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Building the Best Midrange Gaming PC - Ver: 10.05
Ameya Dalvi, Oct 28, 2005 1024 hrs ISTToday we plan to choose components with the best price-performance ratio in the mid-range segment .
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Optical Drive: Lite-On SOHW-1673S DVD-Writer (Rs 3,000)
A DVD writer combines the best elements of all the different optical drives. This DVD burner from LiteOn was one of the best we had in our DVD Writers comparison. The Lite-On SOHW-1673S allows you to read and write DVDs at 16X and rewrite them at up to 8X and read and write CDs at 48X. It also gives you an option of burning a Dual Layer DVD at 4X. And for 3000 bucks it's an absolute steal. Highly recommended for this system.
Sound Card: Onboard Realtek ALC-850 8 channel audio (N.A)
The quality of onboard audio has gone up significantly over the last eighteen months or so after the advent of Realtek's ALC-650 sound chip. This motherboard is equipped with ALC-850, the enhanced versions of the same audio chip. It supports 8-channel audio and churns out some high quality sound. The performance is more than satisfactory, especially when you couple it with any value speaker system. And with a processor as powerful as the one chosen above, CPU utilization is never an issue.
The onboard sound chip is better in features or performance (or at times both) than anything but a Creative SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit or an Audigy 2 ZS (of course). But do give the onboard sound a shot before you opt for a different sound card. If you don't have any complaints about the onboard sound, you might not need a separate card at all.
Speakers: Altec Lansing ATP 3 (Rs 3,200)
All those building a gaming PC reserve a part of the budget for a 5.1 channel system. It is a novelty to start with but as time goes by, the immersive gaming experience is restricted to the front channels or a headphone thanks primarily to the messy wires running around. And unfortunately I am yet to come across a real good 5.1 channel system in the midrange segment that can be termed as an undisputed winner in that category. So, instead of some average 5.1 channel system, I decided to go an excellent 2.1 channel speaker system - the Altec Lansing ATP 3. Yes, the rear channels will be absent but there will be no complaints about the sound quality in gaming, movies or music. With a rare combination of looks, sound quality and power, the ATP 3 is a great buy for Rs 3,200.
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