Gaming PCs VS. Home PCs

Many things separate a regular desktop PC from an extreme game-playing super computer. Although externally there are obvious differences, internally there are tons of differences as well. There is one main part that separates a regular computer from a high-end gaming computer, the video card.

When just looking at a regular computer tower what do you see? Usually standard off-white or black in color and a few buttons. Now look at a gaming computer case and what do you see? Bright multi-colored LED lights many different colors and windows peering in to the electronic maze on the inside of a computer. Although it doesn't apply to all gaming computers, most people like to distinguish their computer as a gaming computer with fancy window cases and bright flashing lights. Believe it or not there are reasons why a standard home PC is not lit up with colors and fatalistically advanced looking. Most people want there computer to look professional. Cool colors and sleek design may look great to the gaming world but to your everyday office-dweller it looks very unprofessional.

So what's on the other side? Internally, everything is changed in a gaming computer as compared to a standard home-PC. The first is the obvious larger size of the motherboard. The motherboard on a gaming computer features more memory capacity and more slots for upgrades than a regular home PC. The next variable difference is the amount of ram. Ram stands for Rapid-Access-Memory, meaning the faster the ram the faster it can recall previously stored information in a computer. Gaming PCs have generally more and faster ram to help load and maintain fluency in video games, basic PCs would never fully use the ability of the ram so there is no need to have it. The processor in most high-end home computers is generally about the same as what a low-end gaming PC would have. A fast processor can make all the difference in a computers speed when running any program or application.

What's that giant circuit board in your gaming machine? The most notable difference that every gaming PC has that a standard home computer does not have is a video card. A video card defines how well any graphics or games show up on the computer and how fast a computer can process and show them. Video cards are generally worth their weight in gold. The top of the market Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra retails at $450 but can handle just about any game you through at it. Any gaming computer is incomplete with out a top-of-the-line video card, without it, it's just a fancy looking home PC.