CPU and Motherboard Alternatives

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.4C (512K L2 cache) Northwood
Motherboard: ABIT IC7-G MAXII Advance (875P chipset)
Price: CPU - $420 shipped (retail heatsink and fan). Motherboard - $156 shipped



The highest-end version of Intel's Northwood core (the 3.4C) chosen here today came in a close second behind AMD's Athlon 64 3400+. Both offer virtually the same performance in today's applications depending on exactly which applications you use. If you're strictly a desktop user and do a lot of encoding, then you will want to stick to the 3.4C over the 3400+ for now. If you're a gamer, then you should stick to the 3400+ instead of the 3.4C. We suggest that you research for yourself and see which processor fits you best by first reading AnandTech's latest CPU article on this matter. One other advantage of going with a Pentium 4 is Hyper Threading. Hyper Threading can increase performance quite drastically in multi-tasking situations, but is less and less noticeable as clock speed increases. In today's applications, HT offers very little benefit, though future iterations of HT that we haven't tested yet are supposed to be promising.

One thing that we'd like to make clear again before moving on is the labeling system Intel uses with their high-end processors. An Intel Pentium 4 labeled with a "C" after its core clock speed (3.4C in this case) is based on the Northwood core, has 512K of L2 cache, and is built on (mostly) 0.13-micron technology. A Pentium 4 labeled with an "E" after its core clock speed (3.4E for example) is based on the Prescott core, has 1MB of L2 cache, and is built on (mostly) 0.09-micron technology. Finally, a Pentium 4 labeled with an "EE" after its core clock speed (3.4EE for example) is based on the Northwood core, has 512K of L2 cache plus 2MB of L3 cache, and is built on (mostly) 0.13-micron technology. The C, E, and EE Pentium 4 processors all run at 800MHz FSB and are dual channel DDR capable. We explained in great detail why you want to stay away from Prescott E processors here. If you can spare the money, the Pentium 4 EE (Extreme Edition) processors are considered to be the absolute fastest available desktop processors, slightly inching out rival AMD's Athlon 64 FX51. However, prices for these processors are extremely prohibitive, especially the Pentium 4 EE processors, and it is the reason why we can't recommend either the Pentium 4 EE or Athlon 64 FX processors here today.



In the last month, the IC7-G has climbed $9 in price. This is an unfortunate result of its popularity, but is a common occurrence with any product that receives a lot of demand. Anyway, last summer, the Gigabyte 8KNXP was our pick for best high end Pentium 4 motherboard, but since then, the ABIT IC7-G has edged out the 8KNXP due to the fact that it offers virtually the exact same number of features and performance for $50 less. This wasn't true last summer, when the IC7-G price was much higher and its feature set was quite different. Price usually isn't a concern with a high end system like the one we're recommending here today, but saving $50 and getting a motherboard that's basically as good is never a bad idea how ever you cut it. Anyway, the ABIT IC7-G's mix of Gigabit Ethernet, SPDIF, 3 X IEEE 1394 FireWire ports, and Serial ATA RAID among other features, combined with the industry leading performance and stability of the Intel 875P chipset are the primary reasons why we choose ABIT's IC7-G. Another reason why we choose this motherboard for today's high end system is because we've tested virtually every high-end Pentium 4 motherboard in existence over the past 12 months, and to this day, we still can say confidently that the reliability and stability of this ABIT motherboard has been excellent. This exact motherboard is used in one of AnandTech's very own computer labs and I have personally built several high-end gaming systems centered on this motherboard. All in all, the performance, reliability and even the price are stellar.

Listed below is part of our RealTime pricing engine, which lists the lowest prices available on the Intel CPUs and motherboards from many different reputable vendors:


If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.

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  • WooDaddy - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    Evan,

    I know you said that the keyboard and mouse is a personal preference type purchase, but I think a keyboard mouse combo is definately worth considering especially since this is a high end system; the Logitech DiNuovo bluetooth keyboard and mouse system.

    I saw this for the first time at the CES and was blown away. If anything, it's definately worth mentioning. It typically runs $250 too. Definately high-end material.
  • Hooligan2 - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    I would probably go with the 3200
  • Swylen - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    And you made the price an issue going for the 9800 Pro over the XT yet you chose an Athlon 64 3400 for $400+ when a 3000 is half the price for a comparable performance.
  • meccaboy858 - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

  • meccaboy858 - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

  • meccaboy858 - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    How about both an LCD and a CRT! Some of this stuff is questionable, but still cool to get a general idea.
  • Brickster - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    Reply to #6
    "And how about an LCD monitor?"

    As Mr. Lieb said last month...Price vs. Performance. My Phillips will kick the dog doo out of any LCD in that price range.

    Cheers,
    Brick
  • srue - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    120GB hard drive in a "high end" system? Seriously, make the Raptor the first choice. Better yet, two Raptors. And how about an LCD monitor? If you are trying to keep the price between $1000 and $5000, you could add a grand worth of upgrades to this system and still be below the halfway point.
  • ceefka - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    Would a Terratec Aureon 5.1 Sky be an alternative soundcard? It also has 24/96 and even 192Khz on playback, professional specs. It goes for around € 70,00.
  • Brickster - Friday, April 2, 2004 - link

    I got the monitor here:
    Alternative: Philips 22" (20" viewable) 202P45 CRT

    The thing is amazing! I am very happy with it even though I payed a little extra. I can't even believe I was on 17" before this.

    Dream come true.

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