by Joshua Gulick

wice weve invited the top system builders in North America to send us their show-horses, and twice theyve obliged, delivering top-tier systems with power and beauty that speak volumes of their makers skill and dedication to the art of building the perfect PC. But, as Morpheus pointed out, Time is always against us. The champions of May 2003, while still formidable, simply cant stay in the ring with todays heavyweights, so we called on Falcon Northwest, Maingear, and Voodoo to toss practicality in the gutter and build a new pack. The only rule: Each dream PC must be available to (dream) customers. So why order a high-end computer when youre perfectly capable of building one yourself? Think of the custom computer-builder as a restaurant. Sure, you can cook a decent meal on your own, but sometimes youre willing to pay a little more to be pampered. A great restaurant staff has the tools, skills, and experience to turn a decent meal into an exotic masterpiece; a custom builder can do the same for your next PC. Custom-built systems also make great gifts for the less-technically
inclined who need a heavy-duty system, such as your kids, your spouse, or your Counter-Strike-addicted parents. Despite market-swallowing behemoths such as Dell, Gateway, and HP getting into the gamer/enthusiast mix, smaller custom builders still have a firm grasp on their corner of the exotic PC market. We picked Falcon Northwest, Maingear, and Voodoo because they pay attention to detail in a way that only diehard PC lovers can appreciate, so that each systems appearance is as polished as its performance. Every manufacturer has its own style and perception of the features that make a dream PC, and we didnt want to interfere with that creative vision by limiting a system to specific tasks or prices, so we let the system builders make the tough decisions. All three manufacturers stuffed their systems with the latest and greatest gear, so we werent surprised to see some identical components in each system (the Plextor PX708A DVDRW is clearly a favorite), but these computers are by no means triplets; each PC has its own perks, aesthetics, and cooling features. Even users who swear by the beige box will be able to appreciate the fantastic paint jobs
GRAPHICS & DESIGN BY GINGER RILEY & ANDRIA SCHULTZ
and cable organization. And if you get a chill when you see intricate mods and exotic cooling, you wont want to miss these finely crafted machines. After admiring our new pack, we hauled out the benchmarks. Futuremark recently released a slew of up-dates for its benchmarks, including a patch for 3DMark03 (build 340), but old habits die hard; were not ready to give up 3DMark2001 SE just yet. We ran
both benchmarks, then moved on to PCMark04, which adds System and Graphics to its standard CPU, Memory, and HDD tests. We also ran BAPCos new SYSmark 2004, which pounded the systems with Internet Content Creation and Office Productivity tests. We also ran graphics-intensive AquaMark3. We wrapped up our reviews by playing DVDs and CDs and putting the PCs through their gaming paces.
With the benchmarks out of the way, we took each system for a test spin (well, several). We would have loved to play Half-Life 2 or Doom III on these beasts, but as we go to print, both titles are MIA, so we turned to one of our DirectX9 favorites: Halo. Each PC satisfied our urge for power, and each wowed us with its custom features. Read on as we expose the guts of todays heavyweights. (For our complete benchmarks, go to www.cpumag.com/cpuapr04/pack.)
Falcon sent us its Mach V last year, a screaming fast system that included a brain-rattling $16,600 Klipsch speaker system. This year, the Mach V is back, but it isnt the same machine by any means. Falcon overhauled its top-tier PC inside and out, and turned its standard Cooler Master ATC-110 into an Exotix art gallery. Trust us, when you see the Mach Vs artwork youll be itching for Half-Life 2 like you never have before. The Cooler Master ATC-110 is tall and deep, making it the perfect canvas for Falcons artists. Unlike most custom-built PCs, the Mach V doesnt sport loud colors, alien-like facades, or even a window, but it will make your jaw drop all the same. Falcon used a white, glossy, automotive finish on the top and left side of the PC, but put only the Falcon logo on the front drive panel, which makes for a crisp, clean look. The right panel sports one of the best paint jobs weve ever seen. Even if you have been living under a rock for the past several years, youll recognize Gordon Freeman right away. Valve supplied part of the artwork, which depicts the Black Mesa hero walking through a battered city, crowbar in hand. But the original picture didnt include enough scenery to Gordons left to fill out the ATC-110s wide panel, so Falcons own artist brought his 22 years of experience to bear, filling in the right side of the Exotix painting by hand.

