Buyer's Guide: High End System - May 2004
by Wesley Fink on May 26, 2004 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
High End System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon 64 FX53 Retail | $731 |
| Motherboard | Asus SK8V (VIA K8T800 - Socket 940) | $171 |
| Memory | 1GB (2 X 512MB) OCZ PC3500 EL ECC Registered | $339 |
| Video Card | 256MB X800 Pro | $425 |
| Monitor | Samsung SyncMaster 21" CRT (1100DF) | $447 |
| Computer Case | Coolermaster Praetorian (PAC-T01-E1) Silver plus 430W Antec True Power PSU | $194 |
| Sound Card | Creative Labs Audigy 2 6.1 OEM | $71 ($0) |
| Speakers | Logitech Z-5300 5.1 speakers | $148 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100/1000 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | 2x74GB Western Digital 74GB Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA RAID (148GB Total) | $428 ($133) |
| CD-RW | NuTech DDW-081 8X DVD+/-R/RW | $80 |
| Bottom Line | $3034 ($2668) | |
$3034 is the final price of our high end system this week, not including any money that you'll spend on software (Windows XP Professional or Home, Office, Photoshop, etc.) or a keyboard and mouse. $3000 is not pocket change, but what a high-end system you will have for this $3000!! This includes the fastest CPU that you can possibly buy right now, the new generation ATI Radeon X800 PRO video, 1GB of Dual-Channel ECC Registered memory, a 148GB 10,000 RPM SATA RAID array, a 21" .20 dot pitch monitor, and a top performing 8X DVD +/- burner with fast CDRW burn capabilities. You can spend a bit more at every price point, but you won't gain much, if anything, in performance.
Our alternatives also allow you to customize the High-End System to your needs. One painless way to reduce the cost is shown in italics in the price - use the excellent on-board 6-channel sound and substitute a 200GB Seagate Barracuda for the RAID array. For $2668, you will have most of the same performance in the top-performing Athlon 64 FX system.
With the next generation X800 Pro video card, the fastest FX53 on the superb Asus SK8V motherboard, and the fastest 10,000RPM Raid Array, our High End System is the fastest desktop system that you can buy, period. Next month, we will see the introduction of AMD's long-awaited Socket 939 processors, but don't expect performance much different than this top-of-the-line system. Yes, there will be a new and faster 3800+ at 2.4GHz with 512KB cache, but the top AMD Athlon 64 will still be the 2.4GHz FX53 with 1MB of cache. The only real difference will be that the new FX53 will be wearing Socket 939 clothes on a VIA K8T800 PRO instead of a K8T800, or a nForce3-250 Ultra instead of a nForce3-150.
Take a close look at the High-End FX53 system and let us know what you think in the comments section.
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roostercrows - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
The article was excellent, thank you Wesley, and considering all the informed comments it received I'm not alone in looking forward to reading more of them. Not to add yet another category to what must already be a lot of work for you guys but is there somewhere I could see the entire dual processor systems that have been suggested by some advanced members, after they are built and running of course, including performance/prices and why they feel they have assembled a better "bang for the buck" high-end system?roostercrows - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
Sparkywonderchicken - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
Sorry I hit send too fast. I have heard many complaints about DVD-R burning from these units.Ma10n3 - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
I agree with #44--A high-end system and an overclocking rig should not be classified as the same.Sparkywonderchicken - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
Don't you mean NuTech DDW-082?? for the DVD??bigtoe33 - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
Overclocking is mainly about what boards and cpu's will do the high fsb's, also what is the most bang per buck as overclockers mainly buy cheap and clock up to gain the speed.I would expect Wesley will show some 300+fsb action on A64 as well as the cheap 2.4a prescott running 180fsb+....these are things you will find on an overclocking rig and not a high end ;-)
azndelite6983 - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
Thanks for the response, Wesley. I appreciate that you guys do these guides at all, considering the monumental task of trying to keep up with new hardware.What I don't quite understand is that any high-end system would be a terrific overclocking possibility, and although u supposedly have a different guide for that, it might be nice to see some suggestions on oc settings for the high-end system as well as possible mods (cooling mostly). I'm not sure I see the necessity of having an "overclocking system" when the parts remain very close to the high-end system. Also the fact that anyone willing to spend anywhere close to $5000 on a computer should really know what they are doing, but may want some advice on how to get the most out of their already quick setup.
markz - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
I agree with #40.That is all.
Ma10n3 - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
To correct what I said in #39, more games support SMP now than I had previously thought...Link for FAQ:
http://home.swbell.net/m3tech/hard/smp_games.html
Murst - Friday, May 28, 2004 - link
Wesley & Evan,First of all, thanks for the guides (this is my favorite part of anandtech and its probably the reason why I've been visiting this site more than any other lately). I do have some reccomendations, however.
It seems to me that your definitions of low/mid/high are rather difficult to understand. It actually kind of reminds me of intel's new naming policy. Why use words that don't really mean anything when you can give numbers which are descriptive? Here is an exmaple of what I'm thinking (my goal is clarity).
-------------------------------------------
Old name: New name:
entry-level System for under $800
mid-range System for under $1500
high-range System for under $2500
.......... System for under $4000
-------------------------------------------
I think this would make your goals in these articles much more clear, as people would understand exactly what goes into making the decisions. Also, my numbers may not be accurate, as I don't have much experience with pricing systems.
Overall, good work on this article, and I do believe that it is much closer to what "I" believe is a high-end system as compared to the last article.
I'll be looking forward to the next system reccomendations, especially to what 939 will bring.