Want to build my own PC

• Ponders

  15 Feb 07, 21:56

  I use to build PCs for small time companies and provide after-sales services.
  
  Then i build my own one meant for Gaming, but i notice that i always get inferior quality graphics and sometimes loading lag.
  
  Those computers i build for companies are for work purposes and thus was sufficient for thier use and they had no complains.
  
  But one thing i don't understand is, why a computer that seems fast in loading is lousy for Gaming?
  
  What should i look for in Gaming?
  
  If i want to build a good Gaming comp....
  
  what should i look for in the following?
  
  1. Motherboard Specs
  2. Video Card Specs
  3. Sound Card Specs
  4. CPU specs
  5. RAM specs.
  
  can some kind soul explain to me like in motherboard what is Front Side Bus, etc etc etc?
  
• ndmmxiaomayi

  15 Feb 07, 22:07

  All you list are important, but you missed out one point. Hard disk.
  
  Hard disk may seem unimportant, but they aren't. Hard disks have a spinning rate. The higher the rpm, the faster you can access data.
  
  Since a game is most likely to be installed on a hard disk, a hard disk that spins at 7200rpm would definitely be faster than one that spins at 3600rpm.
  
  Another issue is about FSB or Front Side Bus. FSB is a system bus that carries all electronic signal information between the CPU and other devices within the system such as RAM.
  
  With a greater value, they could carry more data, and therefore a PC could be faster.
  
  One thing about FSB is that they connect to the Northbridge of the motherboard (which means nearer to the RAM and video card slots). Being nearer to these buses means shorter travelling distance for the electrons and there would result in faster accessing of data. With fast data access, a game won't lag so much.
• SoulDivine

  16 Feb 07, 02:35

  1. Choose a CPU : 3.0 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or better (Obviously, the more expensive CPUs are better, it really depends on your budget)
  
  2. Choose a suitable chipset. Assuming you are buying an Intel CPU, visit Intel website for information about the latest chipset.
  http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/chipsets/index.htm?iid=chips_body+desk
  
  3. Choose a brand that you like: MSI, Asus, Gigabyte etc. Visit the mainboard manufacturer website to view the specifications. Example: If you chose Intel 975X chipset and your prefered brand is MSI. Than you should be able to get this information -> http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=713
  
  4. Make sure the mainboard can fit one/two PCI-Express Graphics Card. (Supports ATI® Crossfire™ technology)
  
  5. Choose your DRAM memory modules. Get 2 X 1GB DDR2 667Mhz CL5. The lower the CL rating, the better. Always buy a pair of memory modules to make use of the Dual Channel technology. Brand does not matter for RAMs.
  
  6. Choose your Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Should be ATI Crossfire Certified. http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/buildyourown.html
  If you can afford, buy 2 identical ones, else just buy one will do.
  
  7. Choose your Audio Card. Creative X-Fi series.
  http://www.creative.com/products/welcome.asp?category=209
  
  8. Choose two identical SATA2 Hard disk. Configure it to use RAID 1 to boost hard disk performance.
  
  9. Choose your PSU (Power Supply Unit). 500 Watts is the minimum you should get for a gamming system.
  
  10. Choose casing... If you want nothing but the best... look no further. http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/full_index.asp
  
  11. Choose your display. Generally, CRT monitors are more suitable for gamming than LCD monitors... CRT monitors have longer life-span and better response rate.
  
  12. Others... Keyboard, laser mouse, 5.1 speakers, dvd-rom writer, USB PCI Card e.t.c.
  
  The above information is a brief one. A detail one will be very very long and I need to sleep... Let me know if you need more details on any parts.
  
  
• Ponders

  16 Feb 07, 08:28

  Thanks for the useful info..
  
  let me do my research according to what you have mentioned and if i have any more questions i will ask again....
  
  
• Farmerseed

  16 Feb 07, 20:40

  I agree with NDMMxiaomayi that hdd is the slowest component in a DIY but even with the fastest 10K raptors you will not see much of a difference in gaming performance. Even if you raid it you will only notice a faster game loading time in RPGs or games with immense landscape and large maps. Having a good hdd is appreciated but not going to gauranteed tip top performance.
  
  Right now some of the high end Intel Duo core performs on par or better with the flagship AMD FXs but we must know that games plays better on single thread processors and graphics card processor also decides on how the game reacts and your over all system perfom.
  
  I will place processor and graphics over the hdd. Quad cores and multi-threading are good for video rendering while quad core with raid are good for server, 24 hr backup corporate environment. Fast head-banging single threaded processors are still preferred for gaming.
  
