January Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 5

Video Card: ATI Radeon 9800XT 256MB

Cost: $433
Months on list: 2
Price Change: -$52

ATI has been sitting high and mighty ever since their release of the Radeon 9700 Pro over a year ago, and each subsequent iteration of the R300 core has been a success, despite performance only improving slightly from one refresh to the next. The latest, and quite possibly last, refresh we are likely to see of the R300 core is the Radeon 9800XT 256MB. The card features an increased core and memory speed (412MHz and 730MHz respectively) as well as including a coupon for the full version of Half-Life 2 upon release. Until we see the next generation of cards from NVIDIA and ATI, the Radeon 9800XT will likely remain at the top of the food chain.

The card features the R360 core variant, and has support for all features included in the R3XX architecture, and then some, including SmartShader 2.1, and SmoothVision 2.1. The Radeon 9800XT also has a 256-bit wide memory bus, and up to 256-MB of memory. The Radeon 9800XT also offers support for manufacturer sanctioned overclocking through ATI's OverDrive feature. The card now has a built in thermal diode which will assist the drivers in overclocking the core speed (up to about 440MHz) if temperatures permit. However, the card will not clock itself lower than the advertised 412MHz at any time. The Overdrive feature is currently only available on the 9800 XT with Catalyst driver version 3.8 or later.

Monitor: NEC/Mitsubishi DP2070SB-BK, 22" Diamondtron Monitor

Cost: $608
Months on list: 4
Price Change: -$1

NEC/Mitsubishi produces some of the best high end CRT monitors available today. For a guide like this it's important to invest a substantial amount of money in a monitor because, after all, it's what you are going to be staring at for the next few years. Additionally, size certainly does matter when choosing a high-end monitor, as achieving a high resolution with exceptional clarity is certainly a plus with a large monitor.

We chose to stick with the monitor included in the last version of this guide, the Mitsubishi Diamondtron DP2070SB-BK. This 22" monitor (20" viewable area) has a maximum resolution of 2048x1536 at 85Hz refresh rate. The aperture grille (the kind with the two horizontal lines) has a dot pitch of .24mm and is touted as totally flat. Mitsubishi warranties the monitor for 3 years against defects so make sure you purchase a full retail model to get the warranty.

Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum

Cost: $162
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

Only a mild upgrade to the original Audigy2, the Audigy2 ZS offers a few extra features, and a better 7.1 sound channel 108 SNR DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) to stay competitive with other high end sound cards on the market. Along with the standard EAX Advanced HD (soon to be upgradeable to version 4.0) gaming sound support, the Audigy2 card features an internal drive bay with additional connectors for audio input and output.

The retail version of the Platinum comes with a number of software programs and games to quench the most rabid fan's thirst. On the gaming side, you receive full retail copies of Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, and Rainbow Six: Raven Shield. For the audio aficionado, Steinberg Cubasis VST 4.0 Creative Edition and Wavelab Lite 2.0, and Image Line FL Studio 4 Creative Edition, can certainly handle the audio creation and editing duties.

Speakers: Logitech Z-680 5.1

Cost: $284
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

As cool as a new 7.1 or 6.1 surround system would be, there are too few ultra high-end choices to make us seriously consider including a set in this guide. Instead, we opted to include a set of 5.1 speakers from Logitech. The Logitech Z-680 5.1 set offers one of the best price-to-performance ratios currently on the market, and at just about under $300 you can walk away with one of the best 5.1 500W multimedia systems available.

The Logitech Z-680 speakers feature 500RMS watts of burst power, and an external Dolby Digital and DTS decoder. The 188W subwoofer is complimented by a 69W center channel and four 62W surround speakers (505 watts total) The Logitech Z-680 5.1 speakers are a perfect compliment to the Audigy2 Platinum sound card whether you play games, listen to music, watch movies, or all three.