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

Video Accelerator: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB

Current Cost: $360
Months on list: 4
Price Change: $0

The NVIDIA GeForceFX 5900 Ultra and ATI Radeon 9800 Pro have been on the market for quite some time, and both cards have their benefits and drawbacks. From an overall price-performance framework, the Radeon 9800 Pro still holds a slight advantage. The card is able outpace the GeForceFX 5900 series in a number of tests, and does it for much less money. The Radeon 9800 Pro card is clocked at 380 MHz core, and 680 MHz memory, which is considerably faster than the older Radeon 9700 Pro. A 256MB version of the card is also available, but there is little performance to be gained with current titles, making it not worth the extra $100 premium over the 128MB model.

In addition to the clock speed increases, the Radeon 9800 Pro includes a number of new core features not available in the Radeon 9700 Pro/R300 core. 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 greater memory bandwidth than before.

Monitor: Sony CPD-E440 19" CRT Monitor

Cost: $325
Months on list: 2
Price Change: +$19

Due to Samsung's departure from the Trinitron market, we're counting on the Sony CPD-E440 19" (aperture grill) model as our monitor of choice. The CPD-E440 features a .24mm (min) flat Aperture grill with a maximum resolution of 1600x1200, as well as a viewable area of 18.0 inches. Sony makes some of the finest CRT monitors in the business, and a price of $325 for this monitor makes it worth every penny.

As some people dislike Aperture grill monitors we will recommend the LG 915FT Plus monitor for those looking for a "line-free" screen. The LG features a nice Flatron tube that is devoid of Aperture grill's two horizontal stabilization wires. The monitor also features resolution and refresh rates that are not normally supported by shadow mask monitors that can be had in 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: $141
Months on list: 5
Price Change: -$12

As far as pure gaming clarity, performance and support is concerned, nothing can match the Creative Lab's Audigy 2 Platinum. The card is light years ahead of the original Audigy and features true 24-bit 192kHz stereo and 96kHz surround with the card's high quality 106 signal-to-noise ratio DAC. EAX 3.0 Advanced HD is the best gaming sound format in the business right now, and the Audigy 2 supports it in full with up to 6.1 channels of sound. The Platinum model includes a number of connectors for input and output of sound as well as a very handy remote control. Creative has been aggressively slashing the prices of all their Audigy 2 cards which may translate into an announcement for a new Creative sound card shortly.

We prefer the Audigy 2 retail version over the OEM card, and mostly because Creative has created a very impressive retail software bundle. You do receive the gold-plated retail Audigy 2, along with warranty, manual, and drivers, along with an excellent game software bundle including Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix. Creative also includes their exclusive MediaSource media playback/creation center, in addition to other recording software.

Speakers:

What better way to compliment your new soundcard than 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: $75
Months on list: 6
Price Change: -$1

There are still very few 6.1 channel speaker systems currently on the market, two of which are more or less creations of Creative themselves. Since we're on a budget we couldn't include the more robust Megaworks 6.1 system or pricy 5.1 systems from Logitech or Klipsch, but instead opted for the Inspire 6600 6.1 speakers. For an attractive $75, these speakers sound much better than expected, and are our favorite mid-range priced speakers to date. 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).