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LG MUST HAVE SOMEONE ON STAFF<br />
who previously worked for the Ringling > Brothers, as the company’s new Flatron<br />
L1980Q 19-inch ultraslim LCD monitor has the<br />
flexibility of a sideshow contortionist. This monitor<br />
bends backward, swivels sideways, tilts forward,<br />
and rotates up to 270 degrees easily, all<br />
while keeping the image right where it’s supposed<br />
to be—directly in front of you. How<br />
extremely can it be bent? While most LCDs tilt<br />
10 or 20 degrees from their stationary base, the<br />
L1980Q tilts back a full 150 degrees, allowing it<br />
to serve as a very expensive TV dinner tray.<br />
Beyond the pretzel factor, the L1980Q is an<br />
elegant LCD that really performs, with a handful<br />
of cool gaming features particularly worth<br />
noting, like its outstanding 8ms response time<br />
for blowing through fast-moving games like<br />
America’s Army with almost zero ghosting or<br />
streaking. The L1980Q also features an aboveaverage<br />
pixel pitch, a contrast ratio of 500:1<br />
for showing off blacks and grays, and a brightness<br />
level of 250 nits, which is perfect for<br />
spotting enemies lurking in the shadows. The<br />
A-LIST<br />
CPUS<br />
Best Performance Processor<br />
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 CPU<br />
(AMD – www.amd.com – $850)<br />
Best Budget Processor<br />
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz “Winchester” CPU (AMD –<br />
www.amd.com – $250)<br />
MOTHERBOARDS<br />
Best Performance Motherboard<br />
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe NForce4 Motherboard<br />
(Asus - www.asus.com - $165)<br />
Best Budget Motherboard<br />
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra Zenith VE NForce4<br />
Ultra Motherboard<br />
(Chaintech - www.chaintechusa.com - $95)<br />
GRAPHICS CARDS<br />
Best Performance Graphics Card for AGP<br />
ATI Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition AGP 256MB<br />
GDDR3 Graphics Card<br />
(ATI Technologies – www.ati.com – $599)<br />
Best Performance Graphics Card for PCI Express<br />
BFGTech Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra OC PCI Express<br />
256MB GDDR3 Graphics Card<br />
(BFGTech – www.bfgtech.com – $549)<br />
Best Budget Graphics Card<br />
BFGTech GeForce 6600 GT OC 128MB GDDR3<br />
Graphics Card<br />
(BFGTech – www.bfgtech.com - $239)<br />
RAM<br />
Best Performance DDR RAM<br />
Corsair XMS TWINX1024-4400 1GB Kit 550MHz<br />
1024MB DDR RAM Kit<br />
(Corsair – www.corsairmicro.com – $360)<br />
Best Performance DDR2 RAM<br />
Corsair XMS2 Twin2X1024A-5400UL 675MHz 1024MB<br />
DDR2 RAM Kit<br />
(Corsair – www.corsairmicro.com – $340)<br />
resolution maxes out at<br />
1,280x1,024 pixels at<br />
75Hz for beautiful imaging,<br />
and the monitor<br />
supports both analog<br />
VGA and DVI-D interfaces,<br />
making it a good<br />
choice for old and new<br />
videocards alike. The<br />
proprietary f-Engine<br />
image-processing technology<br />
enhances brightness<br />
and color simultaneously,<br />
making even<br />
the gloomiest DVDs<br />
spring to life.<br />
The price tag will<br />
keep many gamers<br />
from bending over<br />
MANUFACTURER: LG<br />
backward to get this<br />
PRODUCT: Flatron L1980Q<br />
baby, but if you’ve got I LCD Monitor �<br />
the scratch and need a<br />
monitor that can literally do the twist, this is<br />
the display for you. / Raphael Liberatore<br />
THE CONTORTIONIST<br />
Flatron L1980Q LCD Monitor<br />
Welcome to Computer Gaming World’s revamped A-List. This allstar<br />
list of computer components and devices for gaming covers<br />
plenty of territory—from high-performance<br />
top-of-the-line products to mainstream gear.<br />
Best Budget DDR RAM<br />
Kingston HyperX KHX3500A/512 433MHz 512MB<br />
DDR433 PC3500 Kit<br />
(Kingston – www.kingston.com – $100)<br />
MONITORS<br />
Best LCD<br />
Dell 2405FPW 24-inch LCD Monitor<br />
(Dell – www.dell.com – $1,299)<br />
Best Budget LCD<br />
NEC-Mitsubishi MultiSync 1970GX 19-inch LCD Monitor<br />
(NEC-Mitsubishi - www.nec.com - $499)<br />
Best CRT<br />
NEC MultiSync FE2111SB-BK 22-inch CRT Monitor<br />
(NEC – www.nec.com – $499)<br />
SOUND<br />
Best Soundcard<br />
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro<br />
Soundcard<br />
(Creative Labs – www.creative.com – $189)<br />
Best Budget Soundcard<br />
Mad Dog Entertainer 7.1 DSP Soundcard<br />
(Mad Dog – www.mdmm.com – $39)<br />
Best Speaker System<br />
Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speakers<br />
(Logitech – www.logitech.com – $399)<br />
Best Budget Speaker System<br />
GigaWorks ProGamer G500 5.1 Speaker System<br />
(Creative Labs – www.creative.com – $249)<br />
Best Headphones<br />
Zalman ZM-RS6F Headphones<br />
(Zalman – www.zalmanusa.com – $60)<br />
GAME DEVICES/PERIPHERALS<br />
Best Gaming Mouse (tie)<br />
Razer Diamondback Optical Mouse<br />
(Razer – www.razerzone.com – $59)<br />
Logitech MX 518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse<br />
TECH<br />
Flatron L1980Q $589<br />
If only Gumby were this flexible and<br />
pleasing to the eye.<br />
VERDICT<br />
(Logitech – www.logitech.com – $49)<br />
Best Mouse Pad<br />
Steelpad 4D Mouse Pad<br />
(Soft Trading – www.steelpad.com – $29)<br />
Best Gaming Keyboard<br />
Gamers Keyboard<br />
(Saitek – www.saitek.com – $59)<br />
Best Wireless Keyboard-Mouse Combo<br />
Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3100<br />
(Logitech – www.logitech.com – $109)<br />
Best Joystick<br />
CH Products Fighterstick USB<br />
(CH Products - www.chproducts.com - $149)<br />
Best Gamepad<br />
Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 Wireless<br />
(Logitech – www.logitech.com – $39)<br />
Best Racing Wheel<br />
Logitech MOMO Racing Wheel<br />
(Logitech – www.logitech.com – $90)<br />
NETWORKING<br />
Best Gaming Router<br />
DGL-4300 GamerLounge Wireless 108G Gaming Router<br />
(D-Link - www.d-link.com - $160)<br />
Best Switch<br />
SMC8508T EZ Switch 10/100/1000 Gigabit 8-port<br />
Unmanaged Switch (SMC - www.smc.com - $159)<br />
Best Network Adapter<br />
Belkin Pre-N Notebook Network Card<br />
(Belkin - www.belkin.com - $110)<br />
GAMING NOTEBOOKS<br />
Best Performance Notebook<br />
Alienware Area-51m 7700 Notebook<br />
(Alienware - www.alienware.com - $3,200)<br />
Best Budget Notebook<br />
Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2 Notebook<br />
(Dell - www.dell.com - $2,850)<br />
CGW.1UP.COM < 81
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