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Certain articles are reprinted from Computer Gaming World and Family PC.
Copyright 1999 ZD Inc. All Rights Reserved.
GameSpot does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any con-
tent posted on any interactive area and you acknowledge that any reliance upon
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external sites if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content
located on such external sites.
ISBN 1-58422-035-X

N0l00M0 l0 l00 N0fk800...................................08

What's in the PC Workshop?........................................09
008l0f 1. 10l 0 f00f 00M0l0f...........................11
Maximizing Your Performance..................................... .11
A Look at Graphics.................................................... ...12
The Sound and the Fury...............................................15
Disk Performance.........................................................16
Disk Performance - Windows 98.............................. ....16
Internet Connectivity....................................................18
Making Space...............................................................18
Windows Reinstall........................................................20
008l0f Z. 60lll 68M08 l0 80 8l0l.................... . ZZ
How Not to Be Among the Chosen Few................... ....22
The Easy.......................................................................23
Check the Manual.........................................................24
Driver du Jour............................................................ ..25
Software Conflicts........................................................28
The Hard.......................................................................29
The Refresh Install.......................................................30
The Thermonuclear Reinstall........................................30
The Expensive..............................................................34
Uninstallers..................................................................35
Replacing Hardware.................................................... .36
Conclusion - It's a Game..............................................36
008l0f J. ll0f0l 68Ml l l00 f88l l80............. J8
Preliminaries............................................................. ...38
Getting Connected........................................................39
Connectivity Options....................................................39
Service Providers.........................................................44
(continued on next page)
0J
008l0f J continued
Software Necessities................................................. ..44
Other CooI Stuff....................................................... ....47
Sharing an Internet Connection................................ ...52
Hunt the Wumpus - er, Server............................... .......53
Voice Communications.................................................54
Roger WiIco and BattIecom..........................................54
What Are You Waiting For?..................................... .....54
008l0f 4. 80l 80 l8l8lll 8N.......................
Memory Primer........................................................... ..55
How Much Is Enough?..................................................56
What's Your Type?.................................................... ...57
DIMMs and SIMMs............................................ ......... ...58
Parody - er, Parity Check........................................... ..60
Consumer AIert....................................................... .....60
InstaIIing RAM..............................................................61
008l0f . 100 8000l 8l.
00M00l8 0 l00 0008...............................4
The ChaIIenge............................................................ ..64
The Shopping Experience.................................... .. ......66
Common Components..................................................66
Case and Power SuppIy................................................67
Mass Storage................................................................67
Audio............................................................................68
Keyboards, etc............................................................ .68
Modem..........................................................................68
Graphics Card........................................................ ......69
Monitor....................................................................... ..69
Memory.........................................................................69
The K6-2 System....................................................... ...69
The CeIeron System................................................ .....71
The Bottom Line...........................................................72
04
008l0f . 80ll0l 8 00M0l0f..................................J
Building the Machine of Your Dreams...........................73
The Perfect Toolkit........................................................73
Planning the Install.......................................................74
Prepping the Motherboard........................................... .74
Installing the Motherboard............................................77
Attaching Support Connectors......................................78
Installing CPU and Memory...........................................80
Installing Peripherals....................................................86
Hints on Installing Windows...................................... ...88
Final Words...................................................................89
008l0f . 0f08ll 8 80lN0fk 0l f00f 0N................ 91
Getting Personal.......................................................... .91
LAN Gaming..................................................................92
Up-Front Assumptions..................................................92
The Hardware................................................................93
Networking Software.....................................................95
Ministry of Protocol................................................... ...96
Installing the NIC.................................................... ......96
Setting Up Windows......................................................98
Troubleshooting..........................................................103
Play Well with Others..................................................104
Emerging Home Networking Alternatives................. ..104
008l0f 8. J0 6f80l08
N8kl l00 8l0l 000l00................................. 10
Which is Best?............................................................106
What Do You Play?......................................................107
Pentium Systems without AGP....................................108
Pentium Pro Systems..................................................109
(continued on next page)
0
008l0f 8 continued
Upgrade Choices...................................................... ...111
The SLI Question.........................................................112
Buying a New System............................................... ..113
Socket 7 AGP...............................................................113
Pentium III Upgrades...................................................114
Future Tense............................................................. ..115
008l0f 9. l8l8lll f00f 6f80l08 08f0................ 11
Upgrade City................................................................116
Before You Start..........................................................117
Popping Open the Case...............................................118
Adding Voodoo2..........................................................118
RepIacing the Primary Card.................................... ....123
TroubIeshooting Tips............................................. .....128
The Price of GIory...................................................... .129
008l0f 10. 00l00ll0. F0 $000 $8l0M...........1J0
Deciding on the System..............................................130
SettIing on a Sound Card............................................131
Speakers................................................................. ....132
Putting It AII Together.................................................133
008l0f 11. 68Ml F0fl00f8l8.
100 100l8 0l l00 1f800..................................... 1J
Thinking and Categorizing..........................................135
Mice.............................................................................136
Joysticks.....................................................................137
Gamepads............................................................... ....138
WheeIs.........................................................................138
Use the Force..............................................................139
0
00lK . 0f08ll f00f 0lllM8l0
68M0 N800l0 8 800f'8 60l00....... ........... 140
What Is the UItimate Game Machine?..... ...................140
The Power Rig............................................................141
The Lean Machine......................................................147
00lK 8.
100 8l80k fl 0l F0fl0fM800 108ll..........11
Benchmark Types.......................................................151
How Do I?...................................................................154
Setting Up Your System.............................................154
But How Do I Test?.................................................. ..157
Game Testing.............................................................158
GameGauge 2.0..........................................................159
Your MiIeage May Vary...............................................160
00lK 0.
100 68M0f'8 60l00 l0 l8l8lll ll0K.......... 1Z
Linux - a Brief ExpIanation...................................... ..162
Choosing a Distribution.............................................163
InstaIIation Options................................................. ..164
Before InstaIIing: Know Your Hardware.....................166
InstaIIation.................................................................167
GUI and Linux..................................................... .......168
Linux and Gaming......................................................170
6l0888f.................................................................... ....1Z
f08l0f08........................................................................1
0
08
8
efore the era of Windows 95, you had to know your way around a PC fairly well
to get a game running right. Back then, Computer Gaming 101 might as well
have been called: "Understanding how to futz with the config.sys and autoex-
ec.bat files." f you don't know what this means, consider yourself lucky.
Windows 95/98 is both a blessing and a burden on computer gamers. t cleverly
masks the inner workings of a PC by wrapping it in an attractive, easy-to-use package,
and it also protects novice users from messing with things they shouldn't. A good
thing, right? Well... by doing so, Windows 95/98 also takes away much of a PC's func-
tionality. The result is gamers who often install and uninstall software and hardware,
then fine-tune their computers to accommodate the ever-changing demands of the
games. As a result, they often run into problems, which is why we created the PC
Workshop.
GameSpot's PC Workshop will take you
through the basics and beyond, not only
showing you how to fix problems common
to gamers, but revealing ways for improving
your PC's performance. And that's only the
beginning.
Though GameSpot's PC Workshop
is many things, it is not a trou-
bleshooting guide. We recommend
you contact the game's publisher
for game-specific troubleshooting
assistance and your PC or compo-
nent vendor for system-specific
troubleshooting assistance.
N0l00M0 l0
l00 N0fk800
N08l'8 l l00 F0 N0fk800F
No single guide can cover everything related to gaming and PC computer systems. As
such, the overall objective of the PC Workshop is to touch on as many issues as pos-
sible that are relevant to computers and gaming and explore the salient details as nec-
essary.
n other words, if you're in need of information for beginners - how to turn on a com-
puter or get a program started - you will be better served by other publications.
Likewise, if you're looking for the bit-by-byte minutia in one particular area, look else-
where (though throughout the course of a discussion, when appropriate, we will tell
you where to go for the details). But if you're like most gamers - somewhere between
those extremes - and are looking for a gaming-specific PC primer and a how-to all
rolled into one, you've come to the right place.
N0f0 000l l00
N0fk800
As some of you might know, PC Workshop is
a long-standing feature of GameSpot. Since
some of the installments were in dire need up
updating, we've updated each section. That
said, pricing and availability of components
listed within GameSpot's PC Workshop were
accurate as of publication. To help
GameSpot's PC Workshop stay current, we
will update relevant sections as necessity
requires. n the meantime, if you have any
comments or concerns related to the world of
GameSpot's PC Workshop, you are invited to
09
But wait, there's more!
100 68M0f'8 60l00
l0 88f0N8f0
Check out this section for the
reviews, benchmarks, and
how-tos to build your machine
and maintain it to peak
performance. The fun begins at:
The Gamer's Guide to Hardware
(http://www.gamespot.com/
hardware/index.html).
10
68M0$0l'8
88f0N8f0 FflM0f
This GameSpot hardware section
is designed to complement the
PC Workshop, and its ongoing
mission is to explore and explain
each and every component in
your system. After all, even
experts can be baffled by the
seemingly endless lists of specs
manufacturers and retailers
spew out in an effort to sell a
product. Read all about it:
GameSpot's Hardware Primer.
http://www.gamespot.com/
features/hprimer_hub/index.html
N0f0 0 l080l
Hardware compare and shop -
one click away 24 hours a day!
http://www.zdnet.com/
computershopper/
e-mail them to us via:
Letters to Loyd
http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/
letters/index.html
All set? Right. Welcome to GameSpot's PC
Workshop. Get ready to learn how to opti-
mize your existing machine, build your own
computer (no matter what your budget),
install RAM, set up a private LAN, upgrade
your graphics card, and more. Your place
at the workbench is ready, and we are here
to help.
ff00 0f 8l l088l f08ll 0008 N88
l0 k00 00f fl 00MMl
k
eeping your computer running at peak performance requires you to do a little
work on it once in a while. Some of it is easy, some is a bit more involved.
Covering the basics, this chapter discusses system requirements, graphics, and
audio drivers, disk performance, and more.
N8KlMlIl f00f
F0fl0fM800
We all know PCs are getting more and more com-
plex. Even so, if you're a casual computer user, you
can get away with working on an outdated, less-
than-optimal system. But if you are a gamer, you
must update your system along with the complexity
curve. Being on this curve might require a big hard drive, perhaps a Voodoo2 SLI 3D
setup, a fast primary graphics card, a 3D positional audio accelerator, and a ripping-
fast Internet connection. The trick, then, isn't to get the system components, but to
keep it all humming sweetly - and doing so is enough to make even the most die-hard
gamer want to exchange his rig for the wardrobe of a Trappist monk.
11
Graphics
The Sound and the Fury
Disk Performance
Internet Connectivity
Making Space
Windows Reinstall
More Information
008l0f 1
10l 0 f00f
00M0l0f
As a rule of thumb, start with the easiest solution
first and progressively work your way toward the more
difficult ones. You will save yourself a lot of frustration
if you always keep this simple rule in mind.
So, let's take a look at performance tuning. Along the way, we will go down some side
streets and examine some free - or nearly free - ways of maximizing your existing sys-
tem's performance.
l00k 8l 6f80l08
When was the last time you updated your drivers? What?! OK, fire up that Web brows-
er, log on to the nternet, and download the latest set of drivers for your graphics hard-
ware. Locations like the ZD Software Library (www.zdnet.com/swlib/) are perfect
places to begin the great driver hunt. t's amazing how much of a difference updated
drives can make in improving your system's performance. This is especially true if you
have a relatively new graphics card.
There's a syndrome called driver du jour. t comes
about every time new graphics or audio technology is
released. So, before you install those spanking new
drivers, make sure you set your system to "Standard
Display Adapter (VGA)", then reboot. Otherwise, all the
old driver files may not be replaced. See Chapter 2:
Getting Your Games to Run Right for all the details.
What follows are some basic tips for optimizing your system's graphics capabilities.
1Z
1l.
1l.
80lf080 88l0 $N00l $0l
Once you have those new drivers, play around with the refresh rate a bit at a par-
ticular resolution. Depending on the game and your system, this can make quite a
difference in frame rate. f your graphics card is just missing the next scanline, it could
cut your frame rate by as much as 50 percent. Note that the sweet spot for refresh
rate may vary according to resolution, game, and color depth. f you want a single Play
around with the refresh rate to get the best 3D gameplay frame rate.
PIay around with the refresh rate to get the best 3D gamepIay frame rate.
1J
A few accelerators, such as the 3dfx cards, let you differentiate
between 3D refresh rates and the Windows desktop 2D refresh rates. (By the
way, it's generally not a good idea to disable VSYNC for normal gameplay. You'll
see tearing of the image and other visual artifacts.)
$0f00 $890f $00l 00N
Turn off your screen saver during extended game sessions!
14
t's also a good idea to turn off the screen saver. Be aware that there is
actually more than one screen saver in Windows 98. There's the normal screen
saver - the one that displays weird animations; and there's the power management
saver - the one that shuts off your monitor. Both can interfere with gameplay. There's
nothing more disconcerting than having your monitor shutdown just as you're trying to
repel a Zerg assault in Starcraft. Worse, some games never come back after the
screen saver kicks in, and you may lose hours of play.
F0N0f8lfl $08f0N8f0 $0l0ll0
f you want a fairly inexpensive and easy way to play around with your graphics card
settings, check out Powerstrip (http://www.entechtaiwan.com). This shareware lets you
play around with a plethora of settings and even lets you alter the clock rate of your
graphics chip (take great care in doing this - you couId render your system
unbootabIe with the wrong setting). One nice feature is the ability to set refresh
rates for all resolutions without actually switching resolutions.
100 $000 80 l00 f0f
Like graphics accelerators, the new generation of 3D audio accelerators is much more
sophisticated than past generations. The result has been something of a driver du jour
phenomenon there, too, though it's not quite as drastic. Still, check to see if your audio
drivers have been updated. For example, 've seen a steady drop in the CPU use of
the Diamond Monster Sound MX300 over several driver releases. Creative Labs is
steadily introducing new features in its driver updates as well, so those are worth a
download, too.
f you do have an MX300, bring up the MX300 control panel. Click on the MD tab.
See how it's set for 320 voices? Change that to 64 voices - The Vortex2 audio acceler-
ator on the MX300 only supports 64 hardware voices, meaning the other 256 are soft-
ware only. n reality, it's the rare game that supports MD these days, but you never
know. Suffice it to say that if some of those software voices ever kick in, it's going to
cost you in terms of system performance.
1
Also make sure that audio acceleration is enabled. You can do this in the multi-
media control panel under the audio tab. Click on the Advanced Properties button
under the Playback heading. Under the Performance tab, make sure that hardware
acceleration is turned up and that sample rate conversion is turned down. Easy.
0l8k F0fl0fM800
Before you read any further, stop what you're doing, turn on your PC (if it isn't on
already) and defrag your hard drive. n Windows 95, from the Start button, you can
simply go to the Run icon, select it, and in the dialog box type in the word "defrag"
(without the quotation marks), then follow the prompts. n Windows 98, you can use
the defrag utility. And if you happen to have Norton Utilities, and you use Norton
Speedisk, you can set it up to move your files around for optimal startup. No matter
which method you use, the important thing is to defrag once a month or so.
0l8k F0fl0fM800
Nl00N8 98
f you've been using Windows 98 for a while, you may notice that your disk drive will
start thrashing madly at seemingly random intervals. t's disconcerting to say the least
and a serious performance drag at times. There are actually several potential causes
for this. First, if you have Microsoft Office 95 or 97 installed, make sure you remove
the Fast Find utility from the startup folder. Fast Find periodically indexes the hard
drive so it can search for files faster. Unfortunately, Fast Find might do its thing at real-
ly inconvenient times.
Another possible cause of disk thrashing is that Windows 98 will occasionally grow or
shrink the swap file (virtual memory file) according to some mysterious algorithm that
seems to depend on the alignment of the planets. You can eliminate this by setting the
maximum and minimum swap file sizes to the same number (this is done in
1
1
Performance tab of the System Properties window in the control panel).
A conservative rule of thumb is to set it to 2.5x of your installed memory -
though if you have more than 128MB, 1.5 to 2x is more than enough. This will cre-
ate a permanent swap file that won't grow or shrink. After you've done this, and
rebooted, you'll want to defrag one more time.
f you have two physical hard drives, putting the
swap file on the second (non-boot) hard drive can also
speed up access to virtual memory. Do not do this if you
have a single physical drive with two partitions.
f0l N0f0 0l8k F0fl0fM800 008l
Finally, one other disk performance culprit is Windows 98's disk cache. n the old days,
you had SMARTDRV, but that's long since been replaced by VCACHE. VCACHE is a
program that caches hard-drive data in system memory. The downside is that
VCACHE can get pretty big. This can have two simultaneous adverse effects. First,
you have less memory for your programs. Second, the disk will begin to thrash as
VCACHE gets big, and programs are forced to swap to virtual memory. One solution is
to limit the size of VCACHE. You do this by editing the file \windows\system.ini. Search
for VCACHE - you'll probably find it as a header with no entries underneath. deally,
you'd like VCACHE to be about a quarter of your system RAM, up to 64MB. f you
have more than 64MB, leave it at 16MB. The key is to make it a fixed number for min
and max. To do so, add two items underneath the [vcache] heading:
MinFiIeCache=16384
MaxFiIeCache=16384
OnIy do this if you have more than 16MB of system RAM or more.
You may want to play around with this setting a bit over time - but remember, any
memory that VCACHE uses isn't available for your programs. On the other hand, if
VCACHE is too small, you'll notice more disk activity every time you load your system.
80l0.
f you're curious, you can monitor your VCACHE behavior with a cool tool called
VCMon (http://www.sysinternals.com/vcmon.htm), which you can download from its
web site.
ll0f0l 0000ll9ll
The best thing you can do to improve your performance when connected to the
nternet is to make sure your SP (nternet service provider) has a fat pipe to the
nternet. Your SP's pipeline size isn't always obvious, and sometimes takes a little dig-
ging to find it. Obviously, a provider with redundant T3 lines will yield much better per-
formance than an SP with a single T1 line. Half of the battle is knowing what to look
for, and now you know. For more about connecting to the nternet, check out Chapter
3: nternet Gaming Tune-Up.
N8kl 0000ll08 Nll0 Nl00N8 9
You connect to the nternet using the TCP/P protocol. And if you're still running
Windows 95, one of the key issues with the way Windows 95 handles dial-up TCP/P
connections is an arcane parameter known as MaxTMU. mproving connectivity either
involves editing the (shudder) registry. Or, you can download the nifty shareware utility
TweakDUN (Tweak dial-up networking). (http://www.pattersondesigns.com/tweakdun/)
t is shareware, though, so if you find it useful, make sure you pony up the 15 bucks -
it's a small price for this nifty utility.
N8kl $800
There are a few other things you can do to boost system performance. One thing to do
is remove all the files that are created in the temporary folders. once found 9MB of
data in \windows\temp and 10MB in \temp. That's a lot of disk space for files that have
only been used once. Another space hog is the good old Recycle Bin. f you right click
18
on the recycle bin, you can change the setting for how much disk space is
reserved for the recycle bin. f you have a big drive, set this to 2 or 3 percent. That
should be enough space.
While we're on the topic of disk space, also check to see that the space reserved for
nternet temporary files is also in the 2 percent range. You can do this from the
nternet control panel. The temporary file property sheet is one of the first listings you
see.
For optimum gamepIay, deactivate unnecessary background programs.
19
For best gaming performance, you never want to have anything running
in the background. Unfortunately, Windows 98 sets up a lot of programs to
autostart when you boot the system. To streamline your system this way, run
MSCONFG from the Start menu.. You can easily uncheck items you don't want
loaded. Don't forget that you can always reselect these items after you've concluded
your gaming session. What Windows 98 taketh away, Windows 98 can giveth back.
One type of software that tends to interact badly with games is virus checkers. You
may want to deactivate it during gameplay, then turn it back on when you're done.
Another type are background monitors, like those loaded by Norton Utilities or Nuts
and Bolts. Especially deactivate crash protection software while playing games. This
type of software works pretty well with standard Windows applications, but, as you
know, games are a different beast altogether.
Nl00N8 80l8l8ll
Finally, if your system has bogged down to a snail's pace, and nothing you do can
perk it up again, you may need to do a clean reinstall of Windows. f you need that
step-by-step how-to, you're in luck: Check out Chapter 2: Getting Games to Run Right,
under the sub-heading The Hard. Don't worry, it's not all that bad.
0000kll8l 80l0f0 f00 60...
Before running off to Chapter 2, note that you do not need to reformat your hard drive,
but you will need to boot to the DOS prompt and remove the Windows directory. Don't
worry, we will show you what that's all about in Chapter 2. So here's a checklist of
things to do before you go:
QQQ Back up any e-maiI fiIes - especiaIIy if you use OutIook 98.
QQQ Back up your favorites foIder (if you're an Internet ExpIorer user),
your diaI-up networking settings, and your password (.pwd) fiIes.
QQQ Make absoIuteIy sure you have aII your Iatest drivers and appIica-
tions instaII CDs because you're going to be reinstaIIing everything
from scratch.
Z0
You can save some effort by copying \win95, \win98 or \windows (depending on
which operating system you are using) from the CD to the hard drive. That way,
you can run setup right from the hard drive. (t may be useful to do a refresh install
first. That is, run Windows setup from within Windows. Sometimes that will do the
trick, especially with Windows 98.) Of course, all this and more is covered in Chapter
2. You are now free to go there.
By now, you should have a taste of the things you can do to improve the performance.
There's lots more information available on the nternet and in other Ziff-Davis publica-
tions. We've found the following web sites useful:
Z1
N0f0 ll0.
80lN0fkl
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/
j_helmig/faq.htm
(Windows 95 networking FAQ)
6f80l08
http://www.tweak3d.net
(3D graphics cards and other great tweaks)
600f8l Nl00N8
http://www.koan.com/~dwhr/performance.html
http://www.annoyances.org/win98/
(A pair of great places to go to make your Windows
sparkle)
00l0ll0000K 80l0ll08 l0 8Ml'8
M08l 90Kl f00l0M
8
othing is more troubling than buying a hot new game only to find that you can't
get it to run. This chapter tells you what to do to target the problem in your com-
puter (or in the game) and things you can do to fix it - like getting the latest driv-
ers and patches, dealing with software conflicts, refreshing and reinstalling Windows,
and more.
80N 80l l0 80 M0
l00 00080 f0N
There are more computer games out there than ever before. That must mean more
people are playing games. While this is a good thing, the ultimate result is that more
people are having problems with their games right out of the box. A lot of people tell
me that it's because Windows 95/98 and DirectX are more complex. But 'm not entire-
ly convinced. t may be the game. t may be your system. Or both. Regardless, am
sure that many people seem to have no problems at all, which makes it even more
frustrating when you seem to be one of the "chosen few" who can't get his games to
work or run right. And if you're among the latter group, you've come to the right place.
ZZ
The Easy
The Hard
The Expensive
ConcIusion
008l0f Z
60lll 68M08
l0 80 8l0l
Divided into three distinct sections, this chapter covers all big bases in an effort to
get your games (and your systems) to run the way they ought:
The Easy section discusses the simplest things you can go to get that darned game to
run right. t's here where talk about things like reading all the documentation that
came with the game, how to go about looking for the latest drivers and patches, and
how to handle software conflicts.
The Hard contains information about performing a refresh install of Windows 95/98 or,
if that doesn't help, a complete reinstall of Windows 95/98.
The Expensive is the chapter to turn to when all else fails. t's here talk about pur-
chasing and using uninstaller software and replacing outdated hardware.
One last word before we get busy: recall endless hours of trying to squeeze out
enough lower memory with arcane DOS memory managers, futzing around with VESA
TSRs, and trying to figure out which sound driver would actually work. But it was very
easy to get into the guts of MS-DOS and figure out what was going on. With Windows
95/98, there are a lot of layers that can hide the actual problem - plus, there's more
stuff going on in your system that may have nothing to do with games but can cause
conflicts.
100 l88
n this section, 'll tell you about:
QQQ Looking for an answer to your probIem in the game documentation
QQQ Finding the Iatest drivers and patches
QQQ Finding software confIicts and deaIing with them
ZJ
Z4
Some of what talk about here will seem pretty obvious, but sometimes in the
heat of a frustrating problem, it's easy to overlook the obvious. 've done it myself,
and you may feel embarrassed ( have). But if it solves the problem, that's what
counts. As mentioned in chapter one, you should always start with the easiest solu-
tion first and progressively work your way toward the more difficult choices.
The first thing 'll cover in this section is about reading the manual and the readme file
thoroughly. know, it sounds like a silly thing to bring up. But get as excited as you
probably do when have a new game in my hands, and always want to jump in and
start playing. t'd be great were it that easy every time.... Obviously, a game's docu-
mentation sometimes holds the answer to why the game isn't running right.
f you don't find the solution there, the next easiest thing to do is make sure you have
the latest driver releases and look to see if the company released any patches. Last,
'll show you how to check to make sure there aren't any software conflicts on your
computer, and if there are, what you can do to resolve them.
0000k l00 N808l
Games are easy to install. f you have autoplay enabled (the Windows 95 feature that
causes small menus to pop up or programs to run when you put a CD in the drive),
then installation often consists of little more than a couple of mouse-clicks. This means
it's very tempting to neglect to read the manual. And it's even easier to overlook the
critical readme file.
Here's a case in point. recently installed Wing Commander: Prophecy on my high-
powered computer system. Great, thought. have a 32x CD-ROM drive, a 300MHz
CPU, a fast graphics card, and a relatively fresh install of Windows 95 and DirectX. No
problem, right? Well, while playing the intro movie, there was constant frame skipping
and pauses in the video. The graphics card am using has superb video playback
capability, so was baffled. tried all kinds of things, from slowing down the CD drive
utilities supplied by the vendor to reinstalling graphics drivers. No joy.
Then it occurred to me to read the readme file. According to the readme, it
turns out that the game has a problem with Monster Sound audio cards, and, as it
turned out there was a simple fix. The moral: would have saved myself a good hour
had bothered to check the readme file earlier.
So, check all the readme files, the manual, and any odd little fly sheets that may have
been inserted in the box. Your salvation may lie there.
0fl90f 00 l00f
Microsoft has been busy cranking out new versions of DirectX at a breathless pace.
Stack that on top of the dizzying release of new hardware, and you have driver hell.
Trying to keep up with new driver releases is practically a job in itself. This is exacer-
bated by the practice of games releasing and requiring recent driver support. Most
hardware companies are constantly feeding game developers new hardware and driv-
er releases, many of which never see the light of day. When the game ships, it's the
user who discovers that this hot new game doesn't work with his system. Sometimes
the readme file lists a specific driver version, but more often than not you're told to
"...make sure you have the latest drivers for your hardware."
Z
A readme file is a text file, often put on the game
CD at the last minute that, not surprisingly, contains last-
minute information about the game, including changes
and corrections to the manual or technical fixes and
notifications. The readme file usually appears in the form
of Read.me, Readme.doc, or Readme.txt, and can be
found on the game CD or in the game's directory on
your hard drive after the game is installed.
80l0.
Getting the latest drivers isn't too much of a problem (except for the download time) if
you have fairly common hardware components. But if you have any obscure or old
hardware, tracking down recent drivers can be a challenge. Nevertheless, besides
reading the manuals and online documents, getting new drivers is the first thing you
should try. But this begs the question: How can you tell which hardware component is
the source of a problem?
Sometimes answering the above question is easy - for example, severely corrupted
graphics usually means a graphics glitch. But let's say you start the game and all that
happens is that the screen goes blank. What do you do? Well, that's when the fun
begins. More on that in a moment. In the meantime, you should know that the two
most common contributors to most gamer's headaches are in the areas of graphics
and audio, even with DirectX (or sometimes because of DirectX). So, it comes down to
this: If you can locate the most recent versions of your graphics and sound card driv-
ers, you're off to a good start.
So, how do you find out who made your graphics and audio card? What follows is a
basic how-to for finding out. It assumes you have some technical expertise. We under-
stand that a lot of people aren't comfortable popping the hood on their computer, and if
you're one of them, you should probably call your computer vendor's tech support
group. Even better, if you have a tech-savvy friend, give him or her a ring. However,
$
device driver n: a small piece of software created
by the hardware manufacturer that lets software, such as
a game or operating system, communicate with its hard
ware component; the latest version can usually be found
on the hardware manufacturer's web site
JA
Check out the PC Workshop Glossary for more
definitions of key terms.
JA
if you're stuck, and you want to find out what's inside your system
quickly, you can do this pretty easily if you have DirectX 7.0 (as of this writing
the latest version of DirectX from Microsoft). Here we go....
Look on your system hard drive (most likely C:) in the directories C:\Program
Files\DirectX\setup. There, you'll find a program called DxDiag (previously called
Dxinfo). When you launch DxDiag, you'll see a very busy screen.
DxDiag gives you a wealth of useful information buried in a mound of obscure data.
The right-hand box gives you specific information about your graphics and sound hard-
ware, including the card name, manufacturer, chip type, and so on. (f you're running
generic drivers for your graphics card, this might not help you determine exactly who
makes it, but it's a start.) Once you know who the manufacturer of your video and
sound cards is, you can look for its web site online to find and download the latest
drivers. Then, follow the instructions (that should be provided) on how to update the
driver.
Of course, it's a sad truth that the latest drivers won't always cure a problem, and in
fact, they may introduce new ones. Nonetheless, updating your driver set is one of the
first things you should do.
68M0 880l08
t's always possible that the game itself is at fault and not your computer. Sometimes,
when games are rushed out the door, last-minute fixes don't make it into the version
you buy. What the game company will do is release a patch, a small file that automati-
cally fixes problems with the game. Often times, patches fix a conflict between the
game and a specific hardware component. So, it behooves you to check the web site
of the game company to see if a patch has been released.
Z
patch n: a small piece of software released by a
game manufacturer to fix problems and bugs in a game
after the game's release; can be found on the game
company's web site
80l0.
After you download the patch, follow the installation instructions that should
accompany it.
$0llN8f0 00lll0l8
Another common problem source for a game is the other software on your computer.
Computer systems are getting complex enough that software conflicts can arise. Most
of the time, you will be completely unaware of the cause of your woe, because the
guilty application started up automatically on boot-up and is innocently running in the
background.
If you suspect a software conflict, the first thing
to do is to boot your system as cleanly as pos-
sible. But first, unless you have drivers in your
Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files that you
know you absolutely need, rename these two
files to something like Config.bak and
Autoexec.bak so nothing inside them loads the
next time you boot your system.
Second, remove everything from your StartUp folder. You'll find your StartUp folder in
C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp. Many applications install small apps that
help speed up indexing or perform some other function - and you're never told about
them.
Z8
config.sys n: a file used by
the operating system to specify
certain device configurations
and variables
