Four things I love about my first gaming PC
I originally had a much different article planned for this week detailing why my first gaming PC wasn’t everything I’d hoped it would be. However, after spending some additional time with my device, I think I was too hasty in my initial judgement. So instead, I'm writing a two-parter: In this first half, I'm covering all the things I love about my new gaming PC.
My first gaming PC, by the specs
First, let’s talk hardware. My test device is a Razer Blade 14. Under the hood sits an AMD Ryzen 5900HX paired with an NVIDIA RTX 3070 mobile GPU. The 14” display is a QHD panel with a 165Hz refresh rate. When it comes to I/O, it’s packing Razer’s proprietary charging port (which is required to maintain enough power while gaming at max capacity), 1 USB-C port (sans Thunderbolt support, since there's no Intel inside), 1 USB-A port, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm jack.
Purely as a gadget geek, the entire package is alluring. The Razer Blade 14’s build quality is top notch (even if the matte black finish is a fingerprint magnet), the RGB keyboard is mesmerizing, and I love the various performance customizations Razer offers through the built-in Synapse app.
In short, this is a cool gaming PC.
Now on to the things I love about this device.
Power surge
First and foremost, the Razer Blade 14 is packing some serious power for its size and footprint. Based on my own tests, the RTX 3070 mobile GPU is far more powerful than my Series S — we're talking about more stable frame rates (even on demanding games), greater draw distances in open worlds, and richer, more beautiful textures.
While it's hard to find a definitive answer on the internet, the RTX 3070 mobile GPU is also supposedly more capable than an Xbox Series X and a PlayStation 5, as well, which feels about right based on the performance I've seen so far. And all things considered, the 3070 should be better considering the cost of this laptop, though retail value isn't always correlated with device performance, but I digress.
Bottom line: The Razer Blade 14 with an RTX 3070 is a very capable machine.
Control freak
I've always known that PC gamers were given greater control over various graphical settings in their games, like screen resolutions, texture densities, FPS adjustments, and more. As a console gamer, I even got my first little taste of this when I tested GeForce Now. However, now that I have a gaming PC of my own, I've found myself more keen to dial in these settings to get the optimal experience I want in a game, not what the developer thinks I want.
This is the part where the RTX 3070's limitations come into play a bit. Being the mobile variant of this GPU, it's not possible to just crank everything to Ultra on every game and expect the best results (though there are titles that will let you do this). Some games require further adjustments in order to tailor the experience to my preferences, and while this was originally a pain point of mine, I've started to enjoy tweaking settings to see how much more I can improve my gaming experience.
All in all, the ability to adjust these settings allows me to dial in a better experience than my console can offer while navigating the performance ceiling of my Razer Blade 14 with relative ease.
Max velocity
There's no doubt that Xbox's Velocity SSD is a brilliant, performant piece of tech, but it's also a pain to deal with if you have a lot of games. In order to play an Xbox Series X|S-optimized title, the game must be stored on either the Xbox's internal Velocity SSD or a (very expensive) expandable Velocity SSD. If you try to play a Series X|S game from a standard external SSD (which I have), you will receive an error message. This means that in order to play all the games you want to play, you'll either need to keep downloading them and deleting them to make space, or move games between hard drives when you're ready to play them.
Not on PC.
There's no such thing as a proprietary Velocity SSD in the gaming PC world. Sure, there are faster SSDs, and there are slower SSDs, but all of them are able to store and run the games you'd want to play, no additional swapping or optimizations necessary. It's this ease of use that makes PC gaming extremely compelling in this next generation where Xbox Series X|S games need a special SSD in order to work.
Stores galore
The final thing I'm enjoying about my Razer Blade 14 is having access to multiple game stores.
If I'm being honest, I'd prefer to buy all of my games from the Windows Store, since these titles sync their saves with my Xbox versions. But since the Windows Store isn't nearly as stocked as the Xbox Store, I've found a lot of joy in alternatives, like Steam and the Epic Store.
The biggest boon for third-party stores, in my opinion, is that I can now experience games that I never would've had access to on my Xbox. For instance, I've been playing a lot of Ys: VIII lately — an RPG that has mostly alluded the Xbox platform. Steam has Playstation exclusives, as well, like Horizon Zero Dawn and soon, God of War — you're not getting these on a Series X or S. Then Epic Store has Kena: Bridge of Spirits, another lovely tale that my Xbox may never see.
If you're the type of gamer who just wants to play games, PC is a very compelling platform. Where else can you play Xbox exclusives, PlayStation exclusives, and pick up a heap of other titles that never reach consoles at all? It's on PC.
Things I hate about my first gaming PC
Alright, that was a quick rundown of the things I love about my first gaming PC. In the next one, I'll be talking about the reasons I almost gave up on my PC experiment. See you then!