A gaming PC is built for playing video games at standards much higher than regular personal computers. They can also be used for other processor demanding tasks like video editing and 3D rendering, using high-performance graphics cards and CPUs.
Favored because its parts are replaceable and can be overclocked (operating the computer at accelerated speeds), it has steadily increased in popularity.
If you own a gaming PC or plan on owning one and are curious about its durability, this article would give you good information on how long a gaming PC lasts.
How long does a gaming PC last?
There is no straight answer to this question. Some people upgrade their PCs yearly, while others do it once in five years. There are speculations that gaming PCs lose their value over time, but there isn’t any hard data to back this.
Parts of a PC do not deteriorate at the same rate. Parts like CPUs, hard drives, RAMs, and GPUs would need regular replacements with time as more hardware demanding games are being released, and users would need to be up to date to enjoy these games. But the fact that these pats need to be replaced doesn’t make the rest of the PC obsolete. Some parts will hold their value over others, like cases or fans.
How much does it cost to build a gaming PC?
The cost of building a gaming PC from scratch varies depending on the kind of tasks you want to perform on your PC. It could range from about $300 to $2500.
A $300 to 400 budget is plenty for basic games run in 720p. However, if you want to game in higher graphics like 1080p, $500 to $1,000 is a good range.
Gaming in 1440p graphics or higher will cost up to $1,000 to $1,200 for the PC itself and another $400 to $600 in accessories. Lastly, gaming in 4K will require a budget of up to $2,000 or more.
How long does it take to build a gaming PC?
Unboxing and getting the necessary tools should take about five minutes; changing up the motherboard should take between 8 to 40 minutes. This includes installing the CPU and attaching its heat sink, installing the RAM and storage drives, and installing the CPU cooler.
The motherboard should then be installed in the case, and this could take another 12-60 minutes. This includes installing the I/O shield, plugging the case cables, and installing hard drives. Next is installing the power supply, which could take between 8 to 40 minutes, depending on your skill.
Preparing the case and testing should take you another 5 minutes. Finally, troubleshooting should take you about 30 minutes to some hours. So, building a PC from scratch should take you roughly 3 hours. Properly taking your time to arrange and develop these components extends the time that your gaming PC lasts.
The build time of a PC is dependent on a lot of factors. These include research to determine compatibility, delivery time, and availability of your components. Also, your experience, and issues may arise when assembling components, like power cables being too short or not correctly connecting the PSU cables or the GPU, etc.
How to upgrade PC parts?
The first step is to upgrade your RAM. Since RAM stores currently used data, adding more memory to your RAM would help improve its performance. Next is to upgrade your hard drive storage, preferably switching from an HDD to an SSD, as the latter is more durable and runs at higher speeds.
Updating your graphics card is also crucial, especially if you’re experiencing screen tearing or lag when using your PC. Lastly and more importantly is upgrading your processor. You have to check if your CPU is compatible with your motherboard and memory. Also, check your cooling system. This part can be quite a daunting task.
Best things to upgrade on PC
I recommend upgrading the RAM, SSD drives, and video cards. These are the core essentials.
How to know what PC parts need upgrading?
If you’re experiencing difficulty loading pages or switching between apps or live streaming, your RAM urgently needs replacing or upgrading.
If your storage space is too low, or you’re witnessing freezes or applications taking time to load, I suggest you upgrade your SSD or HDD hard drives. Likewise, if you’re having trouble with lags, screen tearing, or freezing graphics, whatever you’re running is too high for your video card, and you would need to upgrade it.
How to get the most performance out of your PC – top tips
- Uninstall any unnecessary software to free disk space
- Limit programs that begin at the startup
- Increase the RAM on your PC.
- Install antivirus
- Defragment your hard drive and use the Disk Cleanup option.
Overclocking your PC damages it, so be sure to do it safely and perform some precautionary checks like checking your CPU’s core temperature or stress testing it before deciding to overclock it. These checks are to ensure that your gaming PC lasts longer.
What’s the best time of the year to buy a gaming PC?
This varies, of course, but the holidays are an excellent period to make those big tech purchases.
It coincides with the shopping holidays and promos like Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day, Jumia’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Small Business Saturday, including numerous promo sales during the last months of the year. So it would be a good time to grab a much-coveted PC accessory you’ve been eyeing.
However, note that supply chain issues might hinder you as this is a gifting season, and you might not be lucky enough to grab one on a shelf as the store has run out.
January is also a good time to get a bargain as many stores are trying to clear their post-holiday inventory, so you might buy an accessory 10% less than the price in December. Of course, tax holiday seasons are also a good option.