autoexec.bat n: a batch file
containing a list of drivers and
other programs your system
needs to run its devices
Check out the PC Workshop Glossary for more
definitions of key terms.
80l0.
A few programs have their startup information located in the system registry.
The registry is a database kept by Windows 95 to track all the hardware and soft-
ware in your system. Unless you're very comfortable editing the registry, steer away
from making any changes in it.
Once you boot into a clean system, try the game again. f it runs, then you can begin
the process of slowly checking each driver or application until you uncover the culprit.
100 88f0
n this section, 'll tell you about:
QQQ Refreshing your Windows 95 setup to get your system
back to normaI
QQQ ReinstaIIing Windows 95 to cIean out any detritus Ieft behind by
uninstaIIed software
There are really only two steps here, and both involve reinstalling Windows 95. The
first, the refresh install, is the easier of the two, since you don't have to reinstall
Windows 95 completely. All you'll do is run Windows 95 setup off of the CD to let it
check for any system files that might have been changed by some software program,
such as a game. Sometimes the new files can cause problems with another game, so
you can try to fix the problem by going back to the old files, or you might just be miss-
ing a file from before, which will then be reinstalled.
f that doesn't do the trick, you might have to resort to doing something more difficult:
reinstalling Windows 95. After doing this, you'll have a fresh version of Windows 95
installed on your system and hopefully a better-running game. Doing the thermonu-
clear reinstall is riskier and much more involved than the refresh install, but it is neces-
sary from time to time.
Z9
100 80lf080 l8l8ll
A refresh install of Windows 95 isn't really all that difficult. Basically, all you must do is
pop your Windows 95 CD into your CD-ROM drive and run the setup program (if it
doesn't autoplay). Occasionally, a dialogue box may pop up telling you that a particular
file trying to be installed is older than the one on your hard drive. Read the dialogue in
the box carefully: clicking Yes means keep the file, clicking No means delete it and
replace it with the older file. Here's what to do.
The first time around, answer Yes to all these questions. This will preserve your exist-
ing system, but will also reinstall any files that may have accidentally been deleted or
moved. f your game still won't run right, do this refresh install again, but answer No. n
this case, your configuration will remain the same, so all your applications will still be
available, and your desktop settings will be remembered. After doing this, it is possible
that some applications may not run properly, so you might need to reinstall the ones
that don't seem to be working right.
f this still doesn't fix the problem, there's only one other choice...
100 100fM000l08f 80l8l8ll
Windows 95 deteriorates over time, which is actually true with most complex operating
systems. n a previous life, managed a network of minicomputers, and once a year,
we'd back everything up and do a cold load and restart of the operating systems. So,
the idea is nothing new, it's just that now you get to do this little chore with your home
PC.
First, back up all your valuable data. This might include save-game files, but the most
important stuff is critical information like homework, business correspondence, data-
bases, invoices, and so on.
J0
Now, back it up again - really. You
mean you trust all your data to a
fragile backup medium like floppy
disks? There's no turning back
after a certain point, so make sure
you back up all the data that's
important to you twice before going
any further.
Now that you have your system
backed up, make sure you have all
the software you need. If you have
two hard drives or a zip drive, put
all the current drivers for your
hardware on one of them so you
don't have to hunt around for flop-
pies. If your original copy of
Windows 95 was the upgrade ver-
sion (meaning you had a copy of
Windows 3.1 before and only
bought the $99 upgrade), make
sure you have the original
Windows 3.1 disks around (you
won't have to reinstall Windows
3.1, but you will be asked to put in
the original setup disk for verifica-
tion). Also, make sure you have a
boot floppy disk with your CD-
ROM driver installed.
J1
$l0 0 $l0. 0f08ll
8 800l fl0
Don't know how to create a boot floppy? In
Windows 95, creating a boot disk is very sim-
ple. Here's how:
1. Launch the Control Panel (Start
button/Settings/Control Panel).
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs
applet to start it.
3. Select the Startup Disk tab.
4. You must have your Windows 95 CD ready
to get the setup files off it. (If you bought your
system with Windows 95 preinstalled, the
setup files may be on your hard drive
already.) Once you have a blank floppy disk
and the Windows 95 CD in the CD-ROM
drive, click on the Create Disk button.
Windows 95 will then automatically create a
startup floppy disk for you.
5. After it finishes creating the disk, several
things are still missing from it. First, you must
copy the DOS real-mode CD-ROM drivers
onto it. You must have these on the disk if
you're going to install Windows 95 from a CD.
If you don't have these CD-ROM device driv-
ers, you must obtain them first. You should
have a floppy disk that came with your system
containing these drivers. If not, contact your
computer vendor to ask for them.
(continued on next page)
JZ
6. You also need the Himem.sys file. Himem.sys is found in
your main Windows directory (C:\Windows).
7. Finally, you'll need the DOS CD file system driver. This
file is called Mscdex and is in the C:\Windows\Command
folder.
8. Copy these files to the boot floppy.
9. Now that you have the proper drivers ready to go on the
boot floppy, use Notepad (if you're in Win 95, click
Start/Accessories/Notepad) or the DOS text editor (if you're
in DOS, type "edit" at the prompt) to create a new file called
Config.sys. n this file, add the following lines:
Device=himem.sys
Device=atapi_cd.sys /d:mscd001
10. Save the file (from the menu, choose File, then Save,
and name it Config.sys).
11. Create another new file (File/New). n it, add one line:
MSCDEX /d:mscd001
12. Save that file like before and name it Autoexec.bat.
You've now created a boot floppy.
f, by chance, you don't have Windows 95, the other way to
create a startup floppy is to put a floppy disk in the floppy
disk drive and from the DOS prompt type: "Format A: /s".
The /s option tells it to install the system files. Then, copy to
the floppy scandisk.exe (or chkdsk.exe if you have a really
old version of DOS), himem.sys, format.*, sys.*, fdisk.*, and
edit.*. (You will also need to copy the CD-ROM device driv-
ers as explained previously and create the proper config.sys
and autoexec.bat files.)
JJ
80l08 l0f 080f8 0l 00M8@ Ff088fl08, l8N
ll988, 80 0l00f 88l0M8 Nll0 f0l8l8ll00
Nl00N8 9
Some computers come with Windows 95 preinstalled along with various
methods for restoring the original state of the system. f you own one of
these systems, using the vendor's utilities may work better. Two big
vendors that do this are Compaq (for its Presario line) and BM (for the
Aptiva). These systems ship with Windows 95 - including all the setup
files - preinstalled on the hard drive. The problem is that if you reformat
your hard drive, you remove all the Windows 95 setup files.
Don't panic, there's a way out. Both BM and Compaq supply you with
a recovery CD. What the CD does is simply restore the disk to the same
configuration as when you first bought the system. The CD contains a
disk image of the original hard drive. When you run the recovery disk
utilities, your hard drive's original state, as it existed when you first
unpacked the computer, will be restored. Both vendors let you do this
without even having a boot floppy, but creating one is still a good idea.
Other systems with Windows preinstalled handle things a bit differently.
Micron actually ships you a normal Windows 95 CD, but it also supplies
a custom boot disk with the CD drivers preinstalled. Make a backup of
this floppy and keep it in a safe place. Gateway does something simi-
lar, too.
The bottom line is that if you bought a system with Windows 95 prein-
stalled, make sure you understand how Windows is installed and what
utilities the vendor may have supplied to help you recover your system's
original state.
Test the boot floppy before you do anything else by rebooting your computer
with it in the floppy drive. Make sure it loads your CD driver and that you can
access a CD. The boot floppy should also have Fdisk.exe, Format.com, Sys.com,
Himem.sys, and Scandisk.exe, all of which are located in C:\Windows or
C:\Windows\Command. Edit the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files to make sure that
Himem.sys is loaded in addition to your CD driver.
Now take a deep breath.
nsert the boot floppy into the floppy drive and reformat your C: drive: Type FORMAT
C: /S /V
The /S places the boot files from the floppy disk on the hard drive; the /V prompts you
for a name for the volume. After the format is complete, put the Windows 95 CD in the
CD drive, change to the drive letter of the CD drive, and type "setup". Reinstall
Windows 95, install all your drivers, install the problem game, and see if it works. f it
does, then you're on your way.
This sounds like a lot of work, and it is. But even if this doesn't get your game to run
right, there can be a huge upside: t is amazing how a sluggish, crash-prone system
will suddenly have a new lease on life after a reformat and reinstall of Windows.
So, what do you do if you reinstall Windows, and your game still doesn't run right?
Money might just be the answer.
100 lK08l90
n this section, 'll tell you about:
QQQ Buying a good uninstaIIer program and what it can do for you
QQQ Upgrading the aging hardware in your computer system
J4
When all else fails, you may have to dip into your pocketbook. You knew the
day would come when you would have to upgrade that old video card or outdated
sound card. But there is something else you can do before you start exchanging
components. Buy a good uninstaller software.
An uninstaller program is not that expensive and may be worth owning anyway. What
these programs do is go through your system, find any garbage left behind when
some piece of software didn't uninstall itself completely, and dispose of it properly. Not
only will this free up some hard drive space, it might also improve your system per-
formance.
The alternative is a bit more straining on the pocketbook. Sometimes, you just have to
bite the bullet and upgrade that old hardware in your system. The good thing is that
you can get away with buying something newer, but not necessarily the newest. 'll
give you a few tips before you go out and open that wallet in an effort to get the latest
games to run right.
0l8l8ll0f8
Reformatting your hard drive and reinstalling your operating system is such a painful
chore that most people keep putting it off. Luckily, there's a class of tools that actually
helps you delay that painful task. These are uninstallers. 've tried a couple, and the
ones 've found most useful are:
Quarterdeck's CIeanSweep -
http://www.symantec.com/corporate/quarterdeck/index.html
MicroheIp's UnInstaIIer -
http://www.cybermedia.com/products/uninstaller/uninstallerhome.html
Take the time to learn about them well before using them extensively. After many revi-
sions, these programs are pretty safe, but it's still possible to get yourself into trouble.
J
Once you get the hang of them, you'll wonder how you lived without
them. Not only do they clean up the detritus left after incomplete uninstalls, they
also give you back some disk space and clean out your system registry.
80l80l 88f0N8f0
Short of upgrading your entire system, the reason to replace a piece of hardware is
that it might get old enough such that it is no longer supported. Some hardware takes
longer to become obsolete than others, but if you simply can't find support for that
aging Pro Audio Spectrum sound card, it's time to cast it aside.
When you do replace hardware, my general philosophy is, "Don't buy cutting edge, but
don't buy 'great deals,' either." The cutting edge usually has its own share of problems,
including the driver du jour syndrome. A deal that's too good to be true is also a warn-
ing: it often means that a particular piece of hardware is about to become obsolete. Be
wary. Ask your friends, check the online services, and read the reviews. Then, buy
carefully.
For reviews of the latest hardware check out The Ultimate Game Machine in The
GameSpot's Hardware. (http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/ugm/index.html)
000l08l0 ll'8 8 68M0
Troubleshooting a game that won't run is sometimes as easy as perusing the readme
file or as difficult as reinstalling Windows 95/98. Most problems lie somewhere in
between. The key is to start with a well-tuned system, then work from there (see
Chapter 1: Tuning Up Your Computer).
Of course, if your best efforts yield no joy, it's possible that the game simply won't run
well on your system. There is nearly an infinite number of hardware combinations, and
some games just won't run on them all. Make sure you let the support staff at the
game company know what your problem is. Send it not only a description of your
J
problem, but your specific configuration information. We've all seen
patches issued that fix obscure hardware problems, but unless you report the
problem, the fix for your particular system may never get implemented.
Finally, remember that if all else fails, what you're dealing with is a game. t may be a
cool game, and you may feel left out by not playing it - but it is a game, one among
hundreds. You can always return it and get another one. Who knows, you may find a
real sleeper that deserves some attention.
J
60lll 0000l00 80 0l l88l0f
It's one thing to connect to the Internet for Web browsing; it's another thing to play
games on it. This chapter not only gives you a better understanding of how you con-
nect to the Internet, but how it all works. Then, once everything is working right, this
chapter turns it up a notch and gives you advice how to speed up your connection for
playing games.
Ff0llMl8fl08
Before we get into how to tune your Internet
connection, let's first discuss how to connect
to the Internet. "Huh?" I hear you ask. "But I'm
reading this on a web page, so I'm already
connected to the Internet."
Yes, you are, but do you know how you got
there? Most users create their first Internet
connection through an automated install program, through a service like America
Online. Or, they get online via a preinstalled connection on their systems. Let's say
you want to change service providers. Or something happens, your hard drive gets
J8
008l0f J
ll0f0l 68Ml l
l00 f88l l80
Getting Connected
Connectivity Options
Service Providers
Software Necessities
Other Cool Stuff
Sharing an Internet Connection
Hunt the Wumpus - er, Server
Voice Communications
munged, and you reinstall Windows 98. 've discovered that many automated
nternet setup programs don't do a good job of helping you set up a second time to
an existing connection. So, 'm going to give you the under-the-hood method for set-
ting up your service provider connection. Most of this assumes you're connecting from
home. f you're one of those fortunate few who connect from a school campus or work
setting with high speed, dedicated lines, consider yourselves lucky.
60lll 0000l00
Getting connected to the nternet can sometimes feel like the computer equivalent of
trying to navigate the maze in the original Zork game - "You are in maze with twisty lit-
tle passages, none of which are alike." Just bear in mind that once you get connected,
it's a snap from then on. With a little perseverance, you can be literally a double-click
away from a world of gaming. Getting to that first time, though, can seem like
Xenophon's march to the sea.
0000ll9ll 0ll08
There are numerous ways to get plugged in to the nternet. All have their good points,
it's just a matter of what you plan to do while online and how much you can afford to
spend.
N000M8 F01$ IFl8l 0l0 10l0000 $0f9l00l
There are a few essentials you need before plunging into the nternet gaming fray. The
first is a good modem. Whatever you do, don't skimp on your modem. Cheap modems
often fare poorly on many phone lines, resulting in overall slower speeds and lost data.
n terms of gameplay, this means that the game can get out of synch. When a game
gets out of synch, it sometimes simply quits; other games may exhibit strange behav-
ior, like being able to aim, shoot, but not hit anything. The bottom line is get a good
modem.
J9
There's been lots of hoopla about modem speeds. Modem speed is measured
in baud rate, which is an arcane measurement first used to measure the speed of
teletype machines. However, baud rate has pretty much become synonymous with
bits per second, with 8 bits equaling one byte. For the most part, there's no reason not
to get a good 56K modem. The V.90 standard for 56K has now been nailed down.
Make sure your SP supports V.90. f it doesn't, make sure it supports both older, pro-
prietary standards (x2 or K56flex). That way, you'll have complete freedom of choice
for modems.
There's a new wrinkle in the modem world, partly due to innovations on the part of var-
ious manufacturers and Windows 95 OSR2.1 and Windows 98. t's called modem
bonding.
Modem bonding requires two phone lines and two modems. This idea actually came
from SDN's multilink capability, which links two 64kb SDN lines into a single virtual
connection. Some vendors are already making modem hardware that combines dual
modems into a single unit. Others use software techniques. Examples include
Diamond's new Shotgun technology, 3Com's dual modem unit, and Windows 95's own
modem-pairing setup that appeared in OSR2.1 and is prominently featured in
Windows 98. When tested Diamond's Shotgun technology, throughput increased, but
lag time didn't change. So modem bonding may buy you faster data transfers (at the
expense of a second phone line), but won't buy you reduced lag time.
f you do go with modem service (due to unavailability of any low-cost digital services,
like cable or xDSL), shop carefully for your modem. Avoid any modem labeled a
"Winmodem." These modems are soft modems, which use a good chunk of your
CPUs horsepower to handle modem chores. The net result is increased lag time and a
poor nternet gaming experience. Make sure that the modem you choose has a dedi-
cated controller chip. Note that the majority of PC modems are soft modems, so you
should probably avoid them, in general. All external modems have their own con-
trollers. n the past, though, external modems have had a somewhat reduced transfer
rate due to the limitations of the PC serial port. Now, however, there are USB modems
emerging. So your best bet is to find a good USB modem.
40
There are other methods of connecting to the nternet, depending on what part
of the country you live in and your disposable income. These include SDN, xDSL,
and cable modems.
l$08
SDN (integrated services digital network) requires special, conditioned phone lines to
be installed in your location. The phone company dropped the ball early on with SDN,
but some of the RBOC's (regional Bell operating companies) have woken up a bit.
use an SDN connection, and it's noticeably faster than even a 56K modem. Lag time -
that measurement of how long a packet takes to get from point A to point Z through
the nternet - seems quite a bit lower with SDN, too. SDN maxes out at 128KB per
second, though there's a hidden D channel that can pick things up to 160KB per sec-
ond under certain circumstances. My SP also uses a compression scheme supported
by my SDN terminal adapter that can increase the effective speed to 512KB per sec-
ond under certain circumstances.
n my local area (northern California), an SDN line costs about as much per month as
a standard POTS line - but get two phone numbers and two connections. use a
3Com mpactQ, which lets me connect an external fax machine - not quite as fast as
the Diamond Netcommander internal SDN adapter, but more convenient for me.
However, rates during the day are around a penny per minute per line when connect-
ed. So, if 'm connected at 128KB, 'm paying 2 cents per minute to the phone compa-
ny from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. On the upside, the first 200 off-peak hours are free. My
SP rates are higher, too, at $60 per month instead of the more typical $20. So SDN is
definitely more expensive than a 56K modem connection.
There are two ways to connect with SDN. You can have an individual SDN connec-
tion - much like a modem connection. Or, you can use a router. A router is a network
device that you connect to with an ethernet card in your PC. The router itself handles
the chores of dialing up the SP and making the connection. t used to be that a router
required a dedicated P address, but some new low-cost routers for the home office
market can use dial-up connections which dynamically assign P addresses. Some of
you may be thinking, "Gosh, can connect my two PCs to the nternet and have
41
serious multiplayer gaming." Unfortunately, due to the nature of this
connection, only the first PC is seen by a server service (like the many
Quakeworld servers out there). f you want multiple PCs to connect to these types
of gaming services through a single router, each PC must have a dedicated P
address supplied by the service provider. t's not a cheap answer.
Despite that fact that in normal use, SDN's transfer rate doesn't seem all that much
greater than a 56K modem (particularly if you're limited to single line SDN), lag times
are much reduced on average. SDN is a true digital service. 've seen ping times as
low as 45ms, compared to best ping times of 120ms with an analog modem connected
to the same SP. So if you cannot get xDSL or cable modem service, it may be worth
investigating SDN.
080l0 N000M8
Many of the cable TV companies are aggressively upgrading their networks to handle
two-way service. Part of this is to simply create additional interactive services for their
television viewers, but they also want to get in on some of that nternet action. The
potential speed of cable modems is initially dazzling - 10-megabits per second. That
initially seems quite exhilarating - an nternet connection in your home that's as fast as
an ethernet connection. Then, Joe next door gets one. And Patricia down the street
jumps into the fray. Guess what: on your local loop, it's 10-megabits per second that's
shared by everyone. There's not a lot of hard data yet, but on a busy loop, it might not
be the nirvana people are hoping for. Several of the Computer Gaming World editors
have cable modems and have reported generally good results. And the lag time has
always been very low, even when a lot of people were on the nternet.
Most cable modems are network devices. When you sign up for cable service, the
tech shows up, installs an ethernet card in your PC (if you don't already have one),
then connects the cable modem to the PC via a LAN connection. The pricing structure
for cable modems looks pretty good. The costs range from $29 top $49 per month.
And you're connected to the nternet all the time - which means that you now actually
have a computer security problem to worry about. However, it's a minor headache for
high-performance connectivity.
4Z
K0$l I0lll8l $0080fl00f l00l
Like cable modems and routers, DSL modems are network devices, so you need an
ethernet card in your PC to make it work. There are a number of flavors of DSL
(hence the "x"), so check with your local phone company. Despite some early skepti-
cism, the phone companies seem pretty serious this time around. Recently, Microsoft,
Compaq, and ntel have put their combined muscle behind one of the many flavors of
DSL.
n my local area, Pacific Bell offers DSL. The current downside to DSL is that you must
be within three miles of the local switching office. The switching offices will be gradual-
ly upgraded over time, and that distance limitation may stretch out a bit. The good
news is that DSL works over existing standard copper phone wire, meaning no new
lines must be installed. And because the DSL signal is at different bandwidth than your
regular telephone, you can simultaneously make phone calls and be online using a
single copper line.
Currently, an inexpensive DSL connection in California costs roughly $50 per month,
including SP charges. This is a little more than analog modem service, but you get
much better throughput (128Kbps upstream and 384Kbps downstream). Ping times
are also very good. However, a DSL line is only a network connection, so you can't
make phone calls on it using your computer (except with one of those nternet phone
packages). The initial cost of the hardware is pretty steep, too - around $300 to $600 if
you don't have an ethernet card and want a tech to install the gear for you, although
some providers are waiving installation charges.
have a slightly different type of DSL into my home office. went through @work (a
division of @home, which also provides cable modem services). have a small busi-
ness LAN package, which gives me a dozen dedicated P addresses. Since have
several computers going, it's very nice to connect them all to the nternet for gaming at
the same time. t's not cheap, though, at $200 per month for 200Kbps service. (t's
symmetric DSL, so both the upstream and downstream rates are 200Kbps).
4J
$0f9l00 Ff09l00f8
A home computer connects to the nternet through an nternet service provider (SP for
short). Choosing the right service provider is critical for nternet gaming. The reason
for this is network latency. Data travels through the nternet in a series of small pack-
ets - and no two packets must take the same route. The more servers a data packet
passes through, the longer it takes to get from one point to the other. The latency is a
measure of the amount of time packets take to get from your computer to the game
server and back. The problem is that many games can't handle latencies in excess of
100ms - most require shorter times.
The key to shortening your latency is to find an SP that directly connects to one of the
high-speed telecommunications backbones. n telecom parlance, a backbone is one of
the major data communications superhighways tying smaller networks together. Just
because an SP is big doesn't always mean that latencies are short, so check careful-
ly. The good news is that it's relatively easy to switch SPs, but that means your e-mail
address will change often, too.
$0llN8f0 800088lll08
Now that you've got your modem, it's time to configure Windows 95 to connect. 'm
assuming you're using Windows 95 because most of the newest, coolest multiplayer
games use it (though note that the procedure is basically the same for Windows 98
users). You need three pieces of software to get connected to the nternet: the dial-up
adapter, TCP/P networking software, and a browser.
The first item you need is the dial-up adapter. You add the dial-up adapter through the
network control panel applet, which exists in your Windows 95 control panel.
44
Adding a diaI-up adapter is as easy as cIicking a mouse.
The dial-up adapter makes your modem look like a network interface card to your
TCP/P software.
TCP/P software is the Rosetta Stone that lets disparate computers communicate.
Luckily, Windows 95 comes with its own TCP/P software. You use the Windows 95
control panel to configure TCP/P.
There are a host of arcane configuration options that must be set up. Usually, your SP
supplies you with all the settings for its servers. Many service providers have automat-
ed the setup process - all you must do is run the install utility, and all the necessary
parameters are automatically configured. Even if there isn't a setup utility, your SP will
4
supply you with instructions on setting up your TCP/P software. There
are really only a handful of important parameters: the P addresses of your
SP's servers, the domain name (for example, pacbell.net or dnai.com), your
account name, and password. f you plan on using e-mail and nternet news feeds,
you'll also need the names of the mail and news servers - those are usually just
mail.domainname and news.domainname.
This is what the controI paneI to configure TCP/IP Iooks Iike. Now, you must
configure the settings. Check with your ISP for the settings you need.
Finally, you'll need a Web browser to gain initial access to many of the gaming sites on
the nternet. Unless you've been living in a cave on a desert island, you already know
that the two leading Web browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft's nternet
Explorer. Both are good browsers to use for accessing most nternet gaming sites.
Your SP will supply you with one or the other of the browsers, if you don't have them
already.
4
0l00f 000l $l0ll
f you get heavily involved in multiplayer gaming - and the temptation to play other
people rather than the sterile A in most games is enormous - there are some other
useful items that will make life easier. One of the nicest items to have is a second
phone line that's dedicated to your modem. Your friends might just wonder what's up
with the constant busy signal if you're using a modem to connect, so a second phone
line lets you still have a life.
Windows 95 comes with a very useful tool, WNPCFG. Most SPs assign your com-
puter's P address dynamically - it changes from one session to the next. You may
need to know your own P address if you're hosting a Kali game session. WNPCFG
shows you your current P address.
F0fl0fM800 0llllll08
Windows also has a key utility to help you keep your connections running quickly and
smoothly. This utility has to do with the age-old issue called lag time - the time it takes
for packets of information to make their rounds.
1f800fl
With Windows 95, you can check lag time in a crude way by using the DOS command
TRACERT (which is in your Windows folder). Start a DOS window and type:
tracert <host server name>
You'll get the entire server route to the destination server name and the round trip time
for three packets. t's a crude approximation of your lag time.
The nice thing about this is that it comes with Windows 95 OSR2 and later. f you don't
have OSR2, you must download the Windows Sockets 2 update (ws2setup.exe) from
the Microsoft web site.
4
The information using TRACERT gives you a crude
approximation of your Iag time.
Fl
Another free utility is ping. Ping will, er, ping a server and get the round trip time for a
series of packets and tell you the average. t's not as detailed as tracert, but it does
help.
Another way to check lag time is with software you may use to connect to game ses-
sions. Both Kali and Quakeworld sort servers by ping time.
n a DOS window type:
ping <host server name>
You will get the results of four (the default number) pings or packets sent to that partic-
ular server, giving round trip results in milliseconds, packet loss (if one or more pack-
ets never made it back to you), and some averages. f you type "ping" by itself, without
a server name, you'll be presented with various use options.
48
Generally the lower the ping time and packet loss, the better the connection will
be. Typically if you hit ping times of 250 ms and very little or no packet loss, you're
in pretty good shape, especially for gaming. Ping time less than 100ms are best.
lMf09l f00f 0000ll0
So, what happens if you have problems with your connection that can't seem to get
resolved? Problems like chronically long lag times or a spotty connection? Not surpris-
ingly, there are several utilities (not free, unfortunately) that you can use to diagnose
and fix problems you may have.
1N08k00
TweakDun works by altering some
registry entries to change various
aspects of the TCP/P packets
that your system sends out over
the nternet. t can improve
throughput, though the actual per-
formance enhancement may vary
depending on your SP. You can
also create a local HOSTS file
that will speed up access to
servers you commonly access by
skipping the normal step of asking
your SP's name server for the
address.
TWEAKDUN is available via
Patterson Designs
(http://www.pattersondesigns.com/
tweakdun/index.html)
49
This is TweakDun. Improving throughput is onIy
some of the things it can do for you.
80lN00l0
Another nice utility for troubleshooting is NetMedic (http://www.vitalsigns.com).
Netmedic gives you a host of information, including CPU load, download perform-
ance, and others. t's definitely has a high technogeek factor, but if you're into the
nternet, this is a must-have tool.
80ll0l Ff00l ll
Although not directly related to nternet
gaming, one thing you do as a gamer is
download patches, updates, scenarios,
and other game-related material. One of
the most annoying things that can happen
is to be disconnected in the middle of a
huge download. One way around this is to
use ftp (file transfer protocol) instead of
your Web browser to download files. And
one of the nicest ftp tools around is Bullet
Proof ftp (http://www.bpftp.com).
ts salient feature is that if a download is
interrupted, it takes up where it left off the
next time you start again. f you've ever
had a connection drop 29MB into a 30MB
download, you'll appreciate this feature.
Bear in mind that ftp does require a bit of a
learning curve, but Bullet Proof ftp is also
one of the easier ftp managers to use.
At the ready: information on CPU Ioad,
downIoad performance, and more.
NetMedic is must-have tooI
for 'netheads.
0
BuIIet Proof ftp - use it and you'II wonder why you ever
downIoaded fiIes using your browser.
F80lll0 00MMN8f0
Finally, the folks at Pacific Commware (http://www.turbocom.com) have several tools to
help speed up your nternet access. f you have an external modem, you must know
that the serial ports on most PCs are limited to a maximum of 115KB per second. f
the modem is using its built-in hardware compression when talking to the SP, then
that 115Kbps suddenly doesn't seem so fast. Pacific Commware makes a custom driv-
er for your serial ports called Turbocom.
1
But there's more. t also makes several plug-and-play SA
cards using the newest serial port technology, the 16750 UART. This puppy
can transfer data at up to 920KB per second. That's fast enough to keep
up with most SDN modems.
$08fl 8 ll0f0l 0000ll0
f you have more than one computer, you may want to have them access the nternet
simultaneously. Assuming you already have your multiple PCs on a network, there are
a number of ways to share an nternet connection. Be warned, though, that if you are
sharing a single user account, there are some caveats. For example, it's unlikely you
can play a game over the nternet with more than one computer at a time over a single
user account. Here's why....
$ll0 080f 0000l
When you log on to a single user account, your dial-up connection is assigned an P
address dynamically. But a second system sharing that dial-up link also shares that P
address through some form of proxy server or other sharing software. nternal to your
network, each system has an P address, but those P addresses are made invisible
by your sharing software. f your internal-only addresses were exposed to the nternet,
there would be massive confusion because many people might have the same P
address. Game servers, whether they are massive servers like Battle.net or the
Boneyards, expect a single P address per system. So, when the first system in your
little network logs into the game server, the game server notes the P address, then
refuses connection from another system with the same P address - which would prob-
ably be your second PC.
The only way around this is to have multiple, dedicated P addresses. Some cable
modem services charge a fixed fee for each additional P addresses. f you're using
xDSL, you can get an enhanced account that, among other things, provides many
fixed P addresses - but it comes at an increased price. Some SPs offer a small LAN
service and will issue you a number of fixed P addresses - but it will cost more. So,
what it comes down to is this: Unless you're willing to pony up the extra money for
additional P addresses, only one of your systems can log into gaming servers on the
nternet.
Z
ll0f0l $08fl
f you're interested in investigating nternet sharing software, there are a couple of
different options. There are proxy servers, which are more complex and may actually
have compatibility issues. Then, there's sharing software that acts as a sort of a soft-
ware router.
One decent proxy server that does work reasonably well with many games is Wingate
(http://www.wingate.com).
Other types of sharing software include Sygate (www.sygate.com) and Nshare
(www.miralink.com).
80l l00 N0M08 0f, $0f90f
Finding good servers for your game can be a challenge. There seem to be almost as
many ways to find a game as there are games. There are the online gaming services,
like the Microsoft Gaming Zone (aka the Zone) (www.zone.com), Mpath
(www.mpath.com), and HEAT.NET (www.heat.net). There are the game-oriented serv-
ices, like Battle.net for the Blizzard games. There are also server search utilities built
into some games, like Unreal, Tribes, and Half-Life. There are also several low-cost,
general game server tools available. The granddaddy of them all is Kali. Kali began life
as a way to run PX-based LAN games over the nternet. t's star has faded somewhat
as PX-only games have become a thing of the past, but it can still be useful. So, who
is the current big kid on the block? Say hello to Gamespy.
68M08
Gamespy (www.gamespy.com) supports a variety of games. You can sort by ping time
and other parameters, easily add new games, and customize a variety of features. f
you yearn for variety in your nternet gaming, you probably need Gamespy.
J
0l00 00MM0l08ll08
Face it, typing in chat commands is for the birds or someone with three hands.
That's why communicating via voice while playing games is fast becoming the way to
communicate. There are two worthy tools for voice communication during nternet
gaming: Roger Wilco and Battlecom.
800f Nll00 80 88lll000M
Roger Wilco (www.rogerwilco.com) is simpler, hiding the complexities of voice-over-P
by building a lot of smarts into the program that constantly adjusts the voice quality on
the fly as conditions shift on your network connection. Battlecom
(www.shadowfactor.com) requires more manual tweaking, but seems just a tad more
mature.
Both work well, however. Be aware that for the fullest experience, you need a good
PC sound card that has full duplex and DirectSound support.
N08l f0 f00 N8lll f0fF
There's a whole world of gamers - real people - on the nternet, playing each other,
playing on teams, and even wandering in huge, role-playing worlds. But, to make the
connection with other gamers, you must get connected. To paraphrase the Duke of
Wellington, "Now's your time."
See you on the nternet.
4
108k8 l0f l00 M0M0fl08
Think you need more memory for your gaming computer? In this chapter, Loyd helps
you decide how much memory you need, explains what the different memory types
mean, tells you what to watch for when you buy, shows you how to install your new
memory, and more.
N0M0f FflM0f
The first PC I ever owned was one of the original
Compaq portables, complete with a staggering
256KB of RAM. Times have changed quite a bit
since then, and now I have four systems in my
office (including the two Ultimate Gaming Rigs),
most running at least 64MB of RAM.
Today's games have become more rapacious than ever- not just wanting faster
processors, but faster graphics and more RAM. Layer these big games on top of
Windows 95, itself a memory-hungry operating system, and it becomes clear that more
memory is better - up to a point. The good news is that memory is cheaper than ever,
though the precipitous plummet in prices seems to have leveled off a bit lately.

