However, it’s important to replace a gaming PC before it dies completely, so you’re not left without a machine while waiting for a new one to arrive. This means it’s vital that you know what the signs are that you need a new desktop.

What is the average lifespan of a gaming PC?

A gaming PC that is future-proofed at purchase will likely last at least five years. If you look after it, it may last longer than that. However, they are not built to last forever, and gaming is a more intensive process for many machines than watching videos or using word processors. 

How do I know if I need a new PC? 

1. Blue Screen of Death

The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is a well-known sign that a PC is nearing the end of its life. It is possible to prolong life from a BSOD by understanding what caused the error and either replacing the appropriate components or removing any software that may be causing issues. 

However, while you can give a gaming PC some extra time this way, it’s often the case that if there is one error, more are on the way, so it may be time to start thinking about getting a new gaming PC. 

2. You spend as much (or more) time fixing it than using it

This is a sure way to know that your PC is on its last legs. If you spend more time fixing something than you do using it, it’s not just clearly reaching the end of its life, but it’s also not fulfilling its purpose. If your gaming PC needs more time dedicated to repairing it than you get to game on it, looking at alternative options will give you more time for your hobby. 

3. Overheating

If your PC is overheating, it will shut down automatically when it reaches the maximum operating temperature. If this is infrequent or happens on a very hot day, it’s probably not a sign of concern, but if you feel like your gaming PC is consistently running at higher temperatures than it should be, you will be putting more stress on the components and reducing their lifespan. 

One way to tell if your PC is overheating is to listen for the fans, if they seem to be spinning very fast or loud even when the PC is idle, that’s an indication that it’s overheating. However, if you have a silent case or fans, you may not notice this. 

There are also various programs you can install, some of which are part of the PC when you get it, that measure the temperatures of the various components. Keeping an eye on these can show you if your PC is consistently running at a higher temperature than it should be. 

4. Artifacting

Artifacting is an issue you can experience when your graphics card (GPU) is at the end of its life. It’s often caused by overheating, and while it can be fixed temporarily by reducing the temperature of the GPU, you’ll find that you may have to replace it. In some situations, like if there is a shortage of graphics cards, which increases the price, you may find that buying a new gaming PC is more cost-effective than buying a new graphics card. 

5. Your PC is slowing down

If you find that you can now make a cup of tea while you wait for your computer to boot up, or you have time to scroll through social media while waiting for a game to load, your computer is slowing down to the point where you should consider getting a new one. This is especially true if you have already been through the process to keep the PC clean, both physically and in terms of software. 

6. It’s making strange noises

As mentioned above, your fan getting louder could be a sign of your gaming PC running at higher temperatures consistently, and can be a sign that long-term damage is being done to your components.

However, that’s not the only sound you need to be wary of. Anything out of the ordinary, like unusual clicks and grinding sounds, can be a sign that you need to consider your options in terms of new gaming PCs as your current one is near the end of its life. 

7. You can’t install the latest updates

Operating system updates can be a problem if you have an old computer. Each operating system has its own minimum requirements, whether that’s a certain amount of memory or storage. If your PC doesn’t meet these requirements, you won’t be able to install it. 

Even with the minimum specifications, you may find that that isn’t enough in the long-term as many operating systems provide an update service over time, to keep up-to-date on security issues and fix any bugs. 

8. You can’t play the latest games

Games are becoming more and more resource-intensive, so you need to make sure your computer can run them at the quality you want before buying and installing them. If there are a lot of games you can’t run on your machine, you’ll need to start thinking about investing in a new gaming PC.

You might find that an older PC will struggle to run the latest AAA games. The minimum specification requirements for various games will often not be enough to experience the game as it’s meant to be played. You will need to put the graphics settings as low as possible and loading times will be longer. 

9. You’re running out of space

Games aren’t just getting more resource-intensive, they’re also getting bigger. If you have limited storage space on your gaming PC, you may not have enough space to have all of the games you want to play installed. 

While external storage is an option, a new gaming PC will give you more options in storage given the advances made in solid state technology in recent years, with solid state drives becoming bigger, faster and cheaper. This means your games will load quicker and you’ll be able to have more of them installed, giving you more options of what you can play. 

