June 2004 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4

Memory: 2 X 512-MB Corsair TwinX XMS DDR400/PC3200LL

Current Cost: $304
Months on list: 9
Price Change: +$51

With the jury still out on DDR2, and virtually no motherboards that support it in sight, our platforms require DDR and we're staying on the Corsair XMS LL route. Corsair's XMS memory is renowned for its performance and stability, which is exactly what we look for when purchasing any component in this guide. We prefer to use Corsair's XMS LL (Low Latency) memory as it offers a small, but worthwhile, performance boost compared to traditional DDR memory. For our FSB requirements this month, both our AMD and Intel systems require 400MHz DDR memory for high-end operation, so PC3200 (or faster) memory is the way to go.

Due to the single-channel DDR architecture of the AMD system, the Intel platform is the only one that will see a benefit from using two 512MB sticks in dual-channel mode. The Socket 754 Athlon 64 has a single 64-bit memory controller that while powerful in its own right, isn't tailored to make use of dual-channel memory. Regardless, going with two 512MB TwinX modules for both systems is easier and less expensive than searching for a single high-performance 1GB stick of memory.

Hard Drive: 2 X Seagate ST3160023AS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 8MB Cache

Current Cost: $228 (2x$114)
Months on list: 2
Price Change: -$4

Serial ATA is slowly but surely gaining a foothold in both the retail and OEM sectors of the hard drive market. While Serial ATA may not be light years ahead of Parallel ATA, it does boast a nice performance increase and sexy thin cables, which make it a worthwhile addition to this guide, not to mention its comparable price to Parallel ATA drives. We opted for two Seagate ST3160023AS 7200RPM SATA drives running in a RAID 0 array for maximum performance. Should you rather have enhanced data protection, it's a good idea to set up the drives in a RAID 1 array, where capacity is cut in half, but the second drive acts as a mirror if the first one should fail.

With a spindle speed of 7200 RPM, 8MB cache, 160GB of storage, and a Serial ATA interface, the Seagate ST3160023AS provides both the speed and data capacity we are looking for in a high-end PC. Aside from the technical specifications, one of our favorite aspects of the SATA interface is the thin and easy to handle power/data cables which makes installing the drives a breeze. In addition, airflow throughout the case is improved as the Serial ATA cables take up far less space than the older PATA interface. A one year Seagate warranty protects your investment, while a 350 Gs, non-op shock 3D Defense System protects your data.

DVD-/+RW: NEC 8X Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW ND-2510A OEM

Cost: $86
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

As prices on DVD recorders continue to fall with the recent release of dual-layer capable burners, we felt it was finally time to take the plunge and include one in this guide. We decided to replace both our DVD reader and CD-RW with the NEC ND-2510A because it combines the best of both worlds in a very affordable package. The drive sports 8X DVD+/-R writing, 4X DVD+/-RW writing, 2.4X Dual-Layer DVD+R writing, 32X CD-R, and 16X CD-RW writing. Priced at $86 for the OEM version, this drive was literally too good to pass up for inclusion in this month's guide.