How to make Apex run smoother on PC?
First, make sure your battery mode is Changed to High Performance. Also, check that your GPU drivers are up to date. If your PC comes with an NVidia graphics card, you can make some adjustments:
- Open your NVidia settings Panel and go to Manage 3D settings.
- Click on the Program settings tab and find Apex Legends. Click on Add if you can’t find it, or try to find it by running the game first and then closing it.
- Click on the Select the preferred graphics processor for this program dropdown and select a high-performance NVIDIA processor. This will ensure the game doesn’t use your core GPU.
- Change the Maximum pre-rendered frames setting to 1.
- Change the Monitor technology setting to G-SYNC (if available).
- Change the Multi-display/mixed GPU acceleration setting to Single Display Performance mode.
- Change the Power management mode to ‘Prefer maximum performance’.
- Change the Texture filtering quality to performance.
- Disable Vertical sync optionand turn ON Threaded optimization.
- Change the Preferred refresh rate to ‘Highest available’.
- Apply the changes and go to Adjust desktop size and position.
- Check the Override the scaling mode by games and programs setting and click on Apply.
Now that we’re done with the GPU, the next task is to adjust the setting in the game. Follow these steps:
- Launch Apex Legends game.
- At the bottom of the screen is a gear icon. Click it to open the settings page.
- Open the Video tab.
- Change Display mode to Fullscreen.
- Change the resolution to your monitor’s default resolution.
- Change V-Sync to Disabled.
- Change Anti-aliasing to TSAA.
- Change Texture streaming budget to High.
- Change Texture filtering to Anisotropic 4X.
- Change Ambient occlusion quality to Low (this setting has a very high impact on performance).
- Change Sun shadow coverage to Low.
- Change Sun shadow detail to Low.
- Change Spot shadow detail to Low.
- Change volumetric lighting to Disabled.
- Change Dynamic spot shadows to Disabled.
- Change Model detail to Medium.
- Change Effects detail to Medium.
- Change Impact marks to Low.
- Change Ragdolls to Medium.
Finally, disable One Drive and disable Windows Update Delivery Optimization. Optimize your Chrome settings and optimize Discord. Delete temporary files. Restart your PC after and launch Apex Legends.
Best gaming computers for 10-year-old
The Periphio Reaper Gaming PC Computer is built for gamers looking for the best value. It comes with AMD’s Radeon Vega 3 and is built for a 1080p gaming experience.It comes with the AMD Athlon 3000G processor, 16GB of RAM, and 500GB of SSD storage. The aluminum case has in-built RGB LEDs for added aesthetics and custom water cooling. It comes with Windows 10 preinstalled and features like WiFi, HDMI, DVI, and VGA cables.
Read also: Is iBUYPOWER A Good Brand?
What are the best-prebuilt PC companies? – Why we love them
Origin PC: Origin PC offers custom-built PCs and laptops for professional use and gaming. They are best known for their easily configurable products, and they can match the specs you want. Their PCs come in small form-factor cases, mid-tower cases, full tower cases, and super tower cases.
iBuyPower: iBuyPower was founded in 1999, and they are one of the main competitors to brands like CyberPowerPC and OriginPC. They have gaming PCs as low as $899. They are customizable and include RGB lights, CPU coolers, dual GPUs, and even 3-year warranty options. In addition, they optimize the PCs for you based on the kind of games you like to play.
CyberPowerPC: CyberPowerPC offers a broad range of products, perhaps surpassing other companies. Founded in 1998, they offer gaming PCs with prices as low as $769 and laptops as low as $799. Their gaming PCs selling for $779 on Amazon are so right for their value that they rival any performance you would get if you built your PC for the $700-900 range.
Best office PCs to upgrade for gaming
The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme comes with an Intel Core i5-11400F running at 2.6GHz, 8GB DDR4 RAM and a GeForce RTX 2060 6GB graphics card. In addition, it is fitted with a 500GB NVMe SSD for storage and comes with a Windows 11 OS, with features that include WiFi and HDMI, VGA, and DVI display ports.
The Skytech Shadow Gaming PC is powered by an Intel Core i5 10400F processor running 2.9 GHz. Its Video Card is an NVidia RTX 3050, and it has 1TB NVME of SSD storage, 8G DDR4 3200 of RAM, a 600W Gold PSU, AC WiFi, and a preinstalled Windows 10 Home 64-bit OS.
- Best Gaming PCs with Water Cooling
- Best Graphics Card for Gaming PC and Video Editing
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About The Author
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