Part 1.2: Basic Gaming Hardware and Games Played. What is gaming hardware

If you want to buy a gaming PC, you can choose a well-known brand known for its performance and quality. With a few of the best pre-made gaming PC brands you can rest assured that all of your PC’s components will work together properly, and if something goes wrong you’ll get a long warranty period.

Beginner’s Guide to PC Gaming

Christine McKee is a former Lifewire writer on PC video game hardware and technology. She has also written for other leading news outlets.

Want to use your PC as a gaming PC? You can buy the gaming PC we’ve selected for you right away, or consider whether it’s practical to upgrade your own PC to support the games you want to play.

The more you know about the internal workings of your computer, the easier it is to make informed decisions about which parts to upgrade. There may only be one or two pieces of hardware that could do with a good tweak before you start playing, but you may find that you need to replace almost everything (or nothing) before your computer is deemed ready to play.

This guide will explain what needs extra attention when dealing with a gaming setup and how to find out what you already have on your PC to avoid paying for an upgrade if you don’t have to.

Since a gaming PC is much more powerful than a regular PC, there is a much greater need for PC component cooling, which is extremely important if you want your hardware to run for a long time.

The processor or central processing unit processes the instructions from the application. It collects information from a program and then decodes and executes commands. While this is important to your overall computing needs, it’s an especially critical factor to consider when considering gaming.

Processors can be built with different numbers of cores, such as dual-core (2), quad-core (4), six-core (6), octa-core (8), etc. If you are looking for a high performance system, a quad-core or hexa-core CPU works well for multi-threaded applications.

Speeds vary by model and voltage, but to avoid bottlenecks you’ll typically need a CPU running at a minimum of 2.0GHz, although 3.0GHz and 4.0GHz are even better.

Motherboard

Another important component when considering a gaming PC is the computer motherboard. After all, the processor, memory and graphics cards are placed and connected directly to the motherboard.

If you’re building your own gaming PC, you’ll want to look for a motherboard that has enough slots for the amount of memory you want to use and the size of the graphics card you want to install. Also, if you plan to install two or more graphics cards, make sure your motherboard supports SLI or CrossFireX (NVIDIA and AMD terms for multi-graphics card configurations).

If you’re looking for a high-performance custom PC with outstanding build quality and award-winning support, then don’t go any further as MAINGEAR has you covered. It is undoubtedly part of several good brands of gaming computers.

Consoles are the most common way to play games.

The largest group of teenagers – 86% – play games on console, devices such as Xbox, PlayStation and Wii. Boys and younger teens are much more likely to play console games: 96% of boys have ever played games on a game console, compared with 76% of girls. Younger teens are also more likely to use a game console – nearly nine in ten (89%) of adolescents aged 12-14 play console games compared with 83% of older teens.

Among older teenagers, 94% of older boys play console versus 71% of older girls. Among younger adolescents, 97% of boys aged 12-14 play the console compared with 81% of girls of the same age. Having a console is not a prerequisite for playing it, as many teenagers use the console at the homes of friends and relatives – 87% of teenagers playing on their own console; 13% of console players do not own a console. 43 Console ownership is also not necessarily the same as computer ownership. Slightly less than one in ten (7%) teenagers who play games on consoles do not have a computer at home, and another 4% have a computer at home that is not connected to the Internet.

Personal computers are used equally by all groups for game play.

The next most popular gaming tool is the personal computer. Almost three-quarters (73%) of teenagers play games on a laptop or desktop computer. Computers are also the most used gaming devices; Unlike consoles and handheld gaming devices, there are no gender or age differences in PC games – girls and boys, younger and older teens are equally likely to play games on a desktop or laptop. As many as 85% of teenagers who have a desktop or laptop computer say that they play games on it.

As handheld gaming devices become more sophisticated and mobile phone owners infiltrate the teen population, gaming is becoming more mobile. Portable gaming devices are primarily the domain of a younger set. Six in ten (60%) of teenagers play games on portable gaming devices such as PSP, DS or Game Boy. Younger teens play games on a portable gaming device much more often than older teens, with younger boys in the lead. Overall, more than seven in ten (71%) adolescents 12-14 years old play games on a mobile device, compared with nearly half (49%) adolescents 15-17 years old. Boys play games more frequently on mobile devices – such behavior is reported by 67% of boys and 53% of girls.Younger boys are particularly enthusiastic users of handheld gaming devices, with 77% of boys aged 12-14 using a PSP, DS, or other handheld device, compared with 65% of younger girls.

Only NVIDIA RTX technology has dedicated ray tracing and AI tensor cores, allowing for breakthrough technologies with breakthrough speeds to enjoy the greatest hits you’ve never seen before.

