What pc should i buy for gaming

This is primarily due to HP trimming off all the non-essential frills that tend to pad out the price of several similarly specced machines. You won't find an over-elaborated liquid cooling system or a massive suite of spectacular RGB lighting; this machine is a dense black block of computing power. If you value smooth lines and compact design over the flash and spectacle of RGB, you'll appreciate the dark, slightly brooding aesthetic of the Obelisk.

You can find similar specs from plenty of retailers, but it comes in a much smaller frame. While on the one hand, there's less space to muck around in the case if you do decide to upgrade in the future, it can slip easily into much tighter spaces than a more significant case and is easier to transport.

It's the epitome of function over form and is available at a great price. Hopefully, we'll see movement from HP before long. Scan has been a mainstay of system building in the UK for years, and we've used enough of their systems to know that we're in safe hands whenever we get a gaming PC in for review. The systems are well built, using well-known components, and all backed up by a brilliant three-year warranty on-site first year.

That warranty does bring peace of mind. This may not be the overclockable variant it lacks that all-important trailing K for that , but given overclocking has little impact on gaming performance, we're cool with that.

This is all housed in the Corsair iCue T case, which is a good-looking case offering plenty of airflow to keep your components running optimally. You can, of course, configure the machine to your heart's content, with faster processors, more memory, better storage options, you name. One of the most significant advantages to building your PC is the ability to hand-pick every single component in the system.

This allows you to take your time shopping around for deals and finding the perfect combination of parts to fit your budget and performance needs. The downside for most inexperienced builders is that this whole process can take some time and has the potential to cause quite a headache if something goes wrong.

You only get warranties on the individual components, not your finished build, and this is where the best pre-built gaming PCs shine. When you pay the premium to configure or purchase a pre-built PC, you are paying for more than just the parts.

You are paying for warranty service, support, and peace of mind that your system was put together by professionals. These are some of the things we value highly when considering what the best gaming PC is.

We also look at other unique selling points like design, upgradability, and anything you wouldn't be able to do when building it yourself. One of the most significant factors that make PCs stand apart from the competition is the design.

Pre-built systems like the Alienware Aurora R11 or Corsair One use unique in-house chassis designs you wouldn't be able to purchase when building it yourself. You can take some comfort in knowing that these systems were designed and built specially to house your configuration, though that can make upgrading more awkward later on down the line.

When we set out to choose our top choices of pre-built gaming PCs, we look at almost every major manufacturer and system integrator to find the best combination of value, reliability, customer feedback, design, and performance for various budgets and needs.

Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced as much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.

Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition. Warranty: 1 year onsite. Reasons to avoid - Sounds like it'll take off - Divisive case design. View Deal. Image 1 of 3. Image 2 of 3. Image 3 of 3. Alienware Aurora R Storage: Up to 2TB M. Warranty: 1 Year onsite.

Reasons to avoid - Pricey higher end configs - Case starting to show its age. The Dell XPS is the epitome of balance between work and play; you're looking for an affordable gaming PC and don't need all the flashy bells and whistles, it could be the perfect fit for you. Read our full Dell XPS review. The Dell G5 is one of the best gaming PCs for folks who want a solid entry level machine that's very easy to upgrade. One of the G5's biggest selling points is its sleek, foolproof chassis, which is incredibly easy to open up should you want to swap out components over time.

We found Dell's desktop to be reliable for playing AAA games at p and 60 frames per second, and like that the machine comes mostly free of bloatware. Overall, if you need a good, affordable desktop that you can make more powerful over time, the Dell G5 is a great choice. Read our full Dell G5 review. The Origin PC Millennium is a beautiful system with excellent hardware and solid build quality.

It can get pretty pricey, but you ultimately get what you pay for. That's a bit expensive for what's effectively a mid-range system configuration, and you have to provide your own peripherals since Origin doesn't include a mouse or keyboard, but what you'll get is a beautiful, well-built gaming PC. And as long as graphics cards remain hard to buy, a pre-built gaming PC like this is one of the most reliable ways to get your mitts on a high-end GPU.

