Aug 2, 2007

It is always cool to have your very own gaming computer that can play all the game out there, but be careful not to make the mistakes most gamers make, either when you are buying or building one.

While there are more to the list, I have singled out the top 5 serious mistakes that are commonly made by gamers.

1. Buy readily assembled computer from retailers
   Believe me, off the shelves computers are just not meant for gaming. Either they do not fulfil the gaming requirement, or they are too expensive. If you are a serious gamer, I would advise you to play an active role in the selection of hardware for your gaming computer. It would be even better if you can build your own gaming computer.
2. Scrimp on hardware
   You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Most gamers who are low on budget attempt to buy outdated and cheap hardware to play the latest game in the market. This is strongly not advisable. Buying cheap and outdated hardware not only affects the quality of the game, it could even cause damages to the whole computer system. In the end, it might cost you more money. If you are low on budget now, I would advise you to save up until you have enough money to invest in a good gaming computer. Computer parts that you need to invest in are the processor, motherboard, RAM and graphics card.
3. Buying computer parts that are not upgradeable
   Computer hardware gets obsolete very fast. It is important to buy hardware that allows you to upgrade in the future. For example, when getting a motherboard, make sure that it has 4 memory slots, two 16 x PCI Express slots (for SLI or crossfire technology) and support the latest CPU (socket 754 for Intel or socket AM2 for AMD). Even though you may not fully utilise the feature now, it does give you a lot of room for future upgrade to a better system.
4. Going after the latest hardware
   Another mistake that some gamers make is to chase after the latest hardware in the market. While this is not a wrong thing to do, it is definitely a very expensive habit. With better research and careful selection of the hardware, a good gaming computer should be able to last for 9 months to 2 year before it is deem obsolete. Rather than spending the money to constantly upgrade your computer, it would be better to do detail planning and do more research before building your gaming computer.
5. No maintenance
   Most gamers are willing to spend huge sum of money to build the ultimate gaming computer, but are not willing to spend time to do regular maintenance. A gaming computer with regular maintenance can extend its lifespan by at least half a year. Take good care of your gaming computer and it will take good care of your gaming needs.

So, if you are getting a new gaming computer, don’t forget to take serious note of the mistakes others make and constantly remind yourself not to follow their footsteps.

Lastly, the key to build a good gaming computer is to make a clear list of what you really want, do a detail research and careful selection of hardware.

Happy gaming

Damien