by Jeremy Jameson

Created on: July 02, 2007

First, be prepared to spend a good bit for a great gaming PC. It probably won't cost you as much to build your own as it would to buy a top-notch gaming PC from a company, but it will still cost you at least a couple thousand dollars.

If you're OK with the expense issue, then it's time to choose parts. You'll want performance-oriented hardware from well-known, established manufacturers (which is why this will cost a bunch).

Start with the CPU. The faster the CPU you buy, the happier a gamer you'll be. You also want to make sure your CPU isn't just fast but also is capable of the latest advanced features, such as 64-bit processing. 64-bit applications are not yet mainstream, but games are usually the first applications in the computing world to embrace more advanced technologies. So go dual- or multi-core too, because as games get more and more complex, the more cores you have, the faster you can process data - especially as developers build more and more thread capabilities into games.

After you pick a powerful CPU, select a compatible motherboard that can support the other technologies you'll want that will be discussed later in this article. You'll want a motherboard with a socket that matches the socket type of your CPU and a chipset that goes well with that CPU as well. Look online for reviews from other buyers and professionals to determine the best chipsets. Be sure to look for SLI or Crossfire support (explained more later) and if you don't plan to buy an add-in audio card (I would, personally), look for a good onboard audio processor that supports at least 5.1 channels. If you do plan to buy an audio card, don't worry about the onboard audio. Also make sure you have enough PCI slots for any other expansion cards you plan to add. Finally, be sure there's a fast onboard LAN on your motherboard so you'll have a good entry point for broadband internet.

Next, pick your RAM. Refer to the manual for your motherboard to find out the highest speed of RAM it will support and the max capacity as well. Your motherboard may support up to 4 GB or even 8 GB, but you really won't need that much. 2 GB is probably the best amount for almost any gamer. So buy 2 GB (probably two 1 GB sticks in a dual-channel set) of the fastest RAM your motherboard can handle.

Now it's time to pick a case. The bigger the case, the easier it is to keep cool, and that's one of the key aims in building a gaming rig, so if you've got the space, don't hesitate to get a full tower case. It's important

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