PC Buyers Guide Christmas 2004 edition - High End Buyers Guide

by David Gunning on: 12/14/2004 02:00 PM [

PC Buyers Guide High End
Target Resolution: 1600x1200 with 4x AA and 16x AF or better

This is a guide to putting together a complete computer, which means speakers, keyboard, mouse and monitor are included. For this guide I have tried to put together the computer that will give you the most reliable PC and the best overall gaming experience, AS IS. That means I am assuming that you will not be overclocking the system (since most people do not!). So please, no flames concerning this [insert name of computer part here] is a better overclocker than [insert name of computer part I recommended]! For those wondering about "Target Resolution," instead of listing a particular pricepoint (since price will vary somewhat with vender) I have listed here what type of resolutions you can expect to be playing most of today's games. AA stands for antialiasing and AF stands for Anistrophic Filtering, if you don't know what those are... well are you sure you want to be building your own computer? ;)

Processor AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (Socket 939) Retail

The latest and greatest incarnation of the Athlon 64, the Socket 939 processors finally have some low-cost offerings. The Athlon 64 really shines when it comes to games, where it can easily outpace the current Pentium 4 competitors. Also theres something to be said to future proofing your PC. It's nice to know that instead of making a CPU upgrade in a year you can make a software upgrade instead. Rest assured that as software developers begin to develop 64-bit software or modify their existing software to take advantage of the Athlon 64s capabilities that you will see a nice boost to your PCs performance. The AMD64 also offers Cool'N'Quiet technology, a nice feature that allows the processor to lower its clock speed and core voltage (not unlike what most laptop processors do) when the CPU is not being fully utilized, a nice power (and thermal) saving feature that will also prolong the life of the processor. Another valuable benefit is the AMD64's ability to prevent buffer overruns (enabled in WinXP SP2), an added security feature that will eliminate one common exploit used by hackers and malicious software. When buying, be sure youre getting one of the new .09 Winchester cores, as these are better overclockers and seem to use less power as well. For those of you wondering why there isn't a FX-55 recommended here: with processors you really see the law of diminishing returns, the steep premium you will pay for the flagship processor really doesn't justify the marginal gain in performance.

For you Intel fans (who have taken quite a bit of heat from the Prescotts, pun intended) out there you may be wondering what to do, with AMD64 users lording over you a number of additional features, like 64-bit capability and SLI. Well fear not, for your salvation cometh, although you may have to wait a few months. We know NVIDIA is producing an nForce5 chipset for Intel, already reviews are available for SLI capable P4 motherboards and we all know Intel is readying their P4 with EM64T 64 bit capability. Its only a matter of time.

Heatsink and Fan Included

Thanks to the integrated heat spreader and lower core voltage of the new Athlon 64, these CPUs do not need quite as elaborate a heatsink that the Athlon XP needed to stay cool. The stock heatsink and fan easily handles the cooling of the Athlon 64. If you want a little extra cooling then there are several fine solid copper heatsinks on the market, I would recommend the Thermaltake Venus 7+. It's the same story if you choose the Pentium 4 processor, the stock heatsink/fan included in the retail CPU bundle will easily suffice. Also don't forget to get some quality thermal paste, it can make a significant difference in your CPU temperature, Artic Silver 5 is highly recommended.

Overclockers: No retail heatsink will suffice for you now will it!? For you I suggest snagging one of the high-end coolers from Thermalright or Swiftech.

