Gaming on the computer is one of my most favorite past times.  Every since I was a kid and owned a Commodore 64 I’ve always been fascinated with gaming.   Having a good gaming computer has always been a really important thing to me.  However, I’ve always been a little short on cash to “go crazy” and get one of those $3000 gaming laptops/desktops that some custom PC manufacturers make.  So, I’ve had to make some compromises and had to decide what features that I believe to be the most important.  Some parts of the computer (however important) don’t necessarily impact performance significantly enough to validate their usefulness.  For example, even though 32 GB of RAM sounds pretty awesome to have in a computer, most people and gamers won’t see any noticeable performance increase as opposed to 8 GB of RAM.  The costs of having 32 GB of RAM compared to 8 GB is much more however.  A smart computer shopper will realize this and opt for 4 or 8 GB computer model and save themselves hundreds of dollars.

So what are some of the vital parts of good gaming computers?  With gaming computers performance is going to be the uttermost goal.  You’re going to want to get a computer with a good processor, good video card, and plenty of RAM.  Depending on your budget (whether you have $500 or $5000 to spend), you can get the computer that balances those 3 components of the computer.  To help people find a good gaming computer, I’ve compiled a list of several computers available right now that will be good for gaming.  Depending on how much money you have to spend, you can find the computer that works best for you.

Gaming Computers Under $500

While its possible to get a gaming computer for under $500, you’re probably not going to get anything that will power through the newest games at the highest settings.  In most cases, you’ll end up with a machine that can play new games at low to medium graphics settings.  If you want the biggest bang for you buck, you’ll probably be the most interested in a do-it-yourself gaming build.  Instead of buying a computer from HP or Dell, you buy the case, motherboard, and all the other components yourself.  Building a computer isn’t entirely difficult and can save you hundreds of dollars.  If you’ve played with Legos before and have learned how to follow technical instructions, you can build a computer.

If you’ve never built a computer before, I would recommend you check out some guide’s online about the components that make up a computer and also how to build a computer.  Once you’ve freshened yourself up on that, check out websites like New Egg and Tiger Direct for PC parts.  Those two websites sell computer parts for really low prices and can get you everything you need for a good gaming computer for less than $500.

But what about if you don’t want to build your own computer?  Another option if you don’t want to spend more than $500 is to buy a clearance computer from Office Max or another local electronics retailer.  Retail stores have to change out their computer/laptop selection every few months and end up clearing out their old computers for hundreds less than what they cost originally.  I’ve known of a few friends who have bought really good computers for less than $300 this way and then bought a good graphics card online to put inside their machine.  They usually end up paying less than $450 and they end-up with a great gaming machine that can play most games at high settings.

Gaming Computers Under $800

For a decent gaming computer under $800 you should look at the Dell Studio XPS 8000.  The base model for $699 has 3 GB of RAM ($50 more for 4 GB), Intel i5-750 processor, and an ATI Radeon HD 4350 gaming graphics card.  The ATI graphics card is capable of handling most games.  If you want to play your games at higher settings you may want to upgrade the ATI card from the base model for about $150 more.  If you’re in need of some financing for your laptop, you’ll find that the Dell computer may be right for you.  With the Dell Preferred Account, you can participate in a “bill me later” type of financing where you order the desktop now and then worry about paying it later.  With the preferred account, you can make low monthly payments that are affordable for most budgets.  Otherwise, Dell can accept many forms of payments on their website including credit card and Pay Pal.

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