High-end system - August 2006
High-end system
The perfectly balanced high-end configuration.
Configuration
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Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 | Processors |
| For a long time the AMD Athlon 64 X2 was the processor of choice for high-end systems, until Intel recently introduced their new line of Core 2 Duo processors. This brand new generation of chips is much faster than all other CPU's on the market and proves to be very energy efficient. Even AMD's ultra high-end Athlon 64 FX processors are crushed by the performance of Core 2 Duo. Although AMD reduced their pricing radically, the Core 2 Duo still offers the best price/performance ratio. The Core 2 Duo E6600, our choice for this month's high-end system, surpasses AMD's Athlon 64 FX-62 in almost all of our benchmarks, and for just a fraction of the price. Especially with games, but also with usage models als video editing, Intel offers terrific performance. For a high-end system, Intel Core 2 Duo is the only right choice. | ||
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Zalman CNPS9500 LED | CPU coolers |
| What is more annoying than a very noisy PC? Zalman has proven to be a true expert on silent CPU coolers. Their CNPS-9500 cooler is based on three heat pipes with numerous copper fins attached. Whereas Zalman's older models blow downwards at the mainboard, the CNPS-9500 has a tilted design that blows the air towards the back of the case. Our tests prove that the CNPS-9500 offers great cooling performance while the fan is extremely quiet. For casemodders Zalman offers a version with LEDs in the fan. The ultimate CPU cooler when you demand both excellent cooling performance and low noise production. | ||
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ASUS P5W DH Deluxe (Intel 975X chipset) | Mainboards |
| With the launch of the Core 2 Duo processors, all major mainboard manufacturers have introduced a new series of boards based on Intels 975X chipset. The ASUS P5W DH excels through various special features, like integrated WLAN, external SATA ports and more. The Intel 975X chipset offers support for DDR2-800 memory and ATI Crossfire setups. For overclockers the P5W DH has some great BIOS features. | ||
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2 GB (2x 1 GB) Team Xtreem Overclocking DDR2-800 | Memory modules |
| For use with Core 2 Duo processors, DDR2-800 currently is the memory of choice. In our latest DDR2 memory roundup test, the Team Xtreem DDR2-800 modules proved to perform very well. The modules turned out to be almost as overclockable as the high-end models from Corsair or GEIL, but at a much lower price. We found out that people who do not wish to overclock their system, can safely run these modules at 4-4-4-12 timings. With proper cooling and a higher voltage even the very fast 3-3-3-9 timings are achievable at 800 MHz. | ||
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ATI Radeon X1900 XT | 3D chips |
| For the graphics part of the high-end system we choose an ATI Radeon X1900 XT, one of the fastest 3D cards currently available. On a few fields ATI defenitely has more to offer than nVidia: our tests proved that ATI has better video quality and only ATI cards can do HDR rendering together with FSAA (full scene anti-aliasing). As the amount of games that feature HDR is increasing every month, this starts to become very important. Where the fastest XTX version of the card is disproportionally expensive, the X1900 XT offers a great price/performance ratio. When you need better 3D performance in the future, you can upgrade with a X1900 XT Crossfire Mastercard and double your 3D processing power. | ||
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Multifunctional card reader + 3,5 inch disk drive | Card reader / Disk drive |
| An internal card reader is a cheap and very convenient addition to your computer; with the popularity of digital cameras it is very convenient when you can insert your memory cards directly into your PC. Unfortunately we still have to include a 3.5 inch disk drive in the high-end system. Although you probably won't use it very frequently, you still need it to install Windows XP on a RAID array. | ||
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3x Samsung P120S 250 GB Serial ATA II in RAID 5 | Hard disks (internal) |
| In our last roundup test of SATA2 harddisks, the Samsung P120S came out as the best all-round hard disk. The drive performs very well and is also very affordable. For the high-end system we combine three 250 GB models in a RAID 5 array: this way we get extra capacity, extra performance and your data is safe for hard disk crashes. The Intel ICH7R south bridge offers great RAID functionality that works together with the Samsung drives without any difficulties. | ||
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Samsung SH-D162 16x DVD-ROM | Optical drives |
| The Samsung SH-D162 is a great 16x DVD-ROM drive with good performance and relatively low noise. Of course we choose the version with a black bezel for this system. | ||
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Samsung SH-S182D | Optical drives |
| The Samsung SH-S182 is one the first DVD writers that can burn DVD discs at a maximum speed of 18x. According to our tests the avarage writing speed of this drive surpasses 13x. Only a few types of DVD+R and DVD-R discs can be written at this high speed, but the Samsung drive still proved to burn all other DVD+R and DVD-R discs we have tested at 16x. When we average all our benchmarks, the Samsung SH-S182 turns out to be the fastest DVD writer currently available. With an average quality score of 58.6 points in our tests, the drive performs better than most other DVD writers. To make your choice even easier, the price tag of the SH-S182 is very low, which means that the Samsung drive has an unbeatable price/performance ration. | ||
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Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic | Sound cards |
| Creative Technologies are the true experts on PC audio: their X-Fi sound cards offer great audio quality and a collection of features that no other audio solution can match. Whether you use your PC for games, multimedia or audio creation; with all these applications the X-Fi offers things you normally could not achieve. You have got to hear it to believe it, but take our word for it: in a high-end system you absolutely want a Sound Blaster card. | ||
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Creative Inspire T7900 7.1-channel speaker set | Speaker sets |
| The Inspire T7900 is Creative's current 7.1 channel speaker set and is great to use together with the Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card. Both the seven satellites as well as the subwoofer offer great audio quality, which makes the speaker set suitable for music, movies and games. | ||
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Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3000 | Mouse and Keyboard |
| A high-end PC isn't complete without a high quality keyboard and mouse. This month we chose Logitech's Cordless Desktop MX3000, a combination of a wireless keyboard and wireless optical mouse. The keyboard offers great comfort due to the 'zero-tilt' design. Of course the keyboard features a wide selection of special multi media keys. The MX600 mouse offers great accuracy due to the used laser technology. | ||
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Samsung SyncMaster 205BW | Monitors |
| A high-end monitor complements a high-end PC. Our choice this month is Samsung's 205BW 20 inch widescreen monitor. This type of widescreen monitor not only offers a very pleasant aspect ratio, but also features a higher resolution, 1680x1050 pixels. This is more than the usual 19 inch TFT screens. In our tests the Samsung 205BW scores great results, not only for response time, but also for brightness and contrast. | ||
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Cooler Master Stacker 810 | Cases |
| The Cooler Master CM Stacker is the ultimate case for hardware enthusiasts. The casing combines a great design with virtually unlimited space for extra hardware. Besides this the case features excellent cooling possibilities and is already prepared for BTX mainboards. The ideal case for high-end systems! | ||
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Antec NeoHE 550W | Power supplies |
| In our testlab we have recently compared no less than 62 power supplies. When we average all our test results, it turns out that the Antec NeoHE 550 Watt is the best PSU on the market: the device scored high in our performance, noise level and efficiency tests and the power supply is also modular, which means that you only have to connect the cables that your actually using. | ||
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3D chips
All-in-ones
Barebones
Case fans
Cases
CPU coolers
Game controllers
Graphics cards
Hard disks (external)
Hard disks (internal)
Keyboards
Mainboards
Memory cards
Memory modules
Mice
Monitors
Mouse pads
NAS devices
Notebooks
Optical drives
Power supplies
Powerline adapters
Printers
Processors
Routers
Servers
Sound cards
Speaker sets
Storage controllers
Systems
USB flash drives
Video card coolers
Webcams
