September High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 7

NIC: Onboard

Cost: $0
Months on list: 19
Price Change: N/A

As our AMD and Intel motherboards both feature onboard Gigabit LAN, there is no reason to purchase a separate PCI LAN controller. The money we save by going the integrated route, can be much better spent on other components. However, it is understandable that some may prefer to use a non-integrated card; in that case, the Intel PRO/1000MT Gigabit adaptor is a fully featured NIC from one of the best names in networking.

Although the NIC will work perfectly for those with standard 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, a USB 2.0 modem running at 56K v.92 speeds.

Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP2

Cost: $138
Months on list: 29
Price Change: -$2

Windows XP Professional has been our operating system of choice for this guide since the software was first introduced, and through updates and patches, Microsoft has fashioned their best OS yet. If you're playing games or want to run the very best performance hardware, then Windows XP is where it's at, and it's not that long before the older Windows operating systems will be unsupported. Although the Home edition does supports Hyper-Threading and dual core, Windows XP Professional is the only version of Windows XP that supports multiple physical CPUs, along with enhanced networking and some other power features, so we prefer to spend the bit extra and get Windows XP Pro.

The $138 price quoted for Windows XP Pro is for an OEM CD, as opposed to the full retail version. We assume that you will purchase this 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. We also recommend picking up a version with SP2 integrated, as it will save you the time and effort of downloading and installing the update.

Microsoft has released their long-awaited Windows XP Professional 64-bit operating system, but although both Intel and AMD systems do support it, the lack of 64-bit software and sketchy 32-bit game support make this an interesting experiment, but not a primary gaming OS for the masses. 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.

Name Brand Floppy

Current Cost: $5

We have not used floppies in years, but some people still feel a need for them. Any name brand floppy drive will do for those emergency BIOS updates and data recovery, and 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, spend a bit extra (or wait for a sale) and nab a UPS for the added security and peace of mind.