CPU-zilla
and Vijay's Christmas & Millenium Wish List
by CPU-zilla and Vijay Anand (19 Dec 99)
'Tis the Season
'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la. Yes, it is the time of the year again, when you crack your head over what to buy for your loved ones. Although, traditionally most people would shop for toys, candies and pretty souvenirs, we should also consider buying some of the best items the computer world has to offer. I know that buying your mother a piece of 128MB PC-133 SDRAM sounds crazy, but I believe it is always good to improvise and be creative with the kind of gifts you can get. You can consider a lovely iMac for her kitchen where she can view some of the latest recipes in the internet, or probably keep her company with the endless stream of her favourite MP3s played from the harddisk. The variety of products to choose from seems endless, but with careful consideration, you will be able to find a couple of gem that fits your criteria as the ideal gift, as well as your budget too. I know most of our parents are too stubborn to embrace technology, so I hope you don't take the iMac too seriously, since it will most probably end up as a piece of furniture in the kitchen.
Anyway, we took a few hours off our busy schedule to help you decide the ideal gift for your loved ones, as well as yourself. Although the products listed here are what we feel as ideal, some of them may not be the most affordable. However, we feel that they are exceptional products, and are always our favourite (although they may not be 5-star award winners). Well, without further ramblings, we present you with 10 of our favourite products that we love to have.
Our Wish List
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CPU-zilla's
Wish List
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Vijay's
Wish List
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CPU
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I would definitely go for an Athlon since they are one of the fastest x86 CPUs around. What's more, there's plenty of variety to choose from, with speeds ranging from 500MHz to 700MHz. Although the 750MHz version has been announced, it may just be too expensive to own one. If you are the adventurous type, getting a 500MHz to overclock seems like a very good thing to do indeed. However, I suggest that you overclock after all the festivities. Don't kill your holidays with a fried CPU. Well, don't get me wrong. Intel CPUs are pretty good value for money too. However, the results speak for itself and it is obvious that the Athlon is a better buy. Look at it this way, how exciting would it be when your unwrapped gift is an Intel Pentium !!!? It would definitely be more exciting to get something different for a change, wouldn't it? |
1) K7
@ 1Ghz Everyone of us loves to hit the 1000MHz mark don't we? hehe!! And of course the K7 is the best x86 CPU that deserves to be run at such high speeds. I know, I know... it would cost me an arm and a leg to get one of these today but to high-flyers... it's their ticket to bragging rights. 2) K7-500 overclock
to 750MHz Why no Intel on my list? Because their pricing sucks along with their poor i820 mobos unlike K7 with a new architechture and competitive pricing. |
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Motherboard
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This was a tough category. I was torn between the VIA Apollo 133A chipset and the ever-famous Intel 440BX. Since motherboards with the new VIA chipset are scarce and little to choose from, I decided to pick one from the Intel 440BX family. The Intel 440BX still packs a lot of punch, especially with the current release of Coppermine CPUs that runs at 100MHz. My choice of the ideal BX board would be AOpen's AX6BC Pro II Millenium Edition. Comes complete with overclocking features and spots a unique platinum heatsink. What else can you get to make your system complete? However, it doesn't come cheap. Still, the value is not in its performance, but rather its rarity. Owning one of the 2500 pieces is really something. |
AOpen AX6BC-Pro
II Millenium Edition If you haven't seen one of these yet, you're missing the coolest artwork for a PC component that I've seen to date! Just the overall impression makes me drool and so will you guys. And hey, why not? It looks special and so does its overclocking capabilities. Plus, there's only 2500 of them around the world and only 20 in Singapore. It's really a Y2K souvenier for the PC! The price is probably sky-high too.. more than any single processor mobo ever and that's for sure. If you ever get one of these as a present, if you're a real techie, I bet you wouldn't be able to sleep at all for a few days and you won't till you build a small shrine for it! (exaggerating a little, huh?). Though it's missing AGP-4x and ATA-66, I don't think it will effect the PC's performance noticeably at all. But you will be missing the AGP 1/2 divider that the VIA-Apollo 133 chipsets and i820's provide. Hmm.. |
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Graphics
Card
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This was also another tough decision. I was tempted by the power of NVidia's GeForce 256 chipset, but I'm just too reluctant to get it until I see more choices in the market. Moreover, it does have some problems with Athlon systems which makes it somewhat undesirable. As such, my ideal card still goes to Matrox's G400 Max 32MB DualHead. It features great graphics quality, as well as clear TV output. Great card with superb features. This is truly a must buy if you want clear and crisp DVD playback on your TV. If you find the Max too expensive, you can always opt for the 16MB DualHead version which offers the same features, minus the performance and memory. |
1) CL GeForce-Pro
DDR 2) Matrox G400
MAX DH 32MB 3) Asus V6600 Geforce
Deluxe 4) ATI Rage-Fury
MAXX |
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Monitor
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| This is easy. It is definitely the Samsung TFT monitor, that is if you're feeling mighty rich. If you are low on budget, the 17" Dynaflat CRT monitor is not a bad idea too. TFT monitors are great showpieces, and it will definitely be an item of conversation when your guests or friends see it displayed on your table. However, not many can afford such luxury, and as such, settling for a large flat-screen monitor may be the best alternative. | Sony FD-Trinitron
