gaming

[NeWbiE :-)]

well i see most people are building computer for gaming thank god...that means alot of support for me...lol...now heres my problem...be4 i knew anything my opinion was good graphics card = good gaming...then after reading a lil i noticed such a power diff. in cpu's....then i thought powerfull cpu = good gaming...now recently i been hearing alot about ram...so is it.... alota ram = good gaming???

please tell me in a gaming computer wat is the most important piece to the puzzle????

[Deagle]

As I've been told the first time I came here, the motherboard is the most important piece of a computer. That's where everything else is build upon.
Hope that answer your question. ;)

[scylla]

You need to balance your system to acheive the power you desire. Just a good video card won't give you good gaming performance. Neither will a good mobo, by itself. Stay away from the latest and greatest. They're just for status users. Examine each prospective component as to how it helps you build your desired system. Saving dollars is easier than you know, while still getting the best performance. ;)

[saphalline]

Having a powerful CPU certainly helps, but right now, even the slowest new processor will be fast enough for any game. For RAM, it's the same, you just need enough. 256MB isn't enough for gaming, you need at least 512MB, with 1GB or more being really really awesome (but probably not in your budget yet).

Vid cards get a bit trickier, and as long as your CPU and RAM are up to par, getting a good vid card is the next step in designing a gaming system. The vid card separates an "office" PC from a "gaming" PC in all respects. Onboard video is definitely not recommended, but you don't need to spend $500 on the best one, either. $80 is the minimum, and the mid-range sweet spot is around $150-200. For your price range (my best guess of how much money you have left :p), I think a Radeon X600 Pro would be the best PCIe choice for you at about $115 USD, or a Radeon 9600 Pro for the best AGP choice at about $110 USD. Both of these are excellent performers for the money.

The mobo, above all else, is the one component that you should never skimp on! The mobo represents the backbone of your computer, and in terms of gaming performance, not all mobo's or chipsets are created equal! I've seen benchmark tests of various mobo's that show up to a 10% performance difference with the same CPU, RAM, and vid card! :eek: 10%! That's a lot considering the only difference was the mobo! And your choice of mobo won't just reflect performance. A good mobo will also be more stable, last longer, have a better BIOS with more settings, and have more features. Just remember, if you buy a bad vid card or CPU, you can always upgrade - but if you buy a bad mobo, you'll have to replace it, move all your other parts to a new mobo, and reinstall Windows and all your programs and games! :( Not a fun job, I assure you!

[NeWbiE :-)]

Well i wanted to get all avg popular gaming parts and then accel in one certain spot and i think the mobo seems like a good spot to push a couple extra bucks into and maybe the vid card too

[saphalline]

Yes, always buy the highest quality mobo you can afford! It will pay you back with good performance, good service, and in general being nice to you. ;) :p Also, the mobo determines exactly what you can connect to your computer. I've seen really cheap mobo's for $50, but some of them I wouldn't even buy for a second computer! They always cut corners on things like ports - less USB ports, lack of "cool" ports (like built-in firewire), not enough other ports (like no SATA ports! BAD!!), less RAM slots (not as much RAM = more BAD!!), etc.

For a gaming PC these days, it might sound backwards, but the area to cut back on the most is actually the processor. CPU speed has far out-paced what we need, so getting the slowest one you can find is actually what you want to do. Looking to get an Athlon64? Get the slowest one that will fit in your mobo! Same for a P4. Unlike other parts, there will be only one manufacturer of the CPU you want to use! You don't have to worry about quality or who made it or any of those other things, so why not use that to your advantage? Use the money you save on the processor to get the best mobo you can afford, get good quality RAM, get a good quality vid card, and you'll be set to go! You can always upgrade the CPU later, and while it's no cake-walk to do that, in terms of configuration there's nothing easier than a CPU upgrade! Just plop it in, let your mobo detect it, and sail on through to a speedier system! It's great!

[NeWbiE :-)]

well ive heard numerous times how sick u are so ill take ur advice without question... but would u say an AMD Sempron 2400+ is going a bit tooo slow?? or u think it will fit in fine?...and would i have problems finding a good highclass mobo that supports Semprons?

[NeWbiE :-)]

Supported CPU: Socket A AMD Athlon XP/Athlon/Duron Processors
Chipset: VIA KT600 + VT8237
FSB: 400/333/266/200 MHz
RAM: 3x DIMM for DDR333/266 Max 3GB, DDR400 Max 2GB
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 133 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 4x PCI, 1x AGP 8X, 1x CNR
Ports: 2xPS2,2xCOM,1xLPT,1xLAN,8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC655 6-Channel Audio CODEC
Onboard LAN: VIA VT6103 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA devices, RAID 0/1
Form Factor: ATX


well when i looked up the sempron cpus i noticed it required a socket a mobo and when i found a nice socket a mobo the supported CPU had nothing about the sempron???? was the list just to give examples or will the mobo really not support this cpu...is there something im missing??...i always thought socket a was socket a and nothing else mattered?...does this have summin to do with chipsets (still dont get chipsets..lol)

btw...there were socket a mobos on the same page that did have the sempron listed as a supported cpu...but most ranged from about 40-80 bucks...doesnt seem very high quality :confused: :confused:

[saphalline]

would u say an AMD Sempron 2400+ is going a bit tooo slow??
Haha, ok, so my advice wasn't entirely complete. :p Yes, there is such a thing as going too slow! A Sempron will save you money, but Socket A is dead so I wouldn't recommend it for a new computer.

