We've all heard the term "Gaming PC," alternately mentioned as the pivotal achievement in Gaming PC hardware or as bottomless pits into which Gaming PC enthusiasts pour far too much money.... But what makes a computer a "Gaming PC" and how is it different than the Pre-build Gaming PC.
There is one, universal, defining characteristic of a Gaming PC : A higher end discrete GPU (Graphics card.)
Pre-build Gaming PC are over-priced. With simple research, you can often find a pre-built Gaming PC price the same if not better than what it would cost to build it yourself.
Easier support with pre-built Gaming PC. While I’ll agree, the odds of you needing manufacturer support on a Gaming PC build are very very slim.
Pre-built Gaming PC can be easily upgraded. Often the opposite is true. Pre-built Gaming PC have exactly the parts needed for what’s inside and not much headway for expansion or upgrading. Upgrading or expanding typically requires the user to upgrade additional and supporting parts.
Pre-Built Gaming PCs are better optimized for the user. Often yes, but it all depends on the purpose of the computer. Most pre-built PCs are made with gamers and more standard internet browsing users in mind. If you don’t fit these 2 molds, you’ll find yourself needing a more customized computer.
buying your own Gaming PC, you’ll be forced to research parts, configurations, and general hardware. You’ll then have to assemble and maybe even configure parts yourself. By doing this, you’re achieving a rough understanding of what each part is and how it works. Not if but when something begins to give you a problem, you’ll be more open to diagnosing the situation and fixing it. I’m not talking about a dusty fan. That’s cake. I’m talking about a processor that’s getting hotter than usual during simple day-to-day use. Maybe a hard drive is suddenly not being recognized. Maybe a fan is suddenly running obnoxiously loud.
This is why I advise most to build their own Gaming PC. It’ll force you to research and understand something, that way when it begins to malfunction, you have a rough understanding to either fix it or do research to discover a solution.
That's it. That's where we draw the line between consumer Gaming PC and Pre-built Gaming PC. Games demand a level of graphics performance that the average PC just can't deliver using the graphics processing that's built into the CPU. Not every discrete GPU is "gaming grade" but this is where we draw the line. Without one of these... a computer just doesn't make the cut.
That doesn't mean that it stops there, gaming PCs can get into some neat realms but everything else I'm about to list is optional. Keep that in mind.
The average gaming PC I build for clients features most, if not all, of the following:
High speed, unlocked CPU. Not every gaming system is overclocked, but I rarely build without the option. In Intel CPU can be overclocked with a few quick adjustments in BIOS allowing gamers to push the CPU to performance levels beyond the manufacturer specification.
High end cooling, frequently using water. I cannot remember the last time I built a system that didn't have a water cooler... but, there are high end air coolers as well. High end CPUs and GPUs both produce a great deal of heat and keeping those components cool during extended gameplay prevents stuttering, lag and other performance issues related to heat. Using water cooling we can increase the surface area that we have available to dissipate heat and more efficiently move that heat away from those components. Overclocked components produce even more heat and at a certain point, to push performance further, cooling on water becomes required rather than simply optional.
High speed, over clocked, heat sinked RAM. Your Excel spreadsheet might not care much about how fast things get into and out of RAM as long as there's enough of it, but for high speed game play, faster RAM with low latency can have a significant impact on frame rates. Much like I haven't built without water in a long time, I can't remember the last RAM module I bought that didn't have a heat sink and some level of overclock. For exceptional enthusiast attention to detail (you'll see why it's important later) notice that the RAM modules both above and below are color matched to the heatsinks on the system boards.
Higher end audio. This comes both in the form of high end on board audio and the use of external DACs. Gamers like premium sound. On higher end system boards you start to see the same kind of Nichicon capacitors that real audiophiles are drawn to for their own stereo systems, gold plated contacts on the back I/O panel and filtered power to a USB port designated for external DACs.
Cable management, sleeved and color coded cables, and fully modular power supplies. If you've ever taken the cover off a computer and been greeted with a rainbow rats nest of cabling you've seen the enemy of efficient airflow that gaming enthusiasts work hard to avoid. Effective cable management helps prevent dust build up within the chassis and improves airflow that.... you guessed it, reduces heat and prevents heat induced lag. In many gaming computers we work hard to keep all of that mess routed through pass-throughs in the front to a small space between the back panel and the motherboard tray.
Performance storage. We like playing games. We don't like waiting to play games. No one likes load screens, and no one wants to be that guy... you know, the one who's teammates keep making fun of because they're always the last one to zone in while everyone else stands around waiting. Performance storage goes beyond 7200 RPM hard drives and the simple use of an SSD into the realms of using SSDs and spinning drives in RAID for extra performance.
Lights, windows, and extremely custom cases. There's a great deal more attention paid to aesthetics in a gaming computer. Sure, there's a market for things that just work... but many gaming computers get an extra level of attention paid just to how they look.
Attention to the smallest details. Rubber gaskets to isolate spinning drives from the chassis and prevent noise. Anti-vibration fan mounts to minimize fan noise. Premium static pressure fans for use on radiators. Cases lined with sound deadening foam. Dust filters at the air intakes. There is, quite literally, no detail too small to pay attention to in an enthusiast gaming build.
Gaming PCs are bottomless pits into which you can pour thousands of dollars with ease. At the same time, you can achieve a significant level of quality and performance for very modest build budgets. The number one, most important part of a gaming computer is that it has the horsepower to play games at the target resolution and frame rate. Beyond that, there's a whole lot of optional.
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