November Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 5

Video Card: Gainward GeForce2 Ti/450 TV - $117

If we were to give an award for "Best New Value Product" it would definitely go to NVIDIA and their incredible GeForce2 Ti. This product has essentially made both the GeForce2 Pro and ULTRA obsolete and creates a whole new level of value gaming performance. Just check out the online prices and you'll find value GeForce2 Ti cards at under $100, while the GeForce2 ULTRA will probably be closer to $200. This is a bit ludicrous, especially since the GeForce2 Ti matches the ULTRA in terms of core clock rate and is just a bit slower on memory. As we'll soon find, out if you don't mind a little overclocking, there is really no difference at all.

As we stated above, there are GeForce2 Ti boards that actually come in under the $100 level, but we're willing to pay a bit extra for a higher-performance product. The Gainward GeForce2 Ti/450 TV is not only a quality product from a well-known manufacturer, but the company freely advertises the board as having 64-MB of 4.5 ns DDR memory. This places it firmly into GeForce2 ULTRA territory (if you overclock the card memory from its default 400 MHz) and translates into buying a near-GeForce2 ULTRA at GeForce2 Ti prices. The Gainward board also features TV-out functionality, making it too good of a deal to pass up. We should note that other GeForce2 Ti brands offer similar memory ratings, but since Gainward openly states what their ratings are, they get the nod.

Monitor 17": LG Electronics Flatron 795FT Plus - app. $235

The $1,000 value PC gaming budget translates into either a quality, flat screen 17" monitor or a value 19" model, so we attempted find the best price-performance options within both ranges. Both monitors are excellent value picks, and choosing between them is more related to available desktop space and personal taste.

The LG Electronics Flatron 795FT Plus is a high quality flat screen 17" monitor which checks in at a price that won't break the bank. The 795FT Plus features the popular flat screen aperture grill design, with a 0.24mm Stripe Pitch. This monitor performs equally well when displaying text or graphics and makes a great match for a value home gaming/business PC. It also features exceptional refresh rates and resolutions, especially for a 17" monitor, and can hit a 75Hz max refresh rate at 1600x1200.This monitor is also fully MPR-II and TCO-99 certified and all these features come at a price of about $235. For our money, the LG Electronics Flatron 795FT Plus performs better than most 19" monitors and is definitely one of the best 17" monitor values on the market.

Or...

Monitor 19": Samsung SyncMaster 950p - appx. $235

If you are looking for some full-sized, 19" real estate with your value system, then the Samsung SyncMaster 950p is definitely a model to check out. The 950p monitor features a standard shadow mask CRT and does not have a fully-flat display screen, but it's probably as close as you'll get with this technology. It also features excellent image quality and color depth while allowing a maximum refresh rate of 75 Hz at 1600x1200. The .26mm dot pitch is pretty standard, as are the MPR-II and TCO-99 certifications. The SyncMaster 950p is a great mix of price, feature and overall quality, and these factors make it one of the best value buys in the 19" monitor class.