High-End Buyer's Guide - October 2006
by Jarred Walton on October 9, 2006 5:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Alternatives
As if all the options we've already given you aren't enough, there are so many choices available when you have such a large budget that we felt it would be beneficial to put together a quick list of alternatives. We've broken them down by component type, but otherwise we have made no attempt to clearly separate the configurations that work together. For example, if you're interested in getting an SLI motherboard, you won't want to purchase a couple of ATI graphics cards to go with it - unless you simply want to run the graphics cards as individual units rather than in CrossFire mode.
Depending on where you live in the world, it may be easier to get some of these alternative recommendations over the components we listed earlier. We feel confident that all of these components are very high quality and will work well in any high-end computer. In some cases, the differences are going to be very slight, and we didn't bother listing all of the various GPU manufacturers as by and large a 7900 GTX from company A is going to be nearly the same as a 7900 GTX from company B.
Hopefully it's pretty clear by now that there are a lot of different choices you could make and still end up with a very good high-end computing system. We would also be remiss if we didn't mention the fact that one more point in favor of ATI graphics cards right now is their support for Folding@Home's new GPU accelerated client. Even if you have no interest in Folding@Home, we have to commend ATI for their efforts, and we hope to see additional applications in the future leverage the floating-point number crunching power offered by today's GPUs.
Conclusion
Some companies like to advocate the "one size fits all" approach, whether it be for clothing, computers, transportation, or just about any other product. We here at AnandTech are strong believers in individualization, as what works best for one person may be overkill or insufficient for another. We have made an effort in this buyers guide to address many of the configuration options that are available for anyone looking to build a new computer. Even with everything we've said here, however, there are still many areas that we only glossed over. Naturally, if you have any questions, feel free to send them our way or post them to our comments section.
If you're still confused after all of the information we've unloaded, or if you're uncertain whether or not you should upgrade right now, discretion is usually the best course of action. Do some more research, ask some questions, and remember that something better/faster/cheaper is always just another month away. Today is not the perfect time to upgrade or buy a high-end computer system; neither was last month, and next month won't be either - at least not for everyone. The best time to upgrade is when you are no longer happy with your computer... or perhaps just after winning the lottery. Many of us still have computers that are over two years old that we use on a regular basis, and while they may not be the fastest systems on the planet, for a lot of tasks they are perfectly adequate.
As if all the options we've already given you aren't enough, there are so many choices available when you have such a large budget that we felt it would be beneficial to put together a quick list of alternatives. We've broken them down by component type, but otherwise we have made no attempt to clearly separate the configurations that work together. For example, if you're interested in getting an SLI motherboard, you won't want to purchase a couple of ATI graphics cards to go with it - unless you simply want to run the graphics cards as individual units rather than in CrossFire mode.
| Alternative Processors | ||
| Brand | Component | Price |
| AMD | AMD Athlon 64 X2 (AM2) 4000+ - 2.0GHz 2x1024KB Windsor | $196 |
| AMD | AMD Athlon 64 X2 (AM2) 4200+ - 2.2GHz 2x512KB Windsor | $204 |
| AMD | AMD Athlon 64 X2 (AM2) 5000+ - 2.6GHz 2x512KB Windsor (Backordered!) | $364 |
| Intel | Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 - 2.13GHz 2MB Shared L2 | $220 |
| Intel | Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 - 2.67GHz 4MB Shared L2 | $502 |
| Alternative Motherboards | ||
| Brand | Component | Price |
| AMD | MSI K9A Platinum - ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 + ATI SB600 AM2 | $136 |
| AMD | Asus M2R32-MVP - ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 + ATI SB600 AM2 | $148 |
| AMD | Foxconn C51XEM2AA - nForce 590 SLI AM2 | $177 |
