My new machine has shipped
Apr 30th, 2007 by Frank Fox
Well, I never thought I’d be saying this but I just bought the components needed to build my own gaming computer.
I’ve built my own computers for many years, but they have always been geared toward CPU/RAM heavy multimedia applications like Flash, Photoshop and Cinema 4D. With each build I would try to slip in a fairly decent video card which would enable me to play PC games that have been on the market for a long time.
This is how I have come to view my own love for game playing: a guilty pleasure wedged into my evenings and nights. Why guilty, you might ask? Well, there was a time during my youth when gaming consumed more than just my time off from work. This was before personal computers, back when board games like Alpha Omega, Blitzkrieg and Panzer Leader could vault my friends and I to new heights of dice rolling bliss and then plunge us into knock-down drag-out verbal brawls. Then when the PC first came out things only got more intense. Long story short, I didn’t just get into computer games; the games got into me.
Over the years I have learned to control my penchant for getting lost in a good game - even a crappy game for that matter. It helped that I found a career as enjoyable as playing games.
Until lately my habit of marveling from afar at the amazing new releases while playing the older “bargain bin” games has saved me a lot of money. Outdated games and outdated video cards make for great deals!
Alas, a little something called machinima has managed to free the PC game monkey I’ve had locked in a cage for so long and once again plant her firmly on my back. The good news is that now I don’t just waste hours and hours and hours playing 3D shooters; I actually get to waste hours and hours and hours creating something with them: movies.
Which brings me to my new machine. She promises to be a beauty for at least a year or two. She had better be; I paid more for her than my last three PCs combined. This time around I did something really smart; I consulted members of the machinima community to get a well rounded set of opinions and advice. My shopping list is all the better for it:
• ENERMAX ECA3092 PHOENIX (BLACK) ATX MID TOWER
• ANTEC TP3-550 550W POWER SUPPLY
• WD 74GB SATA150 10,000RPM HARD DRIVE
• WD 250GB SATA300 7200RPM HARD DRIVE
• ASUS P5N-E SLI MOTHERBOARD
• INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6600 2.4G CPU
• CRUCIAL 2GB DDR2 667 RAM
• GEFORCE 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E VIDEO CARD
Thanks to all who helped me. Let the fun and inspiration begin!