Buyer's Guide: High End System - May 2004
by Wesley Fink on May 26, 2004 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Memory
Recommendation: 1GB Kit (2 X 512MB) OCZ PC3500 EL ECC Registered (or OCZ 3200EL ECC)Price: $339 shipped ($295 shipped)
Socket 940 for A64FX and Opteron requires ECC Registered memory, and the best that we have used is OCZ PC3500 EL ECC Registered. A lot of Registered memory has slow timings, but the OCZ manages 2-2-3 timings at DDR433 while still providing the best compatibility with Socket 940 motherboards. The OCZ 3200 EL ECC Registered uses the same chips and is easier to find, so it is also a good choice. The OCZ 3500 Registered and 3200 Registered are very fast, but they have also worked in situations where other Registered memory from better-known manufacturers were a problem. Keep in mind that ECC Registered memory can only be used on boards that support buffered memory like the Opteron and other server boards. The coming Socket 939 and Intel's Socket 875 do support ECC memory, but they require the unbuffered variety and do not support the Registered or buffered variety. The ECC 3500EL will also handle most any overclocking that can be achieved with the adjustable ratios and no PCI/AGP lock of the Asus SK8V. The 3500EL Registered has reached DDR466 in benchmark testing.
Alternative: 1GB Kit (2 X 512MB) Corsair XMS4000PRO
Price: $305 shipped
Corsair XMS4000PRO, rated at DDR500, is the only memory we have tested that puts on a light show that will match the DFI 875B LAN Party. That alone, however, would not be enough to recommend XMS4000PRO. Corsair is probably the best known manufacturer of enthusiast memory and the LEDs on the PRO series actually provide information about how the memory is performing. You can read more about Corsair PRO series in our review.
The motherboards selected as alternates are very capable of DDR500 performance, and Corsair will certainly provide that, reaching DDR540 in our tests. Perhaps more important, Corsair XMS PRO is one of the high speed memories based on 2nd generation Hynix chips, which is capable of very good 2-3-3 performance at DDR400. This gives the best of both worlds - high speed capabilities for overclocking and decent stock performance at DDR400. If the light show is a turn-off, there are several other second-generation high-speed choices from Mushkin, OCZ and Corsair and you can check those out in any recent memory review at AnandTech.
Another excellent alternative in unbuffered memory is OCZ 3700EB, which takes a different approach to memory timings as you can see in our review. OCZ 3700EB was also a very good match to the single-channel Socket 754 boards for Athlon 64 in particular, and you should definitely consider OCZ 3700EB for a Socket 754 Athlon 64 system purchase.
If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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ghoti - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
Thanks for these Guides! I sure appreciate them.I'm about to build my first system.
Anyone know when the MSI K8N Socket 754 MB (mentioned in the Guide) will be available?
Also, assuming I get the MSI K8N, I plan to use the AMD 64 3200, and would like to put in 2GB(?) memory. Considering possible FUTURE use (in a dual channel application), I guess I'd get a PAIR of 1024's. In checking the MSI memory compatability table, I don't see anything I recognize. Do I need to worry about that? Can I just go ahead and get one of the highly-reviewed brands/ types (e.g., Mushkin Pro). I don't plan to OC, but considering possible FUTURE use in/ with some other MB/ processor, does it make sense to get a higher speed than PC3200?
Thanks for the input.
hifisoftware - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
Good to hear about the changes, hopefuly giuides will even be better with more time dedicated to them.Great review, nice choices.
I would choose few componenets differently though:
1. Secondary choice for the HD. Samsung seems to be faster then Segate in real world benches (From xbitlabs testing). Segate is one of the worst performing brands in their tsting.
2. DVD I like NEC DVD writer more since it cost about the same (+/- few $), but there is a hack to convert it to double layer version.
Still a great guide, lots of usefull info. Cool
Ma10n3 - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
For a total budget of $5,000 or less, why not opt for a mobo that can support two Opteron 250s, but only purchase one initially. The TYAN Thunder K8W supports AGP 8x/Pro, has 4 PCI-X slots (hardware RAID anybody?), and a legacy 32-bit/33MHz PCI slot. Also, the onboard gigabit ethernet chip is connected to the PCI-X bus... absolutely no bottlenecks there. And when the Windows 64-bit Home edition comes out you can slap in the second processor and 4 more DIMMS and effectively double your memory bandwidth, due to the NUMA support in Windows 64.My point is, if you're going to invest so much in a high-end system, why not make it as future-proof as possible by leaving open extreme expandability paths.
PCI-X rulez.
Zebo - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
My bad wesley I was comparing the $404 Opteron 148 (2.2) to the $728 FX 51 (2.2). However I'm building this system with the $210 Opteron 144;) and hope to get the FX53 speeds for 1/4 the price....Wesley Fink - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
#2 - The same speed Opteron is the 150 at 2.4GHz. It is a bit cheaper at $620 but it is hardly half the price. It is also multiplier locked where the FX is completely unlocked. If overclcoking is not important to you, then the Opteron 150 and 3200 Registered memory would be a good choice and save about $150 total.Your point about the Saphire Radeon 9800 PRO is well taken, and I have changed the Alternate to the 256-bit model, which I did find on Pricewatch for $192 shipped.
Zebo - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
#1 I agree or go for one of LG/Philips's 20" 16ms IPS LCD branded by Dell, Viewsonic, NEC, amoung others. At around $700-$1200 it's pretty competitive.Azmedaj - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
Typo on the storage page: "Those concerned about data security more than ultimate speed can configure the drives as RAID 0, or mirroring", it Should be Raid 1Zebo - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
Opteron is half the price as FX and is the same but for top locked multiplier, but with that ram recommedation you can OC with ease, if that's a concern.Also 128MB Saphire Radeon 9800 PRO for $175 shipped is the 128bit verison aka LE, I would get the 256 for $209 shipped.
JGF - Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - link
I like everything except for the CRT monitor. I would swap the samsung out for a 21" mitsubishi diamond pro 2070 or the equivalent NEC model the FP2141SB.