia might be looking to corner the high-end market, but this might allow AMD and Intel to capture the mid-range and budget market share respectively, provided they can deliver compelling offerings.
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What's your 2025 PC hardware wishlist?
Each of us is free to dream, but the PC hardware market will take its course. While graphics cards might remain a luxury in 2025, we might see more compelling CPUs from Intel and AMD. SSD prices will fall sooner or later, but if it happens next year, many PC builders might finally be able to use that PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot on their motherboards.
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We're now seeing many erstwhile next-gen standards getting adopted by not only manufacturers but also consumers, such as DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0 SSDs, and ATX 3.0 power supplies. If 2025 starts delivering compelling products to leverage these technologies to the fullest, it will be the best thing to happen to the industry in a long time.
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