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Over the years video games have come a long way - from the likes of Pong and classic text adventures, 80s pixelated retro classics like Donkey Kong, eventually developing more sophisticated graphics throughout the 90s and early 2000s - to today. Comparing old with new, they're unrecognizable, with high-def, ultra-realistic graphics and audio.
Video games are playable on a huge variety of platforms including your phone and tablet, and consoles like the Playstation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. But for extreme immersion, nothing quite matches a gaming PC.
The war between the two has waged for many years, with support on both sides having totally valid arguments - but what can't be contested is that the average gaming PC is far superior to a console.
One main focal point is cost, with the initial outlay seeming more affordable to go with a console - plus there's the odd few exclusive titles that will never be released on PC. That said, consoles don't offer an upgrade path like PCs, and stopped supporting backwards compatibility - so when the new one comes out, it's time to purchase a whole new console again.
A PC may seem to cost more in the immediate, but with a plethora of game clients stocking a range of old and new titles - you can purchase, download, and play without worry, and of course, parts can be upgraded as and when, delivering better performance and high-quality graphics than their console rivals. Not only this, but at the end of the day, a gaming PC is still a PC - so it can do everything else you need it to - like browsing online and doing work.
It's time to join the PC Master Race and experience a whole new level of gaming. A gaming system is like the Ferrari of the gaming world - often stunning to look at, with powerful components under the hood, capable of displaying ultra-high-resolutions, supporting high-framerates, and delivering an experience like no other.
This all depends on your requirements and available space. If you need something portable then a laptop is the answer, if you need something space-saving, then either a Small Form Factor PC or a laptop will suffice. If space isn't a premium, then a desktop tower is right for you.
This is a question we are asked quite a lot, and normally we'd ask what sort of games you play and how much you're looking to spend. After that, we focus on the hardware - dialling in whether it's the processor or graphics card that's most important, and if you're going to do any 4K or VR gaming.
With a world of games at your fingertips, it's time to decide what accessories you want to adorn your set-up with. We offer a wide range of gaming keyboards, mice, surfaces (mouse mats), headsets and headphones, microphones and more besides.
Live streaming has become massively popular in the last few years, with hundreds of creators producing content for you to enjoy. From bedroom heroes to live esports finals, there's a wide variety to enjoy on plenty of platforms.
If you're starting out, then it can seem daunting, with people suggesting various equipment you "must have" and "definitely need". But really, you just need a decent PC and strong internet connection, and you can get gaming - everything else will help to make your stream more professional.
Your computer is a key element, and for a single system set-up, ideally, you need a strong CPU to cope with both gaming and streaming simultaneously, plus a good bit of RAM to go along with it. In regards to your graphics card, the bigger the better, as it'll help keep your game in top quality.
External microphones and webcams help bring a little extra to the mix, with higher quality and clearer audio over your built-in microphone, plus a webcam allows your audience to have a more personal connection and enjoy your reactions.
There are also a bunch of great add-ons including green screens, lighting, and devices such as the Cam Link and Stream Deck from Elgato. Alternatively, there are streaming bundles available from Streamplify that offer all the devices you need to make your stream look professional.
Gaming monitors are available in a range of sizes, panel types, and features. Choosing the right monitor for your set-up is key to have a great experience.
The overall size and resolution of your monitor greatly affects your immersion, with the size being how big the panel is and resolution defining how many pixels are squeezed into the visible space. The higher the resolution, the better quality displayed on the screen, so normal advice would be the larger screen you go, the higher resolution should go too.
Whilst normally we would advise your budget goes to both size and resolution, this may not fit your needs, and a few things should be taken into consideration like available space, if the monitor is your primary display, and if your hardware is going to be able to take advantage of what it has to offer.
There are various panel types, with the main three being IPS (in-plane-switching), TN (twisted nematic), and VA (vertical alignment). IPS panels generally give more vibrant colours, great viewing angles, and stunning visuals, TN panels tend to offer higher refresh rates, and VA panels tend to deliver great colour reproduction. For more information it's worth checking out our monitor section:
Response Time
TN monitors have the fastest response times coming in at between 1 and 5ms which is the ideal range for blur-free gaming. IPS panels, on the other hand, come in at around 5-8ms due to processing times and VA panels even slower.
Viewing Angles
IPS panels offer the widest viewing angles and don't colour shift. VA panels come in a close second followed by TN which offer poor viewing angles. As long as you are generally sat directly across from the monitor any of the 3 panels will work perfectly. If you are sat at a slight angle or looking up or down at the monitor ensure you choose an IPS panel.
Colour Reproduction
If you are looking for vibrant, accurate colour representation, IPS and VA panels are fantastic.
Contrast
You cannot beat VA panels for deep blacks, offering up to twice the contrast of TN. IPS, unfortunately, offer relatively poor contrast ratios. If you are playing games with a lot of dark areas, you cannot beat a VA panel.