Although youll hate to turn the lights off with this beauty in the room, youll need to find the strength so you can enjoy Falcons other work of art: the LaserWorks panel. The Mach Vs left panel is snow-white, except for a brightorange Half-Life 2 logo. Not one to settle for a pair of metal cutters and a Dremel, Falcon used lasers to the cut the aluminum panel, added an orange acrylic panel, and threw a ton of LEDs into the mix. Well, perhaps it didnt throw the LEDs. Its actually an incredibly painstaking process, says Kelt Reeves, Falcons president and founder. All those circuit boards have to be customcut, depending on the customers logo, and very, very carefully placed so that each one illuminates the correct part of the logo without casting a shadow from itself or any of the other pieces in there. As it turns out, Falcon pushed our must-be-available rule a little bit;
although Valve sent Falcon the artwork and approved the Exotix panels for promotional use, it hasnt (as of press time) given Falcon the green light to ship computers that bear the artwork. Put that right under Finish game on your To Do list, would ya, Valve? The artwork inside the case has more than simply aesthetic value. Falcon uses cable ties to secure the dozens of cables that normally clog a PCs airflow. Falcons system builders bend the long cords, including the extra-thick round cables, and then tuck the unsightly folds out of sight. Thanks to the cases clutter-free insides, the Mach V keeps the temps (and the noise) low with two 80mm fans. The 450W Enermax EG365P-VE PSU increases the airflow, but generates surprisingly little noise. The fan that cools the Mach Vs 3.2GHz Prescott P4 CPU is as close to exotic cooling as heatsink-fan combos

SPECIFICATIONS

Case Cooler Master ATC-110 (Exotix Half-Life 2 Theme) Power Supply Enermax EG365P-VE 450W Motherboard ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe Chipset i875P, ICH5R CPU 3.2GHz Intel P4 Extreme Edition with Hyper-Threading (Prescott) Heatsink/Fan Unit Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu RAM 1GB Corsair TWINX10243200LLPT PC3200 (512MB x 2) Hard Drive 250GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 7200rpm 8MB Cache SATA (x 2) CD-RW Toshiba SD-M1802 16X/48X CD-RW DVDRW Plextor PX708A 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD-R, 4X DVD+RW, 2X DVDRW, 12X DVD-ROM, 40X/24X/40X CD-RW NIC/Modem Integrated Monitor NEC MultiSync LCD1960NX-BK 19-inch LCD Video Card 256MB BFG Technologies Asylum GeForce FX 5950 Ultra Sound Card Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Speakers Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 Keyboard Logitech Cordless MX Duo Mouse Logitech Cordless MX Duo OS WinXP Home Price $5,495 Extras BeanForge coffee, Falcon LaserWorks Half-Life 2 panel, Exotix Half-Life 2 panel, mousepad, coffee mug, T-shirt

Extras. Falcon knows its customers, so the company tosses a bag of coffee beans, an oversize mug, and other goodies into the mix.

BENCHMARKS

3DMark2001 SE 3DMark03 AquaMark03 Quake III 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,024 Halo 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,351.6fps 347.95fps 328.4fps 51.66fps 47.49fps 39.26fps
get. The Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu includes copper and aluminum fins that encircle the heatsinks fan. The fan is so large that it covers a corner of the northbridges heatsink. The ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe board includes the 875P northbridge and ICH5R southbridge, and boasts four dual-channel slots that support DDR memory up to PC3200, so Falcon added two 512MB Corsair TWINX 1024-3200LLPT DIMMs. Falcon chose BFG Technologies 256MB Asylum GeForce FX 5950 Ultra to power your most graphics-intensive games. The video card includes its own heat pipe and fans that hang over the nearest PCI slot, which means you probably wont be able to use that slot, but the motherboard has four other slots (a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS fills one of those PCI slots). Falcon tossed two 250GB Hitachi Deskstars into the systems internal 5.25-inch bays and two powerful optical drives into the upper bays. Youll
use the 16X/48X Toshiba CD-RW to handle everyday tasks, but when you need to burn or watch DVDs, youll turn to the super-powered Plextor PX708A. We werent surprised to see that all three system builders chose the Plextor DVD+RW; if you want to cover all of a customers burning needs, this is the way to go. The drive also doubles as a 52X/32X/52X CD-RW. Once we finished poking and prodding, we stared into the 19-inch flatpanel NEC monitor and started fragging. Even on the flat-panel monitor, the picture was clear and bright. The system handled our games without a hitch and scored particularly well in AquaMark3, posting 49694. Next, we put our The Matrix DVD into the Plextor drive and kicked back as the Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 system brought the movie to life. The speakers couldnt match the massive Klipsch system we tested last year, but they provided plenty of crisp sound. Now Valve, about that art approval.
LaserWorks. Falcon uses more than 80 LEDs to make its LaserWorks panel stand out.
LaserWorks. Play by the light of your brand-new, powerhouse system.
Artwork. Falcon takes art on the PC to an entirely new level.
Cables. Ribbon cables dont always mean a cluttered interior. Falcon uses cable ties to tuck these cables out of the way.

