It's no longer a secret that computer games are a driving force behind computer hardware development. After all, most business applications just don't need surround-sound systems, high-performance video cards, or lightning-fast processors. Computer games continue to push the technological envelope, commanding sky-high system requirements. But that doesn't mean that building the ultimate gaming rig has to break the proverbial bank. If you're an audiophile, then a sweet speaker set-up or some excellent headphones are much more important than a precision mouse. And for those gamers who only care about achieving the fastest frame rates in Unreal Tournament 2003, steering wheels rank about as high in importance as root canal work.

With that in mind, we've put together our recommendations for the ultimate gaming system. Gamers on a budget might want to pass over that 21-inch monitor for something more essential, such as a top-notch graphics card or more memory. But those gamers who value performance over luxuries such as food, go wild and buy the whole store and watch as your friends seethe with envy.

Graphics Card

Easily the single most important component for any gamer, your system's graphics card can make or break your gaming experience. Accelerators work by taking over the job of rendering complex graphics. This frees up a computer's main processor to handle other tasks, such as physics, artificial intelligence, and figuring out whether the laser you just fired into that last Mech was powerful enough to take it out.

Several years ago, only the most hard-core gamers splurged on the little-used, brand-new technology and were rewarded with a marginal improvement in graphics quality. Nowadays, almost all games recommend a 3-D accelerator card, with the cutting-edge games actually requiring one. Gorgeous graphics and ultra-realistic 3-D environments aren't the only benefits of 3-D acceleration; like the name implies, a high-end card literally accelerates the rate at which your computer displays graphics. This enables you to react faster in a game, which is particularly useful when pulling off some of the more gravity-defying moves in games such as Matrix-style shooter, Max Payne.

Whether or not a high-end graphics card is in your future depends largely on what kind of games you play. If Scrabble 2003 Edition is how you like to spend your quality time, then save your cash for something else. If, however, you tend toward more resource-hungry games, such as flight sims, driving games, and games that sell themselves on their spectacular graphics such as SimCity 4 and Battlefield 1942, then you'll need a serious graphics card.

Some cards such as the Gainward Nvidia Geforce 4 Ti 4600 128MB Golden Sample offer features, such as, NVIDIA's fastest 256-bit GeForce4 Ti4600 chipset and 128 MB of highest performing Ultra-fast DDR memory for photo-real 3D textures and custom lighting effects. But although most people agree that this really is the king of the graphics card world, this technology comes at a price. If you are not a dyed-in-the-wool, hardcore gamer who prizes graphics above all else, you don't have to shell out the big bucks. The 64MB Gainward Nvidia Geforce 4 MX420 64MB PCI is a great card for gamers and won't break the bank.

Before looking into the merits of individual cards, first determine how the card is going to connect to your computer. Almost all modern computers feature an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP port). The best, fastest cards plug into a computer's motherboard using this port, instead of the more common, slower PCI port.

Graphics card technology is constantly changing, but there are a few general rules to guide your purchasing decision. Image quality and frame rate (speed) are partially determined by a card's memory and clock rate. Like a computer, the more RAM and the higher the clock rate (measured in MHz), the better the card and the higher your performance. Buy a card with as much RAM and as high a clock rate as you can afford.

Graphic accelerators range in price from about £50 to over £400, depending on the chipset, included software, and additional features. Manufacturers are beginning to include TV-out and video-capture capabilities along with graphics acceleration, raising the cost. However, if you're looking for a pure gaming card, an accelerator in the £100 to £200 range will fit the bill.

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Controllers

No gaming system is complete without a full suite of controllers. Sure, you can play F1 2002 with your keyboard, but how much fun is that? With a full-on driving system such as the SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel, which is compatible with both your PC and PS2, you too can pretend to be the Schumacher brothers.

Mice

Few non-gamers--and few hardware manufacturers, for that matter--think of the mouse as a gaming controller. But with the increase of first-person shooters, the mouse has found a permanent place in the hearts and minds of the modern day gamer. The mouse has become the ultimate gaming tool.

The extra mouse button can be customised to perform a specific game function, while the wheel allows you to quickly scroll through equipment, options, or weapons. Instead of using the traditional mouse ball, Microsoft's wheel-equipped Microsoft Blue Wireless Optical Mouse makes use of a new optical-sensor technology, which lets the user make more precise movements and eliminates the need to clean those little tracking wheels.

