January Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 8

Price Round Up

The Intel System

Case: Cooler Master ATC-201B-SX2 Silver -$175
PSU: Antec 430 Watt TruePower -$78
CPU: Intel Pentium 4-3.06 GHz - $645
Cooling: Included - N/A
Motherboard: ASUS P4G8X Deluxe - $225
Memory: 1 GB MB Corsair DDR 400 (512x2) - $356
Hard Drive: Seagate 80GB, SATA, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache (X2) - $310
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro - $319
Monitor: Mitsubishi 2060u, 22 Inch Diamondtron Monitor - $750
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy2 Platinum- $165
Speakers: Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550 Speakers - $289
CD/DVD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM - $40
CDRW: ASUS CRW-5224A CDRW - $70
NIC: Intel Pro/100 S - $34
Modem: US Robotics External v.92 Faxmodem - $55
Mouse: Logitech MX500 Optical Mouse - $37
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Natural Keyboard - $50
Gamepad: Logitech Wingman Rumblepad - $24
Operating System: Windows XP Pro w/s SP1 - $139
UPS: APC Back-UPS Pro 650VA- $220
Floppy: Panasonic, TEAC, etc. - $8

Total: $3,989

The AMD System

Case: CoolerMaster ATC-201B-SX2 Silver - $175
PSU: Antec 430 Watt TruePower - $78
CPU: Athlon XP 2800+ - $395
Cooling: Swiftech MCX462 / Thermaltake Fan - $58
Motherboard: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe n-Force2 - $145
Memory: 1 GB MB Corsair DDR 400 (512x2) - $356
Hard Drive: Seagate 80GB, SATA, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache (X2) - $418
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro - $319
Monitor: Mitsubishi 2060u, 22 Inch Diamondtron Monitor- $750
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy2 Platinum- $165
Speakers: Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550 Speakers - $289
CD/DVD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM - $40
CDRW: ASUS CRW-5224A CDRW - $70
NIC: Intel Pro/100 S - $34
Modem: US Robotics External v.92 Faxmodem - $55
Mouse: Logitech MX500 Optical Mouse - $37
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Natural Keyboard Pro - $50
Gamepad: Logitech Wingman Rumblepad - $24
Operating System: Windows XP Pro /w SP1 - $139
UPS: APC Back-UPS Pro 650VA - $220
Floppy: Panasonic, TEAC, etc. - $8

Total: $3,825

Closing Remarks

The first Extreme guide of 2003 has carried on the same themes from the past. The AMD system, while quick and speedy, is still a hair behind the Intel system in terms of overall juice. However, the AMD system gets a boost from the larger Serial ATA drives; 120GB versus 80GB might be a deal breaker for some people. With the price savings on the AMD side of the picture, one could afford some other extra frills, such as the Logitech MX700 mouse, rather than the MX500. Once again the choice is yours, if you crave more CPU power and Hyper Threading, then the Intel Extreme system is the clear choice. However the AMD system with its attractive balance of price and performance, just might net you an ATI All in Wonder 9700 Pro, and a Logitech MX700 mouse at around the same price point as the Intel system.

Aside from the usual price advantage situation that AMD has over Intel, there are other new additions to the guide to look back on. The availability of Serial ATA drives has finally allowed us to take full advantage of the Serial ATA Raid controllers that are becoming so common on most new higher end motherboards, in particular the ASUS P4G8X for the Pentium 4, and the ASUS A7N8X for the AMD Athlon XP. Our upgraded Creative Labs MegaWorks 5.1 speaker set is also bound to satisfy the audiophiles in the crowd.

In terms of the future there are plenty of things to look forward to in upcoming guides perhaps the first high end 6.1 speakers will be making a debut, or AMD will push their new and improved Athlon XP Barton out the door, or perhaps a new vendor of DDR memory will make its way into the guide. As usual, it's open game on hardware and only the best and brightest need apply. So be sure to check back next month to see what we've got cooking.

* Please note that the prices in our guide do not include shipping costs or taxes. The final system price also reflects a "best case" scenario of finding an online vendor that stocks the majority of internal components, or having access to a number of local computer retailers for system quotes and comparison shopping.