To get the best out of your work environment, being settled and comfortable is absolutely essential. It is a place for peace, and without any distractions from the outside world. Making sure you set up just right, at the place where you will be spending the majority of your waking hours, is a key part of productivity. Why do you think that companies spend thousands of dollars on office chairs? Because employers know that being settled and relaxed helps their employees get things done.
This has become even more apparent in the last 18 months when the majority of us have been spending far more time working at home than we have in an office environment. Workers have been granted the ability to buy new desks, chairs, lamps etc to get their home set up just right, to turn their spare bedrooms from places where your parents stayed when they were visiting for the weekend, into an office away from the office.
This need for comfort and tranquillity can also be applied to gaming. Given how much time has been spent inside as of late, the gaming set-up is another area of the home that has been given a lot of attention by serious and even part-time video game enthusiasts. When you consider now that many a bookmaker has begun to offer odds on esports tournaments, you would expect that all these professional gamers have all the best equipment not only to play with but also to sit on and to keep their consoles/PCs on. So with that in mind, what is essential for the ideal gaming setup? Of course, everyone is different, so these suggestions might not apply to all gamers, but what we list below are what we feel are the must-haves, not only in terms of equipment but for the immediate environment for where you are gaming.
The basics
No matter if you are playing on a console, or a gaming PC, we think these ideas should apply to everyone. First things first; invest in a good pair of headphones, ideally noise-cancelling ones. While the speaker quality on televisions and computer monitors have improved over the last few years, but they still do not compare to headphones. Also, it helps to block all the outside noise out around you. This is especially helpful if where you game is near a busy road, or if where you lift has a lot of distracting sounds. Yes, you may miss a phone call from your girlfriend, but if you are in the middle of a Fortnite tournament she’ll surely understand. It helps you to concentrate on the game in front of you, which will surely improve your overall performance. Make sure the headphones have a microphone too, so you can chat to your teammates, and let them know if they’re about to walk into an ambush.
As we hinted at earlier, a good comfortable chair is also absolutely crucial. You will be spending vast amounts of time sitting there, which means your back will be put under quite a lot of strain. A chair that offers good support, and keeps your spine upright, means you will be more alert to what is going on the screen in front of you.
Headphones and chairs can be expensive, but they are certainly worth investing in. Another key thing to adjust, which won’t cost you a penny (well, not any more after the initial purchase) is making sure your screen is set up in gaming mode. All of them will have this setting nowadays, and it will make the picture definition much sharper. It only takes 5 seconds to investigate and change, and it should make a big difference to everyone.
Seems so obvious now you say it!
Of course, making sure your internet speed is absolutely vital, no matter what game you are playing. An upgrade to the fastest internet provider is one thing, but if you don’t fancy that, put your other devices in aeroplane mode, so they don’t interfere with the connection. In addition, make sure you haven’t got any huge downloads happening in the background, as that will also affect things.
Spare cables are another smart investment. HDMI wires are not very expensive anymore, but still have the tendency to break, so it is always worth having more than you need. Also, when you’re not playing, it might be wise to store your cables in a safe location, so they aren’t prone to power surges, or damage from food, water, or animals.
Keyboards, mouses and controllers are mainly wireless these days, so make sure they are fully charged before you set off, as the last thing you’d want is to lose power mid-session.
There will be other things to improve your gaming experience, so some research is recommended. But we feel if you follow these basic rules, you’ll hopefully be able to find an advantage over your opponents.
