Gaming Systems On A Budget

You don't need to blow your budget to build grown-up gaming systems. In fact, it's easy to build gaming PCs that are both cost-effective and ready to meet the needs of today's high-end games %96 but only if you know how.

In this recipe I'll explain everything you'll need to know about building gaming PCs on a budget. I'll explore the need for speed when we talk about processors. The requirements for cool graphics and sounds that enhance the gaming experience. Plus practical methods to reduce costs (mainly, by buying only what you really need). When we're done, you'll know how to build PCs that, while they may not be the "fattest" PC at the party, will have your clients gaming with the best of them -- and for a lot less money.

Needs vs. Budget

To play today's games, the barriers to entry are low: All you need is a working PC. But different games require different size and speed PCs. If your clients play only Solitaire and Hearts, they're not going to need a machine with muscle. For them, any old PC will do. But if your clients are serious gamers, they'll be frustrated by a "normal" PC. No gamer wants to be shot by an unseen enemy because the image was slow to render -- or to miss that treacherous turn at the speedway because the PC was too slow to keep pace. For clients like these, you need to beef up the box with some serious video and processing power.

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To be fair, some high-end games can run perfectly well on a plain old PC, even one that lacks serious video and processing power. But with this kind of low-end setup, your clients will need to switch off many visual options that make today's games so much fun. That's not a great option.

Don't be frightened off by the price tags offerd by many gaming PC builders. High-end models routinely sell in the $3,000-to-$5,000 range. But you can build a very competent gaming machine for roughly $1,000.

How? By taking advantage of the astounding power of today's PC hardware. Though we all like to complain about the inevitable short-term obsolescence of hardware, there's a flip side: Powerful new technology is always just around the corner. Therein lies your opportunity. Instead of buying the latest, greatest gaming technology at a premium cost, you can save big bucks by using previous generations of processors that are still hanging tough, still usable -- and still very affordable.

The overall cost of your gaming PCs will be determined by how well you balance the costs of processor-motherboard combinations and video cards. For both, seek to take advantage of the back end of the price curve; as new products emerge, prices for the previous generation drop sharply. That's where you'll find the most bang for the buck.

Controlling costs is even is easier if you operate in upgrade mode. Once you find a favorite monitor, game controller, or other accessory, stick with it instead of swapping platforms.

By balancing motherboard/processor costs with the cost of a high-end video card, you'll get the best price-performance for games like Doom3, shown below:

Motherboard and Processor: Powerful Yet Cost-Effective

If you were building a high-end PC with the latest gaming technology -- and were willing to pay the top price -- I'd recommend either the AMD Socket 939 or Intel Socket 775 motherboard. Both support the newest generation of 64-bit processors, among other features. But while these motherboards are appealing and not too pricey themselves, they carry additional costs and compatibility issues that will immediately jack up your overall costs.

Instead, I recommend a 3-GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon XP-3000 processor. These are powerful, available, and cost-effective. Importantly, the motherboards and memory that support them are also powerful, available, and cost-effective. Taken together, these processor-motherboard combos are ideal choices for builders of budget-minded yet powerful gaming machines.

Another factor to consider is frontside bus speed. The faster the frontside bus, the faster the system's overall memory bandwidth. And since bandwidth is critical for 3-D game performance, the more bandwidth for your systems, the better.

Here are two motherboard-processor combinations to consider:

The Asus A7V600 motherboard paired with the Athlon XP 3000 processor, shown below, provides gaming power at reduced cost:

When shopping for memory to support these processor-motherboard combos, be sure to compare prices. Also, pay special attention to the motherboard manufacturer's recommendations; you don't want to provide too little memory. In fact, better spring for at least 512 MB to 1 GB, assuming your budget allows.

If you're an especially budget-conscious builder, also consider buying a highly integrated, easily upgradeable motherboard with 3-D graphics and sound. One example: the SOYO SY-P4RC350 Socket 478 P4 Motherboard with an 800-MHz frontside bus, based on the ATi Radeon 9100 graphics processor. It boasts a GigaLAN connection and six-channel sound.

The Case: Cool and Light

How light should the case on your gaming system be? There's no easy answer. You need to balance the need for protection on the one hand with the desire for transportability and style on the other.

