Every gamer needs a good gaming PC!
If you want to enjoy that game as it’s supposed to be enjoyed, you better have a good gaming PC.
To newbies, however, building or buying a good gaming PC can be an intimidating task. CPU? Graphics card? RAM? So many things to take into consideration!
We therefore present the 5 Things Every Good Gaming PC Must Have – a simple list of the items you'll need if you wish to convert your PC into the best gaming platform. It should start you on the road to achieving the best PC game experience. So, without further ado, let’s begin!
1. Lots of memory/RAM
Yes, modern games look great and play even better, but they’re pretty greedy in regards to their RAM requirements. Compounding this issue is that fact that when you’re playing your game, your PC is simultaneously running a host of other programs in the background. All these processes require memory, so generally speaking, the more RAM you have, the better.
Most of today’s A-list games won’t run on 2GB RAM. You might be able to just squeak by with 4GB RAM. While 16GB is ideal for a good gaming PC, as it’ll allow you to run other software (such as a game recording software, a music player) without any damage to your game experience, 8GB is just fine and dandy.
2. A powerful CPU
Think of the central processing unit, or CPU, as the brain of your gaming PC. It is what performs all the complicated calculations required to make your video game function as it’s meant to. In other words, the more powerful your CPU, the more efficient your computer is at running your game.
This is especially true for games that make full use of advanced A.I., such as turn-based strategy games. Believe it or not, most graphics-heavy first-person shooters are actually less taxing on the CPU than strategy games.
As of now, Intel and AMD processors provide the best performance. Please read our article about the best gaming PC processors, which you can find here.
As for cores, how many do you need? When you’ve got everything from dual core to octa core CPUs, how do you know what to pick?
Even today, many games only need a minimum of 2 cores. However, more and more games are combining breathtaking graphics with sophisticated A.I., and some of these won’t work on anything less than 4 cores. Therefore, your best bet for a good gaming PC is a quad core CPU.
3. A great graphics card
The graphics card is what transforms all the raw data from your PC into the images that you can see on your monitor. It’s one of the most vital components of a good gaming PC – especially if you’re the type who’s fond of playing games on the highest video settings.
A high-end graphics card won’t only put those pixels on the screen. It’ll allow you to exploit a variety of technologies that improve those visuals, such as stereoscopic 3D and antialiasing.
Some of today’s best graphics cards include the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti.
4. A cooling system for the CPU and GPU
Overheating used to be the bane of PCs. It didn’t only slow down the execution of processes and make the built-in fans produce an annoying, whirring noise, it could also potentially damage integral components.
Most PCs today have largely improved cooling systems, but overheating issues still crop up from time to time. Overclocking, for instance, produces a lot of heat – which your PC’s parts may not be ready for. There are various methods to prevent the buildup of so much heat, such as regularly cleaning your PC’s insides to keeping your computer in a cool location.
Another is to install a fan system that will cool your CPU and GPU specifically. This would benefit gamers the most. As the heart and soul of a good gaming PC, the CPU and GPU do the most work and therefore require the most cooling. You can even install sealed liquid coolers – they do what fans do, only quieter.
5. State-of-the-art peripherals
What good is a powerful PC if you don’t have a means of interacting with your game? For this purpose, you’ll need the best peripherals, from keyboards to high-resolution monitors.
Don’t let that superb graphics card go to waste. If you can afford one, get yourself a monitor that has a viewing area of at least 22 inches.
Sound is as much a factor as visuals when it comes to a great gaming experience, so consider investing in a headset with a microphone. Or you could opt for all those fancy sound speakers.
There are also plenty of high-end keyboards built specifically for gaming. Some of them contain only the keys that are most used in gaming, have lights that illuminate the keys so that they're easier to see in the dark, and other features. Gaming mice vary in shape and size, and even come in cordless variety.
Such peripherals are necessary if you want to to maximize your gaming experience, so every good gaming PC should have them.
So there’s our list of the 5 Things Every Good Gaming PC Must Have. Care to add to the discussion! Feel free to do so in the comments section below!
To further assist you in your quest to turn your PC into the quintessential gaming platform, here are a few more informative articles!
Building a Gaming PC: 10 Things You Must Know
Gaming PC: Top 13 Best Gaming PC Brands In The World
10 Best High End Gaming PC Processors in 2015
