Mid-Range Buyer's Guide, September 2005
by Jarred Walton on September 19, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Graphics Recommendations
All of the motherboards are obviously PCI Express systems, so we only need two graphics options. For the Gaming system, we recommend that you spend as much money as possible on a graphics card. SLI is always there for future upgrades, but we'd start with a single, fast GPU rather than purchasing two moderately fast GPUs and running them in SLI. Here are our two choices for graphics.
Price: $98 shipped (Retail)
While there are cheaper graphics cards for PCI Express, none of them are particularly fast. You can save about $50 by dropping to a GeForce 6200TC or X300SE HyperMemory if you really want. We prefer to get something with a bit more performance, ensuring not only the ability to play games now and then, but also giving better hardware 3D acceleration for Windows Vista when that comes out. The X700 Pro fits those requirements by roughly doubling the performance of the 6200TC and X300SE cards. What that gives us is a PC that's capable of handling any task at least acceptably and some tasks exceptionally.
For a bit more money, there are quite a few upgrade options. X800 128MB, 6600GT, 6800, X800GT/GTO, X800Pro, X800XL... the list goes on. If you don't feel that the X700 Pro will meet your needs, we'd probably upgrade to at least the X800XL/Pro or 6800GT. Those are all roughly twice as fast, and they're about twice as much - more in the case of the 6800GT. Once you near the $300 price range, though, you should probably just jump to our gaming recommendation.
Price: $379 shipped (Retail)
For the Gaming configurations, the idea is quite simple: save on the CPU costs and some other areas in order to get the fastest graphics card possible, within our budget. The key there is staying within budget, which means that we're not actually getting the fastest GPU, as that would be the 7800GTX. You could even drop the GPU to a 6800GT if you want to save some money, but the 7800GT is substantially faster and we feel that it's worth the upgrade. Like the 7800GTX cards, almost all currently available 7800GT cards are based of the NVIDIA reference design, with a few minor tweaks. The XFX card comes factory overclocked and costs less than most other 7800GT cards at present, so it gets our recommendation. However, it is possible that some of the other 7800GT cards are quieter than the XFX, so if you have information to that effect, spending another $10 to $15 would be advisable. On the other hand, louder and cooler might be a better choice for longevity.
As you can see in our 7800GT Preview, the card performs quite well. The XFX OC is even slightly faster, which you can see in our XFX 7800GT OC Review. Since it's faster than the 6800 Ultra in virtually every test, there's no reason to get a 6800 Ultra anymore. Another piece of good news is that when the 7800GT becomes too slow for your needs - as it inevitably will - you can always add a second card and get a substantial performance boost. That's assuming, of course, that the 7800GT remains on the market long enough for you to upgrade; we hope that it will, but two years from now we may find it discontinued for one reason or another.
Price: $449 or $549 shipped (Retail)
The reason why we list this as an alternative is because it's a limited time offer. EVGA has finished their direct sales offer, but you can still get the same deal from Newegg and ZipZoomFly. How long it will be available is anyone's guess. The deal is quite simple: buy an EVGA 7800 GT or GTX card and you get the EVGA motherboard for free. The EVGA board is just a rebranded version of the Jetway 939GT4-SLI that we recently reviewed, and performance and features are very good. Jetway isn't known for producing high performance, enthusiast class motherboards, but this particular board exceeded all our expectations.
Is the EVGA/Jetway board better than the DFI SLI-D? Perhaps not, but it's close enough that the savings offered make it worth its consideration. When compared to the DFI and XFX configuration that we're recommending, you can get the EVGA bundle for about $100 less, or alternatively, you can get the EVGA 7800GTX instead of the XFX 7800GT. Either option is a good deal, relatively speaking, so if you're in the market to upgrade right now, you might want to act quickly. The EVGA promotional page has more details and links to participating resellers if you're interested.
All of the motherboards are obviously PCI Express systems, so we only need two graphics options. For the Gaming system, we recommend that you spend as much money as possible on a graphics card. SLI is always there for future upgrades, but we'd start with a single, fast GPU rather than purchasing two moderately fast GPUs and running them in SLI. Here are our two choices for graphics.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $98 shipped (Retail)
While there are cheaper graphics cards for PCI Express, none of them are particularly fast. You can save about $50 by dropping to a GeForce 6200TC or X300SE HyperMemory if you really want. We prefer to get something with a bit more performance, ensuring not only the ability to play games now and then, but also giving better hardware 3D acceleration for Windows Vista when that comes out. The X700 Pro fits those requirements by roughly doubling the performance of the 6200TC and X300SE cards. What that gives us is a PC that's capable of handling any task at least acceptably and some tasks exceptionally.
For a bit more money, there are quite a few upgrade options. X800 128MB, 6600GT, 6800, X800GT/GTO, X800Pro, X800XL... the list goes on. If you don't feel that the X700 Pro will meet your needs, we'd probably upgrade to at least the X800XL/Pro or 6800GT. Those are all roughly twice as fast, and they're about twice as much - more in the case of the 6800GT. Once you near the $300 price range, though, you should probably just jump to our gaming recommendation.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $379 shipped (Retail)
For the Gaming configurations, the idea is quite simple: save on the CPU costs and some other areas in order to get the fastest graphics card possible, within our budget. The key there is staying within budget, which means that we're not actually getting the fastest GPU, as that would be the 7800GTX. You could even drop the GPU to a 6800GT if you want to save some money, but the 7800GT is substantially faster and we feel that it's worth the upgrade. Like the 7800GTX cards, almost all currently available 7800GT cards are based of the NVIDIA reference design, with a few minor tweaks. The XFX card comes factory overclocked and costs less than most other 7800GT cards at present, so it gets our recommendation. However, it is possible that some of the other 7800GT cards are quieter than the XFX, so if you have information to that effect, spending another $10 to $15 would be advisable. On the other hand, louder and cooler might be a better choice for longevity.
