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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 |
February 2002 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4By Vince Freeman February 4, 2002
System Memory
Intel: Two 256MB PC800 RIMMs
Current Cost: $70 x 2 = $140
 Oh, how the time are changing. Not long ago, you could buy a stick of DDR for the change in your pocket, while needing to set up a bank loan for RDRAM. This scenario has changed around a bit since then, and while DDR prices continue to skyrocket, RDRAM has actually decreased in price. With the four RIMM sockets on our ASUS motherboard, buying dual 256-MB RDRAM modules is definitely the best way to go, especially given the higher relative price of buying just about any 512-MB stick of memory.
AMD: Two 256MB DDR PC2400 DIMM
Current Cost: $79 x 2 = $158
 Now that DDR prices are either on-par with RDRAM, or even a bit higher in some cases, there is really no cost savings bonus in going the DDR route. There is some good news, as the price of buying PC2400 is really not that much more than buying name brand PC2100. What you are really gaining is the ability to overclock up to 300 MHz (or even higher) and hit CL2 memory timings even when going over the standard 266 MHz FSB. Getting high quality PC2400 is more than worth the small premium you pay, and virtually ensures rock solid operation using the 266 MHz bus speed and tweaking the memory timings as high as possible.
Hard Drive: Maxtor D740X 60GB
Current Cost: $130
 The Maxtor D740X line of hard drives seems to have hit the bull's-eye in terms of price, performance and features. These new 7200 RPM drives from Maxtor are fast, quiet and come standard with ATA-133 support. Sure, ATA-133 might not buy you much right now, but with full backward compatibility with ATA-33/66/100 standards, it's more like the cherry on the top of the whole deal.
DVD/CD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM
Cost: $57
 After using various DVD-ROM units for extended periods of time, we're solidly behind the old tray-loading mechanism. With all the non-standard sized CD media we've been seeing lately, it is sometimes better to play it safe rather than impress your friends with capabilities of a slot-loader. One of the very best in its class is the Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM. This Toshiba unit is a standard tray-loader easily matches the features and performance specs of even the high-powered Pioneer DVD-ROMs. Not only does the SD-M1612 provide speedy 16X DVD and 48X CD playback, but it can also handle DVD-RAM disks as well. With a 512K buffer, an 85ms access time and excellent product support, it's not hard to see why Toshiba is referred to as the leader in DVD technology.
CDRW: Plextor PlexWriter 24/10/40A
Cost: $136
 It seems that the constants in life are death, taxes and lower prices on CDRW units. Plextor is the name of the game in CDRW, and it wasn't long ago that their premium PlexWriter 24/10/40A was well over $200. Now that it's at $136, how can you say no? The Plextor PlexWriter 24/10/40A burns CDs in record time (we're talking a 650MB CD in just over 4 minutes!) and with a 10X CDRW speed, you won't be far behind in the rewritable area. The PlexWriter 24/10/40A also features a CD read speed of 40X, though we recommend using the Toshiba DVD-ROM for basic CD read functions. There may be similar models at a slightly lower cost, but the difference is such that going Plextor is really the only option for our high-end system.
Floppy: Panasonic, TEAC, etc.
Cost: about $10
 Although the floppy drive is rapidly approaching obsolescence, you still need something to boot with and flash your system BIOS safely. Just buy a basic name brand (Panasonic, Sony, TEAC, etc.) for a 10-spot and be done with it.
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