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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 |
September 2005 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4By Ryan "Speedy" Wissman September 30, 2005
Current Cost: $257 With AMD not utilizing DDR2, DDR is still the only supported memory for Athlon 64 processors. This month we had a little extra money to spend on the AMD side so we chose to upgrade to the OCZ EL DDR PC-4800 Dual Channel Platinum Elite Edition (2x512MB), which also appears in our Extreme Buyer's Guide. This memory can go to considerably higher clock speeds when compared to the previous PC3200 memory we were using. In addition, this memory also features ultra low memory timing at both the standard 400MHz (2-2-2-5), as well as at 600MHz (2.5-4-4-10). Using this memory allows us to have the best performance possible at stock speed while having headroom for any overclocking venture. 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 EL DDR PC-4800 Platinum Elite Edition dual channel kit package features two 512MB sticks of ultra-low latency high speed DDR memory. The OCZ EL DDR PC-4800 Dual Channel Platinum Elite Edition memory can be found for about $257 at various online retailers.
Current Cost: $179 On the Intel side, we are sticking with the Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X1024 4300C3 matched pair DDR2 kit we recommended last month. While the real world benefits of DDR2 have not yet become apparent, all of Intel's high-end LGA775 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 a longtime favorite among hardware enthusiasts, and the company continually makes our short list each month. Corsair's commitment to the enthusiast market has been one of their greatest strengths, and the $179 we spent on the Corsair TWIN2X1024-4300C3 is well worth it. 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's capabilities.
Current Cost: $139 Native Command Queuing (NCQ) has been all the rage as of late, and it just so happens that both of our motherboards have support for this technology. Drives with NCQ use various smart algorithms to speed up hard drive access times, and increase overall data throughput. Most of today's new hard drives from Seagate and Maxtor feature this technology, so we naturally felt inclined consider this when making our hard drive choice. Unfortunately, we could not afford to utilize two hard drives in a RAID configuration this month, but sticking with a high capacity, speed demon drive that supports NCQ is the next best thing. Maxtor's DiamondMax 10 300GB 7200RPM (6B300S0) is our current pick, and the low price of $139 gives us enough left over cash to invest in other sections of this guide.
To say that the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 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 includes 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.
Cost: $44
As the Blu-ray and HD-DVD technologies continue to do battle, prices on DVD+/-R/RW drives have fallen to rock bottom prices. This month we're upgrading to the Pioneer 16x DVD+RW/-RW DVR-110. It is only a minor update compared to the DVR-109, and offers writing speeds of 8X DVD+/-R for Dual-Layer media, 16X for DVD+/-R, 8X for DVD+RW, 6X for DVD-RW, 40X for CD-R, and 32X for CD-RW. Priced at a cool $44 this drive is cheaper than most computer games, meaning that we could spend more money in other areas of this guide.
The Pioneer DVR-110 is also available with either a black or beige faceplate, which allows you to mix and match according to personal preference.
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