PC Gaming, what it is, features and how to choose
A category that has not been affected in the slightest by the transition to portable and "miniaturized" solutions, PC Gaming is a sector experiencing strong growth year after year.
Changes in habits, more time at home (due to the pandemic but not only) and well-organized communities have in fact given lifeblood to the computer gaming niche.
PC gaming enthusiasts have not been caught up in the rise of gaming consoles. X-Box, Playstation and Nintendo Switch have involved these players, but not so much as to totally replace PC Gaming and Notebook Gaming .
The gaming PC 
This type of computer does not clearly differ in category from those for office, graphics processing or video editing. The gaming computer is in fact an enhanced and dedicated version of the same , to which, very often, an ad hoc aesthetic aspect is added, through special shapes, oversized cooling systems, LEDs etc. for a final aesthetic result that leaves you speechless.
What is it about
Pre-assembled or "home-built", the gaming PC is a type of high-performance computer , in which every part of the machine is optimized to make the most of the characteristics of the games that must be run via it.
Characteristics of a Gaming PC
Enhanced power supply , very fast CPU , lots of memory and RAM . But not only that, also dedicated audio and video cards and a very high resolution monitor with very low response times.
These are just some of the features of a Gaming PC, but let's look at them better.
Why is the PC gaming market growing?
Many "non-experts" may be surprised by the dizzying growth of this category. Despite the release of new dedicated consoles every year, in fact the " gaming computers " sector is constantly growing. These are the main reasons:
How to choose or build a Gaming PC
There are various factors and variables to consider when choosing your next gaming PC, let's see them: 
Form factor
There are three types of form factors possible for a gaming PC :
Each of these "forms" has advantages and disadvantages that we will have to evaluate before proceeding with the purchase. In particular:
The Gaming PC is easily updateable and upgradeable, but requires a fixed location and is difficult to move.
The gaming notebook is portable and easily storable, but very complicated and expensive to upgrade.
The all-in-one gaming computer has no cables lying around, it is aesthetically beautiful but it is complicated to move and expensive to upgrade.
Computer gaming, not just aesthetics
Obviously a gaming computer is not just form, but also a lot of substance.
The integrated technical features are in fact a fundamental part of the configuration of a Gaming PC .
Here are the parts that you need to pay attention to when choosing and configuring our Gaming PC:
Power supply:
Powerful and high-performance, it is necessary to calibrate it well in order to have power for all peripherals, even future ones. The advice is to take a power supply with at least double the maximum power required.
Optical Drive: 
Even though broadband and streaming are making this device a little-used accessory, it's always best to plan for it so you can run games from the disc.
Sound card or sound chip:
To enjoy the gaming experience to the fullest, it is essential that the audio equipment is also managed in the best possible way. This is why for our Gaming PC it is necessary to provide a quality audio generation system.
Speakers and/or headphones, perhaps equipped with a microphone:
After generating the sound it is also ideal to be able to listen to it at its best; this is why having a quality speaker system and/or headphones is an additional investment. In addition to the audio output, if our desire and idea is to play multiplayer, we will also have to purchase a microphone, a necessary step to be able to communicate with our gaming companions.
After a brief overview of the optional or accessory parts, here we are to focus on what are instead the indispensable parts, the heart and brain of the system:
Processor:
The "thinking" part of the computer is, as per the acronym of its name in English (CPU, Central Processing Unit), the part that processes all the information, through the execution of generic computational calculations.
It is essential to have a multicore processor, so that multiple calculations are carried out at the same time and you gain speed and responsiveness of operations. A processor of excellent quality and with very high processing capacity is therefore essential in the gaming sector. Green light therefore for the top of the range products produced by Intel (I7, I9 etc.) and AMD (Ryzen 3×00 and 5×00).
Video card or GPU:
Along with the processor, the video card is the most important component of a gaming computer. The main function of the video card is in fact to carry out calculations and processing in order to graphically represent the elements as they need to be displayed.
In modern games, whose levels of animation, graphic detail and frames per second are record-breaking, the GPU must be a dedicated card specifically designed for this activity to work best.
