What to look for when shopping for a gaming PC?

Pre-built gaming PCs offer multiple configurations, allowing gamers to upgrade certain parts of the computer. Primarily focus on the graphics card for visuals and storage for saving and loading games.

Check out our glossary of terms below for a breakdown of common gaming PC features and what to look out for within each category.

What specs should a gaming PC have?

What you need ultimately depends on what kind of games you'd like to play, and the overall quality you want to see. Find the experience you're looking for first and how much you're willing to spend. 

For example, you can spend more than $3,000 on a pre-built PC that can play any game at 4K quality, or you could spend under $1,000 for a gaming PC with comparable power to a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One X.

When shopping for parts, you should pay the most attention to the companies that make your computer's processor and graphics card. Intel and AMD are the leading creators of computer processors, while AMD and Nvidia are the leading producers in the graphics card market. Hardware like storage space and memory (RAM) will also depend on what games are being played, but 16GB of RAM is relatively standard for pre-built gaming PCs, and plenty for most gamers. 

Here is a handy chart for which parts you should consider to play PC games reliably at the three most common video resolutions:

Which is better, buying or building a gaming PC?

If you can find all the parts you need, building a PC will likely still be cheaper than buying pre-built, but be prepared to pay for things that normally come included with a pre-built machine, like a copy of Windows. 

Some pre-built gaming PCs will also come with a service warranty that covers the whole machine. So, you won't have to worry about dealing with different companies if a part breaks down and needs to be replaced, or you just need help.

Neither option is definitively better at this point, and it depends on how invested you want to be in PC gaming as a hobby. Putting together my first custom PC more than 10 years ago taught me tons about the parts I had taken for granted inside my PlayStation and Xbox consoles. 

However, if you don't have the time to handle your own repairs and just want to game instead of starting a hardware hobby, pre-built gaming PCs are customizable enough that you don't have to worry about getting sold short.

How long do gaming PCs last?

Gaming PCs can last for a long time, since desktop parts can be easily upgraded. Processors and graphics cards generally last about five years before it becomes necessary to upgrade to keep up with gaming trends.

Most gaming PCs will need to be replaced when the motherboard grows too old to work with new parts, as newly released processors and memory sticks occasionally change design and configuration compatibility for new features. 

Personally, I've built three different gaming PCs for myself since 2011, going about five years between major upgrades. However, many of the old parts I upgraded from still worked, so I was able to sell them and give them to friends for their own builds.

Glossary of terms 

Processor (CPU): The processor is essentially the brain of your gaming PC, executing the complex commands that control each part of the computer. Gaming PCs require strong CPUs to process large amounts of data during gameplay, impacting load times and frame rates. Some CPUs have built-in graphics processors that allow you to play basic games without a dedicated GPU to handle graphics output.

AMD processors are generally more affordable and energy efficient than Intel processors, but the latest 12th series Intel processors will outperform AMD in some games based on tests from Digital Foundry, a widely trusted benchmarking source. Ultimately both brands make great CPUs and the choice comes down to price and personal preference. 

Graphics Processor (GPU): If the CPU is the brain of your computer, the GPU is the heart. Your GPU is dedicated to handling the constant computations needed to produce the game's visuals while playing. Like the CPU, graphically intensive games will put more stress on the GPU, as will increasing the video resolution you play at. 

Your GPU will ultimately determine what level of graphics performance you can expect from your gaming PC, with prices ranging from $300 to $1,800. I primarily recommend Nvidia's 30 series GPUs, thanks to their impressive software support, but AMD GPUs are slightly more affordable and can see performance boosts when paired with an AMD CPU.

Random-access Memory (RAM): RAM determines how many tasks your computer can keep immediately accessible simultaneously, which is especially important when gaming. Typically, a minimum amount of RAM (8GB) is needed just to hold the complex worlds you see in games like Grand Theft Auto, but having additional RAM (16GB to 32GB) can also improve your overall load times.

Refresh rate: A term used to describe how often a display updates the picture on screen each second. Monitors with higher refresh rates will display more unique images per second, which means gaming PCs that output high frame rates of 60 per second or more will have even smoother looking animation on a high refresh rate display.

Storage (HD, SSD, M.2): Quite literally, storage describes how much space you have to store long-term data on your PC, and what type of drive it will be stored on. There are three types of storage drive available: hard disk drives, solid state drives, and M.2 drives.

The hard disk drive (HDD) is an older, slower storage type that uses a spinning disk encased in a magnetic material, but usually offers the most space for the least money. Solid state drives (SSD) don't have a physical disk inside and are capable of faster speeds than HDD.

M.2 and NVMe are the latest formats for solid state drives with even faster speeds and smaller sizes, but they're significantly more expensive than standard SSDs and HDDs for now.

Wi-Fi: A wireless network protocol using radio waves, often used to connect portable devices to the internet. In 2018 the group that owns the Wi-Fi trademark began identifying new versions of Wi-Fi numerically, and the latest format, Wi-Fi 6, was approved in February 2021. All of the PCs I recommend support Wi-Fi 6, meaning they are compatible with the widest possible range of devices.

Bluetooth: A relatively short range wireless format used to connect devices locally. Devices with the latest features are certified as Bluetooth 5.0 compatible to reflect the signal's improvements, but new devices remain backward compatible with older versions of Bluetooth. This is a common wireless connection used in computer mice, keyboards, and headphones.