Back in the 1980s, a PC gaming revolution had kicked off thanks to hardware developed by companies like Apple, Atari, Commodore and IBM. Marked by improved graphics, sound effects and gameplay mechanics, it reached more than mere hobbyists and beyond the arcade by allowing gamers to immerse themselves in new worlds and inhabit new characters from the comfort of home.
As PC parts became interchangeable and commoditized, enthusiasts began creating customized machines that met their personal preferences — often with the goal of maximizing performance for an improved gaming experience.
Top Gaming PC Companies
- Acer
- Alienware
- Asus
- Corsair
- iBUYPOWER
- Maingear
- MSI
- NZXT
- Origin PC
Projected to reach a market value of $189 billion by the end of 2036, the PC gaming industry is driven in large part by rapidly improving hardware. And while many gamers still prefer to buy pre-assembled gaming computers directly from PC companies, many take a DIY approach and curate their own parts.
Today, it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of companies serving this ever-burgeoning market.
Gaming PC Companies to Know
Location: Sunnyvale, California
Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, has been making computer processors and related products for over a half-century. A publicly traded company, AMD is one of the most popular CPU manufacturers alongside names like Intel and Qualcomm. AMD sells its gaming products, such as Ryzen processors and Radeon graphic cards, directly to consumers.
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Asus is a global manufacturer of consumer electronics and computer hardware. One of the world’s leading manufacturers of motherboards, ASUS also makes gaming-specific desktops, laptops, graphics cards and monitors under the brand name Republic of Gamers.
Location: Palo Alto, California
HP is a behemoth information technology company that spun off from Hewlett-Packard, which was founded in 1939. It focuses on making PCs for businesses and consumers alike. HP uses its brand OMEN to produce gaming laptops, desktops, displays and accessories.
Location: Santa Clara, California
A pillar of Silicon Valley for over a half-century, Intel manufactures and supplies processors for many of the world’s largest computer companies. A processor, or CPU, is the heart of the gaming PC. If you own a computer, there’s a good chance it’s powered by an Intel CPU.
Location: Santa Clara, California
The cornerstone of NVIDIA’s business has been producing graphics processing units (GPU) for gaming companies. It has historically supplied the chips for some of Microsoft and Sony’s gaming consoles. The company has also been making a splash in artificial intelligence, and has its own cloud-based gaming platform called GeForce NOW.
Location: City of Industry, California
Founded in 2004, NZXT is a computer hardware company that makes gaming PCs, components, peripherals and monitors. It also provides gaming PC cases, which is the product it began business with.
Location: Chicago, Illinois
SteelSeries makes professional-grade gear and software for gaming. Its gear line includes headsets and speakers, mice, mouse pads, controllers and keyboards. It also offers software for recording and sharing gameplay, optimizing gaming sound, customizing in-game features like lighting and audio and sharing sound between multiple player headsets.
Location: San Jose, California
Supermicro is known for its computing server and storage technology, though has also branched out to manufacture PC hardware parts, including those for gaming. The company offers several gaming-specific motherboards, as well as high-end desktop workstation systems.
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan
Acer has been around since the 1970s, when it first began producing microelectronics. Today, it’s a publicly traded company and a global producer of computer-related hardware and software serving sectors ranging from business to education. Among pre-built gaming PCs, Acer’s Predator product series is quite popular.
Location: Miami, Florida
Alienware, a subsidiary of computing giant Dell, has been a mainstay in the gaming PC world since the mid-1990s. It specializes in high-end laptops and desktops for gaming. Alienware computers have earned a reputation for their distinctive, stylish designs that reflect the company’s out-of-this-world moniker.
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
ASRock, owned by Pegatron Corporation, is one of the largest motherboard manufacturers in the world. Since 2002, the company has provided an array of motherboards for gamers who like to pick their own parts and personalize their PCs. The company also produces mini PCs.
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Founded in 2001, BenQ specializes in high-quality gaming monitors and esports gear. The consumer electronics company offers a variety of products, each with specs that cater to unique gaming preferences like high refresh rate, improved resolution or large screen size.
Location: Fremont, California
Corsair makes a variety of pre-built gaming PCs as well as computer peripherals and components that gamers use to build PCs. This California-based company is also known for offering high-performance memory. In 2019, Corsair acquired Origin PC, which specializes in making gaming computer systems.
Location: City of Industry, California
Headquartered outside of Los Angeles since its founding in 1998, CyberPowerPC produces and sells computer hardware, much of which is oriented toward gaming. CyberPowerPC offers customization and personalization for gamers who like to build their own PCs.
