With all of the cool and fun features of a gaming setup, you want to maximize your performance and customize it to your liking. The only problem? A gaming setup can be ludicrously expensive these days. With all of the advancements in GPU, CPU, RAM, and display functions, the cost to build that perfect setup on a budget is getting harder and harder to manage. Even some of the most hardcore gamers are struggling to keep their gaming hobby within a normal expenditure range.
This problem is making it hard to get the most out of your games and have fun with it. You want the very best performance but sometimes you need to recognize that the best performance is going to cost the highest dollar figure. Even though you may not have the biggest budget, there are still plenty of ways to purchase a good gaming setup without blowing through all of your hard-earned income. Here are some easy ways to improve your setup without breaking the bank.
Shop For Deals
Whether you play PC or on a console, you should always be on the lookout for good deals. Buying products when they first drop is exciting but if you have a budget it is not exactly the most frugal choice. Pre-ordering your games, parts, accessories, or consoles can help get you in the front of the line but patience is certainly a virtue that will help you save money when you want to improve your setup. Waiting for the holiday seasons are great ways to find deals on most electronics as these are some of the hottest sellers. You will have to wait a bit before you get your new gaming components but it will be worth it when you end up saving quite a bit of money. From Black Friday to Christmas, the deals will start getting better but you also need to jot down the cost of these items to make sure that you are actually getting a deal, and not being tricked with marketing tactics. Waiting a few months can help you save big time.
Buy Used Products
Once again, buying things new is fun because you get to rip open that freshly sealed box and unveil that much-wanted controller, mouse, monitor, or game. The problem is that buying things new is incredibly expensive, so going the used route is a much more economical choice. Used items may have more wear and tear, but if you can get past that, you could end up saving hundreds of dollars on products. Similarly, finding cheap refurbished laptops is a good option for gamers who want a product that is not as well-worn but still holds up. There is no shortage of used or refurbished gaming parts out there because new stuff is being announced and released all the time. Even big-name retailers sell a wide variety of these goods because they know there is a big market for people trying to save a few bucks.
Use Older Parts
The latest GPUs have blistering performance, but that kind of capability comes at a steep price. Some of these parts for a computer can be as expensive, or more than a new console. Even new accessories for gamers of all platforms can be hundreds of dollars. Headsets and keyboards are pricey too.
When it comes to finding parts for a PC build, you should try to find ones that are older. This may not give you the most amazing, screen-shattering performance but you also will not have to spend $1500 for a single graphics card. Parts are being outdated quicker, and as soon as a new part comes out, the older one will be significantly less valuable for consumers. This is good news for you as the older CPU or GPU may still be good enough for your needs at a much-reduced cost.
Find Non-Gaming Brands
There is a huge problem with people trying to buy parts and accessories for their gaming setup that are branded for a gamer. These brands can be very good, but sometimes it is simply a marketing ploy to increase the value of it and charge extra. When looking for additions to your gaming setup, be diligent in your search and check out what non-gaming brands and products are available that might be just as good, if not better. Headsets are a good example of products that may be priced higher than they need to be when you could get a decent work headset that has just as good of audio quality as a gamer-branded one that costs hundreds more. Mind you, there are things like a computer mouse that may be designed with better gaming performance in mind, but the idea is to be a more investigative consumer.
Read the Reviews
Being an investigative consumer and diligent shopper means reading the reviews as well. You should never jump right into a purchase because you heard someone say it was good or because it is new and fancy. Read the reviews to see what actual people say about it and form an opinion based on serious research. When trying to build your setup, the more research you do from video reviews and customer reviews on product pages will help you avoid spending too much on a product that may be subpar.
Build Your Own Computer
This one is specifically for the PC gamer crowd but it is an important note to end on. When purchasing a gaming PC it is often a much better option to build it yourself. Gaming companies and PC brands will charge a premium for compiling the parts for you to build the unit, which increases the cost by quite a bit. Building the PC takes more time and effort, but buying the parts can help you save money in the long run. Plus, you get to customize it as you see fit.
Gaming is becoming quite an expensive hobby. It feels hard to avoid the rising cost of games, parts, and accessories but there are a lot of ways around this. Using the tips provided here, you can help create your ideal gaming setup even on a tight budget.
