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Sharky Extreme : Monthly High-end Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
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Monthly High-end Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
January 2005 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4By Ryan "Speedy" Wissman January 28, 2005
Current Cost: $277 AMD seems reluctant to implement DDR2 support on their new motherboards, so DDR is still the name of the game with current Athlon 64 chips. As there is no better memory than Corsair's XMS "Low Latency" line, it seems only natural that we stick with it yet again this month. Renowned for supreme stability and performance, Corsair XMS memory is the best in the business, and their LL (Low Latency) models offer a small, but worthwhile, performance boost compared to traditional DDR memory. As per our FSB requirements this month we are using 400MHz DDR memory (PC3200) which allows us to tap the full potential of our Athlon 64 3500+ processor. Dual-channel has become the name of the game on both the Intel and AMD side of the fence over the past few months, so there is no reason not to take advantage of the added performance it has to offer. It is logical to use two sticks of 512MB memory rather than a single stick for this very reason. The Corsair TwinX XMS TWINX1024-3200LL package features two 512MB sticks of low latency (2-3-2-6 1T) DDR memory.
Current Cost: $220 This month we made the move to Intel's i925X high-end chipset, and that brings along with it a transition to DDR2 memory. While the jury is still out on the benefits of DDR2, we really have no other option if we want the performance and features of the i925X. The main benefit of DDR2 comes in its support for higher clock speeds compared to DDR, and as Intel begins to push 1066MHz FSB speeds on future processors this will become more of a factor than it is now. While high speed Corsair DDR2 memory was out of reach for us this month, we chose to go with Kingston's dual-channel 1GB kit of PC2-4200 DDR2 memory.
Priced at $220, the Kingston DDR2 memory kit is considerably less expensive than the Corsair DDR memory we used on the AMD machine, allowing us to actually save a few bucks on the Intel side. As the i925X platform supports dual-channel memory it's only fitting that we go with two 512MB sticks of RAM to maximize performance. The KVR533D2N4K2/1G 1GB kit is our best choice in this regard as it offers CAS latency of 4 while supporting bus speeds of up to 533MHz. Kingston's ValueRAM series also carries a lifetime warranty, which means they can be replaced should it fail.
Current Cost: $148 As motherboards begin to support SATA2 hard drives it's only a matter of time until drives begin to hit the mainstream, but for now SATA is the current standard. For this guide, we need to switch up our hard drive choice and although we traditionally have gone with dual SATA drives in a RAID array, we have to move away from that. This month, due to the increased price of our video card and CPU, we are moving to a single high capacity hard drive. The trade-offs are minimal for gaming use, especially compared to the top-end framerates our processor/video card combination allows.
The Western Digital 250GB 7200RPM SATA has everything we have come to expect in a high end hard drive. It features an ultra high, 250-GB capacity, SATA interface, 8MB data cache, and 7200RPM spindle speed. The reliability of these Western Digital SATA drives is top notch and each comes with a 3-year warranty.
Cost: $65
As the DVD recorder market gears up for the release of blu-ray and HD-DVD, prices on DVD recorders have fallen to rock bottom prices. This month we are sticking with the same recorder we used in the last version of this guide as it's one of our favorite drives. The NEC 3500A 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 the standard 16X and CDs at 48X. The unit's $65 is also very attractive, making it impossible to pass up. At $15 more than the average cost of a game who wouldn't want to add dual-layer DVD recording capability to their rig?
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