008l0f 4
80l 80
l8l8lll 8N
How Much Is Enough?
What's Your Type?
DIMMs and SIMMs
Parody - er, Parity Check
Consumer Alert
Installing RAM
But the memory landscape is much more confusing than even a couple of years
ago. The acronyms have evolved into a veritable alphabet soup of memory types:
EDO, BEDO, SDRAM, FP, RAMBUS. Each new motherboard chipset that finds its
way into your computer seems to want a different type of memory. Well, we're here to
help you sort through the memory types and walk you through the process of installa-
tion.
80N N000 l8 l000F
This is a tough question. However, there are a couple of rules of thumb. First, know
thy motherboard. You must be aware of what chipset you have in your system. t turns
out that adding too much memory can actually slow down your computer. The reason
for this is the L2 cache.
08000 l090l 1 80 l090l Z
There are two types of cache in your computer: level 1 and level 2. The level 1 cache
(also known as L1 cache) is inside the CPU itself, and you really have no control over
quantity and speed. The level 2 cache (also known as L2 cache) on Pentium, AMD
K6, and Cyrix systems are all external to the chip. The L2 cache on the Pentium Pro
and Pentium are inside the CPU package (though still external to the CPU chip
itself).
Those Pentium, K6, and Cyrix systems run on motherboards with a variety of core
logic chipsets. However, some of them are designed so that the L2 cache only works
with the first 64MB of RAM in your system. The two main culprits are the ntel 430VX
and 430TX chipsets - two of the most common Pentium-class chipsets available.
Now, 64MB is a lot of RAM, so it's not like your system is somehow crippled (at least,
not for gaming). But you should be aware that in the case of boards using these
chipsets, more is not necessarily better.

Pentium-class motherboards with the 430HX chipset probably can cache up to

512KB of RAM, but a few motherboard makers cheaped out and left out a critical
TAG RAM chip and - you guessed it - those boards can only cache the first 64MB or
RAM. To my knowledge, boards that use the VA Apollo or SS chipsets can cache
more than 64MB, but be wary.
The Pentium , Pentium , Celeron, K6-2/3, and Pentium Pro systems don't have this
problem; all can cache up to 512MB of RAM.
N08l'8 f00f 10F
As noted in the introduction, there's a virtual alphabet soup of memory types: SDRAM,
EDO, FPM, SMM, and DMM. t certainly can create a great deal of confusion. RAM
itself stands for "random access memory," meaning the CPU can access any memory
address without reading all addresses before it. (ROM - read only memory - is random
access, too, but you can't write to it).
t gets worse, because memory comes in different speeds, and some types don't work
in some systems. Here's the rundown on the three memory types used in today's sys-
tems....
$08N. $00f0008 08N
SDRAM's speed is typically measured in MHz (for example, 100MHz), although you do
see references to 10ns SDRAM ("ns" stands for nanosecond or one billionth of a sec-
ond). SDRAM for PCs comes in DMMs.
F0, F0100 80 F01JJ $08N
These refer to SDRAM DMMs rated at different memory bus speeds. For any CPU
running at a 100MHz bus speed (for example, ntel Pentium s and most K6-3s), you
should get PC100 SDRAM. Some future motherboards will support PC133 SDRAM.
Although there's a price premium, PC133 SDRAM will run in a PC100 system.

l00 08N. lKl0000 08l8 00l 08N

EDO speeds are measured in nanoseconds. You can buy EDO as fast as 50ns
for your personal computer main memory (you may see faster EDO DRAM on
some graphics cards. EDO memory is commonly available as 72-pin SMMs).
fFN 08N. f88l F80 N000 08N
Fast-page mode is becoming increasingly scarce, but, unless you're running a very
early Pentium system (430NX chipset or earlier) or a 486 system, you probably don't
want to get DRAM. Fast-page mode memory comes in 30-pin SMMs or 72-pin
SMMs.
808N. 808N 8l808 l0f 8N80$ 08N
RDRAM is shipped in RMMs (RAMBUS inline memory modules). Future systems
using the ntel 820 chipset and the upcoming 600MHz plus Pentium s will use RAM-
BUS memory, but they aren't out as of this writing.
0lNN8 80 $lNN8
As mentioned in the introduction of this chapter, way back in the dark ages of the PC
architecture, once owned an original Compaq portable. While the Compaq supported
a whopping 640KB of RAM, it only came with 256KB. upgraded my Compaq myself
with an additional 384KB of memory by carefully inserting 27 individual 16KB RAM
chips. The hunger for memory has steadily increased since then; 64MB is no longer
unusual. Upgrading memory is easier, too; you no longer must painfully insert individ-
ual RAM chips.
RAM now comes on tiny circuit boards. The data path of the 486 CPU is 32 bits wide;
the Pentium, Pentium Pro, and Pentium data paths are all 64 bits wide. SMMs for
486s and Pentiums come in two different sizes: 30-pin and 72-pin. t so happens that
30-pin SMMs are 8 bits wide (meaning each SMM can move data 8 bits at a time);
72-pin SMMs are 32 bits wide. n a 486, you must install four 30-pin SMMs at a time
(remember, the 486 data path is 32 bits wide; 4x32 is 32 bits). f the 486 system will
take SMMs, you must only add them one at a time.
8
Here's the general rule of thumb for various Pentium, Pentium Pro, and Pentium
systems....
Pentium systems using the 430FX and 430NX chipsets accept SMMs only. The
430NX systems, aka Neptune chipsets, were the first PCs to use EDO memory.
Pentium, Cyrix, and K6 systems using the 430HX, 430VX, and 430TX systems can
accept SMMs or DMMs. Note that the vast majority of 430HX systems are SMM
only.
Systems with the 430VX and 430TX systems can use SDRAM. SDRAM is available
only as DMMs.
Pentium Pro systems can accept SMMs or DMMs, though only a few high-end moth-
erboards used DMMs. Be very careful if you have one of these systems. DMMs are
available in several different voltages. You don't want to put a 5 volt buffered DMM in
a system that expects a 3.3 volt unbuffered DMM and vice versa.
Pentium systems come in several flavors. Early Pentium systems used the ntel
440FX chipset. These systems can only accept EDO DRAM DMMs or SMMs. Later
systems used the 440LX chipset, which supported SDRAM and EDO DRAM.
Current Pentium / systems use the ntel 440BX core logic. These will accept
SDRAM DMMs.
f you have a system with a non-ntel chipset, check the manual for the memory type.
Celeron systems are currently limited to 66MHz bus speeds (unless you're overclock-
ing the bus). There are a host of different chipsets that can support Celeron, including
some 440LX boards, 440BX, 440EX, 440ZX, and the new 820 chipset boards.
9
F8f00 0f, F8fll 0000k
Another problem is the issue of parity and ECC (error checking and correcting). So
what is parity, you ask? Let me explain by example. n the days of the 386, memory
was often unreliable or would generate errors fairly often. My first Compaq had 256KB
of onboard memory arranged as 18 16KB chips. You only need 16 chips to make
256KB; the other two chips were for parity checking. n essence, the extra bit at the
end of each byte served as a crude check for simple, one-bit errors, that is, a parity
check. A system with parity memory would generate an error message if a parity error
was detected. t wasn't all that useful, but it at least would warn you that you might
have a problem.
The 430NX chipset changed all that, accepting nonparity memory. So 16MB of RAM
could consist of eight 16-megabit chips. This is done partly due to cost, though memo-
ry is also much more reliable these days. However, current Pentium Pro and Pentium
systems support ECC RAM. ECC RAM is still 9 bits wide (instead of 8), but the ninth
bit is actually combined with other extra bits in the SMM to perform more sophisticat-
ed error checking. ECC RAM can actually correct a single bit error and warn you of
multibit errors. The downside for gamers is that ECC RAM is just a wee bit slower, so
it is a mild performance hit.
Ultimately, the choice is a trade-off; typically memory is reliable to the point where tak-
ing the extra precaution of buying parity or ECC RAM is not an issue, but those that
are extra cautious and buy the parity memory may take a performance hit in playing
games.
0080M0f l0fl
There seems to be a dramatic difference in the price of memory. While want to
encourage you to shop around, be wary of the quality of the SMMs or DMMs you're
buying. generally recommend only getting grade A memory. t's amazing how many
0
sudden program crashes begin to occur after installing cheap RAM. f
you can only afford generic, low-cost memory, make sure you get it from a rep-
utable dealer with a good replacement policy.
The price of PC100 memory
has declined so much that
there's almost no price differ-
ence between PC66 SDRAM
and memory rated for PC100
systems, so you might as well
get PC100 SDRAM, even if
you're building or running a
Celeron system.
l8l8lll
8N
Opening up your computer case
- particularly for the first time -
can be a nerve-wracking
endeavor. t's really no more difficult than popping the hood of your car - much easier,
really. There are just a couple of areas of concern. The first is static electricity, particu-
larly if you live in a cold, dry climate. The best solution is to go to a Radio Shack or
computer shop and pick up an antistatic grounding strap. Make sure you attach it to
the chassis of the computer. Also, make sure the computer is plugged in. Attaching a
grounding strap to a system that's not plugged into the power outlet grounds nothing.
Many manuals tell you to unplug your computer before opening it, in effect guarantee-
ing that the computer is turned off. This is certainly a valid concern, since some com-
puters go into a quiescent sleep state that appears to be turned off, but isn't. Check
your documentation to see how to power down your particular system. Then, leave it
plugged in.
1
100 1f0l0 8000l 8KJZ $lNN8
You'll often see SMMs referred to by the type of
memory installed. For example, a 32MB SMM
might be labeled 8x32. This means there are
eight memory chips on board, each having a 32-
megabit capacity. Unfortunately, there's often a
lack of truth in advertising among even reputable
memory companies. Another 32MB module may
have 16 chips on board, each with a 16-megabit
capacity - but they're still called 8x32. Strictly
speaking, because of the way the chips are
arranged on the DMM, it's still an 8x32 DMM,
but bear in mind that the 8x32 (or whatever) num-
ber doesn't always reveal much. This isn't neces-
sarily bad, but it can get out of hand. 've seen
huge DMMs with 64 chips. Some motherboards
simply won't handle SMMs or DMMs with an
excessive number of chips.
The next thing to do is open the case. There seems to be as many ways to open a
case as there are chassis manufacturers. Figuring out how to open some cases is
worse than the most obtuse puzzle in an adventure game. Again, your manual can
help.
Once the case is open, you must locate the SMM or DMM sockets. Assuming you've
purchased your memory, look for the small circuit boards in the computer that match
the size of the memory you purchased. Note that some motherboards have sockets for
both SMM and DMMs. Do not mix DMMs and SMMs; the voltages are generally dif-
ferent and mixing memory types can actually shorten the working life of the RAM.
DMMs are typically longer than SMM boards; many standard motherboards today
carry only DMM slots, however.
Z
60l0 98. 1l
There's some controversy about mixing gold leads with tin
leads. Motherboard memory sockets and RAM modules can
come with either tin- or gold-plated connectors. Some peo-
ple suggest that mixing the two causes oxidation and even-
tually corrodes the leads. n a strict sense, it's true, but the
chemical process is so slow that you'd have to leave the
memory installed for years to make a difference. 've mixed
gold and tin connectors in one system here for more than a
year with nary a hint of tarnish.
80l0.
f you can't get a grounding strap, you can ground
yourself frequently by either touching the metal computer
chassis or some other grounded device.
80l0.
l8l8lll $lNN8
SMMs are installed by sliding the SMM in at an angle, then pulling it up to verti-
cal. SMMs have a correct orientation; you can tell by a small notch on one side of
the SMM that matches a corresponding plastic tab on the SMM socket. f it seems to
be bowed rather than perfectly straight when you install it, check to make sure you've
installed it in the correct orientation. f you have a Pentium, K6, or Cyrix system, you'll
need pairs of SMMs.
l8l8lll 0lNN8
nstalling a DMM is actually much easier. There are small plastic tabs on either side of
the DMM socket. Pull these so outward so that they're pulled slightly away from the
socket. There are a pair of notches on the DMM that correspond to keys in the socket
themselves. Match the direction so the notch matches the key, then push the DMM
straight down. f you do it correctly, the plastic tabs you originally pulled out click back
into place. t will require some force, however, so don't be surprised if you have to lean
into it just a bit. f you ever have to remove a DMM, pulling the plastic tabs back out-
ward will gently lift the DMM up for easy removal.
That's really all there is to installing RAM. n reality, installing memory is less difficult
than changing the oil in your car. Now, you never have to be a slave to slow systems
with inadequate memory.
J
80ll0l 8 8Ml M800l0 Nll0
0000 M00 l0ll l0 00 8M08...
Want to put together your own custom gaming rig? Want to do it for less than $1,500?
If you answered yes, this chapter is for you. Here, we look at all the components you
need to make an excellent gaming machine, which we affectionately call The Budget
Rig.
100 008ll00
I get a lot of e-mail about my choices for the two
GameSpot Ultimate Game Machines (called the
Lean Machine and the Power Rig). It's great fun -
and almost always a learning experience - to hear
from readers. Whenever you get a bunch of hard-
ware-savvy people together, even in a virtual
sense, there's always endless discussion and argu-
ment about which component is the best.
Recently, though, I've been getting e-mail from
readers who have taken me to task about the
prices of the two Ultimate Game Machines.
4
008l0f
100 8000l 8l.
00M00l8 0 l00 0008
The Shopping Experience
Common Components
Case and Power Supply
Mass Storage
Audio
Keyboards
Modem
Graphics Card
Monitor
Memory
The K6-2 System
The Celeron System
The Bottom Line
Most of these suggest that even $2,500 is too much. don't agree that
$2,500 is too much for a top-end machine, but definitely agree that there's
room for a lower-cost system. Suffice it to say there are a lot of gamers who, for
varying reasons, can't afford to spend several thousand buckazoids on a PC. f this
is you, this chapter is for you.
This component list as been compiled, at best, during a single snapshot in time. As
time passes, new products come out that offer more features, better performance, and
lower cost. But the principles still apply: shop carefully and pick components with care.
But before we get down and dirty, we must cover a few issues, namely why one
Budget Rig just isn't enough, and the question of clock rate.
F0N0f8 0l 1N0
As it turns out, couldn't build just one Budget Rig. had to build two, for reasons
related to the CPU and motherboard.
Briefly, the AMD K6-3 and ntel Celeron are both viable candidates for low-cost sys-
tems. The K6-2 is slightly cheaper and has AMD's 3DNow! instruction set. The
Celerons have full speed, 128KB L2 cache and very good floating-point performance.
The thought of a L2 cache running at the full speed of the CPU - even though it was
smaller - looked pretty appealing. We will get busy with the details later in this chapter.
Note that except for the motherboard and CPU, all the other components are the
same.
100 0l00k 88l0 008ll0
As most of my readers know, generally don't advocate overclocking, unless you're
really aware of the pitfalls as well as the plusses. However, this may all become moot
in the future. Both ntel and AMD are taking steps to make overclocking more difficult.

f you have more than $1,500 socked away for the

purpose of improving your gaming rig, check out
Appendix A: Ultimate Gaming Machine.
80l0.
The publicly stated reason is to prevent remarking of CPUs by unethi-
cal distributors, but the net result is to make life more difficult for those users
who overclock. We've already started to see this with the fixed clock multipliers in
the Celerons and the Pentium s. A 333MHz Celeron has a 5x multiplier, which lets
it run in a system with a 66MHz bus at 333MHz. f you clock the system bus to
100Mhz, the Celeron will run at 500MHz - and many won't run at all because that's
just too much of jump. Of course, you could run at 5x75MHz or 5x83MHz, but the
point is that the opportunity is now more limited - and may go away entirely in the
future.
At any rate, if you're knowledgeable about the dangers, feel free to experiment, but it's
all at your own risk.
100 $00l lK0fl000
Shopping for low-cost components means doing a lot of hunting. generally use four
or five sources on the nternet, plus local sources here in Silicon Valley. As discuss
the components, 'll talk about the sources. Note that, in some cases, some of the
components are nearing end-of-life and may not be manufactured as you read this -
but there may still be a lot of inventory out in the channel.
Also, don't take all these component choices as gospel. While 've tested some exten-
sively, 've only tested the whole system just long enough to make sure it all hangs
together. These aren't necessarily the best in any one class, but they are inexpensive.
You may find better components at better prices.
00MM0 00M00l8
Here's the set of components that both systems had in common. These are generally
name-brand components. You can go cheaper with alternative brands, but quality and
support can both be somewhat iffy.

