May 2002 Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 5

Video Card: Abit Siluro GeForce3 Ti 200

Current Cost: $114
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

It would be an easy choice to go for the GeForce4 MX 440 as our video card selection, but we know what sticklers for features and performance you all are. So we're digging deep into our pockets for a full DirectX 8.X-compatible GeForce3 Ti 200 instead, and making our system as future-proof as possible. There are several low-cost GeForce3 Ti 200 cards available, with most being of the generic variety.

One surprise was finding the Abit Siluro GF3 Ti 200 at some very attractive prices. This is a nice card, and at a price of around $114, it makes a much safer and high performance bet than buying a no-name mystery card. We also gave the Radeon 8500 and 8500LE some serious thought, but could only find 230/230 MHz generic boards available in this price range.

Monitor 17": LG Flatron 795FT Plus or Samsung 700NF

Current Cost: $205
Months on list: 4
Price Change: -$19

Our $1,000 budget creates a situation where we're caught between a 17" flat-screen rock and a 19" standard CRT hard place. Making it even harder is the fact that many basic 19" CRTs have been dropped in favor of flat-screen models, and some like the popular Samsung 950p, can be extremely difficult to find. We still can't buy a high quality 19" FS monitor and fit it into our budget, and in a battle between quality and low price, we stick with quality every time. That leaves us with a 17" flat-screen monitor to buy, and we've assembled a couple of great choices.

The LG Electronics Flatron 795FT Plus and Samsung 700NF are low-cost, high quality flat screen 17" monitors, and have been a staple on the guide for some time. We really wanted to see if there were comparable products from other vendors, but we either ran into a pricing issue or discovered resolution (1280x1024 max) or refresh rate (60 Hz at maximum resolution) limitations. Not good news for a gaming display.

Neither the LG nor the Samsung have these problems, and their feature sets are closer to a quality 19" rather than a value 17". These are flat screen, aperture grill designs, with a 0.24mm (LG) and 0.25mm (Samsung) Stripe Pitch. These are also great picks for gaming use, as colors are fresh and clean. Refresh rates are truly exceptional for 17" monitors, and each can hit a 75Hz max refresh rate at 1600x1200. Add in MPR-II and TCO-99 certifications and a $224 price tag, and you're looking at two of the best deals out there. We're a bit partial to the LG Flatron 795FT Plus ourselves, but do yourself a favor and check these two out in person.

Please keep in mind that when buying any type or brand of monitor, there is always the chance of receiving a defective unit or a flat-screen with convergence issues, so be certain to purchase only from a vendor that offers liberal return and replacement options.