February 2003 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 5

Video Accelerator: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro

Current Cost: $315
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$15

With the GeForceFX still not in the mass market, and ATI's Radeon R350 based cards still off on the horizon, the Radeon 9700 Pro is at a performance level and price point that fits this guide perfectly. Not only is the Radeon 9700 Pro the highest performing card currently available, but its price has been falling steadily for the past few months, making the next few weeks following the release of R350 based cards a good time to buy this card.

Those Canucks sure know what they're doing with the Radeon 9700 Pro architecture, and with the Catalyst revolution, even driver support has increased by leaps and bounds. The card features a core clock running at 325MHz and 128-MB of onboard RAM clocked at 620MHz (effective DDR) on a 256-bit wide bus. When the visual "eye candy" is turned up, the Radeon 9700 Pro also outperforms anything on the market by a fairly wide margin. The Radeon 9700 Pro also beautifully with either the AMD Athlon XP or Intel Pentium 4 platforms, allowing us to recommend it for both sides of this guide.

Monitor: Samsung 900NF

Cost: $315
Months on list: 11
Price Change: $0

While LCD flat-panel displays have been drastically reducing in price, we still don't feel these are to the point where gaming performance can compete with CRT monitors. Some models are getting mighty close, but even slight ghosting can put off the hardcore gamer. To get close to the same type of performance found in a 19" CRT monitor, you would need to spend about twice as much on an LCD monitor, and perhaps take some lumps on the LCD screen size or quality end.

Samsung's 900F 19" flat-screen monitor is currently one of the best monitors in our price range, and Samsung does not sacrifice the features inherent in many high end aperture-grill monitors, most of which are normally found for more than our $335 price tag. The 900NF has a list of impressive features, such as a flat, aperture-grill CRT tube, a .25mm dot pitch, and up to a 76 Hz refresh rate at 1600x1200. Lower resolutions yield even higher refresh rates, and color and image quality are top-notch.

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.

Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Retail

Cost: $110
Months on list: 5
Price Change: +$2

Compared to Creative's track record with audio upgrades, we were pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the SoundBlaster Audigy 2. Overall this upgrade is noticeably better than the original Audigy, and Creative's driver support has also been improving. This time around, Creative offers 6.1 speaker support, but more importantly true 24-bit 196kHz D/A converters. The new DVD-Audio player is exceptional and brings ultra high end audio over to the PC.

We like the Retail version of this card namely because of all the great things that are included. You get the gold-plated card along with warranty, manual, and drivers, in addition to an excellent game software bundle; Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix, and Creative's exclusive MediaSource media playback/creation center.

Speakers:

What better way to compliment your new Audigy 2 than some high end speakers. Your speaker purchase can be as important as that of your monitor, as you are unlikely to upgrade them for years. This makes your initial speaker choice crucial to the enjoyment of your new gaming PC.

System Speakers: Logitech Z560

Cost: $135
Months on list: 5
Price Change: $0

Logitech continues to impress us with their excellent line of speakers, which is why the Z560 set remains in this guide. While there are certainly better speakers that can be had for more money, their moderate price point and excellent sound quality help maintain their place in our guide. The Logitech Z560 set is both aesthetically and aurally pleasing, and offers an exceptional value for the money.