July 2005 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 7

NIC: Onboard

Cost: $0
Months on list: 14
Price Change: N/A

Both of our motherboards this month come with onboard PCI Express-based Gigabit LAN. The extra cash we save by going with the onboard LAN controller is better spent on other components in this guide than a secondary PCI adaptor. However, it is understandable that some of you require a non-integrated card, the Intel PRO/1000MT Gigabit adaptor is a great alternative as it is a fully-featured NIC from one of the best names in networking.

Or...

Modem: US Robotics USB 2.0 USR5633 Faxmodem

Cost: $38 (not included in price of full machine)
Months on list: 9
Price Change: +$3

As most of our readers have external devices such as modems, printers, and scanners, we do not factor them into the cost of this guide as the money could be better spent in our places. However, we still make a basic modem recommendation, but it is now an optional component.

Although the NIC will work great for those lucky souls with DSL or cable Internet access, many gamers are still using dial-up Internet accounts. For this, we recommend the US Robotics USB 2.0 USR5633 Faxmodem. This USB 2.0 modem is very similar to the external V.92 modem we have been recommending for a long while, but uses a USB 2.0 connection as opposed to Serial.

Operating System: Windows XP Professional

Cost: $145
Months on list: 24
Price Change: +$6

Windows XP Professional has been our operating system of choice for this guide since its release, and there is certainly no reason for us to abandon it now. There is no better operating system than Windows XP for bleeding-edge hardware and hardcore gaming support, and the vast majority of today's PC hardware and drives are developed with Windows XP in mind. Also keep in mind that the day is fast approaching when older Windows versions will no longer be supported. For the AMD side of things this month it is important to pick up the professional version of Windows XP as it is the only version that supports multiple CPUs.

Microsoft has finally released a "final" or production version of their Windows XP Professional 64-bit operating system, after what has seemed like an eternity in beta testing. Even though both our of systems have 64-bit support, we remain skeptical as to the real-world usefulness of a 64-bit operating system for this guide, as there are only a small handful of games that take advantage of a 64-bit system. Currently, the 64-bit version of Windows XP is only available to OEM manufacturers, and it remains unlikely that Microsoft will release it to retail channels.

We quote the price of an OEM version of Windows XP Professional, as opposed to the retail box, and assume that you will purchase it alongside hardware, thereby qualifying for the lower OEM price. Those who already own a copy of a previous version of Windows, by purchasing the upgrade CD you can save even more money, assuming you own at least Windows 98 or NT 4. Don't forget to pick up a version with SP2 integrated as it will save you the headache of downloading the update from the internet.

Name Brand Floppy

Current Cost: $8

We haven't used floppies in years, but some people still feel a need for them. Any old name brand floppy drive will do for those emergency BIOS updates and data recovery, anything more would be just a waste of money.

Power Bar or UPS

While not part of our budget for a standard high-end gaming system, we still recommend you buy adequate surge protection for your new PC, or better yet, splurge and nab a UPS for the added security and peace of mind.