Opinion

Building a Gaming Rig – Part 1

October 22, 2004

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/cover.jpg[/img][/center]

The world of PC gaming can be a slippery slope and often has a much higher cost associated with it than its console counterpart. One of the often overlooked aspects of PC gaming is the pride and joy that comes with building your own machine. With a little bit of time and hard work you can build a PC that will run all the newest games with silky perfection and have the power of a top fuel dragster under the hood. The world of custom modded PCs has also taken off and created a flood of products to help the average person create a slick looking machine without too much work.

Like the chassis of a car, the foundation of any well built PC is the case (and the power supply, but I will address that in a moment). Computer cases come in all shapes and sizes with pricetags of an equally dynamic range. You have no doubt seen the $30 cases that your local small time computer shop sells and you have probably seen the top of the line aluminum Lian-Li or CoolerMaster cases that grace the covers of the PC magazines. Choosing the case that is right for you is an important step in the planning process and I think it goes without saying that planning your build requires a lot more time and patience than the actual assembly of the machine.

There are a few key factors to keep in mind when selecting a case. First of all, how well is it built? You can typically judge the quality of a case just by holding it. If it is lightweight and doesn’t seem very sturdy then it would probably work, but I wouldn’t go down that road. Remember, a 1976 Pinto will get you from point A to B, but it won’t be the best or safest way to make that trip. I would also recommend checking for rounded edges inside the case. This may not make a whole lot of sense to you at this point but the first time you take a chunk out of your hand or finger because you rammed it into a sharp case edge, you will wonder why you didn’t pay more attention when selecting a case. I would also just give a brief look at the thermal capabilities of the case. Make sure there is plenty of room to mount case fans should you need them. My computer is overkill and sounds like a jet engine, but there are cases were you may need additional cooling such as if you attempt to overclock your CPU or GPU. A few additional items to look for are removable drive cages, the use of drive rails to mount optical drives, removable motherboard trays, and the number of bays to mount drives.

With the functional items of the case addressed you can move on to aesthetics. The look of your case can be as wild and crazy or as bland as you like. I recommend finding a high quality brand of cases and selecting one that appeals to you. This is not to say that off brand cases are bad, but you typically won’t get all the same features of a name brand case. I typically stick with [url=http://www.directron.com/antec.html]Antec cases[/url] as they offer high quality at a good price point. If you are building a very high end system them I would recommend you take a look at [url=http://www.directron.com/lianli.html]Lian-Li[/url] and [url=http://www.directron.com/coolermaster.html]CoolerMaster[/url]. [url=http://www.directron.com]Directron.com[/url] is where I buy all my cases. They are located in Houston so it cuts down on shipping cost and time. They will also do an upgrade on the power supply and let you choose from any one they have in stock. This really is a life saver since it doesn’t make sense to purchase a computer with a power supply and turn around and buy a much larger one. Instead, you get only the power supply you want for the additional cost. I typically recommend getting a 400 watt power supply or higher to prevent having to upgrade that in the future.

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/mycase.jpg[/img]
[b]Pictures of my 1080AMG with the optional side panel. The side panel comes stock on the Plus View 1000AMG, but that typically doesn’t come with a power supply.[/b][/center]

With the foundation picked out, it is time to start picking components. Picking what motherboard and cpu you plan to use is probably the most confusing and daunting situation you will face in building this machine followed closely by the video card. There are really 2 routes you can go right now and I would venture to say that with the release of the Athlon64, the smart way is to go with AMD. This is not to discredit Intel in anyway because they have really pushed the limit in terms of raw clock speed but I think AMD played a smarter hand in going for the 64 bit and dual core concepts. AMD is not without its flaws right now though. They introduced the 64 bit cpus on a socket 754 form factor and quickly made it known that socket 754 would be short lived. The replacement which is already out is socket 939. While the cost effective route may be to scoop up some “outdated” (the 754 stuff runs at equal speeds to the 939 stuff right now) socket 754 gear and know that a full overhaul is in your future, I would recommend going for the more bulletproof solution of the socket 939 setup. This is my personal preference and you may find that a socket 754 setup fits your budget better than going with 939 gear. I will leave that up to you but I am only going to cover the 939 stuff here.

