Returning to PC gaming

The Star

6 days ago

Folks, it's time to get back into PC gaming! And by that I mean it's time for me, specifically, to return to the wonderful/mad world of PC gaming. I used to be an avid PC gamer before I moved to the UK, and in the decade since I've mostly been playing games on my Nintendo Switch, Playstations 4 & 5, and phone.
But you know what? I've always yearned to play the kind of games that require a keyboard and mouse once again. I want to wade into the murky depths of Steam Early Access indie games, where creative ideas and terrible quality control mingle in manic harmony. I need ray tracing with an AMD GeForce RTX 5090 Ryzen GDDR5!!...as soon as I figure out what any of those words mean.
So, I thought it'd be fun to share some of my thoughts as I journeyed back to the world of PC gaming – and hey, if you're a console or casual player who's curious about becoming a PC gamer, maybe I can help you decide if you should, and how you would. So let me start by asking something simple: To PC, or not to PC? That is the question.
Computers and consoles
No, seriously, the first thing I'm asking is this: if you're not already a PC gamer, is PC gaming even worth the money and effort to get into, when there are so many other options for playing video games?
Well, the answer I'd give to most people is:...maaaybe? And this is because the term "PC gaming" itself is a bit of a trick – when I'm talking about it, I really mean "PC gaming (the kind that requires a 'proper' gaming computer with an expensive video card)".
For most people who just want to enjoy games in their free time, there are so, so many other options than buying (and maintaining!) a new dedicated gaming computer. If you love playing video games with family and friends, then the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 are your best choices.
If you're someone who just wants to play the big "blockbuster" games from major studios like Call Of Duty, Assassin's Creed, or Final Fantasy , get a Sony PlayStation 5. (Or maybe an Xbox, I've never tried one of those.)
And if you're just looking to play something more chill like Minecraft, Two Point Hospital, or Stardew Valley , then heck, you probably have a standard home computer (or work laptop, if your boss isn't looking) that can already run those games! In the business, we call that "pc gaming (but on a reasonable budget)".
So with all those other gaming options available, why then would anyone in their right mind spend (say) £749 (RM 4,294 ) on a dedicated gaming PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 CPU, 16GB RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 just to be a "proper" PC gamer? Well, because 1. "proper" PC gaming can be fun in uniquely wild ways, and 2. I never said I had a right mind.
A wider, weirder library
I'll be honest: the reason I wanted to return to PC gaming is because I like all the weird titles and experiments that can only exist in such an unregulated environment.
When I watch my favourite streamers and Vtubers bumbling around in some weirdly popular multiplayer game (e.g. R.E.P.O., Phasmophobia ), it's probably a Steam Early Access game that's incredibly janky yet fun.
When I gawk in amazement as Son Goku performs a kamehameha on Malenia, Blade of Miquella, it's because some YouTuber installed a Dragon Ball mod into his PC copy of Elden Ring .
Early access games (i.e. unfinished/undercooked/buggy yet interesting games) and mods are just two things that don't exist on console storefronts, and so I stand by my long-held belief that the PC gaming environment is the petri dish where most of the interesting ideas in the larger gaming ecosystem first find purchase. (And like some petri dishes, there are viruses abound, so, uh, be sure to wash your hands, and only install PC games from trusted sources.)
I'm also an old, old gamer, and while most whippersnappers these days take it for granted that most major game titles are cross-platform (e.g. Space Marine 2, Monster Hunter Wilds ), I still have a fondness for some retro, strategy, and sim games that tend to be PC-only. ( Command & Conquer , I've missed you!)
There are of course other incredibly valid reasons to get into PC gaming – the ability to get incredibly high fidelity graphics (if you're willing to invest in a pricey enough GPU) is a good one – but I can only speak about what I like. If you want to be a PC gamer too, you need to figure out what you personally want to get out of PC gaming...
Shopping for PCs
...which leads me to my next point: how would you get a gaming PC that's right for you? Well, this is where things get complicated.
