Published on April 15th, 2018 | by Sunit Nandi

Why You Should Ditch Your Desktop for a Gaming PC

Have you ever been the middle of a heated 2v2 on Fortnight only to hear your teammate screaming at you through your headset because your computer started to lag out? For many, this can be a common occurrence—when you don’t have the proper setup to play games online, a lot can go wrong. The reality is that most standard desktop PC’s aren’t going to have the right amount of power and ability to play all of the games PC has to offer. If you’re tired of getting sniped in Battlefield 1 because your character won’t move, it might be time to part ways with your standard desktop.

What’s the Difference?

A standard home desktop is usually built with one thing in mind—running Windows and its various applications. A PC for the home is used for things like surfing the web, writing documents, and managing budgets on excel. These applications tend to use the minimal amount of processing power. Most American families have no real need for a high powered PC; an i7 core processor and 16 gigs of RAM would be excessive to say the least. Even though many standard desktop PCs have the ability to play a handful of games, you will almost always experience crashes, even on the lowest settings. What’s great about a gaming PC is that it can do everything a standard desktop can and more.

RAM

RAM is the component in your computer that holds all data that is currently being used. When you’re running a large application, huge chunks of your RAM are going to be used. If you’re on a standard desktop, chances are it only has 6-8 gigs of RAM. That might seem like a lot but when you consider a game can take up 2-3 gigs and your operating system can eat up 2-4 gigs, your computer can start moving at a snail’s pace while it overexerts itself. One of the benefits of picking up a gaming tower is that it almost always comes with 12-16 gigs of RAM.

CPU

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is what carries out the computers basic mathematical functions. Your standard desktop PC will likely have an i3 core processor and if you splurge on a high-performance desktop, i5. While a low to standard level of processing power is more than enough for basic applications and functions, it might fall behind when trying to play The Witcher 3 on anything but the lowest game setting. You can expect your gaming tower to be equipped with an i7 processor or the equivalent so you won’t have to worry about crashes.

Graphics Card

Graphics are where gaming PCs truly blow standard desktops right out of the water. Although standard graphics cards in PCs and Laptops have drastically improved over the last few years, they pale in comparison to the ones that come in gaming PCs. Standard desktop graphics cards will typically allow you to view photos and videos in 1080p or if you opted for a more expensive model such as RTX 2080 ti, RTX 2080 by Nvidia. For 4k gaming, you should get an rtx 2080 ti for best performance and higher fps. Read the reviews of good rtx 2080 ti cards to pick the right 2080 ti card from the right brand. Gaming PCs are including video graphics cards that have 4k capabilities that run faster and smoother than those that come with a standard desktop computer.

The Motherboard

If you’ve ever watched any 1980s movies that involve people building a computer, then you probably know what a motherboard is—you just don’t know it. A motherboard is the giant green platform on which the CPU, RAM, and most other components set. While there is very little difference between a gaming PC and standard desktop’s motherboard in terms of performance—a gaming PC’s motherboard is going to have way more ports. Why would this matter? Controllers, external hard drives, and customizability. When you want to play a VR pilot fighter game, you need a port for your joystick, headset, mouse, keyboard, and thumb drive for mods. Gaming towers will consistently have far more ports for plug-ins than standard desktops every time.

Style

Even the most hardcore hardware junkies have to admit that aesthetic appeal is a factor. The standard desktop computer is almost always a boring flat silver or black color with a blocky rectangular design. Gaming PCs look like something out of a Sith Lord’s Star Destroyer with custom neon lights and bad ass designs. When you’re slaying giant dragons in Monster Hunter, you need a gaming tower that matches the look and feel of your in-game armor.

If you’re ready to start taking your gaming to the next level and put those lag losses behind you, it’s time upgrade to a gaming PC. Also check this list of top computer desks for you new desktop.

Tags: desktop, ditch, gaming, gaming PC, hardware

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.