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/a64-3000.jpg[/img]
[b]The Athlon 64 3000+[/b][/center]

The obvious next question is “Ok Cone, which motherboard and cpu do I get?” and the answer to that is simple. I have recently decided that I prefer Abit motherboards over Asus. Asus has been nothing but great to me in the past but I feel the quality of Abit’s products make them a no brainer for me. You can safely go with either brand and have my blessing. I have nothing against brands like MSI and Chaintech as they make great boards, but I would rather spend an extra $20 and know that my setup is rock solid. That will be your call and considering that [url=http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2128&p=19]Anandtech[/url] actually ranked the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum board ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-130-468&depa=1]Newegg – $131[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=241143]ZipZoomFly – $129.99[/url]) above the Abit and Asus boards it is worth a look. With that being said I would go with the Abit AV8 KT800 Pro which is retailing right now for about $111 at [url=http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-181&depa=1]Newegg[/url] and $118.50 at [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240140]ZipZoomFly[/url]. For a cpu you have a ton of options and they pretty much all relate back to your budget. Your low end chip will be the Athlon 64 3000+ running at 1.8GHz with a 512KB cache ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-499&depa=1]Newegg – $215 OEM[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80699-2]ZipZoomFly – $180 Retail[/url]). The difference between OEM and Retail is that an OEM CPU probably has a 30 day warranty and does not come with a Heatsink or Fan. Retail CPUs come with a 3 year warranty and a Heatsink. I typically prefer going with retail chips for that reason. In this case ZipZoomFly seems to have Newegg beat on price and is offering retail versus OEM. Sounds like a winner to me.

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/av8.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/k8n.jpg[/img]
[b]The Abit AV8 KT800 Pro(top) and the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum(bottom)[/b][/center]

If you have decided that being on a budget is not for you and you want bleeding edge AMD then here ya go. Pick yourself up an Abit AV8 or even the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum that I mentioned before and mate it with an AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-459&depa=1]Newegg – $826 Retail[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80714-R]ZipZoomFly – $822 Retail[/url]) which delivers you 2.4GHz and a full 1MB L2 Cache. There is also an FX-55 ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-492&depa=1]Newegg – $869 OEM[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80723-R]ZipZoomFly – $890 Retail[/url] that runs 2.6GHz also with the 1MB L2 Cache. This is bleeding edge stuff and will cost you a pretty penny.

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/a64-fx53.jpg[/img][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/a64-fx55.jpg[/img]
[b]The Athlon 64 FX-53(left) and the Athlon64 FX-55(right)[/b][/center]

If you prefer Intel based systems and decide to go that route then here are my recommendations for you. For the budget conscious Intel shopper, pick up an Abit AG8 i915P socket 775 motherboard ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-182&depa=1]Newegg – $129[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240142]ZipZoomFly – $119[/url]) and a Pentium 4 520 ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-185&depa=1]Newegg – $162 Retail[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80800]ZipZoomFly – $160 Retail[/url]). The P4 520 runs at 2.8GHz on an 800MHz FSB with a 1MB L2 Cache and also sports hyperthreading. Hyperthreading is a technology that allows a single CPU system to emulate a dual processor setup. It is quite neat and you can read about it [url=http://www.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/]here[/url]. For the bleeding edge Intel fans you will want an Asus P5AD2 Premium motherboard ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-505&depa=1]Newegg – $261[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=240335]ZipZoomFly – $258[/url]) which sports the new 925X chipset which is running about $261 right now. For CPU you can opt for the P4 560 ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-181&depa=1]Newegg – $475 Retail[/url], [url=http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80811]ZipZoomFly – $448 Retail[/url]) which is the 3.6GHz version of the chip I just mentioned or you can get crazy and buy a P4 3.4GHz Extreme Edition ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-187&depa=1]Newegg – $1,019 Retail[/url]). The 3.4 EE is based on the same core as the other 2 CPUs with an 800MHz FSB but it halves the L2 Cache to 512K and has a massive 2MB L3 cache. The EE would be strictly reserved for someone building a very high end system.

