What do i want in a gaming computer


















They fail far less often, they read and write data much faster, you can shrink your startup time down to a few mere seconds, games will load much faster, and the list goes on.

You can just get that smaller SSD for Windows and your favorite game. Are you on the go? Do you travel a lot?

Or do you want something that can maintain semi-permanence in your home or office? As far as I know hey, I could be surprised , there are only two ways to go here. You can either get a gaming laptop , or you get a gaming desktop. Before we dive into specific models of pre-built gaming desktops and laptops to choose from, we should briefly look at PC brands.

There is a handful of brands out there that have become known as reliable and trusted PC gaming manufacturers. Using the explainers I include with each gaming PC below, you can take your own notes and go out into the wild blue yonder to find your own options that I may have missed.

Either way, the goal is to help. With the exception of the Alienware Area 51M, gaming laptops often require the use of some extra peripherals to really make the most of them. For the added portability of a laptop, you typically need to forego some of the things that gaming desktops require to maintain quality, like open and dedicated airflow for cooling down all of that hardware.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. All rights reserved. Close Search. And what about the tower size and upgradability? Before you invest a bunch of money in a new gaming system, take a gander at our guide for the ins and outs of buying a gaming desktop.

Chomping at the bit to buy that new gaming desktop, so much so that you don't have time to go through the guide? Here's the TL;DR version. This will let you play the latest games at silky smooth frame rates.

Buy a VR-ready system, if you can. Opt for an upgrade-friendly design when possible. Look for a system that you can open using few or no tools. Plan to replace some parts in the future. Don't buy a smaller form factor unless you're fine with purchasing another unit in two to three years. This will give you the bandwidth to connect two 4K monitors at once. Depending on your budget, you can get a desktop that's equal parts showpiece and gaming rig. Companies like Maingear and Origin PC will let you trick out your system with custom paint jobs, liquid cooling, see-through windows and colored cables just to name a few options.

All of that finery comes at a pretty penny, however. Some custom manufacturers, such as Origin and CyberPower, offer a selection of cases during customization. A full tower is the easiest to grip and work with, but make sure you know its dimensions beforehand. Furthermore, small form factor cases get hot, so keep that in mind if you plan on running demanding games or if you want to venture into overclocking.

The processor determines how a system will perform in most software. The processor core count is a major consideration. Options range between two and 16 cores in the mainstream space.

Those looking to do a lot of high-powered work may want to aim for eight cores or more instead, depending on how well the software can take advantage of the high core count. A six-core or eight-core chip is plenty for gaming. When it comes to AMD vs. Intel , AMD tends to offer better value throughout the pricing spectrum, providing more cores and much better multithreaded performance thanks to every chip enjoying support for simultaneous multithreading.

The latest Ryzen processors beat everything Intel has to offer across gaming and productivity tasks. Stepping back a generation, however, Intel has an edge in gaming. Most modern games are getting better at utilizing multiple cores at once. For a deeper dive into the best bang-for-your-buck CPUs, check our out in-depth guide.

Model numbers tell you much of the story here, with higher numbered cards typically meaning more performance, though there are some caveats there, and overclocked models from third-party GPU partners can close performance gaps between versions. If you want to game at p at decent frame rates, you need something more powerful like the RTX or RX from the last generation. One often confusing element of graphics cards is video memory or VRAM. You may find yourself with a choice between two cards that are similar but offer different VRAM amounts.

More VRAM does not have a significant impact on overall performance by itself, but it does allow a video card to better handle certain visual features and is a must for higher resolutions. Though once a great choice for high-end gaming, today, multi-card configurations often run into driver or game support issues that prevent them from unlocking their full potential.

The current list of games supporting ray tracing is minimal at best, with support for additional titles in the future expanding, but still far from expansive. For more tips on GPU buying, check out our guide to the best graphics cards. A good baseline for modern gaming systems is 16GB, especially with how far prices have dropped in recent months.

After all, memory is one of the easiest things to upgrade later — and one of the most affordable. That said, additional memory beyond 16GB merely sits unused. Any money that might be spent on RAM beyond 16GB should instead be put toward a component that has a bigger impact on performance. Everything running on your PC requires memory, from the operating system to your mouse and keyboard drivers.

This is why developers recommend higher amounts so your PC has room to breathe while the game remains active. One final note about memory: Make sure your configuration comes with at least two sticks. Two sticks will allow you to take advantage of dual-channel memory on most motherboards, which effectively doubles the data transfer speed versus a single stick.

A GB SSD is enough to store Windows and most of your games and it will make a huge difference to how your PC feels, as well as how fast your games load.



0コメント

  • 1000 / 1000