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A small guide to better gaming
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Posted by: goranpaa
Hey guys!
I dont claim to be any expert on this topic. But I have seen enough problems, to at least be able to try to guide you to a better gaming performance, and hopefully a less troublesome gameing.
First, treat your PC like a Race car!
Take care of your PC, and you will have a smoother running machine!
Make sure, to update your Video card, soundcard, mouse, keyboard and gamepad drivers on a regular basis.
Defragment your harddrive (s) once every 14 th day.
Also update your Chipset driver, once every 3 or 6 month.
If you dont know what chipset you got?
Download "Everest home" and look at the "Northbridge chipset". Make a note of it, and visit your chipset manufacturers home.
Everest Home here:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/everest.html
The chipset driver affects the AGP port ( The Agp port is the slot where most Videocards sits). And the USB ports among other stuff.
Make sure to remove anti spyware . Scan your PC with a Anti spyware software a couple of times a week.
Shut down unnessisary Services in Windows!
Windows XP, is full of s.c. "Services", that most of us have'nt any use for! And as those services take up some resources in the system. You may wanna shut them down.
Download "SIS Sandra" diagnostic software. And use Sandras "Fine Tune Wizard" module, to spot the unnessisary services, running in your system.
After Sandra is done.
Go: START + RUN.
In RUN type, msconfig.
Then click the "Services" tab. Shut down what Sandra tells you is safe to shut down.
Reboot.
Finished.
Sandra download here:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System...re-Sandra.shtml
Do not over due the video cards "quality settings" or resoloution!
Be very careful, fiddeling with the videocards "Quality settings" I.E. Anti Alizing ( Smoothens jagged edges in the picture) And "Anisotrophic filtering" ( Makes objects in the distance more distinct) Those settings, takes a rather big toll on the video cards resourses.
If you havent got a really powerful video card. Leave them as "Program controlled" Or at minimum. Dont set the Monitors resoloution too high! 1024 X 768 is a good setting. And you can even lessen the strain more on your video card by lowering the setting from 32 bit colour to 16 bit.
Make sure your PC is Clean inside!
The intake fans of your PC case, also draw in a lot of dust and other things, as animal hair, if you got a pet.
Clean the PC, once a month at least.
But before you start. Unplug the computer. Grab a kitchensink or a watertap to make sure, you are free from static electrisity. Even a small amount of such electrisity, can kill PC hardware! So this procedure, you should repeat every time, you get inside a PC or touching any hardware!
If you really wanna be on the safe side., get a antistatic wriststrap, with a cord for grounding.
Use an old toothbrush or even better a long bristled artist brush, to clean the fins on your CPU cooler. Careful though!
Use some long cotton pins and a can of pressureized air ( Also good for blowing away dust from the CPU cooler), to clean the Powersupply.
Do not open the Powersupply!
Clean the fans, using cottonpins, that you have moistened slightly.
Clean the inside of the case, and cards using a lint free cloth moistered, very lightly. Dry clean afterwards with another cloth. Do this with care, so you dont brake anything!
Download the temperature monitor software. "Motherboard monitor 5".
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System...d-Monitor.shtml
That way, you will be able to monitor both your processor and case temperatures ( Especially handy now, during the warm summer months). Most of you will also be able to see what speed your fans, connected to the motherboard is running at.
Many problems with suddenly freezing or choppy games, could be due to overheating.
If this problem occours. Open the PC case door and see if the problem goes away? Soloution: Get a couple of extra case fans. But measure your Cases fan mounts first. Othervice, you may end up with the wrong size. Normal case fan sizes is 80, 92 and 120 mm.
Good case fan makers: Enermax, Sunon, Panaflo and Vantec.
If it shows, you have'nt got any case fan mounts. Get a "Slot exhaust blower fan" and maybe , an Antec "Vcool" Slot videocard cooler.
Try to mount the Antec Vcool under the video card and the "Exhaust blower" above the video card.
Now to video cards :
Not many S.C. Integrated video cards is any good for playing modern games.
