Tip of the week (SPG)  

• The fastest and most reliable way to discover the source of a computer problem is to eliminate the probable causes. For hardware, physically remove anything not needed and reduce running hardware to its lowest performance settings. For software, upgrade drivers and then disable everything you can and see if the problem goes away or the performance of the system improves. Then go back and re-enable one-by-one to see which may be the source.

• Keeping your system cool and stable requires a two-pronged method. Ensure no obstructions are preventing airflow. This includes dust, tangled wires, and too many components in too small of a case. Heat transfer out of the case still requires fans or an active air transfer source. If you're fortunate enough to live in a cool climate, there is nothing wrong with keeping the PC near the window. Just ensure moisture of any sort doesn't enter the case!

• Deals of all sorts can be had during the holiday season, though the best deals are afterward. Watch for spectacular deals in January not only for computer components, but games and other software as well. They may be harder to find than "Black Friday" advertisement specials, but they will be out there.

• Be extra cautious when purchasing a desktop or laptop that uses an Integrated Graphics Port. IGP solutions share system memory and are designed for casual users. IGP solutions are NOT meant for serious gamers! WoW may run at lower settings, but don't expect many other MMOs to run well at all. If you want to play games from the past few years, purchase a dedicated graphics solution.

• Sometimes looking for the lowest priced deals doesn't always result in the best deals. A five dollar difference can literally mean a 30% increase in speed, or a serious gain in quality. All System Performance Guide components are low cost, yet won't defeat the purpose of getting them for a gamer who needs the horsepower.

• Want to take a screenshot or video footage of a gameplay event? Use FRAPS.com, an excellent tool that does both for just about any game! Simply run it in the background of the game, using key commands to capture events.

• Just because a new game is released doesn't mean that your three year old computer will have troubles running it. Check the MMO Requirements guide to help you decide if it is time to upgrade.

• Noticing "jaggy" edges along sharp lines in a game, such as the corner of a building? This is called "Aliasing" and is most prominent on large monitors or televisions at lower resolutions. Many games will have an "AA" or "Anti-aliasing" option. Turn it on! Be warned that game performance may take a serious hit, so keep it to 2x or 4x AA. Noticing shimmering or blurriness along grates and other mesh-like surfaces in the distance? You can improve image quality by turning on "Anisotropic Filtering" if your game supports it. Go ahead, turn it up to 8x or more! The performance impact is much less significant than with AA.

• Experiencing choppiness when loading new areas in a game? Are you running Vista with 1GB of main memory and 128MB of GPU memory? Expect less than stellar performance in the latest games. Ensure main memory is at least 2GB and GPU memory is at 512MB for optimal performance.

• There is a certain order to consider when building a new system or upgrading an outdated one. Two or more components may need replacing beyond the one you originally targeted. Always think of the slowest component in your PC and work up from there. It doesn't make any sense to upgrade just one component when others are going to slow it down anyway.

• Having a difficult time figuring out why some games are slowing down your computer system? There are two major hardware performance bottlenecks in any system, the primary processor (CPU) and the graphics processor (GPU). Run a game at the highest resolution and details possible, then run it at the lowest possible. Major improvement in performance? GPU! Little or no change in performance? CPU! Or a combination of CPU, GPU and even memory capacity.

• While official system recommendations may get you in the game, experiencing enjoyable lag-free gameplay is another matter entirely. Check out our Individual MMO System Requirements listings for Warhammer Online recommendations by Berek.

• Computers use some electricity even when in complete stand-by mode. To save electricity and thus save you money, simply turn off any computers not in use for the evening or while you are gone for extended periods of time. Purchase an energy efficient power supply and other components if you are upgrading or building a new computer, which will save you money when the machine is on.

• Many PC games do not support widescreen resolutions, and this is true even for some MMOs. Go to Widescreen Gaming Forums and find all the information you need on how to force most of those games into a perspective your new LCD will accept. Worst case scenario, most widescreen LCDs allow you to run programs in a 4:3 perspective, you'll just have black bars on the sides.

• There are four main files you will likely ever want to know about in a game folder:

1) The .exe file that runs the game
2) The .ini file that stores any configuration settings, such as video resolutions
3) The .log file that may store chat and other important in-game activities
4) The uninstall .exe in case windows has trouble uninstalling a game automatically.

All games will have 1) and 4), many will have 2), and some will have 3). For your favorite MMO as well, look for basic player guides that may be hidden in the game directory!

• Backup, backup, backup... you can never backup your important documents, programs or games to another hard drive, DVD rom, or other storage device. Just don't lose those devices!

• Minimize the strain on you memory resources - limit how many items open automatically upon boot-up of your operating system. Do you really need that specific program to boot up, or can you open (and close) it later?

• Sometimes deals are too good to be true. If you are looking at a mid-tower computer case that includes a power supply, all for under $50, don't expect the case to be sturdy or convenient to work with, never mind expecting the power supply to last longer than twenty minutes. It is likely a very light paper weight purchase. Unless you're sure, buy the power supply separately from the case. Each are an important component, yet are hardly ever paired well in value lines.

