September High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4

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

Current Cost: $286
Months on list: 10
Price Change: -$18

With the jury still out on DDR2, and no motherboards that support it in sight for the AMD side, 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 nominal, 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.

Both platforms this month have support for dual-channel DDR memory which is all the more reason to choose a matched pair of modules. The Intel and AMD systems receive a significant performance boost from dual-channel memory, especially the dual-channel DDR Athlon 64 3500+, which is a noticeable upgrade from the single-channel DDR controller of the Socket 754 processors. The best value is to go with dual sticks of 512MB high performance DDR, which equates out to an impressive 1-GB total memory capacity.

Hard Drive: 2 X Seagate ST3200822AS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 8MB Cache

Current Cost: $250 (2x$125)
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

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, not to mention is comparable in price to Parallel ATA drives. The thinner data and power cables are also a consideration, as these not only make installation a bit easier, but allow for better system airflow. This month we performed a minor upgrade and opted for dual 200GB Seagate ST3200822AS 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.

The Seagate 200GB ST3200822AS drive has all the same features as the 160GB drive we used in the previous guide, but has a higher capacity. A spindle speed of 7200 RPM, 8MB cache, 200GB of storage, and a Serial ATA interface are exactly what we are looking for at this price point, and you can't go wrong with reliability of Seagate. In fact, Seagate is so confident in their drives that they recently upgraded their warranty to a whopping five years, something not usually found in a consumer-level drive.

DVD-/+RW: NEC 16X Dual-Layer DVD+/-R ND-3500A OEM

Cost: $79
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

Prices are continuing to fall to incredibly low levels on DVD recorders, making this an excellent time to take the plunge. Despite the lack of affordable dual-layer media, recorders capable of burning dual-layer DVDs are increasing in speed and decreasing in price. In our last guide we upgraded to a dual-layer capable recorder, and this month we are able to upgrade yet again to a recorder that is twice as fast, yet slightly less-expensive.

Choosing to stick with NEC, we moved to the ND-3500A which is capable of 16X DVD+/-R, 4X DVD+/-RW, 4X DVD+R9 (dual-layer), 48X CD-R, and 24X CD-RW burning. It can also read DVDs at 16X and CDs at 48X. This drive can be found for about $79 in its OEM form, making it simply too good to pass up, as wickedly fast DVD+/-R burning time and DVD+R9 support make this an absolutely killer deal.