Enthusiast computing
Template:Current-GCOTW A gaming PC, sometimes referred to as gaming computer or gaming rig, is a personal computer built specifically for intensive computer gaming. A gaming PC should be able to, when built, play current, high performance PC games at high or above settings. This implies that gaming PCs are almost exclusively high-end machines with powerful graphics cards at the so-called bleeding edge.
History
Origin
As computer games started becoming graphically and computationally complex in the 1990s, with games such as Quake and Tomb Raider using hardware accelerationed graphics, the concept of building PCs specifically for gaming was born. As such, the power of a gaming PC's GPU has always been the top priority. In the early and mid 90s, companies such as Voodoo PC, Falcon Northwest and Alienware, focusing entirely on gaming and high-end PCs were launched. In 1998, AMD incorporated the 3DNow! instruction set into their K6-2 cpu line as well as every CPU model thereafter. The technology was designed for vector processing, a frequent task in 3D games. Intel responded with Streaming SIMD Extensions in the Pentium III, which AMD eventually also incorporated from Athlon XP onwards. However, it wasn't until the 2000s when major computer manufacturers such as Dell made any serious attempts at building gaming PCs. In 2005 Dell revamped its XPS line to target the gaming PC market, and has since gone through multiple revisions of the line. In 2006, Dell aquired Alienware.
Status symbol for the hardcore gamer
The gaming PC is also a status symbol for the hardcore gamer, as building a new gaming PC comes with the bragging rights of having the most powerful "rig" amongst the people he or she knows. An analogy would be luxury cars being status symbols amongst businessmen (moreso in Asia than in the western world).
Gamers who like to show of their gaming PCs (especially those who attend LAN parties) often use cases with windows in order to easily show off the components inside, along with a plethora of lighting to accomapany them. Additionally, some gamers also do some case modding.
The rising cost of Gaming PCs
The cost of gaming PCs has also increased a lot even with inflation factored in. For example, the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro was released at US$399 in 2002.[1] Today, new graphics cards are launched at US$500 or above. If one factors in SLI or Crossfire, people now spend more than US$500 on graphics cards alone for a high-end gaming experience.[2]
A further boost to the potential cost was made when Intel and AMD started releasing gaming and overclocking specific CPUs, often at the top of the price range. Currently, the lineups are known as "extreme edition" suffix and the Athlon FX series in 2003[3] by Intel and AMD respectively.
Hardware Descriptions
Graphics
Gaming PC's utilise hardware accelerated graphic cards which offer high end 2D and 3D rendering. Memory capacity on 3D cards is usually high in the range of a few hundred megabytes. High end 3D graphics cards utilise the PCI-E expansion slots on the motherboard. Two or more graphics cards can sometimes be used simultanously via the utilisation of SLI or crossfire technology. Using SLI or crossfire, configurations with upwards of 1 GiB of memory are possible.[4] Due to the additional load on the CPU and the requirement of most modern games to have hardware accelerated graphics, a computer without a dedicated graphics card or with a video card integrated on the motherboard cannot be considered a gaming PC.
- "A well-made, top-class video card should at least adequately play all the new games for about two years, though hardcore gamers will eagerly spend the money to upgrade more often. To keep up with the technology while spending the least amount of money, waiting two years to upgrade is the most accepted compromise." - Microsoft.com[5]
The graphics cards found in gaming PCs are always within the latest 2 generations (which generally last about 6 months) of graphics cards when built in order to achieve high performance.
Audio
Gaming PCs are usually equipped with dedicated sound cards and more recently, surround sound speakers. Speakers can include 5.1 to 7.2 surround sound and/or headphones. A surround sound speaker setup is a required to enjoy the full audio experience found in most modern computer games.[6] Sound cards have hardware accelerated technologies, such as EAX, so that adding sound effects and streaming audio across the bus does not place additional loads on the CPU. The Sound Blaster X-Fi has 64 MiB (unprecedented for a sound card) of onboard RAM and has gaming PCs as part of it's main target demographic with a dedicated "gaming mode".[7]
Physics
While physics cards are now available, compatibility and performance increases are still debatable. Some people have experienced performance downgrades in GRAW[8], one of few games currently available that take advantage of additional physics hardware. Graphics card manufacturers plan on including PPUs on their chipsets.[9] At the moment, the cards are expensive and not widely used, but the figures are improving.
