High-End Buyers' Guide: May 2007
by Dave Robinet and Jarred Walton on May 29, 2007 1:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Alternatives and Conclusion
The possibilities in a system purchase at the high-end segment of the market are literally limitless, and readers should determine for themselves what focus their system should have. Here are some alternative components to consider for customizing your system.
Gamers will want to devote more money towards their graphics cards, while graphics designers may want more memory. Elaborate cases may not make a whole lot of sense if you aren't planning on showing off your computer, and maybe that Blu-Ray drive is just too tempting to pass up. HTPC enthusiasts might want to add a TV tuner (or two) as well, or maybe you want something really different like the Compro VideoMate V600 that will allow you to watch TV or connect any gaming console to your computer display? The video quality is very good and we have a review forthcoming; the one major drawback is that it's limited to a maximum 1680x1050/1600x1200 resolution. The choice is yours: target your spending wisely!
One area that deserves a bit of extra attention is the multimedia options. In the past, just about everyone agreed that any high-end system -- particularly for gamers -- required a discrete audio card. The situation has changed quite dramatically with Windows Vista, as Microsoft has moved to a professional model for sound. Audio drivers are no longer in Ring 0, which should prevent them from causing system instabilities. The good news is that the new Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) makes integrated audio almost as good as discrete; the bad news is that all the extra effects in most current/older games got lost. If a game supports OpenAL (Q4, Prey, BF2142, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., etc.) then you still get full hardware accelerated 3D effects, and while Creative's new ALchemy Project is working to extend EAX support for older games, many titles are still not on the officially supported list. Also worth mentioning is that ALchemy is currently only for X-Fi cards (not including the Xtreme Audio version); Audigy users may get support in the future, but at present they are left out in the cold. Game developers are currently designing Vista specific features such as offloading audio computations onto a separate core/thread, providing increased flexibility for audio effects, so long-term we may see a shift in the audio market to the point where virtually any solution will offer the same overall quality.
As mentioned in the introduction, the time to look at a new high-end system may not be perfect right now, with the P35 chipset introduction bringing DDR3 memory and a 1333MHz FSB into the mix. Intel's X38 chipset is also right around the corner, just in time for Intel's Penryn processors. Pending hardware introductions, however, will be looming every time one of these Guides are released. As has been said repeatedly in the past, the "correct" time to update your system is when you have made the decision that your computer no longer meets your needs. If that time is now, don't forget to visit the AnandTech Forums to ask any questions which you may have before making your purchase!
The possibilities in a system purchase at the high-end segment of the market are literally limitless, and readers should determine for themselves what focus their system should have. Here are some alternative components to consider for customizing your system.
| Alternative Processors | |||
| Platform | Component | Price | Rebates |
| AMD 1207 | Athlon 64 FX-72 | $329 | - |
| AMD AM2 | Athlon 64 X2 6000+ | $227 | - |
| Intel 775 | Core 2 Duo E6700 | $316 | - |
| Intel 775 | Core 2 Extreme X6800 | $969 | - |
| Intel 775 | Core 2 Extreme QX6800 | $1300 | - |
| . | |||
| Alternative Motherboards | |||
| Platform | Component | Price | Rebates |
| AMD AM2 | Foxconn nForce 590 SLI C51XEM2AA | $165 | - |
| Intel 775 | DFI LP UT NF680I LT SLI-T2 | $300 | - |
| Intel 775 | MSI Diamond P6 | $280 | - |
| Intel 775 | MSI P6N SLI Platinum | $160 | - |
| . | |||
| Alternative DDR2 Memory | |||
| Brand | Component | Price | Rebates |
| Mushkin | XP2-8000 Redline | $320 | - |
| Corsair | PC-8500 Dominator | $205 | - |
| Corsair | 2 x 4GB (2x2GB = 8GB total) XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX | $540 | $80 |
| G.Skill | F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ | $115 | - |
| . | |||
| Alternative Power Supplies | |||
| Brand | Component | Price | Rebates |
| Enermax | Enermax 850W | $260 | - |
| OCZ | OCZ700GXSSLI (700W) | $126 | - |
| SeaSonic | SeaSonic 700W | $210 | - |
| Zalman | Zalman ZM600-HP (600W) | $132 | - |
| . | |||
| Alternative Graphics Cards | |||
| Brand | Component | Price | Rebates |
| EVGA | EVGA GeForce 8800GTX Ultra | $832 | - |
| Foxconn | Foxconn GeForce 8800GTS 320MB DDR3 Overclocked | $305 | - |
| Sapphire | Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB (100201) | $426 | - |
| XFX | XFX GeForce 8800GTX 768MB DDR3 XXX Version | $620 | - |
| . | |||
| Alternative Data Storage | |||
| Brand | Component | Price | Rebates |
| Hitachi | Deskstar 7K1000 1TB 7200RPM | $410 | - |
| Seagate | Barracuda ES ST3750640AS 750GB 7200RPM | $310 | - |
| Seagate | ST3500641AS-RK 500GB | $135 | - |
| Phillips | SPD7000 Blu-Ray Writer | $500 | - |
| . | |||
| Sound Cards and Multimedia Devices | |||
| Brand | Component | Price | Rebates |
| Auzentech | X-Meridian 7.1 (AZT-XM71) | $170 | - |
| Bluegears | b-Enspirer 7.1 | $110 | - |
| Chaintech | AV-710 | $22 | - |
| Compro | VideoMate V600 External Video Converter | $150-$160 | - |
| Creative | X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional 70SB046A00000 | $140 | $40 |
| Hauppauge | WinTV-PVR 500 MCE Tuner | $145 | - |
| NVIDIA | DualTV MCE Tuner | $160 | - |
| . | |||
Gamers will want to devote more money towards their graphics cards, while graphics designers may want more memory. Elaborate cases may not make a whole lot of sense if you aren't planning on showing off your computer, and maybe that Blu-Ray drive is just too tempting to pass up. HTPC enthusiasts might want to add a TV tuner (or two) as well, or maybe you want something really different like the Compro VideoMate V600 that will allow you to watch TV or connect any gaming console to your computer display? The video quality is very good and we have a review forthcoming; the one major drawback is that it's limited to a maximum 1680x1050/1600x1200 resolution. The choice is yours: target your spending wisely!
