PC Gaming Video: Meeting the Demands

If you have an interest in playing PC games that were made at least in the past couple of years, you've probably seen the serious video demands these games now have. It's not only that you need a fast system that can handle all of the information in today's games, but you need a major performance video card to handle computer game video too.

For some weird reason, the video demands of these games have far surpassed everything else. If you're even looking at the idea of playing today's PC games, you probably have no interest in turning down the resolution and graphics quality in the game so you can play it on an okay system. If you want to play these games the way they were intended, you'll need some serious computer game video processing power.

Other parts of the game, like sound and hard drive space aren't really a concern anymore because most people's hard drives are getting bigger, (or they run the game off a DVD) and most PC sound cards seem to be all about on the same level. It seems the average is 5.1 channels anyway.

But the problem starts when you go look at the types of cards out there to choose from, the kind of card that you can even get comes down to how your PC was built from the beginning.

PCI express is the new standard for PC video, but many hardware authorities are still saying that there aren't really any games or programs out there that use the super data transfer speeds that it has.

Of course, in time, this will change, so it really comes down to a short/long-term investment question: Do you want a machine that will tear up the high-end games for years to come, or upwards of the next year and a half? If you want to go with the former, you'll have to pay out a little. Also, if you want a PCI express card, you had to have either started with a motherboard with this kind of socket on it, or you have to look at swapping out your board.

Most people for now are still going to fit into the AGP 8X category. AGP has been used for years up until fairly recently, when systems all started coming with PCI express instead. You should make sure you get your hands on at least a good AGP 8X video card with lots of video memory (256 megs) and you won't know the difference.

The big feuding video card brands have been ATI and nVidia for some time now, although nVidia is now basically leasing out their GeForce chipsets to other manufacturers, like Chaintech. For a while, it's really been a toss-up as to which brand is better, the cheap level cards are going to all be the same across brands. According to recent reviews, however, ATI's newest top-level Radeon X800 series card is supposed to be better than nVidia's most recently released high-end card.

But rather than deal with the hassle of matching up video card socket types and worrying if what you've got will stay current, you might want to just go with one of the high-end system builders out there. Alienware is one of the most widely known ones; their systems are some of the fastest and most powerful on the market. Having your system already put together is one advantage, but Alienware tests different motherboard and video card combinations to find the optimal configuration for gaming.

By paying a little careful attention to brand names, video memory, price, and how they all fit together with your unique needs, you can get a system that can handle some serious computer game video for any game you throw its way.

Phil Moyers, owner of Build-Your-Own-Computer-Plan.com shows computer novices how to save a ton of money by putting together fast, high performance PC's of their own with handpicked, quality parts. Learn more about meeting computer game video demands.

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Google News Updated : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:55:22 GMT Obama "puzzled" by Iraq comment frenzy - Reuters Washington Post Obama "puzzled" by Iraq comment frenzy Reuters - 1 hour ago By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Saturday his plan to end the Iraq war was unchanged and he was puzzled by the sharp reaction to his statement this week that he ... Obama struggles to thread needle on Iraq AFP Obama Refines the Blame on Iraq Miscue New York Times International Herald Tribune - Voice of America - Washington Times - New York Daily News all 1,620 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:08:23 GMT McCain Battles a Nemesis, the Teleprompter - New York Times New York Times McCain Battles a Nemesis, the Teleprompter New York Times - 7 hours ago Mary Altaffer/AP By MARK LEIBOVICH LAS VEGAS —Senator John McCain was performing relatively smoothly as he unveiled his energy plan. McCain Campaign, in Relaunch, Seeks Tighter Message Focus Wall Street Journal McCain Campaign on Obama and Iraq FOXNews The Associated Press - Washington Post - Los Angeles Times - CNN all 737 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:31:52 GMT Analysis: McCain struggles to regain footing - The Associated Press The Associated Press Analysis: McCain struggles to regain footing The Associated Press - 2 hours ago WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain calls himself an underdog. That may be an understatement. The GOP presidential candidate trails Democrat Barack Obama in polls, organization and money while trying to succeed a deeply unpopular fellow Republican in a year ... Rural voters lean to the GOP St. Joseph News-Press Neither Obama nor McCain meets Energy Party standard The State New York Times - Online Athens - Washington Post - Newsweek all 465 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:40:55 GMT Hippie Arrests Draw ACLU’s Attention - New York Times ABC News Hippie Arrests Draw ACLU’s Attention New York Times - 6 hours ago By AP CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union said on Saturday that it would investigate the actions of federal officers who had arrested five members of the Rainbow Family in western Wyoming during the group’s annual gathering. ACLU plans to investigate Rainbow Family treatment The Associated Press ACLU to investigate Rainbow Family treatment LocalNews8.com WKOW-TV.com - Billings Gazette - cbs4denver.com - Austin American-Statesman all 306 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:40:38 GMT Ore. man completes flight of fancy _ in lawn chair - The Associated Press The Associated Press Ore. man completes flight of fancy _ in lawn chair The Associated Press - 1 hour ago CAMBRIDGE, Idaho (AP) - Using his trusty BB gun to help him return to Earth, a 48-year-old gas station owner flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert Saturday, landing in a field in Idaho. Video: Ore. Man Uses Balloons and a Lawn Chair to Fly AssociatedPress Believe it or not, he's lounging on air The Oregonian - OregonLive.com CNN International - BBC News - KOHD - San Jose Mercury News all 1,071 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:50:31 GMT Smallest planet shrinks in size - BBC News Canada.com Smallest planet shrinks in size BBC News - Jul 4, 2008 The smallest planet in the Solar System has become even smaller, studies by the Messenger spacecraft have shown. Data from a flyby of Mercury in January 2008 show the planet has contracted by more than one mile (1.5km) in diameter over its history. First Results From Messenger's Mercury Flyby Slashdot Mercury is shrinking, NASA craft finds; a cool clue: 'lobate scarps' Los Angeles Times eFluxMedia - Baltimore Sun - Examiner.com - ChattahBox all 155 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:45:26 GMT Argentine Lower House Passes Grain Export-Tax Plan (Update3) - Bloomberg Voice of America Argentine Lower House Passes Grain Export-Tax Plan (Update3) Bloomberg - 8 hours ago By Eliana Raszewski July 5 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina's lower house of congress approved the government's plan to increase taxes on exports of grains and oilseeds, risking a resumption of three months of strikes by farmers. Export Tax That Angers Farmers Advances in Argentina New York Times Argentina lawmakers approve farm export tax hike guardian.co.uk RTT News - BBC News - The Associated Press - AFP all 144 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:41:30 GMT Create Blog Display RSS Feeds on Your Website

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