Shopping for a gaming computer can seem daunting for some. A typical gaming computer can range from around $1,000 to $5,000, depending on what you want it to be able to do. Besides the stress of investing a lot of money in a new computer, the technical knowledge that you ostensibly need just to figure out which one to buy can make shopping for one feel like drinking from a firehose.
Even though this might seem off putting, there are a few basic things to keep in mind that can make the process easier. Remember that shopping for a gaming computer should be fun - after all, soon you’re going to own a machine that can run all those games you’ve been wanting to play!
Budget
How much do you need to spend?
To figure out how much you need to spend on a gaming computer, a good place for you to start is to ask yourself these two questions: “what games do I want to play,” and “how much money am I willing to spend?”
If you’re setting out to buy a computer specifically for gaming, like the Lenovo Legion Tower 5, you should be prepared to spend at least between $1,000 and $1,500. Computers capable of running games more smoothly and with better graphics, like the Razer Blade Pro 17, or VR compatibility, like the Omen 25L, will cost more, usually ranging between $1,500 to $3,000 (this may or may not include extra hardware, like VR headsets). Some of the highest-end computers cost even more than that.
That said, you can mitigate the costs by shopping smart. One way to do that is to think about what games you’ll want to play on the computer and use that to guide your search. For example, if you mainly want to play puzzle games that don’t have particularly demanding performance requirements like Braid, you can probably safely consider lower-end computers that cost less. If you want to play more competitive, fast-paced games like Call of Duty, you’ll need more powerful hardware to ensure that you’re able to keep up with other players.
Try looking up the hardware requirements of the game on its website and compare that to a computer you want to buy. Ideally you should strive to meet the game’s “recommended” requirements, but if you’re on a tight budget, aiming for the minimum requirements of a game will ensure that you can run games fairly well, albeit not at the game’s highest settings.
While it’s partially true to say that more powerful hardware costs more, be careful not to conflate “more expensive” with “better.”
Graphics Cards (GPU)
How do I choose the right graphics card?
The graphics card, AKA graphics processing unit (or GPU) is one of the most important components in any computer, especially gaming computers. Prioritizing gaming computers with powerful graphics cards like the XFX AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB or the MSI VGA RX 580 ARMOR 8G OC is another smart way to help you figure out your budget.
While you definitely shouldn’t scrimp on a decent GPU, it’s worth considering that the principle, “more expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better” especially applies here. Even if you spend the money on a gaming computer with a powerful GPU like the Radeon RX 580 Armor 8G OC, which can process and display graphics in 4K (3840x2160 pixels), it won’t matter if the monitor you use is only capable of displaying graphics in 1080p (1920x1080 pixels). This is called “bottlenecking,” and it’s a problem that can happen anytime the limitations of one piece of hardware in a computer impose limitations on other components.
Central Processors (CPU)
How to choose the right “brain” for your computer
The more powerful your CPU, the more smoothly your computer can play games. While more powerful processors can make a computer more expensive, this isn’t something you should scrimp on when determining which one is worth buying.
A good way to tell how powerful a processor is is to pay attention to its processing speed, or clock speed, which is usually measured in gigahertz (GHz). Generally, 3.5 GHz is considered a good clock speed for gaming, but it usually isn’t the end of the world if you try to play games on a computer with a slower clock speed, especially if the CPU has at least 6 or more cores.
Many gaming computers use processors created by Intel, whose naming scheme makes it somewhat easy to tell how powerful a processor is. On the lower end of gaming computers, machines like the Dell G5 Gaming Desktop use Intel i5 processors, while the Lenovo Legion Y740 (17”), a more powerful gaming laptop, uses an Intel i7 (this is also a good example of why you shouldn’t assume that gaming laptops are inherently less powerful than desktop computers!)
Hard drives
Why hard drive space matters
Having a good hard drive is important because it’s where the files that are required to make your game run, as well as any other software programs on your computer, will be stored.
A bigger hard drive means that you’ll be able to store more games on your computer, so you can have more games ready to play that don’t need installing or updating, which can be a time-consuming process, and not one you want to repeat each time you sit down to play a game.
It also means you can have more games installed without your computer slowing down. It’s good to strive for as much memory as possible, but generally you should stick to a minimum of 512GB (gigabytes). If you’re willing or able to spend more, getting a computer with 1 terabytes’ (TB) worth of memory or more is worth the investment, as it also ensures that your computer will be able to adapt to future games that may require more hard drive space.
You should also consider whether you would rather have a computer with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). While HDDs are cheaper, the speed at which SSDs can access the data stored on them makes them the ideal choice for gaming.
RAM
How much RAM is enough to play video games?
Generally, the more RAM you have, the better; RAM stands for “Random Access Memory.” It’s like the short-term memory of your computer, the components that allow your computer to store data that it’s actively processing.
Playing video games requires your computer to handle a lot of data at once. These days, a good rule of thumb is that you should always strive to have at least 8GB to 16 GB of RAM in your computer. Any less than that and you run the risk of your gameplay experience getting slow, clunky, and more frustrating than satisfying.
The Bottom Line
You get what you pay for
When it comes to figuring out the cost of a gaming PC, it depends on how powerful a PC you want. As we went over in this article, the best way to determine how much the gaming computer that you want is to figure out how powerful a CPU and GPU you need, how much memory you need on your hard drive, and how much RAM you think you need.
Just remember: technology moves fast, and you don't want to spend thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money just to be stuck with a computer that will be obsolete in a year.