| AMD | Asus Crosshair - nForce 590 SLI AM2 | $235 |
| Intel | ASUS P5B-E - Intel P965 775 | $164 |
| Intel | DFI Infinity 975X - Intel 975X 775 | $185 |
| Intel | Abit AW9D - Intel 975X 775 | $209 |
| Intel | Abit AW9D-MAX - Intel 975X 775 | $260 |
| Alternative Graphics Cards | ||
| Brand | Component | Price |
| ATI | 2 x Sapphire Radeon X1900GT 256MB | $404 |
| NVIDIA | 2 x XFX GeForce 7900GS 256MB DDR3 RoHS | $404 |
| NVIDIA | EVGA GeForce 7950GX2 1GB | $500 |
| NVIDIA | 2 x EVGA GeForce 7950GT KO 512MB | $580 |
| Alternative Memory | ||
| Type | Component | Price |
| DDR2 | G.Skill 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 model F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK | $265 |
| DDR2 | OCZ Platinum 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 model OCZ2P8002GK | $280 |
| DDR2 | WinTec AMP-X 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 model 3AXT6400C4-2048K | $295 |
| DDR2 | Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 | $300 |
| DDR2 | Super Talent 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 model T800UX2GC4 | $310 |
| DDR2 | Patriot 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 model PDC22G6400LLK | $310 |
| DDR2 | Kingston HyperX 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 model KHX6400D2LLK2 | $330 |
| Alternative Hard Drives | ||
| Type | Component | Price |
| SATA2 | Seagate 3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.10 | $75 |
| SATA2 | Western Digital 3.0Gbps 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 | $100 |
| SATA | Western Digital 1.5Gbps 400GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 | $135 |
| SATA2 | Seagate 3.0Gbps 400GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.10 | $154 |
| SATA2 | Maxtor 3.0Gbps 500GB 7200RPM 16MB MaXLine Pro 500 | $209 |
| SATA2 | Maxtor 3.0Gbps 500GB 7200RPM 16MB DiamondMax 11 | $219 |
| SATA | Western Digital 1.5Gbps 150GB 10000RPM 16MB Raptor | $219 |
| SATA2 | Seagate 3.0Gbps 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.10 | $220 |
| SATA2 | Seagate 3.0Gbps 750GB 7200RPM 16MB Barracuda 7200.10 | $356 |
Depending on where you live in the world, it may be easier to get some of these alternative recommendations over the components we listed earlier. We feel confident that all of these components are very high quality and will work well in any high-end computer. In some cases, the differences are going to be very slight, and we didn't bother listing all of the various GPU manufacturers as by and large a 7900 GTX from company A is going to be nearly the same as a 7900 GTX from company B.
Hopefully it's pretty clear by now that there are a lot of different choices you could make and still end up with a very good high-end computing system. We would also be remiss if we didn't mention the fact that one more point in favor of ATI graphics cards right now is their support for Folding@Home's new GPU accelerated client. Even if you have no interest in Folding@Home, we have to commend ATI for their efforts, and we hope to see additional applications in the future leverage the floating-point number crunching power offered by today's GPUs.
Conclusion
Some companies like to advocate the "one size fits all" approach, whether it be for clothing, computers, transportation, or just about any other product. We here at AnandTech are strong believers in individualization, as what works best for one person may be overkill or insufficient for another. We have made an effort in this buyers guide to address many of the configuration options that are available for anyone looking to build a new computer. Even with everything we've said here, however, there are still many areas that we only glossed over. Naturally, if you have any questions, feel free to send them our way or post them to our comments section.
If you're still confused after all of the information we've unloaded, or if you're uncertain whether or not you should upgrade right now, discretion is usually the best course of action. Do some more research, ask some questions, and remember that something better/faster/cheaper is always just another month away. Today is not the perfect time to upgrade or buy a high-end computer system; neither was last month, and next month won't be either - at least not for everyone. The best time to upgrade is when you are no longer happy with your computer... or perhaps just after winning the lottery. Many of us still have computers that are over two years old that we use on a regular basis, and while they may not be the fastest systems on the planet, for a lot of tasks they are perfectly adequate.
