About

                                                                              GAMING PC

gaming computer is a personal computer designed for playing computationally demanding video games. Due to the integration of common hardware components onto the motherboard since the 1990s, a modern gaming computer is comparable to a mainstream computer with the addition of a performance-oriented video card. Gaming computers are often associated with enthusiast computing due to an overlap in interests; however, while a gaming PC is built to achieve performance for actual gameplay, enthusiast PCs are built to maximize performance, using games as a real application benchmark. Whereas enthusiast PCs are high-end by definition, gaming PCs can be subdivided into low-end, mid-range, and high-end markets: video card manufacturers earn the bulk of their revenue from their low-end and mid-range offerings.^[1]

Because of the large variety of parts that can go into a computer built to play video games, gaming computers are frequently custom-assembled, rather than pre-assembled, either by gaming and hardware enthusiasts or by companies that specialize in producing custom gaming machines. In order to generate interest, gaming computer manufacturers that sell complete systems often produce boutique models, allowing them to compete on aesthetic design in addition to the hardware inside.

History

Historically, gaming computers had several distinct hardware components that set them apart from a typical PC. The push for better graphics began with color fidelity, from display systems such as CGA eventually graduating to VGA, which was adopted for the mass market. Gaming also led the push for the adoption of sound cards, a component that is now commonly integrated onto motherboards.

In the 1980s, several non-IBM PC compatible platforms gained a measure of popularity due to advanced graphics and sound capabilities, including the Commodore 64 and Amiga. Video game developers of the time targeted these platforms for their games, though typically they would later port their games to the more common PC and Apple platforms as well. The MSX was also popular in Japan, where it preceded the video game console revolution.^[2] Japan also had several other popular gaming computers during the 1980s to early 1990s, including the very popular PC-88 and PC-98 as well as the powerful X68000 and FM Towns.^[3]

By 1993, PC compatibles were the standard for gaming. Computer Gaming World stated in January:^[4]

We think it would be a mistake to get anything less than a 386 clone with, at least a clock speed of 33 mhz. If possible, get a 486 clone with a faster speed. Get four megabytes of RAM and at least 100 MB on your hard disk. If you've never dealt with a C> prompt before, do yourself a favor and put Windows on the machine as your primary interface. If you're comfortable with the same DOS that you see on your friends' machines, go with DOS 5.0. Get a mouse, if you can afford it, and a sound card that is either AdLib or Soundblaster compatible. If you do win the lottery, throw in a CD-ROM, too. That's the basic game machine for today's games.

In September, the magazine replied to a reader asking for "the current '486' desktop dream machine for playing computer games":^[5]

486 66MHz DX/2 motherboard (VESA Local Bus) EISA

256K Cache RAM on motherboard

AMI BIOS (upgradable with disk)

8-16 Megabytes of 70ms or faster RAM

VESA compatible Local bus Video card with S3 (or other co-processor).

250 megabyte and up, SCSI 2 Hard Drive.

SCSI 2 host adapter with cache memory.

MPC Level 2 CD-ROM.

SoundBlaster 16 ASP w/ Roland Sound Canvas SC-7 module.

Full Thrustmaster Mark II WCS/FCS and Rudder pedals.

20" and up CAD monitor

Falcon Northwest began advertising in Computer Gaming World in 1993, claiming that the "Falcon MACH series are the first personal computers designed especially for the serious gamer in mind".^[6] Computer Gaming World reiterated in 1994, "we have to advise readers who want a machine that will play most of the games to purchase high-end MS-DOS machines".^[7]

LAN parties helped to promote the use of network cards and routers among consumers. This equipment is now commonly used by non-gamers with broadband Internet access to share the connection with multiple computers in the home. Like sound cards, network adapters are now commonly integrated onto motherboards.

In modern times, the primary difference between a gaming computer and a comparable mainstream PC is the inclusion of a performance-oriented video card, which hosts a graphics processor and dedicated memory. These are generally a requirement to play modern games on the market.

Forays into physics processing have also been made, though with Nvidia's buyout of PhysX^[8] and Intel's buyout of Havok,^[9] plans are that this functionality will be combined with existing CPU or GPU technologies.

Gaming laptop computers

Gaming laptops are the mobile equivalent of gaming desktops and are usually more expensive than their desktop counterparts. Currently, most gaming laptops feature more power efficient versions of high end desktop graphics cards, which nevertheless still significantly drain the battery, and necessitate more advanced systems. One recent development by Nvidia is SLI for laptops. Generally, gaming laptops are not considered "rigs" as the term can also refer to the physical size of the system. Modern gaming laptops^[ can achieve respectable game performance, but never quite match desktops in a class to class comparison, and most do not feature upgradeable graphics cards.

Due to the relatively small size that the hardware has to fit in, cooling the heat intensive components is a major problem affecting the performance of such laptops, usually causing degraded value for money performance wise. Attempts at using the same performance hardware as desktops usually end in a decreased clock frequency of graphics chips to reduce heat, causing the poor value for money.

One can find many value recommendations across the Internet on sites like TechRadar or Tom's Hardware.

The introduction of the Nvidia GTX 900M series of mobile GPUs in late 2014 represented a significant advancement from the previous 800M series, lessening the gap with desktop systems and making gaming laptops a more viable alternative to desktop PCs.

A newer approach in the gaming PC industry is to create small form factor desktops that are more compact and easier to transport than a normal full sized system. Examples include the Falcon Northwest FragBox, RazerBlade and Alienware X51.