Consoles are for playing, there’s no doubt. Kings of this world, we sometimes forget that with them, or even above them, depending on who you ask, the computers. Authentic machines that if configured correctly offer a performance difficult to beat.
The PC Gaming is experiencing a new golden era with lots of exclusive games: League of Legends, DotA, Starcraft 2… It also allows us to enjoy some console titles like Call of Duty or Battlefield with much more details. Want to buy a gaming computer and do not know where to start? Check out our buying guide.
Hardware
One of the first things we must consider when we buy our gaming PC is the budget. Enjoying the best graphic quality has a price but it’s worth it, remember that this is an investment. Just remember that in El Corte Ingles can finance it without any problem.
Processor
Let’s start with the basics: the processor. Here it’s ideal to start from an Intel Core i5, which has proven as a very powerful and fast chip. Perfect for gaming, it’s an affordable solution that offers good performance, its compatible with all games and is geared for this type of use: heavy applications, multitasking, low energy consumption …
If you want the best of the best, the answer is clear: Intel Core i7. The difference may seem small but this processor has proven to be the preferred choice by all professional gamers. Its calculation speed is only surpassed by the chips used in computers used in engineering companies or research labs. This chip is integrated as standard in most high-end equipment.
Graphics card and RAM
Another key element is the graphics card. Here it’s difficult to choose between ATI or NVIDIA. Most gamers tend to prefer NVIDIA but ATI has very powerful models. We have to consider three aspects. On one hand that it’s PCI Express, most are, but it’s still not bad to make sure. There are another type of lesser used cards that are intended for other tasks like design or 3D animation.
Another important point is the memory of these cards. It’s ideal that you have at least 1GB capacity but anything with more is most welcome. Finally, and very importantly, ventilation. It is best to look for a model that takes an active system that dissipates the air. That is, built-in fans to help you cool your CPU.
As for RAM it’s ideal have up to 8GB. The type? Depends on your motherboard but it’s most likely that it’s a DDR3. 16GB is also a good figure but to run most of the games with solvency eight is enough, plus the good thing is we can always expand.
Hard Drive
The hard drive seems a simple element in which you store things, but it’s not enough to put in gigabytes and gigabytes of capacity. We need to look for disk speed. If it’s a SATA3, it must be at least 72000 rpm for it to be fast. Size? 1TB is perfect.
Another interesting option is to mount an SSD and install our games and OS there. So that it runs much faster. Then we can leave the needle hard drive to store data, music, photos, movies… Anything that does not require an immediate and quick access.
Ventilation and energy
Playing at top quality means putting your computer to performance at top and therefore it’s critical to have ventilation. What’s this? Very simple: the air vents in the case that dissipates the heat produced by the machine fast, so that it can perform at full always. Normally the cases come incorporated with many vents.
A very interesting option, if we are handymen, it’s to install a water cooling system to reduce the temperature of the computer and work just as well but not as hot. Also make sure to put the computer in a place where the case can breathe. If wall the computer in a hole, no matter how big and powerful the fans are, they’ll fail.
It is also important to have a good power supply. Must be powerful and have enough watts. Most computers that come already assembled have a guarantee. In any case, we can always expand with a new one, so we don’t suffer from power shortage at any time.
Accessories: monitor, keyboard and mouse
Besides a good computer, it’s important that the accessories are up to this brand new computer. There are many and we are going to have to focus on the three most important: the monitor, keyboard and mouse. The computer screen has to meet a number of important requirements.
The first is the resolution, we must ensure that it is Full HD or higher, depends on the ratio of the screen. The contrast is also important and the higher the better, so we can see more shades of light and shadow to appreciate everything in more detail. The higher the refresh rate the better, and moving images will become more fluid.
About the keyboard there are many tastes and priorities but there are three things to consider. First is mechanical: they are harder, tougher. The undisputed choice for any gamer. If it has programmable keys (macros) is also very useful to save time by performing actions. Finally backlighting allows us to see everything quickly.
The mouse is also a very personal decision but the important thing is to choose a model with much resolution (dpi) so our hand movements are as accurate as possible. In them we can also set different macros via buttons. Have a question? Do not hesitate, contact us in the comments.
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