Gaming computers

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The term gaming computers specifically refers to computers built to have the capacity to play current personal computer games. This is generally accepted to mean PC or IBM clone hardware. However, in the more general sense of the term this could also refer to games on the Apple Macintosh or the various consoles available from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and other CPU chip based electronic platform.

Although PC games will run on general purpose home computers, a true gaming computer is specifically made to process the instructions necessary for high detail graphics, physics engines, interactive interfaces and multiple user interactions (for multiplayer computer games).

[edit] History

The personal computers made specifically for playing games got their start with the introduction of the game Doom from id Software made for Microsoft Windows based personal computers (also known, at the time, as IBM clones). The game pushed standard business and home computer hardware to the point of literal melt down and game enthusiasts began building computers with the highest performance hardware to run Doom at the highest possible performance (also known as frames per second). So, the gaming computer got it start as a modified utilitarian device for competitive events similar to modifying a street car for higher performance in order to do well in a NASCAR race.

[edit] Games Drive Hardware Performance Trends

Since the introduction of Doom, each new game generation pushes the envelope of what computers will do. Game developers consciously code their software to be impressive for a year or two into the future. This creates a dilemma for both the developer and the user of the software in that the hardware available when the game is made available for sale may not run the software at it's highest level of performance.

This is the reason why most mass marketed games found in retail stores will have two sets of required hardware listed on the box. The first set is the "minimum hardware requirements" and the second set is the "suggested hardware requirements."

The minimum requirements are the oldest and lowest performing hardware components that the game developer successfully operated the game software on during testing. The suggested hardware requirements are what the game developer wants the user to play the game on to get a satisfactory experience from the game. However, games will generally run faster and look better the higher the performance of the hardware. So, the very high end gaming computers will often been the latest hardware introduced on the market.