It’s a common myth in the gaming world that you need the best money can buy in order to perform well at gaming. As you can guess by the title, that’s not the case.

All you need is the bare minimum required to run the game at a playable framerate. Note that I say playable and not 60 FPS. Why so? Yes playing at 60FPS or above is good and might even give you an advantage over your opponents, but if you’re good enough, you’ll still get that headshot at 30 FPS.

So do you need a super expensive gaming computer? No, you don’t. For the most part, all you need is a powerful enough PC. Do you need all the flashy RGB peripherals? No, you don’t, you just need a keyboard and a mouse (or a controller).

I say this from experience as I myself have been using budget peripherals all my life and I never found them to impact my performance. In this article, I bring you my budget gaming setup for 2019

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Computer

I’m a PC gamer, so a computer obviously forms the heart of my setup. You’ll be surprised to know, but I don’t own a heavy-duty desktop. Instead, I do all my stuff on a rather weak HP laptop — the HP ab522tx.

Yes, I know the name isn’t any flashy and so is the laptop. It has an i56200U @ 2.30GHz, 8GB RAM and an Nvidia 940MX 4GB GPU. This isn’t by any means top-end gaming hardware but for the games I play, it gets the job done.

I easily get 60 FPS+ in games like CS: GO, Insurgency, FIFA 19 and F1 2019 (at low settings of course). Heavier games such as PUBG and Rainbow 6 Siege do take a performance impact, but still, somehow run at a playable framerate.

This isn’t a gaming-oriented machine and hence the mediocre performance. I bought this laptop about three years ago and it’s due for an upgrade, but so far, it’s been running great for me.

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Peripherals

Keyboard (INR 3000)

I use the RedGear Mk881 mechanical keyboard. It’s one of the cheapest mechanical keyboards that you can find on Amazon and it’s totally awesome. The keys are Kailh blue switches, a Chinese clone of the Cherry MX blue, but they’re almost identical in performance.

The RGB on the keyboard is also good for the price. Yes, you’re not getting ‘true’ RGB and every key is individually lit, but it looks cool and that’s enough for me. Good sturdy keyboard and is worth every rupee spent on it, check.

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Mouse (INR 1200)

I’ve been using the Logitech G300s since I don’t even remember. It’s a great mouse and it just keeps going.

The mouse has an ambidextrous grip, meaning that it can be used by both left and right-handers. It has a bunch of buttons, loads of configuration options and the accompanying Logitech software is just great.

Overall, a pretty solid mouse for the price.

Also read: Does buying a Gaming Mousepad makes sense?

Headphones (INR 4000)

The most expensive and the oldest item on the list — my Kotion Each G5200 Gaming headset.

Where do I start? This headphone isn’t your standard everyday headphone. It’s USB driven. Meaning that it has it’s own sound card and it’s own sound stages. Your computer’s hardware doesn’t matter, the sound is going to be the same.

It has 7.1 surround sound, and a rather short but great mic. What I love most about it though are the vibration effects. Yes, the headphone vibrates when hit with bass. Any explosions, heavy firing, the headphones start vibrating and you feel a whole another level of immersion in the game.

Also, they’ve lasted me about four years at this point so, worth every penny.

Cooling pad (INR 1200)

I use a cooling pad from Tarkan. It has a four fan design and some mild blue lighting. For the most part, it keeps my machine from throttling and is a nice stand anyway. It also has a USB passthrough so your USB port is saved as well.

It’s a bit on the pricier side but functions well for what it is.

Also read: The ultimate keyboard guide: Mechanical vs Membrane

Controller (INR 1200)

Again, I use the RedGear Pro Wireless controller. Great build at a great price. It even has backlit buttons.

There are two drive modes on the controller that make it compatible with pretty much every game you can and will run on your computer. You can even plug it into your smartphone and it’ll work just fine.

Battery life is also decent, with the gamepad averaging about eight hours of playtime on a single charge for me.

Wheel Setup (INR 3400)

I am new to sim racing and that’s why I decided to go with an entry-level gaming wheel from Thrustmaster – The Thrustmaster Ferrari Red Legend Edition.

The wheel is currently the cheapest you can find on Amazon India and is phenomenal for the price you pay. Build quality isn’t really all that good but it gets the job done and provides quite an immersive experience for new sim racers.

The wheel does have some shortcomings, but they can be ignored at this price point. The only problem that might break the deal for you is that the rotation angle is only 90 degrees while most wheels go at least 900. This takes a hit on the realism factor and requires a little bit of setting up too. There is also no force feedback whatsoever.

And that’s it. That’s all the hardware I’ve amassed over the years to play hours and hours of different video games at my desk. And if there’s one thing that I’ve learnt from all this, it’s that good peripheral may give you a more enjoyable experience, but they don’t make you a better gamer.

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