What's up GB. I know I may not be the most active community member or what have you, but I do love this site and its community. So I guess formal introductions are due. I'm a freelance artist by trade who used to work for a huge company (I'll spare the details for brevity sake.) I've been gaming on consoles for about 25 years, and have gamed on PC for the last 15 years (The latter of which this blog is actually about.) So, yeah I found this site at the end of '08, lurked for a bit, and became a member in the summer of '09 thanks to the P4 Endurance Run and the random videos.

So back to the topic at hand, GAMING RIGS! So let me come clean; that part about me gaming on the PC for 15 years, apparently I've been doing it wrong the whole time. You see the PCs and Mac (hey I AM an artist by trade) that I've owned were good for general purpose and work. For gaming they were alright, but nothing amazing. I felt now more than ever that it was time to take the plunge. So after doing a shit ton of research and watching some vids I decided to build my own, and after 4 hours (this was my first build ever) I ended up with something pretty awesome.

The specs and internal parts are similar to Jeff's rig with changes here and there. The most obvious is a Nvidia GTX 580 instead of a 570, and I also got faster RAM. I must say that running the games like Bad Company 2 and The Witcher 2 fully maxed out at 60 frames to boot is a sight to behold.

So there you have it, a small introduction and a PC build... I don't know what else I can add. I guess it's time to use that one Zero Punctuation meme about PC Aryans. Oh there it is. Hmm, now I feel kind of like a hypocrite for using that. Shit, where are you going? Umm yeah, I knew I forgot to mention something, I also have a PS3 and a Xbox 360. Does that make you feel better? Awww thanks for coming bac... Hey wait! Why are shaking your head like that? Well, I guess I fucked that up. I guess it's time to go ahead and crawl back into my hermit crab shell and keep it moving.

If you read all that bragadocious crap, I thank you. If you didn't then I don't fucking blame you, but thanks all same. So peace out Giant Bomb, maybe one day I'll muster the courage to do another one of these in the future. I guess I'll just leave you with this image that's probably been posted on the site a million times by various users. Enjoy.

Damn Altair, you look really good for a dead guy.

What's up GB. I know I may not be the most active community member or what have you, but I do love this site and its community. So I guess formal introductions are due. I'm a freelance artist by trade who used to work for a huge company (I'll spare the details for brevity sake.) I've been gaming on consoles for about 25 years, and have gamed on PC for the last 15 years (The latter of which this blog is actually about.) So, yeah I found this site at the end of '08, lurked for a bit, and became a member in the summer of '09 thanks to the P4 Endurance Run and the random videos.

So back to the topic at hand, GAMING RIGS! So let me come clean; that part about me gaming on the PC for 15 years, apparently I've been doing it wrong the whole time. You see the PCs and Mac (hey I AM an artist by trade) that I've owned were good for general purpose and work. For gaming they were alright, but nothing amazing. I felt now more than ever that it was time to take the plunge. So after doing a shit ton of research and watching some vids I decided to build my own, and after 4 hours (this was my first build ever) I ended up with something pretty awesome.

The specs and internal parts are similar to Jeff's rig with changes here and there. The most obvious is a Nvidia GTX 580 instead of a 570, and I also got faster RAM. I must say that running the games like Bad Company 2 and The Witcher 2 fully maxed out at 60 frames to boot is a sight to behold.

So there you have it, a small introduction and a PC build... I don't know what else I can add. I guess it's time to use that one Zero Punctuation meme about PC Aryans. Oh there it is. Hmm, now I feel kind of like a hypocrite for using that. Shit, where are you going? Umm yeah, I knew I forgot to mention something, I also have a PS3 and a Xbox 360. Does that make you feel better? Awww thanks for coming bac... Hey wait! Why are shaking your head like that? Well, I guess I fucked that up. I guess it's time to go ahead and crawl back into my hermit crab shell and keep it moving.

If you read all that bragadocious crap, I thank you. If you didn't then I don't fucking blame you, but thanks all same. So peace out Giant Bomb, maybe one day I'll muster the courage to do another one of these in the future. I guess I'll just leave you with this image that's probably been posted on the site a million times by various users. Enjoy.

Damn Altair, you look really good for a dead guy.

A new rig, eh? Alright, here's the essentials for you.

In all seriousness, (well, all the seriousness I can muster, that is); props to you for finding the courage to brag about your computer. I've got the same GFX, and the amount of carnal pleasure that has given me over the last year, no woman could rival (though they try). Now that you've got yourself a personal, little Pandora's Box, I'm reckoning you'd like one or two mighty fine looking games to test what your machine can do. Issue being, not a lot of those games in the market: but fear not, they exist! The Witcher 2, you already have, and by god, is it good. Hard to come by that level of quality, these days.

