Building the Ultimate Gaming System II

Processor
Okay, here's the big fight over supremacy. It seems like for a good portion of consumer computing history, Intel has basically cornered the market in processors and chipsets.

Definitions for those of you who don't know:
Processor: A component in your computer that manages all tasks that involve computational work. For example, how a calculator figures out what 2+2 is, or how a complex video game figures out how fast a car will go.
Chipsets: In this reference, front and rear side bus setups that regulate data going in and out of your processor

So what is a girl to do? You've got Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), who corners the market with the Athlon 64, or Intel, who corners the market with the Pentium 4.

Each processor has its ups and downs. Benchmarking-wise, the Athlon series of processors have always handled gaming better. By definition, if you're building an ultimate gaming machine, and don't give a rat's ass about anything else, this should be your choice, especially now that Athlon 64's aren?t as expensive as they were at launch. Also as an advantage, you have the 64 bit architecture, which means that you can download Windows 64bit for FREE.

On the other hand, if you're going to be doing more than playing Counter Strike and Doom, you might want to consider a Pentium 4, or more preferably, a Pentium 4 Extreme. The Pentium 4 series has always had a benefit from Hyperthreading, which means you have two virtual processors running. This means if you intend to do things like sound work, video encoding, or even watching DVDs, you'll find Pentium 4s have a small advantage over Athlons. Keep in mind, folks: It?s not all about gaming.

So overall, for the "Ultimate Gaming Machine", I'd recommend the


AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Overall, the thing is the best quality when it comes to price/use ratio. Many people might argue that the 3400+ is a tiny bit cheaper and comparably as fast, but there's a big issue: It uses an old socket set, so upgrading is going to be limited. Don't be a cheapass, you're building a gaming rig, not a budget computer. If you want one of those, go buy from IBM.


RAM
This might be one of the few time's I'll ever tell you with computers: Its pretty damn simple. The higher the megahertz the better, DDR-2 is better than DDR, and the higher the number, the better. GO DUH. Also, its always good to pick a good company like Corsair, because you're basically guaranteed quality, as opposed to Joe Blo's computer emporium Memory sticks.

My choice:

Geil Ultra Series Value Dual Channel 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200
Why? Because the motherboard I picked out in my system, which I'll go over later, only supports up to 3200. That's not too bad, being as it supports up to 4 gigs, and PC-3200 is pretty fast, so I wouldn?t argue too much. Of course, like anything else, for a more powerful computer, get more RAM, or upgrade the RAM itself. Also, to note, the above contains a blue Heatspreader, which is part of the reason I chose it. NEVER EVER SKIMP ON COOLING.

Video Card
Oh joy. Now we get into my fun part where I have to make sure I don't get my head bit off by some nVidia or ATI junky. Overall, from all the benchmarks I've seen, your choice of cards depends on what features you want, not overall clock speed (Which, each card from one company has an equivalent on the other, so there's not much to say). Lets list some advantages and disadvantages.

ATI
Advantages: Cheaper cards, Half Life 2 Optimized, Newer SmartShader technology
Disadvantages: Cheaper cards cranked down, budget cards horrible at Doom 3, no SLI

NVIDIA
Advantages: SLI, SLI, SLI, SLI, SLI, SLI, SLI
Disadvantages: SLI means you have to sell your children, No budget cards, bad PCI Express support

You'll notice three things that need definition.
SmartShader- A technology to blur nasty edges. Its AA/AF on crack, or so I hear. Negligible effect, but still an issue.
SLI- Scaleable Link Interface. Allows you to use two cards at once. Spiffy, no? But, the cards HAVE TO BE NVIDIA. Not so spiffy.
PCI Express- Faster than PCI or AGP, much better support for the hardcore gamer. All components in this manual are PCI Express. Why go old tech?

Overall, this was my choice:

Asus Extreme AX800XL/2DTV Radeon X800XL
ASUS packed a major kickass card here. Its basically an Overclocked-in-the-Box ATI x800 XL, with a shitload of extras, as well as a webcam. While I detest webcams (Too emocore), the games included are a nice perk, as is the upgraded fan.

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