System Summaries
Taking the complete system recommendations, what sort of damage to your wallet are we talking about? First, let's make it clear that these are systems that
we would want - we put together all the parts without any consideration of meeting a specific budget. For the High-End setup, we threw out almost all restraints and picked out the parts that we all lust after when we're not busy reviewing other hardware. The Mid-Range was built by making some sensible downgrades to keep the price in check, but it should still pack quite a punch. You can also find a middle ground on many of the parts, so if the High-End is too expensive, but the Mid-Range just isn't powerful enough, going with a few parts from each range is definitely an option. As far as the AMD vs. Intel debate goes, we prefer the AMD setup right now, but dual core processors on Intel would get a few of us to reconsider. Let's start with the Mid-Range systems.
Mid-Range Summaries
| Mid-Range AMD |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Athlon 64 3200+ 90nm (Retail) - Winchester core |
$190 |
| Motherboard |
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra |
$89 |
| Memory |
2x512MB OCZ Premier |
$84 |
| Video Card |
Powercolor X800XL OEM |
$279 |
| Hard Drive |
Seagate 250GB 7200.8 SATA |
$128 |
| Optical Drive |
NEC 16X DVDR 3520A |
$48 |
| Floppy Drive |
NEC; Sony; TEAC; Samsung; etc. |
$8 |
| Case |
Antec SLK3000-B |
$56 |
| Power Supply |
Antec SmartPower 2.0 400W |
$66 |
| Display |
Hyundai Imagequest L90D+ 19" 8ms |
$350 |
| Speakers |
Logitech Z-5300e 5.1 |
$135 |
| Keyboard and Mouse |
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop |
$26 |
| Bottom Line |
|
$1459 |
| Mid-Range Intel |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Pentium 540J 3.2GHz 1MB (Retail) - Prescott core |
$213 |
| Motherboard |
ASUS P5GD1 |
$110 |
| Memory |
2x512MB OCZ Premier |
$84 |
| Video Card |
Powercolor X800XL OEM |
$279 |
| Hard Drive |
Seagate 250GB 7200.8 SATA |
$128 |
| Optical Drive |
NEC 16X DVDR 3520A |
$48 |
| Floppy Drive |
NEC; Sony; TEAC; Samsung; etc. |
$8 |
| Case |
Antec SLK3000-B |
$56 |
| Power Supply |
Antec SmartPower 2.0 400W |
$66 |
| Display |
Hyundai Imagequest L90D+ 19" 8ms |
$350 |
| Speakers |
Logitech Z-5300e 5.1 |
$135 |
| Keyboard and Mouse |
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop |
$26 |
| Bottom Line |
|
$1503 |
Some of you may be wondering why the price of our Mid-Range systems is suddenly $250 more than the last time that we looked at the segment. The answer lies mostly in the upgrades to the LCD and speakers, though overall, the system is simply more powerful. Besides, with our Budget systems ranging from $500 to $1000, we felt that it would be safe to bump up the Mid-Range choices. Feel free to refer to the last
Budget Guide and mix and match parts to fit your needs. This is the system that
we recommend as an all-around computer. It won't be the fastest in every category, but the difference between it and the High-End systems isn't going to be very noticeable for most users. Sure, you can drop back to a CRT and get cheaper speakers, go with a slightly smaller hard drive and a slower CPU and graphics card, etc. None of those are terrible decisions, and you can get quite a lot of computer for close to $1000. We hope it's clear that there is no
specific system that will meet everyone's demands, but we've used all of the parts listed in this system, and every one is a reasonable purchase/upgrade.
High-End Summaries
| High-End AMD |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Athlon 64 4000+ 90nm (Retail) - San Diego core |
$507 |
| Motherboard |
DFI LANPARTY UT SLI-DR |
$178 |
| Memory |
2x512MB OCZ EL Platinum Rev 2 |
$188 |
| Video Card |
2 x 6800GT - eVGA; MSI; or XFX |
$690 |
| Hard Drive |
Hitachi 7K250 400GB SATA |
$265 |
| Optical Drive |
NEC 16X DVDR 3520A |
$48 |
| Floppy Drive |
NEC; Sony; TEAC; Samsung; etc. |
$8 |
| Case |
AeroCool Spiral Galaxies |
$108 |
| Power Supply |
Enermax EG565P-VE FMA2.0 SLI 535W |
$97 |
| Display |
Dell 2001FP 20" 16ms |
$530 |
| Sound Card |
Chaintech AV-710 7.1 |
$27 |
| Speakers |
Logitech Z-5500d 5.1 |
$245 |
| Keyboard and Mouse |
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop |
$26 |
| Bottom Line |
|
$2917 |
| High-End Intel |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Pentium 650 3.4GHz 2MB (Retail) - Irwindale/Prescott 2M core |
$412 |
| Motherboard |
MSI P4N Diamond |
$229 |
| Memory |
2x512MB Crucial PC-5300 Value |
$172 |
| Video Card |
2 x 6800GT - eVGA; MSI; or XFX |
$690 |
| Hard Drive |
Hitachi 7K250 400GB SATA |
$265 |
| Optical Drive |
NEC 16X DVDR 3520A |
$48 |
| Floppy Drive |
NEC; Sony; TEAC; Samsung; etc. |
$8 |
| Case |
AeroCool Spiral Galaxies |
$108 |
| Power Supply |
Enermax EG565P-VE FMA2.0 SLI 535W |
$97 |
| Display |
Dell 2001FP 20" 16ms |
$530 |
| Sound Card |
Chaintech AV-710 7.1 |
$27 |
| Speakers |
Logitech Z-5500d 5.1 |
$245 |
| Keyboard and Mouse |
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop |
$26 |
| Bottom Line |
|
$2857 |
We still really want the option to throw a Pentium D into the Intel system, but we'll have to wait a little longer. The same goes for the Athlon X2 chips, though those are further off than the Pentium D. While the Intel system is actually cheaper than the AMD, despite the extremely expensive motherboard, it's really not a fair comparison. Both systems are SLI capable, but the AMD system will overclock better and quite a few benchmarks - especially games - will be dominated by the AMD platform. Besides the mentioned caveats, there isn't much that you can do to increase the power of the High-End systems without spending a lot more money. If you're looking for a good way to spend all of your tax returns and then some, at least computers are generally less harmful than other addictions.