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Zebo - Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - link
Anandtech really needs to start doing monitor tests again. I don't know if you used those Acers but they suck bad. And the Dell 24" suffers from serious input lag and poor view angles like the TN Acers. LCD's are not a commodity where you can graph price/size and pick your winner. Does 8 bit means nothing? Color shift? Input lag? Lying specs vs. real specs? Good viewing angles? LCD scaling for gamers?The 30" Dell is pretty decent as it's an IPS but not overdriven like the new HP so it's slow.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - link
I've got both Dells, and they work fine for everything I do. Overdriving displays is mostly just playing the numbers game. If you can see pixel lag on any of the Dell LCDs mentioned, then you can probably see pixel lag on virtually every LCD on the market. I will be doing some LCD reviews in the near future, but so far I have far bigger issues with prices than I do with performance. I just wish I could get an LCD that ran at a high refresh rate in order to avoid tearing when vsync is disabled. Unless you do professional imaging work where having accurate color values is absolutely necessary, most LCDs will get the job done. As for the Acer displays, they did get put on the bottom of the pricing chart for a reason, and I don't think they are the highest quality displays available. They aren't the worst displays available, and without spending twice as much money it is unlikely that he will seek dramatically better performance or colors in the same size display.limiter - Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - link
I agree on the price, I bought a cheap (under $275), BenQ FP202W 20.1in Widescreen display that got panned by Tom's Hardware as the worst 20.1in widescreen monitor they've ever seen, yet I think it's great. I don't see lag, or the other problems mentioned in their review. I went from a 19in CRT so it's not like I was going from a 15in at 32ms to 8ms and that's why I think it's great. Maybe I just have bad eyes, but I'd buy it again.JarredWalton - Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - link
That's a perfect case in point. While it is definitely possible to measure differences between LCDs, the simple truth is that most people can't tell the difference without specialized hardware to measure values. For example, a display that has colors that are off by 10% might not look as good next to a display that has accurate colors. However, if you're viewing them individually in separate rooms, you're going to have a difficult time determining which is better using just your eyes. The lighting in a room often has more of an impact on the display visuals for typical users than the display itself.Howard - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link
The efficiency of a PSU has nothing to do with its actual power output.JarredWalton - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link
No, and I don't believe I said it does. It has to do with how much power is used internally in the conversion process, so a 70% efficient 600W PSU could in theory draw 857W and an 85% efficient 600W PSU would only draw 706W - something like that.I guess the text implied that the efficiency meant it could output 500W. What I meant is that it can do 500W output, and it can do it at a high efficiency. There are plenty of "500W" PSUs out there that would fail if you really tried to pull 500W from them. I'll clear up the text....
yyrkoon - Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - link
Actually, I believe its more like power thats NOT lost to heat while being converted to DC, from AC. Feel free to correct me if Im wrong though :)BigLan - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link
Given the ati-amd merger, the AMD god box uses nvidia sli while the Intel box uses ATi crossfire. I suspect that in a year that situation will be reversed.Good guide btw, it's nice to dream about building a system like this, but I'd stick with my Scythe Ninja for a HSF.
limiter - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link
How much of this hardware did you guys test together? I wonder especially about the memory and the optical drives simply because there seem to be a number of modules and drives out there that either don't work, or don't work as well as they should with the p965/975x motherboards. I'm looking at building a new system soon and really appreciate these guides, but I would like to see either confirmation that at least the memory was tested with the motherboard/processor combo listed, or that someone else has tested it and you are going off that... I guess just for peace of mind before buying anything. The motherboard manufacturers list a small number of compatible modules, ASUS being the worst.Gary Key - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link
The majority of the components have all been tested on a large cross-section of boards. Some components work better in certain boards (even though the chipsets are the same) than others. Memory was a very weak area in the P965 launch and it was not the budget memory at the time, it was the upper end memory that was having issues. My opinion on the subject matter is that both the memory and motherboard suppliers had equal issues. The majority of it has cleared up now although it is difficult to understand why certain memory modules and bios updates still have issues playing nice with each other. As far as optical drives, please let us know which one is having an issue, tried over 18 different optical drives from a Kenwood TrueX to a Pioneer Blu-ray without an issue on our current collection of 965/975 boards. At least 11 different hard drives have been used also at this time.