  Depending on game types and what engines they were created some plays better on nVidia while some on ATI.
• ceecookie

  16 Feb 07, 20:41

  More FSB can be found in Core 2 Quad or Extreme.
• Ponders

  16 Feb 07, 21:05

  hmm. call me picky...
  
  but i am one of those.. stick to a brand.. will never waver...unless necessary..
  
  but what you guys thing of...
  
  Intel OR ASUS Motherboards because all my years of PC building i only stick to this 2 brands.
  
  Do they really affect performance?
  
  Also, when selecting CPU.. especially Intel one.. i kinda lost touch.. but what's this thingy about Single/Double thread, Hyperthread, Dual Core,, etc etc..
  
  Too much things got me confused.
  
  Since i only build for corporate use, i never really look into such terminology as all i need is a decent processor to make things run.
  
  I problem i experience is when i boot my PC, it takes freaking long time to reach the desktop window despite not having auto-start programs
  
  What could they be caused by?
• ndmmxiaomayi

  16 Feb 07, 22:09

  what's this thingy about Single/Double thread, Hyperthread, Dual Core

  Single core is a single processor. Hyperthread is also a single processor, but it is able to emulate multiple processors running on a PC. Dual Core is 2 processors on one chip.
• Farmerseed

  16 Feb 07, 22:48

  Its easy to tell what should be the best.
  
  Ignore the multi quad core and price for now. If you need to run an antivirus programme while playing a game most probably having 2 or more physical cores will be better and smoother for the computer run.
  
  To play a game just look at the processor speed. Now with Intel going the 'old' AMD road, its even easier to make a comparison.
  
  The AMD FX extreme (Fx-74) has the fastest processor speed of 3.0Ghz. The latest from Intel Core 2 extreme has one (6800) running 2.93Ghz. Of course you can compare the 2 model's prices but it always involves larger cache and multi cores that makes one more costly over the other.
• SoulDivine

  11 Mar 07, 13:29

  This post is about Intel chipsets.
  
  For desktop computer using Intel processor, it is very common to use mainoards that are equipped with Intel chipsets although the mainboard is not necessary manufactured by Intel. In Singapore, people generally do not buy Intel mainboards for D.I.Y. computers as brands such as MSI, Asus, Gigabyte have better mainboards with extra features like dynamic over-clocking, dual bios, integrated wifi e.t.c. Corporate computers usually uses Intel mainboards as they are cheaper and employees do not need all those extra features for work.
  
  Comparing Intel Chipsets Q965, P965, G965, X975. http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/showchart.aspx?mmID=23515,22754,999999,143&familyID=10&culture=en-US
  
  For gaming desktop, always choose the one without Integrated Graphics since you are not going to use that feature. Integrated graphics uses CPU processing power and main memory, thus lowering down gaming performance.
  
  Thus Q965 and G965 are out.
  
  Choosing between P965 and X975.
  
  If you are buying Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor, choose X975.
  
  Else choose P965 for Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor.
  
  
• SoulDivine

  11 Mar 07, 14:19

  This post is about PCI Express for graphics.
  
  Why PCI Express Architecture for Graphics.
  http://www.intel.com/technology/pciexpress/devnet/docs/pciexpressgraphics1.pdf
  
  If you are confuse about whether to install one or two PCI-Express GPU for your new system. Just choose to install ONE.
  
  For single GPU system, it does not matter if the mainboard supports ATI Crossfire or Nvidia SLI technology or not. It will work as long as it supports/has a PCI-E (X16) interface. Only when you are planning to install two GPUs, then you will need to check whether the mainboard support those multiple GPU technologies.
  
  If you are going for Dual GPUs system, make sure your mainboard AND GPUs supports either ATI Crossfire or Nvidia SLI. Common sense will tell you that for ATI CrossFire, buy ATI GPUs and for Nvidia SLI, buy Nvidia GPUs. However, keep in mind that GPUs consume significant electrical power and two GPUs means it will consume double the power and generate double the heat. Thus more headache especially if your PSU cannot supply enough power.
  
  Why choose Dual GPUs?
  It combines the processing power of two GPUs to double the graphics performance. You can buy a pair lower price GPUs, combine their performance and still out-perform a single expensive high-end GPU.
  
  About Nvidia SLI:
  http://www.slizone.com/page/slizone_learn.html
  
  About ATI CrossFire:
  http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/index.html