Computer Gamer's Bible
Authors: Mark L. Chambers, Rob Smith
Venue:  (2000)

:Discover how to make your PC the ultimate gaming machine  Take your gaming experience to the next level! This one-of-a-kind reference examines the latest hardware and software, explains how to improve your current system, and provides step-by-step instructions for installing a video card, programming a joystick, and more. From the hottest new games to peripherals, sound and video cards, 3D controllers, and multiplayer network connections, the Computer Gamer's Bible delivers all you need to make your games look, sound, and play better. Inside, you'll find complete coverage of computer game software and hardwareLearn about the hottest gaming technologies for PCs and MacsFind more than 20 do-it-yourself projects to optimize, augment, or upgrade your systemPinpoint the ideal system specs for the kinds of games you playSelect the best controller, video card, and sound card for your systemPump up the volume with surround-sound software, speakers, and subwoofersGo three-dimensional with 3D glasses, goggles, and gadgetsPlay to win with other gamers on a network or over the InternetOptimize your gaming system with DirectX and DirectSound from MicrosoftGet inside your games with patches, levels, cheats, and walkthroughsHot demos on CD-ROM, including:DrakanNeed for Speed: High StakesTomb Raider: The Last Revelation, HomeworldSid Meier's Alien CrossfireWarbirdsAge of Empires II: Age of Kings, Unreal TournamentPlus gaming utilities and 3 other hot game demosShareware programs are fully functional, free trial versions of copyrighted programs. If you like particular programs, registerwith their authors for a nominal fee and receive licenses, enhanced versions, and technical support. Freeware programs are free, copyrighted games, applications, and utilities. You can copy them to as many PCs as you likefreebut they have no technical support. www.idgbooks.com System Requirements: Pentium 200 class PC running Windows 95/98; 32MB RAM; 100MB disk space; 4MB Direct3D compatible video; Microsoft Direct-X 6.1; Internet accessAuthor Biography: About the Authors Mark L. Chambers has been an author, computer consultant, BBS sysop, programmer, and hardware technician for more than 15 years. His first love affair with a computer peripheral blossomed in 1984, when he bought his 300bps modem  now he spends entirely too much time on the Internet. Mark's favorite pastimes include collecting memorabilia from the 1960s Batman TV series, covering every flat area in his house with gargoyles, playing his three pinball machines, fixing and upgrading computers, playing the latest computer games, and rendering 3D flights of fancy. During all that, he listens to just about every type of music imaginable. Mark is also author of IDG Books Worldwide's The Hewlett-Packard Official Printer Handbook, Building a PC For Dummies, and the Recordable CD Bible. Rob Smith, a native of Sheffield, England, has been playing games of all kinds for more than 15 years, and shows no sign of ever stopping. He has been writing about PC gaming for consumer print magazines for several years and regularly enjoys playing first-person action games on the Internet. Despite a life now made in San Francisco he still indulges way too much time on his passion for English soccer, and particularly his hometown team, Sheffield United. He also continues to confuse all his coworkers with the constant use of bizarre English phrases at his current day job as executive editor of Imagine Media's PC Accelerator magazine.