i need to get a state-of-the-art game system, but the problem is i'm a complete
newbie when it comes to gaming systems. can anyone tell me exactly what to get,
type of ram, video card and cpu for the most optimized gaming system.

also, amd or intel? do most games even support hyperthreading? is it worth it?

thanks.

Well, one of most important components in a gaming system is the video card.
The big players in this market are ATI and NVidia. Both companies are in
the process of releasing their new "Top Dog" graphics cards. For ATI, it's
the X800 XT, and NVidia has the GeForce 6800 Ultra.

Each of these cards will go for around $500 retail. If you don't want to
spend that much, the price of the current top-end cards (ATI 9800XT and
NVidia 5950 Ultra) should drop pretty quickly once the new cards are widely
available. I'd expect the 9800/5950 to be in the $275-$300 range within
six months or so, and either of them will run modern games with no problems
for the forseeable future.

For the CPU, pick either Intel or AMD, and spend as much as you'd like. I
don't think either brand is head-and-shoulders above the other when it
comes to bang for the buck. I would advise that you don't buy the absolute
fastest CPU from either brand, since the price/performance ratio gets
REALLY steep when you're looking at the very top end of CPUs. Anything in
the 3.0+ GHz range should be fine for a few years.

I'd seriously recommend 1 GB of RAM, even if you don't need it right now.
It's good for a nice speed boost, and RAM is relatively cheap these days.
You don't have to go with the fancy Corsair TwinX or similar brands unless
you're planning on seriously overclocking your CPU.

Likewise, motherboard choice isn't critical unless you're planning on
overclocking. I have an ABIT IC7-Max 3 (Pentium 478-pin board) that's
given me absolutely no trouble. It's designed for overclocking, so you may
not need all of the features it has.

Onboard sound is getting better all the time, but a Sound Blaster Audigy is
still a nice upgrade.

For hard drives, a pair of SATA drives in a RAID 0 configuration gives good
results when it comes to speed, but bear in mind that if EITHER drive
fails, you lose ALL of your data. So, keep current with your backups.

Optical drives are getting to be commodity items, so get whatever you like.

I hope this helps, let us know if you have any specific questions.

Scott Gardner


Kenny Benji wrote:

Sorry for top-posting that last reply.

Scott

Its okay .... seems to be the proper way to do it on this NG
*shrug*


"Scott Gardner" <gardners14@cox.net> wrote in message
news6HIc.3437$Qj.9@lakeread01...

You are entering a realm of mistruths, exaggeration, hyperbole and lies...

The mavens that write about games and the machines that run them will have
you believe you need a small nuclear reactor running at 900Ghz to run the
latest games. The truth is that Doom 3, one of the most anticipated games in
years, and one that the know-it-alls have been claiming won't run on
anything other than a cutting edge machine, will run okay on a 1.5Ghz system
with 384 MBs ram and a GeForceMX card.

The thing to remember is, gaming companies don't want to limit the
distribution of their product by having ridiculously high system
requirements. If you have an unlimited budget, by all means go top shelf but
a 3.0GHz machine with 512MB ram, 7200 hard drive and a nVidia 5900 or ATI
9700 video card will serve you well. I would go with the Athlon 64 3000
rather than the XP3000 if you go AMD, (recommended).

There are other things on which to spend your money, other than the CPU, in
which to make game playing more enjoyable. A quality 19" display, good mouse
and keyboard along with a quality speaker system add much to the experience.

If you wish to discuss further, list which games you want to play and state
your budgetary goals.

"Kenny Benji" <benji@death-star.com> wrote in message
news:23GIc.55168$qw1.14587@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...