FPS games like CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege, and the new Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War are some of the demanding games around when it comes to the kit you need to play on.
If you want to be at your competitive best, then lag-free, smooth gameplay with a high frame rate, combined with good quality, precise peripherals will give you a significant edge over your online opponents. For your monitor, you'll want to look for a high refresh rate and low response time, and when it comes to your peripherals you'll want a keyboard with mechanical switches, a lightweight mouse with a high DPI, and a high-calibre gaming headset. And, for all of the above, you'll want the ergonomics to keep you comfortable through long gaming sessions.
In addition, if you're looking for a laptop or prebuilt desktop, you'll need the processing power to be running these games at their best. No matter what your skill level is, the right gaming hardware will ensure you're reaching your potential.
Whether you're looking for a complete gaming setup overhaul, or just improving on your current gear, here are our choices for the best hardware for playing first-person shooters:
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Best monitor for FPS gaming
For competitive FPS gaming, a monitor with at least a 144Hz refresh rate is essential – this means the screen is updated 144 times a second, more than double that of most monitors which have a 60Hz refresh rate. With the fast-paced nature of FPS games like CS:GO and Call of Duty, this will give you a smooth, responsive image that makes tracking enemies and reacting much easier.
The OMEN by HP 25 fits the bill perfectly with a 1080p resolution, 24.5-inch display, and a 144Hz refresh rate. It has a 1ms response time – this is the time it takes a pixel on the screen to change colour. The lower the response time, the less image 'ghosting' you'll get, and 1ms is the best you can get on a monitor. It also has a sleek design with a hook on the rear where you can store your headset. Here you'll also find two HDMI 1.4 ports and one DisplayPort 1.2 for input, so you have the option to connect more than one device to your display without having to swap cables.
You can buy the OMEN by HP 25 here.
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Best keyboard for FPS gaming
A quality keyboard is a key part of a great FPS setup, and the OMEN Encoder gaming keyboard is a superb choice. It's based on Cherry MX Red key switches – this is a linear switch which gives smooth travel throughout the keystroke, perfectly suited for FPS games as it allows you to press the key faster, and is easier to use for rapid succession of the same key. These switches are rated for 50 million keystrokes, ensuring a durable, reliable experience. The WASD keys are colour-coded, and the concave key shape ensures good grip with no slipping.
N-key rollover allows as many keys to be pressed as possible simultaneously, whereas on some cheaper keyboards you may only be able to press two keys at once, which can put you at a disadvantage in games (for example, running diagonally and swapping weapons in CS:GO would require you to be pressing three keys at once). The Red LED backlighting can be adjusted for brightness – not to mention flashy effects – and macros can be customised, too. To round it all of, great ergonomics are possible through two-way adjustable legs allowing the keyboard to be angled perfectly for your wrist.
Get your hands on the OMEN Encoder gaming keyboard here.
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Best laptop for FPS gaming
Want to be fragging away from your desk? The OMEN 15t-ek000 gaming laptop is an excellent option for on-the-go FPS gaming, available with a 15-inch, 1080p, 144Hz display on an IPS , giving you fantastic viewing angles and colour reproduction, especially compared to TN display laptops. An anti-glare coating means you won't miss a shot because of sunlight, and you don't need to have your curtains shut like a vampire while playing. This laptop comes standard with an Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics card but can also be ordered with a top-spec RTX 2070 Super graphics card. The 1650 will comfortably run CS:GO and games with similar requirements at 144Hz with maximum graphics, but we'd recommend going for the 2070 option if you want to run games like Warzone and Black Ops Cold War at 144Hz.
You can grab yourself an OMEN 15t-ek000 directly from the HP Store.
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Best mouse for FPS gaming
A decent mouse is a key part of any gaming setup, but particularly for FPS games. You want precision and lightness for accurate and fast aiming, not to mention plenty of customisability. The OMEN Reactor gaming mouse is perfect for this – weighing in at only 0.35lbs, with a top-class 16,000 DPI sensor which can be adjusted on the fly with the built-in DPI switch.
The mechanical switches have a 50-million click lifespan, so this mouse is built to last. There's also fully customisable RGB backlighting, and a height-adjustable wrist wrest for improved comfort during those long gaming sessions.
Arm yourself with an OMEN Reactor gaming mouse here.
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Best headset for FPS gaming
A quality headset ensures you can hear enemy footsteps clearly and puts you at a competitive advantage, especially if you're trying to clutch match point in Rainbow Six Siege or CS:GO. The OMEN Mindframe gaming headset is perfect for FPS games, as 7.1 surround sound is ed in games including CS:GO. A neat feature here is HP's FrostCap technology – which uses metal plates near the speakers to keep your head cool during gaming.
The OMEN Mindframe gaming headset is available over on the HP Store.
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Best prebuilt PC for FPS gaming
Looking for a desktop to play the latest shooters? You'll want a graphics card that can comfortably run games at 144fps for the best experience. The OMEN 30L gaming PC comes as standard with an AMD RX 5700XT graphics card, and a six-core AMD Ryzen 5 U. This is more than capable of running titles like Rainbow Six Siege, Black Ops Cold War, Warzone, and CS:GO at 144Hz and 1080p resolution. The standard 256GB SSD will give lightning-fast load times both when booting up and launching games – and you can add extra storage if you need it. The PC also has adjustable RGB lighting all around, from the OMEN logo and front chassis fan, to the U cooler and RAM sticks.
Get your new OMEN 30L gaming PC from here.
If you want to have a look around at other pieces for your setup, be sure to check out the HP OMEN site to see the full range of gaming laptops, PCs, keyboards, accessories and more they offer.