Tips to Set Up the Perfect Gaming Station
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Do you need gaming headphones, or are Sony headphones good for gaming? Do you need the latest and greatest in screen tech, or will a normal monitor do? There are quite a few fundamental questions that need answering when it comes to the perfect gaming station. Let’s dive into the list of top tips.
What Do You Play?
It is pretty easy to fall into believing that you need to buy the latest and greatest kit to have a decent gaming experience. Unfortunately, it’s one of the industry’s most effective marketing tactics. Unfortunately, it’s also entirely false.
The way that your game should inform how you build your gaming station. A major factor is the type of games that you play. For example, if you are a big first-person shooter fan, you will want your screen to have a higher refresh rate, even if that means going for a lower resolution to save money.
If you play role-playing games, without screen time, you might get more out of a higher resolution screen running at sixty frames per second. This approach can save you a fortune on your gaming station, and nobody needs the top-of-the-line gear that does everything.
How Do You Game?
Do you lean in, sitting close up to your screen while you immerse yourself in the tension of every competitive moment? Or do you relax on the couch while enjoying the sights and sounds of your favorite walking sim?
That makes all the difference to the kind of setup you should consider. Some gamers prefer a gaming seat and sitting up close to the action. You must get a comfortable and ergonomic gaming chair if that is you.
Sure, gaming chairs cost a bit more than your average office chair, but they cost less than the physiotherapy you will need if your gaming chair doesn’t support your back. A high-quality office chair may do the trick, but they aren’t purpose-built for how gamers usually sit while playing.
If you prefer the option of sitting back on your couch, on the other hand, you will need a comfy couch, but there is less strain on your back. So your main considerations will be different.
PC or Console?
It is one of the most divisive topics in the gaming industry. So, of course, it’s a given that there will be peace in the Middle East before fans of the various platforms stop spewing bile at each other. However, when you approach the choice between a PC, Xbox, and Playstation objectively, you might make a switch yourself.
Each platform comes with its objective pros and cons. High-end PCs are more powerful than consoles and benefit from being modular. As a result, you rarely need to upgrade your whole PC at once. However, on the downside, PC components are incredibly expensive. Furthermore, maintaining a gaming PC is an involved and potentially frustrating experience.
A console is a far less pricey option, and it pretty much only requires you to know how to turn it on. In addition to how simple they are to operate, a console guarantees you access to all the newest games for the duration of the console generation.
When it decides between consoles, the abuse only gets worse. And that is perhaps one of the silliest cases of contention society has witnessed since Australia waged a genuine war with Emus. The Xbox and Playstation platforms are so close in performance that they make no difference for your gaming station.
Some argue the Xbox has more powerful hardware, but that discounts how the latest Playstation processes information. People cite countless things as major differences which aren’t. If you are searching for a simpler gaming experience, either will do fine.
The best way to decide which of the two consoles is for you is by looking at their game catalog and choosing the one with more games you like playing. Do not decide based on anything either side’s fans have to say.
What Looks Good to You
We touched on screens and screen features, but there are a couple of things you need to know when buying a gaming monitor. The first is whether you are sitting at a desk, a chair, or a couch across the room.
It is a myth that bigger is better when it comes to screen size. For example, a 27-inch 4K monitor has smaller pixels than a 55-inch 4K TV, so the former looks better from close up. In addition, human vision doesn’t work how gamers often think.
Stretch your arm in front of you quickly. No, do it. Now hold your thumb in a thumbs-up gesture with the fingernail facing you. Focus on just that fingernail. That is the entire area where your eyes can see any real detail. The more aware you are, the more you will notice it.
We didn’t share that to give you an upsetting realization of just how terrible the human eye is. Instead, we bring it up because it will greatly impact your decision on whether you need the maximum number of pixels on a screen.
As a rule of thumb, a desktop setup works best with a 27″ screen. If you sit on a couch, up to a distance of around 13 feet, a 32″ to 43″ screen is ideal, and any further than that, you likely want to invest in a 55″ or bigger screen. As a pro tip, the further you sit from your screen, the less the resolution matters.
What Sounds Good to You
There is one caveat, a restriction of sorts when it comes to gaming audio. Headphones are always better than speakers. The best headphones will provide you with a better sound experience than the best sound systems.
We recommend putting speakers and the likes out of mind when deciding on your audio solution. Before you start shopping, you need a checklist of technical specifications. For example, if your gaming station supports Bluetooth connectivity, you need wired headphones.
Do you care about surround sound, or is a good stereo experience good enough? One of the biggest problems with getting advice on headphones is that you usually ask audiophiles. There are tones, cadence, temperature, and spacial qualities crucial to your average audiophile. But, unfortunately, most people don’t even hear that because they aren’t listening for it.
Whether you should opt for a gaming headset or a standard, high-quality pair of headphones depends on one simple thing. Do you use voice chat in your games? If you plan on chatting it up with friends, you need a headset with a mic. If not, a traditional high-quality headset of the same price will usually have better sound quality.