10. It costs more to upgrade than replace

If you need to upgrade multiple components of your gaming machine, you may want to replace the whole thing. Looking at pre-built machines in comparison with the individual components you want to upgrade will give you an idea of how cost-effective upgrading might be. 

One thing to bear in mind is that if you upgrade some things at a separate time to others, your gaming PC will potentially suffer issues with other parts failing and needing upgrading. A new gaming desktop will have all parts under the same warranty, and you won’t have to worry about whether you need to upgrade your memory if you’ve just upgraded your graphics card. 

11. It doesn’t multitask well

High-performance PCs are expected to be excellent multitaskers, especially by gamers. Many gamers expect a gaming PC to be able to run a resource-intensive online game, a program to talk with friends, such as Discord, and other programs like internet browsers, streaming programs or more, all at the same time.

If you notice that your computer starts to struggle while you’re multitasking, it might be worth investing in a new gaming PC. Having to close programs you usually have open or not be able to talk to your friends while playing an online game can have a negative effect on your experience, and might even stop you from playing games you enjoy or doing an activity like streaming if you can’t run enough programs at once. 

12. Your gaming performance is affected

If you play competitive online games, you may find that as your PC slows down and you get closer to replacing it. This can mean that you aren’t able to react to events in the games you play at the same speed, or that your movements and decisions take longer to show up on the screen. 

Once your gaming performance is affected, you’ll find that you enjoy those games less because your PC is older, slower and more likely to cause you problems. It’s at this point that it’s important to invest in a new gaming PC so that you can continue to enjoy your hobby as much as possible. 

Summary

Keeping an eye on the health of your gaming PC is vital to prevent you from being without one. From watching the temperatures of the internal components to listening for unusual noises that could indicate that it’s near the end of its life, knowing the telltale signs of the end of a gaming PC’s life will help you in the long run. 

From slowing down and affecting your gaming performance to being unable to run more modern games, there are a variety of ways to tell that your machine needs replacing. 

Whether you run out of storage, your graphics card starts artifacting or the PC starts having BSODs regularly, it’s important to be able to let go of your current computer and invest in a new gaming PC when the time comes. 

The post 12 Signs You Need a New Gaming PC appeared first on Tech Today Info.

Building a gaming PC can save you money compared to buying a pre-built machine from a retailer or allow you to create a monster gaming machine that will run games on ultra settings for years to come. If you’re looking to create something that can handle high-end gaming, video rendering, and even streaming, then you’ve come to the right place.

We’ve put together the following guide to show you what to build an extreme gaming machine that includes all the parts you’ll need and why they’re worth it.

How to budget your PC for extreme gaming

Before you begin, you will need to consider your budget. We’ll get into this assuming you have a good chunk of cash poking a hole in your pocket and you want to invest in some serious gaming power.

 It is always worth getting the latest hardware in our minds to prepare your system for the future. It is counterproductive to spend all your hard-earned money on something that will need to be updated in a year or two.

 The absolute joy of building your gaming PC is that if you build solid foundations, you’ll only need to update a couple of parts every few years to keep your PC up and running for years to come.

It is worth spending more on the core parts of the machine, the CPU and the motherboard, as they are the foundation of the computer and are much more difficult to replace and upgrade in the future.

What components do you need?

Building your gaming PC requires several different components. It’s essential to do your research and make sure you buy the correct parts for your PC and that they all work together. Certain specifications of each component will affect this, and you need to make sure everything is correct even before placing your order.

Motherboards for extreme gaming

Think of the gaming motherboard as the foundation of your extreme gaming PC. Although each of the components plays its role, none of them could function without the motherboard support. Every device within the PC connects to it to allow the computer to function.

Choosing the correct motherboard for you will depend on other factors. It is essential to remember to thoroughly examine your motherboard specifications before purchasing other parts to make sure they fit and work with your system.

As our goal is to create an extreme gaming PC, we chose a motherboard to match. These high-end motherboards support a large amount of RAM, the ability to install multiple graphics cards, and much more.

The motherboard we are using for this extreme PC version is the MSI Meg Z940 Ace. This motherboard supports DDR4 RAM from 2133MHz to 5000MHz in dual-channel format. Those are three different things to keep in mind just concerning one component.