CPU
The CPU is generally responsible for computing physics, AI, and central game processes. Gaming PCs generally have high-end CPUs or gaming specific CPUs such as the Extreme Edition line by Intel. With the rise of multithreaded games, multi processor and multi core setups become more important than ever. Knowledgable buyers will also make sure their CPU is capable of running the latest instruction set extensions, such as SSE3.[10]
Memory
Memory, or RAM, acts as a cache for non-graphical resources that games use. Gaming PCs typically have more expensive editions of RAM sticks, which sometimes include LEDs indicating the current level of activity. The fast RAM found in gaming PCs has the benefit of increased performance by having lower latency than regular ram.[11]
Storage
In gaming PCs, fast hard drives are very desirable. Having a faster hard drive will result in lower loading times in games. For this reason, some gaming PCs use certain RAID setups to lower latency and increase throughput to mass storage.[12] Since the space taken up by games is nominal compared to the total availability on modern hard drives, speed is preferred over capacity.
Network
While typical computers, including high-end systems, tend to use wireless connections to connect to other computers as well as the internet, gaming PCs more often use ethernet cables for the fastest and most reliable connection possible.[13] Dial-up connections cannot even be considered as a gaming solution due to the unacceptably high pings (~400ms is common).
Interfaces
There are many hardware interfaces design specifically for gaming and while sometimes used with less powerful PCs, they are most often observed with gaming PCs. Such interfaces include keyboards and mice built for gaming (these typically include additional keys or buttons for game-related functions as well as LCD-screens[14]), joysticks, controllers, steering wheels, PC-compatible airplane gauges and panels[15], and others. It should be noted that touch screens are rarely used for PC gaming at this point.
Cases
Case designs for gaming computers tend to be flashier; cases with clear sides are common, to reveal the internal components which may be adorned with LEDs. In addition to aesthetics, gaming cases are also designed for function; the case must be able to provide cooling for high-end components, and have room for expansion and customization.
Performance and Benchmarks
As a general guideline, a gaming PC should achieve high scores on 3D benchmarks such as 3DMark when it is first built or upgraded. Gamers who know how to overclock sometimes do so to prolong the usefulness of their hardware. The higest results are always and by far achieved by overclocking.[16]
Outside benchmarks and in "real world" testing, the performance of a gaming PC can be measured by two metrics - framerate and visual quality.
The framerate is measured in frames per second (fps), which refers to the number of times the video card refreshes the image shown on screen. Generally, frame rates of above 30 are desireable in high performance games, though the fastest gaming PCs can often achieve much higher framerates while maintaining visual quality.
Visual quality refers to the visual quality of the rendered image. Higher settings and resolution have a negative effect on the framerate. A key feature of the gaming PC is that it should be able to maintain high values of both framerate and visual quality simultaneously.
Overclocking
Apart from hardware enthusiasts, overclocking is used in gaming PCs to achieve higher framerates than the parts in the PC would render using stock clockspeeds. Overclocking is such a big part in gaming PC culture that some PC gaming magazines such as GameStar[17] occasionally publish guides on how to overclock the latest CPUs, GPUs, and motherboards. In order to achieve the highest overclocks, more advanced cooling methods must be employed, such as water cooling.
Although prebuilt gaming PCs are almost never overclocked, there are exceptions such as the Dell XPS 600 Renegade. Several large companies, such as Overdrive PC, Falcon Northwest, and Voodoo PC all overclock, though.
