If you’ve been a console gamer all your life, you would inevitably have some expectations from your primary gaming device. Moving to PC gaming, however, can shatter a lot of those expectations, especially for gamers who aren’t especially interested in getting into the details. Gaming PCs are superior in terms of customization, graphical capabilities, immersion, and upgradability, but they also demand significantly more from you.
You need to get into the specs
The component names won’t tell you anything
Unlike consoles, you don’t just buy a single, self-contained machine in the world of PC hardware. You know what you’re getting when paying for a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, but finding out the performance of the PC components you’re buying needs time and effort. You not only need to go beyond model names (which are increasingly becoming meaningless) and into the specifications, but also check third-party benchmarks for real-world performance.
The performance can vastly differ depending on what you’re buying, making the research and planning phase one of the most important. Looking beyond frame generation and upscaling, and learning about the native performance of the graphics card is critical. Plus, you also need to know how much VRAM you’re getting for your money. In 2025, 8GB of VRAM has become unsustainable for the latest high-end games.
Specifications aren’t important only when buying a GPU; a motherboard or SSD purchase also needs a closer look than what you might be used to. For instance, you should always know whether your SSD has DRAM or not, and whether your motherboard’s VRMs can handle your CPU. Buying other components like the CPU, RAM, power supply, and case is relatively simple.
You’ll need a budget for the monitor
And it can be huge, depending on what you like
I’m guessing you’ve been using your TV with your console for all these years, one that was probably already there in the house before you bought your console. Unlike a TV that’s used for more than just gaming, a monitor is usually reserved for use with the PC itself — for gaming, working, and other random use cases. You probably watch all your movies and TV series on your large-screen TV.
This makes the overall cost of the PC balloon from, say, $1,000 to around $1,300–$1,500. Unless you’re planning to connect your new PC to your TV, which would vastly limit your gaming experience, you need to set aside a significant budget for a new gaming monitor. Today, you’ll probably choose between a high-refresh IPS and OLED display, which would cost you a minimum of $250, if you’re sticking to 1440p, 27 inches, and a reputable brand.
If you wish to enhance your experience further by buying an OLED monitor instead, you’ll need at least a $500 budget. Gaming monitors have become more affordable over the years, but even those represent a decent chunk of change over the cost of the core components of your PC. You need to be mentally prepared for this expense; otherwise, it can come across as a rude surprise.
Nvidia isn’t the only GPU option
It’s a new dawn for AMD and Intel
For those new to PC hardware, one name might seemingly tower above the rest, when it comes to graphics cards: Nvidia. Team Green has undoubtedly dominated the GPU market for as long as many can remember — it still does, in terms of market share — but AMD and Intel have finally carved out a niche for themselves. After repeatedly failing to beat Nvidia at the high-end, AMD decided to focus on producing fantastic mid-range products.
With the RX 90 series, the company managed to do just that. AMD’s ray tracing performance was finally competitive with that of Nvidia, and its FSR 4 upscaling and frame generation were much more advanced than anyone hoped. In the budget segment, Intel launched the stellar Arc B580 with an MSRP of $250, offering great 1440p performance at a price point no one thought possible in the current market.
AMD and Intel might not be a threat to Nvidia in terms of units sold, but in 2025, we finally have three legitimate GPU players competing for your mindshare and wallet. You might not want a budget GPU, but it’s worth investing in Intel’s journey in the discrete graphics arena, if only to know what comes next for Team Blue. AMD’s RX 9070 XT for $600 redefines a few rules in the modern GPU space, bringing native 4K gaming to a price point Nvidia never would have allowed.
PC gaming is rarely plug-and-play
Prepare to be more involved
As a console player, you might take the convenience of a PS5 or Xbox Series X for granted, but don’t expect the same on your new gaming PC. Nine times out of ten, a new game just works on a console — no unexpected launch errors or broken performance. Instead of a single firmware update on a console, you need to keep Windows, drivers, game launchers, and the BIOS/UEFI updated separately.
Tweaking the BIOS for optimum settings, optimizing in-game settings for better performance, and worrying about CPU temperatures are things you never think about on a console. Then, you also need to deal with game-breaking Windows updates, figure out how to run HDR content perfectly, and ensure you clean the dust in your PC tower regularly.
There’s just so much more maintenance involved on a gaming PC compared to a console that it can be overwhelming at first. I’ve been a lifelong PC gamer, and will probably never switch to a console full-time, but even I’m sometimes annoyed when my PC doesn’t work like it’s supposed to.
PC hardware can age fast
Longevity is a challenge
Unlike a typical console lifecycle of about seven years, a gaming PC will rarely perform the same after 5 years. Take, for instance, my own PC that has an RTX 3080 and Ryzen 7 5700X. The 5-year-old GPU stopped being “high-end” way back in 2023, and I’ve been thinking about an upgrade since then. It’s not that I can’t enjoy the latest games anymore, but my PC isn’t really the high-end gaming rig it used to be.
If you buy a $500 console, you don’t have to think about hardware upgrades for the next 4–7 years. However, even with a $1,500–$2,000 gaming PC, you’ll have to upgrade at least the graphics card once every five years to enjoy the same level of gaming performance that you’re used to. Tasting the superior performance and immersion of a gaming PC forces you to keep spending on hardware every few years, which isn’t a concern if you’re a console gamer.
PC gaming is amazing, but console converts should come prepared
Switching from a console to a gaming PC can expose you to higher resolutions and framerates, superior customization and flexibility, and a whole new world of mods. That said, you should be prepared to brave the negatives of PC gaming, as well. Unoptimized performance, tons of updates, unexpected crashes, and a much larger financial investment are things that can surprise you if you enter unprepared.