Desktop Graphics Cards / Video Cards

‍

Photo by WikimediaImages on Pixabay

‍

In today’s world, gaming has become more affordable than ever before. In fact, you can even find some new titles on the market at prices well below what you’d pay a few years ago. This means that the gaming market has become much more accessible to the average person than it once was. That being said, not everyone can afford to buy a high-end computer or even a pricey console. If you fall into this category and have limited funds available to spend on gaming, this article is for you! You see, every gamer knows that a bit of extra money goes a long way in helping to improve your experience with games. That’s where we come in. We’ve scoured through reviews from reputable websites like PC Gamer and Tom's Guide to find the best budget gaming computers on the market today.

What to Look for in a Gaming PC

As mentioned above, every budget will vary. However when shopping for a computer to use for gaming, you’ll likely want to focus on a few key areas. Your budget, of course, but you’ll also want to consider how powerful your computer will be, how attractive the computer will look, and what kind of gaming experience you’ll get out of your new system. Let’s take a closer look at each of these areas to help you find the best gaming computer for your needs. Power - When it comes to gaming computers, the most important aspect of your new machine is going to be its overall power. After all, it’s the overall power of your machine that will determine just how smooth, detailed, and enjoyable your gaming experience will be. To help you decide just how powerful you need your machine, you’ll want to be aware of how good the graphics card (and other essential components) will be in your new machine. You’ll want to make sure that your new computer has a powerful graphics card, one that can handle AAA titles or even VR. The next thing you’ll want to look at is RAM. Like graphics cards, RAM is a very important component in almost every computer. While it’s often overlooked and undervalued by a lot of people, RAM is especially important when it comes to gaming. Gaming is known for being very memory intensive. If you have a low-quality gaming rig, you may find that you run out of memory very quickly. This is especially true of VR. In order to get the best experience possible from VR, you’ll want to make sure that you have as much RAM as possible. Processor - The processor, like the graphics card, is going to be very important in your overall gaming experience. While the graphics card and RAM are often singled out when it comes to power, it’s the processor that will actually determine just how smooth your gaming experience will be. A processor with a low clock speed or one that doesn’t work very well will cause you to experience lag or stuttering while playing your games. A low clock speed will also contribute to a poor gaming experience. That’s because a low clock speed means that your processor might be a bit overworked. A processor with a low clock speed is more likely to experience hiccups, sluggishness, or even lag. GPU vs. CPU - If you’re still not sure what you need in a processor, it’s important to be aware of the difference between a graphics card and your processor. The graphics card is what determines your computer’s overall power, as mentioned above. It’s responsible for handling all the graphics-related processing work that takes place in your computer. It’s often called the “brains of your gaming computer,” the graphics card is typically the most important component in the computer.

How to Buy a Gaming PC

Now that you know more about the key components of a computer, it’s time to talk about how to actually find one that’s right for you. When you’re ready to buy your new gaming PC, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind. First and foremost, you’ll want to make sure that your chosen computer is powerful enough to handle the games you want to play. Of course, this isn’t an issue if you’re only interested in playing the newest shooters and racing games. If you’re looking for a computer that will handle older titles, too, make sure that the system you buy can handle older games. Increasingly, developers are including support for older hardware in their games. If you’re searching for a budget gaming PC, make sure you also pay attention to the minimum and recommended system requirements for any games you want to play. The minimum system requirements are usually a bit minimal. However, some games will have much more demanding minimum requirements than the recommended requirements. If this is the case for any games you’re interested in playing, make sure you keep this in mind.

The 3 Best Gaming PC Brands for a Budget

When shopping for a new gaming PC, it can be tempting to only look at the most well-known brands. After all, these brands often have the highest prices, right? While these brands are certainly worth looking at, you may find that they’re simply too expensive for your budget. That’s where the next two brands come in. Of course, when you’re shopping for a budget gaming PC, you want to make sure that you don’t go too cheap. That’s why we’ve chosen to recommend two brands that are known for their inexpensive and yet powerful computers. You can’t go wrong with either of these brands. Lenovo - Lenovo is a brand that’s known for providing great value for money. This is especially true when it comes to gaming. While the company does offer a few more expensive gaming laptops, its average gaming desktop and laptop is likely to be very affordable for most people. The Lenovo Legion Y530 is an excellent example of a powerful yet affordable gaming PC. It features an Intel i5-7400 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD, and a GTX 1060 graphics card. The Lenovo Legion Y530 is available for just $499.99. Dell - Dell is another great budget gaming brand that is worth taking a closer look at. Many people won’t realise just how great a gaming PC you can get from Dell. While Dell does have some more expensive and powerful machines, Dell’s budget gaming PCs can provide a solid gaming experience for a very affordable price. The Dell Inspiron 5575 is a great example of a budget gaming PC that is powered by an Intel i5-7400 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD, and a GTX 1060. The Dell Inspiron 5575 is available for just $549.99.

The 3 Worst Gaming PCs for a Budget

Now that we’ve taken a look at a few great brands that provide great value for money, let’s take a closer look at the brands that you may want to stay away from. These are the worst gaming PCs for a budget. iBuyPower - iBuyPower has been around for decades, but only recently began selling gaming PCs. This manufacturer is known for selling extremely cheap yet powerful gaming rigs that are often outdated by the time they’re actually delivered. Many iBuyPower gaming PCs are sold as pre-built machines. That means that you can’t get customisation, upgrades, or a refund if they’re not what you wanted. You can receive a PC that’s outdated, full of bugs, and not even power your latest titles. iBuyPower’s budget gaming PCs are notorious for being extremely buggy. These machines are not only outdated, but full of flaws. That’s why we’ve chosen to recommend against iBuyPower. ASUS - ASUS is one of the most well-known brands in the world. While it does have some more expensive and powerful gaming PCs, many of its budget offerings are surprisingly lackluster. ASUS is well-known for using sub-par components in its budget offerings. That means that you can often get a computer that’s not very powerful at all. These budget gaming PCs are often outdated almost as soon as they’re delivered. They’re also not very attractive and don’t provide much value for money. ASUS’ budget gaming PCs are known for being extremely outdated, with many of these systems running on outdated or even retired hardware. ASUS’ budget PCs are often extremely underpowered and outdated.