LAN party network????????

[bostonflunkie]

I received an order from a customer to set up 3-5 computer network in the same room so he can play games with his friends. I have not dealt with gaming machines much. I don't know what is involved, what kind of game works better with multiplayers. Can some1 shed light on this, please!!!!
I have not commited to do this, yet! he want this by new year's eve.
Thanks.

[drewmaztech]

Is he supplying the games and pc hardware? Usually Lan gamers bring their own boxes to these types of things.

Make sure to get a good fast switch...

[Shard92]

It depends a lot on what kind of games they are into and what they have for computers. My friend and I play alot of network games, but most are .. gasp... Dos based. More than likely he's looking for some of the newer ones like Counter strike or quake whatever number they are up to now. Another concern are they going to play locally only or do they want it hooked to an internet connection. I can't help you alot other than to give you a small idea of the possibilities you are looking at. Some games may want them to set up a server and some not. You need to get more details. We run a counter strike server here that you can connect to either locally on our network ( for a small fee ) or through the internet.

ANyway personally I'd find out more details before you agree to this undertaking. It's not neccessarily difficult but depending on what they want and how much you need to do....

[tha 4NiK8R]

Essentials for network gaming/LAN Party:

Fast switch: I recommend a Dell PowerConnect 2016 -$99

Network Protocols: TCP/IP and IPX/SPX (be sure they are all set to the same network and frametype - 802.2 or 802.3)

Operating systems - Windows XP -some may argue this, but if they do they are not true gamers and should go buy a Mac

Hardware - depends on the games - if we are talking "First Person Shooter" eg Counter Strike, UT2003, etc you want decent processors, memory and video cards,

Standard Gaming Machine:
Athlon XP 2000+ or higher
512mb of DDR 3200or3500 memory - this is the min for a gaming machine
ASUS A7N8X - great performance, onboard sound and NIC
GeForce 4 128mb video card - you can get an MX440 for less than $100
Go for an ATA 133 HD - I prefer IBM for performance
you also need a good heatsink and fan
400w power supply or better

Of course if they bring their own machines you don't have to worry about all that.

Don't get prebuilt machines from Dell, HP, etc. They don't run games very well and for what you need is more expensive then building it yourself.

It all depends on how serious they are. Since they offered to hire you (at $100+/hr then they must be serious enough to get decent hardware.

Remember, PC gaming is no good unless you have the hardware to play it on. If they just want to play hearts across the network tell them to buy a pack of cards.

Good Luck!

Here is the minimum system requirements at LAN parties I host:

Athlon 1700 or Higher or P4 2ghz or higher
512MB of RAM
GeForce 2 Pro
10/100 NIC
19" in monitor or 17" flat panel
-Anything less is turned away at the door.

[SpongeBob]

Originally posted by tha 4NiK8R
Here is the minimum system requirements at LAN parties I host:

Athlon 1700 or Higher or P4 2ghz or higher
512MB of RAM
GeForce 2 Pro
10/100 NIC
19" in monitor or 17" flat panel
-Anything less is turned away at the door.

When I host then (65 people at a time) they BYOC (Bring your own computer)

We dont care... because if your game server is good and your switches are good, then even "laggy" ones wont hurt the rest.

not only that but after doing one every 3 months now for the last 2 years, i have seen people bring pent. 233mhz laptops, running 10mbit nics, for Q3 in software mode with all features off!! and it has NO impact on the game or its performace in gereral. It also dosent affect the quality of play for others.

You must have rich friends or a small lan! LOL...

cheers

[fst1006]

Athlon 1700 or Higher or P4 2ghz or higher
GeForce 2 Pro
10/100 NIC
19" in monitor or 17" flat panel
Anything less is turned away at the door.

what the ****

man... i sodnt know about you but not every one is that rich...

no offense but anything over 900Mhz with a decent video card can run most games...

basically what you need is no more than 1.5Ghz (im going price-consious here) with 512 MB ram pc2700 (does not need to be PC3000 or 3500 JEDEC has not even set the standard for those yet... so 2700 is fine)you dont need PC300 cause ur probably not going to be OC'iing) BUT i will
Gefoce4 Ti4200 or 4400

Those specs should be good

17inch flats are nice and most people have them.. i would not turn anybody away if they were running a 15 inch... whats the point? right???? were all thre just to have fun.... not to only allow the people that can afford the higher end systems...