Memory. Falcon tucks 1GB of PC3200 Corsair memory into the boards dual-channel banks.
Heatsink & Fan. Youll need to kick the Zalman CNPS7000A-AlCu from Silent mode to Normal when you overclock the 3.2GHz Intel P4 Extreme Edition processor.
Video Card. The Asylum GeForce FX 5950 Ultras copper heat pipes and fans might block the top PCI card, but the mobo has three other empty slots.
Serial ATA Drives. Half a terabyte of storage space not enough? No problem. The ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe has two extra SATA connectors.
The Maingear F131 burst through our doors last year and thrashed the highest benchmark scores on our books, so we invited Maingear again to build a system worthy of joining our new pack. The New Jersey system builder responded by shipping us a massive CRT, a 7.1 speaker system, and a computer that housed not one, but two exotic cooling systems. The aptly named BEAST also carries a monstrous $8,093 price tag, but then, it wouldnt be a dream PC if Joe Average, or even Joe AboveAverage, could order one on a whim. We asked for power, and Maingear delivered a system that hums at just a hair less than 4GHz. Zoom, zoom. Falcon isnt the only system builder wielding a paintbrush. Maingears artists used Glasurit automotive paint (think Porsche and Rolls-Royce) to create a space theme that spans the Asetek VapoChill chassis. The paint is so glossy that the system can double as a mirror. The right panel sports Maingears logo, and the left panel has a rather small acrylic window that lets you take a peek at your systems guts. Unfortunately, the case lacks any kind of window near the VapoChill unit, which swallows the upper third of the large case. If you want to see the VapoChill for yourself, youll need to remove the side panels and then lift the top panel. The VapoChill uses much of the same equipment that your refrigerator uses, including a compressor, a condenser, and a capillary tube. The VapoChill also includes a CPU kit that attaches to the socket frame. The unit is too large to fit inside most cases, so Asetek offers its own case, which sits the unit just above the PCs components. Once you pop up the top panel, you will notice that Maingear also stashed part of its watercooling system next to the VapoChill unit. Both watercooling
and VapoChill tubes drop through a hole near the rear of the case. According to the small display in the computers front panel, the VapoChill cooled the processor to a balmy 27 degrees. The watercooling system snakes around the 550W Enermax PSU to the powerful 256MB ATI Radeon 9800XT. So why did Maingear stuff two heavy-duty cooling units into its system? Overclocking, overclocking. We chose the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition because we know how to overclock it, says Wallace Santos, vice president of Maingear. And indeed it does. Intel rates this P4 EE Gallatin processor at 3.2GHz, but it has plenty of untapped power. Taking advantage of the supercool system, Maingear cranked the processor up to 3972MHz, just 28MHz short of the big 4.0. Despite