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/ag8.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/p5ad2.jpg[/img]
[b]The Abit AG8 i915P(top) and the Asus P5AD2 Premium(bottom)[/b][/center]

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/p4.jpg[/img][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/p432ee.jpg[/img]
[b]The Pentium 4 520/560(left) and the Pentium 4 3.4GHz EE(right)[/b][/center]

Memory is another important area that can severely affect system performance. Selecting the proper memory is a crucial step in having a rock solid system. For you budget builders I would suggest picking up 2 512MB sticks of the Mushkin PC3200 memory. The timing on this ram is 2.5-3-3. You can expect to drop about $173 shipped for the Mushkin solution ([url=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-299&depa=1]Newegg – $173 Retail[/url]). Your alternative should you choose to step it up in the memory department would be the [url=http://www.crucial.com/ballistix/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=BL6464Z402&cat=]Crucial Ballistix PC3200[/url]. The Ballistix packs a 2-3-2-6 timing and will only set you back about $131 per stick bringing your memory total to about $262. For the high end builders I would also suggest the Ballistix PC3200 memory. As a high end alternative you can also go with OCZ’s [url=http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_el_ddr_pc_3200_dual_channel_platinum_rev_2]Dual Channel Platinum PC3200 Rev2[/url] that sports 2-2-2 timings. The OCZ solution can be had for about $285 from [url=http://www.directron.com/4001geldcper2k.html]Directron[/url].

[center][img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/ballistix.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/features/gamingrigpart1/oczrev2.jpg[/img]
[b]The Crucial Ballistix PC3200(top) and the Dual Channel Platinum PC3200 Rev2(bottom)[/b][/center]

That should do it for selecting the foundation and the main components of your gaming system. Part 2 of this series will address the additional internal components you should be using in your system and should be up shortly.

[i]Pricing is current as of 10/22/2004 @ 3:30pm CST[/i]

The Video Game Revolution

September 9, 2004

Features / Opinion / by Chris Rasco /

Last night while lying down with my son I was scanning the channel guide on our TV and a show on our local PBS affiliate caught my eye. The show was called [url=http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/]The Video Game Revolution[/url] and it had just started so I tuned in. I expected to see an hour long special on the negative effects of video games and how they are a detriment to our society, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a very well made show that touched on the issues that the mainstream media latches on to, but it didn’t dwell on the negatives.

The host of the show who also happens to be the writer and producer is a man named Greg Palmer. He is an Emmy award winning writer, filmmaker, and broadcaster and he did a stellar job covering a topic that seems to be the current whipping boy of media outlets everywhere.

While the discussion of violence in video games did have a small segment, I was taken aback at what was said. The people being interviewed were from [url=http://www.mavia.org]Mothers Against Violence in America[/url] (MAVIA) as well as other prominent figureheads in the gaming world. While the spokeswoman from MAVIA all but blamed games for the recent violence at hand, the general consensus among the other interviewees was that there was no evidence to suggest that gaming turned people into violent monsters. Instead, they suggested that gaming seemed to reinforce ideas and values that were already present in a person. Someone who is completely violent and deranged may be set off by a violent gaming experience but someone who has no violent tendencies will not become the next mass murderer from playing a few rounds of Unreal or Doom. For once I felt like our industry was accurately represented with facts instead of the skewed research that is often presented by flashy lawyers trying to rake in big settlements on the backs of developers and publishers.

Another topic they discussed were MMOs and Everquest and the ramifications of games such as those. Obviously it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that people with a tendency towards addiction or obsession will latch onto these virtual worlds that are created in MMOs and that can be detrimental to some people’s well being.

