You spent a small fortune for your dream gaming computer now what else can it do. Your gaming computer is capable of so much more than just playing the latest games since it is as powerful as some old supercomputers used to be it is capable of tons of things that are outside of the gaming realm and some forms of gaming you may not imagine.
Normal Computer Stuff
First there is nothing that makes your computer too different from a regular computer. The parts are more high end but there is nothing you can do with a work computer you cannot do with a gaming computer.
The main tasks of work are included this means word processing, web browsing, movie watching, online shopping, and messaging people. When not gaming you gaming computer will be more that happy to help you with any other work you have for a computer.
Your New Media Center
Steaming
If you don’t have a smart TV then your gaming computer can connect to your TV and stream in 4k. Your computer can connect to any streaming account you have and play any movie off of it.
If you do not want to pay for streaming there are websites that only you can access on your computer to watch less than legal streaming movies. I am not going to point you to any sites since it can be risky and I don’t want that responsibility. Just make sure to research the website a lot, have a good antivirus, and install many safety features on to your browser like an ad-block, Ghostery, popup blockers, and many more. Make sure you are safe and use a VPN as well if you can.
Free Streaming sites that are legit. Some sites like Crackle are owned by big corporations like Sony so they are safe. If you don’t want to dive into the dark parts of the web there are many free options that are legal and also free.
Ultimate Music Experience
You paid a ton of money on your computer and its sound system so you can hear your enemy sneaking up on you. You can use that tech to have one awesome music listening experience and if you connect it up to your HiFi system you can have any song at the touch of your fingers. There are many services like Pandora, Youtube, Itunes, and many more most free with adds and some are even more free. Once again I will leave it up to you to do your research, but you can find most songs for free somewhere.
Now with that said I do believe in supporting the artist so if you like the song at least buy the song somewhere so the artist gets some of the revenue. Amazon has a great feature where if you buy a CD off of them they provide you with the mp3 versions free of charge for you to download. To be honest I use the mp3s they provide more than the disks.
There are many mp3 players you can install on your computer the one I like most is an older one called Winamp here is the site for the latest version. Winamp comes with many amazing features like an equalizer, the ability to search songs, the ability to build a queue list within your primary list to be played. To be honest I have tried many and I have always come back to this player because it is simple and works beautifully.
Every Old Console In One
Your gaming PC can be any old gaming console that has an emulator created. You can play even the Atari Jaguar, Commodore 64, SNES, or Playstation 1 and 2. Most emulators are two generations behind the modern console generation so there are not too many emulators for the PS3 or the Xbox 360 yet.
These emulators can work off of the disks if you have them or they can run off of ROMs or ISOs (ROMs are a digital version of a cartridge game and an ISO is a digital copy of a cd.) Pirate at your own risk but if you own the game and want to scratch that nostalgia itch then research your websites that carry these games and make sure to scan them when you download them.
You can plug in your XBox 360 or One controller and it is pretty much plug and play. Other controllers work but I use a wired 360 controller for my gaming even though I prefer the PS2 controller I just am too lazy to go get it out of storage.
Now some of these emulators are a little buggy take the PS2 emulator it is a work in progress since they have to have your computer pretend to be the console and work like it did, for a modern computer this is harder than you think since the coding on the older consoles were very different from what is standard with computers these days. Even the architecture was so different it is hard to emulate using a modern computer so do not expect a perfect experience out of box for some.
The PS2 emulator cannot play certain games even still but it plays most of the favorite titles so if you don’t want to play some obscure game then it probably will work just make sure to look up what settings you need for the game to run because every game needs different setting to run. I suggest you keep a word document with what settings work for every game this way you can just go in and set it up and play it and not have to look it up all the time.
So connect your computer to your 60 inch TV and relive your childhood, and whats best is most of these emulators do come with nostalgia goggles, they can upscale the graphics.
E-Book Reader
Ever thought how annoying it is to hold a book well fear not because your wonderful computer can also act as an E-Book reader and you can read your book on your huge 4k screen. To be honest I don’t use this feature much but it has been convenient to read certain comic books on a larger screen. Not much else to talk about here if you want to read your E-Books then your computer can do it and it may be more comfortable than holding a small tablet, especially if you need larger print.
