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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CK804 - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
A lot of sites seem to prove you wrong in addition to the ones I linked to. You need to get your meter checked or that Dell PS is REALLY inefficient. All of these sites measure power drawn by the SYSTEM at the AC outlet. None of the 8800GTX SLI configurations use more than 500 watts under full load and the R600 Crossfire setup uses 522 watts under full load.http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=332&type=...">One.
http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q1/geforce-8800-...">Two.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/05/16/r600_a...">Three.
http://www.hwupgrade.com/articles/video/13/the-nvi...">Four.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2873...">Now check this out from YOUR OWN SITE. Do you really think that an upgrade to a quad core and another 8800GTX will pull another 500 watts?
JarredWalton - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - link
The big question is whether or not you plan on overclocking. I just did some quick tests, and taking a quad core QX6700 chip from 2.67 GHz to 3.33 GHz increases the power draw by about 60W. I know that if I went out and got a QX6700, I would overclock it at least that far. For that matter, if I got a Q6600, I would probably shoot for a similar clock speed.At stock voltage, stock speeds, the highest power draw I got with CrossFire X1950 XTX and a QX6700 (with three hard drives in the system) was "only" 488W. Could such a system run with a 520W power supply? Perhaps, provided it's a really high-quality power supply. Personally, I like to have a bit of leeway, so I would say 620W minimum for such a configuration.
Looking at your Bit-tech link, it appears that a Radeon HD 2900 XT consumes ~70W more power than a Radeon X1950 XTX, and in CrossFire mode the difference was 145W (worst-case). 488W + 145W = 633W... Eureka! Now, are you still going to want to run such a configuration with a 620W power supply? You could try, and it might even work depending on how often you reach maximum load, but again I prefer a little leeway. Without overclocking, I can easily see quad core and 2900 XT CrossFire breaking 600W on a regular basis (or at least approaching it). Throw in overclocking (~80W) and water-cooling (10W-30W - or more - depending on pump), and we are now at over 700W. Sure enough, that's exactly what I measured with the Dell XPS 720H2C (add a few more watts for the additional memory).
I personally follow an 80% rule: just to be safe, I don't exceed 80% of the rated power supply wattage. (this is especially important if you have power supplies with multiple 12V rails, as you almost certainly won't be drawing maximum power from each rail.) That means if I'm going to be drying up to 600W of power, I would want at least at a 750W power supply. If I'm going to overclock, I would want something in the 850W+ range.
CK804 - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - link
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php...">It seems that the TEC inside your Dell is drawing a lot of power. That's why your power consumption is so high. A power supply wattage rating is the amount of power that the PS can deliver to the components and not how much power it can draw from the wall. Since we have to account for efficiency, 800W * 0.8 = 640 is the power consumption of the components inside. Take away the power consumption of the TEC (640 - 120) and the power consumption of the components is about 520 watts.CK804 - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36...">Are you sure about that breaking 850 watts?http://www.abxzone.com/forums/cases-psus-mods/1064...">That's a little too extreme, don't you think?
JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Depends on what you throw in there. I've got a system with an overclocked QX6700 and 8800 Ultra SLI with water-cooling, multiple hard drives, and basically about every high-end option you can find. I've measured peak power draw of nearly 800W, and a stock HD 2900 XT uses more power than an 8800 GTX by about 20W at load. Overclock two of those cards, and yes I think you can break 850W power draw.FWIW, idle power draw is 475W on the system, putting 100% load on the CPU takes that up to 625W, and 100% CPU while running 3DMark06 put it at something close to 750-775W (with the average being more like 700W). If I were to manually overclock the GPUs, then I'm sure I could break 800W.
CK804 - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
I still call BS on 800. 475 watts idling? That's a little too extreme don't you think? Did you even read the sites I linked to? And what are you measuring with? Your @SS?JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Some people always need proof I suppose.Sitting next to me is a Dell XPS 720 H2C measured at the outlet with a Kill-A-Watt device. The CPU is running at 3.43 GHz with 1.550V. Why should I need to read your links when I've got a system right in front of me generating those numbers? But of course you're right: your linked article must be more accurate than anything we could measure in-house. The Dell has a 1000W power supply, and I'm sure Dell is just being cautious, like they are with their 375W PSUs in the XPS 410.
PS: My ass measured a power output of 1.21GW last I checked. I have to be careful as I don't want to accidentally warp myself through time if I go eat Mexican food. You see, I also have a flux capacitor hardwired into my spine, just in case....
Thanks for reading, though.
CK804 - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/100...">AMD 4x4 system with 8800GTX SLI uses 612 watts under full load.JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Overclocking + overvolting will jack up the power draw of the CPU quite a bit. Stock voltage is supposed to be 1.300V (I think) and overclocked it's 1.550V, plus it's running at 3.43 GHz instead of 2.67 GHz. Throw in a water-cooling setup, three hard drives, 4GB RAM, and you get quite a bit more power draw than a stock 4x4 SLI setup.CK804 - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - link
Hard drives draw about 10 watts each. That's 30 watts. Each extra memory module will draw about 5 more watts. That's 20 watts. The water pump should draw no more than 10 watts and the fans about 5 watts each. Assuming you're using 2 120mm fans, the extra power draw under a worse case secenario would be 90 watts. So now we move onto the CPU. Are you seriously going to tell me that an overclocked Core 2 Quad consumes 300 watts under load? A Smithfield barely consumed half of 300 watts. I think any CPU would explode if it consumed 300 watts.