Dual-channel means that two sticks of RAM work in pairs on the motherboard. You should use two at a minimum, but you could fill all four slots with up to 128GB of RAM in total.

The frequency of the RAM is measured in MHz. This motherboard can take RAM with a maximum frequency of 5000MHz but neither more nor less than 2133MHz either. You need to make sure you buy RAM that fits into the correct category.

This may all sound not very easy, but you need to make sure you have the correct architecture (channel, MHz, type, and size), and it will work.

High-end central processing units (CPUs)

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the brain that powers your computer. It’s another part where it’s important not to skimp as it does a lot of work for games and other tasks like rendering videos and supporting rendering for streaming if that’s your plan.

There are two leading CPU manufacturers: AMD and Intel. These manufacturers also make a variety of processors with different chipsets. To determine which CPU suits which motherboard, you will first need to choose the manufacturer and calculate how much money you have to spend.

Let’s take Intel as an example. The current model of Intel CPU is the 10th generation of processors known as Comet Lake. These are the best gaming processors in the company, with a lot of power and overclocking potential.

These processors are LGA1200 sockets, which means you need to make sure that the motherboard you purchase can accept this socket type.

Motherboards are also purposely sold as AMD or Intel-compatible to make this easy for you.

At a basic level, the higher the number, the more powerful the processor. We have an Intel Core i9-10900K for this extreme gaming build because we want to create something that can handle anything you throw at it. This is the current flagship, but you can go for something smaller like the i7-10700K if you want to save some money elsewhere.

These high-end gaming processors are expensive, but they are also competent. If you plan on gaming in 4K, streaming to Twitch, and editing videos for YouTube, you won’t be disappointed with the processing power here.

If you don’t want to use the same processor as us, Intel has a helpful tool to find the right CPU for your motherboard or vice versa.

Graphics cards

The graphics card is the component that does most of the workload when it comes to powering your games.

Newer graphics cards will run the latest games on ultra settings and support 8K while offering decent frame rates. The result is incredible graphics that will leave you drooling on your keyboard. However, these devices come at a hefty premium, and, aside from the extreme CPU, they are likely the single most expensive component you will add to your machine.

Graphics cards are produced by two manufacturers: Nvidia and AMD. These vary in price and power. Our goal is to create a high-end gaming machine, which is why Nvidia’s 20 series of graphics cards is the pinnacle of today. These cards are RTX Ray Tracing compatible and deliver stunning visuals in a variety of the latest games, as well as incredible gaming performance.

Another consideration could also be virtual reality. If you want to build a gaming machine that is capable of running VR, you will need to know the minimum system specs of the HTC Vive Pro or Oculus Rift S.

Both devices require an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480 or better. It’s worth paying for the added graphics power to get the most out of virtual reality.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM is the memory of the computer. On a gaming PC, it helps the computer to act quickly and efficiently while you play. The more RAM you have and the higher the MHz frequency, the faster your computer can run.

Most modern computers will run DDR4 RAM in a two or four-channel format. Those, along with the MHz frequency, are what you’ll need to consider to make sure the RAM will work on the motherboard of your choice.

RAM size is measured in GB. For an extreme gaming PC, the more RAM, the better, especially if you can also afford high-frequency or overclockable RAM.

We suggest that you will need at least 32GB of RAM for good high-end games. This amount is beneficial for streaming and content creation. You would be surprised at how much RAM is used when rendering videos. Also, let’s not forget how RAM hungry Chrome can get!

The great thing about RAM is that it is one of the easiest things to upgrade on a gaming PC. As long as you buy RAM that matches the size, frequency, and model number, you can double the size in the future. If you want to save money now, buy 16GB to start with, and then upgrade with another 16GB in the future.

Update your PC in the future

As we said earlier, once you’ve completed a build, your PC should serve you well for years to come, but you can also upgrade by adding multiple parts. The easiest upgrades are additional RAM and a new GPU. You can also add another hard drive relatively quickly if you need more storage. RGB lighting and fan upgrades also make your machine look sleeker.

The post How to build and upgrade your extreme gaming PC appeared first on Tech Today Info.