Weekly Buyer's Guide: Cutting Edge System - March 2004

Video

Recommendation: 256MB PowerColor Radeon 9800XT (412MHz), DVI, TV-out
Price: $415 shipped

As we mentioned in a previous guide, ATI has had a firm grasp on the add-in desktop video market for quite some time now. While ATI's lead is quite noticeable at the low end and fairly noticeable with the mid-range sector, their lead in cutting edge isn't quite as drastic. It's still there, as even AnandTech has concluded that the 9800XT is more or less the fastest desktop gaming GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) currently available. Still, NVIDIA's 5950 Ultra closely trails the 9800XT (more on the 5950 in a moment) enough in current games in terms of speed and IQ (image quality) that it's pretty clear the 9800XT is the superior cutting edge product. That's why we recommend it today, with the manufacturer, PowerColor, yet again. With this card, you get DVI (if you have an LCD), TV-out, and 256MB of memory. The 256MB of memory will come in very handy with future DX9 titles, though not for quite some time. Overall, you're getting an incredible gaming card here. However, if you're curious about how to save a little cash without sacrificing much performance, we suggest that you check out a 128MB 9800 Pro (from any manufacturer you choose) for about $215 shipped. It contains half the memory (128MB instead of 256MB), which may hurt performance a little, but won't be at all noticeable in current games, and is only on average about 5%-10% slower in current games.

Runner-up: 256MB Leadtek GeForce FX 5950 Ultra, DVI/VIVO
Price: $390

The GeForce FX 5950 isn't quite as fast as ATI's 9800XT video cards nor is the IQ as good in current games, but where NVIDIA has done a good job is pricing. On average, 9800XT cards are $40 more than their GeForce FX 5950 competition. For a slight performance edge, that's not a small amount of cash. True, this isn't a video card for a budget system, this is for a cutting edge system, and so $40 may be insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Still, it's something to ponder if you have a certain dollar amount you don't want to exceed with this system. Anyway, Leadtek manufacturers the particular GeForce FX 5950 that we're recommending here today. We like this model's cooling configuration/style, bundled software, Leadtek support, and features like VIVO and DVI.

We'd be remiss not to mention that several high-end video cards will be launched in a couple months that should end up being considerably faster than the Radeon 9800XT and GeForce FX 5950 Ultra. Therefore, if you do not have an urgent need to build your system, we suggest waiting for the release of these new high-end video cards. It's not the end of the world if you build your high-end system today with a 9800XT or 5950 Ultra, both cards offer tremendous performance in today's video games and most future games. However, just be aware that something will come along in a couple months that will be much faster for the same price or less, depending on exactly what models are launched.

Monitor

Recommendation: Samsung 1100DF 21" (20" viewable) DynaFlat CRT
Price: $420 shipped

Not only does Samsung make a great mid-range monitor with their 955DF series, they make a great high-end monitor with their 1100DF series too. The 1100DF is capable of refresh rates of 75Hz at 2048x1536 and 85Hz at 1280x1024 and has a dot pitch of 0.20mm. Text clarity is very impressive, glare is non-existent, and gaming performance is top-of-the-line.

Runner-up: Philips 22" (20" viewable) 202P45 CRT
Price: $497 shipped

The 202P45 may cost $80 more, but its performance is nothing short of outstanding. The 202P45 has features like a max resolution of 2048x1536 @ 80Hz (1600x1200 @ 85Hz) and a 0.25mm dot pitch aperture grille. The aperture grille is what makes this monitor particularly special. Going by its word for word definition, the aperture grille is a series of vertical wires stretched vertically down the inside of a CRT to mask the beams from the electron guns at the back of the tube. What the 202P45's flat aperture grille essentially does is help to minimize the geometric distortion that users will see on increasingly larger screens, like this 22" monitor. With this feature, the 202P45 is basically able to display a more precise and accurate picture with sharp overall text clarity compared to monitors without flat aperture grille technology. Because of this feature, the 202P45 is truly one of the best 22" monitors on the market that doesn't force you to take out a second mortgage on the house.