PC Gaming: A Beginner’s Guide – Part 1

When I joined MyGaming at the beginning of the year I was a fresh-faced lad full of enthusiasm, ready to show my then editor James what I was capable of.

It did not take long for me to realise that I knew less than I thought I did about the world of PC gaming, and I would have to do some research if I was not to make a complete fool of myself on the site.

I thought, as I presume a lot of people do, that if your friends ask you to help them set up their new ADSL router, or LAN a couple PCs, that you are a “PC guy”. I was wrong.

Fortunately, the Internet is a kind mistress who was willing answer my questions, and show me pictures of naughty school girls (all over 18!) when I got bored, and I now have a basic foundation from which to work form.

For those who don’t have the time to read up on every new development in the world of PC gaming, or have no idea at all as to what is going on, this is for you. Go forth and learn in part one of my Beginner’s Guide series.

Beginner’s Guide Part 1 – Terminology

Before you can walk the walk, you have to talk the talk. One word can be the difference between being part of a conversation and understanding what is going on, and everyone staring at you while you lie on the floor in the foetal position crying.

Here are the important terms you should know, and a quick explanation as to what they mean. (Credit to Urban Dictionary, Wikipedia, and various international gaming publications for assisting in the definitions.) They are in no particular order, but are all important.

Noob vs Newb: I learnt something new here, there is a difference between a newb and a noob. A newb is someone who is new to a particular field, such as PC gaming. A noob, the more commonly used term when insulting a man or woman, describes an individual who knows little about a certain field and is unwilling to learn more. Basically, a dick who expects other people do stuff for them, and is always complaining.

Nerf: Nerf is a term used in gaming when something is downgraded or made less effective. The term originated with Ultima Online, and refers to the Nerf toys, which are soft and fluffy.

Buff: The opposite of nerf.

Pwn: Pwn is a version of the word “own”, and basically means to dominate someone or something. If you pwn someone, or someone is pwned, it means they have been defeated to the extent of embarrassment.

Leet/Leetspeak: Leetspeak is a variation of the English language used mostly online. The alphabet of Leetspeak sometimes replaces letter with numerals – such as 1337 (which spells “leet”) – and is derived from the word “elite”. The word leet is also used to describe someone who is very good in their respective field (namely gaming).

Frag: Quite simply, Frag means to kill someone in a game, normally in an FPS (first-person shooter).

LAN: LAN stands for Local Area Network, and is a bunch of computers hooked up together in a localised area (like your lounge on a Saturday night). The word LAN also describes gamers getting together in the aforementioned area to link up and game against one another, and also share movies, series, and terabytes of pornography.

Ping: Ping is a utility that tests the “reachability” (or to be more technically accurate, latency) of a host on an Internet protocol. It measures how long it takes for the message to be sent from your PC to the host, like when you are playing a game online and your inputs have to reach the relevant server.

Latency: Related to ping (above), the standard definition of latency is the time taken between a stimulation and a response. In the world of PCs, latency is how long it takes for a packet of data to be sent from your PC, to the destination (a server, for example), and back. Measured in milliseconds, low latency is essential for good online gaming.

LAN

Packet Loss: This is something you do not want in your life. Packet loss is when data sent through a network is lost, and is often caused by network congestion. This, as you can imagine, is bad for gaming.

FPS vs fps: On MyGaming we refer to frames per second as lowercase “fps”, while the abbreviation FPS stands for first-person shooter. Frames per second is how many frames a video or game produces per second, with higher numbers meaning a smoother image. A first-person shooter refers to a game where you play with a character where you see through their eyes, but can typically only see their hands and the weapon they carry. And sometimes the character’s feet.

Full HD vs UHD vs 4K: These abbreviations all refer to the resolution of a screen – how many pixels it can squeeze into its boundaries. Full HD, also known as 1080p, is 1920×1080, UHD is 3840×2160, while 4K is 4096×2160. Advertisers and marketers have confused a lot of people when it comes to ultra high definition and 4K, but just remember the 4 in 4K means 4,000.

Master Race: The PC Gaming Master Race (a moniker popularised by Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame) is the title given to those who prefer to game on a PC as opposed to a console. It is used in good humour most of the time, and to make fun of those who choose not to game on a PC.

Dirty Console Peasant: Conversely, if you are a gamer but not part of the PC clan, you are a dirty console peasant. As the name suggests, if you play your games on an Xbox, PlayStation, or Wii U, you are dirty. And a peasant.

Steam: Steam is the omnipotent and omnipresent power which all PC gamers worship. Run by Valve and Gabe Newell – known as Lord Gabe (or sometimes Gaben) – the online game distribution platform is famous for its sales and discounts.

Troll: Not the fictitious creature that lives under the bridge, but the person who takes pleasure in “sowing discord” on the Internet. Characterised by posting messages with the intent of starting an argument, beware of responding to a troll if you come across one.

Dox: Being doxed means that your personal information was hacked and displayed online. Name, addresses, phone numbers, etc, are accessed by those who want to possibly hurt you, and put on public forums.

Camp: If someone camps, is camping, or is called a camper in an online or LAN game – let’s use an FPS as an example – it means that the player has found a good spot and stays there while shooting people in the head. While this is frustrating for other players, it can be advantageous for the camper, especially if they get on a kill streak.

Teabag: In less, um, cultured circles, teabagging is the act of lowering one’s scrotum onto the head and/or into the mouth of someone else. In gaming, teabagging is used to humiliate an opponent. In an FPS, for example, you are shot and killed, your killer then stands over your dead character’s body, and proceeds to crouch, stand up, and crouch again over your face. Repeat for 5 seconds before moving on.

Drivers: Graphics and device drivers are small computer programs that operate and control how a device works with the PC it is attached to. They enable operating systems, like Windows, to access the devices and their functions. Drivers, notably in the case of graphics drivers, must be updated fairly regularly to ensure optimum performance of the PC.

API: An application programming interface does the job of — and here is where it gets technical — “defining a set of functionalities that are independent of their respective implementation, allowing both definition and implementation to vary without compromising each other”. What does that mean exactly? I asked a developer and still don’t quite get it. Something about writing code and making their lives easier.

SLI and CrossFireX: Nvidia’s SLI and AMD’s CrossFireX are multi-GPU solutions for the companies’ respective cards. In essence, you can connect multiple graphics cards together and increase your PC’s graphical prowess.

Haswell-E, X99, DDR4 RAM: Haswell-E processors, X99 motherboards, and DDR4 RAM are the latest and greatest technology available to PC fans. The X99 motherboards support DDR4 RAM and the Haswell-E processors, which are punted as faster and more powerful than their predecessors.

Mod: A mod (short for modification) is the alteration of a game or physical PC with the aim of improving it. PC modding is quite popular among those who have a bit of cash to spare, and some rigs are truly beautiful.

PC Modding

Disclaimer: MyGaming cannot be held responsible for any reader who uses this guide to try and infiltrate a group of PC gamers and gets beat up upon failure. Always approach a PC gamer with caution, and for the love of all that is holy do not mention Destiny.

PC gamers, I could not fit in every term in existence. Let me know your favourites in the comments and forum.