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Choose the Best Gaming PC for your Needs

Computer game technology is a rapidly-increasing field. In terms of both hardware and software, companies are constantly striving to push the envelope and increase performance. As the intricacy of individual games increases, however, it becomes important to select a computer gaming system that will best fit your particular needs. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of gaming PCs available on the market. How, then, do you select the best gaming system? By answering several questions about your gaming and financial needs, you can determine which direction to turn in terms of a proper gaming system. What Kinds of Games do you Play? The specific types of games that you tend to play will help decide which hardware configurations will best meet your needs. All games are not created equal, and depending on the genre developers will devote more of their energy to different aspects of the title. Strategy and simulation games, for example, tend to be less graphically-intensive than other types of games and thus can be run on a less powerful gaming system. As a point of reference, the specifications for Civilization IV, a lush and detailed strategy game, are as follows: -1.8GHz Intel or AMD processor -512MB RAM -128MB video card Compared to many of the newer gaming computers on the market today, the demands for running Civilization IV are not all that high. As with many strategy and simulation games, a greater weight is placed on AI and game calculations rather than graphics, and raw hardware power becomes less important to run the title effectively. Conversely, first-person shooters (FPS) and action titles tend to rely more heavily on graphics and physics to create the proper ambiance and environment. As such, the system requirements for these types of games are usually significantly higher than other genres. Titles like Half-Life 2 and Quake 4 bombard the player with graphically intensive scenes, and the physics of the game are precisely calculated to create the most realistic scenarios possible. In contrast to the specifications listed above, the recommended system configuration for F.E.A.R., one of the more advanced FPS titles in terms of graphics prowess, are as follows: -3.0 Pentium 4 or equivalent processor -1GB RAM -256MB video card Although F.E.A.R. and Civilization IV released at roughly the same time last year, the recommended system requirements for the former are nearly double those of the latter. This is often the case with FPS titles; because developers largely intend these games to be "showcase" pieces of a particular technology or graphics engine, a more powerful gaming computer is usually required to run them in their full graphical glory. The graphic rendering takes enough resources, but when you figure in the requirements for precise real-time physics calculations, these get bumped up even further. As you can see, the types of computer games that you play invariably affect the hardware that you should purchase. Must you have the Best Graphics? Genre alone is not the sole deciding factor in determining which gaming PC to purchase, however. Many titles, including such showcase pieces as Half-Life 2 and Doom 3, provide the player with the option of scaling back the graphical effects in order to run the game smoothly on a less-powerful system. While FPS and other games often require a behemoth of a system in order to run with all graphical effects turned on, they will generally run adequately on older rigs. If you can live without such taxing effects as particle shading and frame rates in the hundreds, chances are that you can spend less on a gaming computer and still be able to play the latest games. What's more, in many cases game developers and players will discover ways to make a game run more smoothly and stably shortly after it releases. It is generally expected that, in the rush to hit the marketplace, many games are not truly "finished"; that is to say, the code behind them could stand to be optimized slightly more. Therefore, developers and publishers will usually releases patches or updates in order to fix certain technical problems. In the case of F.E.A.R., many players reported shortly after its release that the frame rate would often drop down to unplayable levels mid-game, chugging along even on powerful gaming systems. Once the game was patched, however, this shortcoming was largely rectified. Similarly, avid players or members of a gaming community will often find ways to improve a game's performance on their own through hacks or tweaks. When this happens, their findings are usually released online in short order, and a game that might have taxed your gaming computer beyond its capabilities may suddenly become playable. Again, it's not always necessary to have the absolute best hardware in order to play the latest games. How Much do you Plan on Spending? Naturally, all of this technology comes at a price. As the adage goes, you have to pay in order to play. Everybody aspires to one day own an ultimate gaming computer; the specifications are mind-boggling, and there is no shortage of companies offering monster gaming rigs. However, the cost of owning one of these machines is often prohibitive. Keep in mind that the newest and most powerful video cards tend to hit the market at the $500 price point. Additionally, the most powerful processors can be priced at $1000 or more. When you design a system around these top-level components--a system that can take the latest game releases, chew them up, and spit them out--you can expect the cost of it to soar. It's not unheard of to see dedicated gaming PCs priced at $4000 or more for the tower only. Obviously, the first two questions influence the third quite a bit. If you don't play many graphically-intensive games, or if you are willing to live with slightly degraded in-game graphics, it is simply not necessary to spend that kind of money on a gaming system. There are plenty of computer companies that have in their lineups midrange setups that are perfectly capable of playing the majority of games on the market today--and at a significantly reduced price. Don't despair if you can't afford the latest and most powerful computer technology; while economic means may be the most influential of all deciding factors, it won't necessarily prohibit you from playing the games that you want.

Choose the Best Gaming PC for your Needs

Computer game technology is a rapidly-increasing field. In terms of both hardware and software, companies are constantly striving to push th...

