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Arming Your PC
by Steven Kent for Gamers Today
Looking to play a riveting game of MYST? Chances are you've got the right PC. Whether you're running a Pentium IV or a homemade PC with a 1000MHz AMD processor, or even your great-grandfather's 486, you'll get that full MYST experience. And you should, considering MYST was released in 1993. On the other hand, if you want to play Jagged Alliance II, Air Combat II, No One Lives Forever, or the latest version of Quake III, you may want to upgrade your PC with a few accessories.
In the Box
Don't get distracted by tech talk when thinking about your PC. AMD scores well with the big test labs. Both Intel and AMD are good chipmakers, and you no longer need to build your PC budget around a machine with an "Intel Inside" sticker.
There is little point in getting distracted by triple digit CD-ROM performance or memory speeds -- besides, most players won't know the difference. What you will notice is lack of memory or processing power, gutless sound cards, and impoverished graphics acceleration.
If you are building a computer from scratch, you should look for a 1000-megahertz chip. The 700- and 800-megahertz chips are more than adequate. But if past experience proves accurate, they will show their age soon enough.
Memory is more important to consider. The stellar game manufacturers now build 256 megabytes into their machines. This may seem excessive because memory is easy to add. But, memory is one of the less expensive resources and having too little memory is an instant bottleneck.
Compatibility used to be the biggest issue in the old days, circa 1993. Not anymore. Thanks to Windows, almost every game now recognizes most soundcards. Even so, if you are looking for environmental sound (once known as surround sound), Creative Labs' Sound Blaster Live series offers good sound and support at a reasonable price.
Picking a solid video card is not so easy. Labs, designers, gamers, and analysts all have strong opinions about who offers the best card, and the debate is hot. With 3Dfx basically bowing out of the competition, the match up is largely between the ATI Radeon and the nVidia Geforce II Ultra. Frankly, I'm not sure that any games can even use the triangle drawing power of these cards.
Sight and Sound
If sound matters -- and it should -- the best PC speaker system I have run across is Klipsch ProMedia v. 2-400. Sensibly priced at $249, this five-piece THX-certified system adds depth to any audio, be it games, music, or DVD movies.
I am not, however, sold on any particular monitor. My best experience has been with the Princeton Arcadia T-series 36-inch monitor. Weighing in at an enormous 190 pounds and taking up more shelf space than most people can afford, this monitor can handle both PC and television needs and handles NTSC, PAL, VGA, HDTV, as well as a host of other modes and resolutions.
If you want something smaller, both Sony and Viewsonic offer an extensive selection of excellent monitors in all sizes and descriptions.
