May High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 8

Price Roundup

Intel Pentium 4 System

Case: Lian Li PC-65 PC Case w/ 430W or higher name brand PSU - $211
Processor: Pentium 4-3.0C GHz (800 MHz) - $439
Cooling: Alpha PAL8942, Panaflo fan - $38
Motherboard: ABIT IC7 - $136
Memory: 2 X 256-MB Corsair XMS PC3200 - $160
Hard Drive: Western Digital 200-GB SE - $206
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128-MB - $395
Monitor: Samsung 900NF or LG 915FT Plus - $297
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Platinum Retail - $163
Speakers: Creative Inspire 6.1 - $77
CD/DVD-ROM: Pioneer 16X DVD-120S Slot Load DVD-ROM - $47
CDRW: Lite-On 52x24x52 CD-RW - $47
Communications: Intel Pro/1000 T or US Robotics External v.92 - $32
Mouse: Logitech MX700 Cordless Mouse - $59
Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard - $39
Operating System: Windows XP Pro - $129
Floppy: Generic - $8

Total: $2,483

AMD Athlon XP System

Case: Lian Li PC-65 PC Case w/ 430W or higher name brand PSU - $211
Processor: Athlon XP 3200+ (400 MHz) - $449
Cooling: Thermalright SLK-800, Panaflo fan - $39
Motherboard: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe - $123
Memory: 2 X 256-MB Corsair XMS PC3200 - $160
Hard Drive: Western Digital 200-GB SE - $206
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128-MB - $395
Monitor: Samsung 900NF or LG 915FT Plus - $297
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Platinum Retail - $163
Speakers: Creative Inspire 6.1 - $77
CD/DVD-ROM: Pioneer 16X DVD-120S Slot Load DVD-ROM - $47
CDRW: Lite-On 52x24x52 CD-RW - $47
Communications: Intel Pro/1000 T or US Robotics External v.92 - $32
Mouse: Logitech MX700 Cordless Mouse - $59
Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard - $39
Operating System: Windows XP Pro - $129
Floppy: Generic - $8

Total: $2,481

Closing Remarks

This month the performance of the AMD and Intel-based systems increased significantly. Intel's new 875P chipset is the place to be right now, especially if you're interested in getting into the Pentium 4-3.0C camp. The new 800 MHz FSB gives the Pentium 4 a much-needed bandwidth surge, and the dual-channel DDR400 controller really lets the system stretch its legs. A processor speed upgrade and bus increase is also present from AMD this month, and the Athlon XP 3200+ keeps AMD in the game with a clock speed of 2.2 GHz, and a FSB of 400MHz.

Our video card was the second major upgrade we made in this month's guide. The ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB is finally available in large quantities, and offers a nice performance improvement over the Radeon 9700 Pro. Then again, ATI's reign may be short lived as NV35, known as the GeForceFX 5900 and 5900 Ultra surface. NVIDIA's newest looks promising, and should finally give ATI a run for their money. In addition to the performance question, we've also got to see how both the GeForceFX 5900 Ultra and Radeon 9800 Pro 256-MB fit the budget. In any case, next month should be a hot one in the video sector, and we may have ourselves a good old fashioned price war!

Please note that the prices in our guide do not include shipping costs or taxes. The final system price also reflects a "best case" scenario of finding an online vendor that stocks the majority of internal components, or having access to a number of local computer retailers for system quotes and comparison shopping. Also, throughout the compilation of this guide, we have made every attempt to ensure availability and realistic street pricing of the included components.