Unlike shipping for a new gaming console – where the choice usually boils down to something like "do I want the lighter Switch Lite or the brighter Switch OLED?" (which should've been called the Switch Brite, btw) – there are many, many configurations for a "good" gaming PC.
I have one friend who places a premium into visual fidelity, so invests a lot of time and money regularly upgrading their PC with the best liquid-cooled graphic cards. Another friend loves customising their gaming PCs, so accessories and hardcore RGB lighting are a must, even if it's to play Stardew Valley.
As for me, I prioritise playing a variety of games, don't care too much about visuals (which tends to be a major factor in PC price), and saved up a small budget over the years – so a mid-range general purpose desktop configured with "only" a sliiightly overpowered GPU would suffice.
A Steam Deck is a very tempting choice (and something I would have recommended, if the dang thing was officially available in Malaysia) since it's a "one-stop solution" for playing many/most games on Steam, but I wanted a chunky desktop that I could upgrade in the future.
I decided to hit Curry's (an electronics retailer in the UK which does not, in fact, sell curries) for a pre-built PC, reasoning that it might be easier to get a refund with a major retailer if something gets borked. (I don't plan to test this though!)
Magic words and random numbers
What I did to find the technical specification I needed for my gaming PC was this: 1. pick the newest, most "blockbuster"-ish (i.e. most demanding on hardware) PC game I plan to play, 2. look up the "recommended specs", and 3. do my best to match whatever magic words and random numbers that pop up. (e.g. if the specs ask for a Foobar X 1000, I try to find something that says exactly Foobar X, and has at least 1000 in the model number. It's a dumb simplification, but it seems to work.)
In my case, this was Monster Hunter Wilds , and the Steam page recommended (i) either an Intel i5 10400/i3 12100/Ryzen 5 3600; (ii) a GeForce RTX 2060 Super or Radeon RX 6600; (iii) 16GB RAM; and (iv) an SSD.
The last two bits are straightforward, but comprehending the arbitrary CPU and GPU terminology can be confusing.
For CPUs, you need to understand the idea of "tiers" and "generations". The i5 is the "medium" tier of Intel CPUs, and the i3 is the "budget" tier. The i5 10400 is the 10th generation, so if I get an i5 13400, I should be clear to play MHWilds since I'll be 3 generations ahead of the recommended.
Graphics cards follow a similar pattern. First, understand the magic words, e.g. GeForce RTX is a distinct "family" from GeForce GTX and probably shouldn't be compared like-for- like.
Second, try to get a feel for the random numbers. The RTX 2060 is from the "20-series" (again, just look at the first few digits), so if I get an RTX 4060, I'll be OK for MHWilds since the 40-series is twenty – wait, no, TWO generations ahead of the 20-series. Good enough.
Sorry, I told you it was confusing.
As a rule of thumb, bigger number is newer and gooder, but more expensiver. Depending on your budget, you want to either get juuust enough specs to play the games you want to play today, or overshoot the specs so you can play games in the future without investing in another PC upgrade.
There's a lot more detail we can get into (and I have – PC discussions on reddit and gaming website were a labyrinthine rabbit hole) such as the pros/cons of AMD vs Intel CPUs, and benchmarking GPUs to actually figure out which one is "better", etc; but it really doesn't matter unless you have multiple computers to compare and contrast. What matters is that you can play your games.
I only have a few other bits of advice I can share. First, definitely get a Windows machine, since it has a far larger library of games. (Sorry, Mac and Linux gamers!)
Second, a desktop PC is more than just the, uh, desktop, so don't be like me and forget that you need to get a monitor too. Derp.
I PCed so you didn't have to
Alright, I hope you found something useful or at least interesting about my journey back into PC gaming, even if your takeaway is "holy smokes, I'll stick to my Switch Brite, thank you". And if you're wondering whether I was satisfied with becoming a PC gamer again, then my answer is: yup!
Thanks to my new gaming PC, I'm enjoying a wonderful, weird, new game that can only be played on a computer. It's an indie game that immerses me in a fantastical futuristic post-apocalyptic Middle Eastern setting; it simulates several complex interlocking systems from customised cybernetics to multi-factional social interactions; and it has so many degrees of player interaction that it requires a whole keyboard to properly control.
Behold, the Caves Of Qud !!
...hmmm OK you know what, I might have spent too much on that RTX 4060.