March High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4

Memory: 512-MB Corsair XMS DDR400/PC3200 DDR

AMD: 2 x 256-MB
Intel: 1 x 512-MB

Current Cost: $184
Months on list: 2
Price Change: -$22

Memory prices this month have moved down slowly, and we were able to find the Corsair RAM we recommended last month for a little cheaper than we were able to last month. Other than a $22 price cut, there have been no new developments in the world of RAM.

The Corsair XMS series of RAM remains our top pick as it truly is the "best bang for the buck" and is consistently able to overclock better than most any other brand of memory we have come across. Our recommendations remain the same as last month as two 256-MB sticks of DDR400/PC3200 DDR is a better choice on the nForce2 platform to take advantage of that chipset's dual DDR capability.

If you are going to be buying for an Intel platform, Corsair XMS RAM is still some of the best you can buy, however for about the same price you can buy one stick of 512MB rather than the two we wanted for our nForce2 platform. Buying one stick allows for greater upgrade-ability down the road, either for your existing PC, or when Intel moves to consumer-level dual-channel DDR platforms.

Hard Drive: Western Digital 200-GB Special Edition 8MB Cache

Current Cost: $245
Months on list: 3
Price Change: $0

Western Digital's Special Edition line of hard drives have been the top IDE performers for quite some time and that does not look to change this month. Weighing in at a hefty 200GB, this drive will hold quite a bit of goods. Spinning at 7200RPM and featuring a large 8MB cache, this hard drive also has the speed to go along with its monolithic capacity. One piece of good news concerning the Western Digital SE drives is that they maintain a 3-year warranty, while other manufacturers are shifting even their high-end models to a standard 1-year.

CD/DVD-ROM: Pioneer 16X 106S/2

Cost: $47
Months on list: 2
Price Change: $0

This drive has been around for quite some time, and has never failed to impress. Having a slot load mechanism (similar to that which you would find in your car), this drive is able to retrieve CDs without the use of a traditional tray mechanism.

Pioneer has long been one of the top innovators in the field of optical media, and their 16X DVD-ROM drive is one of the best. A 256K buffer, 95ms seek time on DVDs, 80ms seek on CDs, and vertical and horizontal mounting capabilities make the Pioneer 16X 106S/2one of our favorite DVD drives. For those who deal with different-sized CD media, a standard tray-loading Pioneer model (DVD-117) is also available, and can be had for a few dollars cheaper than this model.

CDRW: Lite-On 52x24x52 CD-RW LTR-52246

Cost: $60
Months on list: 2
Price Change: $0

While waiting for the price of DVD-R/RW drives to fall, and the format wars to be won, we are sticking with our trusty old CD-RW drive again this month. A nice full featured DVD-R/RW drive simply did not meet our budget requirements for this month, and it is likely to be a few more months before we are able to consider them in this guide.

Lite-On is one of the largest manufacturers of optical drives currently on the market. They are so large in fact that many retail level companies will actually re-badge Lite-On drivers and sell them at a slightly higher price as their own. Lite-On remains as one of the best, CD-RW manufacturers currently available, and their newest 52X model is not only a high-performer, but is quite inexpensive.

The LTR-52246 has CD Write speeds up to 52X, CD Re-Writeable speeds of 24X, and CD Reading speeds are 52X as well. A 2-MB buffer and 80ms seek time are all standard specs for drives of this type. Lite-On also includes the excellent Ahead Nero Burning Rom software which is the best software in the business. Overall this is an excellent drive at an extremely affordable price, making great combination for any high-end PC.