- Mar 27, 2020
- 3 min read

The Casual Setup

Today, we'll be looking into a computer setup that's clean, easy, and decently powerful. It's the casual setup: good for games like Minecraft or Fortnite, some offhand video editing, and day-to-day tasks such as web browsing.

Computer

Before we start, you'll need to look at your laptop. If you're to use it as the computer in this setup, it should have 8gb of DDR3+ RAM. It should preferably have 256gb or more of SSD, and an i5+ Processor. Those are about the bare minimum standards for playing Fortnite. A newer Macbook Pro or Air will do, but an i7+ Laptop that runs windows would be best. The Asus TUF FX505DT is a great value option. Razer Blade would be the best choice, but I know that people don't switch laptops very often. If your laptop is an older macbook, or something of that sort, and you don't want to upgrade laptops, the CyberPowerPC GMA888A is a serviceable gaming PC. Honestly, a PC would definitely be my personal recommendation because if you decide to go farther into gaming, you can upgrade it instead of buying a whole new one. At the time of this writing it's the best value option around. Some important statistics for picking gaming laptops and PCs are RAM, Graphics Card, storage, and Processor. As I said earlier, for a light build you should aim for at least 8gb of RAM, a GPU (graphics card) under $200 (general guideline), 256gb+ of SSD or 1TB+ of HDD, and i5+ or Ryzen 5+.

Monitor

Let's get on to the monitor. If you look on Nextdoor or Facebook Marketplace, you'll find many used 1080p monitors for very cheap. I would recommend going on there first, because monitor technology advances quite quickly and you don't want to buy a $1000 monitor only to have it be substandard next year. When you buy a monitor it must have an HDMI cable. DVI and VGA are extremely outdated, cannot transfer data as quickly, and do not connect to ports on modern laptops. If you cannot find a satisfactory used monitor, a great choice is the Acer SB220Q. It's very thin, looks great, has 75hz, and runs in 1080p. Last note: don't buy a 4k monitor. They are much more expensive, and if you're going for a light build, your computer will not be powerful enough to run games at 4k with acceptable FPS.

Peripherals

For your peripherals, Redragon is an amazing value brand. I endorse the Redragon Griffin for a starter mouse. It has full RGB, two side buttons, adjustable DPI and color modes, and a great ergonomic grip. You have tons of options for keyboards if you are OK with membrane. However, if you want mechanical I recommend the Redragon Kumara. For your headset and microphone, there are also a plethora of cheap options available on Amazon. Aim for around $20 for your mouse and headset, and $30 for your keyboard. For the mousepad, an Amazon basics mousepad is a cheap, reliable one you can buy. If you want the best quality, you could also get the Steelseries QcK Microfiber Mousepad.

Now that you've got everything you need, give it a try! It should look pretty smooth, and hopefully run better than your laptop (unless you're using your laptop for your setup). If you're using a 1080p monitor, the graphics should look pretty nice as well. One more thing you might need to throw in if you're using a laptop is a USB hub (for extra ports) and a microphone adapter (so you can use the mic on your headset).

Casual Gaming Setup Example #1 (More Expensive)

Computer - $750: SkyTech Blaze II

Monitor - $90: Acer SB220Q

Mouse - $17: Redragon Griffin M602

Keyboard - $27: Redragon Kumara (no backlight version)

Mousepad - $10: Steelseries QcK Thick

Headset - $40: Razer Kraken X Ultralight

Total: $934

Casual Gaming Setup #2 (Less Expensive)

Computer - $600: CyberPowerPC GMA888A

Monitor - $70: Sceptre E205W-16003R

Mouse & Keyboard - $30: Redragon S101 Combo