Another hot item was the idea of the US Government using tax dollars to develop things like America’s Army which some people felt like was a recruitment tool for the military. My take is that they waste our tax dollars on useless things year after year, at least we got a pair of good free games out of it this year. I know that is a poor attitude to have, but you know it is true.

There was also a highly entertaining part where they discussed “computer camps”. Kids go to these summer caps that teach basic programming and game development skills. The games they play and design are non-violent and while I got the impression that violent games were taboo at the camp they showed, it was nice to see the number of younger kids getting into the industry at such a young age. I was also surprised to see that many young women. It was funny to see how they handled kids that didn’t see to want to stop playing “violent” games such as “Teen Titans”, whatever that is.

The cast of people being interviewed was also quite impressive. Jason Rubin from Naughty Dog, Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, Will Wright, Seamus Blackley, and Tim Moss from SCEA all made appearances.

My applause goes out to Mr. Palmer for a job well done. While it would be very hard to comment on the full hour of commercial free content, I touched on a few hot topics that come up in our industry regularly. I highly encourage you to check your [url=http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/airdates.html]local PBS listings[/url] to see the next airing for the show. You can even contact KCTS in Seattle to [url=http://gallery.bcentral.com/GID4271017DD410328-History-Biography/Video-Game.aspx]purchase a DVD or VHS[/url] copy of the show.

If you happen to read this prior to 2pm ET today, there will be a chat with Mr. Palmer. You can submit questions prior to the chat so you have a better chance of them being answered. Details about the chat can be found [url=http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/sp_pbs_palmer090904.htm]here[/url].

Xtreme Gaming

September 3, 2004

Features / Opinion / by Marco Ortega /

Almost a year ago, Pickle invited me to check out a LAN CafA

Hi Gaming, Meet Baby

August 20, 2004

Features / Opinion / by Lauren Rasco /

As most of you know by now, Cone and I have added a child to our household. Our son is the reason that I have been MIA on the website and my reviews and articles are few and far between. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love being a mom more than anything, more than gaming even. But this is not an article about being a mom and how wonderful it is, after all this is a gaming website you are going to. This is the article that I have been meaning to write since we brought Ethan home from the hospital. This is the article about when gaming met the baby.

Let me give you a quick history of our gaming life…once upon a time there was a married couple that spent a lot (I mean a lot) of time sitting in front of the TV with a controller in their hands. They would sometimes spend entire Saturdays playing through Halo for the 900th time. They would spend hours upon hours on Ratchet and Clank or any other game they were into at the time. Then Dots got pregnant and Dots had a baby. Our lives were taken by storm by the new bundle of joy. Mesmerized by every move and cry we spent all of our time loving and caring for our child. Soon, we noticed that the Xboxes were putting personals online and that the Gamecube and PS2 were volunteering to spend time with relatives. The Gamecube had a lengthy visit with my sister. We decided it was about time to pick up our controllers and give playing a try again. Once we swept the cobwebs away, we were good to go; or so we thought.

Let me tell you a little known fact about babies: they know when you are doing something other than devoting 100% of your attention to them. We couldn’t get two minutes in of game time before we had to put the control down and tend to baby. So, we gave up. Well, I did anyway. I came to resolution that Cone would have to be the gamer in the family now and I would just have to sit and watch. But Cone felt bad, so Cone didn’t game. Then before you knew it the consoles were holding picket signs up demanding to be played. As time went on we realized that we had to make time for gaming, we were part of a gaming website. Plus, Cone was being to have convulsions of the thumb from gaming withdrawals. So, we tried again, this time with a new method.

Cone would play for a while and then he would take the baby. Then I would play for a while and then take the baby back. You’re all smart people, you get the idea. This was all fine for a while. Let me tell you another fact about babies: they grow up and want you to play with them really fast. Soon one of us holding him was not good enough. He needed to know what the other parent was doing while he was being held. We invested in some entertainment for him to try and ease his boredom. Sixty dollars and one Fisher Price Jumperoo later we had found our own personal savior. I keep meaning to write Fisher Price a letter and thank them for the wonderful invention that is the Jumperoo, but I just haven’t found the time. Our son will jump for hours at a time completely content. Okay, I exaggerate; he jumps for 20-30 minutes at a time with total contentment. But still…a half of an hour is better than none of an hour. Do the math! All was well in our gaming world once again.

