February 2004 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 5

Video Card: ATI Radeon 9800XT 256MB

Current Cost: $421
Months on list: 4
Price Change: -$13

ATI hasn't budged from our high end guide since the release of the impressive Radeon 9700 Pro, and the Radeon 9800XT continues that tradition as the top high-end video card on the market, especially when anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering come into play. While the Radeon 9800XT is certainly not much of an upgrade compared to the Radeon 9800 Pro, it gave ATI the extra edge they needed to contend with NVIDIA and their similarly equipped GeForce FX 5950. In addition, The Radeon XT series of cards include an added bonus, and a coupon for the full version of one of the most highly anticipated games of 2004: Half-Life 2.

ATI decided not to fool around with a good thing, and bumped the Radeon 9800XT's core and memory speeds up to 412MHz and 730MHz respectively. In addition, ATI includes a new Overdrive feature, which is their way of dynamically adjusting the card's core speed in accordance to temperature and usage. This feature got even better with the latest driver revision, which now displays core overclock speeds. Underneath the new outfit, the Radeon 9800XT still has a lot in common with the Radeon 9800 Pro such as support for SmartShader, SmoothVision, and HyperZ III+. ATI also continues to use nice, non-invasive cooling techniques to ensure stable operation without sacrificing a PCI slot.

Monitor: NEC/Mitsubishi DP930SB-BK 19"

Cost: $299
Months on list: 2
Price Change: +$38

As companies move toward larger 21+" CRT and high-end LCD units, the choices for high quality 19" CRT monitors has become quite narrow. However, quality monitors can still be found, and the NEC/Mitsubishi DP930SB-BK 19" monitor is currently one of the top monitors in its price range. This model features a 0.24mm aperture grille pitch, a totally flat aperture grille CRT, a 1920 x 1440 at 73 Hz maximum resolution, and a three year warranty. LCD prices have been dropping rapidly so it's only a matter of time until we move to a gaming LCD, but until then, the NEC/Mitsubishi DP930SB-BK is our top pick.

Some people are vehemently opposed to CRT monitors, and for you we include the NEC/Mitsubishi FE990-BK ClearFlat Shadow Mask CRT. The FE990-BK features a maximum resolution of 1792 X 1344 at 68 Hz, and a 0.20-0.24mm horizontal pitch, all without those two annoying stabilization wires found in Aperture grill monitors. The monitor can be found for a few dollars cheaper than the DP930SB-BK at various retailers and comes with a 3 year warranty.

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 ZS Platinum Retail

Cost: $166
Months on list: 4
Price Change: +$4

The Creative Audigy 2 ZS is only a small evolutionary step up from the Audigy 2. A slightly better 108 signal-to-noise ratio, updated EAX 4.0 support, 7.1 channel surround sound, and DTS ES decoding are among the basic improvements. The card also supports 24-bit, 192kHz DVD-Audio for analog output, just like the Audigy 2 before it. We like to use the platinum version in this guide because it includes a bay drive that has additional connections for input and output, not to mention a remote control.

The Audigy 2 ZS Platinum also has a great game and software bundle. On the gaming side, you receive full retail copies of Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, and Rainbow Six: Raven Shield. For the audio aficionado, Steinberg Cubasis VST 4.0 Creative Edition and Wavelab Lite 2.0, and Image Line FL Studio 4 Creative Edition, can certainly handle the audio creation and editing duties.

Speakers:

With a high end soundcard, a good set of surround sound speakers is a great way to immerse in games, movies and music. Choosing the right speakers is an important investment, as you are unlikely to upgrade either one for quite awhile.

System Speakers: Creative Inspire T7700 7.1 Speakers

Cost: $110
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$1

With the last few revisions of their speaker line, Creative has been listening to their customers and started making speakers that "don't suck." While their basic speaker models certainly can't compete with those from Klipsch and other high-end manufacturers, the price and overall value certainly make up for it. We have been recommending Creative's T7700 7.1 set of speakers for the past couple of months, and with good reason. The T7700 set can deliver 92 watts RMS power and 125 watts of total system power making it a bit more powerful than the 6.1 set. The Inspire T7700 7.1 sound is also very good for the price, as $110 for seven name brand speakers and a subwoofer is a real bargain.