So what are you going to need to create a complete computer? Briefly, they
are: case and power supply, mass storage, audio, keyboard (and controllers),
modem, graphics card, monitor, memory, and CPU/motherboard - the system.
We will cover each component set, one at a time.
0880 80 F0N0f $0l
The case chose is the Procase mid-tower (www.procaseusa.com).
picked up this variant of the Procase at a local dealer. t came with a 235-watt power
supply and cost $79. t has a slide-out motherboard tray, but the cover is the more
common U-shaped variant, rather than side-opening. For a few dollars more, you can
find the Asus / Elan Vital T10-AB that's used in GameSpot's Lean Machine.
Basically, a computer case is a specially made box or container that holds the guts of
the computer. Many have their own power supply and are constructed to provide input
and output access of all sorts, typically through the front and back.
N888 $l0f80
Mass storage is simply a more general term for a device that lets you store information
on a medium. n this case, we are talking disk drive devices - hard, floppy, CD, DVD,
and so on.
found a Fireball Plus KA 6.4GB hard drive for $149 at www.necx.com. That's an
amazing price for a 7,200rpm DE drive. A Mitsumi 3.5-inch floppy drive comes in at
around $16. You can find the Toshiba 40x CD-ROM drive for $60 at most online stores
(like buy.com) and computer wholesale retailers (like Fry's).

00l0
Sound is nearly as important as graphics in today's games. And getting good sound
requires an audio card. You can find the Diamond Sonic mpact S90, which uses the
Aureal Vortex 1 chip, for $45. chose this card because really wanted A3D positional
3D support.
Speakers are, in some ways, more critical than the sound card. A mediocre sound
card can still deliver decent audio through good speakers, but a crummy set of speak-
ers will never sound good. For a mere $65, you can get a pair of Yamaha YST-M28s
from www.necx.com.
f you're willing to go a bit higher in price, you can't beat the Boston Acoustics BA-635s
(www.bostondirect.com).
k0008f08, 0l0.
There are lots of low-cost keyboards out there. n this case, went with a Keytronic
classic keyboard for $25. The mouse is a Logitech FirstMouse plus, complete with
wheel, for $26. Of course, had to throw in some kind of game controller. For about 40
bucks, the CH Gamestick 14 is a great little stick with a symmetric handle (good for
southpaws) and sports lots of buttons.
N000M
wanted to stick with a name-brand modem. f you're willing to risk an unknown brand,
there are lots out there. For right around $106, found a Diamond Suprasonic 56
external modem. External modems are generally easier to set up. f that's still too rich,
the SupraExpress 56 internal modem goes for around $90. Whatever you do, avoid
soft modems, including the US Robotics Winmodem. They work fine for normal
nternet browsing, but they can be problematic for gaming.
8
6f80l08 08f0
3D acceleration is here to stay. Most games now require some sort of hardware
graphics acceleration and that means using a graphics card. The graphics card used
in this system is the 3dfx Voodoo3 / 2000. At $110 (maybe less with some searching),
you get excellent performance and the ability to run the few Glide-only games left. You
get 16MB of graphics memory, but no TV out or software bundle.
N0ll0f
really, really, really wanted a 17-inch monitor. We've all been concerned about the
downspiraling economy in the Far East, but the net result has been lower prices here.
The Viewsonic Q71 've used in the past is now a startling $239 from www.necx.com.
N0M0f
Although some socket 7 AGP motherboards that use the VA Apollo MVP3 chipset can
use older EDO SMMs, went with 64MB of PC100 SDRAM. A Corsair PC100 64MB
DMM goes for around $59 at www.esc-tech.com.
f you're really into performance tuning, you can pick up a CAS2 DMM (which
improves the performance of the DRAM refresh cycle slightly) for a whopping $64.
100 kZ $8l0M
The first system built for this chapter is based around the AMD K6-2. The retail,
boxed version of the 400MHz K6-2 costs around $90 and comes complete with cooling
fan. The K6-2 has 64KB of onboard L1 cache and contains AMD's 3DNow! enhanced
MMX-style instruction set. Games that support 3DNow! can often run faster than the
equivalent Pentium or Celeron. However, Direct3D support for 3DNow! requires that
9
the game both use DirectX 6.0 and use the Direct3D transform and
lighting engine. We probably won't see many of these until the year 2000. The
net result is that most current Direct3D titles will run slower on a K6-2 than the
equivalent Pentium or Celeron. Note that you can get a boost by going to the
400MHz K6-3, but it will cost you twice as much for 256KB of embedded L2 cache.
The motherboard is almost as critical as the CPU (more critical if avoiding frustration is
a goal). valued stability over raw performance, so went with the Asus P5A. The P5A
uses the ALi Aladdin V chipset. The ALi had teething problems with many AGP 2x
boards, but recent BOS and driver updates have fixed most of the major issues.
Another interesting board is the AOpen AX59Pro, which uses the VA MVP3 chipset.
The AOpen board has the advantage of supporting EDO SMMs, so you can avoid
adding new memory if you're upgrading from an older system. However, the P5A has
five PC slots, so that cinched it for me.
Another reason for the Asus board is stability. Asus tends to be somewhat cautious
about its products, and the P5A came out later than some other socket 7 AGP boards.
The extra time to market must have paid off because installing it and bringing it up
proved every bit as easy as any Pentium system 've set up. That was a relief to me.
'd had conversations with some dealers who had been lamenting about issues with
many super 7 motherboards. A couple of dealers told me that returns of socket 7 AGP
motherboards were running about double the rate of Pentium motherboards using
ntel chipsets.
Windows 98 installed without a hitch, and all needed to do after that was install the
drivers for the ALi AGP chipset.
090f8ll 008l
Adding up all the components comes to $1,099. You may very well do better.
Remember, these are all pretty good components and include a 17-inch monitor.
Moreover, it's cheaper than the Ultimate Game Machine outlined in Appendix A. (This
also doesn't include the price for Windows 98 full install, which will set you back about
$120).
0
100 00l0f0 $8l0M
The choice of a motherboard was a little tougher. ntel would dearly love for Celeron
users to use motherboards based on the 440EX chipset. The problem is that the
440EX can only run at 66MHz and only supports three PC slots. Even if you never
plan to overclock your system, the 440EX seriously reduces your flexibility. A 440BX-
based board will at least let you move to a fast Pentium someday - and even
Katmai. True, you still must remove the motherboard to swap the CPU support brack-
et, but you don't have to do a full upgrade.
Then, there's the socket 370 vs. slot 1 problem. The very latest Celerons only come in
socket 370 format. What recommend is to get a socket 370 to slot one adapter (a
slotket). You can then get a socket 370 Celeron, use it in a slot one motherboard, and
upgrade to a P at a later date.
Ultimately, went with the Abit BX6 rev 2.0 motherboard. The BX6/2 has five PC slots,
one AGP slot, a pair of SA slots (one SA/PC pair is shared), and four DMM slots for
memory expansion. The BX6/2 uses the ntel 440BX chipset and has Abit's innovative
Softmenu system for setting CPU speed. Note that if you get the BX6/2, you may have
to upgrade the BOS for it to recognize the faster Celeron CPUs.
The Abit system came up like a charm, and with the latest BOS, recognized the
433MHz Celeron-A. Everything else in the system installed like a charm. Windows 98
installed without a hitch. The Celeron 433 itself cost $135 at the time of purchase.
090f8ll 008l
Since we were using a 433MHz Celeron, the cost was naturally a bit higher. Even so,
the total price came in at $1,177 - less than $100 more than the K6-2 system, but
faster in applications that are not K6-2 enhanced. Of course, you must add about $120
for the price of a full version of Windows 98.
1
100 80ll0M ll0
Both of these systems perform pretty well, and the fact that you can build a system
with a 400-plus MHz CPU, 64MB of SDRAM, and a 17-inch monitor for less than
$1,200 is pretty impressive. f you're willing to go even lower on some components, it
can be cheaper still.
For example, if you were building a second system, say for your own home LAN, you
might drop the hard drive down a bit (though it's tough to beat $149), get a cheaper,
slower CD drive, a 15-inch monitor, and 32MB of RAM. That would easily bring the
cost under $1,000. Will it perform faster than a 450MHz Pentium with Voodoo2 SL?
Probably not. But these systems will run most games pretty well, and if you're willing
to cut down the resolution a bit on the really performance-intensive stuff (for example,
Unreal), you'll have yourself a very decent gaming rig, indeed.
So, now that you have all of the pieces, how exactly do you put it all together? Keep
reading, Chapter 6: Building a Computer was written for you.
Z
100 00f0f8l00 l0 00ll0f 8Ml
It's time to put it all together. Taking the component advice from Chapters 5 and 6, this
chapter shows you how to build your own PC. From power supply and peripherals to
the various good (and bad) chassis designs, it's all here.
80ll0l l00
N800l0
0l f00f 0f08M8
OK, so you've bought all the parts, gathered up
some tools, and found a space to work. It's time
to put it all together.
100 F0fl00l 100lkll
You need a good set of tools. I've seen people try to put together a system using the
screwdrivers built into a Swiss Army Knife. Needless to say, that makes building a
computer much more of a chore than necessary.
J
008l0f
80ll0l 8 00M0l0f
Planning the Install
Prepping the Motherboard
Installing the Motherboard
Attaching Connectors
Installing CPU and Memory
Installing Peripherals
Hints on Installing Windows
Final Words
You need three basic tools: a good, cordless electric screwdriver (the
straight kind, not a hand-drill type), a pair of needle-nose pliers, and a pair of
forceps. You can pick up forceps at any medical supply or electronics supply shop.
A good flashlight is also a big plus.
Fl8l l00 l8l8ll
The steps to putting the hardware together are pretty straightforward:
1. Prep the motherboard
Z. InstaII the motherboard into the case
J. Attach support connectors (power on, and so on)
4. Attach power
. InstaII CPU and memory
. InstaII peripheraIs (hard drives, and so one)
. InstaII expansion cards
8. Set up the BIOS
'm assuming that you have a good work surface that's static-free, or you properly
ground yourself. You only have to fry a $750 CPU once to develop a real paranoia
about static electricity. f you're unsure about how to become static-free and what it
means to be properly grounded, check out Chapter 4 for details, under the head
nstalling RAM.
Ff0l l00 N0l00f008f0
This is a step sometimes overlook. Then, usually swear under my breath and have
to yank the motherboard back out. This step is usually needed only on slot one moth-
erboards; socket 370 and socket 7 users can skip this section.
The Pentium , Pentium , and some Celeron CPUs use a cartridge format; you don't
need handle the actual chip package.
4
The Pentium II singIe-edge cartridge
Boxed CPUs come with a heatsink or fan; if you buy an OEM CPU,
you'II need to get a fan.

The single-edge cartridge (SEC) requires a retention mechanism to keep it from wob-
bling inside the case. This is simply a plastic bracket that supports the Pentium car-
tridge. The brackets are attached to the motherboard via screws. On Asus mother-
boards, these screws are permanently mounted. On all other motherboards, you must
insert them.
This goes on the underside of the motherboard, with the screws protruding
through hoIes on either side of the Pentium II sIot.
Some of the newer universal retention brackets are shorter and use plastic pins to
mount to the motherboard. You may still need to manually mount them, but if you're
absent-minded and install the motherboard first, you can easily install the retention
bracket by pushing the plastic pins into the appropriate holes. Once this is done, the
motherboard is ready to install.

Earlier Celerons come in cartridges for slot 1 as well. 80l0.

l8l8lll l00 N0l00f008f0
n the old days, the motherboard would be attached mostly with plastic or nylon
standoffs. Now, it's typically screwed down. The makers have isolated the screw holes
electrically so that no metal contacts any of the traces or contacts on the board itself.
The screws need something to screw into, and here things vary, depending on the
case. Some cases use little hex-head screws (akin to those found on your VGA con-
nector). Others have little pop-in mounts that are threaded. Most cases have a variety
of positions to mount these doodads; the good news is that the locations are fairly
standard. Once you determine the locations of the screw mounts, you can fasten down
the motherboard.
f you have a small case, this the most frustrating part of the whole process. All the
cases use are either sufficiently large, have a removable motherboard tray, or have
snap-out drive bays. Luckily, motherboards are smaller these days, so it's a bit easier
than it used to be to work with them.
Note the cutouts for paraIIeI, seriaI, and so on.

ATX motherboards require a back panel cutout for connectors, such as serial,
parallel, keyboard, and mouse. Gently slide the motherboards so that connectors
pop into the back panel cutouts. Check to see if the screw holes align with the screw
mounts, then gently fasten the motherboard with the correct screws. Do not force any
of the screws in.
ll800l $00fl 0000l0f8
The system needs a number of support connectors to be functional. All ATX systems
now use a soft power switch, so there's a connector on the system board for power.
There's also connectors for various LEDs, the PC speaker, the reset switch, hard drive
LEDs, and possibly a sleep switch. Each board varies a bit, so check the manual care-
fully. Most boards these days have the labels silk screened on the surface, which
makes life much easier.
Here's a typicaI array of support connectors.
8
The next step is usually the ATX power connector. t's keyed to go in one direc-
tion. Simply align the tab on the connector to the tab on the motherboard power
connector and firmly push down until you hear it click. t should not require much
force.
A properIy attached ATX power connector.
Most systems either require jumper settings or dip switches for the CPU clock speed.
Make sure those are properly set before moving on. Some systems now have the
capability to set the CPU speeds in the BOS when you boot the system; in that case,
there are probably no jumpers to set.
Now, we've got the board wired into the system. t's time for the brain transplant.
9
l8l8lll 0F0 80 N0M0f
You did remember to install the Pentium / retention bracket, right?
The connector on the slot one CPU is keyed asymmetrically, so you can only slide the
CPU into the slot one way. Check to make sure you've got the correct orientation.
Gently - gently - slide the cartridge down into the bracket, double checking one more
time to make sure that the connector key lines up with the slot 1 key. Push down
steadily until the retention bracket stops click into place. t's a very satisfying sound.
There may be brackets that support the fan as well. This was needed with some of the
original Pentium fan designs, which were pretty heavy. Newer ones are much lighter
and more compact. n addition, the tower cases use leave the CPU oriented side-
ways. This means usually don't install the heat-sink bracket.
However, you do want the fan to have power. Some fans still use the standard four-
pin, white plastic hooded connector (like those used to connect power to a hard drive),
but most fans these days use the much smaller three-pin connector attached directly
to the motherboard. This way, the BOS can monitor the fan speed. Connect the fan
power to the appropriate connector.
Here's a Pentium II in its sIot, with the fan power connector attached
80
There are a couple of additional wrinkles for socket 370 CPUs. The first
wrinkle is the slot 1 adapter.
Two different types of adapters Iet you instaII a socket 370
CPU in a sIot 1 motherboard
A boxed InteI socket 370 CPU. This is a CeIeron 466.
81
Whether you're installing the socket 370 CPU into a slot 1 adapter or directly into a
socket 370 motherboard, the procedure is the same. Lift up the ZF lever carefully.
Line up the cutout notches on the Celeron PPGA with notches on the socket. Gently
shove the CPU into the socket. The CPU should go in very easily. f you feel any
resistance, the pins on the CPU aren't lined up properly. Once the CPU is in place,
carefully lower the ZF lever. You only need a slight force to snap it into place.
Lowering the lever locks the CPU in place.
Now, you can install the fan onto the CPU. There are metal brackets that mount on
protruding tabs on the socket 370. Slip one side on, then pull the other side over the
matching tab.
Note the corner notches on the CeIeron. These wiII Iine up with
matching notches on the socket 370.
8Z
Note the ZIF Iever. Lift this up to insert the CPU; Iower it once
the CPU is seated. This Iocks the CPU in pIace.
Note that installing a K6-2 or K6-3 is very similar to installing a socket 370 chip, except
there's only a single corner notch.
Here's a K6-2 in a socket 7 motherboard.
8J
And here it is with the fan attached.
The next step is to install the SDRAM DMMs. f you've installed 72-pin SMMs in the
past, be prepared for something different. DMMs slide straight down into the memory
socket now. The edge connectors are keyed, so you can't orient them incorrectly. f it
seems like it's taking excessive force to snap the DMM into the socket, check to make
sure you have the correct orientation.
Spread the locking clips away from the DMM slot. Slide the DMM straight down. As
you do this, the plastic locks will be pulled up by the downforce of the DMM sliding in.
When the DMM is fully seated, you'll see and feel the locking clips snap into place.
84
Note that the edge connector of the DIMM is keyed. The pIastic
Iocking bracket is pushed away from the DIMM socket
When the DIMM is seated, the pIastic Iock snaps into pIace.
8
l8l8lll F0fl00f8l8
Now that the motherboard, CPU, fan, and RAM are in place, it's on to the next level -
mass storage devices and cards.
N888 $l0f80
The next step is to install the floppy drive, hard disk(s), and CD-ROM drive. typically
do this after installing the CPU and RAM because once the mass storage units are in
place, it can get much more cramped inside the case. One critical note: set all jumper
settings for the drive (master/slave jumpers, and so on) before you screw the drives
into the bays. t's much easier to do that chore first. Drives and motherboards usually
come with documentation that tells you how to set master/slave functions on the
drives.
n some cases, you must attach rails to the sides of your drives, then slide them into
place. tend to avoid cases that use rails, though. Most of the cases use have small
shelves or removable drive bays. The drives screw directly into the bay.
An empty drive bay before the drives are instaIIed.
8
Now you want to attach cables. This is a tedious process because even a good
mid-tower case suddenly becomes very cramped at this point. These days, most
cables are keyed so that installing them incorrectly is difficult, but it can be done. f
you install the floppy cable backward, the drive light comes on permanently. f the
hard drive cable is reversed, the symptoms may range from a complete inability to
boot to the hard drive simply not spinning up. Should the CD cable be incorrectly
attached, the CD probably won't be recognized.
Most modern boards have two DE connectors. You generally want to attach the hard
drive to the primary DE connector and the CD-ROM to the secondary one. f you have
two hard drives, opinions vary. Some people will attach the hard drive to the secondary
connector, even though the much slower CD drive is there. Since CD accesses hap-
pen relatively infrequently, it won't stall access to the second drive, and the second
drive won't stall the boot drive. tend to attach fast devices to the primary connector
and slow drives (for example, a Zip drive and the CD) to the secondary connector. Just
make sure you have the drives configured for the correct master/slave jumper settings.
Your boot drive should always be the master drive on the primary DE connector.
Don't forget to attach the power connectors to the various drives.
lK88l0 08f08
Now it's on to the expansion cards. First, plug in the AGP graphics card.
Now stop.
Plug in your keyboard and mouse. Attach the monitor to your VGA connector. Connect
a power cord to the power connector. Turn it on. f everything has gone well, you
should get the typical memory countdown (POST - power on self test). f you hear a
series of beeps, your graphics card isn't properly seated. f you get no power at all,
turn off the system. Disconnect all your drives and try again to reconnect them correct-
ly. f you can see a display this time when you turn on your machine, you got it right. t
also means you know that one of the drive connectors wasn't correctly connected.
8
f you still don't see the POST message, go back through the system
and make sure everything is connected properly - especially the CPU and that
pesky soft power connector.
Once you get the system to power up properly, you can do one of two things. Either
you can install the operating system first, then install each expansion board (sound
card, 3dfx card, and so on) one at a time. Alternatively, you can install all the cards
and then install the operating system. The conservative approach is to install the oper-
ating system first, then add each card one at a time. After you've gained some experi-
ence, it's common to just pop everything in and install the drivers one set at a time.
Note that some systems with more than four PC slots may not assign an RQ to the
outside PC slot. So be wary of installing cards that require RQs in the outside slot.
Voodoo and Voodoo2 cards usually work well here because they don't use RQs.
nstalling these cards as well as all the other cards is basically the same as
described previously: insert the card (remember that PC cards typically face down)
and make sure it is properly seated. You can insert the card by carefully aligning the
card and slot and gently rocking it in until it is seated. Then, connect whatever extra
internal cabling is required.
f you install a 3dfx card, make sure you don't forget the pass-through cable in the
back.
8ll8 0 l8l8lll Nl00N8
strongly recommend buying a full install version of the operating system if you're
building your own system. Your reseller of choice can legitimately sell you a copy of
Windows 95 OSR2.1 or 2.5 with a new motherboard/CPU combo. Get it.
The installation process generally is simple and straightforward; budget a portion of
time, say about an hour, before starting. Windows will scan the system for problems
before installing. Afterward, Windows will go through a series of steps, first in DOS
where the essentials will be installed, then in Windows, where programs, devices, and
88
other goodies are added. Keep in mind that the system will ask to
reboot three or four times before the entire process is complete, which is fine.
Windows will keep track of where it is. Also, keep in mind that practically every-
thing done in the installation process is reversible later, one way or another.
80l08 0 l8l8lll Nl00N8 9
f you're installing Windows 95, there's one item you'll need with any Pentium system
- the PX4 patch. t's really just an .NF file that lets Windows properly enumerate the
hardware. t should be on a CD or floppy supplied with the motherboard. f it's not, it's
usually available on the motherboard maker's web site. f you don't install it, expect to
find a number of mysterious question marks in the device manager. For proper AGP
operation, you'll also need the USB supplement. On the OSR2.1 and 2.5 CDs, the
USB supplement is somewhere in the \other directory.
You may run into some headaches during installation, with device RQs not properly
assigned. You may have to tweak these in device manager. f you're installing
Windows 95 OSR2 or later, now is your golden opportunity to use FAT32.
Make sure you have all your driver disks handy - you'll need them.
80l08 0 l8l8lll Nl00N8 98
f you're installing Windows 98, most of these issues disappear. Windows 98's install
process is much easier, with more built-in drivers.
fl8l N0f08
f the information here seems too sketchy for you, there are several solutions. f you
still have the urge to build it all yourself, get any one of a number of books on the
topic. Since haven't read any of them, can't recommend any one in particular. Or, if
you have a tech-savvy friend, have him tutor you through your first system build.
Another good alternative is to get a bare-bones system. Find a vendor who sells the
motherboard you want. Buy the case, power supply, CPU, DRAM, and floppy drive
there. At that point, you can usually install the rest of the gear yourself.
89
n 1988, bought a 386/20 system (a Jade Computer systems 386, for
you old timers). That was the last system bought. Since then, 've built or
upgraded my own systems. There's a certain freedom in picking and choosing your
favorite components and a real visceral satisfaction when a new system boots. The
flip side is that you get to be your own tech support, so make sure you're up to the
task. Still, if you're like me, you'll never look twice at an off-the-shelf system again.
90
ff8l 00f lfl008 088 090f 000 088l0f
Do you have an old PC taking up closet space? Why not use it to create a home LAN,
so you can play games against your friends. And here is your opportunity to learn how
to do it.
60lll F0f808l
These days, when we think of multiplayer games,
we mostly think about the nternet. As anyone
knows who's actually tried playing over the
nternet, it's far from perfect. ssues like lag time
and server overload often make gameplay frus-
trating. Now, the nternet is the only place for
truly huge games like Warbirds, EverQuest, or
Ultima Online. But on the nternet, all things are
not created equal: Most games that support mul-
tiplayer typically max out at four, six, or eight
users.
91
008l0f .
0f08ll 8 80lN0fk
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LAN Gaming
Up-Front Assumptions
The Hardware
Networking Software
Ministry of ProtocoI
InstaIIing the NIC
Setting Up Windows
TroubIeshooting
PIay WeII with Others
Then, there's the whole problem of anonymity. personally like to play
with people know - but even when with a group of relative strangers, like it
much better when it's up close and personal. Even high-speed video and audio
conferencing capabilities won't replace the banter and sneaky cooperation that goes
on in a small network game session.
l8 68Ml
There are a number of ways to go about playing games over a LAN. f you're lucky,
you can do it at work (after hours, of course) or at school. f you're in the computer or
computer gaming industry, like me, you may have several computers sitting around. Or
maybe you recently upgraded, and you have that older computer taking up room in a
closet - just waiting to host a LAN party.
A LAN party can be something simple, like having your friends lug their systems over
to your house on a Saturday afternoon. Or it can be more elaborate, like a large group
renting a meeting room at a hotel and gaming its brains out over a weekend. One
thing for sure: the first time you do it, it's a mystery, and it will take you a large invest-
ment in time. Each time you do it, though, it takes less time. These days, given gear
and setups know, can bring up a six station peer-to-peer LAN in an hour or so, once
the computers themselves are up and running. How can something this potentially
complex be set up so quickly? t begins with assumptions.
0ff0l 880Mll08
The first assumption is that the network at hand is going to be set up for gaming. 'm
not going to cover print servers, client-server networking, or building your own intranet.
'll be focusing strictly on Windows 95/98 peer-to-peer networking. t's the easiest type
of network to set up and supports the widest variety of network gameplay. Keep in
mind that nothing in a peer-to-peer network prevents the use of dedicated server soft-
ware (such as running a Quake dedicated server on one system). Don't confuse
game servers with application or storage servers. That is to say, you don't need a
dual-CPU NT advanced server to run a Quake server.
9Z
Since want to focus on the widest possible game support, 'm also not cover-
ing Linux or Mac gaming. (To those users, apologize - only have so much time
and space. Even so, would like to hear from anyone using non-Windows network-
ing, so can learn more.)
will, however, cover both PX and TCP/P, albeit not in depth. These are protocols
that facilitate communication between computers. Remember, the focus is on getting
up and running fast - it's the gameplay, dammit. won't cover DOS networking, either -
paid my dues setting up DOS networks, but 'd just as soon never revisit that topic,
thank you very much.
On the hardware side, the example show uses a 100baseT, twisted-pair ethernet net-
work with a hub. 've been watching the prices of 100-megabit gear drop, and 've
even found PC 100-megabit twisted-pair cards cheaper than 10-megabit SA coax
cards. (Don't sweat the jargon - we'll define things as we go along later.) Using twist-
ed-pair simplifies things if you often have people drop by. All they must do is plug into
the hub. However, almost anything show here applies to twisted-pair 10-megabit net-
works. also don't cover token ring or proprietary network setups. 'm also not going
into routers, switches, bridges, or other similar devices. We're building a home net-
work, folks, not a 500-workstation collaborative computing site.
At the end, 'll touch on a few connectivity alternatives that are emerging for home net-
works.
100 88f0N8f0
Each computer needs a NC - network interface card. These are made by a variety of
companies. n my own networks, 've used 3Com, ntel, and Netgear NCs. These
days, find myself using PC cards exclusively - SA cards, even the plug-and-play
variety - are often a headache to set up and slow things down.
9J
Here's an
exampIe of
PCI ethernet
hardware.
One really easy way to get into networking is to buy a starter kit. Quite a few compa-
nies offer network starter kits. Usually they pack in a small hub, cables, a pair of NCs,
driver disks, and a usually inadequate manual. Starter kits are often a very cost-effec-
tive way of getting started.
f you don't get a starter kit, you'll need a hub
and some category 5 twisted-pair cable.
Category 5 cable consists of four paired-wire
strands inside the insulating sheath, and it's
required for 100-megabit networks. (You can
find cables for 10-megabits that are cheaper,
but have only two wire pairs.) The connectors
are RJ-45 jacks and look like oversized tele-
phone jacks (for you US readers).
The type of network 'm discussing here is a
star-topology network. A hub (also called a
"concentrator") is the center of the star. The
network nodes (PCs) are all attached to the
hub. The network traffic travels from your PC
to the hub, then out to the other PC. Well,
that's a bit simplistic. n fact, what goes on is
that each network node has an address.
Data is sent out via small packets of informa-
tion. Each packet has the address of its
94
Here's what a four-pair, category
5 cabIe Iooks Iike inside.
One typicaI network starter kit.
destination. f a packet comes in with an incorrect address, it's rejected
by the system and stays alive until it finds the right system. n the old days,
people used to argue that star topologies were prone to failure because, if the cen-
tral node (the hub) failed, the whole network would go down. Hubs these days are so
reliable, this almost never happens.
Hubs vary in size and expense. 've seen four-port 100-megabit hubs recently for as
little as 60 bucks. f you want support for both 10-megabit and 100-megabit systems
on the same hub, there are dual-sensing hubs, but they cost a little more. An 8-port
dual-speed hub costs easily more than $200. Some network administrators will argue
that a bridge might be faster, but an 8-port 100-megabit bridge starts at $500 and goes
up from there. You also want to get an unmanaged hub. Again, you won't be configur-
ing network gear from a remote site, nor will you likely stack more than a pair of hubs
together. The focus here is for setting up a small network to play games.
Once the NCs are installed, you then
attach an RJ-45 jack to the socket on
the NC and the other end to a
matching socket on the hub. Repeat
that for all the systems on the net-
work. Note that if you are certain that
you'll only ever have two systems,
you can get special direct-connect
twisted-pair cables that actually
reverse a couple of wires. You can
then run the ethernet cable directly
from one NC to the one on the other
system.
80lN0fkl $0llN8f0
The good news is that all you need for local area network gaming is Windows 95/98
and the drivers for your NC. That's it. Between the built-in networking in Windows 9x
and DirectX, all you need for network gameplay is built into the operating system.
9
The IowIy hub - your key to pIaying
on a smaII network.
Nll8lf 0l Ff0l000l
Protocols are the basic methods that computers use to initiate communication and
transfer data. The main protocols we're concerned with are PX and TCP/P. These are
the mainstays in the networking world. PX was developed by Novell and is used in
Novell Netware as its primary protocol. TCP/P was the original networking protocol
developed by the Dept. of Defense for the original ARPANet. t's now the chief under-
lying method used in moving data around the nternet. (All this is to oversimplify some-
what, but it's good enough.)
NetBOS, an older protocol holdover from the DOS era, is occasionally useful.
NetBOS is used by a handful of games, so unless your game needs it, it's not
required. Most games stick with PX and TCP/P. Even games that are labeled
DirectPlay use the two primary protocols underneath DirectX's DirectPlay layer.
Let's see how the hardware and software layers come together as we install our net-
work.
l8l8lll l00 8l0
nstalling the hardware is pretty simple. Pop open the hood of your computer case,
find a free PC slot, and slide it in. Exceptionally small cards, like the ntel and 3Com
cards, can sometimes be a chore to insert between larger cards. Also, most good PC
cards are busmastering cards and require an RQ. So, if you have a system with more
than four PC slots, try to avoid putting the NC in the slot next to the SA slots.
Sometimes RQs aren't assigned to the last PC slot.
After installing the NC, you'll usually get a Device Found dialog box.
9
Click Next. If the wizard finds the driver location (usually a floppy), just click next;
otherwise, you must tell the device installation wizard the location of the driver folder.
'%
This is the NIC Device Found dialog box.
Finding the driver looks like this.
After the driver is installed, reboot the system. This will be the first of
several reboots.
Make sure you have your Windows 95 CD handy or the CAB files copied to you hard
drive for the following steps.
5AJJEC 7F 9E@MI
After the device driver is installed, bring up the network control panel. You'll probably
see a new entry for the NIC, along with a binding for TCP/IP. You probably had TCP/IP
installed for your Internet service provider logon, so the NIC was attached to TCP/IP
since it was present. Note that these are actually discrete settings - the NIC won't
interfere with your dial-up adapter. Also, make sure your Windows 95/98 setup files
are available because they may get accessed during the following steps.
However, there is a problem we want
to fix right away. You probably got a
DHCP error message because
Windows couldn't find a DHCP serv-
er. By default, Windows sets itself up
to dynamically allocated IP address-
es. Windows may also asked you,
"Do you want to see further DHCP
messages." Just click No. If you
clicked Yes, never fear. The message
will pop up again in a couple of min-
utes.
You want to set a hard IP address. If
you don't, you could see regular,
annoying pauses every few minutes.
It's particularly distracting in games.
Windows 98 and Winsock 2 (the
'&
Your network control panel at work.
Windows TCP/IP software) minimize this, but it's still better to have a
hard IP address. There are several ranges of IP addresses specifically reserved
for internal-only networks. Set the IP address in the TCP/IP property sheet (found
in the network control panel). The range I use is 192.168.0.xxx where xxx can vary
from 1 to 255. You should also set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0.
Also, click on the
Advanced tab and check
the box at the bottom to
make TCP/IP the default
protocol. Enable file
sharing and print sharing
under the bindings tab. If
there's no file- and print-
sharing checkbox, you
can turn on file and print
sharing by adding that
service. (File and print
sharing are listed under
the service heading in
the Add dialog box).
Before rebooting, let's
set up IPX and the prop-
er logon method.
After setting the IP
address, click on the Add
button. Then click on
Protocol, then Add.
''
Use the TCP/IP property sheet to set
each computer's unique IP address.
Scroll down to the
Microsoft entry and click
on the IPX/SPX Compatible
Protocol line. Finally, click OK.
The IPX/SPX protocol appears in
the main network control panel,
network components list.
After installing the IPX
protocol, look at the net-
work components list.
There may be a binding
attaching IPX to your dial-
up adapter. If it's there,
remove it. If you don't
remove it, some games
may actually attempt to
dial out on your phone
line to find other IPX
nodes.
For LAN play, remove
the dial-up adapter to
prevent your game
from trying to dial out
in search of other
IPX nodes.

