out of the loop

[onarpos]

It was seven years ago that I built the computer that sits on my desk. Now, I'm totally out of the loop. Where can I go to learn the latest products and terminology?

I'm looking to build a low spec gaming computer (no simulation). The highest specs currently listed as "recommended" include an 800MHz CPU. The last time I bought a video card, it was a state of the art card with 2 megs of memory on the board (ancient). A lot has changed. Once again, where can I learn the lingo?

Any suggestions for building a low spec gaming computer with room for future games? What would you put into it?

--- onarpos

[bassman]

Hello onarpos and welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif.
If it’s been 7 years since you followed hardware specs, besides the basic mechanics, this will be like starting from scratch.
I would highly recommend reading thru the Buying and Upgrading Advice (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=9) forum and getting a feel for what is out there. Most all of these threads are in regards to current products and will have current terminology.

As for a recommendation:
No less than a 2.0 Gig processor
No less than 384 Mgb RAMM (PC2100 or higher)
No less than 40 Gig, 7200 RPM hard drive
No less than 64 Mgb AGP video card
5 channel sound card
No less than 3 channel high quality speaker setup.
DVD RW drive
High speed CD drive

These are core component recommendations. As for manufacturer specifics, I will let some of the others make recommendations on that along with motherboard and maybe some other ideas.

Good luck and keep us informed how you do.

[killercow]

Once again, where can I learn the lingo?

Here of course:D

Those "reccomended specs wont get you very good performance.

For future games you could get a 9500, 9600, or 9800/pro videeo cards. I think they all have direct x 9 support (am i right?). An AMD athlon XP 1800+ or higher should suit you fine. As for motherboards I like my nVidia nForce2 chipset from epox (EP-8RDA+) There's obviously newer ones if you want SATA support and IEEE-1394 (firewire). Ram for gaming... 512mb at least. 1 gig will suit for for a few years. Just some of the basics.

[onarpos]

OK... Here's where the new terminology starts.

Three terms that I do not recognize:
RAMM (PC2100 or higher): RAM terminology has changed considerably. Is there a primer for learning the different types of desktop RAM?

SATA support: Totally new to me. What is it?

IEEE-1394 (firewire): Also totally new to me. What is it?

Do you know of any pages in the pcguide forums that discusses in general the evolution of chipsets?

--- onarpos

[bassman]

:eek: My bad on the "RAMM", that should have been "RAM". 7 years ago you probably used a 30 pin or 72 pin SIMM (Single In-line Memory Modual) meaning that the little tabs you could see along the edge that you inserted into the motherboard or expansion card, were connected on either side of the card. We now have "DIMM" (Dual In-line Memory Modual) meaning that these little tabs are independent connectors on either side of the card. There are also now 186 connectors per card.
There is also a product out called Rambus. A slightly different technology that produces the exact same effect. Extreamly proprietery and costly.
The rating of PC2100 is (I think) basicly the thru-put rating (speed) of the chip. It is important that all chips match in rating.

SATA, can't help you with. Seems like I have seen that but don't really know

IEEE-1394, Firewire is a cable technology that is used primarily with photo/video input. It has many different applications now and is very fast. Are you familiar with USB? If not, same idea just that Firewire is quite a bit faster.
The newer cabling is very benificial in space saving. The cables and connectors are much smaller then before.

As for the evolution of chipsets, I would recommend posting some questions in the "Core Hardware" section here.

Enjoy;)

[killercow]

I think in your computers time that the optical drives and hard drives(s) were connectedd through IDE cables (fastest was i believe ATA-133). People thought they were too big and somewhat slow. They are going to be replaced in the future by Serial ATA (SATA). It has smaller conectors and the makers have VERY high hopes and speed expectations. More can be read Here (http://www.serialata.org/about/index.shtml) . Right now the #1 serial ATA hard drive is the Western Digital Raptor with 36gb of space.

[saphalline]

Firewire is faster than USB 1.0/1.1, but USB 2.0 is slightly faster than firewire (480Mbps vs 400Mbps).

onarpos, you have quite a project ahead of you! :eek: Just for starters, one of the most interesting things about the latest chipsets is that they have quite a bit of built-in functions that actually work! :p USB 2.0, firewire, SATA, ethernet/LAN, and audio are all built into most new mobo's, and they all do their jobs and coexist peacefully and all that creepy stuff you thought you'd never see in a computer.

Also, WindowsXP is the latest Microsoft craze. Have you heard of that?

[nimnorf2]

Hey Onarpos,
YOu are, indeed, in for a treat. I built a new system two years ago and then came back to this forum recently to build another and felt like the whole language had taken on a new form. sheesh!:D Seven years ago?:rolleyes: You're like someone who just discovered the wheel being told about an internal cumbustion engine and the latest offerings from Chrysler. LOL:D

Anyhow, I'm thinking that you are relatively new to this forum. A little help then....

For every one of the issues that you'd like to get sorted out, you could of course do a google search with the words that you're confused about and of course you'd get a whole bunch of inappropriate "hits" for how to order Viagra... Stay here on this site, IMHO.

Scroll to the bottoom of any forum and search that individual forum with a few key words. Like DIMM, or New Chipsets or Best Motherboards or whatever. It'll keep you busy and on task.

You'll find that the regular folks here on this forum are full of very good advice with present experiential wisdom. I haven't been able to "stump" the real geeks here yet!
peace,