The AMD and Intel systems are once again very close in the performance department, and the end user will have to decide if they prefer to give AMD or Intel their money this month. The Intel side does have a noticeable 800 MHz advantage in this round up, whereas AMD hasn't been too open about when their 400 MHz FSB CPU's will be coming. Of course, the Intel system does pay a price for the high-end Pentium 4-3.0C processor, in the form of a $190+ price premium. It wasn't like we skimped on the AMD system either, but virtually all CPUs are at cut-rate prices, with the obvious exception of the 800 MHz Pentium 4 variety.
We're quite pleased that SATA drives are available in volume now, allowing buyers to take advantage of the large selection of SATA capable motherboards. In additional to a theoretical higher max throughput, the thin SATA cables are a dream to use. The soundcard component has also been upgraded to the slightly more robust Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 Platinum EX model, and we were able to include the market's first high-end 6.1 speaker set as well. The Radeon 9800 Pro is also a nice performance increase, while the gamepad upgrade and the addition of a mousepad pretty much rounds out our miscellaneous changes.
*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.
