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Game PC - October 2008

hwi-h  PC Advice » Game PC - October 2008

Author: Koen Crijns 10/05/2008

Game PC

Configuration

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Processors
The Core 2 Duo E8500 is part of Intel's newest range of 45nm processors. Though this CPU with a Wolfdale core is only a few percent points faster than the last generation of dual-cores, it is much more energy efficient, thus enhancing overclock potential. We choose a dual-core CPU since there are only few games that support a quad-core yet. The money you save that way can be invested in a better graphics card. The E8500 runs at 3.16 GHz and has a 6 MB L2-cache.
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OCZ Platinum XTC 4GB DDR2-1066 CL5 kit OCZ Platinum XTC 4GB DDR2-1066 CL5 kit Memory modules
Though it has been overkill for a long time, we now advise 4 GB of memory for a game pc. The latest games, including Crysis, use this extra RAM well. Since the memory prices have dropped significantly over the past year, you will no longer have to make an extreme investment to buy 4 GB of RAM. We choose the OCZ Platinum XTC 4 GB DDR2-1066 kit, one of the few high-end DDR2 kits that is available in a 2 x 2 GB configuration.
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Scythe Mugen Scythe Mugen CPU coolers
This month our pick for the CPU cooler for the Game PC Advice is not the cooler with the most cooling capacity but rather a somewhat more modest model, which still has excellent cooling performance, a great price/performance ratio and most of all does its job quietly without taking up too much space.
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ASUS Rampage Formula ASUS Rampage Formula Mainboards
If you want to get the maximum out of a Crossfire setup, you need Intel's X48 chipset. Featuring two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots, the Asus Rampage Formula is based on this chipset and has all features you need to get the best performance in your games.
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Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 Graphics cards
ATI's new strategy of aiming for the best price/performance has evident benefits. The Radeon HD 4870 shows excellent results, but is quite reasonably priced. By combining two of these GPUs on one PCB with extra memory, ATI manages to produce a videocard that is not only affordable at the highend but leaves competitor nVidia in the dust in most benchmarks we ran. For now, we choose one 4870x2 for our Game PC, leaving the option to use another in the future when prices have come down, if we don't find another purpose for that second PCI Express x16 slot by then...
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Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB SATA2 (3.5 Western Digital Velociraptor Hard disks/SSD's
Short seek times and high throughput mean lower load times in games, and who wants to wait while playing? Western Digital's 300 GB Velociraptor offers the best performance of all currently available hard drives for the consumer market; only an SSD would be even faster in some scenarios. In view of the price difference, a Velociraptor is the best option for this system.
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Samsung Spinpoint F1 640GB SATA2 Samsung Spinpoint F1 640GB SATA2 Hard disks/SSD's
The disks of choice for storing data is Samsung's Spinpoint F1 640 GB drive, which our tests show to be very fast indeed.
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Samsung SH-S203D Black OEM Samsung SH-S203D Black OEM Optical drives
These days most DVD writers are equally inexpensive, so why not pick the best? According to our most recent test, that would be 20-speed Samsung SD-S203D, which has the best score when we take speed, quality and value into account. Naturally this burner uses the modern SATA-interface.
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Antec Twelve hundred Antec Twelve hundred Cases
The Antec Twelve Hundred is the perfect case if you require space, cooling and lots of it. Manufactured in solid steel, the Twelve Hundred features impressive all black design on the in and outside. With front and top panels made mostly out of mesh material, hot air can find its way out easily. The ample amount of fans including the super sized one on top guarantee the best possible airflow. Should you want to install a pair of 4870 x2's, this bigger brother to the already formidable Nine Hundred is definitely the case you want.
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Cooler Master Real Power M850 Cooler Master Real Power M850 Power supplies
For a fast game PC we recommend a power supply with 750-850 Watts.Though it seems a bit much, it offers enough overhead to add a second high-end graphics card, or even make extreme overclocks to your system. In our last power supply comparison the Cooler Master Real Power M850 came out as the winner in this segment.
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Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer OEM Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer OEM Sound cards
In games, every frame per second counts. Hence the onboard sound doesn't suffice, only hardware accelerated environmental audio will do. The Creative X-Fi Gamer provides this.
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Logitech G15 v2 Logitech G15 v2 Keyboards
The ultimate keyboard for gamers, complete with an above average Bling factor: we're of course discussing Logitech's G15 Gaming Keyboard. With extra programmable keys and a status display this is the keyboard you want for games. Aside from the useful functions, the G15 looks great, is quite pleasant to type on and has an ergonomic zero-tilt design. Key backlighting ensures you see where you're typing even when in the dark and the best thing: the moment you launch a game, the Windows keys will be disabled so you don't drop back to the desktop right when you wanted to dodge the incoming rocket.
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Razer Diamondback 3G Frost Blue Razer Diamondback 3G Frost Blue Mice
Recently Razer has equipped it's popular Diamondback mouse with a new 1800 dpi infrared sensor. The new Diamondback 3G has everything to be called the ideal gamingmouse; extremely high precision, seven programmable buttons, extra large anti-slip, buttons, and easy to use drivers. If you still lose at your favorite first person shooter with this mouse, it may be time to start practicing.
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Corepad C1 Medium Corepad C1 Medium Mouse pads
With a game PC the right mouse mat is as important as the right mouse. The Corepad C1 is the best according to us: this rubber mat has a cloth surface which offers enough feedback while still being pleasantly smooth. It works equally well with the high resolution, high sensitivity game style as with the high speed, lower resolution style others prefer. It also does a great job with the Razer Diamondback 3G.
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Logitech G51 Logitech G51 Speaker sets
The serious gamer has only two options when it comes to sound reproduction: either a good headset or a surround speakerset. We recommend the Logitech G51, a 5.1 surround speakerset with excellent sound that is specially aimed towards gamers. Our tests have indeed proven that these speakers work really well in games.
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ASUS MK241H ASUS MK241H Monitors
For a powerful system such as we are building here, a 24 inch monitor's native 1920x1200 resolution is quiteworkable even for modern games. There are two things of importance to gamers; a low response time, and if possible, to have as little inputlag as possible. In our most recent test the ASUS MK241H did well in both areas. Combined with the friendly pricetag this makes for a great solution for gamers.
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Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset Headsets
Late at night, at LAN parties or if you just prefer a headset for playing games, the Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset is an excellent choice. In our recent comparison test it scored best where it comes to price/performance ratio, with above average musicality while games effects sounded crisp and sharp.
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