Motherboard nForce4 SLI

Retail boards based on this chipset should be available any day now. NVIDIA has certainly given the features that will assure that motherboards based on this chipset will be the gamers choice. Most important is the SLI capability, allowing you to use two PCI-Express video cards as one. Also add to that SATA-II support, which will allow 300 MB/s compared to SATAs 150. Lets not forget NVIDIA's implementation of their Gigabit LAN as well as the offering of an onboard firewall. They have implemented the Gigabit LAN on the nForce4 chip itself (yes it is a one-chip, not two chip, solution), thereby completely freeing itself from the bottleneck caused by the PCI bus. The result is the best performing onboard LAN while offering the lowest possible CPU utilization. On top of this, the easily configurable hardware firewall (via web interface) will make you feel safe from hackers, worms and other online woes that come with an always-on broadband connection. This is an improved version of the firewall that was included with the nForce3 250 Gb chipset, now dubbed ActiveArmor©. And since it's hardware, it eliminates many of the software conflicts, lowers CPU utilization and offers more throughput when compared to a software firewall. Also, unlike a software firewall, your computer is protected from the very moment you power it on, whereas a software firewall must wait for the OS to at least partially load, leaving your computer vulnerable for a short period. Very nice indeed.

Editor's Choice: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe. One of the first retail boards to appear, Asus did not disappoint. Featuring 2 8x PCI-Express slots (for SLI) and 2 1x PCI-Express slots should ensure future card connectivity. Nice to see an active cooling solution on the nForce4 MCP as well.

Hard Drive 300 GB Maxtor MaxLine III

300 GB! Gotta love that, all the room you need for anything you can think of! Music, movies, videos... just think of the HTPC possibilities as well. This drive is fast too, thanks to an unprecedented 16 MB cache, SATA interface and support for Native Command Queuing (NCQ, a disk seek optimization technique), which should further improve hard drive performance on motherboards that support NCQ.

Memory 2 GB PC3200 DDR RAM

RAM prices have been steadily on the rise in the past few months, but that doesn't mean you should skimp. For a true gaming machine you will want 1 GB of RAM. Make sure you get at least PC3200 RAM so you aren't starving your processor of memory bandwidth. If you plan to overclock consider purchasing the faster PC3500, PC3700, or PC4000 modules. Just be sure to make sure the RAM uses the faster memory timings (Cas 2-3-3-6 T1) and doesn't require higher default voltages (some high-speed DDR modules have required default voltages of up to 2.9v, well above the normal 2.5, which cannot be supported by some motherboards). Also don't forget to buy that RAM in matched pairs so you can take advantage of dual channel for a slight boost to performance.

Video Card GeForce 6800 Ultra or Radeon X850 XT

Both of these cards offer incredible performance. ATI obviously felt a bit challenged by the Series 6 from NVIDIA so they already have a refresh of their X800 series, with some very welcome additions. This new high end card should give the edge over the 6800 Ultra but the 6800 is still holding a few tricks up its sleeve, such as it's support for SM 3.0 and most importantly SLI. You'll notice I did not recommend either the 6800 Ultra OC or Radeon X850 XT PE. Given the high premium and laughibly low availability of either card, I felt it wise not to recommend either.

Editor's Choice: 2x GeForce 6800 GT in SLI. Will easily beat either card and offer you all the power you could ask for in any game.

Check out Guru3D related reviews:
GeForce 6800 Ultra Preview

Sound Card Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS

Well not much has changed since the last time I did a PC Buyer's Guide, disappointing considering how rapidly everything else seems to be moving on. For the discerning audiophile, there is still only one sound card. And that is the Audigy 2. This most recent version features support for the new EAX 4.0 Advanced HD and Dolby Digital 7.1 sound.

If you want a non-Creative Labs alternative, consider the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 or AudioTrak Prodigy 7.1. Both use the VIA Envy24HT audio processor, offering Dolby Digital 7.1 sound, 24-bit/192kHz audio playback and 24-bit/96kHz recording; the same capabilities as the Audigy 2 ZS.

    Check out Guru3D related reviews:
    Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Ex
    Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum
    AudioTrak Prodigy 7.1
    M-Audio Revolution 7.1

DVD-RW Drive NEC ND3500A 16x DVD±R/RW

With prices dropping well below $100 USD, how could I not recommend getting a DVD burner!? I chose this particular burner because in addition to supporting 16x DVD burning speeds, it also offers excellent 48x CD-R burning and also supports 4x Dual Layer DVD burning. Throw in a spare DVD drive if you need to copy from one CD to another a lot and youre set.

