As a baseline, both HTC and Oculus recommend a Core i5-4590 or its equivalent; with current-gen CPUs, we'd recommend an AMD Ryzen 5, 7, or 9 (second-generation or third-generation), or an Intel Core i5, i7, or i9. However, you may want to stay away from the highest configurations. If you want something that can boot up and run graphics-intensive AAA games smoothly, nothing less powerful will do. The thoughtfully designed Corsair One i160 Gaming PC delivers outrageous RTX 2080 Ti grunt and blistering CPU speed in an attractive, super-compact chassis. For those who need to be on the cutting edge, or are buying a desktop that will be an upgrade from the Pascal card generation or earlier, your best bet may be to go with the latest tech, especially as ray-tracing sees wider adoption in coming years. If you’re looking to push performance, you’ll want to explore models with multi-GPU support, like the Digital Storm Aventum X, which can be configured with up to four graphics cards, or the Origin PC Millennium. These cards lack the specific cores needed for ray-tracing in order to cut the price.


The Best Gaming Desktops for 2020 You can't buy a more powerful gaming platform than a tricked-out desktop PC. Thermal control and integrated overclocking abilities. At the high end of the spectrum, many of the top gaming PCs today come with an overclockable Intel Core i9-9900K processor coupled with Nvidia’s RTX 2080 Ti graphics. This is important for short load times as well as speedy gameplay. Dell serves up two gaming brands: The “value” G Series and its premium Alienware portfolio. The Dell G5 Gaming Desktop is a no-fuss entry-level system with a super-compact design, capable gaming performance, and an affordable price tag. Get exclusive content, advice, and tips from BestReviews delivered to your inbox.

From the high-end gaming desktop to the compact gaming PC, MSI pledges to provide the best gaming computer lineup which brings together customization and outstanding performance for the best gaming experience. That said, keep in mind that intensive games require more power and that a user running a dual-core processor would likely need to upgrade sooner than later. He interned for a college semester at Kotaku, writing about gaming.
After all, there’s a lot you need to know to make the right choice — and because it’s an investment, you want to do it right the first time. Another powerful VR-ready machine is the CUK Stratos VR Ready Gamer PC. Why we picked the Intel Ghost Canyon NUC: If a miniature, palm-sized PC is what you want, Intel has your back. Here's how to buy your best gaming desktop, regardless of your budget, and our top 10 latest picks in the category.