March 2007 Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 8

Price Roundup

Intel Core 2 Duo System:

Case: CM Stacker 830 - $240
PSU: PCPC Silencer 750 Quad - $260
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Retail - $520
Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 - $45
Fan: Scythe S-Flex 1200RPM - $15
Motherboard: ASUS Striker Extreme- $400
Memory: PDC Patriot PDC22G6400LLK - $240
Hard Drive: 4x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB - $360
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GTX - $560
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 215TW - $470
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS - $170
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Digital - $260
CD/DVD-RW: Lite-On LH-20A1S - $45
NIC: Included - $0
Modem: None- $0
Floppy Drive: "Major Brand" - $7
Mouse: Logitech G5 Laser Mouse - $40
Keyboard: Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard - $60
Gamepad: Saitek P3000 Wireless Pad - $30
Operating System: Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 - $139
UPS: OPTI-UPS ES1000C - $110

Total: $3,971

AMD Athlon 64 X2 System:

Case: CM Stacker 830 - $240
PSU: PCPC Silencer 750 Quad - $260
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Retail - $460
Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 (with AM2 mounting kit) - $52
Fan: Scythe S-Flex 1200RPM - $15
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair - $230
Memory: PDC Patriot PDC22G6400LLK - $240
Hard Drive: 4x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB - $360
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GTX - $560
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 215TW - $470
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS - $170
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Digital - $260
CD/DVD-RW: Lite-On LH-20A1S - $45
NIC: Included - $0
Modem: None- $0
Floppy Drive: "Major Brand" - $7
Mouse: Logitech G5 Laser Mouse - $40
Keyboard: Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard - $60
Gamepad: Saitek P3000 Wireless Pad - $30
Operating System: Windows XP Pro w/ SP2 - $139
UPS: OPTI-UPS ES1000C - $110

Total: $3,748

Closing Remarks

AMD makes an extreme comeback this month, with an Athlon 64 X2 6000+ that is both faster and less expensive than its previous top-end FX-62. For around $460, users get 3.0 GHz of Windsor-core performance, barely trailing behind the $520 Intel Core 2 Duo E6700, and supported by less-expensive AM2 motherboards with similar features. This allows AMD buyers to save a few bucks over their Intel counterparts, which could be pocketed, or used to upgrade to 4GB of DDR2-800, snag dual Seagate Barracuda 750GB drives, or a switch to the more expensive 4:3 Samsung LCD.

On the other hand, a slight performance lead still places the Intel system in our winners circle, and those who like to defend AMD's virtues by overclocking the cheaper processor should keep in mind that the Core 2 Duo E6700 overclocks better than the Athlon 64 X2 6000+. It's a shame that we couldn't swing the money for a Core 2 Extreme X6800, but even halving the number of hard drives and choosing the less-expensive motherboard option would have come up shy of the price increase.

Few were surprised to find Windows Vista not quite ready for prime time, but AMD's nth delay of ATI R600 graphics products caught many off guard. We certainly hope that developments from both Microsoft and AMD will surprise us in time for our next Extreme PC buyer's guide. Even though advanced users might rather "slipstream" their RAID drivers, the floppy drive made a brief return mainly for those who wish to install RAID drivers the old-fashioned way. In terms of defunct hardware, the modem was tossed instead.

* Please note that prices do not include variable charges like taxes or shipping The prices in our guide reflect market availability - generally the second or third lowest we found - in an attempt to minimize the financial burden associated with choosing multiple vendors.