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.

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.

Display, Case and Peripherals
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  • JarredWalton - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link

    Try configuring a similarly equipped "ultra" system at any of the vendors you mentioned for $5500 - including a 30" LCD, remember, plus speakers and all the other stuff. Note that all prices include shipping to the continental US (although tax is not included). Sure, you get support from one location, but we're not here to constantly recommend system vendors.

    There's a huge DIY audience that reads AnandTech, and at least this gives people a baseline price list that they can look at when they're considering pre-built systems. We try to cater to all markets, not just the vendors that buy advertising.
  • Powersupply - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link

    As always someone has to be the annoying person who feels this or that is missing. Today it is me.

    1. I can't see why Thermalright Ultra-120 should be missing from the selection of CPU coolers. It performs on par or better than the Infinity with the same fan.

    2. Why not putting more than 2 harddrives into the "Ultra High-End Platform"? After all you went with a stacker case who got plenty of space. 2 x Raptor + 2 x Other HDD would be sweet.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link

    Added mention of the Thermalright. As for the HDDs, I quote from the original text:

    quote:

    Lastly, we come to the storage subsystem. Anyone looking for even more extreme performance could always add a couple of 150GB Western Digital Raptor drives in RAID 0, but for an ultra high-end computer we prefer more storage over slightly faster hard drives. Thus, we have chosen two 500GB Western Digital hard drives, which you can once again choose to run in RAID 0, RAID 1, or simply as individual drives, giving you up to a full terabyte of storage. You could further upgrade to RAID 1+0 for performance and redundancy, although that would also require four hard drives which is more than most people want to install in a home computer. We certainly aren't recommending this configuration as the best choice for every single person: get what you feel is most beneficial for your storage needs.


    I believe that fully covers your second comment, right? It's always an option, but it's not required by any means.
  • yacoub - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link

    The Antec P150 is such a superb case I can't believe it does not many any of your four case recommendations. It is an ideal case in that it is built for quietness, airflow, ease of cleaning, and ease of access. Everything about it is pretty much perfect AND it's not upside-down like the more "popular" Antec P180 case, nor does it have a silly topvent. It's also a little more reasonably-sized (I don't know of anyone building a gaming PC that needs more than 2-3 5.25" bay drives nor room for more than 3-4 hard drives. Really, this case has it all. It's probably the one part of my current build I'm most satisfied with and have been since purchase, which was when they first came out about a year ago.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, October 9, 2006 - link

    quote:

    The choice of case is going to be largely based on personal preference.


    Some people love the P180, others love the P150, and still others think the ASUS plastic monstrosity is the coolest looking case ever. I figured with a choice of the SLK-3000 and P180, I needed someone other than Antec to represent the case section. :)

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