Intel Arc graphics cards

Intel’s return to dedicated graphics, specifically gaming graphics cards, can be a really very big deal. Aside from challenging the well-established Nvidia / AMD duopoly, any new supply of graphics cards – in the current climate of endless shortages and bordering on blame price increases – will be welcome.

But what about the GPUs themselves? Little is known about Alchemist, the first line of Intel Arc models, though they are sure to be coming soon. The message from Intel itself, at CES 2022, is that Alchemist GPUs have already begun shipping to OEMs for inclusion in upcoming laptops and off-the-shelf desktops. Of course, you will also be able to buy them separately – “Q1 2022” is the time for full launch.

Arc / Alchemist GPUs also herald another interesting technology, XeSS: Intel’s answer to Nvidia DLSS. Like DLSS, XeSS aims to make your games run smoother by rendering them at a lower resolution before scaling the image to match your monitor’s native resolution, and it also has similar machine learning integration – so it can further improve image quality and performance time. XeSS is also open source, so while it may run best on Arc GPUs, it will also work on AMD and Nvidia cards… as long as XeSS is actually supported by the game in question.

AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs

12th Generation Intel Alder Lake processors proved to be the biggest step for the blue team in years, introducing a clever hybrid architecture and supporting many standards of next-generation expansion and storage. Even on the simplest of performance terms, they have supplanted Ryzen chips as the best gaming processors, so you can probably expect an enthusiastic response when AMD releases the Ryzen 7000 series in the second half of 2022.

CEO Dr. Lisa Su has confirmed that the new chips are on track for launch this year at CES 2022, following announcements on various Ryzen 6000 APUs and mobile processors. But it’s the more enigmatic Ryzen 7000 series that should keep an eye out for serious gaming builds, especially if you’re looking to future-proof your hardware with support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory. Incidentally, both of the updates Alder Lake just rolled out on the Intel side.

We’ll have to wait and see if the 7000 Series Zen 3+ architecture can boost the performance needed to overtake Alder Lake, though one thing’s for sure: you’ll need a new motherboard for this, as AMD will eventually phase out the AM4 socket in favor of AM5. This is better news than it sounds because it means – after all – the 7000 series chips will not have these delicate, easily bending pins on the underside. Hopefully it also has a more solid locking mechanism – even though it never really happens, the little side shift of the AM4 socket always makes me feel like I’m about to cut off all those pins. Like dried spaghetti with karate chopping.

Artificial intelligence (AI), the 5G revolution, and the advent of the smart edge are the technical inflection points that will shape the future of technology. They are powered by silicon and software, and Intel is at the heart of it all.

How We Put the Top Gaming PC Brands to the Test According to their PCs

In our quest to identify the best gaming PC, we subject each brand to rigorous real-world benchmarking to see how well it performs as a gaming machine and general purpose PC.

As for hard numbers, the frame rate testing tools in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Far Cry: New Dawn, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Grand Theft Auto V are now set to 1920 x 1080 with all graphics enabled as 2560 x 1440 and 4K if the machine supports it.

Plus, we’ve played a variety of graphics-intensive games to give you an idea of ​​how these gaming desktops work in practice.

We use various synthetic tests, including 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra (for graphics) and Geek bench 4 and 5 (for CPU performance).

We also put all our machines through the SteamVR Benchmark to make sure they’re VR Ready. We measure how fast each computer can copy 4.97 GB of media files to test its hard drive.

Conclusion

Buying a new computer is a wonderful experience. It’s hard to ignore the charm of innovative technology. Unfortunately, if you don’t buy the PC you need, your excitement will soon fade away if it doesn’t meet the gaming specs you want.

You can probably experience this when you don’t know the right brand you are buying from, so we decided to write about this aspect. We want you to have maximum fun playing your favorite games!

The numerous options available can be overwhelming, but we hope this guide to the best brands of gaming PCs can point you in the right direction for your dream gaming PC.

As a general rule, 12GB of memory can be assumed to run most video games, but don’t use this number as a reason to avoid reading “system requirements” next to games you download or buy.

Housing Matters

Now let’s talk about your PC tower. The tower will hold all of these components and give your PC a clean look. Many PC builders have a great time with this component. This is an opportunity to create an expressive look.

One of the most important factors to consider is size. Towers come in several different sizes. You have compact external components at the lower end. Perfect for people with limited space, the compact towers look nice on smaller desks. Then you have full towers. These massive living units take up a lot of space. Most will not even fit under the desk.

We recommend going with the middle tower. Medium size is a happy medium. The problem with full towers is obvious. However, there are also some problems with compact towers. The biggest one is the lack of space for the future. You want your PC to be future-proof. The ability to update components is one of the biggest advantages of having a gaming desktop. With a small tower you can limit yourself to future changes.