the heavy overclock, the system ran stable through all of our benchmarks and posted 12542 in PCMark04s CPU test, almost 3,000 points higher than the other systems scores. But the cooling systems and processor arent the BEASTs only high-end components of note. Two of the ABIT IC7-MAX3s dual-channel memory slots hold 512MB Corsair TWINX 10244000PRO DIMMS. Power users will like the RAMs fast PC4000 rating, and modders will like the double rows of lights on each DIMM that flicker to indicate RAM activity. The motherboard also includes four SATA ports. Maingear installed two blazing-fast 74GB Western Digital 10,000rpm hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration to boost the computers performance, and then added the same two 250GB Hitachi 7200rpm hard drives that Falcon used, for a total of
Cooling. The BEAST stashes most of its watercooling and VapoChill equipment on this top shelf.
Chipset.The ABIT IC7-MAX3s i875P northbridge has its own heatsink and fan.
Capacitors. ABITs OTES (Outside Thermal Exhaust System) protects the motherboards capacitors.
Watercooling. Maingears watercooling system extends beyond the card to accept the systems locking valves.
VapoChill. The VapoChills processor attachment isnt pretty, but it keeps the CPU at sub-zero temperatures, so were not complaining.
Hard Drives. Need some extra storage space? The BEAST has 148GB at 10,000rpm and 512GB at 7200rpm.
Case Power Supply Motherboard Chipset CPU Asetek VapoChill Enermax EG651P-VE 550W ABIT IC7-MAX3 i875P, ICH5R 3.2GHz Intel P4 Extreme Edition with Hyper-Threading (Gallatin) at 3972MHz Heatsink/Fan Unit Asetek VapoChill RAM 1GB Corsair TWINX10244000PRO PC4000 (512MB x 2) Hard Drive 74GB Western Digital WD740GD 10,000rpm 8MB Cache SATA (x 2); 250GB Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 7200rpm 8MB Cache SATA (x2) CD-RW Plextor Premium 52X/32X/52X CD-RW DVD+-RW Plextor PX708A 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD-R, 4X DVD+RW, 2XDVDRW, 12X DVD-ROM, 40X/24X/40X CD-RW NIC/Modem Integrated Monitor NEC MultiSync FE2111SB 22-inch Flat CRT Video Card 256MB SE Maingear Arctic Radeon 9800XT Water Cooled Sound Card Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro Speakers Creative Labs Gigaworks S750 7.1 Keyboard Logitech Cordless MX Duo Mouse Logitech Cordless MX Duo OS WinXP Pro Price $8,092.70 Extras Asetek WaterChill system, VapoChill system, custom paint job, side panel window

Its no secret that Canada-based Voodoo PC is one of the most meticulous system builders around. Already famous for its mastery of origami-style ribbon cable folding and sparklingclean case interiors, Voodoo has turned its innovative eye to the next often-unsightly mess that clogs so many enthusiast PCs: watercooling. The result is partial ownership of exotic cooling developer CoolIt Systems, an ultra-small but powerful liquid chilling system, and yet another gorgeous, powerhouse PC. Instead of using glossy automotive paint, Voodoo brushed and anodized the exterior of the Rage F:1s black Voodoo MESA Chassis. Even the thumbscrews are anodized black. But Voodoo didnt stop there: It repeated the same process inside the case, turning a clean, but boring aluminum interior into a dark red inferno. The F:1s side panel sports Voodoos logo and features an extra large window that shows off the red interior and all of the components. We were surprised to find that Voodoo chose a glass window instead of the mainstream acrylic. Luxury, luxury. Voodoo likes quiet PCs as much as the rest of us, but its much more fana, er, meticulous than most of us, so it hunted down and eliminated several potential noise pollutants. To prevent
the aluminum side panels from vibrating, the system builder attached four rubber grips to the back of the case. Each rubber grip straddles the tiny space between panel and case and clamps the
3DMark2001 SE 3DMark03 AquaMark03 Quake III 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,024 Halo 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,352.2fps 348.85fps 323.9fps 49.37fps 47.07fps 37.71fps
Wire Guide. The wire guide attaches to four rubber blocks that prevent the side panels from vibrating.
Extras. Voodoo completes the Rage F:1 with a T-shirt and custom gaming mousepad.
two together with screws, which means youll need a screwdriver to remove the panel. Voodoo also customized the computers feet to avoid vibration. Each foot has an aluminum block and a half-inchthick rubber shoe. A large, solid door covers most of the front of the chassis, but Voodoo didnt use it as an excuse to ignore the optical drive bays. Both the Plextor Premium 52X/32X/52X CD-RW and the Plextor PX708A DVD+RW sit behind a brushed, anodized black faceplate that lowers when the drive opens. Standard faceplates cover the two empty drive bays, but customers can buy the special plates to cover additional drives. Voodoo also managed to put brushed faceplates over the floppy drive and media card reader. The Voodoo Illuminated Mask decoration standing below the door doubles as a vent that conceals Voodoos Airbox. The Airbox, which uses a filter
to prevent dust from entering the system, uses dual 92mm fans to force air into the computer and alongside the hard drives. An unusual hard drive chassis stands the two 74GB Western Digital 10,000rpm SATA hard drives on their sides directly in front of the fans. Despite the large fans, the F:1 is extremely quiet. The drives combined 148GB of hard drive space may not store your entire MP3 and video collection, but it can handle plenty of games and day-to-day applications. Customers that are willing to sacrifice 10,000rpm hard drive bliss for extra storage can order hard drives as large as 250GB. Voodoos Liquid Chiller cools the systems 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX51 SledgeHammer processor and 256MB Voodoo F:1 ATI Radeon 9800XT Liquid video card. The Liquid Chiller attaches to the front and back of the video card to cool the GPU and the

