Like many hardcore gamers, you’ve probably dreamed of playing video games for a living. And why wouldn’t you? Some of the most successful esports athletes are raking in millions of dollars a year from competitions, streaming, and corporate partnerships. Do you want to join their storied ranks? If so, you’re not just going to have to slay the competition. You’re going to need a gaming PC setup that’s worthy.
Whether you’re building a gaming PC or buying a powerful pre-built gaming PC, keep in mind the kind of components you’ll need.
Shop the Specs:
With a little bit of research, you should be able to choose the main components that make your PC zing, whether you’re participating in esports battle arenas or streaming your gameplay.
CPUs:
Intel Core i9-7900X and AMD Ryzen 9 3900x
RAM:
The more, the better. Aim for at least 32GB DDR4-3600.
Graphics Card:
Invest in high-end graphics cards like the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra.
You’ll Also Want To Consider These Suggestions:
Power:
Don’t skimp on the power supply. You’ll want to invest in a high-end power supply that turns, stays on, and is problem-free. Low-end power supplies aren’t going to cut it in the world of professional esports.
Cooling:
A top-quality cooling unit is just as important as the power supply. Long hours of intense gameplay can heat components, so you’re going to want to keep them as cool as possible. Ventilate your system with case fans and a CPU cooler. If it’s in your budget, it doesn’t hurt to splurge on a reputable liquid cooling unit.
Invest in a Future-Proof Gaming PC:
Be sure to invest in a PC that you can upgrade. Think about the games you want to play in the next five years or so. Do you think your PC will handle the games of the future at the settings required for optimum gameplay?
What Do the Pros Use?
Here are what the most popular esports athletes are using:
Ninja
When it comes to Fortnite, Tyler Blevins (Ninja) is arguably one of the world’s best players. He’s also a full-time streamer and has over 2.7 million followers on YouTube. He doesn’t just dominate the field in Fortnite, though; he’s also one of the most famous players of Halo.
Here’s What Some Of His Gaming And Streaming Setups Look Like:
Graphics Card:
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, 11GB GDDR5X graphics card.
CPU:
Ninja uses an Intel Core i9-7900X processor, so his gaming rig is not only future-proofed, it also ensures that he doesn’t drop any frame rates when he’s streaming online.
Motherboard:
When he’s streaming, he’s got the ASUS ROG Strix Z370-E, LGA1151 compatible motherboard in his rig.
Keyboard:
Ninja likes to keep it real by using a relatively budget-friendly RGB mechanical gaming keyboard.
Webcam:
His streams look super-clear because he uses the Logitech BRIO 4K webcam with HDR.
Ninja’s Mouse and Display Settings:
For Fortnite, Ninja’s mouse of choice has up to 11 additional buttons. These extra buttons help him bind his weapon and build slots and make it easier to swap weapons quicker and build with better efficiency. He uses a mouse at 800 DPI and 880 EDPI with a polling rate of 1000 Hz. He likes his mouse sensitivity to be at 6, with his X and Y Controller sensitivity set at 50.
Ninja uses an ultra-fast 240 Hz display rate gaming monitor featuring an impressive 1ms response time. When he’s playing Fortnite, his settings include fullscreen window mode with the display resolution set at 1920×1080 and the 3-D resolution at 100%.
DrDirespect
Don’t let Guy “DrDisrespect” Beahm’s name fool you. His persona is just a character. He actually respects the games, especially Apex Legends, Fortnite, Overwatch, and Call of Duty: Warzone. This full-time professional streamer is a legend in his own right. Note: As of June 2020, Twitch banned him for unknown reasons, so in August 2020, he relaunched as a streamer on YouTube.
Here’s a Look At What His Streaming And Gaming Setup Looks Like:
Graphics Card:
2x NVIDIA ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 TI
CPU:
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X
Motherboard:
ASUS ROB Zenith II Extreme Alpha
Memory:
8x G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB DDR4 RAM
Gaming Mouse:
ROCCAT Kain 200 AIMO
Gaming Keyboard:
ROCCAT Vulcan 122 AIMO
Webcam:
Logitech C920 helps his streams look nice and clear.
Microphone:
He likes to use the Shure SM7B because it produces a clean, natural reproduction of his voice.
Monitor:
The ASUS ROC Swift PG258Q 24.5-inch monitor features 1ms response time and 240 Hz refresh rates.
Faker
Lee Sang-hyeok (better known as Faker) is one of the top League of Legends players in the biz. And with over 27 million gamers playing LoL daily, that’s saying a lot. He’s won three world titles, and in one of the competitions, he didn’t lose a single game in the entire tournament. So far, he’s the only player ever to achieve such a feat. What does one of the world’s all-time best League of Legends player use in his game setup?
We don’t know much about the internal components of his gaming rig. Still, we did manage to discover his preferred mouse and display settings. Here’s a peek:
Faker’s Mouse and Display Settings:
League of Legends requires a gaming mouse that can keep up with high APM (actions per minute) and handle all the repetitive movements.
Faker likes his Game Sensitivity to be at 70, Window Sensitivity at 6, EDPI at 245000, and DPI/CPI at 3500.
He uses a BenQ XL2430T gaming monitor featuring a lightning-quick 1ms response time. When he’s gaming, his monitor is in fullscreen 16:9 mode with the resolution set at 1920×1080. The monitor’s mega-fast 144 Hz refresh rate provides smooth gaming performance.
The Wrap-Up
It’s always fun to build your own gaming PC. But if you’d rather get one that’s good to go straight out of the box, you’re in luck. You can find several powerful, pre-built gaming PCs featuring many of the same components that the top esports professionals use!
