April 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: $160
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$24

This month we saw a considerable drop in memory prices compared our last edition of the High End Guide. The popular Corsair XMS RAM much dropped a full $24, and this month we'll take the savings and run. The faster PC3500 variety may be in the cards for next month (for use with the 800 MHz FSB Intel and 400 MHz Athlon XP processors). But for now, we're concerned with value and performance, both of which are high with the Corsair XMS PC3200. Plus, we want to provide as much headroom for overclocking as possible, and the PC3200 chips are rated CAS Latency 2-2-2-6-T1 up to 400MHz, while the PC3500 modules are 2-3-3-7-T1 up to 434MHz.

The Corsair XMS series of RAM remains our top pick as it truly is the "best of the bunch" and is consistently able to overclock well, and offers the best overclocking value of any brand of memory we have come across. Our recommendations on memory capacity remain the same as the past two months, as dual 256-MB sticks of DDR400/PC3200 DDR is a better choice on the nForce2 platform, and takes advantage of the chipset's dual DDR capability.

For the Intel system, nab a single 512-MB stick of PC3200, as this allows the most flexibility in what is really a 2-DIMM platform. Buying one stick allows for greater upgrade-ability down the road, and considering Intel's recent release of their dual-channel DDR I875P (and upcoming i865) chipset, another 512-MB of DDR400 would go quite nicely with any potential upgrade opportunities.

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

Current Cost: $215
Months on list: 4
Price Change: -$30

Western Digital's Special Edition line of hard drives continues to impress, and has remained the top performing IDE drive for quite some time. The extra 8-MB cache on this model speeds up transfers of large files across all mediums. The drive's 7200 RPM spindle rate keeps the drive hopping, and its 200-GB disk capacity is spacious enough for now and into the future. Checking in at just over $200, along with a three year warranty, this drive remains our top choice in the high-end hard drive category.

CD/DVD-ROM: Pioneer 16X DVD-120S/2

Cost: $47
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

The Pioneer 16X DVD-120S/2 features a slot load mechanism (similar to that which you would find in your car), and is able to retrieve CDs without the use of a traditional tray mechanism. Pioneer has recently updated their 106S model to the newer, although technically similar, 120S drive with no change in price.

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 DVD-120S one 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 less than this model. The drive can also be found with either beige or black face plates. However, due to the demand of the black model expect to pay a few dollars extra compared with the standard beige drive.

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

Cost: $47
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$13

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 CDRW drive. A name brand, fully-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 this type of hardware for our guide.

Lite-On is one of the largest manufacturers of optical drives, and the company is so large that many retail level suppliers will actually re-badge Lite-On drives and sell them at a slightly higher price as their own. Lite-On remains as one of the best CD-RW manufacturers, and their 52X model is not only a high-end performer, but is quite inexpensive to boot.

The LTR-52246 has CD Write speeds up to 52X, CD Re-Writeable speeds of up to 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 CD writing package in the business. Overall this is an excellent drive at an extremely affordable price, making great combination for any high-end PC.