cards memory. Unlike traditional watercooling systems, which are generally bulky units that eat up most of a PCs free space, the Liquid Chiller clings to the inside back panel between the video card and the PSU. We were surprised to see such small (3/16-inch diameter) tubes leading to the processor and graphics card, but Voodoos unit uses a chiller to cool the water instead of a large radiator. As a result, the unit requires less water to cool the systems components. Despite the complex tubing and cooling block system, a user can upgrade to a new video card without returning the system to Voodoo, thanks to the Liquid Chillers two-piece video card system, which includes the cooling blocks and plates. All we do is send them a video card with the plates on it already, and all they have to do is unbolt the block and bolt it on the card, says Rahul Sood, Voodoos president and CTO. Thats it. Although the Liquid Chiller provides excellent, quiet cooling (Voodoo overclocked our systems processor to 2.3GHz without any trouble), Voodoo is already developing a high-end cooling system that it believes will put the VapoChill cooler to shame. Itll be quieter, less heavy; itll basically fit in our F:1 just like you see right now, Rahul told us. Rahul couldnt give us any more details before we went to press, but he expects the new cooling system to be available by the time this issue hits the stands. Voodoo finished its system with the Creative Labs Gigaworks S750 7.1 speaker system and a 19-inch iiyama ProLite flat-panel monitor. Like Falcon Northwests monitor, the iiyama handled The Matrixs dark scenes and Halos intense graphics flawlessly, and the speakers delivered clear, soothing tunes and bone-rattling grenade explosions. The F:1 also scored well in our benchmarks, taking top honors in 3DMark03 at 6826. Like Falcon Northwest and Maingear, Voodoo is an expert at balancing aesthetics with unbridled power. Its innovative designs make it a sure fit in our pack.
Voodoo knows how to build a sleek rig.
Cables. Voodoo tucks most of the Rage F:1s cables behind the scenes.
Liquid Chiller. Yep, thats it. Voodoos tiny Liquid Chiller easily cools the overclocked AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 and the ATI Radeon 9800XT.
Voodoo Logo The Voodoo logos on the systems feet are nice touches, but youll only see them when your computer is belly up.
Chipset. The thin heatsink on the ASUS SK8Ns NVIDIA nForce3 Pro150 chipset just fits under the video card.
Cooling. This witch doctor conceals Voodoos filtered Airbox. Note that Voodoo conveniently places USB and FireWire ports on the front of the PC.

