Top tips: Bringing your gaming set-up to University

This blog is going to be aimed at the people who would like to bring their gaming passion to the University and how to go about it. In this blog, I will go over the essentials for bringing your set up to university, what you think you may not need but will, and also some spacing habits that you will need to get into to keep your setup from overheating or becoming too crowded.

The Essentials
As with most gamers, the number one thing that we have a lot of is cables. Now I am not the biggest fan of cables, however some cables are going to be essential for you to have the best gaming experience here at the University of Northampton. Alongside cables, I will be going over some appliances that are vital for you to have to make sure we don’t have an alt f4 situation (shut your game down) with your PC/Console.

Screen
Whether it is a 27 inch OMEN X 25F with 240hz refresh rate 1440p or a 21 inch screen you pulled out of the attic last minute, you are going to need some kind of screen to play games. This will depend on whether you bring a PC or console and what accommodation you stay in. If you are in a shared accommodation and plan on only using the console yourself, bring a screen that is going to be able to go into your room. If you plan on letting others use it for some fancy game nights, or let’s face it, a drinks-style competition, there will most likely be a TV set up inside your accommodation that can be used. (You can split this up into PC and console for separate sections). A HDMI Cable is essential to pull this off.

KBM and Mouse Mat
Similar to your screen, a good Keyboard and Mouse (KBM) is ideal for the limited desk space that the university rooms have. My recommendation would be a 60-80% keyboard. This way you still have some room for a mouse, mouse mat, and a PC if you choose to put it on your desk. Although any keyboard could most likely fit, the 60%-80% reserves room for some snacks and a drink during that late-night ranked session that we all know and love.

Ethernet Cables
Let’s face it, we have all had that one time during a top 2 situation where your ping suddenly spikes all the way to the moon and back which ends up either lagging you out of the game or lags enough that costs you that win! An ethernet cable is essential for a smooth gaming experience so we can avoid situations like this. While there is a set Wi-Fi for gamers at the University, having this extra connection is going to lower your ping and allow you to input even the most hard-core mechanics. Whether bringing a console or PC, this cable will be your hero.

Tower Extension Leads
This is by far going to be the most essential piece of equipment that you are going to need in order to keep your room “clean”. Having at least one or two of these is going to make life so much easier as there will not be enough sockets in the room to get all your setup going. Having those few extra plugs can literally make the biggest difference in how your room looks and functions.

Find out more about studying Esports BSc (Hons) at the University of Northampton

George Hayward

George Hayward is a first-year student studying Esports and has over 5 years’ experience in Esports industry.