Location: Round Rock, Texas
Since launching amid Texas’s computer boom in the 1980s, Dell has made hardware and software products for professionals, students and gamers alike. Dell owns gaming subsidiary Alienware, but it also offers a range of desktops and laptops, under its own name, with specs catered to the modern gamer.
Location: Morgan Hill, California
An independent outfit headquartered in Northern California and founded in 2002, Digital Storm produces high-performing pre-built desktops, laptops and PC workstations for gamers. Its hardware aims to deliver high frame rate and graphics experiences with no latency while gaming.
Location: Brea, California
Launched in 1999, EVGA makes and sells a wide range of gaming hardware products that include motherboards, cooling kits, power supplies, keyboards and (in partnership with NVIDIA) graphics cards. It has also manufactured in-house gaming laptops.
Location: Medford, Oregon
Founded in 1992, Falcon Northwest arrived early on the gaming-oriented PC scene. It’s a company that makes custom, high-performance desktops, laptops and workstations specifically for gamers and enthusiasts.
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan
A decades-old global company, GIGABYTE makes and sells a wide array of computers and computer parts. Its motherboards, in particular, are popular among gamers and used by other companies that make gaming PCs.
Location: City of Industry, California
For decades, iBUYPOWER has specialized in making high-performance, customized desktops and laptops, as well as peripherals, for gamers. Users can buy pre-built gaming computers or shop for their own PC parts with the company’s guidance.
Location: Hong Kong
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Lenovo is one of the world’s largest PC vendors. In addition to making ubiquitous ThinkPad business laptops, it serves gamers with its Legion product series, which features laptops, desktops, towers and cubes, all designed for gaming.
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Logitech is a Swiss-owned company that manufacturers peripheral devices like keyboards, mice, controllers, headsets and more — basically any upgraded add-on that plugs into a PC. With products geared toward the gaming community, Logitech sponsors many game creators and esports professionals.
Location: Kenilworth, New Jersey
MAINGEAR is a privately held, self-funded boutique PC maker. Since 2002, the company has specialized in building custom, high-performance desktops, laptops and workstations for gamers and PC enthusiasts alike.
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan
Micro-Star International (MSI), which manufactures and sells a wide range of consumer electronics, has long been known for its motherboards and graphics cards. The company offers a variety of gaming products, such as laptops, desktops, computer components and peripherals.
Location: City of Industry, California
Newegg is an online retailer specializing in PC hardware and gaming. Not only that, but its house brand company ABS creates gaming PC workstations with integrated hardware technology from Intel, NVIDIA, and others. ABS in particular provides different pre-built PC options with included keyboard and mouse peripherals.
Location: Miami, Florida
Founded in 2009 by former Alienware employees, Origin PC specializes in high-performance laptops and desktops geared toward gamers who prefer to buy, rather than build, their PCs. In 2019, the company was acquired by Corsair — though the two brands remain separate and Origin PC continues to operate out of Miami.
Location: San Francisco, California
Gamers look to Razer for its suite of Blade gaming laptops as well as its high-end peripherals, including keyboards, mice and displays. Billing itself as a gamer-focused ecosystem and lifestyle brand, the company also offers software services and sponsors several esports professionals and events.
Location: Suwon, South Korea
Along with creating mobile devices and televisions, Samsung Electronics also offers hardware for gaming purposes. The company’s gaming monitor options are created specifically for PC desktop setups, while its laptops, such as those in its Galaxy Book series, offer CPU and resolution capabilities for PC gaming on the go.
Location: Hong Kong
Founded in 2001, Sapphire Technology is a privately held global company that specializes in gaming graphics cards. Sapphire also makes motherboards, mini PCs and other computer products. The company bills itself as a leading supplier of AMD-based graphics cards around the world.
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Valve Corporation, known for developing Steam and the Half-Life video game series, also creates hardware used to enhance the PC gaming experience. This includes the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming computer, as well as the Steam Controller and Steam Link, which allow users to play PC games with a controller or on other devices. Valve also developed the Valve Index, a virtual reality gaming headset meant to connect to a user’s PC.
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Velocity Micro custom designs and builds computers for gamers and PC hobbyists. This boutique company has been around since 1997, and its products have won a slew of awards from gaming magazines.
Location: Midvale, Utah
Xidax prides itself on passionately designing and building custom desktops, laptops and PC workstations for equally passionate gamers. Founded in 2013, the company even offers a lifetime warranty on its products.
Location: Hong Kong
A computer hardware maker, ZOTAC specializes in producing gaming PCs, mini PCs, motherboards, video cards and other accessories. Founded in 2006, the company launched its gaming-specific product lineup, ZOTAC GAMING, in 2017.