Basically, you're looking for the slowest Athlon64 or Pentium4 (with 800MHz FSB) that you can find. Don't actually look for the slowest CPU you can find, or you'll end up with a $5 Pentium 133!! :p As for the socket wars, go for Socket 754 or 939 for AMD, and go for Socket 478 or LGA 775 (aka "Socket T") for Intel's P4. Socket 939 and LGA 775 might be a bit out of your price range, but just looking can't hurt! ;)

The best balance of gaming performance and CPU upgradability would probably be AMD's Socket 754, which supports Athlon64's (in Socket 754 flavor) and one Sempron - the 3100+ version. The best value for you would probably be the Athlon64 2800+ at about $130 USD. The Sempron 3100+ is cheaper but only by like $10, which isn't really worth it because the Sempron has no 64-bit support.

For the mobo, get one that uses one of VIA's chipsets, either the K8T800 or K8T800 Pro (really very little difference between them). The Pro version is a bit better, but don't hesitate to snatch up a regular version with good features. Standard features for these chipsets include: 3 RAM slots for up to 3GB of DDR400, 8x AGP slot, onboard LAN (Pro version has gigabit LAN), 2 x SATA ports (more expensive mobo's will have 4 SATA ports), 8 USB 2.0 ports (with either 2 or 4 in the back), 2 IDE channels, and onboard audio. Like I said, the cheaper mobo's will cut corners, like they'll have only 2 RAM slots or no SATA ports, or something like that. Stay away from those. Good mobo manufacturers include Abit, Asus, Chaintech, Gigabyte, MSI, and Soyo. There's a few others, but that's a good starter list, with Abit and Asus and MSI being my personal favorites. Asus can get expensive, though, so either Abit or MSI will have a good quality mobo with good features in your price range.

A chipset is what goes onto the mobo, it's built-in when you buy it, already assembled. The chipset determines many things, which is why it's so important, such as what CPU the mobo will use, what type of RAM and how much, the number of USB ports, the number of SATA ports (if at all), the FSB speed, and of course the best chipsets also have the best performance. So the first step to picking the right mobo is picking the best chipset for the CPU you want to use.

The mobo manufacturer determines what features of the chipset to use, like putting in only 2 RAM slots even though the chipset supports 3 RAM slots, and also largely determines the quality of the mobo. The mobo manufacturer can also choose to add features that the chipset doesn't support. For instance, VIA's K8T800 chipset only supports 2 SATA ports, but Asus can choose to add a SATA chip and put 4 SATA ports total on its mobo. Thus the mobo will have 2 SATA ports from the chipset, and 2 more from the extra SATA chip. These extra features cost extra money, but many times they can be worth it. In your case, if you can at all afford it, I recommend buying a mobo with 4 SATA ports on it. A mobo is not something you upgrade very often, so it's best to buy one with plenty of room to spare! And SATA ports will soon be in short supply.

[NeWbiE :-)]

wow your on top of everything i couldnt get better support live...its amazing to ask a question and an hour later get ur answer plus ALOT more helpful info...thanks alot good help is hard to find when u dont know much about what it is your asking...and you and all other on this board just keep the answers coming...ty all...and sure enough ill be back with another brain buster...lol :rolleyes:

[NeWbiE :-)]

as for the FSB i see some that say intergrated into chip...now if this is simple i wouldnt mind an explination of what that means...but ill be happy with a simple good or bad answer

[NeWbiE :-)]

i keep forgeting some things sorry for the numerous posts but im not sure if you've dealt with all the brand names u mentioned or have heard reviews but im hoping to along with receive the best mobo for my dollar also get the best manual...i hear the mobo is the heart & brain of the cpu...and i wouldnt wanna perform heart nor brain surgery with a 6 page breifing :p :p

[saphalline]

You know, that is an excellent point, and not one that most newbies think of!

The best way to check on the quality of a manual is to download it! That's the first clue, if a mobo manufacturer has no downloadable manuals for their latest mobo's (or you can't find them), stay away from them! Once you have the manual downloaded, it's an easy matter to see for yourself exactly how good they are.

Here's (http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/manual/mnu/spt_mnu_list.php?kind=1&CHIP=Socket%20754%20(AMD%20K8)&ID=4) the manual download page for MSI's Socket 754 mobo's. A quick Google search of the other manufacturers' websites will give you the same results. Happy reading! :D

[saphalline]

Ooh, missed the other question. Yes, AMD's K8 chips (Athlon64, Athlon64 FX, Opteron, and the single Sempron 3100+) all have the FSB built into the chip. The reason is that the FSB is technically described as the bus between the CPU and the memory controller (the part that communicates with RAM). However, the K8 chips have the memory controller built into the CPU. So, what's the FSB now?

The FSB is still the same. However, since it's built into the CPU now, the speed of the FSB becomes the speed of the CPU, and the technicality of the FSB being a bus mostly goes away. It's a bit confusing, but such is the nature of having more and more things built into the CPU. It's just that the last time the CPU "gobbled up" a part of the computer was back in 1990 when Intel's 486DX CPU had the FPU built into the main CPU. That was a loooong time ago in computer time! :p

[NeWbiE :-)]

well thank you so much ive been searching around for about a month now and only have a case and hdd (which i dont even like the hdd...lol) and untill tonight have been in the dark about any other part i wanted now all i need is video card sound card some storage drives and as much memory as i can afford...then comes the DREADED LCD...good thing i got a bday coming up :p :p