When you’re buying a new gaming PC from scratch, the machine itself is only part of the picture. To get the very best out of the most demanding modern games, you’ll need the rest of your setup to be working hard too – especially if you ever want to win at Call of Duty: Warzone.

Here then, are our picks for the best gaming monitors, keyboards and mice. Helping me to make the selection are Alan Dexter, senior hardware editor at PC Gamer, Chris Wilson, design director at Cardboard Sword, Al Bickham, communications manager at Creative Assembly, and Nic Claassen, head of product business at Acer UK.

Monitor

There are lots of things you need to think about when buying a monitor: screen size, refresh rate, response times, resolution and panel type among them. First, though, you have to think about how it will work with your GPU: if you have a budget graphics card, it won’t have the oomph to warrant a high-spec display. “There’s no point dropping over a grand on the best monitor money can buy, if you’re going to run it at 1080p,” says Dexter. “We’d recommend aiming for 1080p for a tight budget, 1440p for the middle ground, and then 4K if money is no object.” You should also get one that will synchronise effectively with your GPU’s frame rate to cut down on tearing. If you have an Nvidia GPU, get one that supports G-Sync, and for AMD, go for a FreeSync monitor.

“The sweet spot continues to be 1440p resolution (2,560 x 1,440) and 144Hz refresh rate,” says Wilson. “Many companies use the same panel, but a popular choice would be the Asus ROG Swift PG278QR (£500). 1440p is a big enough jump over 1080p, without the large overhead and diminishing returns of full 4K. Likewise, 144Hz is night and day compared to the standard 60, but much beyond that doesn’t offer the same immediate benefit and starts getting very taxing on the hardware, and thus expensive.”

The response time is how quickly each pixel on the panel can switch between colours. “These times are dropping,” says Claassen. “There are monitors out there with response times as low as 0.1ms to help eliminate in-game ghosting. Anything 1ms and below is generally where you want to be.”

You also need to think about the panel type of your monitor. “It makes a big difference to the brightness, sharpness and richness of colour reproduction,” says Bickham. “IPS (in-plane switching technology) monitors are pretty much the best all-rounders in terms of colours, brightness, viewing angles and refresh rates. TN (twisted nematic) panels potentially have the fastest response rates but the poorest viewing angles, while VA (vertical alignment) panels have excellent contrast but poorer response time than IPS and TN.”

Some of the decisions might also depend on the types of games you like. If you’re a fan of single-player adventures such as Assassin’s Creed, you might value colour, clarity and resolution. But if you’re into online multiplayer games, the refresh and response rates will be more important. Similarly, if you like racing games, you might want an ultrawide QHD screen to give you a better view of the road, but for most players a WQHD display will do the job.

At the budget end, Dexter recommends the ViewSonic XG2401 (£190), a 24-inch TN screen which boasts a 1ms response time, 1080p resolution and supports a refresh rate up to 144Hz. At intermediate, he goes for the 27-inch Asus MG279Q (£442), with its WQHD/1440p resolution and 144Hz.

If money is no object, he and I both recommend the sublime Acer Predator X27 (£1,800), a 27-inch 4K monitor that will push your GPU to the max, with spectacular results. As Dexter explains: “It has one of the best implementations of HDR in a computer panel, with its 384-zone local dimming, 144Hz refresh rate and 4ms response time. That’s a lot of tech in one panel.”

Keyboard

This is all about personal preference, but most gamers I know prefer mechanical keyboards (complete with Cherry MX switches), because these feel more tactile and responsive than the cheaper membrane keyboards we tend to get with PCs as default. There is also a fad for keyboards with built-in multicoloured LED lighting so you can create amazing, programmable visual effects as you play.

I have quite a small desk so I like the Corsair K65 compact gaming keyboard (£120), which is very slim (there’s no number pad, which I don’t miss), but also highly durable. It has super response Cherry MX red switches, perfect for shooters, as well as customisable coloured backlights and onboard memory for all your settings. It’s quite expensive, but it takes a lot of punishment and using it is genuinely pleasurable.

I’ve also been testing the Roccat Vulcan 121 (£149), which is more expensive, but offers the company’s highly responsive Titan Switch technology, promising 20% faster button-pressing than a standard keyboard – which could make all the difference in a League of Legends bout. It also boasts excellent build quality, it’s comfortable to use and has the best RGB lighting I’ve seen in a keyboard, thanks to its transparent switch casing, which makes every key light up beautifully, like something from a sci-fi movie.

Dexter suggests the HyperX Alloy Elite (£112) or Corsair K95 RGB Platinum (£140). “It does everything you could ever need,” he explains of the latter. “Media keys, macro keys, USB passthrough, insane RGB lighting and even a detachable wrist rest. It also happens to be comfortable to use. And if you do use one, you’ll find going back to a normal keyboard far harder than you’d imagine.”

Mouse

Once again, personal preference is important here: different mice will suit different hand sizes, and while some people like a heavy mouse, others want it to feel almost weightless. If you can get to a computer shop to try a few, that’s a good idea.

At the budget end, Dexter suggests the Corsair Ironclaw RGB (£45), which he says is comfortable and responsive. At a slightly higher price point, we both recommend the Roccat Kone AimoRGB (£70). “This is quite a lot to ask for a wired mouse,” says Dexter. “But it’s a quality rodent, festooned with lights and buttons, while also getting the basics right: it’s comfortable to use, responsive and feels like it was built to last.” I also like that it’s quite large, so fits my hands very well. It’s the mouse I’m currently using to beat my sons at Apex Legends.

If you have more cash and don’t want loads of cables everywhere, the Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless (£110) is the premium option. “It’s comfortable, boasts an excellent sensor and has impressive stamina, too.”

If you want a joypad as an alternative, I honestly don’t think there’s a better option than the Microsoft Xbox Elite Series 2 (£160), or just the basic Xbox wireless controller (£55). Razer, though, does a couple of very good PC-focused options, including the wonderfully named Razer Wolverine Ultimate (£160), which has a nice chunky feel and good button action, and the idiosyncratic but intriguing Orbweaver (£130), which is part joypad, part keyboard, all shameless geek.