:: www.hardwarezone.com®- Recommended Upgrade Guide 2005 ::



	Designed for the new Socket 939 Athlon 64 processors, this Shuttle system leverages on NVIDIA’s nForce3 Ultra chipset. Undoubtedly built for gamers, this cool black SFF will complement your other consoles when sharing the big screen during entertainment. You won’t find integrated graphics in this system, so don’t forget to factor in a good AGP card. RRP: S$699



	One of the most future proof CPUs for the consumer is the Athlon 64 series that became the first 64-bit CPU available for mass usage. The FX-55 is AMD's top end processor, which offers unrivalled gaming performance by leveraging on its 1GHz HyperTransport system bus link and dual integrated memory controllers. With Windows XP 64-bit launching next year, this might be a worthy investment. RRP: USD$827



	For the hardcore overclockers requiring extremely high system bus speeds, the KingMax HardCore DDR500 has an excellent performance to value ratio. As found by our online publication, these already fast memory modules could overclock effortlessly to DDR550 and effectively raise the system bus speed and memory bandwidth for even greater performance. RRP: S$340



	Spinning at 10,000RPM, the Western Digital Raptor WD740GD is able to hold its own against mainstream SCSI drives, except that this drive uses the prevalent Serial ATA interface to achieve this speed. Aimed at the hardcore gamers with no holds barred performance and the corporate sector, it is built with the same high quality standards and offers a 5-year warranty to back it up. RRP: TBA



	DVD-ROM does make unwanted spinning noises while you are watching a DVD movie or listening to your audio CDs. Therefore Pioneer has integrated QuietDrive technology on this 16X Double Layer drive that reduces operating noise by up to 75%! It even reads DVD-RAM discs. We have more pictures on our online review. Find out how it performs as well as how it looks. RRP: S$229



	On the ATI side, the RADEON X800 XT P.E. is their fastest graphics processor and PowerColor is of the few brands offering graphics cards with this chip on both the PCIe x16 and AGP 8x interface. Integrated onboard is an ATI RAGE Theatre chip that enables both TV-output (HDTV capable) and video capturing from sources such as a video camera. Along with the card, you get all the necessary accessories and a handsome bundle of software to get you started right away. Two games are bundled and they are Hitman: Contracts and Counterstrike: Condition Zero. With such a wholesome package and features on an ultra fast graphics card, this combo certainly doesn't come cheap. RRP: S$1,199



	Creative Audigy 4 Pro is an all rounder soundcard. Gamers are pampered by EAX 4.0 that delivers real time and life-like sound effects. For DVD, it supports in-decode Dolby Digital and DTS with THX certification without an external decoder. The external module connects musical devices that records your music compositions at 113db SNR, superior 24-bit audio good enough for a simple demo. RRP: S$559



	Looking like it was meant for the professional graphic artist, the VP912s sports a contrast ratio of 450:1 and a brightness rating of 400cd/m2. Both D-sub and DVI inputs are provided and it is one of the few monitors that possess both a response timing of 12ms and the TCO’03 certification. RRP: TBA



	The Optical Desktop 3.0 is a curve-design keyboard that lands your hands in a more natural position. The amazing long battery life let you can work longer on this programmable keyboard and mouse combo. The middle mouse button acts as a four-way directional for scrolling web pages and documents vertically and horizontally. Ideal for office use. RRP: TBA



	Designed for DVD, gaming and AV enthusiasts, this is the first THX® certified 7.1 multimedia speaker system that features Titanium Supertweeters which extend high frequency suitable for DVD-audio playback. A wide range of connectors includes line-in, M-PORT and headphone jack for connection to other devices and comes with a wireless remote control. RRP: S$699


	It is not uncommon for homes to have more than 1 PC. The solution to surf the internet and to share files among all the PCs is networking through the use of a router. Thanks to Linksys WRT54GS broadband wireless solution, all the PCs can be connected to a router without laying long wires to each other. All you need is either Linksys's WMP54GS PCI adapter or PCMCIA adapter connected wirelessly to a broadband wireless router with security features, and everyone at home can start surfing the net anywhere, anytime. For more information about Linksys WRT54GS Broadband wireless solution, visit: http://www.linksys.com