The history of PC gaming isn’t ancient but it’s still old and rich with amazing experiences and innovation. It’s a bit challenging at first when you’re trying to build your own gaming PC to know which parts to invest in and which you should just ignore. Your gaming experience is mainly dependent on the hardware that’s running the game; any bottlenecks in hardware would directly affect how your game is being experienced and displayed. This is why it’s important to know which hardware does what, especially if you’re looking to build a gaming PC, replace old parts, or even find out why games aren’t running smoothly.
We’ll be providing a brief overview of which hardware parts affect your gaming experience the most and why.
Graphics Card
There is no debate amongst gamers about the importance of the graphics card in any gaming PC build. The graphics card is responsible for any display on the monitor, you may notice that some computers do not have a dedicated graphics card yet they’re still displaying content, that’s due to the onboard graphics card on the processor. If you’re just using your computer to watch videos and type a few things, you may not need a graphics card, but if you’re a gamer, there is no way that you’ll get to truly experience what the latest games offer without a graphics card. The graphics card is one of the most complicated and sophisticated pieces of hardware in any PC with different built-in units like image analyzing, texture processing, anti-aliasing, and many more. 4k monitors are quite taxing on the GPU to display on so if you’d like to properly play the games on such monitors, you’ll need a high-end graphics card. This leaves a lot of room for the processor unit to focus on other processes so your software could run smoothly.
Display Monitor
PC games are known for their advantage to use the latest technologies and hardware to display nothing short of the best. A gaming monitor isn’t just about allowing you to display your games at the highest resolution and gawk at them, but also have a very good response and refresh rate that can display games smoothly. It’s important to find a good place to put your monitor in. If you’re looking for a way to place your monitor in a convenient and practical place, you can find some of the best here with detailed reviews. A gaming desk is a solution that many seem to forget in the mayhem of finding the hardware. The more ergonomic the placement is, the more convenient the experience is.
CPU
The graphics card isn’t the only unit that’s highly tied to gaming, the central processing unit (CPU) is also a very integral part of your gaming experience. It runs the gameplay and allows your software to capture the needed input to translate it into a language the machine understands. Responsible for loading the map, footage, and any form of processing occurring in the game. Everything the GPU receives to display is handled by the CPU after it’s calculated to render it to its final form that you can see on the monitor. Some CPUs come with their own on-board graphics card, but they usually lack the power needed to render the information well when compared to a GPU. The faster your processor is, the smoother the handling of the game will be.
Memory
The memory, or commonly known as RAM (random access memory), is not to be taken lightly when you’re building your gaming PC. It stores or caches short-term information that your processor needs to provide it in a very short duration. Frequent processes are dependent on the RAM as it will take far longer for the processor to bring the information from the hard drive. Fortunately, the RAM is quite cheap when you compare it with the CPU and GPU. It’d have to be very mediocre for it to bottleneck your gaming experience.
Motherboard
If a game isn’t running smoothly, then upgrading your motherboard probably won’t help. The motherboard isn’t responsible for the direct gaming experience, but it’s responsible for the components that are integral to the gaming experience. Your motherboard houses the GPU, CPU, and RAM, making it a very important piece of hardware in any computer. When you’re choosing a motherboard, you need to be aware that it’s only compatible with certain CPUs. Some motherboards help with the overclocking of GPU, which helps derive more power from the unit.
Your gaming experience is very important as games can be a great getaway while providing you with rich experiences. You don’t want your experience to be limited by your hardware; it can become very frustrating if you’re an avid gamer. Investing in the essentials would always be wise in the long run.