Build the Ultimate Gaming Machine (ExtremeTech)

By K.R. Bourgoine

Make one fantasy come true Leave those mythical monsters alone for a minute and think about this. What if you had a really kickass PC that would let you totally experience the game? What if it included every feature you've dreamed of-a motherboard designed exclusively for gaming, top-notch video and sound cards, the fastest processor? What if another gamer could teach you to build it yourself, without spending a Jedi's ransom? What if you buy this book, turn to page 1, and get started Expert instructions for * Planning your PC * Setting your budget * Deciding where to shop for parts * Choosing a processor, memory, motherboard, sound and video cards, and the rest * Selecting speakers, a monitor, and a case * Assembling the PC * Installing the OS and software * Hooking up to a game network

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471755478
• ISBN13: 9780471755470
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 355 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Teriffic GUIDE

I bought this book several months ago, and have since built a new computer that I am typing on right now. :) This book is VERY helpful in getting you familiar with computer terms, and knowing what does what. Also in telling you how to shop and buy your computer parts. I have seen complaints saying that this book is outdated and other such things. Well, it is, but that doesn't take very long to do in the computer world. But that still does not lower the quality or helpfullness of the book. You still will learn what to look for in parts. Online forums are also a big help. This book does alot of step by step instructions. But you also have to use some common sense, and look some things up online yourself, because you will most likely not build the exact computer that they build in the book. If you have a flexible mind, can read instructions that come with what you buy, and have some common sense, you will do just fine! The only thing about this book that I did not like was several spelling and punctuation errors. There were also one or two sentances in the book, that were not actual sentances. You could still tell what they were saying though. Has anyone making this book heard of "proof reading"? My concluding thought: This book is a TERIFFIC guide, and I will recommend it to anybody. Just be flexible and know that if you actually build a computer, things will not be EXACTALLY the same as how it is in the book. But everything you need to know is in there.

Excellent Book

Excellent book. It really helped me in my first PC build. Thorough description of all aspects of Building a PC. Excellent description of component selection. Great step by step guide to the PC build. A very good overview of post build procedures including: creating floppy boot discs, setting up raid and partitions, installing and setting up drivers, optimizing performance, maintenance, benchmarking, etc. However, the book would have been more useful if it had included a more thorough and extensive overview of Installing Windows. ExtremeTech also published a companion book called, 'Build the Ultimate Custom PC' which does include a thorough overview of installing Windows, but it's not as thorough (in other aspects) as this book. It would have been nice if ExtremeTech had combined the 2 books into one more complete book. But as it is, Build the Ultimate Gaming PC is the best book that I've read on building a PC and I've read 4. It's relevant to building a PC for any purpose, not just gaming. I also found a great DIY Guide to Building an AMD Socket 939 PC at HardwareZone.com. It's a little dated (summer 2004) but it's thorough, well written, easy to follow and free.

Excellent Book

Excellent book. It really helped me in my first PC build. Thorough description of all aspects of Building a PC. Excellent description of component selection. Great step by step guide to the PC build. A very good overview of post build procedures including: creating floppy boot discs, setting up raid and partitions, installing and setting up drivers, optimizing performance, maintenance, benchmarking, etc. However, the book would have been more useful if it had included a more thorough and extensive overview of Installing Windows. ExtremeTech also published a companion book called, 'Build the Ultimate Custom PC' which does include a thorough overview of installing Windows, but it's not as thorough (in other aspects) as this book. It would have been nice if ExtremeTech had combined the 2 books into one more complete book. But as it is, Build the Ultimate Gaming PC is the best book that I've read on building a PC and I've read 4. It's relevant to building a PC for any purpose, not just gaming. I also found a great DIY Guide to Building an AMD Socket 939 PC at HardwareZone.com. It's a little dated (summer 2004) but it's thorough, well written, easy to follow and free.

Build the baddest box on your block....

While I'm not a hardcore gamer, I understand the thrill and appeal of having the baddest box on the block. If that's your goal and you're willing to "roll your own", check out Build The Ultimate Gaming PC by K. R. Bourgoine and Matthew J. Malm. Contents: Part 1 - Spec-ing Out Your Ultimate Gaming PC: Let's Make Some Decisions Part 2 - Let's Go Shopping For Parts: Selecting the Ultimate Gaming Processor; Selecting the Ultimate Gaming Motherboard; Choosing Your Ultimate Memory; Choosing the Ultimate Video Card; Choosing Your Ultimate Storage Devices; Choosing the Ultimate Sound Card and Speakers; Choosing a Case for Your Ultimate Gaming PC; Selecting the Ultimate Power Supply; Choosing Your Ultimate Monitor; Selecting the Ultimate Gaming Accessories Part 3 - Bringing Your Ultimate Gaming PC to Life: Assembling Your Ultimate PC; Installing Your Software/OS Part 4 - Advanced Gaming: Multiplayer Gaming Index There are a number of things that make this book stand out. The authors do a very nice job explaining what each of the components do, how a gamer should view those components, and what options are most important. For instance, Intel's hyperthreading technology may sound really cool, but most games aren't coded to take full advantage of that. Therefore, the AMD CPU with a slower clock speed actually outperforms the Intel Pentium 4. The logical analysis of those types of issues makes the book valuable even if you're *not* necessarily building a gaming system. I also like how they actually recommend makes and models of components, like CPUs, monitors, and sound cards. You may not agree with their selection or you may choose a different model based on your specific criteria, but you can see how choices are arrived at, and how best to use that same analysis to make your decision. Part 3 ties everything together by showing you how to put the PC together, complete with plenty of photos and clear explanations. Even if you've never built a PC from scratch, you could probably follow along here with little difficulty... Definitely a strong recommendation for a gamer wanting to build a box that rocks. I'd also recommend the book to anyone looking to build their own computer by carefully analyzing why they are choosing certain parts. Either way, it's a good resource...

practical advice on key choices

A book for game addicts. For those of you who want the utmost in performance and are prepared to spend money and, more significantly, time, to achieve this ends. In the centre of the book are placed colour photos that are clearly meant to make you drool. Nice camera work that gives sexy images of cool hardware. Granted, if you do not believe that hardware can be sexy, then this book is probably not for you. The book explains what are the key parts that affect gaming performance. Primarily the microprocessor, memory, video card and disk drives. For each of these, various options are explored. The most important might be whether to use an Intel or AMD CPU. There are nuances here that make comparisons non-trivial. But the book does offer benchmarking suggestions. Perhaps the main point here is that an AMD CPU is often (always?) cheaper than an Intel CPU that gives comparable performance. Memory is somewhat easier to compare. The main memory vendors have standardised on a few formats. But even here, the book delves into what Double Data Rate RAM means, and why DDR2 is considered faster and better. You are warned that if you choose an AMD CPU, then currently it can only take DDR. The book covers more topics, of course. But the above might be the most significant, and they give some idea of the type of advice offered. It assumes that you will have to spend money, and it shows how to do this wisely.