Then the baby grew some more. Now he doesn’t want to sit in his Jumperoo for even 20 minutes. He is trying to crawl. He scoots around on the floor, but has to be rescued (a lot) from the licks of our loving, dear, sweet, totally psycho hyper active, bounce off the walls dog, Molly. So gaming while he is on the floor is not an option. What are two parents to do? The Halo edition Xbox is threatening to take the cat hostage if we don’t act fast. I am going to tell you another fact about babies: when they get to the point where they are sleeping through the night, they get strapped with a little thing called a bedtime. The bedtime! What a life saver this is. I used to hate having a bedtime growing up. I used to fight tooth and nail going to sleep forcing my mother to lay in bed with me, bring me water, tell me stories, etc. Now, as a parent, I totally, 100% understand why God invented bedtimes. I never like it when my mom would tell me A

Piracy of Doom

August 4, 2004

Features / Opinion / by Chris Rasco /

With the release of Doom 3 this week I have seen an increase of discussions of piracy in the gaming industry. The figures I ran across seem to imply that id and Activision will lose approximately $20 Million to piracy of this single game and I believe it. Much of that can probably be directly attributed to the thousands of people downloading the leaked version the weekend before the release of the game. I am an avid reader of HardOCP and this week they directed my attention to an article on the website 3DGPU addressing the very issue of piracy in our industry. While the author made it clear he didn’t support piracy, he approached the issue with a sort of sympathy for people that pirate because they can’t afford games. That may or may not have been his intention, but it ignited a spark inside that is caused me to address the issue so here we go.

I don’t believe that anyone can present a valid argument for stating that piracy is ok. Can people justify it to themselves? Sure, but there is no denying that it is a scourge to our industry. As I peruse the headlines over on Gamespot, companies like Atari, Konami, Vivendi, and THQ are reporting lower than expected sales and a decline of income while others like Acclaim are facing a delisting on the Nasdaq for their stock price being too low. While I know that it is not all due to piracy and in fact much of it can be attributed to companies putting out terrible games just as fast as they can, I do know that piracy hurts the industry we claim to love.

Video games are one of my fondest pastimes and to see things start to decline makes me sick. The worst part is that we as a whole are only aiding the decline. The 3DGPU article touched on the fact that games are too expensive and generally I would agree. I don’t like paying $50 for a brand new game or even $55 for some newer ones, but that is the price that the market bears. He also touched on the fact that many people that pirate often times can’t afford the games that are coming out. To that I say so what? Because you cannot afford something doesn’t mean you should be able to obtain it though other methods. I realize this is a stretch because electronic data can be reproduced without cost, but you can draw a parallel to any other retail good. I can’t afford to purchase a brand new Corvette, but that doesn’t give me the right to go take one. Unlike a Corvette, the games probably do have higher prices to compensate for the cost of piracy. I know that the cost for many pieces of software have a huge markup so that the company breaks even. So next time you whine about the price, why don’t you think twice before pirating that next great game. The bottom line is that there are a whole lot of people who put thousands of hours into developing these games and it just plain isn’t right to steal them because you can’t afford them.

There was also mention that many people like to try the games out before buying them and they like to tell themselves that they will buy the game after they decide. Yeah right. Why pay for something after you already have it for free. It doesn’t make sense. My take on this is pretty simple. Most pc games have a demo released that allows you to try the game out. If the demo is good, you buy the game and don’t enjoy it then maybe you need to be a little more reserved and less compulsive with your purchases. You are not able to return opened PC games because a select few people abused the system and took advantage of it. Face it; it isn’t the developer’s fault that you didn’t enjoy the game. They gave you a perfect chance to try it out free of charge. Even better, why not go to a local gaming cafA

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