| Believe it or not, it takes more computing horsepower to play games than it does to crunch numbers or surf the Web. With all those fancy graphics, gee-whiz sound effects, and high-speed action, computer games definitely put your computer system through its paces. In fact, if you just purchased a low-end computer, you might find that it doesn't play the latest games quite as fast or as smoothly as you might have expected. (It might not even play some games at all!) To be able to play the most demanding new games, you need a truly state-of-the-art computer systemwhich might mean updating selected components in your current system. What can you do to beef up your system for better game play? Here are some things to keep in mind: If you're using an older PC, you might think about buying a new system with a fairly powerful processor. Think Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon, running at 3GHz or more. Whether you have a newer or an older PC, you'll want to increase its memory to at least 1GB. You'll also need a lot of hard disk storage because the newer games take up a lot of disk space. Go for at least a 100GB hard diskbigger if you can afford it. The capability to handle rapidly moving graphics is essential. Today's hottest games require a 256MB video card with 3D graphics accelerator and DirectX 9 compatibility. You should also consider upgrading to a DVD drive if you don't already have one, because many new games come on single DVDs rather than multiple CDs. You'll probably need to upgrade your sound card, too. Consider going with a high-quality 3D sound card, and be sure you have a quality multi-speaker system (possibly a 5.1 surround-sound system), complete with subwoofer. note  | Learn more about installing new hardware in Chapter 7, "Adding New Hardware and Devices to Your System." |
Big games look better on a big screen, so think about a 19'' CRT or 17'' LCD monitor. Finally, you need something other than your mouse to control your games. You'll want to invest in a good-quality joystick or similar game controller.
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