January 2002 Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 4

System Memory: 256-MB PC2100 DDR - $64

Now that both the Athlon XP and Pentium 4 have been moved to DDR platforms, we're recommending a single memory type these days. Recent price increases on memory mean that the decision to go with 256MB of PC2100 will leave the both Value Gaming Systems costing a bit more than $1000; but we decided we'd rather go slightly over the limit than recommend half the memory.

Hard Drive: 40GB Maxtor D740X ATA-133 7200 RPM - $84

We've been in the IBM camp, here, for a while; but due to potential issues with some 75GXP and 60GXP models, we're steering clear of them for now. One of the more impressive new models is the Maxtor D740X, and 7200 RPM, ATA-133 drive that is as quick as it is quiet. Sure, ATA-133 might not buy you much now, but the drive itself is very fast even on a standard ATA-100 interface and an $84 price tag makes it one of the better hard drive buys.