Differences Between Gaming and Regular Computer

Down to the specs and features, there are many subtle differences between a gaming and regular computer. Here is an outlook at how different these two machines are.

Right off the bat, a gaming computer and a regular computer have a major difference simply from their naming system. A gaming computer is primarily good for gaming tasks while a regular computer works well on day-to-day activities like writing up a word document or coming up with presentation slides.

Beyond this clear difference, a gaming and regular computer have many other subtle differences. This article analyzes all the areas in which they perform differently. It has done this in a detailed manner so that you are able to narrow down between the two products if you are going for one purchase.

Broadly, the main differences between a gaming and regular computer are; the graphics card system, audio quality, memory space and the cooling system among other differences.

Sophisticated graphics card

The latest games that are high-tech and modernized are usually termed as improved in terms of their graphics compared to other mainstream games of the past. Just a few years ago, having high-end graphic cards was not necessary as games were quite basic and did not have complicated graphics. An average graphic card on a normal computer was enough.

With the latest games like The Assassin’s, the computer gaming world has changed forever. A gaming computer becomes useful as they can enhance your gaming experience to feel like real life with graphics. They make every detail of the game clear and intricate. Because of this, you need to ensure that you have a modern-chic graphic card in order to support the quality of these games.

The graphics card and the GPU are part of the most important parts on a gaming computer. Computer games come with graphics that you do not normally see on a day to day basis thus making gaming computers need to have a high-end graphics card. Only with such a card can it be possible for the gaming computer to effortlessly display all graphics. With this higher graphics card the gaming computer beats the delivery of the gaming experience compared to a normal computer.

For a gaming computer some of the high quality graphics units include, NVidia GeForce or AMD Radeon RX. With these, the GPU must be familiar to a gamer. The high-end GeForce and Radeon card are commonly used in most gaming computers. Sometimes, there are also in multi-GPU configurations.

Therefore, the first difference between a gaming computer and a regular computer is the graphics card they use. For a normal computer, there is the NVidia Quadro or AMD Radeon pro which give a good gaming experience but it cannot compared to a gaming computer because of the graphics card.

High-end audio quality

With gaming computers, they normally have better audio. This is because to have a top notch gaming experience, you not only need a good graphics card but also good audio system. Such a system can easily take you from the real world to a virtual world of gaming. With such features, you are able to achieve a virtually seamless and flawless experience. Gamers for sure enjoy premium sound because the high-end audio comes in two forms; Board audio and the use of external DACs.

When you come across high end system boards, you will notice that there is the same kind of Nichicon capacitors where real audiophiles are drawn to for their own stereo systems.

For regular computers on the other hand, they do have decent sound quality. However, they do not have the specifically tweaked settings to make them stand out in terms of the audio you receive on them. An example is how you are more likely to get a subwoofer attached to a gaming computer compared to a regular one.

RAM and processors

Normal computers are built in a way to give it support for doing simple tasks like filling in spread sheets, editing a word document or surfing the internet. Generally, going online and posting on your social does not require a powerful processor and RAM.

For a gaming computer though, they are usually upgraded so that the machine will be able to keep up with all kinds of intensive games. More memory is another added advantage because with this, a gamer can easily game without any frustrations like lagging of the computer.

RAM which has high speed, synched and overclocked should be efficient enough for gaming computers. If you look attentively, you will notice that both RAM modules are colour matched to the heat sinks on the system boards reducing the amount of heat produced all together. As opposed to normal computers whereby you may not care much about the speed like how fast data is entering into a spread sheet so RAM usually matters a whole lot in gaming computers. For example, fast gameplay will require a fast RAM with low latency making a significant impact on frame rates.

Motherboard

Normal computers and gaming computers are not so different in terms of the motherboard except that gaming computer motherboards often take advantage of a special chipset and socket design. They generally make a very powerful CPU. However, some gamers may prefer going for motherboards that have PCIE slots and additional RAM as per the requirements of a virtual experience.

With normal computers, some offer the ability to run more than one processor with 16 or more memory slots. Some are also fitted with dual gigabit ports, legacy and thunderbolt ports. This makes them far more often larger than the normal mainstream model. You can therefore find such designed regular computers going for a more expensive price tag compared to a gaming computer.

Storage space

With the amount of space that games demand from a computer, gaming computers usually have a higher storage space compared to regular computers. This is because they need to accommodate the games so as to avoid load screens. These computers mostly opt for the SSD as their main point of storing information as it has great and reliable speed. Many normal computers usually opt for the HDD.

Other than that, they do not differ much except that a gaming computer will use more memory compared to a normal computer.

Central Processing Unit features

Gaming computers naturally have a powerful CPU in order to be able to accomplish certain tasks that they will inevitably face. For normal computers, having an extremely powerful CPU might as well be an over kill. Some of the top quality CPUs found in computers is the Intel core i9 or AMD Ryzen Threadripper, Intel core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7. Both of these work well in gaming computers as they are up to the challenge.

With normal computers an example of a popular central processing unit is the Intel Xeon or AMD EPY which they are preserved for the most powerful computers. With these units, a regular computer is able to do well with multitasking and also processing large amounts of data. You are also offered ECC memory, way more cores and additional cache memory.

Cooling mechanism

Another stark difference between a gaming and regular computer is the cooling systems they are built with. For gaming computers, they normally have a high-end cooler which frequently is a water cooler, but they have air coolers as well. High-end CPUs and GGPs end up producing a lot of heat thus there is need of keeping the components cool when a user is playing a game to prevent lag, stuttering or any other performance issue. Using water cooling mechanism offers a bigger surface area over which heat can dissipate and more efficiently move heat away from the components. For regular computers the cooling system is less complicated. The cooling is optional but sometimes overclocked components will produce a lot of heat pushing it to be now required.

Cable management

If you open the cover of a normal computer, you will see a rainbow nest of cables which hinders efficient airflow. Most gaming enthusiasts avoid this as the heat that is produced by the components of a gaming computer is high and may cause performance issues. The sleeved, colour coded cables and fully modular supplies in the gaming computer are usually well-managed and routed so as to avoid any performance issues. For regular computers, cables are generally easier to manage.

When there is effective cable management, dust accumulation on the chassis reduces thus improving the airflow in the machine. This in turn leads up to reduced heat and reduced heat induced lag improving the overall performance of the computer.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, gaming and regular computers have a wide array of differences between them. For example, the aesthetic features of a gaming computer are usually different from a regular one. Gaming computers have a sleek, compact-look befitting of a machine for playing intense games such as PUBG and Call of Duty. Regular computers, on the other hand, are less imposing.

Indeed, this article has given an in-depth analysis on the how exactly a gaming computer is different from a regular one.

 

About the Author
Hi, I'm Steve. I'm a proud gamer. I have been active within the gaming sphere for 30+ years. As gaming is something I enjoy very much, I want other people to enjoy it also. That is exactly why I started this blog.

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