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Gamepads

The gamepad comes into its own when you are trying to deal with a game whose environment is more suited to a console. Normally based around the same designs that you would find on a PlayStation or Dreamcast, the controller is ideal for sports or beat-'em-up games as it not only allows you to perform a series of moves easily, but also means that you and your friends can sit in comfort rather than huddle around the keyboard.

Games developers have even cottoned on to the fact that the sensory experience can be improved with a bit of rumble technology (PlayStation owners have had analogue rumble pads for a number of years). Check out the Saitek P2500 PC Rumble Force Pad .

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Joysticks

From the days of Asteroids and Pac-Man, joysticks have stood as the pre-eminent game controller. Nowadays, mice and gamepads are the most common and cheapest game controller, while the joystick has increased its sophistication and price to dominate as the ultimate controller for flight sims. Whether you're at the helm of the 50-ton Mech in MechWarrior Mercenaries or in the cockpit of a WWII fighter plane in Combat Flight Simulator 3 is up to you, today's joysticks, packed with a plethora of buttons, force feedback options and easy customisation, will have gamers ruling the virtual skies.

Joysticks can range in price from £10 to more than £100, so there's a controller for anyone's budget. Regardless of the type of games you play, when looking for a joystick, be sure to get one with a hat switch. The hat switch is mounted on the top of the joystick, and is designed to be operated by the user's thumb. Flight-sim fans commonly customise the switch for different viewpoints, so they can easily glance outside the windows to check for enemy fighters without taking their hand off the stick.

Other features you should look for, especially if flight sims are your thing, are rudder and throttle controls. In flight sims, planes use both the rudder as well as the flaps to turn. This being said, a joystick that lacks a rudder control by using only its flaps to execute turns spells death in a serious dogfight. Rudder controls are also key ithe forthcoming space sim Freelancer.

Another interesting feature that's growing in popularity is force feedback. Force-feedback-enabled joysticks translate in-game action directly to your hands. Motors inside the base of the stick provide resistance when you pull a high-G turn in an F-16, or make the stick jerk and rumble when your X-Wing gets raked by blaster fire. With controllers such as the SideWinder Force Feedback 2 Joystick The feeling and realism is incredible; force feedback technology puts the "joy" in "joystick".

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Driving Systems

Until you've played a driving game with a wheel, you haven't really played a driving game, since pretending to drive a car with your keyboard or a regular joystick is downright silly. Good driving systems come with the steering wheel and a base that has accelerator and brake pedals. The current crop of driving systems also features several customisable buttons on the steering unit, letting you control the point of view, change gears, access weapons, or any other options that you happen to program.

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Multimedia

In putting together an awesome gaming rig, it's important to remember that no multimedia system is complete without a fully fledged sound system. However, since computer systems usually come with a decent sound card, most gamers will be happy with their out-of-the-box sound system. Nevertheless, advances in surround-sound technology by the people at Creative Labs mean that for the hard-core gamer, a sound-system upgrade might be in order.

The advantages of a good surround system are evidenced in a myriad of genres, including strategy games such as Command & Conquer: Generals and Age of Mythology ; driving games such as Grand Prix 3; and action games such as Unreal II: The Awakening or Battlefield 1942 . With the Combat Flight Simulator 3, and the right speaker set-up, you'll be able to detect when your foes are behind you and which side--left or right--they happen to be moving.

Sound Card

When looking for a sound card, there are a number of things to look for. If it's just for games, then you want to look for a card that will give you great sound at a reasonable price. These will usually range from £50 to £150 and be aimed directly at gamers.

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Speakers

A good set of speakers such as the Videologic ZXR-500 5.1 Speaker System is crucial to any sound system, and you should look for either a 4-point surround system or even a Dolby Digital 5.1 set for that ultimate movie feel. This will give you the idea that you are actually in the game, with noises coming from the front, to the left, to the right and even behind you. To increase the power of the explosions in any game further, you'll require a subwoofer. This device solely concentrates on the base the game produces and adds depth to sounds coming from your computer.

You can expect to pay anywhere between £50 and £150 for a set of speakers including a subwoofer, with the price depending on how many speakers are included and the quality of those speakers.

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Monitors

Visuals are an essential element to a gamer's multimedia experience. And while most of us are living in the world of 15- and 17-inch monitors with fuzzy images, washed-out colours, and flickering screens, there's nothing like playing a flight sim on a 21-inch monitor with an excellent refresh rate and vibrant colours. If it's time to upgrade your monitor, the first thing you need to decide is how much you're willing to spend. Monitors, more than any other peripherals, can range in price from the extremely economical to exorbitantly expensive.