I'm going to buy a new prebuilt PC next week. I'm almost certain I'll buy a Windows PC and making a PC is not my thing. I haven't been a gamer since the late 1970s so I'm a bit behind the curve.

What peripherals should I buy?

I know that's vague but I sincerely don't know what kind of games I'll end up liking.

How much should I budget for it?

~$300? I have no idea. For the short term - I want the basic core stuff I need and maybe a bell and whistle or two.

I want to avoid going crazy and buying specialized stuff like a wheel and pedals set. If I decide that driving games are my thing - I can always buy that later.

Should I buy a headset right off the bat?

Do you use a headset? My mental image is that I don't want to talk to anybody or listen to anybody because there are a lot of trolls out there. But am I wrong? Are there games where a headset is worth it? I'll let you define "worth it".

Also - how much does a good headset cost?

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Edit

I thought I needed to budget more for peripherals. It seems I don't. And - I don't need to buy everything next week anyway. There's no rush and my gaming needs might turn out to be (very) modest anyway. Current plan

  • Keyboard. My current keyboard is beyond crap anyway.
  • Gaming mouse?
  • Microphone headset?
  • Speakers? Maybe not. For reasons I don't want to explain - no speakers might be better.
  • CommCat [none/use name]
    ·
    2 days ago

    I'm not a gamer either, only games I've enjoyed are the American/Euro Truck simulators, and Civilazation games and I play these with my keyboard and mouse. I also enjoyed The Last of US pt1, and Red Dead Redemption 2, for me, these two are better played with controller and mouse. Try some games out and see which ones you enjoy.