Graphics card: ATI DDR All-in-Wonder Radeon ($175-195)
The graphics card for this machine is a tough choice. Despite a less than perfect Windows 2000 driver history, the ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon makes the cut. The tight tolerances and quality components used in ATI-made cards avoid some of the potential problems with 2D image quality that some third-party manufacturers can introduce by cutting corners. Since the majority of your "work" will be done in 2D while staring at miles of text, having a video card that's easy on the eyes with nice, crisp text is certainly important.
As our Radeon 64MB DDR review shows, the Radeon is no slouch when it comes to 3D. Since games will invariably creep onto this system, having something that can handle the latest titles at a reasonable framerate is a plus. Add ATI's gorgeous DVD playback to the mix, and the All-In-Wonder Radeon starts to bring a little convergence to our School Box. This convergence is extended by the card's TV tuner, which finally has some mature drivers. The AIW Radeon will allow us to combine the functionality of a DVD player, TV and VCR into our School Box. We should note that ATI won't be the only game in town for long, though. NVIDIA's Personal Theater products should be hitting shelves soon, and our recommendation may change at that point.
One tip, though: while watching Junkyard Wars is fine, don't let your roomate catch you watching Buffy.
Monitor: ViewSonic PF790 ($316-360)
Far too often I see hot rod computers brimming with tasty, high-performance hardware hooked up to horrible monitors. If you're going to be dropping substantial coin on the internals of your box, why not spend some extra cash and get a nice monitor to go along with it? After all, the monitor is what you end up staring at for countless hours. Wouldn't it be nice if you had something nice to look at?
The PF790 is an aperture grill (think Trinitron) monitor with an 18.0" viewable area and a .25mm grill pitch at the center (.27mm in the corners). And it's dead flat. Buy anything bigger than 19" and you're going to be paying a huge price premium. Furthermore, we have to remember this thing is going to get crammed into a closet-sized dorm room, with an even smaller desk. Our own Dr. Damage, who spends far too much time in front of his monitor, professes the PF790 to be lovely, especially at this price point. If you want really high refresh rates at super-high resolutions, you can always spend more. The PF790, however, should be a pleasure to watch DVDs or play games on—and to stare at endlessly for hours as you contemplate the futility of your latest term paper.
Audio
Sound: SoundBlaster Live! Value w/digital out ($30-40)
The SoundBlaster name has been around for, well, forever. The Live! Value will satisfy our audio needs nicely. Not only does it have support for 3D sound and four speakers, should you want the four-speaker gaming experience, it also has a digital out. This digital out will come in very handy with a set of digital speakers, producing some nice, crisp sound for the School Box. Live! Value cards are cheap these days, and as long as you make sure yours comes with the digital output, you should be set.
Speakers: Creative SoundWorks Digital ($45-65)
If you're a hardcore audiophile, you should probably skip this section. However, for everyone else, a nice set of digital speakers with a sub will likely suffice for aureal delight. Creative's SoundWorks Digital speakers make use of the Live!'s digital out to produce some truly stunning, noise-free sound.
Because this isn't a hardcore gaming machine, there's really no need for four speakers. In a room that's not much bigger than a couple of cubicles, two speakers and a sub should be plenty. Because digital speakers sound so good, you should even be able to use it to replace a stereo mini system. Just don't play your Britney Spears too loud.
