Weekly Buyer's Guide: Mid-Range System - March 2004

Memory

Recommendation: 2 X 256MB Mushkin Basic Green PC3200 (CAS2.5)
Price: $90 shipped ($45 per module)

Mushkin, like Corsair, also makes well performing, low cost, and reliable PC3200 memory. Mushkin calls these PC3200 modules their "Basic Green" series, whereas their higher end modules may have names such as "Level One" or "Level II". Overall, the performance difference between "high end" PC3200 and "low end" PC3200 (mostly determined by their CL rating, among other memory latency timings) is very small, and certainly not noticeable enough to warrant the extra cost of higher end PC3200 modules, or even PC3500 and PC3700 modules (for overclockers).

Alternative: 2 X 256MB Mushkin PC3500 Level One Dual Pack (CAS2)
Price: $138 shipped (shipped together in same package)

We've recommended Mushkin's Level One memory in other Buyer's Guides due to its great performance, overclockability, and price, and that is exactly why we are recommending it in this Buyer's Guide today. However, we are recommending the 256MB versions instead of the 512MB versions that we had recommended before because this Buyer's Guide concentrates on mid-range systems where 1GB of memory (2 X 512MB) is usually overkill and where users are still fairly sensitive to price. In comparison to the recommended Basic Green modules above, a $48 price premium doesn't get you a whole lot more; basically, these modules give you an extra 33MHz (433MHz versus 400MHz) in speed and a lower latency (CAS 2-3-3 instead of CAS 2.5-4-4). You will experience a boost in speed, without any doubt, but how much depends on what programs you use. If you game a lot, the extra clock frequency and lower latencies of the Level One modules will definitely be useful. If not, you will probably not notice any difference in performance whatsoever.

Video

Recommendation: 128MB PowerColor Radeon 9600 Pro, DVI, TV-out
Price: $129 shipped

Ever since the release of the ATI R300 cores and their later iterations, ATI has either led or has had a clear lead over NVIDIA in terms of performance and price. The same is still true of ATI at the moment, a whole 18 months since the release and availability of R300 core video cards. That's why, today, we highly recommend purchasing a 9600 Pro for your mid-range system, as it offers great DX8 and good DX9 performance for the price. To put it simply, the 9600 Pro is the best bang-for-the-buck video card on the market. PowerColor makes a nice 9600 Pro for just $129 or so shipped; the additions of DVI and TV-out for this price are unique, and overall a great deal. 2D IQ quality is excellent, up to 1600x1200 desktop resolutions with the right monitor, essentially on par with retail ATI versions of the 9600 Pro. As previously mentioned, 3D performance is excellent in DX8 games and good in DX9 games, and 128MB of memory will be plenty until more intense DX9 games are released later this year and next year.

Of course, if you're not a gamer or don't plan on playing games more than once a year, or ever, a 9600 Pro would be a pointless purchase. We would instead suggest the ATI Radeon 9200SE that we recommended last week, which goes for about $40 shipped online currently. The 9200SE provides the excellent 2D quality non-gamers need, along with reliable drivers, great online ATI customer support, and up to DX8.1 support for future Microsoft operating systems. You could always opt for the cheapest of cheap ATI cards in the Radeon 7000, but you won't be getting DX8 support, which should be the bare minimum for computer systems that plan to be used beyond the next 18-24 months, when the next operating systems release will necessitate DX8 of some form for smooth operation.

Alternative: 128MB PowerColor Radeon 9700 Pro, DVI, TV-out
Price: $183 shipped

Another video card that we suggest taking a close look at is the now 18-month old 9700 Pro, but still a great card to this day. It can be found at most popular online retailers for about $190 shipped, and some other vendors for a bit less. The 9600 Pro and 9700 Pro offer basically the same 2D IQ quality if you're comparing the same manufacturers (PowerColor in our cases). The defining difference is the 9700 Pro's gaming performance, which is about 35% faster in most popular 3D games, like Unreal Tournament 2003 for example. The $53 price premium for a 9700 Pro over a 9600 Pro is well worth it for DX8 and most DX9 games, especially at higher resolutions like 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. Otherwise, however, the 9700 Pro provides no other describable advantages over a 9600 Pro.

One final word of advice: do not purchase 9800SE video cards. They perform on par or, in most cases, slower than a 9600 Pro in 3D games and cost closer to a 9700 Pro. Do not be fooled - a 9800SE performs nothing like a full-blown 8 pipe 256 bit (memory interface) 9800 Pro.

Listed below is part of our RealTime pricing engine, which lists the lowest prices available on ATI video cards from many different reputable vendors:



If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.