One area that deserves a bit of extra attention is the multimedia options. In the past, just about everyone agreed that any high-end system -- particularly for gamers -- required a discrete audio card. The situation has changed quite dramatically with Windows Vista, as Microsoft has moved to a professional model for sound. Audio drivers are no longer in Ring 0, which should prevent them from causing system instabilities. The good news is that the new Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) makes integrated audio almost as good as discrete; the bad news is that all the extra effects in most current/older games got lost. If a game supports OpenAL (Q4, Prey, BF2142, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., etc.) then you still get full hardware accelerated 3D effects, and while Creative's new ALchemy Project is working to extend EAX support for older games, many titles are still not on the officially supported list. Also worth mentioning is that ALchemy is currently only for X-Fi cards (not including the Xtreme Audio version); Audigy users may get support in the future, but at present they are left out in the cold. Game developers are currently designing Vista specific features such as offloading audio computations onto a separate core/thread, providing increased flexibility for audio effects, so long-term we may see a shift in the audio market to the point where virtually any solution will offer the same overall quality.
As mentioned in the introduction, the time to look at a new high-end system may not be perfect right now, with the P35 chipset introduction bringing DDR3 memory and a 1333MHz FSB into the mix. Intel's X38 chipset is also right around the corner, just in time for Intel's Penryn processors. Pending hardware introductions, however, will be looming every time one of these Guides are released. As has been said repeatedly in the past, the "correct" time to update your system is when you have made the decision that your computer no longer meets your needs. If that time is now, don't forget to visit the AnandTech Forums to ask any questions which you may have before making your purchase!
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JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Last I checked, they weren't readily available yet. Considering we explicitly mention this in the text on the first and last pages (as well as in-between), I'm pretty sure we've covered the situation. The official launch is next week, at which time all the websites respecting the launch date (Newegg and ZipZoomFly are usually the benchmark here) will start selling them. I'm not sure most of the sites listing the boards have them in stock and ready to ship today as it stands; if they can't be trusted to follow Intel's launch date, can their inventory claims be trusted?Latyshev - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Ah, sorry, i didnt read the article in detail, just looked over the major points. Thank you for clarification.Tuffrabbit - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Quote " Audigy users may get support in the future, but at present they are left out in the cold. "Man what a drag that Vista has been out now four months and still there are issues with sound cards, guess I'll wait some more before upgrading the operating system...
AnnihilatorX - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
I don't see why the SLI GeForce GTS is not a good investment. The performance seen in many benchmarks definitely have 40% edge over a single Ultra. GTS 320MB SLI is also very affordable and have the aforementioned performance on resolutions less than 1900 while bearing more performance/$ than ultra/GTXTilmitt - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
There's no point in including the operating system cost, most of us pirate it. And rightly so!punko - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Pirate? I don't think so.Dual boot machine: Linux/legit windows for work/play
If you're spending the money for a "high end" machine, there is no reason not to go fully legit.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Besides, if you're so cool that you can pirate the software, I'm sure you can handle doing a little bit of math to subtract the cost from the total. I have to say that anyone looking to stiff The Man by stealing $120-$200 of software on a $5000 system needs some counseling about what's important in life.Martimus - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Speak for yourself. I stopped pirating software once I got a real job. When I can't afford to buy the software, I just don't buy it now.yacoub - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
On the concluding page is a list of soundcards (though very little is said about them).The Auzentech card has a name though: It's the X-Meridian 7.1 which you can see by going to their website. Not sure why you list it as "AZT-XM71" since I've never seen it listed that way except as the part number part of the heading at NewEgg.
http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-meridian....">http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-meridian....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
I'm sure it's an awesome card, btw, as I have their X-Plosion DTS 7.1 card and love it. It's been flawless for me in gaming and offers excellence in sound reproduction for games, movies, mp3s, etc.
yacoub - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
If you are buying two GTS 640MB, shouldn't the $30 rebate also be counted twice? (I'm looking at the first system.)