Gaming PCs

Buying a gaming PC

We’re going to assume you want a prebuilt gaming PC but if you prefer to build your own gaming PC, that’s certainly an option as well.

What games will you play?

Your number one consideration will be to shortlist the type of games you want to play. Your choice of titles will directly impact the type of gaming PC you need for smooth gameplay. If you’re a casual gamer and you enjoy playing undemanding or older classics like Minecraft for example, you might not need a gaming PC at all as these will run perfectly well on a normal PC or laptop. In contrast, if you want to play the latest titles, VR games or other processor intensive games, you’ll need a PC powerhouse to cope with the fast moving, high resolution graphics. Luckily, every game manufacturer specifies the system requirements they recommend for problem free gaming so you can draw up a list of the minimum specs any potential gaming PC must have before you go shopping.

Chassis type & connectivity

It’s worth thinking about the type and size of chassis (or case) provided. Where will your gaming PC sit? Is there enough room for a full-sized tower case which has plenty of room for good airflow and future upgrades or do you need a compact mini PC to sit in a tight space? Check out the number, type and location of the available ports the PC offers to ensure you’ll be able to easily connect it to other devices such as monitors, keyboard, mouse etc. Gaming PCs tend to be more bling than normal, run of the mill models and so, if design is important, look out for models with fancy features such as built in lighting, aluminium cases or side windows which can really add the wow factor.

Performance

In terms of specs, it’s the combination of the processor (CPU) and graphics card (or GPU) that provide the gaming PC’s horsepower. It’s true to say that the more power you need, the more expensive your gaming rig is likely to be. When assessing processors, look at the core count; you’ll want a minimum of 4 cores to avoid issues running the latest games but the more you can afford, the better. Both AMD and Intel produce a range of processors that are well-suited to gaming. Look for i5, i7 or (if budget permits) i9 chips from Intel or Ryzen 500, 7000 or 9000 processors from AMD. Make sure whichever titles you plan to run can take advantage of the multi-core capabilities though.

Graphics

As for the graphics card, AMD and Nvidia are the leading manufacturers. Broadly speaking, you can group their product range into entry level, mid-range and high-end categories based on the graphics card’s capabilities. Refer to the specs for the games you want to play to see what type of card you need and keep in mind that the graphics card is the component that has the biggest impact on gaming performance so get the best one your budget allows.

Memory

Your gaming PC should be equipped with at least 8Gb of RAM but 16Gb is recommended if you plan to play the latest titles. Ideally you want the memory to be configured as dual modules rather than a single stick as this will allow you to benefit from twice the data transfer speed. Anything above 16Gb is probably overkill unless you plan to multitask and run other demanding applications whilst gaming. Keep in mind that system memory will be used by everything that’s running on your PC including the operating system, drivers and other apps.

Storage

Storage wise, most PCs are now shipping with SSDs and you’ll need to pick a model with enough space to house any games you want to store locally. 512Gb should be ample room for both the operating system and a decent number of games. If you’re buying a gaming PC with dual drives, make sure you save games to the primary drive (i.e. the disk on which the operating system is stored) for the fastest operation.

Cooling

Finally don’t overlook cooling, especially if you’re planning to play the most intensive games as these will generate plenty of heat and possibly noise as the fans kick in. All gaming PCs will provision for cooling somehow. Most entry level and midrange gaming PCs will use air cooling which can be noisy. High end machines use liquid cooling which allows you to push the processor further and helps keep noise to a minimum.