An editorial. . .
 
Last spring, my wife gave the green light for me to build a new PC (in my sig line).  It was agreed that it would be the ‘family’ PC, and I was limited to about $1000.  I think it turned out very well.  Designed for moderate gaming, burning DVDs from our mini DV Cam, digital photos, web surfing, and looked like it should last 3-4 years with little upgrades.  Long story-short, this became my wife’s PC.
 
We started discussing building another PC for around $1000 (for me), but I hadn’t looked at any of the forums in almost a year.  I had no idea what was hot and what was not.  So, I set to work reviewing all of the forums I went to the last go around to build a system (Anandtech, Motherboards, and Toms Hardware among others).  I learned several lessons.
 
1. Buying components immediately after the New Year is not in a buyer’s best interest.  From what I saw, prices were greatly increased due to short supplies from holiday buying.  The areas that were out of whack appeared to be mostly CPUs and memory.  CPUs have started to go down some, but a lot of the DDR2 is very high priced.  So, I wasn’t going to spend any money in this climate.  Give it 45-60 days.
 
2. The graphics card landscape is a mess.  First, I (personally) do not believe that SLI or Crossfire is a viable architecture, at least for mainstream PC builders, the retail chain, or the general home builder.  And 8800GTS performs close to on par to two 7950GTs and costs about the same.  1 card = less hassle.  Second, prices are falling for mid-range cards quickly.  You can now pick-up a 7950GT for around $200 or less.  The 7600GT is still the favorite budget/bang for your buck.  The 8800 series is the top performer, but expensive.  And my personal pick would be ATIs for that range between the 7950GT and the 8800s.  To make matters worse, do I wait for more DirectX 10 cards?  In the end, I couldn’t settle on a card.  I think I want an 8800, but want them closer to $300, which should not take too long.
 
3. Intel or AMD.  Last 3 systems I have built have all been AMD.  Core Duo. . .hmmm.  Looks good, but I can’t find a motherboard with consistent reviews.  So, I did some research, and I really like what I read about the upcoming Nvidia 650i Ultra for the Intel chips.  I don’t plan to run SLI, and this chip may be the counterpart to Intel that my current Nvidia NForce4 Ultra board is to my AMD X2.  So, I wait another month or two for the boards to come out.  I just hope the 650i is more stable than the 680i boards initial release.
 
4. AMD / ATI Merger. . .That throws a lot of questions into the mix. . .
 
5. Lack of funds.  I have no idea yet if I am getting any money back from taxes or if I owe.  Until #5 is taken care of, I can’t address #1-4.
 
Well, to make myself feel better, I ordered a Sceptre x22wg-Gamer Black 22" LCD for my (wife’s) PC.
 
I also determined that good advice is hard to find.  Tom's Hardware is a great site, and I have been coming here since the late 90s.  Avoid the Pricegrabber Reviews. . .I think a lot of people write them just to get $5-10 rebates.  Stick to sites like this where someone can call BS on someone else.  Debate is healthy.  Below is one from a review of the Asus Radeon X1900 XT  from Pricegrabber (I think the guy should take the card, put it in a box, and send it back. . .not worthy):
 
1 Star
Strengths: NONE, see summary
Weaknesses: NONE, see summary
Summary: Ok, I bought this card last week. Shipped 2 days for 2.99 from ZipZoomFly.com. Missed their special of $70 off by one day Not happy about that. Anyway, got card, ready to install and noticed it had a power plug on it. (My Asus EAX700 didn't have this). My 600 watt power supply does not have a PCI-E power line. So, I ordered the adapter from Radio Shack (same price as other vendors, cheaper shipping). Go it, and it would not FIT! Wait, it gets better. Called radio shack about adapter, they said they would send me a return address label, USPS, take about 5-7 days to get it. Then I would have to send that items back 5-7 days. Then they would send me a new one 5-7 days (wow, 21 days, when I paid extra for over night shipping). I think I should get my entire amount returned to me.  
 
SO, I called ASUS, talked to TECH guy and he sent me the adapter for free, Standard USPS, should have it in about 5 -6 days. It's been 4 days already. Hopefully have it this week some time.  
 
Here are my questions for ASUS and/or ATI  
 
1. Why was the cable not included for a $400+ card? I know, I have heard it from alot of people, "It's on new Power Supplies."  
 
2. Why should I have to spend another $120-150 on a new power supply when the one I have is only 2 years old and it works great, just need the adapter.  
 
So, at this point, I give this card a 1 star. I have no idea what it's going to be like when I install it into my system.
 
 
MY QUESTION TO THE GUY THAT WROTE THE REVIEW:  Did you do your home work?  Did you go to Tom's Hardware?  Doh!
 
Edit:  One last thing. . .I am seriously considering a 939 based system.  Cheap mobo, cheap CPU AM2 CPU, and put the money into memory and graphics card.  Just a thought.  No long term upgrade path though, but I have never upgraded. . .I just scrap and build new for the most part.