Prebuilt gaming PCs
While most hardcore gamers build their gaming PCs themselves, people with little or no experience in computer hardware prefer to go with prebuilt gaming PCs. These PCs are almost always expensive and priced at a premium.
Companies that manufacture prebuilt gaming PCs
- Alienware (now belongs to Dell)
- Dell
- Falcon Northwest
- Voodoo PC
Notable custom-built PCs
Dell XPS 600 Renegade Computer
The Dell XPS 600 Renegade Computer was the first PC to utilize quad SLI and was a collaboration between Dell and nVidia.[18] The machine features an overclocked Intel Pentium 955 Extreme Edition processor that has been overclocked from 3.46 GHz to 4.26 GHz, 2 GiB DDR2 memory at 667 MHz and two dual 1 GiB GeForce 7800 cards. It is also viewed by some as a publicity stunt,[19] because the benchmarks were not as high as expected because of various bottlenecks.
Yoshi's Boxx
In 2002, Yoshi DeHerrera gave the term gaming PC a more literal meaning with his "boxx".[20] Yoshi's Boxx was a custom-built machine with the Atari 2600, NES, Xbox, GameCube and PS2 systems built into a modified tower case.
Gaming laptops
Gaming laptops are the mobile equivalent of gaming PCs and are usually more expensive than their PC counterparts. Currently, some feature inbuilt graphics processors, which tend to utilize a lot of battery power and create heat, so one concern among GPU manufacturers is to reduce power usage (and therefore heat). These GPU's are roughly equivalent to the desktop graphics cards that they are similarly named to. One recent development by Nvidia is SLI for laptops.
Differences between gaming PCs and other types of high-end PCs
- Storage in gaming PCs is preferred in terms of speed, rather than quantity as seen in video editing PCs. RAID setups are sometimes utilized.
- Gaming PCs prioritize graphics performance over CPU performance, unlike PCs used for audio and video encoding, as well as research and medical PCs running CPU-heavy applications.
- Media writing capability is not a focus, a gaming PC only needs to be able to read from removable media.
References
- ^ Shimpi, Anand Lal (2002-08-19). "ATI Radeon 9700 Pro - Delivering as Promised". AnandTech. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wilson, Derek (2006-03-09). "NVIDIA's Tiny 90nm G71 and G73: GeForce 7900 and 7600 Debut". AnandTech. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Shimpi, Anand (2003-09-16). "Intel introduces the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition". AnandTech. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wasson, Scott (2006-06-05). "GeForce 7950 GX2 explained". Retrieved 2006-07-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|pulisher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help) - ^ "Windows XP: Video Card 101". Microsoft. 2003-11-10. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Hear It All with Surround Sound". Microsoft. 2003-11-10. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty". Creative Labs. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
- ^ Wilson, Derek (2006-03-05). "Exclusive: ASUS Debuts AGEIA PhysX Hardware". AnandTech. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Justice, Brent (2006-03-20). "nVIDIA SLI Physics Tech Preview". [H]ard|OCP. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wall, Michael. "Optimizing Games for AMD Athlon 64 processors in 2006 and beyond" (PDF). Adavanced Micro Devices. Retrieved 2006-07-24.
- ^ Woram, John (2005-10-06). "CNET on gaming RAM". CNET. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Why upgrade your hard drive?". Alienware. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
- ^ Mitchell, Bradley. "Wireless vs Wired LANs". About. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
- ^ "Logitech G15 gaming keyboard". Logitech. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
- ^ "The Real Cockpit". TRC Development. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
- ^ "3D Mark hall of fame". Futuremark. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
- ^ Issues August 2005 and September 2005 of GameStar featured multi-page guides on overclocking
- ^ Kirsch, Nathan (2006-01-07). "CES 2006: Dell's Quad nVidia SLI XPS System". Legit Reviews. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Carver, Burt (2006-01-09). "Dell Quad SLI described as a publicity stunt". The Inquirer. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ DeHerrera, Yoshi (2002-05-27). "Yoshi's Boxx". G4. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)