Does the RAM crisis get you down? Here’s how to upgrade your gaming PC without breaking the bank
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: 2026 has been a terrible time to be a PC gamer. As someone who has been covering computer technology for more than a decade and building machines for longer, the future looks bleak.
The world’s largest technology companies are purchasing vital components such as RAM and graphics cards to build data centers. Prices for these pieces are skyrocketing as demand dramatically outstrips supply. Many expect things not to stabilize until at least 2030, so what can we do to overcome the worst?
While the best graphics cards, NVMe SSDs, and the best DDR5 RAM modules have become expensive and elusive, that’s generally not the case for other computing components, as there are plenty of other essential upgrades you can make to weather the storm and ensure you have one of the best gaming PCs ready for the flagship releases of the future… as long as you keep your expectations in check.
Latest videos ofTechnologyRadar
I’m going over the five most important ways you can maximize your PC gaming experience in these dark and uncertain times. My best advice without spending extra money is to keep what you have and be smart with your graphics settings and target resolution.
Today’s best PC games are optimized with console parity in mind, meaning they should be able to run on Xbox Series X/S and PS5, so as long as your GPU is 2020/2021 or newer, you should be fine. However, if you’re looking to spend a little money, 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 desktop, there’s a good chance you’re typing on an old platform or scrolling with an old-fashioned 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, so now is the perfect time to take the money that would have gone towards a GPU and spice up your setup.
I’m a technology journalist, but I’m also an avid esports player. 2026 alone has seen some truly outstanding peripherals that have been head and shoulders above what we’ve had since the RAM crisis began. My top recommendations at the moment include the excellent Logitech G Pro It goes far beyond a simple voting rate of 8,000; There have been advances with better battery life, improved 2.4GHz wireless stability, and (most importantly) a move towards reduced weight.
Gaming keyboards have also come so far by the end of 2026. Many of today’s decks have embraced the benefits of magnetic sensor technology, whether through the Hall effect or TMR, with features like Rapid Trigger that are truly game-changers. It simply dynamically resets a key once you lift your finger, with actuation sensitivity as low as 0.1mm, unlike the standard 2mm depth of mechanical platforms. Magnets and light sensors also mean fewer moving parts, which means fewer points of failure, and that leads to a longer lifespan.
I’ve tested dozens of keyboards over the past 10 months and (depending on budget), I currently recommend the Logitech G You can find more of the best gaming keyboards for around £100/$100 to $200/£200, depending on whether you want wired or wireless connectivity and the form factor (essentially the size of the keyboard and the number of keys).
2. Lean on AI-powered enhancement to improve gaming performance
If anything good has come out of this whole situation, it’s how far companies like 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 use AI to scale the image to the target.
In other words, it means getting playable frame rates (60fps or higher) at 1440p and even 4K with budget or mid-range graphics cards. This has only improved with the implementation of Frame Generation and MFG, which use AI to interpolate generated frames with natively rendered ones, doubling (or tripling) the overall frame rate along with the increase in resolution.
In an ideal world, we would all have the best 4K graphics cards, like the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080; However, right now Nvidia’s flagships cost up to $9,000. Given the state of the global economy, that’s a tough sell for (almost) everyone on the planet. Fortunately, all modern graphics cards from 2020 onwards (RTX 30 series and RX 5000 line) can use this technology, which can help delay the need to upgrade.
However, it will mean making compromises, such as aiming for 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 the limit
You may be surprised to hear this, but many PC gamers forget to use AMD EXPO or Intel XMP. Whether you’ve built a custom rig from scratch or purchased a boutique-designed or pre-built machine from a company like Acer, Alienware, or Corsair, RAM is often configured at stock speeds, leaving additional performance off the table. RAM overclocking is a one-click solution that can make a big difference in your PC’s performance.
Without EXPO or Dual-channel RAM, when configured correctly, can do more heavy lifting with larger games that require additional bandwidth, particularly if they use 4K textures, which can exceed more than 11GB of VRAM on the GPU.
4. Upgrade to a better and faster gaming monitor
It’s easy to forget how much of a difference one of the best gaming monitors can make to your setup, especially if you’re used to a slower or dull display.
The panels have not been subjected to the same price increase as the main components, meaning that late 2026 is an ideal time to consider an upgrade. According to Steam’s latest hardware survey, most 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 QHD displays for under £200/$200, including the Samsung Odyssey G5, Gigabyte G27Q2 and HP Omen 27Q G2, among others.
If you have a little more cash on hand, you should consider upgrading to an OLED or mini-LED gaming monitor. OLED displays have also (thankfully) dropped in price and offer (seemingly) unlimited contrast and inky deep blacks for an unparalleled gaming experience. You can now find high-end displays for as low as $400/£400, such as the Lenovo Legion 27Q-10 OLED, HyperX Omen OLED, MSI MAG 271QP QD-OLED, and Asus ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMESZ. It can really make a difference to have a brighter, faster, prettier screen for gaming and working, even if your hardware doesn’t upgrade along with it.
I’m also the world’s biggest proponent of 21:9 monitors for both work and play, and these have also come down in price in recent years.
Most modern games natively support ultrawide resolution; It’s also a big help if you work from home like me and enjoy juggling more Chrome tabs than is probably healthy. It’s a much better way to spend this amount of money than overpaying for a massively bloated DDR5 RAM kit or a GPU that doubles (or triples) its MSRP.
5. Play your existing game portfolio instead of newer games.
As technology becomes unattainable and the costs of modern gaming as a hobby continue to skyrocket, it has become a much more viable strategy to look backward rather than forward.
While Valve claims that the average Steam user only plays four games a year, that’s not a realistic metric for people who primarily play on PC. Take me, for example. I’ve had a Steam account since 2011, and over the past 15 years I’ve amassed a total of 613 games, or over 900 titles if you count my Steam Family library.
After a quick look at my games list, I estimated that there are less than 100 titles that have recorded play time, and only a handful of Steam games that have more than 100 hours spent. I know I’m not alone in this; I’m convinced there are thousands of people like me who watch Steam’s fall sales and spend big, collecting cheap games that will probably never be played.
As such, this difficult time for PC gaming is the perfect excuse to finally try to address gaming lag. In my limited free time, I mainly spend hours playing esports games like VALORANTbut when I think about what else to start, my mind instantly goes to the “Play Next” tab in my Steam library. Steam uses an algorithm to suggest games you should try based on what you’ve played before; knows me to a certain extent, recommending assassin’s creed, Half life, splinter cell, distant screamand Sonic the hedgehog. If you can’t afford to keep up with the demanding requirements of modern AAA games, then turning your attention to older, but still excellent, games should keep you busy until component prices start to drop.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds.
Post Comment