The refresh rate of your monitor will impact how smooth the gameplay looks, and this is measured in hertz (Hz). Most gaming monitors will be at least 60Hz, which means the panel refreshes the image 60 times a second, so more hertz = more smooth.
For gamers, 120/144Hz is a minimum requirement, but with more powerful components higher refresh monitors are available for buttery smooth gameplay. This is a dramatic leap from 60Hz and your eyes will thank you for it.
FPS means frames per second, and this is generally impacted by your choice of graphics card and your game's quality settings. The higher the FPS the smoother the visuals. Matching your FPS and refresh rate is key to have a smooth experience, and when they don't sync you can experience stuttering or tearing, normally due to the GPU sending too much information to render smoothly.
FreeSync and G-Sync help to dynamically sync your FPS and refresh rate. FreeSync is designed for AMD graphics cards, and G-Sync for NVIDIA graphics cards, but there is also support for NVIDIA graphics cards to use FreeSync on monitors with this technology.
Video Games have been mainstream since the early 80's thanks to the Amstrad CPC 464 but actually began life with the development of the microprocessor and microcomputer. In 1952 OXO, an adaption of noughts and crosses was created by Sandy Douglas and operated on the EDSAC. OXO is thought to be the world's very first computer game and kick-started a revolution that would span decades of innovation and creativity.
Today, gaming is a scene, a lifestyle. It's become part of who we are. It caters to everyone and unites millions across the globe.
The first generation of games were often text-based adventures or interactive fiction in which players had to use text commands to control characters or interact with the environment. A famous example of this was Adventure, developed for the PDP-11 in 1976. A year later Microchess - one of the very first 'retail' games went on sale and eventually sold a staggering 50,000 copies on a cassette tape.
By the early 80's most games were being created and distributed through local hobby clubs and via magazines such as Creative Computing. The magazines in particular really helped to develop the hobby and aided the distribution of game code that could be typed into a computer and then played.
In 1981 IBM launched the IBM Personal computer which was a sophisticated piece of hardware at the time. This iconic computer literally catalysed the computing revolution by inevitably leading to the creation of a wave of inexpensive clones such as the Tandy 100. The clones caused a massive price crash making home computing affordable for the very first time.
The IBM PC used a DOS (Disk operating system) based platform which the clones also utilised pushing the OS (Operating system) into the mainstream. Thanks to the popularity many consumer software companies started to increase the list of compatible IBM products.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM 5151 | Cassette Tape | 4.77MHz | 16-64KB | UNKNOWN | 80X24 Txt |
Early computer game companies decided to capitalise on the success of arcade games by porting or cloning the most popular games. By 1982 the top-selling games from the Atari 400 were ports of the popular games Frogger and Centipede while the top-selling game for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A was, in fact, the Space Invaders clone: Ti Invaders.
In 1984, the EGA video card was introduced allowing for better graphics and more video memory, meaning the cheap clones could now outperform the more expensive Apple and Commodore machines. The Tandy 1000, in particular, is noteworthy thanks to its enhanced graphics, sound, and built-in joystick ports. This made the Tandy the best overall platform for IBM compatible DOS games.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amstrad CPC 464 | Cassette Tape | 4MHz | 64-128KB | CGA VRAM | 160 X 200 |
By 1987 the PC market was growing so quickly that the platform had overtaken consoles and become "the most important platform for games companies". DOS based computers dominated the market surpassing Apple and Commodore.
Unfortunately, this didn't last and by 1988 Nintendo had greatly affected the computer game industry. in 1993 ASCII Entertainment reported the market for console gamers was 12 times larger than the computer game market.
Even with Nintendo taking the limelight, the revolution continued with the introduction of VGA graphics and FM synthesis sound in 1989 improving the gaming capabilities further. IBM and Apple tried to avoid customers associating their computers with gaming but acknowledged VGA, audio and joystick options were popular with customers.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tandy 1000 TL | 3.5" Floppy | 7.16MHz | 640KB | CGA + | 640 X 200 |
By 1990 DOS accounted for 60% of the computer games which further increased to 82% by 1992 making it the market-leading OS. By 1993 Computer gaming world survey found that 91% of the readers primarily used IBM PC's and compatible hardware for gaming, compared to 6% for Amiga, 3% for Macintosh, and 1% for Atari S.
Many leading games launched during this period including Hovertank 3D, Star Cruiser, Wolfenstein 3D, Civilization, Myst, Wing commander and the critically acclaimed Doom which was a true breakthrough in 3D graphics.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 1GB HDD | 66MHz | 4MB | VGA | 640 X 480 |
From 1995 many gaming companies decided to make the change to CD-ROM's thanks to the increase in capacity, lower production costs and reduced software piracy. Unfortunately, this came at a 'price' and due to the increase in memory requirements, users were facing a wide array of issues - Each requiring a different fix or a specially designed memory management program.