Adding Protocol.
Selecting Network Protocol.
sheet by double-clicking on the PX/SPX compatible protocol line. Note
that unless you exist as part of a Novell network, you don't need to make PX
the default. n fact, you don't even need to bind file and print sharing and the
Windows logon to PX. Go the bindings tab and remove the checkboxes there. When
you close it, you'll get a message asking you if you want to add bindings - just say no.
When you return to the Network control panel, you may also see Client for Novell
Networks. f so, highlight that entry and delete it. You may also see Client for Microsoft
Networks in the Primary Network Logon dialog. f this is just a home network, make it
Windows Logon. That way, you won't get a logon prompt every time you boot
Windows. (Windows 98 has a nifty "family logon" option that presents a nice list of
users, if you have several users on a network.)
Finally, you can click OK at the main Network control panel. Windows will load a lot of
stuff off the CD, then reboot.
Once you reboot, you get to do it all again - for all the other systems. After all, a net-
work with only one node isn't very useful.
Once you have Windows networking set up on all the systems, launch Network
Neighborhood. f everything has gone well, you will see the other systems. Note that
you can change the names any time in the Network control panel, under the
dentification tab.
101
Network savvy readers: you may question some of
these settings with good reason, but 've discovered by bit-
ter trial and error that games work best with these set-
tings. Note that these are not necessarily optimum for a
business network, depending on what that network uses.
80l0.
The results. On the C: drive -
the helping hand of file sharing

If you want to share files, just right click on the drive or folder, touch the
sharing button and specify how you want the drive or folders shared.
You'll see a change in the drive or folder icon.
The network is ready. Select Access Type to Full for
complete file sharing
1f000l08000ll
The singlemost prevalent problem with setting up a network like this is the initial driver
installation. The problems tend to vary, especially in regard to the ease of installation
from one company's drivers to the next. 've found ntel and 3Com to be quite easy to
work with. Netgear is another story: its current PC adapters use a chip made by
Digital Equipment; but unfortunately Windows may have installed a default driver for
the DEC chip. You must first remove it before installing the Netgear drivers.
Sometimes things just get hosed, and you must start over. The easiest way to start
over is to first delete the NC entry from device manager (which probably has one of
those annoying yellow ! symbols). Then, go to the \windows\inf or \windows\inf\other
folder and remove the .NF file for that adapter. Reboot, and you can start again.
Another problem that may occur is that the NC tries to grab an RQ being used by
something else. n Windows 98, it's often no problem, since Windows 98 handles RQ
sharing better than Windows 95. f this happens, you may have to move PC cards
around until you get a setup that works. (Unless you're know what you're doing, do not
try to assign individual RQs to PC slots manually in the BOS setup).
Sometimes, you seem to do everything right, and the systems just don't see each
other. f so, you can either painstakingly check every parameter of each protocol - or
simply remove the protocols and reinstall them. Oh, and make sure the RJ-45 jacks
are firmly seated at the NC end and the hub end.
As for games, it's been my general experience that TCP/P tends to be more stable
than PX, so if the game supports both, choose TCP/P. Networking is more complex
than a single-player game, so you will almost certainly run into situations where con-
nections get dropped (even on a LAN), or you get lockups. Usually - though not
always - this is the result of buggy networking code in the games. Sometimes, the NC
driver is the culprit. t's often very difficult to troubleshoot.
10J
Fl8 N0ll Nll0 0l00f8
Now, you should be set up and ready to go. Load up your game, choose the protocol
(if there's more than one), and play against something other than the computer. think
you'll find it a rewarding experience. Just remember, though, that your buddies may
cackle at you with glee when they frag you. At least computers don't gloat...
lM0fl 80M0
80lN0fkl ll0f8ll908
There are some alternatives to the traditional ethernet network, and they're aimed right
at the home market. They use several different methods to let the hardware communi-
cate. Note that in all these cases, once the hardware is installed, you still set up
Windows the same way.
One method uses the power lines in your house. That's right, you can use the good
old 115VAC outlet as a network transport. 'll be taking a look at this in the near future,
but if you want to get a sneak peek, go to:
http://www.inteIogis.com
ntelogis claims its Passport networking system gets up to 384KB per second - not
quite as fast as even a 10Mbit ethernet, but certainly fast enough for gaming.
There are several companies that want to do small networks through the USB connec-
tors on the back of newer systems. Of course, with all the people soon to be plugging
in USB components - from speakers to joysticks - it's unclear what the bandwidth will
really be. Still, USB is on most new systems. However, most systems only have two
USB ports, so it looks like the stock of companies that make USB hubs may be good
picks.
104
Another alternative is wireless networking. Again, there are a number of play-
ers, most unannounced. Still, it's an attractive thought. However, the range will be
limited. We will fervently hope that the wireless networks don't interfere with anything
around the house, like your TV, your phone, your pacemaker....
Finally, several companies are offering network kits that use the existing phone wiring
in your house for networking. Using frequencies not taken by telephones, there won't
be any interference. However, you do need phone jacks in the rooms that have com-
puters. As you know, this is usually the case, but not always.
10
k0Nl000 I80 8 000 J0 08f0l l8 0N0f
One of the most frequently asked hardware questions is, "Which 3D graphics card
should get?" As you will discover, the answer depends on what kind of system you
have and what kind of games you like to play. And Loyd is here to help you get the
right card. Then, when you've got your upgrade, check out Chapter 9: nstalling Your
Graphics Card.
N0l00 l8 808lF
Easily the most common e-mail request get
is, "What 3D graphics card should get?" This
is closely followed by, "Which 3D card is the
best?"
wish the answer was simple, but it's not, and
it depends on a host of factors. Do you have
an older, Pentium-based system? Maybe you
have an early Pentium (266 or 300MHz)? Or
perhaps that spanking new P/550 is on
10
008l0f 8
J0 6f80l08 N8kl
l00 8l0l 000l00
What Do You PIay?
Pentium Systems without AGP
Pentium Pro Systems
Existing Pentium II and
Pentium III AGP Systems
Upgrade Choices
The SLI Question
Buying a New System
Socket 7 AGP
Pentium III Upgrades
Future Tense
order? Are you eyeing a K6-2 upgrade, complete with a socket 7 AGP
motherboard? Are you buying a brand new system? What games do you play?
All these issues shape the answer to the question, "Which card to buy?" 'm going
to try to tackle that question here, if only to reduce the amount of e-mail get. 'm
also going to cover how to add a card to your system, once you buy one.
N08l 00 f00 Fl8F
This is not a trivial question. f most of your time is spent in Panzer General or
Starcraft, you might not need the hottest new 3D card. f you're frustrated at how slow
the Jane's World War Fighters demo is running on your system, then it may be time
to upgrade.
t's always smart look at what your needs are before letting the industry hype machine
shape your judgement. t's very easy to get carried away by all the excitement of a
great new technology - 'm certainly guilty of that on occasion. f you get talked into
adding that Voodoo2 card, and you find yourself mostly playing Railroad Tycoon , you
have just added a pretty expensive doorstop to your computer. The bottom line: think,
then upgrade.
Even all 3D games are not created equal. Flight sims have different needs than first-
person shooters, and a 3D strategy game like Myth may be different still. Of course,
if you're heavily into 3D games, read on. This focuses on finding the right answer for
your 3D acceleration needs.
10
For a quick comparative shop, check out
Appendix A: Creating the Ultimate Game Machine.
80l0.
F0ll0M $8l0M8
Nll000l 6F
AGP stands for accelerated graphics port and is a connection for graphics cards used
on most Pentium / systems, Xeon-based systems, and a growing number of K6-2/3
systems. However, there are still a lot of Pentium systems out there without AGP slots.
You do not need an AGP system to get a good 3D accelerator.
The right 3D accelerator for your Pentium system may not be a graphics card at all,
but a new CPU. f you have anything slower than a Pentium 133 - and a 133 is border-
line - a CPU upgrade may be in order. (The same is true for Cyrix 6x86 customers as
well - this CPU just doesn't have enough horsepower for the newer set of 3D games.)
CPU upgrades are beyond the scope of this chapter. n the meantime, you can check
out Chapter 5, Appendix A, or Powerleap.com (www.powerleap.com) for some inter-
esting options.
f you have a Pentium 166 or better and are happy with your existing primary (2D)
graphics card, the easiest thing to do is to upgrade to Voodoo2. Now, Voodoo2 won't
buy you a lot of performance difference over Voodoo Graphics in a Pentium 166, but
with the prices of Voodoo2 boards are dropping faster than the Moscow stock market -
and you'll have a decent accelerator to carry over to your next system.
f your system is saddled with a poor 2D card, you might consider replacing it with a
2D/3D card. A lot depends on your budget here. f you have a tight budget, a board
using the 3dfx Voodoo3 chipset might be the answer. The new Voodoo3/2000 is avail-
able in PC format as well as AGP. t doesn't render in 32-bit color or support 32-bit z-
buffer, but your CPU horsepower probably wouldn't support that anyway.
f you have a bigger budget, you have a couple of choices: buy a fast 2D/3D card and
a Voodoo2 card or buy a Voodoo3 board and save up for your next system upgrade. f
you plan to move to an AGP system in the next six to nine months, then buying a
108
high-performance PC 2D/3D accelerator may just be wasted cash. A
Voodoo3/2000 board goes for close to $100 (even less than $100, in some cases),
and it's a good deal.
F0ll0M Ff0 $8l0M8
Much of what wrote about Pentium systems in the previous section applies to
Pentium Pros. However, most Pentium Pro systems shipped with relatively decent 2D
cards, so adding Voodoo2 may be the right thing here. The faster floating-point unit of
the Pentium Pro is capable of feeding the 3dfx card polygons at a faster rate than a
Pentium-based system.
lKl8ll F0ll0M ll 80
F0ll0M lll 6F $8l0M8
The Pentium has been around long enough now that some of the early AGP cards
are showing signs of age. t may be time to upgrade your AGP card. However, this
may not always be as easy as you'd like.
Although it uses some of the same low-level protocols as the PC bus, to think of it as
an extension of PC would be a mistake. For one thing, it's a direct connection to the
processor bus, whereas the PC bus is shielded from the processor bus. AGP's base
speed is 66MHz, which can move data at about 256MB per second. t also has a 2x
mode, which boosts performance to 133MHz or about 512MB per second. Another
feature is sideband addressing, which lets memory addresses be transferred separate-
ly from data, speeding things up a bit. One of the side effects is that you can only have
a single AGP port in a system today. t's possible that ntel may change this in future
versions of AGP, but the way it stands today, you cannot have more than one AGP
109
card in a system. One other note: AGP 1.0 and AGP 2x are the same thing. The
AGP 1.0 specification has in it the capability to do 2x transfers. AGP 2.0 will handle
4x transfers, but it will be the second half of 1999 before we see AGP 2.0 systems.
There is one insidious problem, though, if you have an AGP graphics chip that is sol-
dered to your motherboard. n a word: You are simply out of luck as far as upgrading
AGP graphics. There's no AGP slot to plug an AGP card into these systems. The only
route in this case is Voodoo2.
f you have a graphics card in your AGP slot, though, it's not necessarily time to
replace it. t depends on what the card is. There are a number of AGP graphics cards
using chips that don't take advantage of AGP features, like sideband addressing, AGP
texturing and 2x speeds. Some are no more than glorified PC cards, although they
may still be quite capable 3D accelerators. For example, the Rendition V2200 is a
decent 3D accelerator chip, but isn't really an AGP part at all. Other cards aren't very
capable 3D cards, like the Matrox Millenium . f you have a Rendition, Number Nine
Revolution, or Matrox Millenium AGP cards, you might consider replacing them with
a more current card (we'll discuss choices in the next section).
There are a number of chips that shipped in the last year capable of more advanced
AGP operations, but limited to 1x (66MHz) speed. These include the original RVA 128
and the Permedia 2. They also lack some key texture blending modes that have
become popular with more current games.
There were also a couple of early AGP 2x parts, including AT's Rage Pro and, later,
the Nvidia RVA 128ZX and ntel i740. All these chips lack performance by current
standards, though they are perfectly good for less demanding games, and all coexist
well with Voodoo2 boards.
110
0f800 000l008
n the case of an existing AGP system with a 300MHz processor or slower, the
choices become more complex.
f your existing primary card offers at least decent performance, adding a Voodoo2
card is probably the way to go. t's not so much that Voodoo2 is that much faster -
rather, it's the library of existing 3D games that are only accelerated by 3dfx. These
are getting fewer over time, but there's still a number of games that only use 3dfx's
proprietary Glide AP for 3D acceleration. There are also Direct3D games that are
tuned to run better on 3dfx boards (for example, games that use 8-bit palletized tex-
tures). However, if you've got a Voodoo2 card and are interested in a speedier primary
card, there are several choices, depending on your interests. f flexibility of features is
important, consider either the Matrox Millenium G400, or if you're really into video, the
AT All-n-Wonder 128. You can add interesting features like hardware DVD - right onto
the graphics card. The good news is that all the chip vendors are shipping OpenGL
CDs now. While performance varies, at least you won't be completely left out.
The Millenium G400Max is a turbocharged version of the G400 and is quite fast.
Matrox still has some work cut out before its OpenGL implementation is as fast as the
competition, but it's coming along.
Voodoo3 offers the widest range of compatibility due to its support of 3dfx's Glide AP,
but Glide-only applications are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. t's very fast in 16-
bit, 3D gaming, which accounts for most games that are currently shipping; however
its performance in future games with 32-bit source art or high polygon counts is uncer-
tain.
The current darling are boards using the Nvidia RVA TNT2 chip. The TNT2 supports
32MB of RAM, high clock speeds, 32-bit rendering, 32-bit z-buffer, and other goodies.
This means that, like Voodoo2, the TNT can do multitexture rendering in a single pass.
n fact, RVA TNT2 boards run most Direct3D and OpenGL games faster than even
Voodoo2 SL. The 2D performance is good enough that it's worth considering
111
upgrading for that alone. There are two types of TNT2 boards: standard
and Ultra. Boards with standard TNT2 chips typically come with just a heat sink
on the board. TNT2 Ultra chips ship at much higher clock speeds and usually have
an onboard fan.
Other choices include S3's Savage4. Performance doesn't match up with either TNT2
or Voodoo3, but you can get 32MB boards for less than $140, and the OpenGL per-
formance is surprisingly good.
100 $ll 008ll0
One question get asked a lot is, "Do replace my existing AGP card, or do get a
second Voodoo2 card?"
f you have an existing Voodoo2 card, adding a second Voodoo2 card is an option that
no other vendor offers. The two cards must be identical - the same manufacturer and
the same memory configuration. (The exception, for tech-savvy users, is that if you
use 3dfx reference drivers, almost any reference board design can be mated with
another one.) The two boards split the 3D rendering chores between them - in
essence, each board renders every other scan line (row of pixels), hence the term
scan line interleave (SL).
t's difficult to speak for anyone else, but my inclination has been to first replace my
primary card with a RVA TNT2 board. Then, if had some spare cash, 'd consider
adding a second Voodoo2 card. After all, if you already have Voodoo2, you have
access to all the 3dfx-only games already. A TNT2 Ultra with 32MB of local memory is
a more compelling upgrade to me than a second Voodoo2 card. t will outperform SL
in OpenGL and Direct3D games; and the single Voodoo2 can still handle Glide games
nicely.
On a PC only system, adding the second Voodoo2 will let you run at up to 1,024x768
- though your actual frame rate may not go up. Having two pixel engines and four tex-
ture mapping units make for a brute force solution that's pretty damned fast. t's still
11Z
limited to 1,024x768 and won't render to 32-bit final output, but most
games don't take advantage of 32-bit color yet anyway. Bear in mind that a pair
of Voodoo2 cards generate a fair amount of heat, so make sure you have ade-
quate cooling in your system. Also, some systems may not have a power supply
capable of handling dual Voodoo2 cards. Many off-the-shelf systems from major ven-
dors like Dell, Compaq, and Gateway only have 200 watt power supplies. So be care-
ful about adding twin Voodoo2 cards to those systems - or consider upgrading the
power supply.
80l 8 80N $8l0M
OK, you've been bitten by the new system bug. You plan on either buying a whole new
system or radically upgrading your current one with an AGP motherboard transplant
and a new CPU. Which graphics card is for you? Like so many things in life, it
depends.
$00k0l 6F
Users on a tight budget, or those simply wanting an alternative to ntel, now have an
alternative. The K6-2 isn't the fastest kid on the block, but it's reasonably priced and
will certainly give you a big performance boost over an older, slower Pentium.
However, there's a dark cloud wrapped around that silver lining.
The problems most people have had don't revolve around the K6-2 as much as the
motherboards. So-called super 7 motherboards mate an industry standard Socket 7
CPU socket and AGP through the used of chipsets from ALi (Aladdin V), Via (MVP3),
and others. The problem is that these companies don't have the huge testing infra-
structure of an ntel, so when the chipsets hit the streets, they haven't always been
thoroughly wrung out.
get a lot of mail from readers who have had problems with installing new graphics
cards in a socket 7 AGP motherboard. They usually start out something like, " can't
get my TNT / G200 / ntel 740 board to work in my K6-2 system."
11J
The problem is that most socket 7 AGP boards don't handle AGP 2x cards very well.
ALi has recently released a new driver for its chipset that, according to readers, seem
to have fixed the problem. The same is true for Via. Newer drivers from 3dfx and
Nvidia support AMD's 3DNow!, improving 3D performance across the board.
The bottom line is that Socket 7 AGP systems using the AMD K6-2 are often cost-
effective alternatives to ntel-based systems. But tread warily when buying AGP graph-
ics cards and make sure that the vendor can support AGP 2x.
F0ll0M lll 0f8008
The hot ticket in terms of raw performance are systems with the 440BX chipset and a
500, 550, or 600MHz Pentium . The 440BX chipset fully supports AGP 2x transfers
and other features. Most let you tweak features like the AGP aperture and write com-
bining.
f you're buying a 450MHz or faster system, you should definitely look into one of the
third generation, true AGP graphics cards for your primary card. The RVA TNT2 is the
performance king today, but there are several boards (such as the Millenium
G400Max) not far behind.
One question often get is whether Voodoo2 is necessary if you just got a spanking
new 550 with a TNT2 board. The answer is a qualified yes, if you're a serious gamer.
There are still a number of older compelling games that only support 3dfx for 3D accel-
eration. And a fair number of Direct3D games simply run better on 3dfx currently
because the developer has used features that work better on 3dfx (8-bit palletized tex-
tures come to mind). And Voodoo2 boards have dropped to less than $100, so it's not
as expensive as you might think.
114
f0l0f0 1080
3D graphics accelerators are advancing faster than just about any other PC technol-
ogy today. t's staggering to think that the RVA TNT chip has more than 7 million tran-
sistors on board - about the same as the Pentium . The next generation will be even
more capable. Remember, though, that the purpose is to create an immersive game
experience. Upgrade only when necessary - usually when a new game really bogs
down the current graphics card. Read GameSpot and Computer Gaming World; we'll
cover what's hot and what's not in the 3D world.
11
For a quick comparative shop, check out
Appendix A: Creating the Ultimate Game Machine.
80l0.
F0lll M8l0 ll0 00f M800l0
Whether you finally sprang for a 3D accelerator or got one as a gift, you're probably
wondering how to get the thing into your computer, so you can play all those cool 3D-
accelerated games. Loyd tells you how to crack your case, install your card, and get it
running.
0f800 0ll
OK, you read Chapter 8: 3D Graphics Cards -
Making the Right Choice, maybe dabbled
around in Appendix A, bit the bullet, and bought
a new accelerator. Or maybe you got one as a
gift, and it's lying unopened on your shelf, beck-
oning to you. But you've resisted its blandishments, even regarded it with dread.
You've heard about all the nightmares that can occur when you install a new card, and
you're system is running fine, thank you. Sure, Quake II is running at 12fps, but, hey,
it's stable.
I can't promise to remove all the headaches, but if you read this chapter, you'll at least
encounter a minimum of headaches. We'll start with the general guidelines, then go
through the process of actually installing a Voodoo2 card and the primary card.
11
008l0f 9
l8l8lll f00f
6f80l08 08f0
Before You Start
Popping Open the Case
Adding Voodoo2
Replacing the Primary Card
Troubleshooting Tips
80l0f0 f00 $l8fl
Have the right tools handy, including a Philips-head screwdriver and something to pick
up a screw if you drop it in the case. Make sure you have your Windows installation
disk as well. f you have a game with DirectX 6.0 or a DirectX SDK CD lying around,
make sure that's handy. Give yourself some space and make sure you can constantly
ground yourself. Better yet, use an anti-static strap. Simply go to a Radio Shack or
computer shop and pick up an anti-static grounding strap. Make sure you attach it to
the chassis of the computer. f you can't get a grounding strap, you can ground your-
self frequently by either touching the metal computer chassis or some other grounded
device.
Also, if you've got an AGP system and are upgrading to a recent generation card
(RVA TNT, Banshee, or AT Rage 128), you might consider upgrading to Windows 98
if you haven't already done so. Most of the following directions revolve around
Windows 98. However, will touch on a few Windows 95 specifics. won't be covering
Windows NT, Linux, or other alternative operating systems here.
also won't cover every possible iteration of card connections. For example, Voodoo2
cards generally connect to a primary (2D/3D) card via a passthrough cable; the display
is then connected to the Voodoo2 card. Some cards (Canopus) use a reverse
passthrough scheme. f you just got one of those cards, consult the Canopus manual
for connecting up the card. Connector types may vary; Canopus' passthrough is a
DN-style connector, not a 15-pin male connector. Quantum3D uses still another
passthrough style that works well, but 'm going to cover the standard connector, which
will take care of 90 percent of the cards out there.
11
To all you observant readers: you may notice that
my choice for swapping primary cards is a little odd. t's
only an example and not an editorial statement.
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F0l 00 l00 0880
Let's take a look at a typical motherboard layout.
Here's the guts of an InteI SE440BX motherboard. Note the AGP
sIot on the right. It's offset from the PCI sIots.
f you're adding, upgrading, or replacing a primary graphics card in a Pentium ,
Pentium or K6-2 system, it's very likely that the new card will go into the AGP slot.
Most Voodoo2 cards go into the PC slot, though Quantum3D does make an AGP
Voodoo2 card.
00l 00000Z
Adding a Voodoo2 card is about the easiest hardware installation you can do.
However, it still means opening your case and installing drivers. Additionally, there are
issues involved if you are upgrading over a Voodoo Rush or Voodoo Graphics card.
118
f you do have Voodoo Rush or Voodoo Graphics, try uninstalling the drivers. f
there's no uninstall procedure, you may still be OK - most of the more recent
Voodoo2 drivers have a built-in utility that searches your system for old drivers. t's
usually under a button labeled Utility in the Voodoo2 card's control panel.
The vast majority of Voodoo2 cards are added into PC slots. Here's a typical Voodoo2
card.
Note the two connectors. You attach your monitor to one connector.
The passthrough cabIe runs from the other connector to your 2D/3D card.
You slip the Voodoo2 card into a free PC slot. Pay close attention to whatever hard-
ware is next to the Voodoo2 card - particularly the 3dfx chip side of the board.
Voodoo2 chips can run pretty hot when the action is heavy, so you don't want anything
very heat sensitive there.
119
If you plan on installing Voodoo2 SLI, make sure you connect the short SLI cable
between the two cards. Screw down the mounting brackets.
After installing the Voodoo2 card, the back of the case may look a little like this.
The actual location of the connectors may differ, though.

