Guide
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.
PC4Games
Take action with the comparator: pick your games, budget, then compare PCs.
Other useful guides
- How to choose a gaming PC in 2026
- Desktop vs laptop for gaming
- Mistakes to avoid when buying a gaming PC
- Best gaming PC 2026: the budget-by-budget comparison
- Cheap gaming PC 2026: choosing right on a small budget
- 1440p gaming PC 2026: which configuration to choose?
- Gaming PC for streaming: recommended configuration 2026
- How much RAM for a gaming PC in 2026: 8, 16 or 32 GB?
- Best gaming graphics card in 2026: the complete comparison
- RTX 4060 vs RTX 3060: full comparison 2026
- AMD vs NVIDIA for gaming in 2026: the objective comparison
- Intel vs AMD gaming CPU 2026: the comparison
- SSD vs HDD for gaming: the answer in 2026
- Gaming PC power supply: choosing the right PSU in 2026
- Gaming PC vs console in 2026: the full comparison
- Which gaming monitor to choose in 2026?
- PC configuration for VR gaming in 2026