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Building A High-End Gaming Workstation
Alan writes "What's the best platform for playing games *and* doing work? That's the very question FiringSquad tries to answer in the sequel to last year's short but popular workstation building article. This time, they've went with a "no-budget, but don't waste money" approach. There are a dozen products reviewed in the article, some never before reviewed on the 'net, and this time, there's no system building detail left untouched. Discussed are AC line conditioners, 2D graphics performance, and more. This more than 12,000 word article is the most detailed article ever in its genre. "
Interesting artical, but what about the rest of the population that does not have the kinda surplus money that can blown on hardware for a state-of-the-art gaming system that will be outdated in six months. What kind of hardware is nessecary for a good low-end gaming system that the average twenty-something paying off student loans can afford? Also, what are the best recomendations for hardware that might be a bit higher-end, but will still be useful for a long time?
Actually, in Counter-Strike (and various half-life mods) it's better to have your settings at the lowest possible than it is to have them higher. Your aim is incredibly more accurate at 640x480 than at 1024x768. Also, with all the antialiasing and anistropic filtering off, smoke grenades and various other "card killer" features have no effect.
Okay, this is probably not the answer that you're looking for, but I would recommend getting one low-end, cheap work machine and one high-end gaming system.
It's just too distracting to have "Quake 3 Arena" on your Start menu next to "Microsoft Word" when you're supposed to be writing your TPS reports. The machine that I work on has only the bare necessities to work, and no distractions.
On that note, I have to recommend Windows or Mac OS X for your work machine. There is way too much temptation when I'm working on a UNIX box to spend hours hacking around. For the gaming box, maybe a dual boot of Windows and Linux will suffice, with WineX on the Linux partition.
> Are there any flight-sims on consoles? How about
> strategy-games? FPS with controls that match
> keyboard/mouse-combo? No?
Yes! Well, granted you're not going to get a really in-depth flight-sim on a console without some kind of dedicated controller (the Steel Batallion one for the Xbox could probably be reused in a flight-sim quite effectively) or a radical rethink of the control system... but then how much does a qwerty keyboard resemble the controls of a flight deck? Anyhow, Pikmin has demonstrated that RTS games can be converted to home consoles (some refining remains, to be sure) and if you're after turn-based strategy, the GBA is the way to go at the moment. FPS controls that match keyboard/mouse... well, that's a matter of design, largely. You lose pinpoint accuracy and high speed, but you gain analogue controls for view AND movement, and analogue face-buttons. The gameplay changes, certainly, but not necessarily for the worse.
The things I do miss about PC gaming are the mod scene and access to in-depth level builders, and I'm considering getting a new Windows machine so I can get back into all that. It was nice to see a level builder in the Timesplitters games, for example, but you're not going to get the from-scrath limitless possibilities that something like UnrealEd offers. And since it's been a couple of years since I was active in that area, I dare say today's processors will go like the proverbial rockets compared to my last experience...
PS2 at home, and a normal workstation at work. Preferably with Solitaire removed.
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Gaming is in direct opposition to working.
But, if you want to attempt to make us believe you're capable of actually doing work (right, right, I bet. You probably waste hours on Slashdot at work each day!)..
Windows box. Don't skimp on the basic components. Go with top of the line mobo, load the sucker up with RAM, think about a nice SCSI drive. And expect to upgrade your video card every three months. Your main consideration is the video card. That is what 'runs' games. The rest, you want high quality so you don't need to switch out the entire box every three months. (Video cards are expensive enough!
'course, I expect the Slashdolts to whine about the Lunix!!!!1111. Please. Linux may be great for work, depending on your job description. It sucks the ass of CowboyNeal for gaming.
"BUT WE HAV TEH QUAKE3!!!!"
Please. Quake 3 is one game. As for the rest, I can count the number of high-quality Linux games/ports on one bloody hand. Windows is where gaming was, is, and will be for the forseeable future.
(Could always consider a dual boot, though. That certainly helps with regard to keeping gaming/working time seperate.
When you're in fun mode, your productivity is shot. When you're in work mode, you can't play worth a dang. Technology can't change that.
What does your PHB care about most - your ability at your job, or your mad crazy DOOM II skills?
This post made with the Dvorak layout.
"Friends don't let friends use QWERTY"