s much as we love the awe-inspiring power of the tricked-out gaming rigs we received for review, were also fond of the occasional vacation or night on the town. The costs of those rigs probably wouldnt allow us that for at least a while. So, here is a look at two more affordable, yet still very powerful, systems we received from Dell and CyberPower that are each priced at less than $4,000. (For complete specs and benchmarks, readers can go to www.cpumag.com /cpuapr04/morespecs.)
Dell Dimension XPS Dells Dimension XPS doesnt offer you the choice of a custom paint job, and its case is also fairly practical. Our review system did include Intels Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, however, and the rig came configured with dual SATA hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration. Specifications. The 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition was the heart of our XPS, but it came at a hefty price. Selecting the Extreme Edition option over the standard 3.4GHz Pentium 4 will cost you an extra $600. The 3.4GHz Extreme Edition comes with 2MB of L3 cache, which is aimed at improving performance. Our system ran on an Intel 875P chipset with two 512MB sticks of PC3200 DDR SDRAM to take advantage of the 875Ps support for dualchannel memory. The systems storage options were very impressive. Our XPS arrived with two 74GB SATA hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration. Dell also threw in a single 120GB ATA/100 hard drive, giving us 268GB of total capacity. A Samsung CD-RW drive and a TEAC DVD+RW drive rounded out the storage options. ATIs 256MB Radeon 9800XT is the only video card option for the XPS. The system also came with Dells 2001FP display, a 20-inch flat panel that includes a 16ms response time that makes it a good LCD option for gaming. Creatives Sound Blaster Audigy 2 provided our sound, and
Dells Dimension XPS offers excellent performance for a reasonable price. Loaded with a P4 Extreme Edition and and ATI Radeon 9800XT, the system provides plenty of power for about $4,000.
Logitechs Z-680 speakers churned out 5.1 surround sound. Although our XPS arrived without a modem, you can certainly have one added when ordering from Dell. The systems 10/100/1000 Ethernet support was the only connection option we really needed. Design. Dell uses a custom case for its XPS systems. The case folds open to give you toolless access to the systems inner components. In order to make everything fit together, however, Dell had to do some fancy footwork, angling the two memory slots nearest the edge of the motherboard to make room for the three 5.25-inch drive bays. This, of course, means the case probably wont be able to accommodate a new motherboard. In addition, the case is one of

the smaller ones we looked at, but thanks to its design, its relatively easy to access most components. The XPS doesnt leave much room for expansion, however. There were no empty 3.5-inch drive bays in our model, so youll need to consider removing one of the hard drives if you want to add more storage. There is one open 5.25-inch drive bay and three free PCI slots. The 20-inch flat panel also looked very sharp. Not only did it provide a sharp picture with excellent color and contrast, it was also nice and large, making it a little easier to view items at the 1,600 x 1,200 maximum resolution the display supports. Performance. Considering their components, theres no reason for any system in this
roundup to show poorly, and the XPS certainly held its ground performance-wise. The system posted a 5352 PCMark04 System score. Although the dual SATA hard drives couldve been better, they did manage a 8269 HDD score in PCMark04, and the 3.4GHz P4 Extreme Edition also
Case Power Supply Motherboard Chipset CPU Dell Custom Mini-Tower 460W Dell 875P Intel 875P; ICH5R 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition Heatsink/Fan Unit Copper heatsink; three case fans RAM 1GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM Hard Drive 148GB SATA RAID 0, 120GB ATA/100 CD-RW Samsung CD-R/RW DVD+-RW TEAC DVD+RW NIC/Modem Integrated Monitor 2001FP 20-inch LCD Video Card ATI Radeon 9800XT Sound Card Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Speakers Logitech Z-680 Keyboard Dell Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard Mouse Logitech MX500 USB OS Windows XP Home Price $3,999.00 Extras Mousepad
showed well in PCMark04 with a 5185 CPU score. As a gaming system, the XPS also did well, especially when combined with the 2001FP display. The XPS turned in a 6628 3DMark03 score (20739 in 3DMark2001 SE). In the real world, the 3DMark scores equated into a strong 252.30fps in the Quake III Arena time demos at 1,600 x 1,200. At 800 x 600, Quake III Arena scores came in at 407.95fps. Halo provided a bit more of a workout for the XPS, and it also helped test just how well the system could work with DirectX 9 games. At 800 x 600, we managed 53.07fps in the Halo time demo. Increasing the resolution to 1,024 x 768 had little effect, as the system still turned in a strong 48.17fps. Increasing the resolution to 1,280 x 1,024 cut the frame rate to 37.89fps, and at 1,600 x 1,200 the system managed 26.95fps. Final word. Dell configured a nice system for us to test, but its still relatively expensive, even for a supposedly modest rig. Although the case is easily accessible, you wont be able to do a whole lot of heavy upgrading because of the custom
motherboard. Theres also little room for expansion in the relatively small case.