Creative Tool
Art Creation
My sister likes to draw but she hated coloring so she would draw her pictures then scan them into her computer and color them with Photoshop. She saved tons of money on Prisma Color Pencils after switching to this method so it worked for her.
Me I am more of an MS Paint fan, but I was always more of a technical sort than an artist. I am pretty good with MS Paint though so its more my speed.
For art though there are so many options that it is ridiculous. There is the free Photoshop alternative GIMP I tried it but it was way too complex for my tastes and for how much I would use it I erased it off of my computer and went back to my safe zone of Paint, but I hear it is comparable to Photoshop and the price is right, cant beat free.
Writing
Have you always wanted to write a novel well then your gaming computer can help you create your vision. There are so many tools to help with writing it isn’t even funny you can go straight from conception to full blown publishing all from the comfort of your own home.
With E-Books being the wave of the future you can self publish any kind of book you want to create. Then you can put it up on the Amazon store and see how well it flies many people have become well known writers just by self publishing on Amazon.
Who knew that your expensive gaming computer might be able to make back the money you spent on it.
Movie And Video Editing
You have some of the best hardware in your computer for gaming well it is great for video editing as well. Most of the time you may need more RAM then most gaming computers need but you can manage on 16 gigs easily for editing and compiling your movies and video.
Video Editing is mainly CPU intensive but it can be helped along with your graphics card as well. So A high end gaming computer can shorten the time it takes to do video editing immensely.
So if you ever wanted to create a movie or a video to upload on to Youtube your gaming computer can help you out with this endeavor.
Music Creation
Music creation and video editing are very similar and there are some great programs out there with tons of samples where you can make very amazing original songs using just the software and if you like your voice. You don’t even need to know how to play an instrument now days since these programs can do it all for you.
So if you have a tune rattling around in your head look into creating it using some of the great software out there for it. I am sure there are free versions out there, I am just not much of a music creator to know them.
Programming
Want to create a new video game or just a program that can help people then you gaming computer is there to help with its top end CPU and RAM. Not much else to say here it can run any program you need to write code and it will run them well. Then you can use your computer to test your program and work out the bugs.
3D Modeling
Your top end gaming computer can handle most of the more advanced 3D modeling programs out there like AutoCad and Solidworks. Now since I went into engineering I found that some of these programs require a top end computer I had a laptop that could not run AutoCad even with an Intel I7 and a GTX 540 Graphics card it was kind of sad since I bought that laptop just for that program that and a little gaming.
With most modern top end gaming computers they will chew through these programs with out any trouble and you will be able to create what ever you want with your gaming computer.
3D Printing
It is my dream to own a 3D printer and a CNC machine. 3D printer first though. With the 3D models you make using your computer then you plug it in to a 3D printer and see your dreams come to life. This is also great for hobbyists since you can make your own models at home and only spend money on the filament. Imagine what you can create using your computer and your 3D printer.
I have even seen people make parts for their appliances that broke instead of paying tons of money for the small little part that probably cost a small fraction of the cost to make. The good news is there are many free 3D software out there so you can start creating your designs with very little cost to you from the start.
Making Money
Streaming
I already have an in depth article about streaming and making money with video games. Play video games on your computer and people will pay you for the privileged of watching you and hearing your unique commentary about the game.
This is a great way to use your computer since you can play video games and make money at the same time. Now this is a business and you must treat it as such be consistent and persistent and you can make it work.
Talking With People
Sadly with technology people have become less connected. People are more lonely than ever, I believe, and this is reflected in certain services where people will just pay for the privileged of talking with you.
Now there are more explicit sites out there, but there are also just sites where people go to talk with someone and maybe make a connection no matter how distant it is. The way people make money is through donations the person you talk to opts to pay you or not and you give a certain percentage to the company you are going through.
Now there are some things to consider here. The people you are talking to can be very vulnerable so do not go in looking to exploit them you will more than likely be found out and your rating will go down so be genuine and kind.
