Buying a gaming PC? Check out top 6 things to keep in mind

Gone are the days when people used to consider gaming only for kids. It has now become a full-fledged hobby with even celebrities joining in. Henry Cavill, best known for playing Superman in DCEU movies and Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s Witcher adaption is an avid gamer and has even streamed building his gaming PC himself. Although it is not mandatory, having a powerful gaming rig can elevate your gaming experience to the next level, especially when playing AAA games.

Not only can you buy a PC from the stores, but you can also build one, or get one custom built for yourself according to your requirements. But before you go ahead to shop for one, check out these 6 things while buying a gaming PC.

1. Graphics Card (GPU)

Though you can run older games like GTA San Andreas on lower settings without a dedicated graphics card, almost every new title requires a fairly powerful one. The more powerful your GPU is, the more realistic the graphics will appear. GPU prices have risen due to the semiconductor shortage faced by the world after the pandemic and therefore, owning a powerful GPU in today’s market isn’t cheap.

2. Processor (CPU)

Along with a GPU, you also need a powerful CPU to handle all that processing power. To have a capable gaming setup, you need a processor with at least 8 cores with 24 threads, to make it future proof. The CPU must also have a frequency of at least 3.00 GHz or higher. Intel and AMD both make great processors, therefore a processor like i9 9900K or Ryzen 9 3900X is recommended to have the best possible gaming experience.

3. Storage

Now that you’ve got your CPU and GPU sorted, you need storage to store all of your games. And you need A LOT of it. Latest games like Call of Duty MWII require at least 150 GB storage space to even run. You might want to get a 2TB+ storage drive to contain all your games. Although SSDs are quite expensive, they offer blazing-fast performance, meaning you get almost no-load times in games. Therefore, an SSD, instead of a traditional hard drive, is recommended.

4. Power Supply

To handle all that power generated by the CPU and GPU, you also need a strong enough power supply. Recently NVIDIA is in deep waters over the melting power connectors due to its astonishingly powerful RTX 4090. Therefore, you need a Power Supply Unit (PSU) which can handle the load of your CPU and GPU, and provide your PC with the power it needs.

5. RAM

Despite having an SSD storage, your gaming PC can slow down if you’ve got less than adequate RAM. Even Google Chrome consumes huge amounts of RAM nowadays. So, if you’re building or buying a gaming PC, having at least 16 gigs of RAM is recommended.

6. Cooling system

To make sure your new gaming PC does not heat up, you’ve got to have a good cooling system installed. Instead of just having fans, top-of-the-line gaming PCs offer liquid cooling which is a more efficient method of cooling down the internals of your PC. Therefore, make sure your cooling system is at par with the processing power of your gaming rig.