My Specs:
------------------------
Intel p4 @ 1.7
512 RDRAM
Geforce2 GTS
SB Audigy

New Computer im building
------------------------
Intel p4 2.53 Ghz
512 DDR
GeforceFX (or ATI RADEON 9700PRO)
SB Audigy 2



sure im single and i can afford tese higher end (well the 1.7 was top of the line when i bought it)

i will state again this is what I recommend as gaming rig for personal / use with friends :

Intel P4 1.5 --OR-- (just cause im not as biased as u AMD fanboys) AThlon 1.5Ghz (or equivelant XP processor)
512 DDR PC2700 (get high quality corsair)
Geforce Ti4200 / Ti4400 --OR-- ATI RADEON 9500PRO
17" Flat CRT Screens (dont have to be apature Grill)
XP Pro

of course this is more budget minded... feel free to upgrade as nessacary

FST

*These statements are PURLY OPINIONS! all you forum trolls read this and PLEASE think that this is an OPINION!

[Shard92]

Look it all depends on what they want to play and how much they are willing to spend. I play lan games all the time at my friends house. The fastest thing he has is a k6- 266mhz! it runs the games we play just fine. Having a wife and two kids kind of prevents him from spending big bucks on a pc. They are not much but they do almost all we want them to.. would we like faster ones to play some of the new stuff? yeah but it ain't that important. Find out what they want to do and how much they want to spend and what you need to provide.

[tha 4NiK8R]

Rich? A machine like that costs less than $750(less if you go with a cheap case and reuse fans, blowers, etc), not to mention all the gamers I know sell off their machines every 3 months or so to pay for new ones (and usually make a profit on it!)

Yes, we are there to have fun, and it is no fun killing the same folks every time because their frames suck so bad they are dead before the even realize I am in the same room.

I host medium sized LAN parties and invite close to 100 folks to each one. I expect only 50 or so to actually show up. I have been doing this for years. I even have 2 servers I bring with me that are dedicated to serving up whatever games we happen to be hooked on.

I don't make the rules out of hand, we (a group of about 10 guys that started hosting these LAN parties a couple years back) vote on when we think is reasonable based on the games that are popular and the price of hardware ($900 is usually deemed to much to expect people will have on hand)

-I generally make it a rule to never get into a price arguement with someone running and Intel based system, since they generally paid about $200-300 more for their system and get a slower machine out of the deal.

[cookin chef]

One thing I will agree with is that Game requirements for today's games (especially with Lan games) need very current systems or older systems (ranging from 1 to 2 years old) with newer videocard upgrades.

But it also depends on what games people plan on playing. If it's going to be older games like Quake III Arena or Counterstrike, then I wouldn't be so strict on system requirements. We still have a Dell PIII 500 with 384 mb sdram and 2 voodoo 2's in sli mode for either an internet or game server or even playing games on it, older ones of course.

[delmer_1]

I have never participated in a lan party..i did have two decent PCs that we used to play 1 on 1 with(mine, listed in my sig, and my brothers: very similar to mine, only with an 800MHz athlon, 768MB pc133 ram,abit kt7 mobo, geforce2 pro, 30gb HD)

there are other options here....like the microsoft XBOX. many of the xbox games support lan play. Take Halo for example (one of the best games i ever played) you can connect 4 xbox units to a hub and have up to 16 player lan games. there are many other games that support Lan play on xbox:

Halo
Timesplitters 2
Unreal Championship
Ghost Recon
Serious Sam
MechAssault
Deathrow
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x, 3, and 4
Nascar Heat 2002
Moto GP
NFL Fever 2003
Whacked


just like pc lan games you will need a hub/switch, ethernet cables. each xbox will need to have a copy of the game you wish to play and a tv to play it on. but he is only wanting 3 to 5 PCs, so you would only need 1 or 2 xbox units. if you are supplying the PCs, it would be cheaper to go this route. with PCs you would need a PC for each person. with the xbox

think 5 PCs @$700 (rough estimate)= $3500
plus enough copies of teh games you want to play


or

3 xbox consoles- $600
3 RCA 32" stereo TVs $1500
4 extra controllers - $120
3 copies of HALO - $150
3 copies of Timesplitters 2 $150
3 copies of Unreal Championship $150
TOTAL = $2670

that is enough for 6 people to play and the 3 best First Person Shooters on the xbox. that would let you have 2 people per xbox/TV. (each person would have half of a 32" TV) almost $1000 under the cost of the PCs. and since you have 3 xbox consoles, you could always go buy more controllers and have up to 12 players. and this way you could assure that everone's system will be performing equally, you dont' have to worry about drivers, or installing any software...setup time is only a few minutes.


just a thought...if you want more info on this possibility, just ask.


