November High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 8

Price Roundup

Intel Pentium 4 System

Case: Aluminum PC Case w/ 350W or higher PSU - $250
Processor: Pentium 4-2.53 GHz (533 MHz) - $238
Cooling: Alpha PAL8942 - $35
Motherboard: ASUS P4PE/L - $121
Memory: 512-MB Corsair PC3200 - $183
Hard Drive: Western Digital 180GB SE - $270
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro- $365
Monitor: Samsung 900NF - $335
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum - $125
Speakers: Altec Lansing 641 or Logitech Z560 - $130
CD/DVD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM - $45
CDRW: Plextor 48/24/48 CDRW - $110
Communications: Intel Pro/1000 T or US Robotics External v.92 - $40
Mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer Optical 3.0 - $35
Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro - $35
Operating System: Windows XP Pro - $132
Floppy: Generic - $10

Total: $2,459

AMD Athlon XP System

Case: Aluminum PC Case w/ 350W or higher PSU - $260
Processor: Athlon XP 2400+ (1.73 GHz) - $190
Cooling: Thermalright SLK-800, Panaflow fan and Shim- $63
Motherboard: EPoX EP-8K5A3+ - $115
Memory: 512-MB Corsair PC3200 - $183
Hard Drive: Western Digital 180GB SE - $270
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro- $365
Monitor: Samsung 900NF - $335
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum - $125
Speakers: Altec Lansing 641 or Logitech Z560 - $130
CD/DVD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM - $45
CDRW: Plextor 48/24/48 CDRW - $110
Communications: Intel Pro/1000 T or US Robotics External v.92 - $40
Mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer Optical 3.0 - $35
Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro - $35
Operating System: Windows XP Pro - $132
Floppy: Generic - $10

Total: $2,433

Closing Remarks

These are both extremely impressive gaming PCs, and don't really give that much up to even our Extreme Gaming Systems in terms of overall performance. This month we even found the AMD and Intel processor choices priced quite close, which enabled us to use equivalent hardware throughout and even led to some powerful upgrades in the memory, 3D video and hard drive areas. The remainder of the component list remains mostly unchanged, although we did move to a Plextor CDRW, and enjoyed the benefits of lower prices. There were no corners cut, and video, audio, cooling and input hardware is all top-notch and guaranteed to satisfy even the discriminating gamer with $2500 burning a hole in his or her pocket.

We're looking forward to next month, as both AMD and Intel should have new processors out, along with a wider array of ATI video cards. We may check out the selection of 52X CDRW drives, and keep a close eye on emerging AGP 8X motherboards. No matter the new hardware releases, you can be sure that next month we'll be back with our checkbook in hand, busily working out the numbers for the best high-end gaming in town. As we like to say here at Sharky Extreme, pure 3D gaming speed certainly doesn't come cheap, but each month it becomes a bit more affordable.

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. Also, throughout the compilation of this guide, we have made every attempt to ensure availability and realistic street pricing of the included components.