A powerful PC that has high-speed processors and lots of RAM is required for games to run smoothly. However, gaming computers are also vulnerable to malware as gamers are often using peer-to-peer connections, which leaves their computers vulnerable to cybercriminals. And as a result, they need a good antivirus that can perform with minimal effect on their gameplay.
We’ve evaluated the top antivirus programs in terms both of real-time protection and gaming performance impact. Our winner, Bitdefender Total Security, stands out for its excellent detection rates and the automatic gaming mode that boosts the performance of the CPU by separating background applications to a single core and freeing up memory for better performance. It’s also easy to use and one of the cheapest options on our list at just $36 / year.
McAfee Gamer Security is another great option. It comes with a powerful Game Booster, and offers top-of-the-line security with no interruptions during games. It’s expensive and its security isn’t as effective as Kaspersky or BullGuard but it is still an excellent choice for gamers.
Panda offers a great behaviour scanner and malware quarantine feature, but it’s a bit slow in its processing speed. It comes with a 30 day money-back warranty, but also additional features like the ability to connect via VPN, parental controls and a password manager. It’s also much smaller than many other antivirus software and all of its scanning is conducted on the cloud, allowing for a low impact on your system.