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How to upgrade your gaming PC: the 2026 guide

Is your PC starting to struggle with new games? Before investing in a full new machine, targeted upgrades often make a big difference on a limited budget.

1st upgrade: graphics card (GPU)

GPU upgrade is #1 for improving in-game FPS. If your GPU is 4–5+ years old (GTX 1060, RX 580, RTX 2060), moving to an RTX 4060 will bring 50–80% more FPS.

Watch out for bottleneck: a very powerful GPU paired with an old CPU will be CPU-limited.

2nd upgrade: move to 16 GB dual-channel RAM

If you have 8 GB or a single 16 GB stick, upgrading is very cost-effective. Moving to 16 GB DDR4 dual-channel costs €30–50 used.

Also check XMP/EXPO activation in BIOS to run RAM at its rated frequency.

3rd upgrade: NVMe SSD

If you still have an HDD or SATA SSD, moving to NVMe M.2 1 TB (€50–80) is transformative: 3–5× faster loading.

Example PCs on Amazon related to this guide

Three desktops then three laptops from the PC4Games catalog in a range that fits the topic — each link opens Amazon (affiliate).

Desktop PCs — top picks

Pick 1$425 – $975

STGAubron — tower, NVIDIA GeForce, Windows

RTX 4060 · i5-13400F · 16 GB RAM

See on AmazonOpens in a new tab
Pick 2$425 – $975

STGAubron — gaming computer desktop, Windows

RTX 4060 · i5-12400F · 16 GB RAM

See on AmazonOpens in a new tab
Pick 3$425 – $975

STGAubron — desktop computer, GeForce, mid-tower

RTX 4060 · i5-12400F · 16 GB RAM

See on AmazonOpens in a new tab

Gaming laptops

Pick 1$425 – $975

Acer Nitro V 15 — Intel Core i5-13420H, NVIDIA GeForce, ANV15-51-51H9

RTX 4050 · i5-13420H · 16 GB RAM

See on AmazonOpens in a new tab
Pick 2$425 – $975

FIREBAT — 16" 2560×1600 display, expandable RAM/SSD, RGB keyboard

RTX 4060 · Ryzen 7 7735HS · 16 GB RAM

See on AmazonOpens in a new tab
Pick 3$425 – $975

ASUS — 15.6" gaming laptop, 165 Hz IPS-level display, NVIDIA GeForce

RTX 4050 · i5-13420H · 16 GB RAM

See on AmazonOpens in a new tab

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