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I love gaming, I play on consoles and PC. When it comes to PC, I get very picky about what I have inside the case. I get a lot of questions from people asking for recommendations about what they should buy to play games on PC. It makes me nervous when they tell me they don't want to spend more than $300 because if you are serious about playing games, you want to spend a little more than that. A $300 gaming computer won't get you far and you'll definitely feel like you should have spent more after a few hours of playing games. What I'm going to do is show you what you should be getting if you want to get a gaming PC and get your moneys worth.
First, let's look at laptops. Laptops are popular with the younger gamers because they can play their games anywhere they choose to and it fits in most backpacks. It's a great option to use for school, work, and play. Here's the minimum recommendation I have for a gaming laptop.
The MSI GV62 is a great gaming laptop with minimum requirements for most games. It has a 15.6" Full HD monitor, an 8th generation i5-8300H 2.3-4.0GHz Intel processor, a NVIDIA GeForce GTX1050Ti 4G GDDR5 graphics card, 8GB of DDR4 Ram (upgradable to 32GB), and a 1TB HDD. For some, this may be overkill, but these components in the laptop will be great for playing games like Minecraft and other low intensity games that don't require a whole lot of GPU and CPU power to run smoothly.
If you're wanting to step it up and play games like Players Unknown Battlegrounds, go for the Acer Predator Triton. This bad boy has a i7-770HQ Intel processor, an overclockable GeForce GTX 1080 8GB DDR5 graphics card with a MAX-Q design, 32GB of DDR4 ram, 512GB SSD (256GB x 2) and a 15.6" Full HD monitor. This laptop will satisfy even the graphically intense Rainbow Six:Siege game and it's super thin compared to most gaming laptops. This is the one I would recommend if you are serious about playing PC games. With these settings, you may even be able to stream on Twitch or YouTube.
Now, I personally don't use a laptop for major gaming because I'm more of a traditional PC gamer. I remember playing the first Need for Speed and Doom when they first came out and I feel in love with it. I've played games on my PC ever since, even if I had a console to play on. There's just something about playing on a desktop that makes me feel in control. With that being said, let's take a look at the desktop PC's that I recommend.
The minimum desktop PC I'd recommend is the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR (GXiVR8060A5). This comes with a i5-8400 2.8GHz Intel Processor, 8GB DDR4 of ram, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB graphics card, 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD, and it's Wifi capable. This gaming computer is VR ready and it has full range RGB ring fans to make those who gaze upon it very jealous of you. Of course, this is only my minimum recommendation, so don't expect to play games at 60fps and have a great experience. You will, however, enjoy most games that don't require that much GPU or CPU.
The PC I'd recommend for the best experience is the Acer Predator G3. This monster of a PC comes with an i7-7700 (8M Cache, up to 4.2GHz) Intel Processor, 32GB of DDR4 ram, a 8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, and also has wireless and bluetooth capabilities. Not only does this PC have great components built it, it also has a very intimidating case. At first glance, you'll think that this computer is for serious games. Luckily for you, this is for serious gamers who require their PC to perform as good as it can. With this PC, you can dominate the battlefield!
These are my recommendations for PC gaming. You can take from it what you will and try to find other PC's that come with similar parts or a cheaper computer all around. I will say though, as someone who uses high performing components in his computer, these will satisfy your needs.