Next, connect up the passthrough cable.

Here's what it should look like after connecting the passthrough cable.
The monitor cable connects to the Voodoo2 card.
Set the system upright if it's a tower and power it up. The Add Device Wizard (new
hardware detected) should pop up when you boot into Windows. If you had a Voodoo
Graphics card, it may not. If you simply find yourself at the Windows desktop, run the
Add New Hardware control panel. Or, get into the system control panel. You may see
a PCI Multimedia Device with an exclamation point next to it. You can also install the
drivers by going to the property sheet for the device.

Here's what you

should see if
your system
detects the new
Voodoo2 card.

Follow the on-

screen instruc-
tions, but make
sure you have
the drivers for
your card either
on the hard
drive or in your
CD drive.
After the drivers install, you must reboot. At that point, you may also
want to run the sweep utility (the utility that searches for old 3dfx drivers). Now,
you're up and running.
f you're installing SL, the card with the highest system priority should be the one con-
nected to the monitor and passthrough cable. This is usually, but not always, the PC
slot closest to the CPU. Note for DVD decoder users: if you have a DVD decoder that
uses an external passthrough (for example, Creative Labs Dxr2), suggest connecting
the monitor to the Voodoo2 card and daisy chain back to the primary card.
The daisy chain in action.
80l80l l00 FflM8f 08f0
Replacing a primary can be a major headache. A little advance prep will save a lot of
pain.
The zeroth thing you do (in other words, the thing you do before anything else) is back
up any valuable data in your \windows folders! Sorry had to shout, but this is impor-
tant. Sometimes when a graphics card installation goes bad, you end up having to do
1ZJ
a clean reinstall of Windows by removing the \windows folder. If you
use Outlook or any application that stores information in the \windows folder
you'll lose it if you don't back it up. Internet Explorer places the Favorites folder in
\windows - hey, it's part of the operating system, right? (My personal philosophy is
that no application should store user data in \windows. But what do I know, I'm just a
writer.) Make sure you have all your application install CDs handy; if you have to rein-
stall Windows, you'll need to reinstall your Windows applications.
Lest I scare you off, this kind of disaster only happens rarely. I have noticed, however,
that it almost always occurs if you don't back up....
80f0 N0 60..
The first thing to do is start your
system with your existing card
still in it.
Now, go into \windows\inf\other.
You'll see a series of .INF files.
They are all simply text files.
Find the one for your old graph-
ics card and delete it. If you
don't see it in \windows\inf\other,
try \windows\inf.
Now bring up the display control
panel. Click on the settings tab,
then the Advanced button. Now
select the tab labeled Adapter.
(Windows 95 users may
encounter a slightly different
sequence, but it's similar).
1Z4
You want to swap
your current driver
for the Windows
VGA driver.
Click on the Change
button. You'll see the
following dialog.
#
Now, click on the second choice, "Display a list..."
Now, scroll the dialog until you see Standard Display Types on the left. Click on it and
select Standard PCI Graphics Adapter (VGA). You may get an pop-up telling you this
is not the correct device; ignore it.
Now reboot.
$
n some cases, the system may do a cold boot (that is, boot as if the system
was just powered up). n other cases, you may only see a Windows restart. f you
see the normal hardware startup, just power the system off at this point. f Windows
restarts, go ahead and let it come up. t will look hideous due to the 16-color VGA
driver. gnore it and shut down normally.
After powering down, open the case and locate the AGP or PC slot you plan on using.
Slide the card gently in, making sure it seats firmly. Note that AGP cards sometimes
don't seat properly. Make sure it's down and tight before and after screwing the brack-
et down.
When the system comes up, you'll see the Detect New Hardware dialog. t usually
suggests that you load the VGA driver. Go ahead and let it do that, then reboot. This
will ensure a more stable installation. (Here's a note to people bringing up a new
homebuilt system for the first time: still like to install the VGA driver during the
Windows setup process. Then, go back after Windows is up and running and install
the graphics drivers.)
Note that if you're replacing the primary card with something similar (different brands
of TNT boards, for example), be careful that the system doesn't install the old driver
set automatically. For example, if you're swapping a Velocity 4400 out for a Hercules
TNT board, Windows may automatically reinstall the 4400 drivers. f you've set the
system up for VGA before swapping boards and if you've removed the old .NF file,
you should be OK.
Now, it's time to install the new drivers. There are two types of driver installations. One
uses the Windows 95/98 Add New Hardware control panel. The other uses a setup
program provided by the manufacturer. personally prefer the latter, if available. Follow
the manufacturer's installation, using whatever method it suggests.
After one more reboot, you should be good to go.
1Z
1f000l08000ll 1l8
nstalling a graphics card is fraught with potential peril. Here are a few typical prob-
lems and some suggestions.
. Windows boots into what looks like VGA mode. t won't let me install a new driver
(the option is greyed out), but tells me my card is not configured. What do do?
. There are two common causes for this. The first is that you either didn't remove the
.NF file for your old card or you didn't set up for VGA (or both). n that case, the only
solution is to reinstall the old card and set up for VGA. Don't forget to remove that .NF
file!
The other possible cause is that you have either an RQ conflict, or an RQ isn't being
properly assigned to the graphics card. All new graphics cards use either PC 2.1 or
AGP. n either case, they require an RQ to be assigned to work properly. Check for
conflicts. t's very common in some motherboards for the PC slot adjacent to the AGP
slot to grab the same RQ. Graphics cards don't like to share RQs. You can either
manually assign RQs to individual PC slots (an onerous task) or leave the PC slot
empty. Alternatively, put the Voodoo2 card there, though you've now created a nice
hotspot with two fast accelerators adjacent to each other.
. Windows quits with a protection error. When reboot, the same thing happens.
. You may have an RQ conflict. You may have to boot into safe mode to fix the prob-
lem, but it's a tough one. What usually works is to boot into DOS and reinstall
Windows. Usually, a refresh install works, but occasionally, you may have to do a
clean reinstall. For help in that area, see Chapter 2: Getting Games to Run Right.
. When power up, hear a series of beeps and get no picture.
. Either the card is defective, or the card isn't really seated in the slot. Remove it and
slide it back in again. (Usually, this will work).
1Z8
. Everything seems to turn on properly and don't hear any beeps, but don't
get a picture.
. Try the trick of popping out the card and slipping it back in. Make sure that the
system is automatically assigning RQs. Some BOSs have the option to disable RQ
assignments to VGA cards. Make sure this option is not turned on. As wrote previ-
ously, all current generation cards need an RQ to work properly.
t is also possible that if you're installing into an older Pentium system, the PC slots
are not 2.1 capable. n that case, return the card for a refund - it probably will never
work properly. How do you tell? Good question. Some BOS setup programs report the
PC revision number, or it may be in the manual.
100 Ffl00 0l 6l0f
These are the really major headaches. You may run into additional teething problems.
f it's a really new technology card, you still have to go through driver downloads and
updates. Such is the price of high-performance glory. But there is a certain satisfaction
to getting through this process. But it should still be easier than this. Maybe it will in
the PC2002 spec....
1Z9
80ll0l 8 8ll0f080l0 8000 88l0M
8 l8 00kl
PC sound systems can be mind-bendingly complex and convoluted; but at the same
time can also be fairly easy to assemble and put together. Here's how to do it.
000l0l 0
l00 $8l0M
The very first thing you must do, even before you run out the door with your check-
book in hand, is to figure out what kind of sound system you'll even want. Without gen-
eralizing too much, there are basically four approaches:
MMM The basic system - You don't care how it sounds, as long as the
speakers work, and you can hear stuff that's sounds OK.
MMM Quality simple system - This system will produce some decent
sound at various ranges from two speakers at reasonable cost.
(continued on next page)
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008l0f 10
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F0 $000 $8l0M
Settling on a Sound Card
Speakers
Putting It All Together
QQQ Surround system - These days, manufacturers make
cards that are four-speaker surround sound capabIe, so that's
another avenue to Iook at.
QQQ Home system - You can forego buying computer speakers aItogeth-
er and hook your computer up to your stereo or home theater system.
$0llll 0 8 $000 08f0
The variety of sound cards has basically remained steady in the last few years, though
generally stores will carry cards from only two manufacturers: the Sound Blaster line
from Creative Labs and Diamond's Monster Sound series. This is not to say other
cards out there aren't worth a look: Turtle Beach continues to develop strong con-
tenders, as does Yamaha and Roland. But this simple fact remains: Creative Labs and
Diamond are most easily found in stores.
Generally, it is difficult hard to go wrong with either of the aforementioned manufactur-
ers. Creative Labs' current model is the Sound Blaster Live, which comes in $100 and
$200 editions. Diamond recently released its Monster Sound MX300 ($200), of which
there is a cheaper model available (the M80 at less than $100 and the MX200, priced
a little bit higher).
The differences can be minute, depending on how you view these things. Creative
Labs uses its own proprietary Environmental Audio extensions (or EAX) system to
make full use of 3D positional sound and other audio reproduction schemes developed
over the years. EAX is designed to make full use of four-point speaker systems for full
surround sound. The big selling point, and what the bulk of the manufacturers are
doing these days, is the positional 3D sound - it's difficult to get away from, so we'll
jump right in.
The Diamond boards use A3D chips created by Aureal to generate 3D sound with only
the use of two speakers, though the MX300 incarnation, with the A3D 2.0 Vortex, sup-
ports four speakers (or more, through the use of an add-on daughterboard). While
using different audio 3D systems, both basically have the same abilities and capabili-
ties, and both make full use of DirectSound3D, so you're not missing much in quality,
either way.
1J1
There are two other small things to think about. Sound Blaster products provide
native support for DOS games (which means you can get sound through games
run in a DOS window without running special emulators or anything else), while
Diamond's Sound Blaster emulator for DOS has never worked properly. Also,
Diamond's sound cards routinely come equipped with digital game ports for joysticks,
while Sound Blaster ones have always been analog (though claim support for digital
joysticks). Digital joysticks have been known not to work well with analog gameports,
and those that do have slower response times (and eat up CPU cycles), so that is also
something to think about, especially if you like flight sims.
Most of the other cards use Aureal chips to provide 3D audio in one form or another.
They sometimes offer better features than the Big Two, but they basically offer the
same bang for the buck in the audio department, that is, until you get to buying the
speakers. Those looking just for sound will find the $100 cards a good deal, however.
Some of the older cards, like the Sound Blaster 128 (or AWE64) will work fine as well,
and will be undoubtedly cheaper, though they don't feature the 3D stuff.
$08k0f8
Computer speakers are available in greater numbers and varieties than ever before,
and at the very least, stores usually have them on display so you can hear them
before you think about buying. f you're serious about your speakers, you should do
that first.
f you're just looking to have audio on your computer, any old set of speakers will do.
n the $50 and under range, a pair by practically anybody on the market will work fine.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you want to use your computer with your stereo or
home theater system, you can just use the output jack on the audio card and connect
it to your receiver. The higher-end cards or card combinations (like the Diamond
MX300 and MX25 daughterboard) now support Dolby 5.1 surround sound (six speak-
ers, including a subwoofer), though the rest will support various combinations typically.
1JZ
Now comes the difficult part: deciding on a two- or four-speaker setup
for the computer. Creative Labs' speaker division, Cambridge Soundworks (it
used to make speakers independently until bought out by Creative Labs), makes a
very good range of decent speakers, though it is difficult to find its two-speaker and
subwoofer setups any more.
Microsoft's DSS-80 is a rather nice two-speaker setup with a bass unit that is fully digi-
tal and has USB support. Originally, it was a bit pricey ($250), but today, you can buy
them for less than $150, not including rebates. Jensen, Yamaha, Labtec, and Altec
Lansing all make other two-speaker systems (most of them with subwoofers of various
types), so there are lots to choose from.
Don't let size fool you, either. Cambridge's three-inch cube speakers may look small,
but they can produce a lot of sound without much distortion or cracking.
As far as four-speaker systems go, you should invest in one only if you have the room,
you really want true 3D positional sound, and you have a little extra money. A fair
number of companies make four-speaker setups, including Cambridge Soundworks. n
fact, Creative Labs has just released a new setup to provide Dolby 5.1 surround sys-
tem (four positional speakers, a center, and a subwoofer) called the DTTS-2500.
Again, if you can, try to listen to them to see what kind of a range you're getting.
Generally these four-speaker setups cost more than $200, add $50 to $100 for a
decent subwoofer.
F0lll ll ll 100l00f
Now that you have your audio card and speakers, it's time to set it all up. nstall the
audio card first and connect the speakers in a simple setup (say right in front of your
computer), so you can at least tell if the setup is working. The audio card instructions
will tell you which connections to use for your appropriate setup, and speakers gener-
ally come with their own cables (some you can replace with your own cables if you
feel like it).
1JJ
The next step, after discovering your card and speakers work, is to
properly position the speakers. Generally you do not want to the speakers close
to your monitor (or any kind of magnetic storage device like floppies for that mat-
ter) - though manufacturers say they are shielded, you can create some funky distor-
tions with the monitor image and may even cause some serious damage to the moni-
tor.
n two-speaker setups, try to place the speakers evenly apart, but generally in an area
where the sound coming from the left speaker is on the same tone and volume as the
sound coming out of the right speaker - the so-called "sweet spot." You don't have to
necessarily point the speakers in a certain direction to get the sweet spot, though
some recommend that, in an enclosed environment, you should have the speakers
pointed outward instead of inward.
A four-speaker setup is a little different - the four speakers generally need to be
spaced evenly apart to create a generalized sweet spot for positional audio. Of course,
you can alter the speaker positions to move the spot as you see fit, though to create
3D sound, you must put them where they are intended (front speakers in the front,
back in the back, and not vice versa or all together). This may require you to mount
the speakers on walls or in corners - some speaker setups come with mounting brack-
ets, but check to make sure before you start hammering nails into the wall.
As for subwoofers, they should be placed against a wall or, better yet, a corner to
maximize their effect. Subwoofers out in the open tend to sound weak and detached
without having walls to amplify them.
After some fine tuning and speaker adjustment, you should have some decent audio
coming out of your speakers in no time.
1J4
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8 l8 00kl
The biggest thing you must worry about when investing in gaming peripherals is: What
exactly do I need? Well, this chapter is here to help find answers to that key question.
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Consider this: if you like flight sims, you'll need a joystick. If
you like driving games, you can use a joystick, a gamepad, or ultimately, a driving
wheel. With a gamepad, you can play a variety of action games, though the first-per-
son games are best played with a mouse (you should have one anyway). If you're an
adventure gamer or like basic card games, you may not need any of this extra stuff at
all. If you want to spend money, you can consider going force feedback on your gam-
ing peripherals. Which stick is better? What are all those buttons for? Do you really
need all of them?
OK, before we go any farther, let's back up and start with something every gaming
computer needs: a mouse.
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Mice
Joysticks
Gamepads
Wheels
Use the Force
E?A
Let's face it, not many think of mice as a gaming peripheral, but mouse design does
count. Most PC mice have two or three buttons and, these days, are designed to
ergonomically fit the palm of your hand. Some mice have wheels to facilitate scrolling
or other functions in Windows. Other pointing devices, like the trackball, have you roll
around the ball in a stationary position rather than moving the mouse around.
Generally Microsoft and Logitech make the most reliable and oft-liked mice. Microsoft
mice are fairly durable and were the first ones to incorporate the wheel in their design.
Plus, they feel pretty comfortable and aren't too big. Depending which design you get,
they can run between $30 and $60 and come in PS/2 and USB flavors.
Logitech has been in the point device game for nearly as long, and it's got some really
nice mice. When Logitech produced its Mouseman Wheel mouse, it sported four but-
tons, including a wheel, and a nice, curvy shape that made it very distinctive. It was a
bit pricey at $60, though now sells for less - mainly because Logitech has a new
Mouseman Wheel mouse out, which is cordless, has a slightly more refined design,
has a much better feel to it, and is extremely intuitive. And the digital wireless receiver
really works, even at ten feet. It also goes for about $60 and is perfect for gaming of
all sorts.
The
mouse
without a
tail.
!$
Companies are still being innovative with mice as well. The new wave
of digital mice will use optical sensors to determine where they have moved.
For instance, Microsoft's new ntellimouse Explorer shines a red LED light under-
neath it; sensors sampling at over a thousand times a second can then determine
where the mouse is moving, its velocity, and so forth, all without the use of a ball or
any other moving parts. Other mice use technology similar to digital tablets to deter-
mine where the mouse is.
l08ll0k8
A wide variety of manufacturers produce all sorts of joysticks, from the low-end two-
button kind to the massive multiarray stick and throttle combinations at the high end.
The type of joystick that you buy should be determined by what kind of games you like
to play. Action-oriented games and most driving games won't require much more than
a standard joystick - say four buttons and maybe a hat (the switch typically at the top
of the stick that can move in different directions, commonly used for looking in a cer-
tain direction). These sticks shouldn't cost more than $40 or so, but have a tendency
to be made of cheap parts that can break after repeated use.
f you like flight sims or big action games, especially the complex ones, you'll need
something more elaborate. Some joysticks are built with one or two hats and any-
where between four and 20 buttons and combinations, depending on what you want.
Others have built in throttles - a third axis on the stick that acts like the throttle on a
plane (and can be programmed to do other things). Some of these professional sticks
can go for more than $200, though most are in the $50 to $100 range. The more
expensive sticks also are usually made out of better components, but don't count on it.
Make sure to look at the warranties (which is a good idea for hardware in general) and
see what the manufacturer will do in case of replacements - many are nice enough to
send replacements for free or for a small fee.
Most stores have sticks out on display, so before you buy one you should probably
check it out and see how it feels. You'll want a stick you can hold comfortably and isn't
too much of a hassle to use. Also pay attention to digital or USB sticks - they are
1J
generally easier to install, maintain, and are much more accurate in
terms of calibration than analog sticks. Microsoft sticks (and CH is doing it, too,
among others) incorporate a stick design that lets you twist the stick, serving as a
rudder control - typically rudders (or pedals) must be bought separately or with driv-
ing wheels), another thing to consider.
Manufacturers include Microsoft, Gravis, CH, Logitech, Saitek, AVB, nteract, and ACT
Labs, among others.
68M0808
n an effort to catch up on video game sales, various PC companies began making
gamepads - basically PC versions of the pads for console systems. Gravis' GRiP held
the top spot for quite awhile, until a number of manufacturers, including Microsoft,
came out with more ergonomic designs that included more functions and features as
well as USB support.
A number of companies still make gamepads, though they still aren't too common.
Microsoft continues to develop gamepads, including the new Sidewinder Freestyle
Pro, that contains an internal motion sensor to determine three-dimensional position of
the pad - acting like its own D-pad in other words. Saitek and Thrustmaster gamepads
are still on the market as well as ACT Labs and nteract, with varying degrees of quali-
ty. f you like action games or console game conversions, consider getting a USB
gamepad - it should cost about $50 or less and is a cinch to install.
N000l8
f you have the money and really get into driving games, a driving wheel is a very
viable option. These days, many of them are force-feedback and can cost between
$100 to $200, depending on all the options. Many of the wheels come with pedals for
acceleration and breaking, and a few have built-in gamepads and other customizable
features.
1J8
Microsoft, Saitek, Logitech, AVB, nteract, and Thrustmaster make steering
wheels of varying degrees and quality; again, check the stores and see how they
feel. USB wheels should also be considered for ease of installation.
However, most driving games can be played well using only a joystick and the key-
board, so a wheel is really a luxury.
080 l00 f0f00
More and more gaming peripherals use force feedback. n other words, the peripheral
contains a series of motors to generate forces. n a joystick, force feedback is used to
provide force in certain directions (like firing a gun and feeling the recoil) or sensations
(rumbling or shaking). Force-feedback steering wheels act to represent what it feels
like to drive on particular driving surfaces and weather conditions.
Generally, some force-feedback products work better than oth-
ers; Logitech has been successful in producing force-feedback
products as well as Microsoft. Others are of varying quality;
unfortunately, unless you're at a trade show, or there is a pow-
ered demonstration, it is difficult to tell what the force-feedback
effects will be until it is plugged in and an application is running.
Force-feedback products generally run between $150 and
$250, so some careful study should be done before a purchas-
ing decision is made. But you can get more joy out of your ride.
1J9
The Sidewinder
stick, ready to
rumbIe.
100 0lllM8l0 l F0 8Ml 0N0f
Check out our updated ultimate PC gaming machine, based on the latest technology,
recommendations, and the best components that money can buy.
N08l l8 l00 0lllM8l0
68M0 N800l0F
The Ultimate Game Machine is here to help you get the best gaming rig money can
buy, hands down. These items are made from the best components and other qualities
that beats out everything else. Money is not an issue - but for many of you, it will be.
So, we've built the Lean Machine as well - the best lean gaming machine a tight budg-
et can buy. Suffice it to say, these machines are fast and built for gaming potential.
140
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0f08ll f00f 0lllM8l0
68M0 N800l0
8 800f'8 60l00
The Power Rig
The Lean Machine
Maybe both the Lean Machine and Power Rig are
too rich for your blood. That's OK, because we've got you
covered. Check out Chapter 5: The Budget Rig. There,
you'll find a methodical, detailed explanation of how get a
great gaming machine for less than $1,500.
80l0.
$00l
This chapter is for you to print out and take with you when you go to make your
next purchase for your gaming rig. Not only will you find out where to go, we'll give
you the price you'll most likely encounter, and so on. The idea here is to help you
become a better consumer - if your vendor doesn't have what you want in stock, we
provide alternatives, just in case that money is really burning a hole in your pocket or
you can't bear the thought of going home empty-handed. We know you know what
we're talking about.
So here comes the Power Rig, with comments for much of the components and
prices. Components are listed alphabetically.
100 F0N0f 8l
MMM 3D ACCELERATOR CARD: 3dfx Voodoo2 1000 ($99) - This is still a great 3D
card that works really well for games requiring the Glide API with little hassles; for
everything else, use the TNT2 card.
Where to buy: Most stores and mail-order houses carry them in one form or another,
so they are easy to get.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/video/3d/v2-1000.html
MMM CASE: In-Win IW-Q500 Full Tower Case ($115) - This full-size tower has a slide-
out motherboard tray and 235-watt power supply. It provides more than enough room
for internal storage bays, wiring, and cards, though a newer version is down the road.
Where to buy: Wholesalers, value-added retailers (VARs), and online mail-order
141
This component list as been compiled, at best,
during a single snapshot in time. As time passes, new
products come out that offer more features, better per-
formance, and lower cost. But the principles still apply:
Shop carefully and pick components with care.
80l0.
houses typically carry In-Win products. If you can't find one, make sure
you can fully examine all the cases on stock before buying one and know how it
comes apart and is put back together.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/cpus/iwq500.html
MMM CD-ROM: HiVal 6X SCSI DVD Kit ($319) - Good installation and decent 32X reg-
ular CD-ROM speed make this a great all-around drive. The image quality is good
despite use of two passthrough cables with Voodoo2 board.
Where to buy: It must be bought directly from Hi-Val.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/storage/dvdscsi6.html
MMM CONNECTIVITY: 3Com Etherlink XL 10/100 ($80) - This card is an easily config-
urable 10/100 card that's very widely supported and inherently plug-and-play.
Where to buy: Computer stores and online retailers that carry 3Com products will
have them in the networking department.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/connectivity/connectivity/ethrlink.html
MMM CONNECTIVITY: CopperRocket SDSL Modem ($400) - This symmetric DSL
modem, with upstream/downstream speeds at 200Kbps is very expensive and only
usable in areas with SDSL support.
Where to buy: A few high-end stores may have it, but the best bet is to go through
