Good Specs for a Gaming PC: What You Need to Know

If you’re diving into the world of PC gaming, welcome to the gang! If you’ve been interested in console gaming before, the main benefit of PC gaming is that rather than being stuck with the specs your console manufacturer chose, you’re able to build whatever you want. This means you can opt for budget specs if you don’t care too much about graphics quality – or opt for absolutely top-tier hardware for beautiful graphics and blazing gameplay speed.

But, in many instances, you won’t actually be able to play your favorite games if you accidentally under-spec your system. So what are good specs for a gaming PC? Let’s break it down so you can focus on building!

What Components Do You Need for Gaming?

So let’s start with the essentials. Gaming PCs are made up of several core components that each play a different role in how your games look, run, and respond. Think of your computer as a team – each part has its own specialized part to play, and they need to work perfectly together to get the job done.

1. CPU (Processor)

The Central Processing Unit is basically the brain of your computer. It handles all the calculations and logic behind your games. Whether it’s managing enemy AI, calculating physics, or just running the operating system, the CPU is doing a lot behind the scenes.

If your CPU isn’t fast enough, it can create what are called “bottlenecks,” meaning it can’t keep up with other components like your graphics card. For gaming, you want a CPU that can handle multitasking and maintain high performance during intense scenes.

2. GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

This is the star player for gamers. The GPU (often called a graphics card) is responsible for rendering the visuals in your games – everything from character models to lighting and shadows.

The more powerful your GPU, the better your graphics and frame rates will be. It’s especially important for visually demanding games and higher resolutions such as  1440p or 4K. If you want realistic lighting, smooth gameplay, and beautiful textures, this is really where you should put your money.

3. RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM acts as your PC’s short term memory. It temporarily stores data your system is actively using, which is crucial when you’re gaming and multitasking. For example, if you’re running a game while also streaming music or chatting on Discord, RAM keeps things smooth and responsive because it’s holding more things up at the same time.

Having enough RAM ensures your game doesn’t have to keep loading data from slower storage like your SSD or HDD. It helps reduce lag and load times, especially in open-world or resource-heavy games.

4. Storage (SSD vs. HDD)

Storage is where all your games, files, and the operating system live. For a game, for example, all of that game’s files are stored on your drive and then accessed by the RAM, processed by the CPU, and rendered by the GPU. There are two main types of drive:

• HDD (Hard Disk Drive): Traditional spinning disks. Cheaper but slower.
• SSD (Solid State Drive): Uses flash memory for much faster load times and file transfers.

For gaming, SSDs are a game-changer (literally). They reduce load screens, speed up boot times, and improve overall performance. NVMe SSDs are even faster as they use more advanced interfaces to move data quicker.

5. Motherboard

Think of the motherboard as the backbone of your PC. It’s what all your components plug into, and it helps them communicate. It doesn’t directly affect gaming performance, but it determines what kind of CPU, RAM, and storage you can use – so it’s a crucial choice for future-proofing your system.

A good motherboard usually provides stability, more ports for upgrades, and better options for cooling and power management.

6. Power Supply Unit (PSU)

The PSU delivers power to all your components. If your power supply is low quality or underpowered, your system is liable to often crash or, in some horror stories, to even get damaged.

A reliable PSU ensures stable voltage and enough wattage for your build to perform at its best. And this is definitely something worth investing in as higher-end GPUs and CPUs often require more power to perform all their extra wizardry.

7. Cooling System

With all the processing going on to get your games running crystal clear at high framerates, there’s a lot of power happening in every component – which has the annoying effect of generating a lot of heat. 

If your components get too hot, performance tends to get throttled in order to stop even more overheating and stop your hardware from being damaged – so cooling systems are essential.

They come in two types:

• Air cooling: Uses fans to blow heat away.
• Liquid cooling: Circulates liquid to draw heat away more efficiently.

How Powerful Should a Gaming PC Be?

How powerful you need to make your PC all depends on your gaming goals:

• Casual gamer / Indie games / eSports titles: You can get by with a mid-range setup (i5 + RTX 3060).
• AAA games on Ultra / 1440p or 4K: Go for high-end parts (i7/i9 or Ryzen 7/9 + RTX 4070 or better).
• Streaming or content creation too? Bump up your CPU and RAM to handle the multitasking.

Power isn’t just about raw numbers – it’s about balance between all the components (avoiding bottlenecks). A killer GPU means very little if your CPU can’t keep up. However, it certainly can be sensible to over-spec a particular component if you can’t currently afford to over-spec everything as it’ll be already good when you do eventually have the budget.

How to Know if a PC is Good for Gaming

If you’re looking to buy a pre-built gaming PC, here’s what to look out for:

• Check the GPU first – this has the biggest impact on performance.
• Look at the CPU model and generation – newer is usually better.
• Don’t settle for less than 16GB of RAM (you’ll kick yourself if you do).
• Look for an SSD (not just an HDD).
• Google performance benchmarks – sites like UserBenchmark or PassMark can help you see how a build performs in real-world tests.

What Are Good Specs on a PC?

Here’s a TL;DR:

The Right Naming Conventions for Processors

A thing to keep in mind is that it’s worth getting savvy with naming conventions for components so you’re not caught out buying. For example, an old i7 processor that might not be what you need!

The main difference between Intel i5 and i7 processors lies in performance and features. Generally, i7 CPUs are more powerful than i5s. They usually have more cores and threads, higher clock speeds, and larger cache sizes, making them better suited for demanding tasks like video editing, gaming, and multitasking. 

In contrast, i5s are great for everyday computing and offer a solid balance of performance and cost. But, unlike what most people assume, i5 and i7 don’t actually indicate a generation, they indicate a core processor range. So “i7” doesn’t mean 7th generation – it’s the numbers following that are important.

The numbers following “i5” or “i7” (like i7-13700K or i5-12400) indicate the generation and model. The first digits usually show the generation – for example, “13” means 13th-gen. The rest of the numbers and letters show the specific model and features. 

For example, “K” means the CPU is unlocked for overclocking, while “F” means it lacks integrated graphics. So, an i7-13700K is a 13th-gen i7 with higher performance and overclocking support. But a 6th gen i7 processor is likely to not provide performance benefits versus a current generation i5 processor, simply because of how fast tech evolves.

Make Your Setup Look as Good as It Runs

Once you’ve made your PC a beast, the next step is to make sure the PC and your gaming space look the part. To help you create the ultimate gaming environment, check out these amazing gaming setup ideas.

The small aesthetic touches are what make a gaming space really unique to you – and the best way to show off your unique tastes is with Displate posters. We have a huge variety of designs printed onto high quality, durable metal sheets that mount using handy magnet strips – so they’re easy to hang and even easier to change whenever you feel like changing your vibe up.

So, whether you’re into Cyberpunk cityscapes, vintage Star Wars blueprints, or anime fan art, there’ll be something for you – check our posters out here.