I'm not going to sugarcoat it: 2026 has been a terrible time to be a PC gamer. As someone who's been covering computing tech for over a decade and building machines for longer than that, the future looks bleak.
The biggest tech companies in the world are buying up vital components such as RAM and graphics cards to build data centers. Prices for these parts are soaring as demand drastically outpaces supply. Many expect things won't stabilize until at least 2030, so what can we do to get through the worst of it?
While the best graphics cards, NVMe SSDs, and the best DDR5 RAM modules have become expensive and elusive, that's not the case across the board for other computing components, as there are plenty of other essential upgrades you can make to weather the storm and ensure you've got one of the best gaming PCs ready for the flagship releases of the future... provided you keep your expectations in check.
I'm going through the five biggest ways you can maximize your PC gaming experience through this dark and uncertain time. My best advice without spending any additional money is to hold onto what you've got and be smart with your graphics settings and target resolution.
Today's best PC games are optimized with console parity in mind, meaning they have to be able to run on the Xbox Series X/S and PS5, so as long as your GPU is from 2020/2021 or later, you should be okay. If you're looking to spend a little money, though, here's what I recommend doing next.
1. Replace your keyboard and mouse
The average PC gamer replaces their peripherals, such as keyboards, mice, and headsets, every four to five years. If you're reading this at your desk, there's a high chance you're typing on an old deck or scrolling with a past-their-prime pointer.
While this year has been pretty terrible for internal computing components, it's actually been an exciting time of innovation for mice and keyboards, making now the perfect time to take the cash that would have gone on a GPU and to pump life into your setup instead.
I'm a tech journalist, but I'm also an avid esports gamer. 2026 alone has seen some truly stand-out peripherals that have been head and shoulders above what we've had since the RAM crisis began. My top recommendations right now include the excellent Logitech G Pro X3 Superstrike with its second-generation HITS tech, or you can stick to tried-and-true analog with the stellar Razer Viper V4 Pro, or the lightweight Corsair Sabre V2 MG. It goes far beyond just an 8K polling rate; there have been advancements with better battery life, enhanced 2.4GHz wireless stability, and (most crucially) a shift towards a reduction in weight.
Gaming keyboards have come just as far towards the end of 2026 as well. Many of today's decks have embraced the benefits of magnetic sensor technology, through either Hall Effect or TMR, with features such as Rapid Trigger that are genuinely game-changing. It simply dynamically resets a key once your finger lifts up, with an actuation sensitivity as low as 0.1 mm, as opposed to the standard 2mm depth of mechanical decks. Magnets and light sensors also mean fewer moving parts, meaning fewer points of failure — and that leads to a longer lifespan.
I've tested dozens of keyboards over the last 10 months, and (depending on budget), I currently recommend the Logitech G X2 Rapid, Cherry XTRFY K5 Pro TMR, Corsair Clipper Pro Mini 60, and the Razer Huntsman V3 HE 8KHz. You can find more of the best gaming keyboards for around the £100/$100 to $200/£200 mark, depending on whether you want wired or wireless connectivity, and the form factor (essentially, the size of the keyboard and amount of keys).
2. Lean on AI-powered upscaling to boost gaming performance
If one good thing has come out of this whole situation, it's just how far the likes of Nvidia DLSS, AMD FSR, and Intel XeSS have come over the years. All current upscaling methods (DLSS 5, FSR 4, and XeSS 3) render at a lower native resolution and utilize AI to scale the picture up to the target one.
In other words, it means getting playable framerates (60fps or above) in 1440p and even 4K from budget or mid-range graphics cards. This has only gotten better with the implementation of Frame Generation and MFG, which use AI to interpolate generated frames with natively rendered ones, doubling (or tripling) the total framerate in tandem with the resolution bump.
In an ideal world, we would all have the best 4K graphics cards, such as the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080; however, right now Nvidia's flagships are going for as much as $9,000. Given the state of the worldwide economy, that's a hard sell for (almost) everyone on the planet. Luckily, all modern graphics cards from 2020 and upwards (RTX 30 series and RX 5000 line) can make use of this technology, which can help delay the need to upgrade.
