A brief thesis on PC gaming computers
The biggest, sharpest, and rustiest jagged double-edged sword in PC gaming is without a doubt the hardware itself. On the one hand, the ability to choose each component in a computer is a great positive, allowing a smooth upgrade cycle the envy of console gamers everywhere, the ability to get as much performance as you’re willing to pay for, and of course the sheer fun of assembling a custom rig that uses as many blue LEDs as your power supply can handle. But on the other hand, PC gaming can be a sheer hassle sometimes (whereas on locked-down console platforms games “just work”), and no one can argue that it’s cheaper. But those are the breaks, and everyone reading this blog is here because they’ve found that, on the balance, the positives outweigh the negatives.
I had a blast back in January 2007 specing and assembling the computer that is still my primary Windows XP gaming desktop. I built it to be able to play Supreme Commander, a really demanding real-time strategy game that fully utilized multiple core processors. The components were good for the time: an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 processor, Nvidia GeForce 7950GT graphics card, and 2 GB of RAM all wrapped inside of an Antec P180 “black monolith” case (I got over my plexiglass and blue LED obsession in college). Since then I’ve added another 2 GB of RAM which, thanks to plummeting prices over time, cost 20% of the first 2 GB. I also replaced the video card last month when it steadfastly refused to stop frying itself at temperatures of 120°C, even with the sides of the case off. So I’m now running an ATI Radeon HD 4850, which is the best bang for your buck out of any video card. It runs Crysis at my 20″ monitor’s native resolution on high graphics settings with full anti-aliasing at a smooth frame rate, so yeah, it’s sweet.
Along the way something curious happened, though. I bought a cheap pre-made Dell computer to serve as my primary desktop, and installed Ubuntu GNU/Linux on it (yes, I’m that kind of computer user). In fact, I’m composing this very blog post on said computer right now. So I have a perfect computer dichotomy right now: the good one is used exclusively for playing games, and the other one is used for everything else. It’s almost as if my gaming computer was a dedicated game console — except, of course, it plays games that don’t suck with a peripheral that doesn’t suck. I’m sorry gamepads, but you’ll never match the sheer versatility of the mouse and keyboard. We have three PC gamers living in this house with nary a console in sight and that’s the way we like it.
As for what’s next with my gaming computer, I’m looking to upgrade the processor and motherboard in the intermediate future. Everything else should last me for awhile. And I have some recommendations to anyone building a new computer from scratch (or upgrading an existing one). Absolutely, positively get 4 GB of RAM. RAM is so cheap these days that maxing out is mandatory. Also, don’t spend too much on a video card. $150-200 is the price range you should be looking at (a range that is currently ruled by the ATI Radeon HD 4850, I might add). If you have more money than that to spend on a video card, buy a decent video card now, and then use the rest of the money in a year to a year and a half to get a better video card. You’ll get a lot more performance averaged over time for the same cost.
And to anyone who’s into PC gaming but hasn’t built a gaming computer — what are you waiting for? It’s one of the best aspects of the hobby. Start by maxing out your RAM as an interim upgrade and then plan more drastic measures. Relish in the freedom to upgrade that console gamers completely lack. You’re already committed to the hobby, so do everything in your power to have the best possible time with it.
