46 MA XIMUMPC OCTOBER 2005
CPU
Athlon 64 3000+
LM ‘05 can run a 64-bit OS and has
SSE3 to boot, thanks to the 90nm
shrink of its famous Athlon 64 core.
By selecting the Socket 939 version,
we get dual-channel RAM and a much
richer upgrade path. $150, http://www.amd.comVideocard
nVidia GeForce 6800 GT
For months we’ve been chomping at the
bit over the promise of SLI. Lo and behold,
today we can have an SLI-ready system
for $1,200. We picked nVidia’s GeForce
6800 GT for its upgradability, even though
the slightly faster ATI x800XL was our fi rst
choice. $295, http://www.nvidia.comMotherboard
MSI K8N Neo4/
SLI
The foundation
of LM ‘05 opens
up many possible
upgrade paths.
From SLI to dual-
core processors,
the K8N Neo4/SLI is
ready for whatever
hardware we throw
at it. And with its onboard Sound Blaster Live chip, we even get
hardware audio for free! $150, http://www.msicomputer.comCase/Power Supply
Antec Performance TX640B Series
Most of the time, the power supply you get “free” with a case is worthless.
Fortunately, that’s not so with Antec, which gives you an Antec-branded
PSU. In the TX640B, you get a 400-watt ATX 12V 2.0 spec supply with a
PCI-E power plug. Even better, the
TX640B features solid construc-
tion, comes with variable-speed
fans, and looks menacing!
$115, http://www.antec.com2005
THE PARTS
Plextor PX-716A
The Plexy gives us dual-layer DVD burns at 6x and single-
layer burns at 16x. And with 48x CD-R burns, you don’t need
another burner. $115, http://www.plextor.comWindows XP Professional OEM
Although we fl irted with the idea of using Linux to save cash,
we decided it wouldn’t be fair because we wouldn’t be able
to run our standard benchmarks. But instead of shelling out
$200 for the retail version of Windows XP Pro, we saved
more than a few rupees buying the “OEM” version. It’s just
a bare hologram disc with the certifi cate-of-authenticity
sticker, but that’s all you need. The catch is that OEM
versions can only be purchased with hardware. Fortunately,
most stores consider a power splitter cable to be hardware.
$145, http://www.microsoft.comMaxtor 300GB DiamondMax 10 SATA
We still give one editor a hard time for proclaiming that he
“couldn’t foresee ever needing 75GB of storage” when
the fi rst such drive arrived in our Lab. Yet just fi ve years
later we’re putting a 300GB drive into a budget box! The
7,200rpm DiamondMax 10 features 16MB of cache, runs
native SATA, and delivers great performance for your buck.
$175, http://www.maxtor.com1GB DDR400 Corsair RAM
We settled on 1GB of DDR400 RAM (that’s two 512MB
DIMMs) for the LM ‘05, which is the bare minimum we
recommend these days. Sure, some games such as
Battlefi eld 2 run faster with 2GB of RAM, but the belt must
be tightened somewhere. $110, http://www.corsair.comOTHER ITEMS
LEAN MACHINE 2005
Total Price:
$1,256Continued on page 48 Ë