Getting Started
These are the Biggest Places to Get PC Games
Largest and most well-known PC game marketplace. Most games are here.
All EA games will be here. Apex Legends, The Sims, Battlefield, Mass Effect, Star Wars, Titanfall, and all Madden, FIFA, and NHL Games. If you play a lot of EA games, EA Play is just $30/year and you get access to a ton of games to download at your leisure.
This is where you get Fortnite.
Any Microsoft games will come from here. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Halo, Forza, Minecraft, and Gears of War are all here. We recommend getting Xbox Game Pass for PC. For $5/month, you get access to a large library of games for no additional cost past the subscription fee. Included in this are Forza Horizon 4, F1 2019, Halo Master Chief Collection, and Flight Simulator 2020. It’s the same price as 1 standard console game per year.
Battle.net, the launcher for Blizzard games, is where you’ll go for the newer Call of Duty titles like Modern Warfare, Warzone, Black Ops 4, and the upcoming Black Ops: Cold War. Also available here are Overwatch, The Diablo Series, World of Warcraft, and Starcraft
This is where you’ll go to download Valorant.
The Best Places to get CHEAP Games
If you’re on a tight budget, these are the best places to get really cheap games (and some software as well) to stretch your dollar as far as possible. Really -- you’d be amazed at how many games you can get for under $20.
Humble Bundle is highly regarded in the PC gaming community for offering bundles of games for VERY cheap prices. They cycle in and out new bundles every month, so check their offerings regularly to see if there’s anything you like. You can often pay as little as $1 to get 3 or 4 games. Some you might play, some you might not, but it’s so cheap it doesn’t matter -- the games you don’t think you’ll play you can always gift to friends. It’s a no-brainer.
G2A is a game reselling marketplace where people or companies can list their games for sale at massive discounts. They don’t sell the actual games themselves, but rather gift or key codes to unlock them on marketplaces like Steam or Origin. Especially if you’re looking for a game that’s been out for a while, check here first before you buy anywhere else because it could save you money. For example, Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is still $60 on Steam, but you can get a Steam Key for it from G2A for just $20. Other sites that work just like G2A are CDKeys.com and Kinguin.net. We’ve bought from all 3 with success.
Green Man Gaming is a British-based online video game retailer. It has a multi-platform catalogue of over 6,600 games from more than 660 publishers, selling games in 195 countries. They offer daily exclusive deals and bundles that can save you money. Always a good option to check on before buying for the full price elsewhere.
Essential Free Software Tools for the PC Gamer
These tools are must-haves if you’re someone who plays a lot of PC Games.
Discord is the easiest way to communicate with your friends while PC gaming. It has voice and text chat functionality with public lobbies for your favorite games or subjects. Some games have their own built-in party chat systems like Fortnite, but many don’t, so you’ll want to download Discord.
If you have an Nvidia graphics card in your system, you’ll want to download this. It will automatically optimize games for your system when you launch your games from within, and it also allows you to record your gameplay and has some basic streaming features as well. Remember, only get this tool if you have an Nvidia (GTX or RTX) graphics card. Our Blue, Red, Phantom, and Spectre will all be compatible with this tool.
Radeon Software is Radeon’s version of Geforce Experience and provides similar functionalities. Again, only download this if you have a Radeon (RX or Vega) graphics card. Our Portal will be compatible with this tool.
HWmonitor allows you to monitor your system’s temperatures, fan speeds, and CPU and RAM usage when using your system. It’s a good tool if you’re trying to troubleshoot an issue or are just curious about how your system is running.
Razer Cortex is a great tool developed by Razer that enhances your in-game performance by killing background programs that are using system resources. We recommend installing this on your Periphio machine as soon as it arrives to ensure you’re getting the best performance possible.
Free Tools for the Streamers or YouTubers
These are tools that we recommend you download if you’re someone who wants to stream or record and upload your gameplay to YouTube.
OBS Studio is the most popular tool used by pro streamers. If you want to take your streams to the next level by adding face cams, additional scenes or ads, or microphones, you’ll want to take some time getting to know OBS. It can be a little intimidating at first, but there are tons of tutorials available on YouTube to get you started.
DaVinci Resolve is the best free video editor available on PC. If you’re interested in recording your gameplay and editing it to make compilations or upload clips, this is what we recommend. Similar to OBS, it has a lot of functions, but there are YouTube tutorials to get you started.