If you are a fan of PC video games, you probably know it: the computer intended to play must be very powerful to last over time, and give you the best gaming experience possible.
Logically, a gaming PC is more expensive than a PC intended for office automation, and when we say “more expensive”, we can also say “much more expensive”, even if it depends a lot on the experience that you are looking for.
Indeed, if you are more a fan of independent games, or strategy games that favor gameplay over graphics, you can turn to high-performance gaming configurations, but not high-end, which can be around 1000 or so. 1200 euros. Today, it is difficult to put less in a gaming PC, because certain components have seen their prices increase in recent years, such as processors or graphics cards. If you are a gamer who is heavily involved in FPS, MMORPG, and other action adventure games where graphics and fluidity play an important role, then you need to invest in the most recent configuration possible, and there , the prices go up very quickly: you can easily exceed 2000 euros,or even flirt with 3000 euros if your budget allows it.
It will be understood that the search for high-end performance comes at a significant cost.
However, it is always possible to make certain compromises to lower the score, such as choosing a functional box, but sober, and therefore inexpensive, opting for a graphics card from a previous generation, but still performing, or even swap SSDs. against hard drives.
Also note that the price of a gaming laptop PC is generally higher than that of a desktop gaming PC.
To find out more, follow the guide.
Which gaming PC for which type of gamer?
Are you a gamer?
By gamer, we generally think of avid fans of video games, demanding on the quality of these, and therefore on the performance of their PC.
However, many games do not need a powerful machine to run.
Games that came out a few years ago, some strategy games, retro games, and most indie games don't need an expensive graphics card and HD display.
For those, a mid-range PC is sufficient.
On the other hand, for recent sports games, racing, and especially FPS (first person shooter, or first person shooter), the graphics and the display frequency are decisive to guarantee an optimal gaming experience.
Hardcore gamer: performance above all else
If you play video games more than assiduously, and play recent first-person shooters or Starcraft-like strategy games competitively, then maybe you need a PC for hardcore gamers.
These true monsters of power are perfect for gamers who cannot tolerate slowdowns, even with games at maximum graphics settings.
This type of desktop PC is expensive, sometimes more than 2000 euros, but allows you to stay up to date for several years.
This guide gives you some keys to choosing the best components and buying a gaming PC that will stand the test of time.
The main types of gaming PCs
Gaming desktops
At the same price, desktop PCs are much more powerful than laptops. With their components assembled in a vertical tower, their screen, their keyboard and their mouse, they are the ones that are preferred by real fans of video games. And they're right: desktop PC screens are better, bigger, and have a better refresh rate. Their graphics card is on average 30% more powerful than that of a laptop PC, with an equivalent chip. The processor is also more powerful for a reasonable price. In addition, their design is evolving and they are no longer only available in a black tower with sleek lines, with plenty of diodes to please the geek who lies dormant in all of us. Above all, the desktop PC has a huge advantage over the laptop PC: it is scalable,which means that in the future you will be able to replace its components separately to update your configuration and give it a facelift.
Gaming laptops
Until recently, it was a heresy to say that a laptop could be used by a gamer. But today, with the miniaturization of components, laptops display quite decent performance to run recent video games without sacrificing mobility. But the gaming laptop PC remains a compromise, not without flaws: its price, first of all, which can put off a lot of players. Then, with their 17-inch or larger screen and heavy components, laptops are bulky enough to carry around to class or to work. Their autonomy in game is quite low, because the graphics card is greedy in energy. Finally, apart from the hard drive and RAM memory, it is impossible to modify its components, which means that within a few years,it will no longer be able to run recent games. Despite all these drawbacks, it remains an acceptable solution for gamers who need to move around with their computer.
PC to assemble or factory PC: which one to choose?
It's up to you to decide, depending on your computer skills.
If you are not a PC dismantling specialist, turnkey desktop computers, assembled at the factory, have the advantage of being secure, and of being delivered with the latest version of Windows already installed and ready to go. receive your games.
Assembling your gaming PC has the double advantage of being less expensive and offering maximum scalability, since you can replace each component separately with more freedom than on a factory PC, which sometimes blocks the removal of the processor, by example.
How to choose the right gaming PC
Components: constantly evolving technical standards
To choose the right gaming PC, you have to choose a configuration by combining components, according to the desired performance and budget. If, for several years, we have seen a significant drop in the prices of components for PCs, the situation changed in early 2020 with the global pandemic. Indeed, factories began to idle, which gradually led to increasingly significant shortages, especially on the side of graphics cards, but also, to a lesser extent, of processors and other motherboards. The prices have therefore skyrocketed and it remains complicated to get hold of this kind of recent components at reasonable prices.
