June High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 8

Price Roundup

AMD Athlon 64 X2 System

Case: ThermalTake Armor VA8000BWS Full Tower w/Antec 650W TP3 PSU - $260
Processor: Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (3.0 GHz) Retail - $223
Cooling: Retail HSF - $0
Motherboard: Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe - $182
Memory: 2x1GB Corsair XMS2-6400 DHX (TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX) - $180
Hard Drive: 2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA - $240
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB - $380
Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP 20.1" LCD - $399
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer - $90
Speakers: Logitech THX Z-5300e 5.1 Speakers - $150
DVD-/+RW: Samsung 18x DVD+RW/-RW SH-S182D - $34
Communications: Onboard LAN - $0
Mouse: Logitech MX Revolution Laser Cordless Mouse - $75
Keyboard: Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard - $72
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium - $120
Floppy: Generic - $5

Total: $2,410

Intel Core 2 Duo System

Case: ThermalTake Armor VA8000BWS Full Tower w/Antec 650W TP3 PSU - $260
Processor: Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.4GHz) Retail - $221
Cooling: Retail HSF - $0
Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-E SLI - $210
Memory: 2x1GB Corsair XMS2-6400 DHX (TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX) - $180
Hard Drive: 2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA - $240
Video Card: GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB - $380
Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP 20.1" LCD - $399
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer - $90
Speakers: Logitech THX Z-5300e 5.1 Speakers - $150
DVD-/+RW: Samsung 18x DVD+RW/-RW SH-S182D - $34
Communications: Onboard LAN - $0
Mouse: Logitech MX Revolution Laser Cordless Mouse - $75
Keyboard: Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard - $72
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium - $120
Floppy: Generic - $5

Total: $2,436

Closing Remarks

This has been another very good update to our high-end PC buyer's guide, and we managed to upgrade the hardware selection in some key areas. The addition of the 3.0 GHz Athlon 64 X2 6000+ to the AMD configuration was welcome news, as was the powerful ASUS nForce 680i SLI for the Intel system. The other upgrades served to tone the overall specifications of our two systems, such as the move to a 650W power supply, the new Corsair DHX DDR2-800, the Dell UltraSharp widescreen LCD, and the dual 500GB hard drives. We had hoped to upgrade the graphics card, but unfortunately, GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB prices are not dropping, so we had to be satisfied with the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB.

These changes really even out the system performance between AMD and Intel, as we're now riding at the top edge of Athlon 64 X2 performance, and this provides better competition for the Core 2 Duo E6600. We're hoping by the next high-end guide, Intel might have a new processor or two on the way, as well as some of the rumors on quad core price drops coming to fruition. Other than that, we're looking at two very powerful gaming systems, with hotrod GeForce 8800-based graphics, powerful dual-core processors, and all the other peripherals needed for a serious gaming platform for under $2500.

Please note that the prices in our guide do not include shipping costs or taxes. The final system price also reflects a "best case" scenario of finding an online vendor that stocks the majority of internal components, or having access to a number of local computer retailers for system quotes and comparison shopping. Also, throughout the compilation of this guide, we have made every attempt to ensure availability and realistic street pricing of the included components.