For All Its Perks, PC Gaming Requires A Lot More Dedication Than You Think

At a glance, PC gaming looks way too glamorous. Yes, consoles offer comfort and ease, but the versatility and freedom of a PC are unmatched. I’m talking a lot more than 60 fps, complete control over game settings, not to mention a plethora of game-changing mods, Steam sales, an unreal library, emulation, and even piracy (controversial, yes, but still a perk for many).

Can your console do all this stuff? It most certainly can’t. But in all this discussion, we always forget that a PC is for the hardest enthusiasts and people willing to put in the effort for all these perks. It’s far from a simple endeavour. Yes, the reward is more than worth it, but not everyone is as hardcore as you and me. Let’s see the facts.

What Hardware To Choose For PC Gaming?

Congratulations, you’ve chosen to be a part of the PC Master Race. I want to say you’ve made the right decision, but it depends on how crazy a tech nerd you are. If you’re anything like me, I’ll say a PC will give you a lot more than a console ever could. But for the sake of the argument, let’s see what you’re getting into.

The first step for getting a PC is deciding exactly what to get, since the choices are like stars in the sky. For a console, you just say, “Give me a PS5,” and that’s it. For a PC, it’s time to put on the nerd caps. What motherboard, CPU, GPU, PSU, RAM, Storage, Peripherals, and Display to get? Do I get it all pre-built, or opt for separately chosen components? You’ll go through all this.

The Beginner's Guide to Building a PC
byu/MajorLeagueGMoney inbuildapc

It all depends on your needs and what budget you can spare. If you’ll primarily do 1080p gaming, you’d want to stick to a budget build, like, let’s say, a Ryzen 5 5600 / 16 GB DDR4 / RX 6700 XT combo. Maybe you want power, and more power, so you’ll opt for a high-end i7 14700K / 32 GB DDR5 / RTX 5090. This is but the first dilemma.

Game Optimization Is Not Your Friend

Once you’ve got a basic idea of what setup you’d like to get, we move on to what kind of games you’ll be playing. Since it is 2025, and we all know just how bad game optimization is these days, PC gamers have it quite rough. If you ask me, caring for the consumer is just not a priority anymore. The answer to bad game optimization is always “get a better PC.”

2020-2024 Modern Games are very well "Optimized"
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Well, we can sit here discussing bad optimization for hours, but at the end of the day, we have to live with it. Like it or not, upscaling tech, RT, and glorified fake frames have become a part of gaming in the big 2025. If you’re going AMD, I’d suggest opting for at least the RDNA 4 9060 XT, or RTX 4070 above in the case of Nvidia.

Time For An Upgrade

This game optimization thing directly ties to my next point: the need for an upgrade. Unlike a console, which is designed to run for 5-6 years, the landscape of PC gaming and hardware is forever changing. You got Intel, AMD, and Nvidia constantly coming up with newer, better products all the time.

In the past, the existence of better hardware didn’t automatically make your current rig obsolete. But today, thanks to the worsening game optimization, you need to invest in something that will last longer with all its upscaling shenanigans. You should consider smart ways to finance your gaming setup, and stick to hardware with some future-proof guarantee.

PC Gaming: Not For The Faint Of Heart

Do you see now how much homework you have to do? Taking suggestions from experts is all well and good, but you need to have some knowledge of your own to survive PC gaming. That’s because, beyond purchasing and upgrading, you also need familiarity with the hardware and software’s day-to-day working.

A PC requires a lot more maintenance and dedication than a console. Individual parts going bad due to mismanagement is a common sight. You’re often greeted by hardware-related BSODs or software going haywire. In these cases, you need PC knowledge to diagnose properly and fix them. Or else, it’s a costly trip to the repair guy for every minor inconvenience.

At the end of the day, there’s indeed no better gaming platform than PC; that much I completely agree with. But it requires equally high amounts of effort. You need to be ready to become a tech expert. In comparison, consoles are just easy buy, easy play. But trust me, once you put in the effort, there’s nothing more rewarding than a PC, either.