It will mean making compromises, though, such as targeting lower resolutions for demanding software, particularly if your current GPU has a smaller memory pool, such as 8GB of GDDR6 or GDDR6X.
3. Push your existing DDR4 or DDR5 RAM to their limits
You may be surprised to hear this, but many PC gamers forget to utilize AMD EXPO or Intel XMP. Whether you've custom-built a rig from scratch or you've purchased a boutique-built or a premade machine from a company like Acer, Alienware, or Corsair, RAM is often set at stock speeds, leaving extra performance off the table. Overclocking RAM is a one-click solution that can make a massive difference to the performance of your PC.
Without EXPO or XMP enabled, DDR4 RAM tops out at 3,200MHz and DDR5 caps at 4,800MHz. This is fine, sure, but you're missing out on anywhere from 20% to 40% of a performance uplift by not enabling this simple BIOS setting, which can see top-end memory modules run at their respective full speeds of 5,333 MHz and 9,600 MHz. Dual-channel RAM, when properly configured, can do more of the heavy lifting with larger games that require additional bandwidth, particularly if they utilize 4K textures, which can exceed upwards of 11GB of VRAM on the GPU.
4. Upgrade to a faster, better gaming monitor
It's easy to forget just how much of a difference one of the best gaming monitors can make to your setup, particularly if you've been used to a slower or duller display.
Panels haven't been subjected to the same price gouging as core components, meaning that the end of 2026 is an ideal time to consider an upgrade. According to the latest Steam Hardware Survey, the bulk of PC gamers are still using 16:9 1080p displays. It's a popular resolution, sure, but 1440p panels have become substantially cheaper and faster, with trusted brands like HP, Gigabyte, and Samsung offering sub-£200/$200 QHD displays, like the Samsung Odyssey G5, Gigabyte G27Q2, and HP Omen 27Q G2, among others.
If you have a little more cash at hand, then you should consider upgrading to either an OLED or a mini-LED gaming monitor. OLED displays have also (thankfully) come down in price, offering (seemingly) unlimited contrast and deep, inky blacks for an unparalleled gaming experience. You can now find top-end displays for as low as $400/£400, such as the Lenovo Legion 27Q-10 OLED, the HyperX Omen OLED, the MSI MAG 271QP QD-OLED, and the Asus ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMESZ. It really can make a difference to have a brighter, faster, and prettier display to game and work on, even if your hardware doesn't upgrade alongside it.
I'm also the world's biggest cheerleader for 21:9 monitors for both work and play, and these have also come down in price in the last handful of years, too.
Most modern games natively support the ultrawide resolution; it also helps massively if you work from home like me and enjoy juggling more Chrome tabs than is probably healthy. It's a far better way to spend this kind of cash than you would overpaying on a grossly inflated DDR5 RAM kit or a GPU that's double (or triple) its MSRP.
5. Play through your existing gaming backlog instead of newer games
As technology becomes unobtainably expensive and the costs of modern gaming as a hobby continue to skyrocket, it has become a far more viable strategy to look backwards instead of forwards.
While Valve claims that the average Steam user only plays four games a year, that's not a realistic metric for people who primarily game on PC. Take me, for example. I've had a Steam account since 2011, and over the last 15 years, I've accumulated a total of 613 games, or over 900 titles if you count my Steam Family library.
After a quick scan through my games list, I've estimated there are fewer than 100 titles that have any recorded playtime, and only a handful of Steam games that have more than 100 hours invested. I know I'm not alone in this; I am convinced there are thousands of people just like me who see the likes of the Steam Autumn Sale and go on a spending spree, collecting cheap games that will probably never be played.
As such, this tough time for PC gaming is the perfect excuse to finally try to tackle your gaming backlog. In my limited spare time, I'm primarily putting hours into esports games like VALORANT, but when I think about what else to boot up, my mind instantly shifts towards the "Play Next" tab in my Steam library. Steam uses an algorithm to suggest games you should try out based on what you've played before; it knows me to some extent, recommending Assassin's Creed, Half-Life, Splinter Cell, Far Cry, and Sonic the Hedgehog. If you can't afford the cutting edge to keep up with the demanding requirements of modern AAA games, then turning your attention to older, though still great, games should keep you occupied until component prices start to drop.
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