As you can see in our 7800GT Preview, the card performs quite well. The XFX OC is even slightly faster, which you can see in our XFX 7800GT OC Review. Since it's faster than the 6800 Ultra in virtually every test, there's no reason to get a 6800 Ultra anymore. Another piece of good news is that when the 7800GT becomes too slow for your needs - as it inevitably will - you can always add a second card and get a substantial performance boost. That's assuming, of course, that the 7800GT remains on the market long enough for you to upgrade; we hope that it will, but two years from now we may find it discontinued for one reason or another.
Click to enlarge.
Price: $449 or $549 shipped (Retail)
The reason why we list this as an alternative is because it's a limited time offer. EVGA has finished their direct sales offer, but you can still get the same deal from Newegg and ZipZoomFly. How long it will be available is anyone's guess. The deal is quite simple: buy an EVGA 7800 GT or GTX card and you get the EVGA motherboard for free. The EVGA board is just a rebranded version of the Jetway 939GT4-SLI that we recently reviewed, and performance and features are very good. Jetway isn't known for producing high performance, enthusiast class motherboards, but this particular board exceeded all our expectations.
Is the EVGA/Jetway board better than the DFI SLI-D? Perhaps not, but it's close enough that the savings offered make it worth its consideration. When compared to the DFI and XFX configuration that we're recommending, you can get the EVGA bundle for about $100 less, or alternatively, you can get the EVGA 7800GTX instead of the XFX 7800GT. Either option is a good deal, relatively speaking, so if you're in the market to upgrade right now, you might want to act quickly. The EVGA promotional page has more details and links to participating resellers if you're interested.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
56 Comments
View All Comments
flatblastard - Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - link
I'll be looking forward to reading this article, maybe we can clear some of this confusion up.ksherman - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
you mentioned that XP Pro will have no problem with a dual core processor. If I were to upgrade my current computer with a 3800+, will I have to reinstall my OS? everything else will remain constant.JarredWalton - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
It depends in a large part on your current setup. Worst case scenario, you'd probably have to do a repair installation over your current OS. Actually, worst case you hose your current OS and start from scratch, but 99% of the time that's not required.Furen - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
You are very likely to be able to pull off a CPU swap without problems but if you have those weird speed-up/slow-down problems that some people seem to be having in certain games (and you cant fix them using the X2 driver), then a clean install will probably fix that for you.2ndRUNNER - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
I would rather buy an entry-level PC for doing most of my jobs
and save $400 or more (on graphic, SLI mobo, CPU, etc.)
to buy a console dedicated to pure gaming. In this way, I can
enjoy the best of both worlds since all major game companies
are moving to consoles. In addition, I feel more comfortable
watching DVD, seeing my photos, listening to music, recording
TV programs and definitely, playing games with friends on my sofa.
yacoub - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
Hmmm let's see:I like to watch TV while I use the computer. I can't play a console and watch TV as easily, let alone hear the news in the background while I play.
My TV is too old to really provide a worthy display for a modern console. So that means spending $1000-2000 for a nice TV.
I tend to prefer PC games for their greater depth, functionality (due to more buttons to bind and flexibility in how you assign them), modability, map/level-making, community, etc. Many things not offered on console games.
Until there is a trackball for controlling 'mouselook', a console controller is rubbish for FPS gaming, period.
A lot of the games I play today are older games that definitely won't be seen on a console anytime soon or simply wouldn't port well anyway due to their complexity (MechWarrior4:Mercenaries w/ MekTek add-on, MechCommander2 w/ Wolfman's add-on, Rome: Total War, etc).
So why would I: Give up the gaming I have now (my current rig needs an upgrade soon in order to continue gaming on it, so if I buy a console and TV I'm foregoing that), buy into an expensive proposition for future gaming that likely won't include many of the games I'd be interested in, and thus end up with less than what I started?
It just doesn't make sense. Not yet. The XBox360 is coming closer, for sure, but until they provide a trackball & keyboard setup including button configuration (heck, let me use my current USB ones from my PC) and content-identical ports of PC games, I won't be sold on using a console for ALL of my gaming wants.
yacoub - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
Oh and then there's the realization that the Z-680s probably won't cut it for audio output for the TV and it'd be home theatre audio system time. Yeah right. That's so far out of my budget right now...bob661 - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
The Z-5500's work perfectly for home audio use. There's an optical input on the controller. Works great.yacoub - Tuesday, September 20, 2005 - link
Yes, they're the same as my Z-680s, I'm just saying that they are still PC speakers, not home audio quality speakers. Compared to the other PC speaker options, they're excellent, but they don't stack up to home audio, trust me.JarredWalton - Monday, September 19, 2005 - link
People obviously have differing tastes. Personally, I hate console controllers. I was over at a friend's place tonight and we tried Conker: Reloaded on the Xbox. The pathetic controls are just a great way to mask non-existent AI, as far as I can tell. If I spent a lot more time with consoles, I'd certainly improve, but I don't think I could ever reach the same skill level as a mouse/keyboard FPS player.That's somewhat beside the point, though, when I consider the games I actually play and enjoy the most. FPS games are great, but a good strategy game often lasts longer on my HDD than the latest FPS. Point to a console game that can compete with Civilization III. (Imagine trying to control such a game without a mouse....)
There's room for both types of gamers, and frankly I doubt I'll get any of the next gen consoles. They just don't appeal to *me*.