series vs Mitsubishi NF-tubed monitor series vs Samsung IFT series I can't choose between them as all of them present the cream of the crop flat-screened monitors. They all boil down to user-preference for selective buying. What about TFT flat-screens you may ask? I never liked the output of a TFT screen, it's not as homely as CRT based monitor. I still feel that the old CRT monitors produce sharper, brighter images and text. |
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Sound
Card
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| There is no doubt that the Sound Blaster Live! Platinum is the card to get. Bundle it together with the Optical Digital I/O card, and you have the deadliest combination. The SB Live Platinum's audio quality is one of the finest I've ever heard, and in fact, any SB Live card would give you the same audio quality. It is the bundled softwares that comes with the Platinum that makes it an attractive package. The Optical I/O card adds optical in/output to the entire system, leaving you with pure digital capabilities for those of you who own an MD or DAT player. |
1) SB-Live Value
OEM or Player with Optical I/O-2 expansion Any SB-Live card with the I/O-2 expansion module is simply the best sound-card setup for the masses. It has the Optical in/out for recording to MD digitally, plus Liveware 3 comes with the neccessary software to fully utilise it. |
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Speakers
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| There's been much hype about the Klipsch Promedia and its muscial prowess. However, it is nowhere to be found in Singapore, and the only local distributor doesn't seem to be interested in bringing it into Singapore. Furthermore, it uses 110VAC, which means additional spending on a 240VAC to 110VAC converter, which does not come cheap for a good unit. I would still go for Creative's FPS2000 since it goes so well with the Sound Blaster Live. Its digital input eliminates noise and distortion that most analog speakers encounter. Besides that, it sounds fantastic too, plus it makes your gameplay and movie viewing a lot more enjoyable. Although it is not true Dolby Surround or THX certified, it is still the best that money can buy. | 1) Creative DTT2500
Digital 5.1 speaker set OR Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 speaker set
2) Midiland S2 4100 2.1 speker set 3) Creative FPS2000 Digital 4.1 speaker set 4) Creative Soundworks Digital 2.1 speaker set 5) Altec Lansing ACS295 All of these are in order of preference. |
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Hard
Disk
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| The fastest drives I've seen so far has got to be Western Digital's Expert 7200RPM drives. The 273BA which was reviewed recently packs lots of punch which never failed to impress me. If you're not looking for such a huge drive, you can always choose a smaller capacity from this range of hard drives. The excellent value makes this a tempting buy. | 1) Maxtor DiamondMAX
40-Plus It's not in town or selling anywhere yet... but it's the fastest IDE HDD that isn't in mass retail yet. Should be arriving soon. It boasts of 10GB/platter. It really dodges past every other HDD in all benchmarks. I would love to get one. 2) WD-Expert series |
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CD-ROM
/ DVD-ROM
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| I wouldn't go for CD-ROMs anymore, although they are really dirt cheap now. The Sony 6x DVD-ROM does seem like a pretty good buy. With 32x CD-ROM capability, it offers the best of both worlds. What's more, it may be your only chance to get the last of the RPC-1 drives. When the 10x DVD-ROM drives hit the market in full force next year, you can say goodbye to multi-region since those drives will be hardware locked. If you look hard enough, you might just find a couple of ways to crack those locks. Still, for the normal user, this may be a good buy, although it may not be the best. The Pioneer slot-in drives are pretty good too, however, the slot-in mechanism puts me off, since I really hate the feeling that my precious DVD discs may get scratched in the loading process. | 1) Kenwood True
52x drives This drive is as fast a CD-ROM drive can ever get! Using multiple laser beams to pick data quickly, it's vastly faster than normal CD-ROM drives. 2) Any AOpen CD-ROM
drives |
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Removable
Storage Media
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| Zip, LS-120, Jaz, CD-RWs are out of the question. What I want is a quick backup solution before the Y2K bug stings my system. I'd go for Castlewood's ORB. It offers a huge 2.2GB capacity with access speeds faster than Iomega's Jaz. What's more, the price of its 2.2GB media is also very affordable. It offers the best value and performance. | The Fujitsu GigaMO is my choice for removable media storage. It is relatively fast, and most important of all, the media is very reliable. At least, I don't have to worry about placing my disks on top of my speakers. hehe.... |
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Miscellaneous
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| Finally, festivities without memories are useless. What you want is something that will capture your happiest moments in life, and what better way it is to capture it using the latest in digital camera technology? I would go for the Nikon Coolpix 950 digital camera which offers a 2.11 Million pixel CCD. The images produced with this baby are one of the sharpest I've ever seen. Although I've not tested one yet, the previews I've seen are enough to get my appetite going already. Yum! | 1) Logitech Trackman
Marble+ It's THE trackball mice in the market. Nothing betters this. It uses infra-red to track the positon of the mice's ball, hence no lousy rollers used in this model. For trackball users, this a mice that is god-sent. 2) MS Intellimouse
Explorer |
Conclusion
Well, it looks like our choices for certain products are pretty similar. The final choice is really yours. We feel that the products listed here are some of the best that the market has to offer currently. Match them with the appropriate hardware, and you'll have hours of endless fun. With this, all of us at Hardware Zone would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
Tell us your Christmas/Millenium wish list too!! Click picture below.
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