Dimension XPS

$3,999 Dell (888) 799-3355 (512) 338-4400 www.dell.com
CyberPower Gamer Ultra 9800XT The CyberPower Gamer Ultra 9800XT is tricked out especially for gaming, but it arrived to us with some nice extras, including a cool gaming keyboard. There currently isnt a lot of software available that can take full advantage of this systems Athlon 64 FX-51 processor, but the CPU runs 32-bit applications just fine and at a price lower than Intels Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processors. Specifications. Running at 2.2GHz, the chief difference between the Athlon 64 FX51 and the Athlon 64 3400+ is that the FX series of CPUs include a 128-bit dual-channel memory controller that should help improve memory throughput. Our system

3DMark2001 SE 3DMark03 AquaMark03 Quake III 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,024 1,600 x 1,280 Halo 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,024 1,600 x 1,407.95fps 405fps 340.9fps 252.3fps 53.07fps 48.17fps 37.89fps 26.95fps
included two 512MB sticks of buffered PC3200 DDR SDRAM. Oddly enough, our system arrived with a Gigabyte K8NNXP-940 motherboard, although on its Web site, CyberPower only offers the ASUS SK8N motherboard for this system. Both motherboards utilize the NVIDIA nForcechipset, however. The
Case Aluminum X-SuperAlien Server with Windows and LCD temperature display Power Supply Thermaltake Xaser III 480W Motherboard Gigabyte K8NNXP-940 Chipset nForceCPU Athlon 64 FX-51 Heatsink/Fan Unit Stock heatsink; four case fans RAM 1GB Registered PC3200 DDR SDRAM Hard Drive 240GB SATA RAID 0 DVD-ROM Artec 16X DVD-ROM DVD Burner NEC DVD+R/RW DVD-R/RW NIC/Modem Integrated Monitor Viewsonic 17-inch VE175B LCD Video Card ATI Radeon 9800XT Sound Card Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Speakers Creative Labs Inspire T7700 7.1 Surround Sound Keyboard Ideazon Zboard Mouse Microsoft USB Explorer IntelliMouse OS Windows XP Home Price $2,630.00 Extras Crossfire keyboard for Ideazon Zboard
Looking to go 64-bit? The CyberPower Gamer Ultra 9800XT includes AMDs Athlon 64 FX-51 processor and ATIs Radeon 9800XT video card for less than $3,000.
3DMark2001 SE 3DMark03 AquaMark03 Quake III 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,024 Halo 800 x 600 1,024 x 768 1,280 x 1,335fps 332fps 310fps 51fps 48fps 37fps
nForceonly offers a 600MHz HyperTransport link instead of the full 800MHz HT link the VIA K8T800 chipset provides. NVIDIA claims you wont miss the extra 200MHz, but its planning to support a full 800MHz HT link in its upcoming nForcechipset. The systems dual 120GB SATA hard drives provided plenty of storage. The drives came configured in a RAID 0 array to provide optimum performance, and the system also came with a standard DVD-ROM drive and a DVD+RW drive. Our configuration included a Sound Blaster Audigy 2. Combined with the A temperature LCD and fan controls help you included Creative Inspire T7700 7.1 surkeep the system cool and quiet. round sound speaker package, the system churned out great sound. An ATI Radeon The case does have plenty of room for 9800XT with 256MB of video memory proexpansion. Although two of the six internal vided plenty of graphics processing power. 3.5-inch bays are occupied by the dual CyberPower also shipped us a ViewSonic SATA hard drives, you still have four interVE175b 17-inch LCD. nal bays and two external 5.25-inch drive Design. Our Gamer Ultra 9800XT came bays available. with a fairly decent-looking case; it was The Ideazon Zboard the system shipped modded out with a side window and case with accommodates replaceable keyboards. fans that lit up. In addition to the four case So, for example, you can use the included fans, the system included an intake fan on Crossfire keyboard to replace the standard the side, an exhaust fan on the top, and two keyboard when playing FPS games. Custom rear exhaust fans. Two thumbscrews sekeyboards for other types of games are also cured the side, although the thumbscrews available from Ideazon (www.ideazon.com). Performance. Although the Gamer Ultra arent strictly necessary, as the side panel did post some strong scores, it seemed to can latch securely in place without screws, have a few problems handling some of the allowing for toolless entry.

s power users, its quite possible that you wont be running out and buying an entirely new system. Youre more likely the type of user who makes a few upgrades here and there. In that light, here are a few current choice components to consider and some quick thoughts about each component category.