Style matters. Radical designs are a hallmark of gaming PC cases. Gamers were the first to flaunt the contents of the box with clear side windows. In fact, some cases today are entirely "see-thru."

Naturally, your internal design for cooling is also important. Gaming PCs throw off a lot of heat, after all. For this reason, stick with standard, well-established case makers.

You also need a case that is sturdy. Many gamers now gather at "LAN parties" to play their favorite networked games. They bring their hardware and high-energy snacks, plug into the network, and have at it! As these events become more popular, gamers increasingly want to be able to move their boxes from location to location. One major manufacturer, Antek, has heard the call; it now provides a "carrying harness" for its case, keyboard, and accessories.

Cases I recommend include: the Antec Super LANboy and the Enermax Voltron. You might also check out Chieftec and, for the latest in see-through gaming cases, Voyeurmods.

Here's a look at the Super LANboy with its carrying harness strapped on and ready to hit the road:

Video Cards: Heart of a Gaming PC

The video card is the heart of your gaming system. Choosing the right card will make the single most dramatic difference in your clients' ability to run games with challenging 3-D graphics.

There's a kind of arms race underway. Whenever new video processing becomes available, 3-D game developers are fast to hop to it. To keep pace, your video card will need all the latest bells and whistles %96 or, at least, the ability to play your client's favorite games without freezing-up or running "jerky."

The perfect video card meets the exacting specifications listed on a game's box -- that's why it's always good to check -- but those cards are generally pricey. Instead, stick with manufacturers that offer video cards in all price ranges, and that focus on compatibility across a wide range of applications. Compatibility for video cards means they won't choke on the complex techniques used to paint the modern 3-D developer's world, such as pixel and vertex shaders, polygon building, and processing texels that render complex textures like beaches, steel walls, and fabric. A high-end card can do all that and lots more. But a lower-cost, compatible card can also get the job done -- maybe just not at the same blistering speed. Depending on the games being played, you might not even see a difference.

Expect to spend a good amount of time shopping for a video card. Also expect to pay considerably more for a gaming card than you would for a general-use PC card. Remember, you're looking for compatibility with the latest game features, as well as muscle. Both cost extra.

The two reigning state-of-the-art 3-D graphics processor are Nvidia's Geforce 6800 series and ATI's X800 family of cards. The images these cards produce are eye-popping. So , unfortunately, are their price tags.

The good news is that cards costing $300 to $500 as recently as a few months ago are now half that. While these cards may lack a few of the newest, most amazing features, they are still great gaming cards. Choosing from these cards, here are my recommendations:

I.) Great video buys:

II.) A step up in video cards:

As this screen shot shows, the textures from Ubisoft's Far Cry game are rendered stunningly by the Radeon 9800's video processor:

The more you know about the software demands for video, the better you can analyze the specifications on video cards. To learn more about 3-D graphics and graphics cards, check out the guru3d site.

Here are some other video-card issues to consider:

Whatever your final choice, be sure to use a card with at least 128 MB of video RAM. Also, keep in mind that older cards will lack some of the features and compatibility offered by newer cards. That might mean, for example, that an older card with 256 MB will actually run slower than a newer card with only 128 MB. Let yourself be guided by your budget (and the budget of your clients), along with the cost of your processor-motherboard combination.

Game Sounds: Compatible and Realistic

Good sound is a key part of the PC-gaming experience. The combination of music from top artists, suspenseful soundtracks from Hollywood score writers, and demanding special effects make for the realism that is vital to the overall gaming experience With the addition of human voices and dialog, games can reach a level of realism that is otherwise impossible even with the best graphics.

To attain this level of realism, your system needs both a good and compatible sound source, and the amplification and speaker system to reproduce those sounds. The advent of 24-bit samples and 5.1 Surround Sound to the PC world has ushered in a new era. The synthesized music of arcade games is a thing of the past. Instead, gaming sounds are now much closer to those emanating from massive home theaters.

Many motherboards now include significant on-board sound that is supported by robust integrated hardware like the AC '97. While this is fine for multimedia applications, not all games may work well with it.