Network Onboard Gigabit NIC

No need to buy a separate network card, the motherboard I recommended comes with the fastest LAN already available onboard. For those of you wondering where the modem is, let me say this: gamers dont use modems! Get broadband.

Case

Okay Im going leave this one open to your decision. Cases are a love-hate thing, what one person likes another will not. So go find a case you think suites you. I have a few suggestions when looking for a case. Aluminum is a definite plus; it will make your computer significantly lighter. 120mm fans are the way to go as well, ensuring good airflow in your case while maintaining a minimum of noise.

Editor's Choice: A number of good cases come to mind. Antec Performance 1 P160. A truly breathtaking aluminum case. Comes with or without a side window, 2 120mm case fans for maximum airflow at a minimum of noise, rubber grommets to reduce hard drive vibrations (and noise), washable air filter, LED temperature display and much more... For those of you who love a Mac's sleek looks than you may want to buy Lian-Li PC-V1200, again comes with 2 120mm fans and is all aluminum. Finally there is the Thermaltake "Shark," again featuring aluminum contruction, a stylish look and 2 120mm fans.

Power Supply - Antec True550 550 Watt or OCZ PowerStream 520 Watt

New video cards and new processors are starting to pull A LOT of power. And the situation will not improve. Time to go out and get the biggest and best power supply you can, accept nothing under 480 Watts! Another plus to look for is a power supply with dual fans to help with cooling. Just remember: don't try and buy a cheap generic brand to save some cash, just because it says 480 Watts (or whatever the number is) doesn't mean it can actually handle that, sadly. Quality counts big, be sure to get a quality power supply or you will face any number of woesWhen it comes to power supplies, Antec makes some of the highest quality power supplies you can buy. However currently OCZ is king of the hill, their PowerStream series maintains the "truest" voltages, thanks in no small part to their OCZ PowerFlex© tech that a gives you individually adjustable power rails with LED indicators.

Monitor 21" CRT

While an LCD monitor may be nice and definitely save on desktop space, it is rather pricey. If you like you can try to find an inexpensive 17" LCD or 18" LCD screen, but I highly suggest you try out an LCD monitor before you buy it. And by that I mean play a couple games, to make sure you can see the quality of the picture and to ensure there is no ghosting (Halo is an excellent choice for this). However, I recommend a CRT, you could buy 2 19" CRTs can for the price of a 17" LCD. For CRT you should be looking for a flat screen, a low dot pitch (0.20 is considered quite good) and support for higher resolutions and refresh rates.

Editor's Choice: Viewsonic G220FB 21" CRT. A truly monolithic flat-screened monitor, supports resolutions up to 2048x1536 (1600x1200 @ 87Hz), which should allow you to test the limits of your high-end video card. If your video card is capable of gaming at 1600x1200 with 4x AA and 8x AF, don't you want a monitor that you can truly appreciate it on?

Speakers Logitech Z-5500 THX 5.1

Regardless of what choice you made for your sound, you will want a good set of speakers. The quality of sound can really add to the gaming experience so dont sell yourself short on the speakers. You want to hear when someone is sneaking up from behind you in multiplayer, enjoy the theater experience watching DVDs and enjoy the best quality sound when listening to your CDs and MP3s. Also there is no point of buying an expensive sound card if you dont have the speakers to take advantage of it. Feel the earth tremble with 500 Watt's of THX goodness!

Keyboard and Mouse - Logitech Cordless Elite and MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse

The Logitech Cordless Elite Keyboard is an excellent keyboard, it will easily handle anything and the Logitech MX700 Mouse. Cordless is the way to go if you want to eliminate the clutter on your desktop. The MX100 is the finest cordless mouse on the market, featuring rechargeable batteries (charged via a docking station) and higher precision than any other mouse. Besides why bring an optical mouse to a fight when you can bring a frikkin' laser beam? ;)

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PC Buyers Guide Christmas 2004 edition - High End Buyers Guide

PC Buyers Guide Christmas 2004 edition - High End Buyers Guide