What to look for in a gaming PC

A gaming PC is arguably the best way to enjoy the latest games on the market with high resolutions and framerates, spectacular video quality, an unlimited sea of games and mods to choose from, and like the amount of games to choose from, it can be overwhelming when trying to choose which gaming PC to buy.

What makes a gaming PC, a gaming PC?

Although some PCs are able to run simpler games such as puzzle games, browser based games, etc. a gaming PC is typically defined by a PC that has a graphics card or chipset for general gaming.

Most gaming PCs will have a dedicated graphics card (often referred to as a GPU), which is primarily responsible for rendering the visuals that you see on your screen. Paired with a powerful processor (aka CPU), most gaming PCs can play a large variety of titles at higher fidelity, with high framerates for more responsive visuals.

What to consider when buying a gaming PC?

There are a few factors to keep in mind when buying a gaming PC. The first thing to consider is the cost. Compared to an average home or business PC, gaming PCs are purpose built, and as a result come at a higher cost. Although some gaming systems can be rather inexpensive, an average gaming PC will fall between the $1200-1800 price range. This is by no means a concrete price range as the cost of PCs vary highly with new hardware coming out regularly.

Besides the cost, the main thing to look for in a gaming PC is the processor and graphics card (CPU and GPU). You can think of these as the engine and transmission in a car. They are both responsible for computing the majority of what you do on your computer. A good gaming PC should have a CPU and GPU that do not restrict (referred to as bottlenecking) one another.

As an example, an Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor, paired with an expensive NVIDIA RTX 4090 is a good example of an unbalanced system. A weaker CPU will not be able to keep up with the performance of the highly capable GPU. Similarly, an Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 processor, paired with an RTX 3050 is an example of a system where the powerful processor is bottlenecked by the entry level RTX 3050 graphics card.

Additionally, other components like RAM, and storage type should be considered. For most systems today, 16GB of DDR4 RAM is standard. For storage, your system should have a solid state drive. Solid state drive's or SSDs are a faster type of storage drive compared to traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) and aid in quickly loading files. All of our gaming systems come standard with 16GB of RAM and a high quality SSD.

How much should I spend on a gaming PC?

Price ranges vary based on lots of factors, and will vary with time. There is no perfect price or price range, but below are typical ranges that we recommend depending on the type of gaming you're looking to do.

Entry Build ($1200-$1400~)

Perfect for handling popular titles such as League of Legends, Fortnite, COD Warzone, Overwatch 2 and more. These games are typically less graphics intensive, and can be ran at high framerates on 1080p and 1440p resolutions.

Editor recommendation: Griffin by Skyforge PC

Mid-Tier ($1500-$1800~)

Perfect for handling a vast majority of titles at 1080p and 1440p with high framerates. Most games can be played at high or ultra settings, and less intensive titles can be played at higher resolutions such as 4K without any issues.

Editor recommendation: Kraken by Skyforge PC

High-End ($2000-2500~)

Perfect for running games at higher resolutions like 4K, systems in this price range offer high graphics performance. Games like Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, Forza Horizon 5 and other similar games can be played at ultra settings with high framerates.

Editor recommendation: Hydra by Skyforge PC

Premium ($2600+)

For bleeding-edge graphical games with lots of eye candy, or games that are poorly optimized, systems in this price range offer maximum graphical headroom. If you're running a high resolution such as 4K (3440x2160) or ultrawide resolutions (3440x1440), systems in this price range will be able to comfortably power most high end games with high framerates.

Examples of some poorly optimized games include The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Elden Ring, and DayZ.

Editor recommendation: Phoenix by Skyforge PC

 

What about future-proofing?

You may have heard of the term future-proofing being used in regards to gaming PCs. Although PCs can be built with upgradeability, no PC is truly 'future-proof'. 

As new standards are released and new generations of hardware come out, it can be easy to fall into a scenario where you're never sure when to pull the trigger.

The best system and time to buy is the best system you can reasonably afford right now. One of the many advantages of buying from Skyforge PC is the upgradeability our systems offer. Each of our systems are designed to be upgradeable and expandable. Unlike other system integrators, we never use low end or proprietary components that lock your upgrades down.

Conclusion

So now that you've learned a bit about gaming PCs, you might be ready to buy. Still have questions? Get in touch with our world-class team to see which system is the best for you!