Peripherals Are Just as Important

When it comes to new gaming hardware, a lot of people focus solely on whether their gaming hardware will be able to run the latest AAA title they’ve bet on. However, there are other (almost) equally important things to keep in mind.

For example, a mouse and keyboard that cost $ 250 in total are far more profitable for competing games than any combination you can buy at your local store for $ 10. If you plan to take part in CS: GO tournaments, you must have the advantage of a high-res gaming mouse. Likewise, if you’re a fan of MMOs like World of Warcraft, you’re no stranger to hitting 15 keyboard buttons per second during air raids. In this case, you need a high-quality keyboard with a long response time.

The list goes on and on, and while we don’t encourage you to buy the most expensive keyboard and mouse set on the market, be aware that professional hardware gives you an unparalleled edge over your competition in gaming.

In case you were wondering: what are the best brands of gaming PCs that you can trust to get good gaming PCs? This list includes the top 10 best gaming PC brands, often subsidiaries or affiliates of well-known PC manufacturers.

How Likely Are PC Gamers to Switch Hardware Brands?

Devoted PC gamers actively evaluate their options for the 5.5 weeks (average) version before purchasing new hardware and components. Therefore, it is important for marketers to act quickly when they know that a potential customer is in the intent and contemplation phase on the marketing funnel.

According to research, dedicated PC gamers use the following sources of information for purchasing hardware and components:

• Online manufacturers’ websites: 50%
• Websites of online stores: 46%
• Online forums: 38%
• Professional review sites and benchmarking: 33%
• Video content and reviews: 33%

While retailer and brand sites are paramount, the power of online communities – both community-driven and developer-centric – is undeniable. Working with the right content creator can take the marketing of multiple vendors to the next level.

Overall, laptop manufacturers are particularly well placed to convince consumers. Of the dedicated PC gamers who mostly play on laptops and want to upgrade to a new laptop, half are open to rebranding.

Want more details on this unique research?

Meanwhile, only 29% of people who mainly gamble on desktops are willing to rebrand desktops. The chance is less, but definitely within reach.

The full research reveals exactly what dedicated PC gamers are looking for in their hardware brands – as well as what brands they currently know and consider. For example, for consumers looking at finished devices, prestige and quality are all. They are especially looking for brands that are:

• Seen as a premium in the market
• Stand out from the competition
• Known for creating high-quality equipment
• Seen as leaders or best in class

Of course, other factors come into play, including budgets and brand perception, which are essential for hardware brands to understand that they will be successful. Moreover, the PC gaming hardware market is now bigger and therefore more saturated than ever before. Being different is essential.

Fortunately, there is now a simplified way to get this information and use it to improve your marketing and product development.

Compact machines like the Corsair One may be a bit more difficult to open. Keep this in mind if you intend to improve your investment over time.

The Pros and Cons of Owning a Gaming Rig

Having a more powerful computer and high-quality peripherals has many advantages. A better computer allows you to play better games with better graphics and higher frames per second. Peripherals offer less benefit but improve the overall experience. If you’re wondering whether you should spend your money on gaming hardware, here’s the gist of the matter: you’ll have a better, smoother, and more enjoyable gaming session with a fully tuned PC battle station.

However, having a powerful machine has its drawbacks. The important fact is that while it may improve your gaming experience, your actual skills as a player may not improve that much. When you buy a gaming mouse, you don’t climb four divisions. You need to know that you are making a quality-of-life investment, and that does not necessarily mean that you will be better at the game of your choice.

The second disadvantage of gaming platforms is even more obvious, and that’s the cost. For that, it’s largely a cost-benefit analysis. Want to play competitive multiplayer games or focus on single-player titles? If you want to play a modern esports title like Dota, CS: GO, Overwatch, or PUBG, it’s time to cut back on your expenses for a while so you can buy a truly perfect PC. But if you want to play single-player games, you should seriously consider getting a console. PS4 and Xbox One aren’t cheap, but they only cost you about a quarter of what a good gaming PC would cost. And since everyone in the console gaming world works on the same machine, you don’t have to worry about someone else’s hardware surpassing yours.

Is a Gaming Rig Worth The Money?

Ultimately, it’s your money and your gaming experience. Personally, I think the importance of gaming peripherals is exaggerated, but I can’t say they’re not pretty. On the other hand, a powerful PC is a must if you choose this path. Save money on the parts you need to build the right gaming rig and you will thank yourself in the long run.

Stephen graduated in English Philology from Brock University. He grew up playing video games and card games, always with a passion for strategy. He won League of Legends at the start of Season One and has achieved the rank of Diamond multiple times since then. He also picked up Hearthstone in beta and has consistently achieved the Legend since then. When he is not reading, writing or playing, he is probably watching other people’s playing.