Another consideration is you can get a stalker so do not use your real name with strangers and make sure your social accounts are very private especially for pictures. People can be very resourceful and find a lot about you if you are not careful. I mainly advocate not advertising much about yourself online it can lead to a lot of trouble and very quickly.
Youtube
As stated before your gaming computer has every thing you need to record and edit your videos for Youtube or any other video site, so feel free to use it as such. If you want to become a Youtube personality, and trust me there is some money to be made if you get viewers, then this is the way to use your gaming PC to make some extra cash.
Blogging
Your gaming computer can do all you need to set up a website and run it and maybe you can create a site about computer gaming. There is some money to be made, but there is a lot of work with this one as well.
This is not a quick buck you build an audience and provide them with good information they can use and if they like what you have to say they use your affiliate links to buy something and you get a percentage of the sale. This costs them nothing extra you just get a percentage of the list price.
You can write about anything you have an interest in and if you show your passion and willingness to help your audience then they will reward you with sharing your content and using your links.
App Creation
Already mentioned earlier, but if you are good at coding you can make an app or game that can make you lots of money if you fill a need and implement it right.
Bit Coin Farming
There are certain crypto currencies that are either CPU locked or GPU locked meaning you cannot mine them with a mining machine. This means that if you have some computer idle time it may serve to let your computer do some bit mining for you while you are not using it.
Now with the recent fall of crypto currencies across the globe this is not as lucrative as it used to be. Etherium was speculated to go higher than Bit Coin just for the fact it was GPU locked and this led to a massive increase in Graphics card prices to the point where some were going for over 5 times there MSRP because they were so far out of stock.
Then the bubble burst and some laws were put in place and it seems more to come. Now it seems that crypto currencies are maybe dying. Now I hope this is not the case because it provides a great way to transfer money without going through banks and red tape. It also is one of the first peoples currencies not run by the government at all. This is why many governments are trying to make crypto currencies illegal.
Now is it worth it? That answer changes almost daily to be honest, but with the market going down more and more everyday anything you earn via this strategy could be less tomorrow instead of more. Now you could mine now and hope the market takes off again, but don’t quit your day job just yet.
I invested in Etherium and now I have lost over 85% of what I invested, so you have been warned.
Not So Fun Stuff
Number Crunching
There are a ton of different programs out there that can calculate very complex things. For a while there I thought I could program MatLab to figure out if there was a pattern in the lottery and see if I could guess the upcoming numbers that would be drawn. To be honest I didn’t know even how to start such an endeavor so MatLab just sat unused on my computer.
The point is your gaming computer with some of the best equipment is one amazing number crunching machine. If you want to calculate anything it can do it and quickly, so if numbers are your thing then here is a new tool for you to play with.
Hacking Tool
It seems hacking has kind of gone out of vogue these days, but it used to be the hip thing (god I just really dated myself.) If you are into hacking and searching things you are not meant to know then your advanced gaming computer can help with that task.
Now I have never been much of a hacker myself I hate to code hence the whole MatLab sitting idle story. I will code if I need to, to get a game up and going but that is as far as I go and that is with a lot of web resources just to change one single value in an ini file. So this is not even close to my wheel house.
With all that said certain hacking is illegal and can land you in hot water. Some times this is used as a job recruitment tool I heard that the NSA left hacker traps just so they could offer them life in prison or a job. With that though if you feel the need to hack and feel like you can do some good with your skills then proceed at your own risk. Just be careful and safe and make sure you have good equipment.
The Most Important Use
Bragging Rights
You just plopped down enough money to buy a car on your new gaming machine. It has enough lighting to be seen from space. It is time to bring your friends over and watch them drool over your new computer that has every thing in it ( you aren’t sure but maybe even a kitchen sink is in there too.)
This is the main reason to get a Gaming Computer the bragging rights. There is enough power in this case to run all of NASA’s operations, and still be able to play a game on the side. It is time to show it off. It makes for one amazing show piece and one that will awe everyone who ever comes to visit your gaming cave.
Did I miss any uses for gaming computers other than gaming please let me know in the comments section below.