How do you choose the right gaming PC?
Choose gaming PC
When choosing a good gaming PC, it's important what video card you need and which games you want to play. Consider the following parts and minimum specifications:
- An NVIDIA GeForce video card or AMD Radeon video card
- An Intel Core i5 processor or AMD Ryzen 5 processor
- 8GB RAM or more
- An SSD
The video card
The video card is the heart of your gaming PC. This card processes all visual elements in your favorite games. The faster the video card, the better and smoother your games will look on your monitor. To play a game, you need at least 30, but preferably 60 frames per second (fps). Not everyone has the same wishes though, so we've highlighted the most popular video cards and divided them into 3 groups.
Basic dedicated video cards
Basic dedicated video cards are technically dedicated video cards, but they're not powerful enough for gaming. An NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 video card or a similar AMD Radeon RX card is the minimum requirement for gaming on your PC. If you need more and want to at least play games in Full HD image quality at 60 fps, you should get a GTX 1660 or powerful AMD Radeon card.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX video cards
NVIDIA GeForce GTX cards belong to the previous generation of NVIDIA video cards. This series includes video cards for the novice gamer. You can play light games like Fortnite, League of Legends, Rocket League, and The Sims. The GTX 1650 is a starter model. And with the GTX 1660 Ti, your games run even smoother. Whatever light game you play, you're in the right place with a GTX video card.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX video cards
RTX 3000 series
The RTX 3000 series consists of very powerful video cards. With the implementation of Ampere, which the second generation of RTX architecture, more ray tracing cores, and Tensor cores, you have realistic graphics. The least powerful version of the RTX 3000 series is the RTX 3060. For hardcore gamers, there's the RTX 3090, which is the most powerful video card at the moment. With the 24GB of video memory of that video card, you can play the latest games at high settings in 4K without any problems.
RTX 4000 series
The latest video cards from NVIDIA are the RTX 4000 video cards. These cards are completely in line with the demanding demands of today's games. They have a higher clock speed and third generation ray tracing. This means that you can enjoy even more realistic effects and become even more immersed in your game. With an RTX 4000 video card, you're assured of a powerful gaming experience. As with the previous RTX 3000 series, there are different video cards: the RTX 4050, RTX 4060, RTX 4070, RTX 4080, and RTX 4090.
HP OMEN 25L GT15-2965nd
- You can play light games at 60 fps and stream your gameplay in Full HD with the RTX 4060 Ti video card, the Intel Core i7 processor, and 32GB RAM.
- On the 1TB SSD, you can install about 20 games of about 45GB.
- You can easily upgrade this laptop with extra DDR5 RAM, which makes it future-proof.
- For game design and 3D animation in demanding 3D software, you need at least an i9 or Ryzen 9 processor.
- If you want to play medium demanding games, we recommend at least an RTX 4070 or RX 6700 video card.
The processor
As the video card takes on all graphic tasks, the processor (CPU) controls the game world. Think of your computer-controlled opponents and where bullets go. The CPU calculates that you're shooting where the video card shows an explosion. Although the processor is important, the graphics card remains the part that most influences your favorite games. The lower limit when it comes to gaming is with an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processor.
RAM
For a gaming computer, a minimum of 8GB RAM is sufficient. The RAM is like a notepad for your processor to quickly see important information. If you want to stream games, 16 or 32GB is a requirement. If you want to prepare for the future, you want to have at least 16GB RAM or more in your gaming PC.
The hard drive
Everyone hates loading times, especially gamers. With an SSD, that's a thing of the past. An SSD halves your startup and loading time, so you can get ready for the next level quickly. If you want to take it to the next level, you can choose multiple SSDs in a RAID setup. In a RAID setup, each SSD does half of the work. The speed doubles, just like it would if you were to start writing with 2 hands.
The case and accessories
A gaming PC has extra accessories, like a glass wall and built-in RGB lighting. In combination with the though looks, this makes sure that a real gaming PC is more than just a case with components. You can also give the inside of the case something extra, like water cooling. This way, your processor always stays at the right temperature, even if you ask a lot of your CPU.
