The new console releases from both Sony and Microsoft have reinvigorated the gaming market as many looks to the new hardware on offer and appreciate the huge gains that have been found in performance and power. Much of this hardware has been available on the PC platform for a longer period of time however, showing many dedicated console players the strength of the PC gaming platform and leading many to look for their own custom build too. Particularly with the recent rise in esports as games like Counter-Strike have had a surge in popularity from both experienced esports fans and newer fans that appreciate the familiarity at cs-go betting and other features, with many wanting to try their hand in gaming themselves – but what are the must haves to power up your gaming PC experience?

(Image from pcspecialist.co.uk)

Storage speed is important – A big part of the power for the new consoles comes from changes in the storage architecture that have made them much faster for both loading games and for keeping the experience when the game is running smooth. The same is true for PC gaming too and is often a small oversight when looking for the big flagship components like the processor and graphics card – with modern options in M.2 storage and the speeds that come with them, and the rapidly dropping prices, you can pick up some great value and very fast storage and feel the same benefits whilst gaming.

The big-ticket items last a long while – Whilst not entirely relevant with new builds but still important to note is that the big-ticket items do have quite a long shelf life – if you’re looking at the newest AMD processors for example and see the $600+ price tag, you may be a little put off, but the previous generation prices can often be much lower and deliver a very comparable performance option. There are plenty of benchmark figures and up-to-date numbers around how a system will perform with certain hardware, and as such it may be worth looking at older hardware options to see if you can still build something powerful without breaking the bank.

Avoid the big gimmicks for bigger savings – The PC gaming market has become quite full of gimmicky additional options such as RGB lighting and different coloured components that stand out, but these extras come with an additional cost too. If you’re so inclined there are cheap workarounds to add a bit of colour and flavour to your build, without needing to stomach the additional expense that can often come with these parts. It’s yet another example of how a little diligence and research can help get you top notch performance at an affordable price.