March High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 5

Video Accelerator: ATI Radeon 9700 Pro

Current Cost: $290
Months on list: 4
Price Change: -$25

The R350 series has been officially announced this month and will be coming to us as the Radeon 9800 in both "normal" and Pro versions. More of an evolutionary upgrade compared to the Radeon 9700 Pro, we decided to stick with the 9700 Pro for a couple of reasons. The Radeon 9800 and 9800 Pro boards are just starting to hit the market making them extremely difficult to find, in addition to carrying a $100 price premium over the current 9700 Pro.

At this point the GeForce FX line of cards is so far behind that it isn't even worth it to consider them. We still have yet to see the 5800 Ultra reach mass market, with only a few popping up here and there. Considering these are generally more expensive than the higher-performing Radeon 9700 Pro, we continue to ask: why bother? Despite its drawbacks the GeForce FX does have one thing going for it, and that is giving ATI increased competition which manifests itself in the lowered video card prices this month. We were able to snag the 9700 Pro for a little less than we were able to last time leaving us very happy campers.

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 matched 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: 12
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: $112
Months on list: 6
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: Klipsch Promedia 4.1

Cost: $215
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

This month we were able to save a considerable amount of money leaving an extra $100 to spend on some quality speakers. While we have yet to come across a truly compelling 5.1 set of speakers in this price category, we decided to stay with 4.1 surround which is more than adequate for our gaming needs. Klipsch has proven themselves as one of the premier manufactures or high quality multimedia level audio products, and the Promedia 4.1 speakers are held with extremely high regard in the PC audio community.