July 2005 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4

AMD Memory: 1GB (2x512) OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev 2

Current Cost: $179
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$29

AMD is set to skip DDR2 altogether for their desktop processors, making DDR still the only supported memory type for Athlon 64 chips. We are again sticking with the powerful OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev 2 memory we used last month. The OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev 2 memory supports ultra low 2-2-2-5 memory timings, which provide top-end performance at 400 MHz, and work exceptionally well in our AMD test platforms. This month our FSB requirements remain the same, and 400MHz DDR (PC3200) is all we need to take full advantage of our new dual core Athlon 64 X2 4400+ processor.

A matched pair DDR/DDR2 kit remains the standard choice for both our Intel and AMD systems, as this type of dual-channel memory configuration offers a performance boost over memory running in single channel mode. As a result, it is entirely logical for us to use two sticks of 512MB memory rather than a single 1-GB module for this very reason. The OCZ PC3200 EL Platinum Rev 2 dual channel kit package features two 512MB sticks of ultra-low latency (2-2-2-5 1T) DDR memory.

Intel Memory: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X1024 4300C3

Current Cost: $194
Months on list: 2
Price Change: -$5

This month, the Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X1024 4300C3 matched pair DDR2 kit makes a return engagement. While we are still a bit doubtful about the real-world benefits of DDR2 memory over traditional DDR memory on the desktop, Intel's high-end LGA775 processors and platforms require it. The main benefit of DDR2 memory can be found in its support for higher clock speeds, and as Intel begins to push their 1066MHz FSB speeds with future processors this will become more of a reality. Currently, our favorite DDR2 memory for use with Intel processors is 1GB (2x512) of Corsair's XMS2 TWIN2X1024 4300C3 memory.

Corsair is one of the few memory manufacturers who continuously remain on our short list from month to month. As a result, the $194 spent on the Corsair TWIN2X1024-4300C3 is worth every penny. Corsair's XMS DDR2 memory offers considerably faster timings (3-3-3-8) than we are used to seeing in regular DDR2-533 memory. As far as overclockability is concerned, Corsair is a top choice, and in this regard, their XMS2 memory certainly does not disappoint. As our Intel nForce4 platform supports dual channel memory, we are going with two 512MB sticks, to full advantage of the chipset.

Hard Drive: Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB 7200RPM (6B250S0) OEM

Current Cost: $126
Months on list: 3
Price Change: -$33

As both of our motherboards support Native Command Queuing (or NCQ), it's only natural we feature a performance hard drive with NCQ support. Drives with NCQ use various smart algorithms to speed up hard drive access times, and increase overall data throughput. Many new SATA drives from Seagate and Maxtor support this feature, so it should come as no surprise that we chose to go with a hard drive loaded with this technology. As we cannot afford to utilize two hard drives in a RAID configuration this month, sticking with a high capacity, speed demon drive that supports NCQ is the next best thing. Maxtor's DiamondMax 10 250GB 7200RPM (6B250S0) is our current pick of the litter, and at $126 it leaves plenty of room for us to invest more in other portions of this guide.

To say that the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB is an extremely fast hard drive would be somewhat of an understatement, as not only does it sport a 7200 RPM speed and NCQ support, but a whopping 16-MB data cache as well. Load times are extremely fast with the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 line, and on our NCQ-compatible platforms, it can even rival a 10K WD Raptor drive for pure performance. This Maxtor drive is no slouch in terms of acoustics and quality either, and features fluid dynamic bearings, Quiet Drive Technology, and a full 3-year warranty. Naturally, we are going with the SATA model, but Maxtor also produces these behemoths in upgrade-friendly PATA formats as well.

DVD-/+RW: Pioneer 16x DVD+RW/-RW DVR-109 OEM

Cost: $47
Months on list: 2
Price Change: -$7

With the potential release of Blu-ray and HD-DVD drive technology by the end of this year, prices on DVD+/-R/RW models have fallen to all time lows. The Pioneer 16x DVD+RW/-RW DVR-109 is a great little DVD writer, and is also featured in our Extreme Buyer's Guide. The Pioneer drive is capable of writing at 6X DVD+/-R for Dual-Layer media, 16X for DVD+/-R, 8X for DVD+RW, 6X for DVD-RW, 40X for CD-R, and 24X for CD-RW media. The unit's retail price of only $47 makes it inclusion a no-brainer, and even lets us invest a few dollars in other areas of the guide.