By 1996 Microsoft Windows was growing heavily in popularity thanks to it simple GUI (graphical user interface) and built-in memory management features eliminating the issues of DOS-based systems.
Windows was superior in almost every way to the original textbase DOS alternative of which Windows was actually built from. IBM's DOS platform was actually originally created by Microsoft who simply licensed it to IBM.
The release of NT/95 removed DOS game compatibility forcing the use of an emulator. Fortunately, games designers simply began to create games with native support and eventually dropped DOS altogether.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 10GB HDD | 233MHz | 64MB | 16MB | 640 X 480 |
With the success of console gaming, an easy-to-use GUI driven OS with built-in memory management and ever-growing hardware improvements - the dawn of modern PC gaming was upon us.
Constant innovation, faster, more powerful graphics and improved CPU technologies resulted in never-before-seen levels of realism that far exceeded the capabilities of consoles, cementing PCs as the master race.
The internet has played a big part in the success of computer gaming as a whole, opening up cooperative or competitive play between 1 or more networked computers. Thanks to the wide availability of the internet in the 90's, online gaming rapidly increased in popularity. Notable titles include Nexus: The Kingdom of Winds (1996), Quake World (1996), Starcraft (1998), and Counterstrike (1999).
The ability to network eventually led to tournaments, LAN parties and the beginning of the e-Sports scene.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 60GB HDD | 1Ghz | 256MB | 64MB | 800 x 600 |
A form of competitive gaming, esports are taking the world by storm, growing from an audience of approximately 71.5 million in 2013 to over 226 million in 2015 according to Newzoo. Although esports are now watched by a huge fan base worldwide, organised offline competitions have always been part of the video game culture, largely between amateurs. Today, professional teams battle it out for huge sums money, in tournaments such as League of Legends World Championship and Intel Extreme Masters. Games currently played in the professional leagues include Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter Strike Global Offensive, Call of Duty and Overwatch.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 1TB HDD | 3.0GHz (4 Core) | 8GB | 2GB | 2560 X 1440 |
With gaming continuing to evolve at an outstanding pace and Moore's law still holding true (to the most part) - Computers will continue to become more powerful and the games, more realistic.
Not only are we committed to developing the very best prebuilt gaming PCs, but gaming will always remain a key focus for Overclockers UK - it's in our blood! From events to elite tier gaming hardware, performance-enhancing peripherals, and the very best accessories such as our premium range of gaming chairs from noblechairs .
Whether you are new to the scene, a hardcore gamer, or even avid streamer - we have you covered! We stock a wide range of products from all the very best manufacturers including Razer, SteelSeries, Corsair, HyperX, and ASUS. It doesn't matter if you need a graphics card or a gaming surface - we are always here to help you make the right decision and choose hardware that will give you the edge without breaking your budget.
| Model | Storage | CPU | RAM | Graphics | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | 256GB SSD / 1TB HDD | 3.7GHz (6 Core) | 16GB | 4GB | 3840 x 2160 (UHD / 4K) |
Did you know we run our very own Overclockers UK blog? Recently, we teamed up with Nitro Concepts and XBOX UK to donate some gaming chairs to local charity Autism Inclusive. Click the button to see how it went.
Read MoreWe are your one-stop-shop for all things gaming PC. Whether you’re exploring our range of pre-built PCs or building your dream machine from scratch, we have all the latest hardware you need for your best gaming experience.
To remain comfortable during your gaming marathon, we absolutely recommend investing in a gaming chair. At Overclockers UK, we have incredible models from brands such as noblechairs, Nitro Concepts, and ThunderX3. Browse the full range and find the perfect chair for you.
At Overclockers UK, we stock a wide variety of gaming peripherals. In addition to the standard mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse, we have headsets, microphones, joysticks, racing wheels, and other specialist equipment for simulators. What’s more, we have a full range of streaming hardware to help you achieve Twitch stardom.
Overclockers UK not only offers next day delivery on thousands of products but also stocks exclusive brands from cutting-edge manufacturers including AMD, Intel, Asus, Gigabyte, Team Group and an ever-growing range of ultimate performance overclocked elite-tier hardware approved by 8 Pack.
Whether you are after advice, product information or even aftersales support we are here for you. Overclockers UK offers unparalleled customer service which is available across multiple platforms including telephone, social media, email, webnotes, live chat, and even a dedicated section on Overclockers forum. We even offer a 3 year warranty on our own PC's.
Overclockers UK are rated one of the top PC, hardware and peripheral retailers in the country. From premium products to a personal shopping experience. You can trust us to deliver an unbeatable 5-star service.
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