Those video cards is just a way for the motherboard or PC manufacturer to provide any form of videocard, mostly suitable for workstations and surfing the net. Not really for gaming PC:s.
If you have such an integrated card, it is a smart move to get a "real" video card.
But before you do that. Make sure your motherboard is equipped with an "AGP port".
If you download "Everest home" and look under " Motherboard and the "Expasion slots".
This way you will find out, if you got an AGP port on your motherboard?
Another way to find out if you really have an AGP port, is to simply open the case, and look for a slot, that differs from the PCI slots. The AGP slot is often in a different colour and have a slider lock in one end of the slot.
If it shows, that you have'nt got such a port. You still can get a "PCI Video card". That will fit into your ordinary PCI slots on the motherboard.
Good PCI video cards is : Jaton FX 5700. 128 mb PCI video card , Apollo Bloody Monster III. FX 5700. 128 mb. PNY, FX 5500. 128 mb. PCI video card.
But dont confuse "PCI video cards" with "PCI Express"! The PCI Express video cards, wont fit your motherboard.
Good AGP video cards: All Radeon cards from 9600XT. 128 mb and up.
Geforce FX 5700 and up. Avoid the Geforce MX series. At least if you're into serious gaming.
Whatever video card you are planning to get. Get one with at least 128 mb of memory!
Also be aware, that the new Geforce 6600 , 6800 and 7800 + the Radeon X- series video cards, needs a power supply at least 400W, to work properly.
If you dont know what Wattage, your Powersupply (PSU) got?. Unplug your PC, and open the case. Your Powersupply, should have a label with the Wattage.
If you are planning to get a more powerful powersupply? Get one as powerful as you can afford. and at least 400W! And dont get any cheap, generic, "never heard of " Powersupply!
You may end up with a "con PSU", saying 430W. When it is really only 360W! The manufacturer or other shady guys, may have relabelled the power supply. This things actually happends.
High quality Powersupplys, is Antec and Enermax. Aspire also have some pretty good ones.
As for playing games on a laptop or notebook, you have a similar problem. And now many of you may unfortunatly will get disappointed.
Most lap tops and notebooks, is'nt really made with gaming in mind and you wont be able to upgrade the video chip / card. But now some manufactureers have started to make s.c. "Gaming lap tops" . With more powerful processors, more fast RAM memory and good video chips, as Radeon Mobility, 9600, 9700 and 9800. Or even the Radeon X - series. (Mostly PCI Express, machines).
Or With Geforce FX GO 5700, 6600 and 6800.
You also have PCI Express lap tops that is the latest technology.
RAM Memory:
To be able to play games without RAM problems. Make sure to get amount of RAM at a minimum of 512mb of RAM, if you are running Windows XP. 768 mb to 1 Gigabyte of RAM, is even better.
Above 1 gig, is overkill. At least for the moment.
If you are on Windows 95 or 98 / ME, you will manage with 512 mb.
Just make sure, when upgrading RAM. That you get the same type of RAM. SDR, DDR, DDR2. etc. And the same speed as the old RAM stick. The same make, is'nt nessisary.
Download "Everest Home" if you dont know what kind of RAM and speed you got?
If you are running at the minimum amount of RAM required, Download a RAM defragmenter. This will help some. And you will also have a monitor of how much RAM you got left.
RAM defrag software here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Memory_Zipper_Plus_d618.html
And at last:
I have seen many of you coming here with problems running your games.
Many of those problems is due to that you have belived in the S.C. "Minimum system requirements" on the game boxes, when you bought the game.
Dont ever trust those requirements! It's just a way for the game manufacturers to sell more games. So they set this "Requirements" ridiculously low.
Not many games of today, will run at a videocard with 32 mb or 64 mb of memory. At least not running without freezing or choppiness.
And furthermore, You will need a video card supporting direct X 9.0, to be able to play future games.
Thats all folks!
Hope you will find my tips any usefull?
Happy Gaming!
goranpaa
Posted by: Andy_ice
wow, good post, ill be doing some of those things 
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