May Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 3

Motherboards

Intel Motherboard: ABIT IC7-MAX3

Current Cost: $173
Months on list: 4
Price Change: -$6

The Intel 875P chipset is the most feature rich, high performance Pentium 4 chipset on the market. Seemingly geared towards power users, the chipset has support for features such as an 800MHz FSB, dual-channel DDR400, Hyper Threading, USB 2.0, and also integrated RAID support through the ICH5R Southbridge. In addition, the chipset also has exclusive integrated PAT (Performance Acceleration Technology) which boosts memory performance, something that the 865PE does not.

For the third month in a row the ABIT IC7-MAX3 has been our motherboard of choice. This motherboard has enough onboard features to please just about anybody, along with performance and stability to match. The IC7-MAX3 includes four SATA ports, an AGP Pro slot, Intel CSA Gigabit LAN, and a number of other hot technologies built-in. ABIT has taken the initiative to throw out all legacy connectors with their "MAX" boards, to make room for additional USB, audio and Firewire connecters. In addition to the standard BIOS tweaking and overclocking features, the board also has an OTES style cooling system right above the CPU to keep everything running smoothly. At $173 this board is very expensive, but worth every penny.

AMD Motherboard: ASUS SK8V

Current Cost: $180
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$14

Using a 940-pin configuration, the Athlon 64 FX requires a specific motherboard format, and will not work with ones designed for its little brother, the Athlon 64. Currently our favorite Athlon 64 FX-based motherboard, and one that closely fits the needs of this guide, is the ASUS SK8V. It features VIA's newest chipset, the K8T800, which currently has the highest overall performance in its class. ASUS has a long history of producing quality boards for both Intel and AMD systems, and the SK8V is just another notch on their belt.

VIA's K8T800 chipset supports an incredible array of onboard features, not to mention top notch performance and stability. The board features a 3COM 3C940 Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, Firewire, 6-channel audio and Serial ATA RAID. The SK8V also supports dual-channel registered memory, and takes full advantage of AMD's scalable Hyper Transport between integrated circuits. The ASUS SK8V is the current favorite around here at SE, making it the natural choice for inclusion in this guide.

System Memory

Intel: OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Platinum Limited Edition (2x512MB)

Current Cost: $254
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

AMD: Kingston HyperX PC3200 1-GB ECC Registered KRX3200K2/1G (2x512MB)

Current Cost: $380
Months on list: 2
Price Change: +$3

The price of DDR memory has really spiked over the last few months, and availability of some modules has dropped considerably. This has even affected our Extreme Guide, especially on the Intel side. Since registered DDR400 prices have remained pretty constant, we're sticking to the same memory for the Athlon 64 FX system, but cost considerations make a change to the Intel system a virtual requirement. The Intel and the AMD system also require very specific types of DDR memory, and different manufacturers are better suited in terms of price, performance and stability.

The Intel and AMD systems in this guide make use of dual-channel DDR memory, however, due to the different architectures; we need two different types of DDR memory. The Intel system makes use of unbuffered DDR, while the AMD system requires registered DDR memory for proper operation. For the last few guides, we've been going with Corsair XMS PC3200 Low Latency memory, but prices have recently moved into the stratosphere. For this reason, we're switching to 2x512-MB of OCZ EL PC-3200 Platinum Limited Edition DDR, which surprisingly, matches up quite well on the memory timing side. OCZ offers 2-2-2-7 timings at 400 MHz, and is available at many of the large online vendors.

For the AMD system, we went with Kingston HyperX PC3200 registered error correction code (ECC) memory, which is considerably more expensive than non buffered memory. The Kingston memory offered better compatibility with our system than Corsair's comparable registered memory, and is really the top pick for enthusiast registered DDR. The Kingston 1GB (2x512-MB) HyperX package ensures that you receive a pair of matched memory modules that will operate seamlessly in dual-channel format.