August Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 2

Intel CPU: Pentium 4 2.53 GHz Retail Boxed

Current Cost: $590
Months on List: New
Price Change: N/A

It's only natural to outfit this system with the fastest CPU possible, and the current top-end Intel desktop offering is the Pentium 4-2.53 GHz model. The P4-2.53 GHz is based on the Northwood core, which brings some interesting goodies to the table, including a larger 512K L2 cache, a 0.13-micron die, along with much lower core heat. With the 0.13-micron die there is also additional overclocking headroom versus last-gen CPUs. The Pentium 4-2.53 GHz is operating on the 533 MHz front side bus, whereas previous models (such as the 2.2 GHz from our last edition) only use the 400 MHz front side bus.

We're recommending the retail version of the CPU not only because we prefer an untouched CPU for overclocking, but since it uses the cooler-running Northwood core, the retail coolers shipped with Intel Pentium 4's are nothing to be sneeze at. They're big, do quite well for overall cooling, and best of all for a $590 retail CPU, are included basically free in the package!

AMD CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8 GHz -266 MHz FSB, .13micron) OEM

Current Cost: $210
Months on List: New
Price Change: N/A

With the remarkable price difference between the AMD and Intel high-end processors, the Athlon XP choice is a no-brainer. The AMD Athlon XP 2200+ is built using the new Thoroughbred core, and is a die shrink from the 0.18-micron on the Palomino core, to a more attractive and heat efficient, 0.13-micron die process. It retains all the Palomino core attributes, such as SSE and Data Prefetch, which enables the XP line to compete quite well against Intel's offerings. However, despite the die shrink, the AMD Athlon XP 2200+ is best served with a nice third party cooler, especially if you plan on overclocking. This is due to the smaller core real estate of the Athlon XP 2200+, which basically translates into virtually the same cooling requirements as an Athlon XP 2100+ Palomino.

Intel Cooling: included Retail HSF

Current Cost: N/A

Considering how expensive the Pentium 4-2.53 GHz is, and how cool it runs, there really is no need to shell out more money for a 3rd-party CPU cooler. There are some excellent third party socket 478 coolers on the market now, but the included Intel HSF unit does the job, and is extremely quiet to boot. The Intel HSF is also quite easy to install, and is perfectly designed for new users. If you insist on laying down the cash a 3rd- party cooler, or are unable to purchase a retail version of the Pentium 4, 2.53 GHz, then a Thermalright AX-478 + a Quiet 80mm (3000rpm or less) (about $40) is a great option.

AMD Cooling: Swiftech MCX462 80mm heatsink, Thermaltake 80mm Smartfan & Thermaltake Copper shim

Current Cost of Swiftech MCX462 Heatsink: $45
Current Cost of Thermaltake 80mm Smartfan: $13
Current Cost of Thermaltake Copper shim: $10
Total: $68 Months on List: New
Price Change: N/A

Cooling for the Athlon XP 2200+ is quite a different story from the Intel Pentium 4 Northwood. The key is how to get high-end cooling performance without harming your ears with those ridiculously loud fans that so many AMD users use? The first step is to buy a big, high quality heatsink, and very few are larger than the Swiftech MCX462. Combining the Swiftech MCX462 with the Thermaltake 80mm "Smartfan" will provide you with a cool running CPU, and at a very acceptable decibel level.

The "Smartfan" has a thermal sensor attached to it that controls how fast the fan spins, when the temperature around the fan is high, the fan will spin faster. The inclusion of the copper shim is more of a safety feature, so that the heatsink will not crush the poor CPU during installation, or more importantly, when it comes time for the next CPU upgrade. If you are looking for more "Extreme" cooling, then you can simply swap the fan out for a faster model, however even with some of the higher quality 5000-7200 RPM models can still create a noticeably higher noise level. If you want to combine lower ambient noise with higher cooling performance, then the Panaflow fans are quite nice as well. The choice of cooling fan (and its ambient noise levels) is really up to you, as we've simply given a recommendation.