Processors

Ready or not, AMD has gone 64-bit. If we had to choose at press time between AMDs Athlon 64 3400+ ($421.50) and its Athlon 64 FX-51 ($745), wed probably opt for the Athlon 64 3400+. The only thing you might miss if you go with a 3400+ rather than an FX-51 is the FX51s dual-channel memory controller. However, the FX-51s requirement for registered DDR SDRAM makes the 3400+ a little more attractive. In early spring, however, AMD may have its next-generation FX processor on the market. AMD is expected to move from a 940-pin package to a 939-pin package and drop the requirement for registered DDR SDRAM. Were anxious to see the next FX chip, but for right now wed save some money and stay with the 3400+.
Early this year Intel finally introduced chips based on its Prescott core. The new core uses Intels new 90nm fabrication process and features numerous changes under the hood to provide more headroom for increasing clock speeds. Some of the changes, however, make Prescott a little slower than Northwoodbased chips clock per clock. Until we see some speed increases, wed probably stick with Northwood. The new 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition ($1,000 per 1,000 units) is a nice processor, but you will have to shell out some serious cash to pick one up. If youre on a slightly more modest budget, you might want to opt for a standard Northwoodbased 3.4GHz P4 ($420).
Motherboards Chaintechs ZNF-150 ($169) is an excellent board for the Athlon 64 3400+. The motherboard uses NVIDIAs nForcechipset, which supports a 400MHz frontside bus. The ZNF150 also supports such high-end staples as SATA RAID and 7.1 audio. The Chaintechs CBOX3 provides a six-in-one card reader, two front USB ports, and one front FireWire port. In addition,
the DigiDoc displays your systems current temperature and 80 different POST codes. The nForcechipset the Chaintech board uses doesnt support a full 800MHz HyperTransport link, but the nForceis reportedly a better chipset for overclockers. On the Intel side, youll probably want to opt for a Canterwood board. Sure, theyre more expensive than Springdale chipsets, but Canterwood certainly brings a performance edge with it. When considering a new Canterwood board, two choices come to mind: Abits IC7-G ($152) and ASUS P4C800 Deluxe ($170). Both use the ICH5R on the southbridge and support SATA RAID 0 and 1.
recommend Mushkins highperformance memory ($252). It costs a little more, but it has a reputation for being overclockable, and it ships in the coolest packaging weve seen.
Memory Its easy to overlook memory, but its still an important component, especially if you are planning to do a little overclocking. All the motherboards we have suggested support DDR400 memory. The Canterwood motherboards utilize dual-channel memory, so you will want two identical sticks of memory to take advantage. We

Video Card ATI is known for better DirectX support, so if you do a lot of gaming in Windows, we suggest opting for an ATI card. If you have the money, go for the ATI Radeon 9800XT ($450). The 256MB of video memory might be excessive for todays games, but it will surely come in handy in the future. If you want to save a little money, the standard Radeon 9800 is a good card. NVIDIA still makes some smoking cards for desktop systems. Generally speaking, NVIDIA seems to do a better job supporting OpenGL, so if you plan on doing some 3D work in Linux, NVIDIA may be the better choice. Besides, the NVIDIA Linux drivers have improved dramatically and are typically easier to install than ATIs 3D drivers. The MSI GeForce 5950 Ultra ($420) card is at the high-end on the NVIDIA side.
benchmarks we threw at it. In particular, PCMark04s RAM test caused the system to crash consistently. Other PCMark04 scores, however, were strong. The system managed a 4134 PCMark04 CPU score, but the hard drive score, although still impressive, wasnt the best we had seen at 5179. Overall, the system managed a 4376 PCMark04 score. In 3DMark2001 SE, the system posted an impressive 21106 score, which edged out the XPS. In 3DMark03, however, the system scored a 6567, roughly 60 points below the
XPS. In Quake III Arena time demos, we saw little changes in the Gamer Ultra 9800XT as we increased the resolution setting. At 800 x 600, we were averaging 335.10fps. At 1,280 x 1,024 we were still averaging 310.10fps. DirectX 9 performance seemed very respectable, as well. We managed 51.32fps in Halo at 800 x 600, but at 1,280 x 1,024 the frame rate fell to 37.09fps, roughly equal to the XPS system. Final word. The Gamer Ultra provides solid performance while actually coming in
at less than $3,000 with a 17-inch LCD. In fact, you can get a system similar to the one we received for about $2,630.

Gamer Ultra 9800XT

$2,630 CyberPower (877) 896-4965 (626) 813-7730 www.cyberpowersystem.com

by Chad Denton