Thinking of renewing your computer for games? We have got you some tips and guidance to buy a PC gaming desktop and enjoy it for many years. At this point, no one doubts that PC games are experiencing their second golden age. After almost two decades of decline and bad ports of the console, titles come back to resurface with force new titles developed entirely for PC.
This greater offer of games for PC has caused the users to return on considering buying a PC for gaming to enjoy the latest games on the market in the best quality without fear of suffering lags or ping drops during the games. Here are some tips for buying a gaming PC.
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Set a realistic budget and be inflexible
One of the first things you should do before buying a computer, whatever the type, is to estimate how much money you can invest in your computer. This budget will be the cornerstone that will determine the power of your gaming PC.
Setting a realistic budget limit is important before buying a desktop gaming PC since the high price of its components can quickly raise the amount of the bill almost without realizing it. The market for PC components is perfectly delimited, so there will always be a slightly more expensive component that will offer slightly higher performance.
There is no single formula to get the perfect desktop gaming PC. Everything depends on your needs, knowledge, skills, or the market situation of the components.
As a general rule, you can find desktop computers for games already installed or choose the components that best suit your needs and set up your own PC gaming configuration.
If you have a minimal idea about hardware, you can assemble and configure your own computer piece by piece. It is a fun activity and has the advantage that you will know each piece and component that forms the PC, and you can adjust it to your specific power needs.
If you have to choose components for your gaming PC and then mount them, you have two options. Choose one of the gaming computers from prestigious manufacturers such as MSI, Asus (ROG), HP (Omen), Alienware, or Gigabyte, or opt for the intermediate solution that consists of choosing one of the preconfigured models offered by many stores.
If you choose the first option, branded gaming PCs offer the guarantee of being able to start playing from the first minute you have it since everything is perfectly configured to start installing your games and play without having to configure anything beyond your user account. In addition, these computers have technical support that will help you solve any doubt or problem that may arise, so you get wider support.
The negative part is that, in spite of getting equipment that works very well within their respective ranges, sometimes they have options of connectivity or limited expansion since many of them use motherboards manufactured exclusively for those equipment and to which they have been eliminated (or added) certain functions or characteristics.
The gaming PCs configured by some component stores are the intermediate step between assembling them yourself and buying a branded gaming PC since. In this case, the store proposes the components and will be included according to the budget. These components are currently on sale in the market, and you could choose to mount them on your computer, so at all times, you know what components each of these equipment includes.
The advantage, in this case, is that it’s the store that is responsible for assembling the equipment and leaving it ready for operation. Then, it will be the manufacturers of each assembled component who will give you technical support and guarantee if a problem arises in the equipment.
Doing it yourself does not always come out cheaper
Even when you have the knowledge necessary to assemble your own computer, it is convenient to explore the options offered by the already assembled computers. The scarcity of components or the laws of supply and demand of the component market can make this equipment more economical.
The market for components is very changeable and sensitive to the laws of supply and demand, causing a scarce component to quickly increase its price, while others that there is too much stock go down in price overnight. If you decide to set up your own desktop gaming PC, this price variation will directly affect the final invoice of your computer, for better or for worse.
On the other hand, computer manufacturers store stocks of components with which they cushion the impact of this price variability. On occasion, it may be more profitable to buy a computer already assembled than an equivalent one per piece.
A clear example we have seen during the period of scarcity of graphics cards during “the Bitcoin fever” that brought with it an exorbitant rise in the price of these components and made the final bill of any piece-mounted computer raise its cost. On the other hand, thanks to the stock of parts, the brand computers managed to maintain their prices, so buying a PC already assembled was more profitable than assembling it yourself. Before the possibility that this happens again, even if you go to buy your desktop gaming PC in parts, compare it with the price to a similar brand that offers an already assembled desktop.
Find the balance
Can you imagine a car with the look and power of a Ferrari but equipped with the wheels of a bicycle? Well, the same thing happens with computers.
The balance of power in the components is one of the keys to achieving a PC gaming solvent in any of the ranges. It does not matter if it is a cheap gaming PC of just Rs. 50,000 or a computer for video game enthusiasts. When buying a desktop gaming PC, you should pay special attention to the processor, RAM, and graphics card balance. Only then will you get the best performance from all of them, avoiding the appearance of bottlenecks.
If you choose a model with a weak processor, say an Intel Core i3, with a lot of RAM, about 16 GB, and a mid-high-end graphics card such as an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070. The most likely result of this configuration will be to pay an extra cost for an amount of memory you will not use, the processor will always be running at 100% capacity, and most of the time, the graphics card will operate at 50% capacity.
As surprising as it may seem, it is not difficult to find such configurations that opt for a “star” component such as the graphics card and then weaken in other important components such as the processor, the frequency of RAM, or the power of the source of food. Of course, there will be missing RBG lights everywhere.
Choose the right Formats and sizes
When thinking about a desktop gaming PC, we tend to think of a huge computer case full of colored lights that occupy a large part of the table. However, that description does not always coincide with reality since there are compact gaming computers that barely occupy the space of a console. The advantage of having a gaming PC in a conventional size is that it allows simpler hardware upgrades and installs more complex cooling solutions that will keep PC temperatures right.
In return, due to its large size, you must give part of the space available in your table or room. In contrast, compact gaming PCs offer similar features in a much smaller space. Closer to the size of a video game console than a conventional computer. This type of equipment is ideal for taking with you from ” LAN party, “esports tournaments, or other similar gaming events because they offer great power in a compact and lightweight chassis that you can carry in a backpack without major problems.
These compact desktop gaming PCs offer two major drawbacks: limited updates and difficulty cooling. The assembly of high-performance components inevitably leads to the generation of large amounts of heat. By having very little space inside this equipment, the temperature tends to shoot up, forcing the cooling system to operate at full capacity, generating higher noise and higher temperatures.
On the other hand, the lack of space inside limits the size and characteristics of the components, making it impossible to add a second graphics card, improve the cooling system or add more storage units. Something to consider, especially when dealing with a computer for games.
Look at the connectors in the box
A few years ago, it was enough that the computer had enough ports to connect a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor to enjoy most of the games. Today things have changed a lot, and the new ways of playing in virtual reality force to meet a series of minimum requirements in terms of connectivity.
Having a good number of connection ports has always been important for good desktop PC gaming. Various USB ports, different HDMI and DisplayPort connectors, audio connectors, etc. But although the most common is to find this type of connector on the back of the computer, if you are thinking of a computer with which to play games in virtual reality, it is important that all those connectors also have a presence on the front of the computer to improve access
In this sense, it is common to find two or more USB 3.1 connectors on the front of desktop computers for games and headphones and microphone connectors. However, it is not so common to find HDMI connectors, DisplayPort, or USB type C with Thunderbolt 3 function, so necessary to connect virtual reality glasses to the desktop computer. This virtual reality device will have more presence in the market in the future, so not having a gaming computer prepared to play in virtual reality can be a big mistake in the long term.
Think about the future with updates
The segment of gaming desktop computers is constantly evolving, which forces players to constantly update their equipment to achieve the best performance. One of the basic features that your desktop gaming PC should fulfill is to offer facilities to perform that simple update of the components with simple access to them and ensure that they are as standard as possible.
If your desktop gaming PC has been assembled to pieces, then you won’t have major problems replacing the previous components with new, more powerful ones. The problem comes when we are dealing with a factory team in which the components may have been designed by the manufacturer specifically for that line of products or in which incompatibilities may occur at the hardware level.
For this reason, when buying a desktop gaming PC, you should not only consider what features its offers today, but you should also consider what components you can update in the future to continue enjoying the maximum power in games for a long time.
