July 2003 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 2

Intel CPU: Pentium 4-3.0 GHz (800 MHz) Retail

Current Cost: $398
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$1

Despite the recent launch of the Pentium 4 3.2 GHz (800MHz FSB) model, we chose to stick with the Pentium 4 3.0 GHz again this month. This was done for one reason, cost. The 3.0 GHz model is $300 cheaper than the 3.2GHz model, and the performance improvement with the 3.2 GHz model is minimal, especially where price-performance is concerned. In addition, the Pentium4 3.0 GHz can stay competitive with the Athlon XP 3200+, even besting it in some tests despite the higher PR rating.

AMD CPU: Athlon XP 3200+ (2.20 GHz Barton) OEM

Current Cost: $442
Months on list: 3
Price Change: $0

The Athlon XP 3200+ is most likely the last processor we'll see from AMD using the old K7 architecture. The Athlon 64 is right around the corner and AMD has been focusing their efforts over the past few months on that chip. However, in the meantime, the 3200+ (2.20GHz 400MHz FSB) Athlon XP is enough to fill the performance gap, and keep up with Intel's latest.

Pentium 4 Heatsink-Fan: Retail

Current Cost: $0
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

Lately, Intel has been including some very impressive heatsinks with their retail chips, negating the real need to buy a separate heatsink, even when overclocking your processor. Intel has recently upgraded their higher-end heatsink to a very nice copper-based model that is quite impressive, even when put up against 3rd-party units.

AMD Heatsink-Fan: Thermalright SLK-900A, Panaflo fan

Current Cost: $42 + $5 = $47
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

This month we chose to upgrade our heatsink to a new and improved Thermalright model, the SLK-900A. This heatsink has support for up to a 92mm fan, and does not require the removal of the motherboard to be installed. The cooler is based around the same all copper design as the SLK-800, but has a few improvements making it easier to install and adding support larger fans.

This cooler offers a very large copper surface area and stepping fins capable of holding 60mm, 70mm, 80mm, or 92mm fans. We prefer to use an 80mm fan to cut back on noise, but still achieve a respectable CFM rate. For an extra $5 we like the Panaflo fan's quiet, efficient cooling.