Gaming Systems June 2003

<B>Intro</B>:

Welcome to another edition of the system guides. This time, I'm doing both of the guides... Yeah, I got nothing to do anyway. I've been searching for the deals of the week, and sadly, it doesn't look that promising for killer deals. But we work with what we have. Read on!

<B>Case</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td>We'll use <a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=11-154-017&depa=0">this case</a>, different from previous editions. It looks nicer and comes with a 350 watt PSU. You'll spend a scant $43 on this one.</td></tr></table>

<B>Motherboard</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td>Once again, I'll go with an AMD board for the budget system for gaming. <a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=13-127-144&depa=0">Abit's NF7 has everything you need</a>. This one doesn't have a video card, so we'll need one. $102 from Newegg.</td></tr></table>

<B>CPU</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td>An AMD motherboard requires an AMD CPU. <a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=19-103-379&depa=0">An Athlon 2500+ is perfect</a>. Speedy at 1.83 Ghz, and it is the newest Barton type CPU. It comes with a heatsink and fan, but you can get a better one is you want. $100 at Newegg.</td></tr></table>

<B>Memory</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td>$40 for a stick of PC2700 256MB <a href="http://www.crucial.com/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=CT3264Z335&cat=RAM">of Crucial Memory</a> is just what you need. Great stuff at a good price. You can get free memory right now at Officemax, but Crucial is better.</td></tr></table>

<B>Video Card</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td>We got an Abit 64MB Ti4200 <a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=14-123-118&depa=1">at Newegg</a>. The Ti4200 is faster (and cheaper) than the FX5200. It'll run $89</tr></table>

<B>Optical & Magnetic Storage</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td></td><td>CompUSA has a 160GB 8MB cache Harddrive for $100. 48x CDRW at OfficeMax for $20 AR.</td></tr></table>


<B>Monitor</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td>17 inch ViewSonic Monitor. Click <a href="http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=50179898&pfp=BROWSE">here</a> from CompUSA for a price of $135</td></tr></table>

<B>Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers</B>:

<table><tr><td></td><td></td><td> </td><td>Altec Lansing AVS500w are nice 4.1 speakers on the cheap. Good quality, and the price is right at $35 (CompUSA +tax). You also need a mouse and keyboard so go for the Logitech cordless elite duo from Office Max for a price of $49.99. Network card is onboard. Sound is onboard.<td></tr></table>

<B>OS</B>:

Linux is free, but <a href="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=37-102-014&DEPA=6">Windows XP Home</a> will run you $93 at Newegg.


<b>Summary</b>

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (2GHZ) $100
Abit NF7-M $102
Case + 400Watt PSU $43
Abit 64MB Ti4200 $89
Crucial 256 $40
160GB $100 (+tax)
48x CDRW $20 (+tax)
Logitech Elite Duo $49.99
Speakers $35 (+tax)
17inch Viewsonic Monitor $135 (+tax)
WinXP Home $93
Pretty Impressive, good stuff for a budget system.
Total: ~$807 After rebates. Awesome.