News JVTech Do you need a $10,000 gaming PC to be a better video game player?
Published on 01/21/2023 at 17:20
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Since the rise of the YouTube and Twitch scene, many gamers want to switch to PC. But of course, the budget is not the same as on a console… Graphics card, processor, 144 Hz screen… You have to know where to look to play in good conditions
A more expensive gaming PC to play better?
Many gamers have gone from console to PC, but without really knowing what they are getting into. For once, you have to take into account a lot of parameters, and above all, really know your needs. A Valorant player will clearly not have the same selection criteria as a Cyberpunk 2077 player.
The very famous Youtuber Linus Tech Tips had fun with his team, to create the best PC ever existing for gaming. RTX 4090 ROG Strix, i9 13900F processor, nothing is chosen at random. Obviously, the screen used offers a refresh rate of up to 390 Hz, the highest frequency on the market, in order to play as smoothly as possible. The same goes for the peripherals, an ultra-lightweight Zaunkoeing MK2 mouse and a Wooting 60H2 keyboard with analog switches.
The goal of this experiment is simple: does the hardware really matter to improve its performance? Of course, you have to take into account the overall level of the player, because not everyone is as skilled on a CS:GO as a Fortnite. In all, the videographer’s machine exceeds €13,000… A considerable sum to play video games, but above all, far from being within reach of all budgets.
The E-sports scene has brought a lot of novelties in the conception of players vis-à-vis their machine. By taking a look at the setups of your favorite Youtubers and streamers, you may have felt the need to improve your gaming PC. It’s normal, brands play a lot on it to promote their technological innovations.
However, you should always take your goals into account. A player who plays competitive games like Overwatch 2 or Valorant, will clearly not have the same hardware expectations as someone who wants to play big AAA like Red Dead Redemption II or Cyberpunk.
If you are looking for the highest visual quality, with high resolution (2K or 4K) and maximum Ray-Tracing effectsit is better to bet on a large configuration with an RTX 4070 Ti/ 4080, or their older generation sisters (RTX 3080, 3090). If your objective remains fluidity, you should know that competitive games are often very low-intensity in order to run on as many machines as possible. In these cases, you might as well not ruin yourself by typing in mid-range hardware for power, (old generation i5 / RTX 2000, or even GTX 1000). In these cases, you will surely have to settle for playing in Full HD (1080p) or even 2K (1440p), but in this case, the question of the screen arises.
To enjoy optimal fluidity, you have to look at what is called the refresh rate, a number in Hertz (Hz), which indicates up to how many frames per second your game will be able to run. Office screens often offer a maximum frequency of 60 Hz, sometimes 75 Hz, nothing crazy for gaming.
You will then have to take a look at gamer screens (Samsung Odyssey, Mateview GT, Gigabyte, Asus ROG, etc.) which have high refresh rates, which can go up to 390 Hz like the model in the Linus Tech Tips video .
The keyboard/mouse combo used in the video remains quite atypical, and the analog keyboard model has been tuned to react to extremely low pressure. The latency is all the more reduced to have a definite advantage over your opponent.
So is it really useful?
In itself, yes and no… You must always keep in mind that better hardware will not make you “stronger” at video games, but can considerably benefit you if you feel comfortable with your setup.
You always have to be careful what you buy, hence the many tests on specialized sites. Don’t go looking for the moon just to play League of Legends (unless your budget allows it of course). But in general, better buy what we need to last a few years before we can update our configuration.
New models of processors and graphics cards arrive regularly with ever higher performance. On the peripheral side, it is necessary to regularly check the new releases on the sites of known manufacturers such as Logitech, Asus, MSI, and many others. So overall: no, you shouldn’t spend tens of thousands of euros to “play well”, first check the hardware adapted to your needs (office automation, competitive gaming, ray-tracing, streaming, video editing, etc. )
