Gaming Hardware Question:

[Wizzio]

Hi guys,

I have a few general questions regarding a Gaming System:

How much difference does it make between a 30 GB 5400 rpm HD and a
30 GB 7200 rpm HD

Plus is it really worth paying $40-50 for a 3Com NIC or would it suffice to use those $20 cards at Fry's

I'd also like any info on what people believe to be the best value gaming system. I'm upgrading my Gaming Center and need to hear what's good these days. I'd like to keep the budget under $1000 w/ 19" monitor if possible.

Thanks guys!!!

 

[SoyBoy004]

personally,

i like durons and tbirds. depends on the game. i have a voodoo5 and LOVE it when playing counterstrike. make sure to get good ram and a good video card. 7200rpms is recommended to load maps and stuff. however, conneciton is important too. i don't know much about cheapie NICs, but good nics (netgear, kingston) fall within the 20 dollar range.

 

[Quaggoth]

I wouldn't pay $5 for a 3Com NIC. I used to love them, but I have had SOOOO much trouble with them where I work. I recomend an Intel, or one of the cheap ones. Kingston nic's have worked well for me at home, but at work we have trouble with the older ones and Intel routers. I suppose though, If it is for a home PC, and you are on a budget, the money you can save buying a cheap NIC could be better spent for RAM or a really good CPU cooler (I have found that to a certain extent CPU coolers are worth more in terms of bang for the buck than spending it on CPU).

 

[Jex]

www.sharkyextreme.com has a pretty good value gaming pc guide. Even though they're Intel biased, they still mention AMD processors.

I would definately go Athlon or Duron. The price to clock speed is much better than any Intel chip and even perform better. Just my opinion. Some people like Inter chips and there's nothing wrong with that.

As for net cards, $20 cards will work great. Expensive $40-50 3com or Intel net cards just aren't worth it. I buy Dlink cards (I forget the exact model num, DFE-TX+ or something like that) and they're excellent. Stable, fast, and compatable with everything, even my Linux boxes.

 

[Dufusyte]

For a gaming system, the HD is the least important component. You could have a rock for a HD and still have a great gaming rig. The HD only is a factor when loading maps, which means you might get into the game a half second before other folk do, but that is irrelelvant in games anyway.

Actually, maps will load quickly if you have alot of ram and/or a fast processor. The HD is really the least significant factor.

 

[lazyboy]

Stay away from Voodoo based cards and get a 7200 HD.

 

[Ethernet]

Hmm nothing really wrong with the Voodoo 5 if you can find one, their not the fastest but they work with everything - 3dfx has always had good compatibility.

I would personally get a good Nic, my number one choice is 3COM followed by Linksys.