With the new DX 11 patch (which is free), Crysis 2 is a sight to behold. Even above that, mind; I'd recommend Mafia 2, as you're running a NVidia card. Physics like you've never seen. Hell, they even apply to clothes. While it's mindly disturbing to have the potential for six inch rises in the cloth any time a gun-fight breaks out, there's nothing else quite like it.

And finally, if you're into Strategy games, at all, get Total War: Shogun 2. Not only is it gorgeous, it's one of the best games I've ever played.

Cheers for introducing yourself, mate. And don't be a stranger. I work in High-level Tech-support, myself, with a dash of programming on the side. Mostly set up networks for large companies, and banks, and the like. There's few jobs that allow you to actually tell someone they need to build a bunker, though I'm studying law on the side. So, yes, rejoice and bask in the glory of our community. Also got a PS3.

I didn't read everything, I apologize but PC gaming rocks! I just got a new gaming laptop and it took a little adjustment since I'm use to a 4 core desktop but I'm loving it.

Good read. I'm looking into buying a gaming rig myself too, so thanks for linking me to Jeff's one. I've got plenty of money to spare since I've been saving up for a few months now, but now I'm worried I'll screw something up while building it. Everyone keeps telling me that it isn't that hard though. 
 
Oh and congrats on building your gaming rig.

PC's are great. I used to succumb to OMG GOTTA HAVE BEST GFX syndrome but now I found a nirvana of "good enough" and if a game is optimized well on the PC one can make any game look good enough to their performance liking. It really puts a damper to the argument against PC Gamers having to upgrade every 6 months or so.

Every time any of you PC nerds says "rig" I just giggle a little to myself. :)

@Do_The_Manta_Ray: Thanks for the suggestions. I've been meaning to see how Metro 2033 runs as well (Steam sales left me with a bounty of PC gaming goodness.)

@PK_Koopa said:

but now I'm worried I'll screw something up while building it. Everyone keeps telling me that it isn't that hard though. Oh and congrats on building your gaming rig.

Truth be told I also took a few breaks here and there within those 4 hours, but the process itself isn't all that hard as it is more intimidating for newbie than anything else. I will admit though for me research was key.

@LunarAura: Yeah I know what you mean. I got this card with the intent to last me 2 years before considering upgrading.

@McGhee_the_Insomniac: What can I say, I'm somewhat a fan of Big Mutha Truckers and latrines (it's where most of my reading gets done.)

I've got to say thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods and imparting your thoughts.

@MannyMAR: Recently played through Metro 2033; steam-sale, yep.. Found it to be an excellent game with both major highs and manic lows. The graphics really are hit-and-miss, while the lighting and animations are among the smoothest you've yet seen, the facial animations and some of the textures seem to stem directly out of S.T.A.L.K.E.R, grimey and unconvincing, though not without it's charm. It's a great game, mind, a very welcome departure from the Call Of Duty based shooters, with a campaign that feels like Half-Life 2 more than anything else. And that's a compliment in it's own right. You can probably run two installations of the game at once with everything maxed on that rig of yours.

@pornstorestiffi: Haha, it really is a classic, mate. I remember when I first started out properly studying the workings of computers. My teacher, at the time, brought us two things that day, that picture and a sodding CRAY-computer.

@pornstorestiffi: Haha, it really is a classic, mate. I remember when I first started out properly studying the workings of computers. My teacher, at the time, brought us two things that day, that picture and a sodding CRAY-computer.

PC MASTER RACE!

@McGhee_the_Insomniac said:

Every time any of you PC nerds says "rig" I just giggle a little to myself. :)

Oh yes. We're all like nerdy car guys.

Feels good when you build a PC. The best thing is when shit starts to break (because it will) you can totally diagnose the problem yourself since you know the ins and outs of your hardware, fix it, and feel even more awesome about it.

One day I hope to have the money and balls to build my own instead of getting a premade. I always forget some stupid little thing that screws everything up, and I have never wanted to risk it given the money that's involved in the parts. The next one I make in a few years time though I will be making by hand. It's gotten so simple that I'm sure even I can't screw it up.

@McGhee_the_Insomniac said:

Every time any of you PC nerds says "rig" I just giggle a little to myself. :)

I never ever say rig. I don't know Kung Fu.

@wolf_blitzer85 said:

@McGhee_the_Insomniac said:

Every time any of you PC nerds says "rig" I just giggle a little to myself. :)

Oh yes. We're all like nerdy car guys.

Feels good when you build a PC. The best thing is when shit starts to break (because it will) you can totally diagnose the problem yourself since you know the ins and outs of your hardware, fix it, and feel even more awesome about it.

I'm actually kind of envious. I don't understand cars or computers. lol