Finding A Cheap Gaming Computer To Fit Your Gaming Needs

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. We all need fun at times. Going outdoor is a very good idea, but you can have too much of that, too. I enjoy a good network game once in a while. The idea is not to overindulge. I am going to give you a few tips on cheap gaming computers.

In principle, gaming can be quite demanding on a computer, especially if we are talking about the modern 3D graphics. Cheap gaming goes well with cheap computers. A gaming pc will always be cheaper in the desktop version. A gaming laptop is a particular type of a laptop and it costs more for the simple reason of miniaturization.

The cheaper desktops are the custom built ones. That is, if you know what you are doing building computers. If not, you’re probably better off getting a ready-made machine, like a Dell, HP, IBM or some other brand. The rule of thumb is: brand name computers come with higher prices, but they are more reliable. Whatever you build in your living-room may work, but it’s not 100% optimized.

Moving on to details, your machine needs to have good multimedia capabilities. That means sound and graphics. If you really want to save, you can plug your headphones in. The louder and cleaner the sound, the better speakers you are going to have to think about, which obviously will increase your costs. As far as the sound controller, you may not realize that nowadays, just about any cheap sound card can deliver good enough accuracy and speed for games. In essence, you can ignore it. You should concern yourself with it only if you do studio work.

Moving on to the video controller, here we come to the tricky part. A video card has memory and can perform internally a variety of functions. It is a computer in itself. You may have noticed that many video cards come with a cooling system. That means “intense processing power”. For the die-hard gamers, some of the big brands out there are ATI and nVidia. Prices vary a lot, from under $100 to over $500, depending on what you want. Some cards have 256Mb of video memory, while others have four times as much. If you don’t know what any of these are, or have not noticed your current PC running slow while playing games, then you’ll probably be better off with an ordinary card, or what your supplier advises you based on what game you play most.

A little bit about how graphic cards work: in 3D, the computer is supposed to draw or “render” pictures from mathematical functions in a very short amount of time. The moment you move your mouse, things have changed and a new rendering is needed. Then there is the constant action of automated animation. The main CPU will do these things in its own even with a poor video card. This is called “software rendering”. A good video card, though, will take the load off the main CPU and implement these complex graphic functions on its own, thus “accelerating” the whole process. This is why good video cards make a difference in a computing intensive environment, like a network 3D game.

Another aspect you need to be aware of is your network connection. If you play online, the bits need to zap through your network. Broadband is a must, the broader the better.

One final consideration: overall, your computer has to have a good CPU and enough memory to get the game moving along with the extra load of the firewall and antivirus (if you use Windows). Good and cheap gaming computers are not easy to come by, but, among all the available hardware combinations on the market, there is a minimum of capabilities at a maximum of a price, that will satisfy you. And remember, if, say, your newly acquired video card is just too weak, just have it replaced with a more powerful one. Many retailers will gladly do that for you, because they want to keep you as a client, but they will charge you more and then sell the open box to somebody else. .

Below is a short video that explains how to build your own gaming computer for under $250.