Hard-core gamers want the best of everything: top-tier graphics performance, sharp audio, and a monitor that displays the proceedings as vividly and precisely as possible. We tested three desktop systems--from Alienware, Dell, and Gateway--that deliver on all counts. But your wallet will look emaciated afterward: Each PC is priced above $4000.
All three systems use Intel's 2.66-GHz Core 2 Duo Extreme QX6700 CPU, which accommodates four processor cores on one chip. This approach provides lots of performance for programs that tap into multiprocessor CPUs (such as Excel 2007), though few games do so yet. Right now, the extra cores will pay off most when you run multiple intensive programs simultaneously. On our WorldBench 5 test suite, the $4954 Alienware Area-51 7500 (with a score of 163) and the $4180 Gateway FX530XT (with a 161) outpaced the $4174 Dell XPS 710 (a 151). All three scores, though strong, fall short of our current record of 181, held by ABS's Ultimate X9 gaming machine. The Gateway owes its score in part to an overclocked CPU, which Gateway tweaks to run at 3.2 GHz (Gateway covers the overclocked CPU in its warranty).
In our trio of just-tested quad-core systems, the speedy Alienware system also wins our vote for having the best design. The Area-51 7500 comes in a stylishly curved, gargantuan case, with an alien head logo on the front that doubles as the power button.
The imposing Dell XPS 710 has a large, black metallic chassis with plenty of ventilation, but its design is boxier than the Alienware's. The Dell was also the quietest model in the bunch: We could scarcely hear its large fans even when the system's components were working hard.
The Gateway system is much smaller than the other two models, packing everything into a case just 16 inches high. The smaller chassis saves space but leaves little room for expansion: You get just one unoccupied drive bay and no vacant card slots. (The Alienware and Dell models each provide several bays for adding extra internal and externally accessible drives, along with available slots for PCI Express cards).
All three systems earned impressive graphics performance scores and should run modern 3D games at high resolutions with performance to spare. Deciding which model deserved top graphics honors was a tough call. The Alienware PC virtually tied the Gateway system in our Doom 3 test, with 167 frames per second at 1280 by 1024 resolution (versus the Gateway's 175 fps), and in our Far Cry test, with 208 fps at both 1024 by 768 and 1280 by 1024 resolutions (versus the Gateway's 209 fps). The Area-51 7500 is the first model we've tested that uses an EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card with 768MB of dedicated memory; unlike the boards the other two PCs use, this GeForce 8800-based card will work with DirectX 10 in Windows Vista to display stunning graphics in games programmed to take advantage of DirectX 10's capabilities. For the committed gamer, that adds up to a significant measure of future-proofing. Images looked good on the 20-inch Samsung 204B LCD Alienware included at this price.
The Gateway model achieved its results with two ATI Radeon X1950 graphics cards arrranged in a Crossfire configuration. Another strength of the FX530XT is its impressive, 24-inch FPD2485W LCD monitor with speakerbar. On this display, games like Doom 3 exhibited great color and plenty of shadow detail to convey the gloomy, moody look.
Meanwhile, Dell's XPS 710, which came configured with a dual-GPU nVidia GeForce 7950 GX2 with 1GB of video memory, trailed the competition ontwo of our graphics tests but finished ahead of them on two others. In particular, it excelled on our Doom 3 tests, where it eked out the top score by notching 177 fps at 1280 by 1024 resolution (2 fps better than the Gateway). But on Far Cry it lagged behind the others with a frame rate of only 145 fps at 1280 by 1024 resolution (roughly two-thirds the frame rate of the other two machines). Like our Alienware, our Dell came with a 20-inch LCD, the Dell UltraSharp 2007WFPb; images on this monitor looked satisfactory.
Each of the three systems we tested delivers plenty of gaming muscle, and each looks as good as it plays. If you have the money to spend, the Alienware Area-51 7500 puts together a winning combination of performance and design. But if you need to keep costs down, the Gateway FX530XT offers the best value, with top-notch performance and a roomy LCD monitor. And if you value a quiet system with plenty of room to grow, Dell's XPS 710 is a good match.
Richard Baguley
