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

Video Accelerator: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB

Current Cost: $377
Months on list: 2
Price Change: -$20

Despite the release of the NVIDIA GeForceFX 5900, we chose to stick with the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro for now. It is considerably less expensive than the GeForceFX, and is able to out perform it in many tests. The ATI card is clocked at 380MHz core and 680MHz memory, which is significantly faster than the 9700 Pro. There is a 256MB version of the card also available, but performance in today's games is nearly the same as the 128MB version, which does not make it worth the extra purchase price, at least for our budget.

In addition to the clock speed increases, the Radeon 9800 Pro includes a number of new features not available in the Radeon 9700 Pro. SmartShader has been updated to version 2.1 adding an F-Buffer which implements fragment shading. SmoothVision 2.1 offers high resolutions than the previous versions, and HyperZ III+ offers even greater memory bandwidth than before.

Monitor: Samsung 900NF

Cost: $300
Months on list: 14
Price Change: +$3

For a little over a year now we have been recommending the Samsung 900F 19" monitor, and it doesn't look to change this month either. The Samsung monitor is one of the highest performing in its field, and comes at a reasonable price. The only problem seems to be availability, as Samsung is moving rapidly to their new Shadow Mask "Magic Bright" technology, and seem to be leaving the Aperture Grill market alone, at least for now. We'll be scouring the market for an adequate replacement for next month.

The Samsung 900F is one of the best monitor purchases we could make for our particular price range. The Samsung does not sacrifice any of the options that many monitors in this price range are forced to do. The 900NF has a list of very 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 both top-notch.

It's understandable that some may dislike aperture-grill monitors and their "two lines" feature, so for this segment we recommend the LG 915FT Plus monitor. It offers a Flatron tube which features the best of aperture-grill monitor clarity and color, but without the two horizontal wires. The monitor can handle resolutions and refresh rates that are not normally supported in shadow mask CRTs, making the 915FT Plus a great buy at this price range.

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 Platinum Retail

Cost: $162
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$1

The Audigy 2 Platinum remains our top pick for high-end sound card. The new version is much better than the original Audigy, and will do true 24-bit 192kHz stereo and 96kHz surround DAC, in addition to offering 6.1 channel speaker support. EAX 3.0 Advanced HD remains by far the best gaming sound format, and the Audigy 2 supports it in full. The platinum model has a very handy drive that featuring incredible array of connectors for many different sound appliances, and the card also comes with a very nice remote control for controlling from a distance.

The retail version of the Audigy 2 Platinum is substantially more complete than the Creative OEM packs. You get the gold-plated card along with warranty, manual, and drivers, in addition to an excellent software bundle including Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix, and Creative's exclusive MediaSource media playback/creation center, in addition to recording software.

We also think that the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 is also worth noting. While not as complete as the Audigy 2 Platinum, the card is an excellent alternative to the Audigy 2, assuming you don't want to go the Creative route. Despite being poor at reproducing 3D game sounds, the Revolution does make up for it with excellent movie and music sound playback. Like the Audigy 2, the Revolution 7.1 has 24-bit 192/96kHz support, and can output sound to up to 7.1 speakers. S/N ratio is slightly higher than Creative's at 107 (the Audigy 2 has 106).

Speakers:

What better way to compliment your new soundcard than with some high-end speakers. Your speaker purchase can be as important as that of your monitor, as you are unlikely to upgrade either one for years. This makes your initial speaker choice crucial to the enjoyment of your new gaming PC, and an important investment.

System Speakers: Creative Inspire 6600 6.1 Speakers

Cost: $71
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$6

Full blown 6.1 channel speaker systems remain few and far between, and there are only a few choices on the market. However, with the Audigy 2's 6.1 channel surround support, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. For $71 the Inspire 6600 6.1 Speaker system doesn't break the budget, and sounds incredible with DTS ES and Dolby Digital EX encoded 6.1 channel movies. These speakers are certainly not as impressive as more expensive systems from Cambridge, Klipsch or Logitech, but do the job quite well. The Inspire 6600 set have a total power of 120W (8 Watts RMS per satellite/20 Watts RMS front center satellite/ 22 Watts RMS subwoofer).