Computer Spec Newbie

[numbawang]

Though I have been gaming for a few years, i usually am one of those people who don't or atleast attempt to find out what stuff are considered -good-.
and I just have a few questions, for building or buying sake.

So far the only spec I know for a gaming PC would be RAM.
And what is important for a gaming PC is the CPU and Graphics.

Graphic Card
How exactly do you find out if the graphic card is good if you were go to shopping in futureshop? other then using "canyourunit". Like the graphic card.. "AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB" What is so good about it? as far as I know, the names mean nothing. Is there anyway to check -good- like how you check RAM? where you know less RAM = bad, and you want about 8GB of RAM?

CPU
I use to think that if something had more GHZ (aka 1.7ghz vs 2.4ghz)
or just more cores + GHZ ( aka 1.7ghz duel core vs 2.4ghz... in which both will match up to 2.4ghz) that I would know immediately which one is good.. but now, when i check something like intel core i7 1.7GHZ vs something 2.4GHZ, apparently the intel core i7 1.7ghz is better.

these are a few misconceptions I have about CPU and graphic cards as well as finding a way to determine what is good WHILE at a ,said, store. I also have a question about motherboard but i have no clue what it is.
Thanks in Advance~

PS, these days i find alot of gaming PC being 64 bit, is it not possible for a gaming PC to be 32 bit? I heard some programs/ MMOs out there dont do well with 64 bit at all.

[jdeb]

Graphics cards are as good as your budget. Tom's hardware has a great list for the best graphics cards for the money (your budget).
Best Graphics Cards For The Money: August 2011 : Best Graphics Cards For The Money, August Update

It also is good to know what games you play and a budget in mind before we spec a graphics card for you. The best "brands are found in this link
Video Card Rating

When building a gaming rig, money is always better spent on the graphic card. Most games only utilize two cores anyway but if your budget allows it, nothing wrong with a quad core. The hot CPU's at this time are the Intel Sandy Bridge CPU's i3-i5-i7. The K series are optimized for overclocking.

You are limited in the amount of memory with a 32 bit operating system, it will only use about 3.25 gb of ram. A 64 bit addresses anything over 4 gb.

The single biggest mistake I see people make when building a gaming rig is putting in a cheap power supply. Seasonic, Corsair, and Antec are the preferred brands for reliability and quality.

[glc]

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: August 2011 : Best Gaming CPUs For The Money, August Updates

Rather than buying components to build a computer from Futureshop, set a budget and post here for recommendations, then mail order the stuff!

[numbawang]

okey ill check those websites both of you posted. Thank you~ ^^

[glc]

If you are in Canada, the online vendor I recommend is ncix.com.