Amazingly, there are no official standards for PC game sound. In part, this is due to the evolution of the PC. Back when the PC was first invented, there was no provision for sound at all past a whimpy "beep." Game developers had to build around a standard introduced by Creative Technology with their original GameBlaster card. Back then, GameBlaster was the only show in town.

Today, SoundBlaster remains the de facto standard for a good explosion, breaking glass or car crash %96music sounds great, too! Even if there is sound integrated into the motherboard, many builders prefer to add an affordable SoundBlaster card. It is what game developers build to and use to test.

For an example of a card with sound, Creative Technology, which has been in the PC-gaming business forever, offers Sound Blaster cards that are completely tested with new games. Creative's Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS is currently the hot gaming card. It includes a Firewire port and THX-certified 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 sound. The card sells for under $150.

If you're looking to save a little, there is a flock of other, less expensive Sound Blaster cards to choose from. In many cases, the onboard sound is fine and can be quite impressive, if not 100% compatible with every game.

Another critical item for a gaming PC is the sound system. It reproduces the sounds of explosions, speeding cars, and soaring jets. If your client's budget can swing it, I recommend a system like the Altec Lansing FX6021. Another good choice is the very impressive (and radical looking) Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II. For some serious entertainment, find a place to audition a sound system called ProMedia Ultra 5.1 from Klipsch with your favorite game. It's too costly for all but the most devoted gamers, but it's also amazing!

Remember, while good sound systems can be costly, they also add dramatically to the overall gaming experience. Imagine how the radical-looking Soundsticks II from Harmon-Kardon could enhance the appeal of your systems:

Hard Drives and DVD: Space Plus Speed

For gaming systems, disk storage is pretty straightforward: You need enough space to store your clients' favorite games, and a spin rate fast enough to keep the systems running smoothly.

My advice: Avoid bargain-bin 5400-RPM drives. They're too slow. Instead, find a good price on a reliable 7200-RPM drive. In fact, for our budget-conscious system, a reliable 7,200-RPM drive with 80 GB or better is ideal. It sells for about $50.

Speaking of speed, if your clients run games or applications that involve intense drive activity, consider splurging on a 10,000-RPM drive like Western Digital's Raptor 36.7GB SATA hard drive. They're not cheap, however. Expect to pay more than $100 for a drive storing less than 40 GB.

LCD vs. CRT Monitors: The Great Debate

Although LCD-monitor vendors have made great advances in screen technology, most serious gamers still swear by their old-fashioned CRTs. The arguments are subjective. As with art and music, personal preferences are everything.

Some major points to consider are the size and bulk of CRTs, comparative image clarity, and the viewing angle of LCD panels. When gamers get together, the loss of viewing angle on LCD panels can be annoying. Also, if your clients use dual monitors, then the size of the plastic that frames each CRT, or bezel size, is a consideration. The smaller the bezel, the more the two monitors look like one big, panoramic view.

The bottom line: You want a high-quality monitor that works for your clients. After all the time, expense, and effort needed to put together a killer gaming system, you want your clients to see those 3-D graphics exactly as they were meant to be seen.

Here Comes 64-Bit Gaming Technology

In the word of PC gaming, nothing stands still for long. Even as you're reading this, hardcore gamers are anxiously anticipating the arrival of 64-bit systems and software that will take games like Final Fantasy, Pain Killer, and Unreal Tournament to the next levels.

These 64-bit systems will be here soon. AMD already offers an Athlon-64, and Intel has a desktop 64 solution on the way. Microsoft now offers a Windows XP beta 64-bit pre-release version on its Web site.

As with any new technology, 64-bit systems and games will initially command high prices. The products will also undoubtedly suffer from all the traditional problems we expect from new releases -- and, likely, some new ones, too! For these reasons, I have avoided 64-bit components for this Recipe, and I recommend that you avoid them, too, at least for now.

But make no mistake about it. In the near term, gaming is moving to 64-bit technology. The new 64-bit products will make for even greater advances in 3-D graphics, and they will provide gobs of addressable memory that will rocket games and gamers to a whole new level. Hang on for a wild ride!

ANDY MCDONOUGH is a professional musician, composer, voice actor, engineer, and educator happily freelancing in New Jersey. His son regularly beats him at PC games.

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