• The specs for some speaker bundles add the combined wattage of each speaker and the subwoofer, but you can't accurately compare these ratings among vendors. The ratings also don't say much about the quality of the audio you'll hear. Double check that the subwoofer has a decent wattage by itself. Also, basic speakers bundled with most PCs sound lousy. Either upgrade for an extra cost of $70 to $90 or shop around online for better speakers. We recommend 'Klipsch'. Expensive, but worth it.

• You want as wide an LCD viewing angle as possible, costs being secondary in consideration. For example, Dell's 22" SP2208WFP offers a viewing angle of 160 degrees; a perfectly flat viewing angle would be 180 degrees. Higher quality monitors will typically support 176 degrees. This matters if you gather people around the LCD. But because there's no industry standard, vendors measure LCD viewing angle differently. So use this spec to compare models within a company's line, not products from multiple vendors.

• When purchasing main system memory (RAM), be sure that you purchase it in pairs. As you see in our guide, we always state "2x1", "2x2", and so forth. Purchasing exact pair sets, otherwise known as "Memory Kits", will ensure stability when loading up your system with multiple sticks of RAM. If you have older memory and want to add more, consult us first on their specifications! It may work fine mixing memory, but there are no guarantees of stability or peak performance.

If all else fails, you have your receipt, right? Buy from reputable dealers only. Save all receipts and be sure to know their return policy in advance.

• Taking a little bit of extra time to really understand what you need for computer hardware is important, but it can be just important on your wallet when considering how much power that hardware is going to use over the long-run. If you want to save power above all else, "Green" components are often easily identifiable at the stores we reference.

• You can also purchase a "Kill A Watt" device from sites like NewEgg, Tigerdirect, or your local hardware store. The device sits between your electrical component you want to test and your power outlet. It will tell you exactly how much each device uses (even if the device is powered off, some will still "bleed" electricity!).

• The smoother you want your game connection to be, the more you will want to ensure properly running hardware and keep tabs on what you download or purchase for software. Don't always blame your ISP or the Best Buy salesman!

• Having a dual monitor setup is a great investment both for work and gaming purposes. You can have a game running on one monitor in windowed mode, while the other monitor displays important information from sites such as Allakhazam, about the game. Two 22-24" monitors are optimal for this configuration.

Anything larger and you may find yourself moving your head around too much if the monitors are close to you. Anything smaller and it may not be worth purchases two. Instead, one larger 25-28" monitor would be best. Best to avoid 30"+ due to the cost and video card requirements, unless you use also the monitor as TV and it sits back farther from your position.

• Surround sound can make a great audio experience in just about any game that involves a 3D world. That experience can be ruined however if your speakers are placed in the wrong locations or their settings are improper for the speaker system you have. A center channel speaker, two wide-spaced front channel speakers, two rear channel speakers even wider spaced (slightly), and a subwoofer are all you really need. Check your in-game settings to further enhance sound quality, but be sure the sound system itself is setup properly first.

• When purchasing a monitor be careful that you do not choose one that is too large! Consider desk space as well as viewing distance from the monitor as your primary considerations. Secondary considerations would be other persons viewing at an angle, as well as additional port features as HDMI and card readers. Tertiary considerations may be height adjustment, pivot and swivel features. 22" monitors are the "sweet spot" for the average gaming consumer today. Higher the price will generally reflect a higher quality and feature-set.

• Don't be fooled by how "large" something is. If you are shopping for a graphics card and notice it has 1GB instead of the average 512MB, it doesn't mean the card will run faster or support more games over a card that is newer. Some cards that have 256MB are faster at the majority of games than those with 1GB!

• Not everyone needs a quad-core CPU right now, especially gamers! Looking for the most powerful system build to ensure WOW, or the new Age of Conan game runs smoothly? Don't consider the CPU at too high of a priority. As with most gaming rigs, the GPU is the most important factor. Dual-core CPUs, either AMD's Phenom's or Intel's Penryn C2Ds will do just fine. Quad-core's "may" be useful for MMO and other games in 2009 or beyond...

• When selecting a computer case there are three primary things to consider:

  1) How large and heavy do you want it to be? Select a full-tower for space, but select aluminum material if you don't want it to be too heavy!
  2) Don't need a power supply? Some cases automatically come with them!
  3) Enjoy peace and quiet? Purchase a case with as many 120mm fans as possible.

• When purchasing several components for a new computer system ensure that each component is certified to work with the others. For example, certain motherboards are sensitive to the speed and configuration of inserted memory modules. Start with matching up the motherboard, memory, and CPU. The motherboard should also have a slot to accommodate your selected video card. After selecting your other components, choose an adequate sized case and a PSU powerful enough to power everything. Our recommendations here are in relative harmony for this.

• Periodically check your hard drive space on all partitions to ensure there is at least a couple of gigabytes unused. This allows the drives to "breath" when performing swapping and defragging tasks. Ensure at least 15% of a drive's space is unused when defragging as well, otherwise defragging will take significantly longer to complete.