The Costco Connection - December 2016

WHETHER IT’S AN indie hit like Minecraft, ;rst-person military game like Call of Duty or massively multiplayer online role-playing game like World of Warcra;, PC gaming is hotter than ever.

In fact, some computer gamers are so good that players compete internationally in broadcast tournaments—raking in big money in “e-sports” prizes and sponsorships. ;ese tournaments are viewed by millions around the globe. Need proof? Last year’s League of Legends world ;nals competition attracted roughly 36 million viewers, compared with the 31 million who tuned in to watch game seven of the NBA ;nals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors—and that was the highest viewership for an NBA ;nals game on ABC in 18 years!

Whether you’re a casual computer gamer or practicing to be a pro, consider the following if you’re itching to upgrade your gear to a new machine.

What to look for in a gaming computer

While you don’t need a powerful PC for basic tasks like web browsing and word processing, you’ll need one with souped-up speci;cations to handle the latest games. Of course, it will cost a little more than a value-priced computer, but consider it future-proo;ng your investment.

In regard to the processor—which can best be described as the engine that drives your computer’s performance—go with an Intel Core i7, if you can, or at least a Core i5. For system memory, don’t buy a gaming computer with anything less than 8 giga-bytes (GB) of RAM. If you can, try to go with 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of RAM for a serious performance boost. Seat belt not included!

Look for a computer with a dedicated ( stand-alone) graphics card, such as one from the NVIDIA GeForce family, as opposed to on-board graphics (built onto the motherboard).

And when it comes to storage, you can go with a
solid-state drive (SSD), which is like the ;ash mem-
ory in your smartphone or tablet, or a hard disk drive
(HDD). SSDs are great because they’re smaller,
lighter, faster, more durable and better on the battery
than an HDD. On the ;ipside, an HDD o;ers higher
capacities, such as a 2-terabyte hard drive (more than
2,000 GB) as opposed to up to 512 GB of SSDs.

For gamers, a bigger screen is always better, but keep in mind that it will take up more space ( desktop) and weight (laptops). Today’s monitors are more dynamic than ever for games, as they support 4K picture quality. Games look stunning in 4K.

Multiple options to play

It wasn’t too long ago that computer gamers only bought stationary desktop towers, as they had way more power than laptops. Plus, with a desktop you can easily swap components in and out, like upgrading your video card or adding more RAM or a second internal hard drive. A growing number of space-saving desktops are called “all-in-ones,” as the computer is built in behind the monitor itself and therefore does not require a separate tower.

But gaming laptops are gaining fans, as they’re catching up to desktops’ performance—and you get the added bene;t of portability. Call it gaming on the go, if you will. Meanwhile, some desktops have shrunk in size, to become more portable.

Casual gamers might want to look at two-in-ones, which straddle the line between laptop and tablet. ;ese versatile touch-screen computers have a screen that can bend back 360 degrees for use in tablet mode. In some cases, the screen on a two-in-one detaches altogether, so it can be used as a tablet without a keyboard.

An upgrade to a powerful gaming computer will let you fully enjoy today’s dynamic games, while being able to accommodate new technologies that are emerging in gaming, such as virtual reality. Game on! C

TECHCONNECTION

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N Game on!
PC gaming is hotter than ever

THE COSTCOCONNECTION Check out your local Costco warehouse or Costco.com for a wide assortment of gaming computers to suit your individual tastes and budget.

MARC SALTZMAN

Marc Saltzman, a leading high-tech reporter, contributes to more than three dozen prominent publications, appears on radio and TV, and is the author of 16 books. He’s on Twitter at @marc_saltzman.