the SDSL provider or Copper Mountain itself. The alternatives, though slower, include
using cable modems or a regular DSL hookup, all typically available from local phone
companies or cable providers.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/connectivity/connectivity/cprrkt.html
MMM CPU: Intel 600 MHz Pentium III ($740) - This awesome high-speed CPU is Intel's
newest and is also available right now, not later. It performs extremely well - better
than most estimates. It supports SSE (streaming SIMD extensions) to enhance games
that use it.
Where to buy: Retailers and online stores that sell CPUs will definitely have this CPU.
If you don't want to spend $700 or so, you can always get a slower CPU, many of
which sell for less than $300.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/cpus/p3600.html
14Z
MMM GAME CONTROLLER: Thrustmaster Flight Controllers ($300) -
Thrustmaster's realistic flight control system, including the F22 Pro and TQS
Throttle Combination, is one of the best in the business. Unfortunately, it is also the
most expensive, not to mention difficult to find - it's even worse now that
Thrustmaster has seemingly gotten out of the joystick business.
Where to buy: A few retailers still carry this , or alternatively it can be found for sale in
newsgroups.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/sticks/tmjoyst.html
MMM GAME CONTROLLER: Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro ($65) - Microsoft's
newest gamepad is ergonomically designed and USB to boot. Instead of having a pad
on the controller, the entire controller can act like a pad, using motion-sensor
technology.
Where to buy: It's available practically anywhere that sells joysticks or gamepads.
Microsoft's original pad as well as those from a few other manufacturers is also avail-
able at cheaper prices.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/gamepads/freestyl.html
MMM HARD DRIVE: Quantum Atlas 10K ($825) - This lightning fast 10,000rpm SCSI
hard drive, with 3.1GB per platter, is available in 9GB and higher flavors. Make no
doubt, with an ultra2 or ultra160 SCSI interface, this drive will scream along very nice-
ly. It may need a driver cooler, however, as it has a tendency to heat up.
Where to buy: Some retails that carry hard drives will have it, but many online retail-
ers will more than likely have it. Any number of 7,200rpm Quantum, Maxtor, Seagate,
IBM, or Western Digital drive as an alternate will work well, too.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/storage/atlas10k.html
MMM KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech Mouseman Plus ($59) - This great, ergonomic
mouse has four buttons and a wheel. It fits most hands very nicely and comes with a
number of utilities.
Where to buy: It's usually available at any store that carries mice; the Microsoft
Intellimouse will make a nice substitution, though it doesn't fit the hand as well.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/mice/mousplus.html
14J
MMM KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Avant Stellar Keyboard ($189) - This is a remake of
the classic Northgate Omnikey keyboard, down to the vibrant keyclick. It's great for
those who like traditional, loud keyboards.
Where to buy: It's only available through the manufacturer, Creative Vision
Technologies. Alternates includes Microsoft's Natural Keyboard Elite, which is
ergonomic and small.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/mice/stellar.html
MMM MONITOR: Mitsubishi 202u 21-inch monitor - ($1,300) - This monitor has a 20-
inch viewable screen at .25 dot pitch. But, it's very adjustable, with a maximum resolu-
tion of 1,800x1,440 at 80 Hz. It has two upstream and three downstream USB ports
and provides a sharp image on a flat screen.
Where to buy: Some retailers and online stores will carry it. A comparable monitor
from Sony will suffice, but will be more expensive.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/video/monitors/mit202u.html
MMM MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P3B-F ($140) - Three different configurations provide
support for five PCI/2 ISA slots, six PCI/1 ISA slots, or six PCI slots. It uses third-gen-
eration 440BX motherboard chips tuned to work with Windows 2000.
Where to buy: You can find it at retailers, VARs, and online stores that carry Asus
motherboards; alternatively, you can get motherboards from Abit or Tyan that are simi-
lar in quality, though Abits are more expensive.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/cpus/asusp3bf.html
MMM POWER SUPPLY: PC Power and Cooling Turbocool 300 ($129) - This 300 watt
supply never runs out of power.
Where to buy: You can find it at any store that sells cases and power supplies; a
number of manufacturers build 300 watt power supplies at cheaper prices, however.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/cpus/turbo300.html
MMM REMOVABLE STORAGE: Iomega Jaz2 ($350) - With 12ms speed and 2GB car-
tridges, the Jaz2 serves as a decent removable drive - with an UltraSCSI interface to
boot. It runs at about the speed of an average IDE drive.
144
Where to buy: It's available at any store that carries Iomega products.
Removable drive or tape media systems such as Onstream, the Orb, or other
Iomega systems can be used as alternatives.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/storage/jaz2.html
MMM SCSI CONTROLLER: Adaptec 2940u2w ($349) - It's difficult to go wrong with an
Adaptec card; this newest one lets non-ultra2 hardware work with ultra2 drives at
ultra2 speeds. If you're going with SCSI drives, you might as well go with the best.
Where to buy: Most retailers and online stores will carry Adaptec cards, though make
sure you get the right one - there are many different models in the 2940 series.
Alternatively, you can pick up less-expensive SCSI ultra2 boards made by Diamond
Multimedia or Promise.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/storage/2940u2w.html
MMM SOUND CARD: Montego II Quadzilla ($99) - Turtle Beach's newest card features
Aureal A3D Vortex 2 positional audio and works pretty well. It supports four-speaker
surround sound and other nifty features, a decent card that gives Diamond a run for its
money.
Where to buy: A few retailers carry Turtle Beach products - your best bet is to go
online or through Turtle Beach. Alternatively, you can always buy the Diamond or
Sound Blaster products, which are readily available practically everywhere.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/sound/cards/quadzila.html
MMM SPEAKERS: Eminent Technologies LFT-11 ($599) - This setup includes highly
directional flat panel speakers and a hefty bass module; an Optimus amp is optional -
prepare to go to audio heaven.
Where to buy: Get it straight from Eminent Technologies. Alternatives includes any of
the Cambridge Soundworks packages; any other quality stereo system will work, too.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/sound/speakers/lft11.html
MMM SPEAKERS: Jamo CS-5 Multimedia Speakers - These big, book-end size speak-
ers are used for positional 3D support as rear speakers to the LFT-11s. They work just
as well as regular system speakers, though the bass is a little weak.
Where to buy: They are very hard to find Stateside, since they are European, but
14
contacting Jamo directly will help. As rear speakers, you can pretty much use any
pair of computer speakers, however.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/sound/speakers/jamocs5.html
MMM STEERING WHEEL: Extreme Competition Controls CDS4000 ($1,129) - This
massive wheel (13.75 inches in diameter) and pedal unit is specifically designed for
sim racers. Not for the feint-hearted, though, it's probably the closest thing to a real
driving setup a computer will have.
Where to buy: Get it straight from Competition Controls. Alternatively, you can get
smaller, cheaper force-feedback steering wheels from Interact, Microsoft, or
Thrustmaster.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/wheels/cds4000.html
MMM VIDEO CARD: Guillemot Xentor 32 ($199) - This great Riva TNT2 card with
32MB of SDRAM is speedy and solid. Overall game performance is quite good, and
the TNT2 provides great 2D and 3D graphics acceleration.
Where to buy: Most retailers and online stores that carry graphics cards. Alternatively,
you can buy any variety of TNT2 card from other manufacturers, some are better than
others.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/video/2d3d/xent32.html
N0f0 0 l08l1
Of course, sometimes you just want to compare prices before you buy. In fact, we rec-
ommend you do. A great place to start that comparison shopping is none other than
ZD's Computer Shopper.
Computer Shopper (http://www.zdnet.com/computershopper/)
And now the Lean Machine, with comments for much of the components and prices.
Components are listed alphabetically.
14
100 l08 N800l0
MMM CASE: Elan Vital (Asus) Aegis T10-AB ($82) - An extremely nice mid-tower
case with swivel-out feet, it comes with a decent manual and component trays for
everything. It's targeted at people who do their own upgrades.
Where to buy: Most vendors that carry computer cases will have it. Alternatively,
there are many other manufacturers that make cases, but make sure you know exactly
how they work and what they hold before buying.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/cpus/elanvitl.html
MMM CD-ROM: Pioneer 6X IDE DVD Drive ($130) - This low-cost drive supports 6X
DVD and 32X CD-ROM speeds in EIDE and SCSI flavors. DVDs and CD-ROMs enter
via a front-load slot, no more putting them on trays. It works very well.
Where to buy: While difficult to find individually, HiVal carries the drive as part of a
DVD kit. Alternatively: Other DVD drives can work, though many tend to be sluggish
and don't perform well. Creative Labs' drives are about par for the course.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/storage/pnridedvd.html
MMM CONNECTIVITY: Diamond SupraExpress 56E ($85) - This external 56K modem
uses the K56flex standard, is very compact, and supports V.34. It's a great package
for modem users.
Where to buy: Most retailers and online stores carry this modem. Alternatively, US
Robotics and a few other manufacturers develop modems, though the external ones
tend to be larger (and more expensive).
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/connectivity/connectivity/supra56e.html
MMM CPU: Intel Pentium III 500MHz ($260) - CPU prices are dropping like flies, so
why not pick up this steal? The 500MHz chip performs very well and will work with
practically everything - like we said, it's a steal right now.
Where to buy: Look for it at stores and online retailers that sell Intel CPUs; you can
buy slower chips for even cheaper prices as well as Celerons that will work just as well
for gaming.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/cpus/piii500.html
14
MMM GAME CONTROLLER: CH Products Gamestick 3D ($55.95) - CH
is an older company developing joysticks, and the Gamestick 3D is its latest
moderately priced stick, offering rudder support through the ability to twist the stick
clockwise and counterclockwise. Comes with an integrated throttle as well.
Where to buy: Look for it at stores that carry joysticks. There are a lot of moderately
priced sticks available, so check them out in a store before buying.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/sticks/gstick3d.html
MMM HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Expert Hard Drive ($220) - This fast drive supports
UltraDMA/66 and comes in 9.1GB and 18GB versions. It works just as well as any
other equivalent drive.
Where to buy: It's available at most stores and online retailers. Other hard drives from
Quantum, Seagate, IBM, and Maxtor provide similar support.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/storage/wdxpert.html
MMM KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech USB Wheel Mouse ($29) - This decent two-but-
ton mouse has a wheel and USB to boot. It's not as expensive as some of Logitech's
other mice, but a mouse is a mouse.
Where to buy: It's available at most stores and online retailers. There are plenty of
cheap mice on the market, so there is a lot to choose from.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/mice/logiusb.html
MMM KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech Newtouch Keyboard ($49) - This natural,
ergonomic keyboard has a touchpad pointing device as well. It provides better feel and
key placement than the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite.
Where to buy: Most stores and online retailers will sell Logitech keyboards, and there
are a variety of natural keyboards available, including the previously mentioned
Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/controllers/mice/newtouch.html
MMM MONITOR: Optiquest V95 ($489) - This is a cheap but quality 19-inch, flat square
tube (FST) monitor.
Where to buy: It's a little hard to find; online stores or mail order is your best bet.
148
Alternatively, other 19-inch monitors are available, and prices are vari-
able - the Viewsonic PS790 is a fair equivalent.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/video/monitors/v95.html
MMM MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P3B-F ($140) - Three different configurations provide
support for five PCI/2 ISA slots, six PCI/1 ISA slots, or six PCI slots. It uses third-gen-
eration 440BX motherboard chips tuned to work with Windows 2000.
Where to buy: You can find it at retailers, VARs, and online stores that carry Asus
motherboards; alternatively, you can get motherboards from Abit or Tyan that are simi-
lar in quality, though Abits are more expensive.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/systems/cpus/asusp3bf.html
MMM SOUND CARD: Diamond Monster Sound MX300 ($82): It provides great sound,
using Aureal A3D's Vortex2 chipset, and decent digital playback.
Where to buy: Diamond sound cards are pretty common in most stores, and the
MX300 is the most common of its sound cards at this time. Alternatively, you can go
with the Sound Blaster Live cards or the Turtle Beach cards that use the same 3D
audio chipset.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/sound/cards/mx300.html
MMM SPEAKERS: Boston Acoustics BA-635 ($69): This two-speaker setup sounds
better than the Cambridge Soundworks PC Works speakers. Really. It delivers an
impressive sound pressure level for its size.
Where to buy: It's a little hard to find, so try online retailers or go directly to Boston
Acoustics for more details.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/sound/speakers/ba635.html
MMM VIDEO CARD: Guillemot Xentor 32 ($199) - This great Riva TNT2 card with
32MB of SDRAM is speedy and solid. Overall game performance is quite good, and
the TNT2 provides great 2D and 3D graphics acceleration.
Where to buy: Check at most retailers and online stores that carry graphics cards.
Alternatively, you can buy any variety of TNT2 card from other manufacturers; some
are better than others.
More Info: http://www.gamespot.com/hardware/video/2d3d/xent32.html
149
N0f0 0 l08l1
Of course, sometimes you just want to compare prices before you buy. n fact, we
recommend you do. A great place to start that comparison shopping is none other
than ZD's Computer Shopper.
Computer Shopper (http://www.zdnet.com/computershopper/)
10
80ll0f 0fl0fM800, 00ll0f 00l 000l8l08
Benchmarking isn't just for industry professionals and gearheads anymore. With a little
advice, you can run benchmarks on your system to help you diagnose problems to
make more informed buying decisions. This chapter gets down and dirty with this mys-
terious art and helps you start benchmarking on your own.
8000M8fkl.
N0 $000l0 l 08f0F
This is a good question worth pondering. Why do
you, the erstwhile reader, care about benchmark-
ing - especially if you never plan on doing it your-
self. There's several answers to this question.
On the most basic level, understanding what benchmarking is, its limitations, and how
good benchmarking is conducted lets you make a more informed buying decision
when it comes time to upgrade your hardware. This is part of being an informed con-
sumer. Since all graphics card companies do benchmarks, understanding the process
helps you cut through the chaff that's often printed on product boxes.
11
00lK 8
100 8l80k fl 0l
F0fl0fM800 108ll
Benchmark Types
How Do I?
But How Do I Test?
Game Testing
GameGauge 2.0
Your Mileage May Vary
Learning how to do benchmarks on your own can also help you diagnose systems.
For example, we all know that Windows 95 and 98 slowly deteriorate over time as
you install and uninstall software. The result is that there will come a time when the
only fix will be to reinstall Windows. The question then is not if you must reinstall
Windows, but when you must reinstall. And doing a little benchmarking and record-
keeping will help you understand when to do this. (f you're the rare Macintosh user
who is reading this and is feeling smug, only need say the words "init conflict" to wipe
that smile off your face.)
Finally, personally care because think knowledge is a wonderful thing. Not only that,
there's a chance that 'll get a few less e-mails - although given my daily flood, might
not notice. Here's just a few examples of the kinds of e-mail get regarding bench-
marking. There are several prototypical questions that show up more than others, and
they look like this:
First, there's the "How do ?" questions, such as, "'ve heard that Quake has some
way of running a benchmark. Could you tell me how that works?"
Then there's the, "Why don't you use...<insert favorite benchmark here>." This most
often comes up with 3D Mark 99.
The third typical question revolves around the systems for testing. t takes several
forms. The most common is, "Why don't you test on low-end systems, like my Pentium
MMX 233. t would help me make a better buying decision."
Alternatively, there's this one, " ran benchmarks on my Celeron 300A overclocked to
450, with my Voodoo2 card overclocked to 100MHz, and my results are slower than
yours. What gives?"
Let's touch on these in a more general way.
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One comment you often hear is. "The best benchmark is the application you use or
the games you play." Unfortunately, that does little good when trying to draw compar-
isons between disparate pieces of hardware. There are really two types of bench-
marks to consider: synthetic and application-based.
Designers of synthetic benchmarks try to design their tests to simulate the workload of
real applications, but in a way that the data can be broken down in more granular
detail. On the other hand, application-based benchmarks somehow use real applica-
tions to create a realistic workload on a computer, but it may be more difficult to bread
down exactly what's going on.
$l00ll0 8000M8fk8
The Ziff-Davis benchmark suites are a great example of this. On the one hand, there's
the Winbench 99 suite. Winbench 99 consists of a series of discrete tests that focus
on single subsystems. There are benchmarks that wring out disk drives, 2D Windows
graphics, and CPU components.
Another Ziff-Davis synthetic benchmark
is 3D Winbench 99, which lets you look
closely at the behavior of 3D accelera-
tors, one feature at a time.
There are other examples of synthetic
benchmarks, in particular the ones
embedded in Norton Utilities' Sysinfo
tool, SPECmarks, and 3D Mark 99.
Some are better than others, but they all
eventually represent a simulation of
what really happens. (3D Mark 99 uses
a real game engine at its core, but I still
consider it a synthetic benchmark
because of its granularity).
1J
The WinBench 99 suite is ready.
ll08ll0888800 8000M8fk8
Then, there are application-oriented benchmarks. For example, most gamers who
spend any time on the Web have, no doubt, come across a plethora of benchmarks
for Quake and Quake . These benchmarks are application-oriented.
At Computer Gaming World and GameSpot, we use GameGauge - a suite of real
games with built-in performance testing tools. These have the upside of looking at how
a particular game will play on a system. They have a couple of downsides. One down-
side is lack of granularity. n most cases, you can't easily turn on and off every possi-
ble 3D rendering parameter or render state. Second, with the exception of
GameGauge, these benchmarks generally represent one particular game engine's per-
formance. That is to say, there's a radical difference between the 3D engine needed
for first-person shooters and one needed for a high-end flight simulator.
80N 00 lF
Now, we'll take a look at a several specific examples of benchmark testing and how
you can do it. But before talk about that, let's talk about setting up the system. We'll
contrast what the pros do and what you can do.
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Most gamers don't have multiple systems. The system you use has all your stuff on it -
word processing, e-mail, games, and other applications. Over time, you've installed
and uninstalled a variety of applications and installed who knows how many applica-
tion patches and updated various drivers. After awhile, your system is probably not
running optimally. n fact, it becomes difficult to compare the performance of your sys-
tem to another one that has exactly the same set of hardware. Simply, the way you
use your system and the software that's in it can affect performance testing.
14
Since do this for a living (yes, get paid for having all this fun), must
make sure set things up to be as reproducible and consistent as possible. So
we have an testbed system. Note that don't just leave a Pentium /500 lying
around - it gets used for game playing, among other things. But every time test a
new graphics card, audio card, CD-ROM drive or hard drive, load up a fresh copy of
Windows 98.
Those of you who have lived through the hassle of installing Windows probably think
'm nuts. n fact, would be nuts if had to reinstall off the CD every time. nstead,
install Windows 98 exactly once. first start with a clean system with no operating sys-
tem. The testbed has a graphics card (any graphics card) and an ethernet card - noth-
ing else. install Windows 98, using only the VGA driver. The only other driver install
are the drivers for the network card. Once the install is completed, run MSCONFG,
click on the startup button and uncheck everything except System Tray and Scanreg.
Every little utility that loads on startup can suck up processor cycles and affect final
test results.
Next, install DirectX 6.1. At this point, stop and back up the entire partition. do this
using a nifty tool from Symantec called Ghost. t performs partition backups and
installs. (Other similar tools, like Powerquest's Drive mage do similar things.)
Ghost creates an exact clone of the disk or partition want copied. What's important to
know is that when you restore a partition, all the data previously on the drive is
replaced by the contents of the partition backup. t's much like those tools you get with
some computers (Compaq, HP, and BM) that restore the system to its original state.
now have a snapshot of a bare bones Windows installation. All must do is run Ghost
and restore the entire partition.
Then, install all the benchmarks and games that will be used for testing. ignore error
messages during install (Quake , for example, will tell you that it won't run in 16-color
mode). f a game aborts unless a particular piece of hardware is present (for example,
a game that requires a 3D accelerator), just install it during the test process. have
yet to run across a game yet that won't let me force an installation.
1
Creating exact clones of a disk or partition with Ghost.
Then, I proceed to do another partition backup. (At this point, you're probably wonder-
ing about disk space. The testbed has two drives. The boot drive is a 10GB, 7,200rpm
IDE drive; the second drive is a 7GB drive that mostly contains partition backups.)
Now, I have a snapshot of a system with all the software installed that will be used for
testing. Finally, since graphics cards are tested more than any other single product, I
install the sound card (our reference box uses the Diamond Monster Sound MX300)
and the latest set of drivers. One more partition backup, and I'm ready to roll.
I now have three complete partition backups. If I want to test a graphics card, I just
load up the appropriate partition using Ghost. It takes about ten minutes - certainly
much less time than performing a clean Windows install from scratch.
#$
Of course, you can't always begin with a clean Windows install. But you
can minimize differences by using MSCONFG to unload everything before you
run any tests, defragging your hard drive and making sure no extraneous DOS
real-mode drivers are loaded. f you're testing graphics cards, make sure you reset
the graphics for Windows back to VGA before shutting down and putting in a new
card.
80l 80N 00 l 108lF
Let's take a look at some individual tests. generally use the Ziff-Davis benchmarks,
plus GameGauge for testing.
llll089l8 8000M8fk8
f you're interested, you can download some of the ZD benchmarks from the Ziff-Davis
Benchmark Operation at www.zdbop.com. Several require a full CD, though, which
you can also order from the ZDBoP web site. ZDBoP only charges a nominal handling
fee for the CDs.
The ZD Benchmarks all share a common interface and are pretty straightforward to
run. There are some key things to remember, though. First, you'll get an error mes-
sage if you have programs running in the background. (Remember how unloaded
everything in advance using MSCONFG?) Second, the 2D Winbench tests must be
run with small fonts selected and the Windows taskbar set to autohide, with the
Always on Top button unchecked.
With 3D Winbench 99, you must also run a set of quality tests before actually running
the Winmark. t's a little tedious, but well worth watching the results if you're interested
in 3D graphics. n fact, the first time you run it, you should run all the quality tests -
they give you good and bad examples of certain 3D quality features. When you actual-
ly run 3D Winbench, you must have flip-on-vsync turned on. By default, 3D Winbench
99 runs at 1,024x768x16-bit color, triple buffered to remove the effect of refresh rate.
But you can also run a variety of resolutions, color depths, and z-buffer depths. You
can even force certain Direct3D rendering features on or off to see the effect on image
quality and performance.
1
f you're running the disk tests, make sure you defrag your hard drive first. f you
don't, the results will be suboptimal. t's generally a good idea to defrag your hard
drive anyway. n the video scaling tests, you generally want to have the AV or MPEG
file copied to your hard drive before playback, and a fragmented drive can affect
results.
With disk and CD-ROM tests, also like to test throughput, so run the full set of disk
or CD tests. You get average access times and minimum and maximum throughput
numbers that way. With CD Winbench 99, also like to get a CPU use number. Audio
Winbench 99 is good for both subjective testing of 3D positional audio and for CPU
use tests.
68M0 108ll
Testing 3D games is, well, a different game entirely. Unlike 3D Winbench 99, you want
to have flip-on-vsync turned off. (Note that a few games support this in their options
panels.) Since some games can generate very high frame rates with modern 3D
cards, you want to make sure the refresh rate doesn't interfere with the frame rate.
View with suspicion any result that pegs at the refresh rate or some divisor of the
refresh rate. For example, if you have your monitor set to 75Hz, and you consistently
get 37.5 frames per second, it's likely that you have flip-on-vsync turned on. Triple
buffering helps alleviate this problem, but some of the very fastest new cards can now
peg at 1,024x768 at 85Hz. Again, view any result that exactly matches your monitors
refresh rate with some suspicion.
f you're doing one-shot testing, use the latest version of the game. Astute readers
may note that we tend to use older versions of some games. The reason is for conti-
nuity. f the game version changes every time we test a new card, you can't really
compare results from past testing. My rule of thumb is to keep things consistent for
one generation of graphics cards or nine months, whichever comes first.
18
Quake itself is an odd beast. You run Quake tests by using the TMEDEMO
command from the Quake console. You type timedemo 1 to enable benchmark
mode,
then type demo <demoname.dm2>. There are a variety of demos used by various web
sites for testing. Several are designed to push the limits of the CPU and graphics card.