At the same time, the minimum configurations required by recent games are constantly increasing. Faced with these developments, it's up to you to choose a PC that is suited to your video game requirements, if possible for several years, preferably while respecting your potentially increased budget in the face of the difficulties in finding certain components. Properly configured, a high-end gaming PC will be able to run recent action games with maximum settings for 2 to 3 years, beyond which it will be necessary to replace its graphics card and add RAM. Faced with these moving data, we are not going to give absolute values to advise components (except the screen, whose characteristics remain fairly stable). To find out the type of processor, graphics card or RAM memory exactly suited to your needs,instead, we recommend that you check the minimum requirements for the games you want to run on the publisher sites.
The screen
In addition to the screen size, if possible above 24 inches for a desktop PC and 17 inches for a laptop PC, take a good look at the refresh rate: it is calculated in Hertz and determines the responsiveness of the screen.
A screen greater than 75 or 100 hertz helps to avoid a jerky impression when there are a lot of enemies on the screen in an FPS.
Consider a 120Hz or 144Hz display if you want the very best.
The response time of the screen is also to be taken into account: it is expressed in milliseconds, and it corresponds to the time required for a pixel to go from black to white and from white to black.
Ideally, it should be as low as possible: many PC gaming screens display a response time of only 1 ms.
You then have to choose between a matte or glossy screen, with HD, Full HD or even 4K resolution for the latest generation screens.
When choosing a screen for gaming, remember that it is a peripheral that loses less value over the years than other components, and that you can reuse it with your next PCs ...
The graphics card
In the bowels of a gaming PC, the graphics card is an essential component. It is she who has the heavy task of managing the performance of the computer when you play, performing many calculations that optimize the display in real time. It also has an important role outside of games, especially concerning the definition (or resolution) of the desktop, and the number of frames per second that the machine can handle. AMD and Nvidia are the two main players in the graphics card market. From a hardware perspective, performance is similar, but software solutions vary and may influence your purchase. On the price side, prices vary greatly: an entry-level model costs around 200 euros, while a high-end model can go up to 700 euros.It should be noted that the increase in prices linked to the shortage of components in recent years can increase the bill up to 1500 euros for the most powerful graphics cards, which is a totally excessive price that we strongly recommend to you. to avoid!
The processor
It's the brain of your PC.
It conditions the computing power, which is also essential for the games to run without slowing down.
To choose it, you have to look at the clock frequency which is measured in gigahertz.
The number of cores is important: at least, there are two and we speak of dual core.
However, today, some processors have 64, and this is heavy on the performance side.
RAM or RAM
RAM is used to temporarily store the data needed to run software and video games.
Measured in gigabytes, it should be high enough to run the most recent games.
Today, 8 GB of RAM is estimated to be a minimum for a gaming PC, and 16 GB is a decent amount.
Check out the minimum requirements for the games you want to run to get an idea of how much RAM you need.
Rather hard drive or SSD?
When we talk about the storage part of a PC, we usually talk about a hard drive.
But today, the trend is towards SSD, a much more powerful storage technology.
It is similar to that of USB sticks, that is, it does not use a tray system, but much faster flash memory, but also more robust.
Favoring the SSD in a gaming computer is above all the assurance of taking advantage of reduced loading times and much better responsiveness in most software, including in Windows in general.
On the other hand, the SSD is more expensive than the hard disk, and its storage capacity is also smaller.
The ideal remains to associate an SSD with a hard drive and to install the games on the first, while storing your files on the second.
What accessories to complete my gaming PC
There are many accessories that can complement your experience, enhance immersion in games, or give you that little hundredth of a second in advance that allows you to beat your opponents in online shooting games. In particular, multiplayer FPS fans know the importance of a gaming mouse. These small concentrates of technology offer unparalleled responsiveness and give you on-screen precision essential for strategy games or first-person shooters. In addition, they are equipped with many buttons that reduce the need to use the keyboard for basic actions.
There are also gaming keyboards, with shortcuts and a design suitable for fans of video games.
PC controllers are an investment worth considering for sports, racing, or fighting games.
Finally, headsets, wired or wireless, allow an incomparable immersion in the world of your favorite video games.
Discover the gaming laptops of the moment
If they have long been out of favor on the side of the players, laptops dedicated to gaming are now preferred by many mobile users. Playing video games, including the most recent, wherever you are, is a dream for many! Granted, gaming laptops boast a battery life that often boils down to a few hours, but if you have the option of plugging your computer in somewhere, then there's not much that can stop you from gaming. If you are wondering which gaming laptop to choose to always be ready for a game, you can refer to our dedicated buying guide. Brands like Razer, MSI, Acer, Lenovo or Asus are there to offer ambitious configurations, which meet FPS and RTS enthusiasts,multiplayer online games or adventure games. The joys of mobile PC gaming are yours!
