Best Version Of Windows 10 for Gaming

PC Specs For Gaming

First, though, we need to talk about required PC hardware specs for gaming. Your choice of OS is very important for gaming but it will be useless if your hardware cannot keep up with computing demands.

When it comes to gaming, desktop rigs are usually the better choice. There are a lot of really powerful gaming laptops out there, but they tend to be very expensive (~$2,000) and you usually cannot customize them too much, such as replacing the CPU, GPU< or other components (some gaming laptops allow you to change components).

Desktops, on the other hand, are usually more powerful and generally cost less as you can buy the parts separately and put together the PC yourself. Desktops also are tougher and less prone to breaking as you are not moving them around too much. So if you are going for a solid gaming rig, we recommend building a desktop.

The most important pieces of hardware you need are:

• Processor
• RAM
• GPU
• Hard Drive

Desktops have a bunch of other components like ethernet ports, sound cards, and USB ports, but these 4 hardware pieces are the most important for gaming. 

The processor (CPU) is basically the brain of your computer and handles all of the various calculations and computations needed to run apps. The CPU takes instructional inputs, runs calculations, and then sends back outputs to the various peripherals. Games require a lot of computing power so a beefy processor is necessary to play.

RAM (random access memory) is temporary memory your computer uses to store data so it’s immediately accessible for manipulation. RAM is necessary for games because games have a ton of constantly changing variables that need to be kept track of. RAM is used for gaming because it’s much faster to get info from temporary RAM instead of communicating with the hard drive. Essentially, the more RAM you have, the more tasks your computer can handle at once, so games run smoother.

The GPU (graphical processing unit) is essentially a CPU that is dedicated specifically to processing visual images created by games. Modern games have extremely high-fidelity graphics. The GPU is what allows the crisp, defined 3D textures you see in modern games. GPUs have their own store of video RAM (called VRAM) that is dedicated specifically for images. A gaming PC needs to have a dedicated GPU with a lot of VRAM if you want to run the most recent titles.

The hard drive is the main memory unit that stores all the files on your computer. The hard drive is where the core files for the game are stored. Modern games are fairly large (~50GB) so you need a large hard drive. Solid-state drives (SSDs) are also a better choice than hard disk drives (HDDs) because they are faster and less prone to memory corruption. SSDs also reduce load times because the processor can access the stored data faster.

Now that we talked about the important hardware components, we can give you a list of recommended specs:

• CPU: 6-core processor
• RAM: >16 GB
• GPU: 2 GB VRAM for 1080p, >3 GB for >1080p
• Hard Drive: 500 GB minimum (SSD recommended)

6 core processors are fairly standard and should allow you to play whatever modern game you want. You can drop to a 4-core processor if you are tight on money, but a 4-core may have some trouble running newer games. Dual-core processors can run a lot of indie titles and older games but probably can’t handle any AAA title released post-2016.

Most modern games don’t require more than 16 GB of RAM but this may change soon as games get more advanced. Also, SSDs are recommended because they can drastically reduce loading times, even if they do not affect in-game performance. SSDs tend to be more expensive than HDDs and SSDs normally have a finite amount of overwrites they can perform. HDDs, in contrast, can be overwritten essentially indefinitely.

As far as GPUs go, the market is basically cornered by NVIDIA and AMD. NVIDIA has the best GPUs hands down but most of their product line is very expensive. AMD GPUs are not as powerful as NVIDIA and lack some of the unique architectural features that make NVIDIA stand out. But AMD has a lot of awesome budget options that will handle modern games just fine. We should mention that Playstation consoles exclusively use AMD processors, so AMD GPUs are capable of handling any current-gen title.

Windows 10 Versions Compared

Ok, now that we have all that technical hardware stuff out of the way, we can talk about specific versions of Windows 10 and how well they work for gaming.

We’ll come right out and say it here, then go more in-depth below: Windows 10 Home is the best version of windows 10 for gaming, period. Windows 10 Home has the perfect setup for gamers of any stripe and getting the Pro or Enterprise version won’t change your experience in any positive ways. The Pro and Enterprise versions have some nice extra functions and security features, but nothing that impacts gaming performance to a noticeable degree.

Now let’s compare the specific operating systems.

Before you buy though, make sure whether you need the 32-bit or 64-bit version. The exact differences are a bit technical, but the main point is that 64-bit systems can access more memory at once. Whereas 32-bit systems can access a total of 4GB of physical memory, 64-bit systems can access 18 quintillion GB of RAM. In other words, you will never in 1,000 years need more RAM than what a 64-bit system can access. Most modern computers are 64-bit machines so you’ll need the 64-bit version of Windows.

Keep in mind that 64-bit systems can run 32-bit programs, though it’s recommended to use the 64-bit version on a 64-bit system. 32-bit systems can run 64-bit programs by using virtualization, but performance is likely to suffer due to lower RAM access.

If you’re not sure which kind of system you have, you can check by clicking on the start button on your computer and selecting the System option from the Settings menu. If the screen says you have a x64-based processor, then you need the 64-bit system. If it says you have a x86-based processor, then you need the 32-bit system (yes, it says x86 instead of x32; it’s weird, we know).