Gamers have had a rough time over the last eighteen months – hardware has been thin on the ground, which has led to a spike in pricing for essential components such as graphics cards and high-powered CPUs. Even console gamers found themselves affected, as neither Sony nor Microsoft was able to produce anywhere near enough units of their Playstation 5 and Xbox Series consoles to satisfy demand.
But how about those who just want to play slots, poker, or live casino games such as blackjack or baccarat? What sort of kit do these gamers need if they want to enjoy the best possible experience? While certain items are just as important to both types of gamers, in other areas each group has distinctly different priorities. If you want to enjoy the best possible experience whilst gambling online, consider treating yourself to an item or two from our list.
Part One: Hardware
It was a tough decision choosing whether hardware should be the first section of this article – getting your surroundings and environment right is possibly just as important to an online poker player, whereas those who wish to play the latest triple-A games have no choice but to ensure they focus their budget on hardware that is capable of playing such games at reasonable framerates.
CPU
Online casino games don’t require the latest and greatest graphics cards, and you may even be able to get away with using the graphics hardware built into a modern CPU, depending on your monitor requirements. Some of the latest online slots do use hardware acceleration where it is available, but as long as you have a reasonably fast CPU, you shouldn’t run into any problems. Intel’s Core i5 and i7 chips are now available with six or even eight cores at reasonable prices, pushed down in price by competition from AMD and their Ryzen series of chips.
I would recommend looking for something with a minimum of six cores and integrated graphics, but don’t bother splashing out on a top-of-the-range chip – a mid-range chip is more than sufficient, and your money is better spent elsewhere.
Monitor
If you enjoy playing online poker and are adept at handling several tables at once, one of the best purchases you can make is an ultrawide monitor. These displays have resolutions starting at 3440×1440 – that’s a lot of pixels already, but the best models from Samsung, Dell, and LG max out at a mind-boggling 5120×2160.
Poker players used to need a desk full of monitors to support the number of tables they wanted to play simultaneously, but modern displays mean this is no longer necessary. Just be sure that your machine is capable of driving one of these screens before making the purchase, especially if the screen also supports a high refresh rate.
If you do find yourself with a monitor that refuses to work at full resolution when connected to your laptop or PC over HDMI, you may be able to purchase a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter that will enable you to use the display as it was intended.
Keyboard & Mouse
It always surprises me how these two essential devices are often overlooked by those purchasing or using an otherwise highly-specced computer. These two peripherals are the way you interact with the system, and I guarantee that you will never want to go back to a cheap keyboard and mouse after using high-quality alternatives.
As far as keyboards go, Razer makes an excellent series of gaming keyboards known as Black Widow, which allow you to customize the color and function of each individual key on a per-program basis. You can use this functionality to automatically highlight the keys used by different slot developers or online poker rooms, and when you are not gaming you will find these keyboards an absolute joy to type on.
Logitech has been the king of mice for years, but their rivals have begun to catch up in recent years, and there are now many companies offering excellent wireless mice featuring additional buttons that can be assigned to specific actions, or allow you to change the speed of the cursor on the fly – a great feature when you absolutely cannot afford to make a mistake.
Solid State Drive
If you haven’t kitted your system out with a solid-state disk yet, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. Whatever you use your computer for, these ultra-fast storage devices make your computer startup faster, the software is more responsive, and they often come back by extremely long warranties, too.
Chips are just inherently more reliable than spinning mechanical hard drives, and the latest M.2 NVME drives can be more than 50x faster than a traditional hard disk. Whatever you use your computer for, make sure you buy a solid-state drive for your operating system installation.
Part Two: Environment
So now you have your kit sorted, where are you going to put it? How are you going to use it comfortably? If you are a laptop user, perhaps you enjoy just kicking back on the sofa with your portable. That’s fine if it’s your thing, but it isn’t the best way to experience online casino games.
Gaming Chairs
The debate rages on about whether gaming chairs are worth the money over a regular office chair, and I’d say there is merit on both sides of the argument. If possible, try and find a local stockist of office and gaming chairs, so you can try a few out and choose the one you find most comfortable.
I found a gaming chair on eBay which allows you to adjust every parameter imaginable – the height, the tilt, the position of the armrests, just to name a few. It also came with a lumbar cushion to support your lower back, an extendable footrest, and a neck pillow too. The price seemed too good to be true if I’m honest, but I couldn’t be happier with it.
Desk
If you are buying a huge screen, you are going to need a suitably large desk to put it on. If the height of the desk is not adjustable, make sure it is compatible with the chair you are buying, and that you will be able to position your monitor at eye level. The current trend seems to be for a Z-shaped design, which looks great and gives you the entirety of the space underneath to ensure you can position yourself comfortably.
You might also want to consider buying a “lapdesk” or “lapboard”, on which to use your keyboard and mouse. These are designed to sit on your lap, enabling you to sit back in your chair, and still be able to use your keyboard and mouse accurately. For me, this works better than keeping my keyboard and mouse on the desk, so give it a look.