Captain Your Own Computer Technology Needs

Today, you too can become an efficient personal computer user. Looking every time for tech help for your computer-related needs is no more a smart thing for you to do. Today it is you who should make first initiative. You can manage your personal computer according to your requirements by knowing more about practical tips from computer technology experts. You can look for online sources such as computer forums where you can find useful interaction with computer technology experts giving tech help advices for PC users like you.According to tech help experts, one simple thing that all personal computer users should do is to keep their PC clean. Now to be in charge, you want to carry this activity by yourself. This is quite easy and hassle free. By taking a side panel of and using a can of compressed air or air compressor, you can blow the dust out. Apply this computer help tip before stopping the fans from moving in your CPU and paying special attention to the CPU, heat sink, the video card, the front case fan, and the power supply. This will increase the reliability of your PC and save it from many hardware-related hurdles. This useful tip from a Microsoft Certified tech help expert in a computer forum is perhaps not hard for a first time PC user to follow. According to computer technology experts, you should carry out this simple activity once in 3 months. This is not that inconvenient either!You need to groom your PC skills in association with other visitors and tech experts in online information technology forums,as well as your own personal online computer support service provider.You should try to make full use of free learning online tools such as online computer forums.These forums are most suited for you as a personal computer user to seek practical tips on better use of computer.It will be an important refresher for you while on work. You will come to know about latest trends in computer technology through such free online information technology tools.When faced with multiple choices and you have to select one out of many, do take personalized services of your own computer technology expert.Today, you no more go to a computer repair shop or arrange an appointment with a tech expert. Today, you take such consultation by having an online technical support provider. Their experts will help you in what will be best for you as a personal computer user.These services are today outsourced online and are cheap. As a result, you groom yourself not taking any risks which may cause you or your business any loss in terms of wrong tips from any sources.You wanted to be expert for your practical needs.You need to move in a practical way.Now, serious practical-minded computer users like to visit online computer forums for serious practical computer-related ideas and are captain of their computer use. Whenever they face any computer issue users consult their online tech help experts.You too need to be in captain's seat while managing computer technology for your practical needs. Like a good captain, you should know where and whom to look for efficient running of your team.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Techmud is one of those rare <a href="http://www.techmud.com/" target="_new">computer forums</a> which focus more on <a href="http://www.techmud.com/" target="_new">computer technology</a> and computer problem rather than jargon. The bulletin board of Techmud is a storehouse of information about computer technology.

Captain Your Own Computer Technology Needs

Today, you too can become an efficient personal computer user. Looking every time for tech help for your computer-related needs is no mor...

Gary Marshall: Nokia needs to fix Symbian or dump it

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Mobile%20phones/Nokia/C6/pr/nokia_C6_front_flip_white_4x3-200-200.jpg"> Back in September, we reported that Sony Ericsson and Samsung were dumping the Symbian operating system in favour of Android. "Symbian isn't dead," <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/why-nokia-now-needs-to-embrace-android-719679">we said</A>, "but it's gone a funny grey colour." That grey colour's gone even funnier today, because Nokia's <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/nokia-takes-over-symbian-development-906533">grabbing Symbian back</A> from the Symbian Foundation. So is the firm about to invest yet more time in flogging a horse that's only good for glue, or is it up to something more interesting? I hope it's the latter. The demise of the Symbian foundation is no surprise. With key partners deserting, Nokia was the only big phone firm left - so having an extra layer of bureaucracy between Nokia and Symbian doesn't make sense. Retaking control means that Nokia can do what's needed and send Symbian to boot camp. Symbian is well liked by developers and powers all kinds of feature phones, but it isn't getting punters excited in the smartphone arena. In that respect it's rather like the now-defunct Windows Mobile, and if Nokia wants Symbian to be a serious platform for smartphones then it needs to do what Microsoft did: invest enormous amounts of time and talent to make it a genuine contender again. Attitude change To make that happen, Nokia needs to change its attitude: it's long been a hardware company, but smartphones are about software - and Nokia's software isn't as good as rival mobile OSes. As <a href="about:[http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/nokia-c7-905015/review">our Nokia C7 review</A> put it: "We aren't sure Nokia has done enough to make its revamped OS special. It still has nested menus that would make HTC and Apple cringe, and our review handset crashed a couple of times… Symbian^3 just doesn't feel like it has the sparkle or ease of use to take on the leaders, we're afraid." That needs to change. While Nokia remains the world's biggest phone firm, its market share is slipping and Android will move into the feature phone market where Symbian currently thrives. Analysts at Gartner <a href="http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1434613">predict</A> that Nokia's global market share will fall to 30.2% by 2014, while Android's will rise to 29.6% and iOS to 14.9%. Nokia's other OS, Meego, is expected to do low single figures. It's hard not to blame Symbian for Nokia's fading fortunes. Partners don't want it, the US isn't even sure what it is, and in review after <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/nokia-n8-692448/review">review</A> it takes the shine off otherwise amazing handsets. Nokia needs to fix it or dump it. When you're competing with iOS and Android you need a racehorse, not a donkey.

Gary Marshall: Nokia needs to fix Symbian or dump it

Back in September, we reported that Sony Ericsson and Samsung were dumping the Symbian operating system in favour of Android. "Symbian ...