Good gaming PCs don’t come cheap, so if you’re thinking about picking one up, you’ll want to know that you’ll be getting as much use out of it as possible.
And that might mean using your gaming PC to watch movies and shows, browse the web, and do tasks like video editing, design, and office work.
So, is a gaming PC only good for playing games or is it also good for everyday use?
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Is a Gaming PC Good for Everyday Use?
A good gaming PC is superb for everyday use. A gaming PC has more RAM, a CPU with additional cores, and a higher clock speed. This means you’ll be able to run demanding programs and do some serious multitasking while experiencing little to no sluggishness from your computer.
So if you’ve been thinking about getting yourself a good gaming PC, you’ll be happy to know that it will also be terrific for everyday use.
I recently replaced the PC I used daily from a sluggish Lenovo all-in-one PC to a Lenovo Legion T7i with a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor, 16 GB of RAM, a 1 terabyte SSD, and an RTX 3080.
I also hooked it up to a 48 inch LG OLED TV and I can confirm that a gaming PC is a joy to use as your daily driver.
But let’s dig a little deeper and discover exactly why gaming PCs are great for everyday use.
They are Extremely Fast at Everyday Tasks
If you’ve ever had the misfortune of having to use a slow PC as your daily driver, you’ll know the pain of clicking a start menu and having to wait numerous seconds for a response.
Or opening up 3 or 4 Chrome browser tabs only to have your whole system freeze up and grind to a halt.
If you use a gaming PC for day-to-day use, your computer will be as responsive as a good smartphone and you will no longer be waiting for your PC to catch up with you.
You’ll have no problems multitasking, running resource-intensive programs, or opening up more browser tabs than you could shake a stick at.
It’s nice to know that you can use resource-intensive websites like Canva while watching 4K videos and browsing the web, all at the same time.
Gaming PCs are Great for Multitasking
Sometimes you just have to do a lot on your PC all at once.
You might be watching a YouTube video on one half of your screen while editing a blog post on the other half.
You might then realize that you need a featured image for your post and open up Canva in a new browser tab.
Then you might need to open up another tab to check your writing for plagiarism or to research a couple more topics.
In this scenario, a regular PC is unlikely to play ball and you’ll be forced to shut down half of the programs and tabs that you are working with.
But not so with a good gaming PC.
A large SSD, lots of RAM, and a CPU with plenty of cores mean that gaming PCs are optimized to be able to handle resource-intensive programs and to juggle many different tasks at the same time.
They Can Handle Any Job You Throw At Them With Ease
Let’s say you were to take an interest in touching up old photos and decided to learn Adobe Photoshop, you’d need a PC with respectable specs to take it on.
To have a good experience editing your photos with Photoshop, you’d want a PC with at least 16 GB of RAM, a minimum of an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor with 6 cores, an SSD, and a capable graphics card.
A good gaming PC will definitely tick all these boxes.
And another good thing about buying a gaming PC is that you’ll be future-proofing your investment.
Your gaming PC will have all the powerful specs to be ready for future operating system versions that regular PCs might struggle to upgrade to.
They are Great for Entertainment
When I upgraded my daily use computer to a gaming PC I also bought a 48-inch OLED TV to use for the display.
I have really enjoyed the entertainment value that the combination of a large OLED and gaming PC brings to the table.
If you buy a gaming PC that has an RTX 3,000 series graphics card you’ll be able to use a large HDMI 2.1 OLED TV to watch 4K content at 120 hertz.
And that will bring you some super smooth ultra HD visuals.
They Have Better Cooling and Usually Live Longer Than Regular PCs
Running at extremely high temperatures wears out your hardware.
Good gaming PCs have extra ventilation and cooling systems that are designed to control much more severe overheating than in regular PCs.
If you use them for ordinary stuff and never get to those temperatures, their advanced cooling systems will keep them trucking along for a very long time.
Related Article: 7 Reasons A Gaming Keyboard Is Great For Work
Gaming PCs are Easier to Repair and Upgrade
If you get into some 4K video editing or want to still be able to play the latest AAA titles in a couple of years from now, there’s a good chance you’ll be needing to upgrade your gaming PC.
Out of all types of computers, gaming PCs are usually among the easiest to upgrade.
Interfaces change every couple of years, and when an interface changes and you need to replace one part that uses it, you also end up needing to replace the part it connects to.
If that new part has other interfaces that have changed, you need to then replace those parts too in a very expensive domino effect.
Gaming PCs will be using mostly the newest interfaces, making future upgrades as hassle-free as possible for a while.
They Have Superior Specs and Will Be Easy to Upgrade to Upcoming OS Versions
There’s been a lot of fiasco lately about home computers not being able to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 and much of it is due to home computers not having powerful enough specifications.
Windows 11 has significantly higher requirements than Windows 10 and future versions of Windows will become even more demanding.
If the PC you have is running on the edge now, even if it was decent enough when you bought it, your OS upgrade is not going to succeed.
If you bought a gaming PC back then, though, you wouldn’t experience this problem.
Gaming PCs Come With Many Types of Ports for Connecting All Types of Peripherals
With larger form factors and even more ports built into the chassis, your gaming PC can take on a whole lot of anything you want to attach to it.
No more having to choose between two options when you want both.
Gaming PCs make awesome computers for daily use but there are a couple of disadvantages that wouldn’t be fair not to mention.
They Can Be Noisy
Gaming computers are usually noisier than regular desktops.
As you’re working or browsing the web, you’ll often hear the audible sound of a fan whirling in the background.
But it is more like a low volume white noise that is not offensive to listen to and easy to drown out.
More extensive cooling systems mean more fans and potentially pumps.
Because their action is mechanical, noise is unavoidable, so think about where you’ll keep your new PC and whether that would be suitable.
Gaming PCs are Expensive
Partly for the hardware but also for the gaming label, a powerful pre-built gaming PC will not come cheap and you’ll probably be north of $2,000 to get a good one.
You can mitigate some of this cost by building your own from parts, but it will be a big project and still more expensive to put together than a regular PC.
They Can Be Quite Bulky
Powerful gaming PCs are usually bulky and heavy and not the type of computers you want to be moving around, placing on a flimsy table, or setting up in a really small space.
Going for the biggest form factor and most spacious chassis is great… right up until you need your rig to be less visible or to be tucked away somewhere or to be moved to a different location.
Factor in this massive deficit to portability before you make your purchase.
You Mightn’t Be a Fan of RGB Lighting
The first thing you’ll notice about any gaming PC is the RGB lighting that constantly changes colors.
It’s usually something you’d get used to, but some people just don’t like the lighting and if you ever had to take your PC to the office, your glowing computer might raise a few eyebrows.
These are mainly small gripes and if you get yourself a good gaming PC, like the Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition or the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i, I’m sure you’ll have as positive an experience as I have had using a gaming computer for everyday use.
