As i continue my search to build a good stable gaming computer i realized i dont know what the 'numbers' mean. I really dont know what to look for when it comes to hardware. So my question is, what makes a video card better than the other? OR a motherboard better than the other, RAM, CPU etc... What numbers do i look at to determine which is good and not so good? Im looking to build a PC mainly for internet, listening/burning music and burning DVDs. Im looking to play 95% sports games such as mvpbaseball, madden and nbalive. So nothing like doom and HL. I possibly might get into overclocking. I already asked for suggestions on another thread on what hardware to buy so i have an idea. I just think i might be getting a little too much in the high end range for what im really looking for. have searched for reviews all over, and i know what is the best. But i dont know if i need the best. Thats why i need to know what to look for. I dont know what specifications to look for, and what determines what is better than another. Example: When im looking for memory. What is more important as far as what im looking for in the system i want to build? For "CAS latency" some have 2.5, some have 3. Some have PC 3200, some have PC 2100. Some have 2.5V, some have 2.6V. What is "CAS latency" What is PC 3200, PC 2100. Does 2.5V or 2.6V make a difference? Is it better to have more or less? I guess i just need to know what to look for in the specs that will make my 95% medium gaming/ cd burning, internet system run stable and smooth. Im not too sure about the specifications in the hardware itself that determine if its good or not. I suppose i can just go buy the most expensive one, to me that would mean it has to be good. But do i need the most expensive one is what im getting at. Thanks! :good:
hi m8 heres a brief outline of what i think Processor = the bigger the number is in GHZ (gigahertzh) the faster it will go Processor fsb = is the clock speed of the processor the igher tih sis the faster the pc will b Gfx = ive always prefared nvidea over ati but that personel preferance, u need one with a lot of memory, pci express is apperently better than agp so go with a motherboard with that on Latency = memory timings the lower the better Mobo = i like the look of the abit fatality for gaming but again make sure that it can supprot the fsb of your processor and ram to get the full out of them. Ram = ocz, corsair are a couple of good makes the bigger 512MB ,1Gb, 2GB the better the faster fsb the better. Intel or amd - i think every one on this forum would go 4 Amd as there better but again up 2 u Hope this helped m8, if ya wnt ne mre help post back. Dave :good:
A good buyers guide can be found at http://www.pcmech.com/buyguide/ If you've got a few weeks to spare then http://www.infosyssec.net/infosyssec/comphard.htm has an enormous and detailed hardware tutorial.
If you give us an idea of what kind of budget you are on. As you've already stated, you won't need a powerhouse, but games like HL2 and D3 will run on the middle end hardware - my graphics card, which was one of the best last year, is dominated by the new cards, but I can still play everything I through at it. So, at this moment in time, consider an athlon 64, with a socket 939 - they may seem a little more expensive, but when you consider the sheer power the hardware gives you, it's worth it. Plus 939 will be around for a while - good for future upgrades. You can pick up a 9800PRO for around 90 quid nowadays, and it will take anything out there at the moment and play it smoothly. I paid £170 for it last year, so a massive saving! So, let us know your budget and we can help give you a rough idea of what to consider getting for your cash!
sports games these days aren't that much demanding as shooters, so i bet a gpu from the 9600XT to now will last you a good year or two, but id recommend at least a 6600GT the processor is best to get a socket 939 to ensure yourself good speed, and future upgrading possibilities -and for overclocking, if you want a 939 beast get a venice core which is alot more stable compared to the others at oc speeds memory, id recommend a gigabyte, and corsairs value select is pretty good, i got a gig for 79 dollars, don't mind cas that much unless you're willing to get the best system out there, idk in my opinion its a waste, jus bes sure to get dual channel or if you're not getting dual, make sure it has a T1 command rate for the best speed (btw if you're overclocking your cpu you're gonna have to overclock your memory) the voltage is to increase if you need more power to further overclock or stabilize your memory, but if you are new to overclocking i recommend that you keep away from this and just keep watch on the temperatures for now. over 50-60 in my opinion is overheating. Hard Drives you can just get SATA or SATA 2 (they are pretty cheap for 80gig ones) mobo/cpu fsb - the higher the better to use full potential of your cpu btw whats your team?
thanks alot for all your suggestions, You guys answered what i was looking for. I HAD a 9800pro and it died on me after 3 months. I dont know if my power supply(250w) wasnt enough. I was using a 250w power supply for the first 2 1/2 months( i know idiot noobs lol) never had a prob, then the past 2 weeks my cpu started crashing when in a game. I started noticing sounds from the 9800 fan thats on the card, sounded like it was caught on a wire or something. I went and bought a 350w power supply from antec, still crashed. So, i then took off the side case and stuck a regular old desk fan blowing on the card. It worked good all day till that night it died finally. Couldnt get any feed to my monitor. I switched back to my old geforce 4mx card and it worked fine. Is it possible i killed it with the 250w? Did it damage it? Sooo, currently the 9800pro is in route back to ATI where hopefully they will still warrant it. We'll see. My only saving grace is maybe the fan died and it made the card overheat. I love that card :swear: . Only prob is its AGP. My old geforce 4mx compared to the 9800pro is horrendously bad. I had to go out and buy a geforce fx5500(which is doing the job) just to tide me over till i get a word on my 9800. Thanks again fellas.
250W is't enough for a 9800pro system. The PSU probably couldn't supply enough amps to the card and damaged it. Get a new PSU from Antec, Thermaltake or anyother major brand.
