A Proper Setup Can Enrich Your Gaming Time
Whether you work from home, in an office building, or a warehouse, you might have noticed that your immediate environment can play a big role in your level of productivity. A bright room may help you stay attentive while a dark room may make you sleepy. It would be rather hard to focus on work when you’re shivering or sweating. And I’m sure we’ve all had the displeasure of trying to study over the sounds of loud music or construction. Over the years, there have been multiple studies that show environmental factors like lighting, temperature, noise, and more can drastically affect efficiency. And that’s not even taking in account how the quality of one’s equipment can also change how they approach their work.
It stands to reason then that a similar sentiment could be applied to play rather than work. One’s gaming environment can have a direct impact on how enjoyable their play sessions are. An uncomfy chair, a low resolution screen, an unresponsive mouse, all these factors and more can strip some of the fun out of gaming. Your leisure time is precious. Why not make sure you have the best environment possible to enjoy all the games you love?
Today, we’re going to help you upgrade your gaming setup from drab and uncomfortable to bright and relaxed. In each section, we’ll take a look at a gaming battlestation on social media that highlights an aspect of your gaming setup that you can upgrade with the products discussed later on. Then we’ll go into recommendations for various peripherals and furniture. And don’t worry if moneys tight. We’ll try to offer low-cost alternatives wherever possible.
In this pic, u/Denny_Cooper shows his gaming/workstation with a picturesque city view and some nice furniture. I know you might be tempted to go for one of those flashy racing chairs that streamers love, but in years time your back will thank you for choosing an ergonomic office chair. And that tiered desk is an elegant solution for making some extra space.
You could opt for Cooper’s fancy Koorbiir chair, but those will run you upwards of $250 at the lowest.
We actually recommended two different chairs: Either the Staples Dexley or the Staples Hyken. While the base price on both is $300, they regularly go on sale for around $120-$130. The chairs have comparable features and design but the Dexley may be better suited for bigger and taller people.
For tiered desks, if you’re looking to support a larger monitor and a lot of accessories, look no further than the ODK 48 inch Gaming Desk at $109. It even comes with LED lights to truly make your setup shine.
If that’s too much for you, the Bestier Small Gaming Desk is half the price of the ODK (about $54) for a slightly shorter desk with fewer spots for accessories.
Toolzee__ has an amazing setup here that looks like something straight from outer space with all the colors and effects. We should be able to make your room pop like this with a couple items.
The “stars” on the ceiling are probably coming from a star projector. There are a ton of options on Amazon with various different designs for the lights and the projector itself. Most are pretty affordable as well between $17 and $35. Pick the one that best fits the aesthetic you’re envisioning.
I believe the hexagons are being lit up by rgb light strips hidden behind them. Again, there are many effective and affordable options in this category from $6 to $20 on Amazon. If you want to go all out, check out the Govee RGBIC Pro LED Strip Lights. They’re a pretty penny at $37, but they have some sick features like voice control and dynamic lighting modes.
Apparently, u/bonehex finds that being surrounded by monitors helps with their concentration. While most don’t share their exact fervor for screens, it doesn’t change the fact that the monitor(s) you choose have a profound effect on your gaming experience. There are a lot of factors to take into account when picking a monitor including:
This could be a whole article on its own so for brevity’s sake I’ll just recommend six different displays, one for each of the three major resolutions that PC gamers use, plus a budget option in each category. Keep in mind, as resolution increases, so does the gpu power needed to run games at an acceptable frame rate.
Some may scoff at 1080p monitors in 2024, but they still certainly have a place in PC gaming, especially if you’re into fast paced games like twitch shooters that can benefit greatly from high frame rates. The ASUS ROG Swift Pro PG248QP is pricy for 1080p at $799, but few other monitors can match its blazing fast 540hz display.
But if you’re not a certified CSGO pro who needs every frame they can get, you might want to save some money and grab the AOC Q27G4XN for just $180.
1440p is considered the sweet spot for many PC gamers, offering great picture quality while not requiring an absurd amount of graphics power to push good frame rates. The ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQDMG is the best of the best in this category, with a stunning WOLED display (glossy coating), a 240hz refresh rate, and important features like G-SYNC for $700.
For budget options, AOC again comes in clutch with the AOC Q27G3XMN, a Mini-LED monitor priced at $280 that’s great for HDR gaming.
Now we’ve reached the crem de la crem of gaming displays (realistically, we’re still a long ways away from 8k gaming): 4k. At more than triple the number of pixels compared to 1440p, you really need a good GPU to get good frames at this resolution. But it might just be worth it for unmatched image quality.
There are a number of 4k 32” displays competing for the top spot, each with high refresh rates, and OLED displays. For our money, we’d say that the ASUS ROG Swift PG32UCDM is the best on the market. This glossy QD-OLED screen will cost you though, sitting at a whopping $1300.
You may be noticing a trend with OLED monitors costing a pretty penny. Thankfully, Mini-LED monitors like the SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey Neo G7 at $550 can be good alternatives.
U/big_man_tings_ seems to be a bit of a mechanical keyboard enthusiast judging by the three hanging out in this pic. And who can blame him? The world of mechanical keyboards is vast, offering far too many options to choose from. You have to take into account keycaps, switches, and layout, although the former two can be modified later on if you desire.
That in mind, I’ll give my recommendations for keyboards of the three most common layouts.
60% and other compact keyboard layouts have gained traction over the years, becoming the layout of choice for many gamers looking to save on desk space. Others simply prefer the aesthetics of a smaller keyboard.
If money is no object and you’re looking for a feature rich option, look no further than the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini. It’s got wireless connectivity, rgb lighting, adjustable hypermagnetic switches, and unmatched build quality. All this comes at the hefty price of $200. Also, unlike many “lower tier” options, the switches on the Apex Pro Mini are not hot-swappable, so you're stuck with whatever comes with it.
Not keen on paying that much for a keyboard that lacks customizability? The ROYALAXE Y68 has several of the same features and hot swappable switches at a quarter of the price ($50) of the Apex. Plus, it looks way cooler, if you ask me.
TKLs are a nice middle ground, featuring most of the keys you know and love while still cutting size thanks to the omission of the numpad.
As the mini’s big brother, the $168 SteelSeries Apex Pro deserves a shout for the best in this category. It has much of the same features with one major addition: a small OLED display on the top right. This screen can be used to adjust settings or show real time system/program information as you use your PC. Unfortunately, this model lacks wireless capabilities, so stay close to your computer.
You can shave off almost $100 and get wireless connectivity if you get the $80 Keychron K8 instead. Not as many fancy features, but it is hot-swappable and Keychron is very well respected in the mechanical keyboard community.
One could argue that the full-sized layout has fallen out of favor as smaller keyboards have taken over the scene. Still, many gamers who also have productivity tasks value having the numpad and extra keys that you can only get with full-sized keyboards.
The Keychron Q5 Max is a great option for those looking for hardware and software customizability at $240. Its simple assembly lets you take it apart piece by piece from the keycaps to the gaskets and replace parts as you wish. The QMK/VIA software lets you easily program any key and set up macros. There’s also a programmable knob that controls volume by default.
Keychron also has a cheaper full-size option with the Keychron C2 Pro Wired. You’ll have to sacrifice wireless connectivity, the Q5’s simple assembly, and the knob, but it will only run you $64.
With all the products listed below, you should have no problem getting your gaming setup to look great. Or maybe you’re already proud of your battlestation? Share with us down below how you tricked out your setup.
