The following is for Extreme Gaming. This means you have a PC used for nothing but Gaming. Nothing else. The concept is turning a PC into a Gaming console. It requires self discipline on the persons part and not to be used as a family pc for casual surfing,downloading, etc do to the fact that there are certain security risks in doing so. This also requires you to educate yourself as well as consult experts and follow all directions.
Building/Buying a Gaming rig
Do not rely on a marketing ad or a couple of reviews on deciding what to purchase. I tend to visit sites such as overclockers.com which helps give me a better look at hardware, a good mixture of components and much needed information. Always research and cover all the bases.
Upgrading an existing system
These are the steps I use and recommend. However this is also limited on your budget. This is also adjusted to UO since it is still a sprite based game a high end graphics card is not put in the list.
1. Upgrade your IDE/SATA Hard drive to a Solid State Drive. SSDs can be as much as 20X+ faster in I/O operations. The really cool thing is if you add more in a Raid configuration the more your I/O scales upward!
Why this is the #1 upgrade is do to the fact that the HD is the biggest bottleneck, one of the most causes of latency and lag do to I/O operations.
2. Memory/Ram - Tighter timing, low latency. Gaming ram. Do your research and shop wise.
3. Goodies - The following helps offload CPU cycles and or offer better I/O operations.
Dedicated sound card, Graphic cards (mid-high performance) and network card.
EVGA Killer Nic - This network card is made for gaming. It offers its own CPU/linux system to control networking tasks and bypasses the Windows Network Stack. Performance results are variable, but out of the box without tweaking it shaves 6ms off traffic. This however I suggest this should be thought of at the very last after all tweaking has been done.
Something for everyone.
Cfosspeed - This is a network driver and it works real good. Read more about it here.
http://www.cfos.de/speed/what_is_cfosspeed_e.htm
Tweakguides.com - Here you will find the Bible for tweaking you PC regardless of Operating System and in some cases Hardware as well as game settings. Download and print off the manuals pertaining to your system.
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Extreme Guide
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Requirements
1. Download your tweakguides.com manual as described above.
2. You must have a Windows CD or Restoration Disk.
3. Download either nlite (for XP users)
http://www.nliteos.com/
or
http://www.vlite.net/
4. Absolutely READ the Forums, The Guides and download and print to have this information at hand or a second PC to be able to view the site. It is very important that you become an expert using this software.
5. SYSTEM DRIVERS - You must have a drivers cd for your system. If you do not, visit your PC manufacturers site and obtain the required drivers and also not forgetting drivers for added hardware like sound cards, video cards etc. Burn them on CD or on a USB thumb drive.
6. Download and print your Modem and Router Guides from your Manufacturer. This is a must.
7. Download - Ultima online client(s), UOAssist, UOCartographer, your Voip(s)(Ventrilo,Teamspeak, Skype) a internet browser and any IM's like ICQ and burn them to CD or thumb drive. Do not forget cfosspeed if you purchased it.
The first Steps.
The absolute first step is to read and study, read and study. Know everything before you do anything.
Our first goal is to make a Custom Windows Installation Disk. Here you strip down the OS for just the needed processes to run the environment and your game. The purpose is to free up resources,free up CPU cycles and to increase I/O eliminating latency. Think of it like old school hot rodding. Stripping the weight off the car and putting the horsepower to better use.
This of course like I have stressed takes knowledge to get it right. If you take out a process that is needed more than likely you will get the blue screen of death which would require repeating the process. So you have to know while using the nlite or vlite of what process does what and what it effects. When making the custom Installation disk you can include your current drivers as part of the Installation disk.
The basics of the nlite and vlite programs. More or less when you start either program it will prompt you for your Windows Installation disk or Recovery disk. You will then go through a variety of screens of what processes you want to include in your custom installation. When done, this makes an ISO image saved on your computer then to be burned on CD/Dvd or even USB Thumbdrive.
Note- you must have your Windows COA number.
After you made your custom installation disk it is time to install. You will format and install a new custom OS onto your system.
Once the system is solid, install your drivers if not included in the CID.
Do Not install your Game stuff disk. Save it for near last. There is still a ton to do.
After the Drivers are installed and the system is stable reboot.
Enter Bios - On your reboot enter Bios by hitting the F2 or Delete key in most cases. The Goal here is to shut down unused ports and devices such as the gaming control, maybe a floppy, A USB, an onboard lan as well as other stuff.
Take good care and do not mess with stuff you have no knowledge of.
Time for the TweakGuids.com Bible - Make every tweak known to man kind on whats left of your OS. Every millisecond counts to better and faster gaming.
Not done yet!
Since this is a dedicated gaming rig we are going to further offload/shutdown as many network ports possible using your modem/router built in firewall. In this case you use your browser and type in
http://and either your local DHCP server or Gateway IP. To find the address navigate to network connections, Right click Local connection, select status and click details.
Enter the address in your browser and hit return. This will pop up the built in settings.
In most cases you are prompted for a username and password. This is dependent on how what router, modem you are using and who installed it. If the router/Modem was installed by your ISP this is usually your ISP account name and password. If not you must call your ISP and obtain it that way.
In other cases the username and password can be found in the user manual if it is a commercial peace of hardware.
Shutting down ports. Here you have to do some research and trouble shooting. Your Browser uses port 80 and UO 5000-5012. You want to block as many ports as possible
This helps improve security, alleviates Windows on check calls to the windows firewall, thus freeing up some cycles and reducing a bit of latency.
Install your Game stuff disk, Install cfosspeed if you have it. You are all most done.
Going for Broke and Self discipline:
Here it is up to you. Keep your nose to the grindstone. Follow these guidelines.
1. You are not running an Anti Virus, or Malware scanners.
2. You are not running any kind of update service.
3. You DO NOT use this for downloading anything other than patches.
4. You DO NOT use the system for surfing the net.
5. You DO NOT download or send email.
6. You just use the system for gaming, that is it.
Other Extremes
A dedicated Internet Connection. Not sharing with other PC's in a LAN.
Overclocking - If you followed all the tips above there should be no reason too. But if you must you must educate yourself and know what you are doing or risk burning out your PC. Visit overclockers.com
I hope this is of benefit and stress this is for extreme results. There are risks to get high end performance and this guide is not for the casual gamer playing on the family pc.