EDIT: i just thought about this....

the way we did it before each person had to share a 32"tv with another person. you could also do this.

5 xbox units: $1000
5 25" GE tvs: $900
5 copies of Halo: $250
5 copies fo Timesplitters 2: $250
5 copies of Unreal Championship: $250
TOTAL: $2650

that would give everyone their own 25" tv, which is still bigger than the monitors they would be using. plus you wouldnt need to but the extra controllers, because each xbox comes with one. and it is cheaper than the other way.

actually right now, Electronics Boutique is selling the xbox in a bundle pack..it comes with 2 games for teh same price of $199. (Jet Set Radio Future and Sega GT, neither of which support lan play but at EB will let you trade them in towards other stuff ( i believe they give you $20 store credit for each game, so but the xbox bundle, trade in teh two games, get your $40 and put it towards one of your games, this would bring the new price to...)

5 xbox units: $1000
5 25" GE tvs: $900
5 copies of Halo: $250
5 copies fo Timesplitters 2: $250
5 copies of Unreal Championship: $250
TOTAL: $2650
- $200 in traded in games
New TOTAL $2450

good deal

[bostonflunkie]

I must say that I am surprised, I did not know there is so much to it. Thanks for everyone's input. I was not even thinking of the switch, a HUB I thought should do. I have some hardware collecting dust, I was going to use it. P4 1.4 to 1.8G, lot of SDRAM which I certainly want to get rid of. (Am I being dishonest?, I hope not!) I do tell my customers which are very few, BTW, about the new DDR. Anyway, thanks again for worthy advice. Noway I am going to recomend Xbox.
He is interested only in racing games, Nascar and GTA can you play any game on lan or you need special games? sorry for the dumb questions!
Is there a site I can probe to learn more about setting up a network like that. I don't have a lot of time to spare like everyone else, Igess!

[Radical Dreamer]

Originally posted by tha 4NiK8R
Rich? A machine like that costs less than $750(less if you go with a cheap case and reuse fans, blowers, etc), not to mention all the gamers I know sell off their machines every 3 months or so to pay for new ones (and usually make a profit on it!)

Yes, we are there to have fun, and it is no fun killing the same folks every time because their frames suck so bad they are dead before the even realize I am in the same room.

I host medium sized LAN parties and invite close to 100 folks to each one. I expect only 50 or so to actually show up. I have been doing this for years. I even have 2 servers I bring with me that are dedicated to serving up whatever games we happen to be hooked on.

I don't make the rules out of hand, we (a group of about 10 guys that started hosting these LAN parties a couple years back) vote on when we think is reasonable based on the games that are popular and the price of hardware ($900 is usually deemed to much to expect people will have on hand)

-I generally make it a rule to never get into a price arguement with someone running and Intel based system, since they generally paid about $200-300 more for their system and get a slower machine out of the deal.

I have to comment also that those are pretty high specs, I have..

2.0ghz
512mb RAM PC2100
GF4 Ti 4400
2 40GB 7200 RPM

That means I wouldnt get in because my RAM isnt fast enough also you mention all of those high specs and then mention a GF 4 ---->>>MX<<<--- WTF those things are only slightly better than a GF 2!!!

GF2 does ~25million polys
GF4 MX does ~36million polys
GF4 Ti 4600 does ~136million

kinda puts things in perspective now doesnt it?

Read also that this is not a flame, just a DAMN those specs are on the high side. Not everyone is single with no kids. Some people upgrade only every 2-3 years

[Radical Dreamer]

As for BF's question, I recommend the following

Fast switch
Fast Nic's
At least 1.0ghz with GF2
Make sure that if the person doesnt own a copy of each game for every machine that you sell him some
Oh and if you play multiple games, make it coordinated...I've been to some LAN parties where 2-3 people are playing each game and it sucks ***. Just let everyone know that while XXX game may not be thier fav....other people enjoy it and the games will cycle on a regular basis so just go along with it and everyone will be happy

[delmer_1]

I understand that the xbox might not be a desireable solution, but i wanted to make you aware of it as an option.

YOu have to make sure that games you get support LAN play, not all of them do. you mentioned GTA, i am assuming you mean GTA3, which does not support lan play..it is single player only. and remember, each PC will need a copy of the game.

[Stalemate]

Very interesting thread, boys!

Gives me food for thought as I'm planning my next system.

I just wanted to add that quality headphones would make my personal list of required hardware.

You don't want to have 4-5 PC sound systems blaring away at the same time in the same room. The sound effects coming from your PC or your neighbours could give away your/their position. Other gamers like to play soundtracks/music CDs while they play.