Australian PC Awards 2021: full list of finalists announced
All the finalists across every category unveiled.
![Australian PC Awards 2021](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FUpUJcawWKQUc8QckhMrs4-320-80.jpg)
- Motherboard maker
- Value motherboard
- Premium motherboard
- Video card maker
- Value video card
- Premium video card
- Value CPU
- Premium CPU
- Internal storage maker
- External storage maker
- SOHO or home NAS
- Value laptop or 2-in-1
- Premium laptop or 2-in-1
- Gaming laptop
- Desktop PC builder
- Memory maker
- Cooling product
- Monitor
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Gaming headset
- PC case
- Router
- Reseller
- Excellence
- Gold
The time has come to look back at all that happened in the world of the PC through 2020, and reward the products and companies that excelled!
It’s the annual Australian PC Awards – and it’s underway right now.
The experts at TechRadar, APC, TechLife, PC Gamer, PC PowerPlay and T3 have combined forces to distill down such a huge year into a tight and very carefully considered group of standouts.
Below, we've collated a list of ripper finalists – PC companies, products and technologies that stand head and shoulders above the crowd. They cover every important area of the PC – both inside and outside the case (and even the case itself!).
Topping it off are our two extra-special awards:
Excellence Award: Presented to the person, product or technology that advanced the PC more than any other in 2020.
Gold Award: For the best overall company operating in the PC space for 2020. This list includes every one of the finalists across all the other categories – and it is for you to decide which will win!
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Cast your vote, have your opinion heard – and by doing so you'll also be in the running for a special Future Australia prize pack, including subscriptions to APC, TechLife and PC PowerPlay!
Voting closes on Monday, May 17 at 11:59pm AEST. For full competition Ts & Cs you can click right here.
All of the winners will be revealed in a very special video presentation that will be streamed across three exciting episodes, on the evenings of June 23, 24 and 25, 2021. The video presentation can be viewed right here on TechRadar – after you vote, be sure to accept the email prompt and we'll be in touch as we get closer to the event with the full details.
2020 was a remarkable year for many reasons – let’s cap it off with a proper acknowledgement of what shone the brightest in a period where the best of the best rose above the challenges and delivered the PC goodness we all love.
Onto the finalists!
Finalists: Best motherboard maker
Finalists: Best value motherboard
Finalists: Best premium motherboard
- Asus ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha
- Gigabyte Z590 Vision G
- Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Master
- MSI MEG Z490 Ace
- Asus Crosshair VIII Dark Hero X570
Finalists: Best video card maker
Finalists: Best value video card
- Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Vision OC
- Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Vision OC
- Inno3D GeForce RTX 3060 Ti iCHILL X3 Red 8GB
- MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio
- PowerColor Radeon RX 6700 XT Hellhound
Finalists: Best premium video card
- AMD Radeon RX 6800XT
- Asus ROG-Strix-RTX3080-O10G-Gaming
- MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 FE
- Sapphire RX 6800 XT Nitro+
Finalists: Best value CPU
Finalists: Best premium CPU
Finalists: Best internal storage maker
Finalists: Best external storage maker
Finalists: Best SOHO or home NAS
Finalists: Best value laptop or 2-in-1
- Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M1)
- Asus TUF A15
- Asus VivoBook S15 (S533)
- Asus ZenBook 14 (UX425)
- Asus Zephyrus G14
- Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook
- MSI Summit E14
Finalists: Best premium laptop or 2-in-1
- Aftershock Vapor 17X
- Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1)
- Asus ZenBook Duo 14 (UX482)
- Asus ZenBook Flip 13 OLED (UX363)
- Dell XPS 13 (9310)
- Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED
- MSI Creator 15 A10UGT
- MSI Prestige 14 Evo A11M
- Razer Blade Pro 17
Finalists: Best gaming laptop
- Aftershock Vapor 15X
- Aftershock Vapor 17X
- Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15
- Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
- Gigabyte Aorus 15P
- Gigabyte Aorus 17G XC
- MSI GL75 Leopard 10SFSK
- MSI GE76-Raider 10UX
Finalists: Best desktop PC builder
Finalists: Best memory maker
Finalists: Best cooling product
- Asus ROG Ryujin 360
- Be Quiet Pure Rock 2
- Corsair iCUE H100i Elite
- Noctua NH-D15S Chromax
- Thermaltake Toughfan 12 PWM
Finalists: Best monitor
- Alienware AW3821DW
- Asus ROG Strix XG27UQ
- Gigabyte G27F
- Gigabyte M27Q
- MSI Optix MAG272C
- Samsung Odyssey G9
- Samsung Odyssey G5
- Samsung Smart Monitor M7
Finalists: Best keyboard
- Asus ROG Strix Scope RX
- Corsair K100
- Ducky One 2 Pudding
- Logitech G915 TKL
- Razer Huntsman V2 Analog
- Thermaltake Argent K5
Finalists: Best mouse
Finalists: Best gaming headset
- Asus ROG Strix Go 2.4
- Corsair HS75 XB
- HyperX Cloud Alpha S
- Razer BlackShark V2 Pro
- Audeze LCD-GX Gaming Headset
Finalists: Best PC case
- Corsair 5000D Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX PC Case
- Fractal Design Define 7
- Lian Li Lancool II Mesh
- Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh Edition
- Thermaltake Divider 300 ARGB Mid-Tower Case
- Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini Case
Finalists: Best router
- Asus ZenWiFi CT8
- Asus ZenWiFi XT8
- D-Link COVR-X1873 AX1800 Mesh Wi-Fi 6
- Linksys Velop WiFi 6 AX4200
- Netgear Nighthawk AX8
- Tenda MW12
Finalists: Best reseller
Finalists: Excellence Award
For the person, product or technology that advanced the PC more than any other in 2020.
- Apple M1 processor
- Ultra-fast refresh rate monitors
- Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS
- AMD Zen 3 core
- Nvidia DLSS 2.0
Finalists: Gold Award
For this very special Gold Award we turn to you to decide! Cast your vote here for the company that impressed you the most in 2019!
- Adata
- Aftershock PC
- Alienware
- AMD
- Apple
- Asrock
- Asus
- Be Quiet!
- Corsair
- Crucial by Micron
- Dell
- D-Link
- Ducky
- Fractal Design
- G.Skill
- Gigabyte Aorus
- Glorious
- HyperX
- Inno3D
- Intel
- JB Hi-Fi
- JW Computers
- Lenovo
- Lian Li
- Logitech
- MSI
- Mwave
- PC Case Gear
- PLE
- PowerColor
- QNAP
- Razer
- Samsung
- SanDisk
- Sapphire Technology
- Scorptec
- Seagate
- Synology
- Team Group
- Tenda
- TerraMaster
- Thermaltake
- Western Digital