Here’s a fun fact: the first multiplayer video game ever made wasn’t Pong but rather Spacewar! A group of MIT students in 1962 developed this game to run on the least suitable computer available at the time–a PDP-1 mainframe designed to run statistical calculations. The players initially controlled their ships with the switches on the mainframe but later developed a gamepad for better handling.
The gaming machines of sixty years later is now a far cry from the bulky mainframes that defined gaming’s heydays. Today’s games play with complex, lifelike models that hack or shoot each other in the face in a bid for supremacy. As the hardware needed to run triple-A titles have become easier to manufacture, their price has gone down for even the casual gamer to afford it. Just have a look around online and you’ll be able to find the best gaming PC under 1000.
Even at that price, it may still be quite an investment. But between buying a cheaper computer every year or two and buying a more expensive build to last several years, which would you prefer? You can do so much with a PC packed with high-end hardware–from ray tracing-capable graphics cards to high-speed solid-state drives.
Here’s a rundown on the four reasons a gaming computer is a more worthwhile investment.
1. More Than Gaming
As the name suggests, a gaming computer is built for gaming. It’s a behemoth born out of the need to run the most demanding titles in the highest graphics settings possible. But why stop there?
With such specs, a gaming computer can go beyond its intended design. For instance, you can build your PC to mine bitcoin.
The point is that non-gaming programs also benefit from gaming builds. Everyone knows just how hungry for RAM Google Chrome is, but a pair of 8-gigabyte DDR4 sticks can keep it fed. For 3D rendering, known to push any build to its limit, load it up with a multicore processor and next-gen graphics cards. When done with work, fire up that graphics-intensive Battlefield V shooter.
2. Futureproofing
If loaded with the latest hardware, a gaming PC will remain a stable build for up to 10 years before becoming obsolete. Some PCs last longer, but support for older hardware tends to disappear along with the hardware itself. More importantly, standards start changing more often as PC technology moves further.
Of course, nothing lasts forever—not even a build with the highest-tier hardware available today. However, knowing that your five-year-old gaming PC can still run today’s triple-A games on high settings provides a sense of satisfaction. Imagine if you hadn’t pulled out all the stops in building that PC five years ago. It would be a struggle.
3. Playing Older Games
When was the last time you’ve seen a PS1 or maybe a Game Boy? Chances are, you don’t have those consoles lying around the house anymore.
Thanks to technology, groups of people who share your nostalgia have managed to develop emulators for PCs. A quick search will yield dozens upon dozens of emulators for each console–each with a laundry list of ROMs or emulated games.
You might think that older games run on emulators won’t need a high-spec PC to run–and you’re not entirely wrong. Without at least a few gaming-spec parts, however, the emulators will struggle to stay stable. Emulators require a great deal of processing power to replicate the game’s overall appearance and mechanics.
4. Competitive Pricing
If, by now, you’re still not sold on the idea of a gaming build, it’s probably because of the cost. A regular PC, no matter how you look at it, is still the more affordable option. The price range for a standard PC can go from $200 to $800, with most playing around $500.
Gaming PCs, fortunately, have grown more affordable in recent years. Entry-level to good-tier PC builds now cost at the same average price as standard PCs yet provide better performance with top-tier parts. While not as powerful unless you invest more into it, such a build will be enough to perform non-gaming tasks and run less-demanding games.
Final Word
As you can see, a gaming PC provides more benefits and potential than a normal computer. Take note, though, that there’s no need for you to dump money into an ultra-tier gaming PC at once. If you’re currently on a tight budget, start with an average build and work your way from there.
With new hardware coming to the market every few months, you might see something that’ll add more bang for your buck, allowing you to enjoy the power of a high-end PC.