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Sharky Extreme : Monthly High-end Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
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Monthly High-end Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
January 2003 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 5By Vince Freeman January 10, 2003Video Accelerator: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Current Cost: $330 We were not only able to squeeze the Radeon 9700 Pro into our high-end guide this week, but the $35 price cut gave us some elbow room when upgrading other components. This is a win-win situation, as the Radeon 9700 Pro is the fastest 3D performer on the market, and with the price falling a bit each month, its value quotient only gets higher. The Radeon 9700 Pro is a real beast from the frozen north, featuring 128MB of 310 MHz 256-bit DDR (effective 620 MHz), coupled with a graphics core clocked at a whopping 325 MHz. When added to our Pentium 4 and Athlon XP platforms, the Radeon 9700 gives our systems a blazing fast 3D component that will certainly match up to even the most performance minded buyer. This ATI card also doesn't take a back seat in terms of features, 2D quality, or DVD performance, and matches or surpasses the best the industry has to offer.
Cost: $315
The best value still resides in the 19" flat-screen area, and the Samsung 900NF is definitely one of the best. This is a premium 19" flat screen monitor at a good price, and features a flat, aperture-grille tube, 0.25mm dot pitch and a 76 Hz refresh rate at 1600x1200. Color and image quality are both excellent, and the 900NF is equally suited for home gaming or boardroom use. Samsung is also one of the top names in computer monitors and their support is very good compared to the competition. We should also note that since listing the 900NF on our buyer's guide, we have continued to receive positive comments sent in by Sharky readers, who seem to be very pleased with their purchase. For those with an aversion to aperture-grill tubes, the LG 915FT Plus offers a Flatron tube, incorporating the best of standard and aperture grill technology, but without the presence of horizontal tension wires, and featuring higher refresh rates and resolutions than standard flat CRTs. This is a nice concession between the two technologies, and an excellent product in its own right.
Please keep in mind that when buying any type or brand of monitor, there is always the chance of receiving a defective unit, so be certain to purchase only from a vendor that offers liberal return and replacement options.
Cost: $108
The SoundBlaster Audigy 2 is a surprisingly good upgrade from Creative Labs, and definitely cleared up many of the niggling issues found in the original Audigy. Sound quality is better, installations run easier and even game performance and compatibility has improved. The SB Audigy 2 keeps the basic features of the original Audigy (like Firewire), but Creative Labs has also added in support for 6.1 audio (which will naturally play up much better once more 6.1-compatible speakers start appearing). The retail edition is preferred for our high-end guide, as not only do you get the retail card, warranty, manual and drivers, but there is a killer game and software bundle as well. These include Creative MediaSource (for creating, playing, organizing and transferring digital music), a bundle of individual sound-oriented utilities, along two hot games: Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix and Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.
One area that can really make a difference in your potential enjoyment of any new gaming PC is the choice of system speakers. In basic terms, the recommendation of any speaker system is based on your individual tastes and requirements, so we recommend hitting your local PC store, take along a CD or game and give some speaker sets a close listen. For those without the time or access to perform in-person testing, our recommendations cover both ends of the spectrum and each will certainly be more than adequate for high-end gaming sound.
Cost: $135
Both the Altec Lansing 641 and Logitech Z560 speakers are impressive 4.1-complaint systems for a great price, and we'll list the strengths and weaknesses of each and let you make the final decision. We're still looking for that perfect 5.1 mix of price and performance, but find that getting an extra speaker isn't worth the concessions we had to make.
The bass of the Logitech Z560 is wall-shakingly impressive, but the Altec Lansing 641 also provides excellent bass and potentially better sound separation for gaming and DVD movies. The 641's are also much less likely to shake the floorboards loose and can have a bit cleaner sound overall, but if you like listening to music, games or DVDs at ultra-high levels and love the sound of neighbors screaming, then look no further than the Logitech Z560's. On the flip side, we prefer the DVD movie experience on the Altec Lansing 641's, and music sounds quite crisp and clear. Basically, the Logitech set has a slight advantage in overall power and when playing games, while the Altec Lansing's are slightly better in DVD movies and music. Even then, the race can be too close to call, and we're sure that either set will make the audio grade. We're also looking forward to some 5.1 upgrades to the entire Logitech line, especially after seeing the impressive (though expensive) Logitech Z-680 speakers.
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