Read our full Origin PC Millennium review. Performance : Think about the type of gaming experience you're after. Going 4K? Upgradability : Gaming PC components are always evolving, and the best gaming PCs can be easily upgraded with new parts over time. Machines such as the Alienware Aurora and Dell G5 are easy to open up and tinker with, even for the less tech-savvy.

Compact machines, such as the Corsair One, can be a bit harder to open up. So if you plan on upgrading your investment over time, keep this in mind. VR-readiness: Want to game in VR? Make sure your machine meets this requirements before you plunk down cash for one.

In our search to find the best gaming PC, we run every model we review through a standardized gauntlet of real-world and benchmark tests, in order to measure how each desktop stacks up as both a gaming machine and as an everyday computer.

As far as hard numbers go, we currently run the framerate benchmark utilities for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Far Cry: New Dawn, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto V at x with graphics maxed out, as well as at x and 4K if a system allows for it.

On top of that, we play tons of graphics-intensive games in order to give you a sense of how these gaming desktops hold up anecdotally. In terms of synthetic tests, we run a gamut of benchmarks that include 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra for graphics and Geekbench 4 and 5 for processor performance.

We also run the SteamVR Performance Test on all of our machines to evaluate how ready they are for virtual reality. To test a system's hard drive, we measure how fast each PC can copy 4. Included in this guide: 1. The best gaming PCs give you the power to play the most impressive, demanding games in the biggest and most beautiful form possible. Corsair Vengeance i Specifications VR Ready: Yes. Accessories: None.

Reasons to avoid - Boxy, old-fashioned case design - Doesn't include peripherals. Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R Reasons to avoid - Very loud - Inconvenient design.

Processor: Up to Intel Core iK, 3. Corsair One Pro i Processor: Intel Core iX. One often confusing element of graphics cards is video memory or VRAM. You may find yourself with a choice between two cards that are similar but offer different VRAM amounts. More VRAM does not have a significant impact on overall performance by itself, but it does allow a video card to better handle certain visual features and is a must for higher resolutions.

Though once a great choice for high-end gaming, today, multi-card configurations often run into driver or game support issues that prevent them from unlocking their full potential. The current list of games supporting ray tracing is minimal at best, with support for additional titles in the future expanding, but still far from expansive.

For more tips on GPU buying, check out our guide to the best graphics cards. A good baseline for modern gaming systems is 16GB, especially with how far prices have dropped in recent months. After all, memory is one of the easiest things to upgrade later — and one of the most affordable. That said, additional memory beyond 16GB merely sits unused. Any money that might be spent on RAM beyond 16GB should instead be put toward a component that has a bigger impact on performance.

Everything running on your PC requires memory, from the operating system to your mouse and keyboard drivers. This is why developers recommend higher amounts so your PC has room to breathe while the game remains active. One final note about memory: Make sure your configuration comes with at least two sticks. Two sticks will allow you to take advantage of dual-channel memory on most motherboards, which effectively doubles the data transfer speed versus a single stick.

A GB SSD is enough to store Windows and most of your games and it will make a huge difference to how your PC feels, as well as how fast your games load. With a decent SSD under the hood, Windows should boot and be ready to use in under 30 seconds. Games that take a minute to load on a hard drive should be done in 10 to 20 seconds on an SSD. They use a SATA 3. Not all M. Whichever drive you buy, make sure the SSD you choose as your primary storage device contains the operating system.

With Windows installed, a small drive can only contain a handful of games. If you need lots of storage space for media or work, consider a secondary hard drive for additional space, with the SSD for Windows and games only. Recent Intel processors do not ship with a stock cooler. Big air coolers are some of the most affordable and efficient ways to cool a CPU, though all-in-one water cooling and custom loops are an option too.

Graphics cards are a little more complicated, though you can water cool them too. We recommend simply buying a third-party card with a decent custom cooling solution to enable lower noise levels and better performance. There are some components which we would recommend you spend a little extra on to get the quality you need. Never buy a poor PSU, as a cheap one can die and take other components with it.

The first thing to consider is your wattage. After, look for an 80 Plus certification. The 80 Plus standard rates PSUs based on their power efficiency, and there are multiple tiers. The 80 Plus certification simply makes a statement about power efficiency.