| Gamer's Revenge Part II
by Dave Pascoe |
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The Part's List The gist of this essay is not to suggest what parts to buy. Besides, everyone has different ideas about that, so I'll leave it to you to make your own decisions on that score. Here's what I chose:
The single mistake I made was the 18 gb hard drive. Today's boards really only support 13 GB drives, so I found myself the victim of a software installation scheme for overly large drives. Besides, what the heck do I need 18 gigs for? Drives loaded up with stuff just slow your system down. Aggravated APIs I also went with a D3D card because I'm tired of all these inane and infantile arguments about which API is better. I've tried them all and I can't see a bit of difference. If I can't see it, I don't care about it. I had the SoundBlaster AWE64Gold before and it was a nightmare. My motto: simpler and smaller is better. The SoundBlaster Live doesn't clutter my hard drive with another 100 Meg of gobbledy-gook. I can't play the piano or guitar, though Live does have a guitar. What it doesn't have are game stoppers, so I like that. Had it not been for the software support for the hard drive, which I was attempting to install late at night, I probably would have got the system booted up without a hitch. The problem was mine, not the equipment manufacturers. Ultimately, this project turned out to be so easy that I was bowled over that from three o'clock on one afternoon, until eleven AM the next morning, I had my new machine up and running. Tips: Do's and Don'ts The more time you spend researching compatibility issues, the less time you'll spend troubleshooting. If you take advice on components, do as much cross checking as possible to ensure that your patron isn't prejudiced on his own equipment for illogical reasons. Gamers tend to have irrational regard for that which they own. Better still, get the advice of two people and cross check the differences and reasons for them. |
 Don't go out on a limb just for low prices. Make sure there isn't a good reason for a bargain price (like low quality, outdated parts etc.) Don't purchase components sold as "bare." That means without a manual, the box, anything. The few dollars you may save is not worth the potential hassles. Conversely, don't be fooled into thinking that the fastest and most expensive components will yield the fastest machine. That's not true if your parts are not compatible, or you don't know how (or are unwilling to learn) to tune your system. Spending the most money will not ncessarily yield you the greatest speed. The Main Event The area to study most before you buy is motherboard architecture. There is quite a difference in speed and versatility of mainboards, the BIOS, and the way your other components will function. Are you willing to dive into BIOS issues, or do you want a mainly automatic BIOS? The most versatile BIOS are generally the better bet since they have both default (automatic) settings and user assignable, so that you can get into this issue later if necessary. You will not, of course, buy a mobo with on board sound. There are loads of web sites containing all the information you'll ever need to build your own. Take the time to find, bookmark and read them. The better boards do have jumpers, but don't let this scare you. Boards like the ASUS P2B-F come with very good set-up manuals. Make sure any board you select has a good manual. This can usually be discovered in reviews. I had never done a build before, but I read the manual and did mine in two hours, including quadruple checking of the settings (I was scared to death the thing would go up in smoke the moment I turned it on. I had visions of smoke and melted plastic running out the bottom of the machine, while my wife pointed her finger at me and said, "I told you so, you fool!") Go to Part III
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