Gaming computers and computer specs.

[johnnyLupine]

I wasn't sure wheather to put this in the gaming discussion forum or the advice forum but since I used the advice forum this time last year it may as well be the gaming discussiion forum's turn.

Ive been unemployed for around three or four years and after a series of tests and interviews at a local factory I suspect I may have finally found a job, we will call you in afew days to let you know when you can start sounded promising at any rate. Naturally I have been wondering what to do with the money I will be earning. since my gaming pc has broken and I have had to make do with borrowing other people's computers when I can for forum browsing and job searching I want my first major purchace to be a new computer or gaming laptop.

Unfortunatly I don't really understand anything about system specifications and could really use a hand coming to grips with the sort of specs I might need and what the hell all the letters and numbers actually mean when it comes to gaming quality.

If anyone can help me out with this I would be really appreciative, I would also happily accept any advice reguarding Alienware. I understand that it is a well known brand but a friend of mine has recommended that I build my own PC rather than buying one from them.

 

[Occams_Razor]

Your friend is right, don't buy from Alienware. They make a good product, and some of the coolest looking PCs on the planet, but they are extremely overpriced for the specs you get. You can get a much more powerful gaming PC for less money if you build your own. But I suggest haven't someone nearby that has built a PC before when you assemble it, if you've never attempted it yourself.

I'll try and give a rundown of the main components.

Video Cards: Probably the most important part when it comes to gaming quality. Its important not to cut corners too much with this component, as it does the bulk of the processing for gaming. I'm personally a proponent of nVidia cards, so I'll describe them as I understand the numbering better(if someone could jump in for AMD, that would be awesome.)

The main nVidia gaming series is the GeForce series, that's what I've used for my gaming rigs. Basically, their cards are listed in the format of GeForce XXX. The first number is the series, which tells you how current the card is. They release a new series about once a year, and right now we're on the 6 series, so things are of variations 6xx. 5xx is a year old, 4xx two years etc.

The second set of xx's is the model, the higher the number, the more powerful the card. 680, 670, 660 etc. I recommend staying above the 60 level for gaming, but there is no harm in going back a generation to get a deal, like a 560 or 570.

Don't worry too much about most of the other numbers for now, following the above wont lead you astray.

Processors: Less important that the video card, but still vital. Right now, Intel processors are the way to go, even if they are a bit more expensive than AMD. I would go for an i5 or an i7 processor(i7 is more expensive, but i5 would be more than enough).

RAM: Get somewhere between 4GB and 8GB of ram, DDR3 is the current generation(its the fastest we have right now.) I would recommend some performance ram, something like DDR3-1600 or above. The second number is the speed of the ram, so the higher it is, the faster your RAM is going to be.

Motherboard: This is important to get right, as it has to be compatible with all your other components. Check the socket listed on your processor, make sure it matches the socket listed on the motherboard your looking at. Also make sure it lists the same type of RAM slots(DDR3).

Power Supply: To run a gaming rig, go for something 750W at least, is my recommendation.

That's really the main components, hopefully that helped at least a little. I'll post again if I think of anything else.

 

[Inconspicuous Trenchcoat]

Here's a guide that's pretty accurate in comparing the relative power of graphics cards: Link [http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html]

AMD/ATI's numbering system is the same as Nvidia's. They use 4 numbers to identify their cards. XXXX, the first number indicates the series, the latest is the 7XXX series. Newer series have more recent technology compatibility, such as DirectX 11. The next three numbers are a general indicator of capability, but this varies across series. For example, a 4870 is about equivalent to a 5770 in power, regardless of the 5770 having a lower number after the series number. Use the above chart as a guide to compare cards and prices. For AMD/ATI cards, I'd recommend a 6850+ or a 7770+ for gaming.

Since you mentioned a gaming laptop, I advise you do extra research when considering one. Their gaming ability is harder to gauge than a desktop's. For example, a 670M sounds like a top end 6XX Nvidia card, right? Well it's actually like a lower clocked 460 redesigned for a laptop. Still alright, but not as awesome as it appears. In general, a shared model number does not indicate equal performance when comparing laptop and desktop parts. Laptop parts are always considerably weaker. The above chart includes laptop parts. They're indicated by a M suffix; think M = Mobile and you'll remember.

i3/i5/i7: For gaming, i7's provide little improvement, or none at all, or sometimes worse performance over an i5. I'd grab an i5. The k after a model number. Such as i5 2500k: the k means its multiplier is unlocked for easier overclocking.

Power Supply: I'd say a 550W PSU of a good brand like Corsair, Seasonic or XFX is enough for any single GPU desktop. I'd up it to 750W if you want to crossfire or SLI two cards in the future. Add 100W if you plan on overclocking (meaningfully, not just like .3GHz on your CPU).

RAM: I don't think speed really matters much at all for gaming. As long as it's DDR3 and non-ECC (if it doesn't mention ECC, it's non-ECC, don't worry about it) you're good to go.

 

[Esotera]

It's all about the flops and the graphics card. Secondary to that, you need a halfway decent processor and between 4-8 Gb of RAM.

How far you go beyond that is up to you though, and depends how high end you want to go. I know of people who have bought servers as their main computer as they're that dedicated to future-proofing, but that's totally overkill if you just want to play games on medium graphics settings, which is fine enough. My desktop cost about £400 and plays Skyrim on medium, and didn't cause me any hassle building it. That's all I care about.