Closing Thoughts
It's been a while since our last Guide, so we felt that it was best to cover a lot of options in a single article. Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what you want to spend your money on. Any questions, comments, feedback, corrections, or even complaints are welcome.
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CP5670 - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
You can still get Mitsubishi 2070s (I got a new one for $600 about three weeks ago), although they are out of production and are somewhat hard to find.JarredWalton - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
44 - Venice and Winchester seem to be the same chip, only with SSE3 enabled on Venice. I don't think it matters much for games right now, but with the difference only being $4 now, go for it. (At the time I wrote this Guide, Winchester retail chips were $20 less than Venice retail chips, which is harder to justify.)47 - I've emailed a few people about this, but basically there just aren't any improvements to CRTs coming out these days. You can still find some Dell, HP, etc. monitors that use the same tube as the NEC FE2111SB, and it's a good tube overall. The Mitsubishi 2070 still boasts the best specs I'm aware of (140 kHz horizontal scan rate and 2048x1536 resolution).
If you want a CRT, by all means get one. The Samsung 997DF is still a decent 19" model for around $210, though it's not perfectly flat. NEC FE991SB are also good, though they cost more than the Samsung. If you can find a discount on a Dell, HP, etc. CRT and it sports an aperture grille, it's probably going to be similar enough to the NEC/Mitsubishi models that you wouldn't notice other than the exterior.
Personally, I'm just tired of large CRTs, and I've recommended them in so many Guides (without any change) that it's time to move on. I'll continue to mention them, but I don't recommend them anymore for a lot of people.
CrimsonChaos - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
Great guide!I was recently considering buying a system inbetween a mid-range and high-end computer. This would have been a tremendous help to me as I started the researching process.
Just a quick question -- why no PC Power & Cooling power supply for a high-end system? That too expensive even for the biggest enthusiast (aka money-waster)??
Also, going to add any normal CRT recommendations to the "Display" part?
Olaf van der Spek - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
Re: 16> and I feel about the same for audio.
That's not a very strong argument.
But because audio is always integrated while video isn't, it's indeed simpler to add one later.
ceefka - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
#43 Reapsy00,About every new CPU, mobo/chipset, graphicscard, RAM, LCD/CRT mentioned here has been benched, just not in this same article.
Also, recommendations here were winners in past benchmarkings before this article.
You'll even find links to benchmarks in the buyers guide. In my opinion AT has got it nailed pretty good.
dmaduram - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
Kudos to Jarred for such an excellent guide -- it's quite informative!Just two quick questions -- first of all, with regard to gaming, is there an advantage in selecting a AMD-Venice core instead of a AMD-Wichester core? I was unsure on what specific applications recieved a boost from Venice's "SSE3" support.
Secondly, d'you know if there are any disadvantages in purchasing a Venice core instead of the recommended Wichester core? There's only a 4-dollar difference in price on NewEgg, so I was wondering which one I should buy for my gaming box :)
Reapsy00 - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
You see lots of these buyer's guides on different sites, AT should take it further and build the system's and benchmark 'em.Calin - Wednesday, May 25, 2005 - link
No problem, TujanI wouldn't choose a VIA miniITX platform - the 1GHz processors are quite faster than the older 700-800MHz ones. However, their very size forces them to be niche systems.
If I would like a computer in my car, a MiniITX would be the best choice. But for a stand alone, I very much prefer upgradable PC technology
R3MF - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
ah well, my new shuttle SN25P with a 3200 Venice, 6600GT (£98.00), and 250GB 7200.8 doesn't look too shabby.it even has onboard via-envy sound, and will be even better with a 7800GT and dual-core X2 early next year.
i am happy.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
35 - Thanks. I wasn't aware of that. (I hate it when manufacturers do that!) Anyway, I added a comment about this in the article. Basically, I'm saying that RAM with TCCD blanks is still a great choice for overclockers looking for maximum clock speeds.