February 2002 High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 8

Price Roundup

Intel Pentium 4 System

Case: Full Tower PC case w/ 350W PSU-$130
Processor: Pentium 4-2.0A GHz Socket 478 (Retail)-$343
Cooling: Retail HSF-$0
Mainboard: ASUS P4T-E-$147
RAM: 2x256 MB RDRAM-$140
Hard Drive: Maxtor D740X 60 GB-$118
Video Card : Visiontek Xtasy GeForce3 Titanium Ti500-$318
Monitor: Samsung 900NF-$350
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum-$157
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 4.1-$295
DVD/CD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM-$57
CDRW: Plextor PlexWriter 24/10/40A-$136
Communications: 3Com EtherLink 10/100 3CR990-TX-97 or US Robotics External v.92-$86
Mouse: MS Intellimouse Explorer Optical 3.0-$40
Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro-$32
OS: Windows XP Pro-$126
Floppy: Generic-$10

Total: $2485

AMD Athlon System

Case: Full Tower PC case w/ 350W PSU-$130
Processor: OEM Athlon XP 2000+ (1.67 GHz)-$262
Cooling: ThermalTake Volcano 7-$30
Mainboard: ABIT KR7A-133RAID-$149
RAM: 2x256 MB PC2400 DDR-$158
Hard Drive: Maxtor D740X 60 GB-$118
Video Card : Visiontek Xtasy GeForce3 Titanium Ti500-$318
Monitor: Samsung 900NF-$350
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum-$157
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 4.1-$295
DVD/CD-ROM: Toshiba SD-M1612 16X DVD-ROM-$57
CDRW: Plextor PlexWriter 24/10/40A-$136
Communications: 3Com EtherLink 10/100 3CR990-TX-97 or US Robotics External v.92-$86
Mouse: MS Intellimouse Explorer Optical 3.0-$40
Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro-$32
OS: Windows XP Pro-$126
Floppy: Generic-$10

Total: $2454

Closing Remarks

After looking over these two systems, it seems that the AMD and Intel systems are quite evenly matched in terms of both performance and features. Sure, the Athlon XP 2000+ is probably a bit faster, but let's not discount the added performance and extreme cool-running nature of the Pentium 4-2.0A Northwood either. In terms of overall video and multimedia performance, the GeForce3 Ti 500 is about as good as it gets, and the SB Audigy Platinum/Klipsch Promedia 4.1 combo will definitely blow out a few walls. Overall, both of these high-end systems certainly live up to their billing and are an absolute steal, even at $2,500.

What the future holds for high-end gaming may get quite interesting in the coming months. Both ATI and NVIDIA are reportedly putting the finishing touches on their newest video cards, AMD still hasn't checked in with their 0.13-micron Thoroughbred, and NVIDIA also has the powerful nForce 415-D chipset held in reserve. Although some of these new products may well be priced out of our budget to start off, their effects on the overall pricing structure may allow us to move up the performance ladder in other areas. As we like to say here at Sharky Extreme, pure 3D gaming speed certainly doesn't come cheap, but each month it becomes a bit more affordable.

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.

Vince Freeman
Editor