In a rare instance of good news, Philips has announced the world's first 36-inch, 260 Hz gaming monitor. So that's nice

Writing (and reading) about PC hardware news at the moment can be downright depressing. Massive price rises. AI everywhere. Disappearing graphics cards. It's just a bit much, you know?

So come and bask in something deliciously old school with me: the release of a good-looking new product you might be able to buy without selling a kidney. Philips says its new 36M4C5500P display is the world's first 36-inch gaming monitor with a 260 Hz refresh rate. Lovely.

This ultrawide's got a curved, 1500R VA panel. Oooooh. A 3440 x 1440 resolution. Ahhhh. And an overclockable refresh rate that makes sense for casual and competitive gamers alike. Stone the crows and call the fire department, it actually looks pretty decent.

Sure, VA panel tech is nothing fancy. And many a curved ultrawide has passed the doors of PC Gamer Towers over the past few years. But a 36-inch panel size is something interesting, filling the gap between your standard 34-inch ultrawides and the more desk-dominating, 39-inch-and-up models.

The specs aren't exactly earth-shattering, but I'm hoping they might push it towards the more affordable end of the market. It's got Display HDR400 certification, dual HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 connectivity, and a tilting stand. Everything you might reasonably need. There's no word on pricing yet, but I've got my fingers crossed.

I even thought we'd make it through the press release without a mention of AI, but no, this display has "AI-enhanced gaming features" including Shadow Boost, Smart Crosshair, Smart Sniper, and Smart MBR sync. Most of which you can likely ignore. No product launch is complete without them, though, I'm sure you'll agree.

In these topsy-turvy times, it's downright refreshing to write about a new gaming product that simply looks nice, without having to bring up the global state of affairs. Many gaming monitors are actually very affordable right now, so if you're scratching around for something to upgrade without breaking the bank, it's products like this that I'd be keeping a close eye on.

There. A properly positive article, and I didn't mention the memory crisis once. Curses!