This card is the one that has the most upgrades and innovation in the short term, therefore, when choosing it it will be necessary to mediate between the right level of innovation and its cost.
HDD:
Storage device, all information relating to the operating system, installed programs, drivers and games and applications saved locally are stored in it.
Given the significant reduction in costs of fixed-state memories (SSD) in recent years, the advice is to go directly to these in order to obtain excellent response time and access speed.
It may be interesting to add a second disk to the primary hard disk, to be used only for storage and back-up. For this second unit you can also evaluate the purchase of a mechanical hard disk, a slower device during access, but much cheaper in terms of cost per Gigabyte.
RAM or fast access memory:
This is a short-term memory where the processor places the data it is using. Very fast memory, it must be of "considerable" size if you want to best manage access and game loading times. The advice for a gaming PC is to never go below 8 GB.
Operating system:
Unlike many other categories of use, in the PC Gaming field, the undisputed winner is the operating system produced by Microsoft. In fact, Apple and Linux systems still have little compatibility with more modern games. The choice is therefore totally oriented towards Bill Gates' operating system, in particular its Windows 10 version (waiting for Windows 11 to actually come into operation and be tested by hundreds of thousands of users and software and peripheral manufacturers).
Keyboard and Mouse:
The former is often included in the case of all-in-ones and notebooks . In the case of desktop PCs, however, the possibilities of choice are endless. The advice is to opt for a mechanical keyboard, fast and precise. Possibly we can consider the backlight option, which is essential for "night" gaming. As regards the mouse, which is essential for all categories of PC, the advice is to opt for an optical mouse with very high precision and sensitivity. For both peripherals, as well as for the case, we can then opt for the addition of silk-screen printing or colored LEDs in order to give personality and customization to everything.
Monitors:
This section is obviously mostly dedicated to those who want to direct their choice towards a desktop PC with a dedicated case. This is because those who opt for all-in-one or notebook solutions will only be able to make a choice between the various combinations proposed by the machine manufacturers.
Those who opt for a desktop computer will have truly exceptional choices.
There are two fundamental characteristics to evaluate when choosing a monitor.
Dimensions: subjective value and also dependent on the space available, the size of the monitor varies based on the type of device. On a notebook this value usually ranges from 14" to 17/18" at most. On a desktop or all-in-one computer, the maximum values indicated above are the "minimum wage", with maximum dimensions reaching those of TVs on the market. Not only dimensions in terms of numbers, but also in shape, with curved and ultra-wide displays.
In addition to size, another fundamental factor is resolution. This value, in modern monitors, is normally indicated with a double parameter, a numerical value and an acronym.
In fact we find:
For owners of desktop gaming PCs , there is also the option of dual monitors, for a truly enveloping gaming experience.
In addition to these essential components, we can also find many options and accessories that make the gaming PC a completely customizable machine suited to the tastes and choices of each individual player.
Cooling system
A fundamental part of PCs, both from a functional and aesthetic point of view, in this section we can include air cooling systems (fans) and liquid heat sinks for the CPU.
Most famous brands
As written previously, when we look for a gaming PC we can make use of two possibilities:
In this second case, the brands from which we will have to start our search are:
If, however, we decide for an assembled computer, the possibilities of choice become truly multiple.
Prices of a gaming PC
Considering all the values and indications set out above, it is really difficult to indicate an average price for a gaming computer or notebook . They start from a thousand euros up to four-figure totals, for a sector that continually churns out new, increasingly high-performance peripherals.
Refurbished gaming PC?
Modern information technology and technologies present continuous innovations that risk transforming a "top" computer into a "standard" one in just a few months. “Standard” gaming computers that still remain perfect for years of use by other very demanding gamers. This is why a refurbished gaming computer or gaming notebook can be an excellent purchase for the present and future.
The high-performance configuration of a new or refurbished gaming PC allows for multiple uses. In fact, the high amount of memory and processing capacity makes the PCs created for this activity perfect for other demanding jobs (video editing, graphics, etc.) and more than optimal for all other "more standard" uses.
