quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
From the “we’ll believe it when we see it” front comes word that Dell is really, really
serious now about selling AMD-based systems. Though we’ve all heard these rumors
before, this time the rumors just might be true. In an interview at the CES trade show
in January, Dell CEO Michael Dell said he “would not rule out” switching to AMD. This
caused a Piper Jaffray analyst to submit a speculative report stating, “We strongly
believe that Dell will start AMD-based system shipments as early as the second half
of 2006.”
Given Dell’s eagerness to seriously compete in the gaming market, we think it’ll
have to eventually switch to AMD. The only question is, when?Dell to Begin Selling AMD Syst ems–
For Real this Time?
If you just bought a new Raptor X and
want to show it off, WD is hard at work
lining up cases with a see-through drive
bay to do just that. At press time, it had
only inked a deal with C3Case.com, but
the drive maker says it has agreements
with Antec, Silverstone, Cooler Master,
Lian Li, and others to produce “Raptor-
friendly” cases in the near future.Want to Show Off
Your Raptor X?
You might think your WD
Raptor is a fast hard drive—
and it is—but no mechanical
device can compete with RAM
when it comes to access times,
seek times, and transfer rates.
That’s why RAM drives have
always been the Holy Grail of
geekdom. But they’ve usually
been too expensive or have
used memory that requires an
electrical current to retain the
data, making them unsuitable
for operating systems or porn collections.
That’s why we’re excited about an
upcoming DDR-based RAM drive called
the X1. It holds up to 8GB of DDR memory
that you supply. Unlike other RAM drives,
the X1 plugs into an external power supply
instead of using bus power. That means it
will retain your data even if you shut downyour PC. A power outage would still be
problematic, of course.
The X1 is a PCI Express x1 board and
is scheduled for release in Q1 of this year.
Initial production will be limited to 512
units. Price had not been determined at
press time, but you can keep an eye on
the deets at http://www.ddrdrive.com.DDR RAM Drive Incoming
When a super-fast hard drive no longer cuts it, it’s time to turn to RAM
10 MA XIMUMPC MARCH 2006
Tom McDonald has been covering games for countless
magazines and newspapers for 11 years. He lives in the New
Jersey Pine Barrens.S
tar Wars Battlefront II is a painful
experience. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a good
game, much better than the first; but it’s also a
stark reminder of a time when LucasArts made
the best space sims on the market, and how
that time is long past.
For most of the 1990s, the X-Wing and TIE
Fighter games would have placed at the head of
my top-10 list. This was in the early days of good
Star Wars gaming, so some of that appeal came,
no doubt, from the ability to play anything inside
the Star Wars universe. Though it has been about
a decade since I’ve laid eyes on them, I think it’s
more than simple novelty and nostalgia that make
these titles stick in my brain.
Battlefront II makes the mistake of reminding
us of these glory days. The ground portions of the
game are quite good, and a defi nite improvement
over the fl accid original. The game feels more
at home on the PC and less like an afterthought
port. Its graphics are clean and appealing, if not
cutting-edge, and the various story modes, units,
and mission types are drastically improved. While
the strategic element feels canned, it’s a nice
idea that shows potential for growth.
The biggest addition, however, is a new
space combat mode that allows for dogfi ghts and
capital ship engagements. The mode will probably
be fairly appealing to younger gamers, and it’s
really not that bad. The scale is suitably epic and
the combat straightforward and appealing. For
older PC gamers, however, it’s like a faint hint of
a shadow of an echo of a far better age in Star
Wars space combat. Ships have only a minimal
energy model, controls and weapons are arcade-
simple, and evasive maneuvers are preset. It is, in
every sense of the word, a shooter.
I hadn’t even thought of TIE Fighter in years,
but fi ve minutes with Battlefront II made me
realize that, even with the embarrassment of
Star Wars gaming riches we now have at hand,
a crucial component remains MIA. LucasArts
needs to return to the SW games that put them
on the map, and bring back good sim-style
space combat.Battlefront II,
Pshaw!
Give Me TIE
Fighter
GAME THEORY
THOMAS
MCDONALD