tend to take a different approach. Although one way make my living is by testing
and reviewing computer products, play a lot of games, too. So tend to want to test a
variety of games and test them in settings that more closely reflect how most people
play. GameGauge lets us do this in a more consistent way. Regular readers may recall
that GameGauge consists of six game: Forsaken, ncoming, Turok, F-22ADF, Quake
, and GLQuake. GameGauge 1.0 was good as far as it went, but was limited - other
than F-22ADF, it was all pretty action game heavy - and even first-person shooter
heavy. So, we've come up with GameGauge 2.0.
68M06800 Z.0
GameGauge 2.0 also consists of a number of games - seven games in all. But there's
now a broader genre set. The games are: Unreal, Expendable, Powerslide, Madden
99, Half-Life, Jane's WW Fighters, and Descent 3. Note that we now have a sports
game, a driving game (with realistic physics), and a robust, graphically intensive flight
simulator in addition to the pure action games.
There were several problems with GameGauge 1.0. First, all we got was an average
frame rate for each game (which was actually output to a file). To alleviate this prob-
lem, we worked with the game companies to output a minimum and maximum frame
rate as well as the average. A card could do a steady 50fps, but be overshadowed by
one that does 70fps. But if that 70fps card occasionally ran at 5fps in difficult scenes,
that's a definite negative. n addition, two of the games - Madden 99 and Descent 3 -
output a running frame rate, so we can actually generate a histogram. That's probably
more data than most people would want, but it can prove illuminating.
19
Second, the GameGauge score was simply the sum of the individual tests. This
meant that Forsaken, which would rack up a huge score on cards with terrific fill
rates, tended to overshadow the other games. GameGauge 2.0 will instead average
the averages, so the final score will look more like a real frame rate, rather than some
huge number.
There are a couple of downsides. Like all application-based tests, GameGauge does-
n't let us peer into the guts of the engine and see how things are being done. But
that's par for the course. A more significant downside is that, with the exception of
Descent 3, you must have the full version of all the games to generate a GameGauge
2.0 score. That's a fairly serious amount of money for casual users, but there was real-
ly no way around that if we wanted to use real games for testing. Even Descent 3 is a
fairly hefty download.
Eventually, we'll make all the GameGauge patches available on GameSpot, as well as
FAQs on how to run the tests. We'll also publish ongoing results.
f00f Nll080 N8 8f
When you test your system, you may be disappointed by your results. "Loyd gets
57fps on Quake on his P/400. only get 52. My system must suck." Or, " get 70fps
on my P/400. Your testbed must suck."
Not necessarily. Unless you have a clean Windows install with all the same driver revs,
you may not get identical scores. Also, the games themselves must be set up the
same way. f hit the minus key several times before running a timedemo in Quake ,
'll get a faster score. 've been using Motorhead for some tests, and Motorhead is an
interesting challenge. There are so many rendering options that can be changed. end
up writing them down so make sure don't inadvertently change something.
10
n the past, we've used a 400MHz Pentium for our testbed. We'll be
moving to a 500MHz Pentium for GameGauge 2.0 testing. There's a good
reason for that. Many of the soon-to-be shipping cards will get very similar scores
on slower systems. That's because the power of the new generation of rendering
accelerators outstrips the CPUs ability to keep them fed. We must differentiate per-
formance on the cards as much as possible. So, we'll be running at higher resolutions
(1,024x768x16) and on a faster CPU. think the days where one graphics card would
run significantly better than another one on a slow system is past.
Meanwhile, take the plunge and benchmark your system. You can find bottlenecks,
determine how to improve your system performance, and learn a little more along the
way.
11
100 0l00f 8ll0f8ll90
8 l0 0f0kM8, GameSpot's Director of Technology
The good news is: Installing Linux gets easier every day.
The bad news is: It's still more complicated than installing Windows. With this guide
and a lot of patience you can get through it.
ll0K 8 8fl0l
lKl88ll0
Linux is a collection of thousands of programs, all
cooperating to form a professional-quality operat-
ing system. All this power means complexity.
Fortunately, there is a mountain of documentation
out there, much of it in the form of simple step-by-step guides (known as HOWTOs in
Linux lingo). Browse The Linux Documentation Project
(http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/linux.html) to get a feel for the kind of things that you
must do to set up and maintain a Linux system.
1Z
00lK 0
100 68M0f'8 60l00 l0
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Choosing a Distribution
Instillation Options
Before Installing:
Know Your Hardware
Installation
GUI and Linux
Linux and Games
t will take you several hours and probably one or two false starts to get
a working Linux installation, and it will involve a fair amount of reading. say
this not to scare you away, but to be up front about the level of difficulty. Millions of
people have successfully installed Linux, but have also seen plenty of people give
up after tearing their hair out in frustration. Be patient and be prepared to read a lot of
FAQs and HOWTOs!
00008l 8 0l8lfl00ll0
Linux itself refers only to the kernel. The kernel is the heart of the operating system,
and it's basically like the engine of a car. Without it, you're not going to get anywhere,
but you need a lot more than just an engine to make a car. The distribution is equiva-
lent to the car's body, the pedals, the gauges - everything that makes a car a car. Just
like with real cars, there are many different types. There are distributions that are
designed for pure speed, but look ugly as hell. There are paternalistic distributions that
don't really let you get under the hood, as it were.
Major features that vary among distributions are the type
of installation media supported, the preconfigured soft-
ware packages, the method of installing new software
packages, and, last but very definitely not least, the
installation procedure itself. For the purposes of this arti-
cle, 'll try to talk as generally as possible about installa-
tion requirements, but be aware that you must refer to
the installation instructions that came with your Linux dis-
tribution for specific details.
There are several ways to obtain Linux. For beginners, recommend buying a CD-
ROM set. n many cases, you can boot directly off the CD-ROM and start installing in
seconds. You can buy Linux CD-ROM sets in software stores, bookstores, or from
online vendors. Since Linux is freely redistributable, there are sites like CheapBytes
(http://www.cheapbytes.com/) that can legally sell you the CDs for only a few dollars. f
you are just starting out, however, suggest you buy a real package, since most
1J
Right now, Caldera's
system has the slight
edge because it is com-
pletely graphical, making
it attractive to those who
want a real beginner-
friendly system.
Linuxes these days come with a printed manual. When your computer
is tied up installing, and you can't surf the Web, the printed book will be
extremely useful. Further, many of the "boxed" distributions come with additional
bundled software, some of it commercial.
Two of the most popular distributions available are Red Hat Linux (currently at v6.0 as
of this writing) and Caldera OpenLinux (v2.2). Both installers offer a lot of handholding
and options. Right now, Caldera's system has the slight edge because it is completely
graphical, making it attractive to those who want a real beginner-friendly system.
l8l8ll8ll0 0ll08
f you're reading this, you probably already have a computer, and it probably already
has Windows installed on it. You now have three choices:
1. Buy a new computer on which to run Linux. This is not as crazy as it sounds. Linux,
despite all its power and sophistication, actually doesn't require as much CPU power
as Windows to perform acceptably. You could pick up a used Pentium-166 or some-
thing in that ballpark for less than the cost of a new 3D video card. You may even
know a friend who has an old P-90 sitting in a closet that you could borrow. f you can
afford this, it's a great way to play around without worrying about destroying your "real"
computer. Also, as most Linux support happens online, it's handy to have a working
computer so you can surf the Web and read e-mail, while your Linux box sits there
stuck in the installer.
Z. Add another hard drive to your existing computer. This is good in that it minimizes
the risk to your existing Windows installation, but if you must go online to get support,
you're going to be doing a lot of rebooting as you switch between Windows and your
Linux installation in progress.
J. Split your existing hard disk between Windows and Linux. This is going to be the
most work because you probably already have a lot of stuff on your disk, and when
14
you installed Windows, it claimed the entire drive for itself. You must
back up all your data and repartition your drive, reserving part of it for Windows
and part for Linux.
Regardless of how you choose to proceed, you must learn a little bit about disk parti-
tioning. When you install Windows, it just takes your entire disk drive and turns it into
one giant DOS partition on which Windows resides. You can't do that with Linux. You'll
need at least two Linux partitions, one for the data and one for swap. Swap is used by
Linux's virtual memory system, and it is in a special format, so you can't just use part
of your regular Linux partition. (Well, you can, but that's advanced magic and not suit-
able for beginners.)
Although you don't need more than one Linux native partition, like to use at least two
on my systems. A small one for the root filesystem and the rest of the disk for normal
data. The root filesystem is where the kernel and the core operating system files
reside. t doesn't need to be very large. Keeping it separate assures that even if you
manage to fry your main data partition, you can still boot your machine and have most
of your system configuration intact.
Once you've created the partition entries, you must create the filesystems. A partition
is just a big empty space on the disk - think of it as an empty field. A filesystem impos-
es a structure on that space so you can create files in it - think of it as plowing furrows
in the empty field. Windows 9x uses filesystems called FAT16 and FAT32, neither of
which are very good. Linux defaults to a filesystem called EXT2FS, which is much
more industrial-strength and contains support for multiuser security among other bene-
fits. Most Linux installers will format the partitions and create the filesystems automati-
cally.
Once you've laid down the filesystems, you must determine their mount points. The
mount point determines where the filesystem will appear in the Linux directory struc-
ture. Under Windows, mount points are the familiar drive letters: C:, D:, and so on.
Typical mount points for Unix systems are /usr, /home, and /var. For a beginner's Linux
system, recommend a small root filesystem mounted on / and the rest of the drive
space mounted on /usr.
1
At this point, you may find it helpful to map out your drive's partition
table and mount points. Assume you have a 4G drive. A possible configuration
might look like this:
Partition 1: 2G - Windows (C: drive)
Partition 2: 80M - Linux native, mounted as /
Partition 3: 128M - Linux swap
Partition 4: 1860M - Linux native, mounted as /usr
Note that due to historical limitations, you can only have four primary partitions on a
single hard disk. f you want to add more partitions later, you must reassign one of
them as an extended partition. This is basically a partition that can contain more parti-
tions. (Confused yet?) There is a product called Partition Magic, which can simplify the
process of setting up a hard disk. Caldera OpenLinux 2.2 ships with a slightly crippled
version of Partition Magic.
Regardless of which tool you use to partition the disk, you must make sure your first
Windows and Linux partitions are marked bootable. f you forget to do this, you can
forget about booting off that partition!
80l0f0 l8l8lll.
k0N f00f 88f0N8f0
With Windows, you don't really need to know too much about what's inside your com-
puter. With Linux, it can be quite helpful to know the exact make and model of every
piece of hardware that you own. Although recent Linuxes are making great strides in
auto-detecting hardware, there is nothing worse than getting halfway through an install
and realizing you don't know the type of network adapter in your computer.
Make a list of every card or onboard subsystem in your machine. f possible, find out
the chip that drives it. For example, many cheap ethernet cards use a chip from DEC
called the Tulip. Many Adaptec SCS adapters use a chip known as the AC7xxx. f
1
your sound/network/video are built into your motherboard, you may
need to consult your motherboard manufacturer's web site to find out what
company supplied the subsystem. With luck, you won't need this information, but
it's best to be prepared.
l8l8ll8ll0
At last, prep time is over, and it's time to install! f you have the CD-ROM set for your
Linux distribution, the first thing to try is putting the install CD in the drive and reboot-
ing your computer. f you are lucky, the Linux installer will begin automatically. f you're
not, you must create a boot floppy. Most Linux CD-ROMs come with a DOS utility
called RAWRTE.EXE, which will copy the floppy image file from the CD-ROM to a
floppy disk. Some Linuxes can require as many as three separate floppies to boot, so
be sure to read all the readme files on the CD and make sure you have the disks you
need at hand.
With Red Hat, you only need one floppy (boot.img) to get going, although if you are
going to be installing over the nternet, you need a different disk (netboot.img). Again,
a little reading ahead of time can help you avoid a lot of frustration later on.
100 888l08
At this point, the installer will ask you a few simple questions, like what language you
want to use and what sort of keyboard you have. Your hardware will be probed. f you
have a piece of hardware that isn't automatically detected, you should decide if you
want to skip it now and attempt to get it recognized later when the system is set up.
This may not be possible if the system can't detect your hard disks, for example! f
you're stuck, you can either go out and buy a supported piece of hardware or decide if
you can live without it.
1
recommend installing as much as you can possibly
fit on your disk. You can always delete packages later.
80l0.
Eventually, you will get to the tough stuff - disk-drive partitioning. Many
distributions offer disk-partitioning tools above and beyond the basic fdisk. For
example, Red Hat has a full-screen tool called Disk Druid. Hopefully, you're pre-
pared and have your partitions all mapped out so you can get them set up quickly.
Some installers will ask you to choose the mount point when you define the partition;
others will ask later.
When that's done, the operating system will format your hard disks - make sure you
backed up anything you wanted on those drives!
Now, you get to pick the packages you want installed. Most distributions will provide
brief descriptions of what each package is and what it does. Some distributions give
you canned package lists, optimized for tasks such as "server" or "workstation." rec-
ommend installing as much as you can possibly fit on your disk. You can always
delete packages later.
60l 80 ll0K
$0lll 0 k
You probably know that UNX is based on the command line, and that by default, you
get a plain white-text-on-black-screen interface (just like DOS systems of yesteryear).
f you want a graphical environment like Windows, you need to run the X Windows
System, usually abbreviated as X11 (as it's the 11th version of this system). nstalling
X can be a real pain, but most modern Linux distributions include intelligent configura-
tion systems that make the job much easier. Red Hat includes something called
Xconfigurator, which asks you a few simple questions, such as:
What kind of mouse do you have?
What port is the mouse pIugged into (PS/2, COM1)?
What kind of video card do you have?
What kind of monitor do you have?
Do you want X to start by defauIt when the system boots?
18
Based on the data you supply, it will give you a list of possible resolu-
tions and color depths. Pick the ones you want, and you're good to go. f you
ask to have X started when the system boots, you will be given a nice graphical
login screen when your machine starts up. recommend this option for new users.
When you become a power user, you can turn it off.
fll80l 0
After all the packages are installed, you usually must pick a place to put the boot
loader. The boot loader, as you might guess from the name, is run when the system
boots, and it decides what operating system to load. When you install Windows, it
writes a Windows-only boot loader onto your first hard disk's master boot record.
When you boot your system, it runs Windows. End of story. Linux is more cooperative.
The LLO (Linux Loader) program can boot many different systems and even choose
from multiple versions of the Linux kernel. Note that if you install Windows after Linux,
it will blow away LLO from the MBR, and you must boot from a floppy or use the DOS
program LOADLN to get Linux running again (it's still living on your hard disk, but
without a boot loader to start it, it's invisible).
Unless you really know what you're doing, you'll do well to go with the defaults for your
distribution. Most of them install LLO on the hard disk's master boot record. LLO is a
powerful tool and has a ton of configuration options. There's a HOWTO on LLO that
explains how to set it up to boot multiple operating systems (including Windows 9x and
Windows NT) at the Linux Documentation Archive.
OK, that's it! Now it's time to boot the system and witness your handiwork. f you're
lucky, you'll see a million cryptic messages as Linux goes through its boot-up stages.
Eventually, you'll see a graphical login screen (or a login: prompt if you didn't ask to
have X start when the machine boots). First, you must log in as the root user. n UNX
terms, root is equivalent to the Windows NT administrator account - the user who has
ultimate power on the system. Root can read and write any file, regardless of permis-
sion, and do many other sysadmin tasks as well. Since root is so powerful, it is also
extremely easy to use it to accidentally hose your system. The best strategy is to
always log in as your normal user account and use the "su" command to switch to root
when you must perform privileged operations.
19
You probably set the root password when you installed the system. f you didn't,
you can log in as root with no password. f you do this, make sure to set the root
password as soon as possible by typing "passwd". Pick a good password, hard to
guess, with a mix of upper- and lowercase letters. Use numbers and punctuation as
well if at all possible. A password like "mypass" is terrible. A password like "M3+paZ"
is much better.
ll0K 80 68Ml
Since you are probably reading this article on (or from) GameSpot, it's a fair bet that
you want to use Linux to play games. Most games use X11 for graphics output and
mouse input, so hopefully you installed it when you installed the system. f you didn't,
you must figure out how to do it now. Start at The XFree86 Project
(http://www.xfree86.org/). There are prebuilt binaries for most Linux systems and
video-card chipsets there.
f you're going to use 3D hardware acceleration, you must find the drivers for your par-
ticular chipset. An excellent source of information is Linux 3D
(http://glide.xxedgexx.com/). Despite the 3dfx-centric name, it has links to all the major
chipset vendors. Note that 3dfx cards have a big head start on Linux, and chipsets
from other companies may not work well or indeed at all. Don't let that scare you
though - Linux hardware support is improving every day.
The next element in gaming is sound. f you're running Red Hat Linux, setting up
sound is as simple as logging in as root and running the sndconfig program. This pro-
gram will automatically probe your system to find a sound card and install the proper
kernel modules. f you're not running Red Hat, you must find out if your distribution
comes with something similar to sndconfig, or you can install sound support manually.
A good explanation of sound-card technology and how to set up Linux support for it
can be found at The Linux Sound HOWTO
(http://metalab.unc.edu/mdw/HOWTO/Sound-HOWTO.html).
10
Finally, some older games (most notably Quake and Quake ) require a
library called svgalib to handle mouse input. Red Hat provides a prepackaged
version of svgalib in the RPMS directory of the CD-ROM set. You can also find it
online at Red Hat's ftp site. For other distributions, you must do a little legwork to find
an appropriate copy for your system. Once you've installed svgalib, you'll need to con-
figure it by editing the configuration file, which is usually /etc/vga/libvga.config. This is
a fairly complicated file, but the supplied version has extensive comments that can
help you sort out what's happening. f you only need svgalib to get mouse input for
Quake, you can ignore many of the more complicated video card-related settings.
80l8l00 llk8
LNUX: OS of the Next Generation?
http://www.gamespot.com/features/Iinux/index.htmI
Linux Games Jump to the PC
http://headIine.gamespot.com/news/99_07/15_pc_Iinux/index.htmI
Logitech Supports Linux
http://headIine.gamespot.com/news/99_04/16_pc_IogIin/index.htmI
Linux and PS2
http://headIine.gamespot.com/news/99_06/18_pc_Ioki/index.htmI
Why Linux?
http://headIine.gamespot.com/news/97_10/10_Iinux/index.htmI
N0f0 0 l080l
ZD's Linux Page
http://www.zdnet.com/enterprise/Iinux/?chkpt=hpqs01335
Computer Shopper
http://www.zdnet.com/computershopper/
11
6F . acronym for Advanced Graphics Port, a special graphics card slot on mother-
boards that offers faster graphics than traditional PC slots for little additional cost
80l00K00.08l . a "batch" file containing a list of drivers and other programs your
system needs to run its devices.
8l0$ . acronym for basic input/output system, built in software placed on mother-
boards to manage the basic input and output functions for the computer. Today many
motherboards have flash BOS, which means that the BOS can be upgraded.
008 . generically a set of conductors that carry data and other information inside
computer systems.
0l0 . unit of memory used to represent one character on the screen, usually 8
data bits in length. A kilobyte is 1,024 bytes, a megabyte is 1,024 kilobytes or
1,048,576 bytes, and a gigabyte is 1,024 megabytes.
08000 . high-speed memory used to speed up certain areas, and are used on
CPUs, motherboards, hard drives, CD-ROM drives, and other devices in a variety of
ways.
1Z
6l0888f
0080N . acronym for Compact Discs - Read Only Memory; a
storage device that reads information stored on compact discs, an optical stor-
age format. Once information is recorded on a CD-ROM it can not be erased or
overwritten normally.
00l80l . a group of microchips designed towards doing a specific task, like 3D
graphics.
00ll.88 . a file used by the operating system to specify certain device configu-
rations and variables.
000ll l8 . small fan used to create air circulation and reduce heat inside of a
computer case. On CPUs and other chips cooling fans can be equipped with heat
sinks to draw heat away from the chip before circulation.
0F0 . acronym for Central Processing Unit, the heart of any computer.
009l00 0fl90f . a small piece of software created by the hardware manufacturer
that allows software, such as a game or operating system, to communicate with its
hardware component; the latest version can usually be found on the hardware manu-
facturer's web site.
00 . acronym for Digital Video Disk, a form of read-only optical mass storage
medium that stores much more information than CD-ROMs.
0K88l0 8l0l . several of which are on a motherboard, to provide expansion
capabilities to computers in general. Comes in SA (16-bit, mostly older expansion
cards) and PC (64-bit, newer and fast throughput) flavors - many motherboards also
have one AGP slot as well.
ll0 0l8k 0fl90 . a removable storage device using magnetic media, gener-
ally very flimsy and vulnerable, though stored inside plastic protectors (the traditional
image of a floppy).
1J
08f0 0fl90 . high-density device used to store, read and write
information on a consistent basis using magnetic media. nformation is stored on
a hard disk, several of which are typically inside a drive (a platter).
l0l . acronym for ntegrated Drive Electronics, an interface for mass storage
devices like hard drives and CD-ROM drives. Most common type of drive interface
(changed to EDE, or Enhanced ntegrated Drive Electronics), and has generally
speeded up under the new ATA (AT Attachment) specifications.
l8 . acronym for interrupt request line, a hardware line over which devices added
to the machine can send signals (or interrupts) across. These usually had to be
assigned to expansion cards and other devices by hand, but in modern plug-and-play
systems this is done effortlessly and automatically, though some conflicts may still
occur from time to time.
(0M0f8 . plastic plugs that fit over pins on circuit boards. When the plug is in
place, it closes the electrical circuit between the two pins. Used to alter internal set-
tings on boards and the like.
l8 . acronym for local area network, a group of computers linked together via
cabling that allows access to all other computers on the network.
M0ll0f . similar to a television, a specific device that displays an image for the
user to interpret in order to work with the computer.
M0l00f008f0 . a board inside a home computer that houses the CPU, memory,
and connectors to peripheral and storage devices.
M0080 . a pointing device or peripheral that allows the user to easily manipulate
objects on screen.
0$ . acronym for operating system, the software that provides the interface for the
user to access the computer.
14
090fl00kl 80(. The process by which a CPU is running at a
higher clock or bus speed than it was specifically intended for.
8l00 . a small piece of software released by a game manufacturer to fix prob-
lems and bugs in a game after the game's release; can be found on the game compa-
ny's web site.
0fl00f8l . a device not integral to the computer itself but a way of interfacing
with the computer in some form or fashion.
Fl080Fl8 . referred to as PnP or derogatorily as "Plug-and-Pray"; the abili-
ty of the computer (mostly the BOS and OS) to recognize, correctly identify, and use
expansion cards and other devices put into the machine without being specifically told
what they were or how they worked.
08lll08l J0 800l0 . the use of multiple speakers placed strategically to cre-
ate sound effects that appear to emanate at different locations, depending on the loca-
tion of the speakers.
power supply n: all computers have internal power supplies that, once plugged into a
normal wall socket, can produce typically between 235-300 watts for the computer to
use.
8N . acronym for Random Access Memory, high-speed chips and boards used by
computers to process information and execute programs quickly and efficiently.
$0$l . acronym for Small Computer System nterface, used as an interface for
mass storage devices like hard drives and CD-ROM drives. Can provide extremely
fast data transmission or throughput rates and supports more devices than DE, but is
generally much more expensive. Comes in many, many flavors (SCS-1, SCS-2,
Wide, Fast, Ultra, Ultra2, Ultra Wide/SCS-3, etc.)
1
180 0fl90 . high-density device used to store, read and write
information on a consistent basis on a thread of magnetic tape. Stores more than
a hard drive, but as it is linear can take much longer to access and store informa-
tion.
l0f0000l . amount of data going through a specific source at any one time.
Frequently measured in computing at megabytes per second.
0$8 . acronym for Universal Serial Bus, a specific standard by which a large num-
ber of peripherals can be attached to a computer using the same standard fast con-
nection.
1
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