September Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4

System Memory

When it comes to choosing the memory for our AMD and Intel systems, we still look at these as distinct configurations, rather than using a "one size fits all" memory recommendation. Instead, the two configurations are evaluated separately, and our budget is allocated in the most logical way. Each platform has its own set of requirements, and we can use this to achieve the best overall memory value. We believe that maximizing the $1K budget is what real-world buyers would do, which is even more important with fluctuating memory prices.

1-GB (2x512-MB) Generic PC2-4300 (DDR2-533)

Current Cost: $83
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

September is certainly not an easy month for our budget, and while we were trying to fit in new processors and motherboards, memory prices were spiking. DDR2 memory prices used to be dropping like a rock, but no more. We're lucky to be selecting generic DDR2, which hasn't received the same level of price increases, but even so, our system is limited to 2x512-MB of DDR2-533. We have to go the dual channel route, otherwise performance would be impacted, and even at 533 MHz DDR2, overall bandwidth will not be that adversely affected. We'd love to move to DDR-667 or -800, but at current price levels, it's tough enough to find generic DDR2-533.

Our Intel 945P and NVIDIA nForce 550 platforms support dual-channel DDR2, and by utilizing 1-GB of memory, we make sure that current game, OS, and application requirements are all covered. The 2x512-MB format also ensures we utilize the dual-channel memory architectures, and give as much memory bandwidth as we can to the Core 2 Duo and Athlon 64 X2 processors. The Athlon 64 X2 should be mostly unaffected, but as the Core 2 Duo is running on the 1066 MHz bus, dual channel DDR2-533 barely matches its base requirement.

Hard Drive:

120GB Western Digital Caviar SE (WD1200JS) 3.0 Gb/s

Current Cost: $55
Months on list: 2
Price Change: -$12

The Intel 945P and NVIDIA nForce 550 chipsets are designed with Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s in mind, so it's only natural we choose this hard drive format. We're sticking with the 120GB Western Digital Caviar SE again this month, and making use of a timely price drop to funnel that cash into other areas. This WD drive offers an SATA 3.0 Gb/s interface as well as 8-MB of cache, an 8.9 ms access time, and a 7200-RPM rotational speed, but does not specifically support NCQ. Another nice feature of the WD drives is the presence of both SATA and Molex power connectors, which ensures full compatibility and easy upgrades. Both of our motherboard can make use of the newer SATA format, and will receive enhanced burst mode transfers thanks to the updated interface and hard drive.

CD/DVD-ROM:

LG GSA-H10NB 16X DVD Writer

Current Cost: $29
Months on list: New
Price Change: N/A

Even an entry-level gaming system should have the ability to write to CDR/RW and read DVD media, but this month we decided to add DVD writing to that list. This has been a goal of previous value guides, but this month we bought the LG GSA-H10NB 16X DVD writer for reference use and were very impressed. Obviously, the retail price is a prime consideration, but the overall specs and performance are also very impressive.

The GSA-H10NB DVD writer combines the LG brand name with a nice feature set, and wraps it all up with a very low price. The drive features 2MB of data cache and some very nice media read and write speeds. Basic specifications include 16x DVD+R/-R, 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R and 32X CD-RW. This model also supports dual-layer burning and offers 10X DVD+R DL, 6X DVD-R DL, and 12X DVD-RAM, while reading DVDs at 16X and CDs at 48X. The LG GSA-H10NB is definitely an inexpensive way to add DVD writing functionality to our value systems, while getting decidedly high-end write speeds as an added bonus.