Buyer's Guide: High End System - July 2004
by Wesley Fink on June 30, 2004 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
High End System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon 64 FX53 Socket 939 Retail | $829 |
| Motherboard | MSI K8N Neo2 (nForce3 Ultra) Socket 939 | $170 |
| Memory | 1GB (2 X 512MB) OCZ PC3700 EB | $340 |
| Video Card | 256MB NVidia 6800 Ultra | $539 |
| Monitor | NEC/Mitsubishi FP2141SB 22" Diamondtron CRT | $669 |
| Computer Case | Coolermaster Praetorian (PAC-T01-E1) Silver plus 480W Antec True Power PSU |
$195 |
| Sound Card | Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 Retail | $83 |
| Speakers | Klipsch Pro Media Ultra 5.1 | $349 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100/1000 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | 2 x 74GB Western Digital 74GB Raptor 10,000RPM SATA RAID (148MB Total) |
$376 |
| DVD/CD-RW | NuTech DDW-081 8X DVD+/-R/RW | $65 |
| Bottom Line | $3615 | |
$3615 is the final price of our high end system this week, not including any money that you'll spend on software (Windows XP Professional or Home, Office, Photoshop, etc.) or a keyboard and mouse. While this is about $600 more than our last High End Buyer's Guide, we have significantly upgraded our monitor with a 22" NEC/Mitsubishi, video card with a 6800 Ultra, power supply to 480W, and speakers to Klipsch Pro Media. Many of you have suggested that we choose the best in these areas and we are happy to accommodate you. We have also made the transition to Socket 939 Athlon 64 and the top Socket 939 processor in the FX53.
$3600 is not pocket change, but we do believe that you will get a heck of a high end system for this $3600!! We've strained a bit to include the latest High End video from nVidia and ATI and Socket 939 instead of Socket 940, so you will likely see some price decreases in both these areas as these components become more readily available. There are also flat-panel options at near the same price as the 22" CRT for those short on space, in addition to the $1200 21.3" flat-panel. You can spend a bit more at every price point, but we really don't believe that you will gain much, if anything, in performance.
Our alternatives also allow you to customize the High End System to your needs. You can reach $4000 with a 21.3" flat-panel and Home-Studio Audio if those options excite you. You can also lower the total price by selecting our alternates and other suggested components. For example, the cost can be reduced to about $2000 with a recommended cheaper processor, a $300 6800 instead of a $539 6800 Ultra, a cheaper 21" monitor, a 200GB Hard Drive instead of the SATA RAID, and on-board Audio with cheaper speakers. That gives a pretty broad range for a High End Buyer's Guide of $2000 to $4000, but we would consider any of the systems using our recommended components in this guide to be high end. The lower end just leans more to value while the highest $4000 leans more to the best that you can buy for some specific needs.
With the next generation 6800 Ultra, the fastest FX53 Socket 939 on the outstanding MSI K8N Neo2 motherboard, and the fastest 10,000RPM Raid Array, our High End System is the fastest desktop system that you can buy today, period. You can save a lot of money by choosing slightly slower processors or components just below the High End, but if you want the best-performing desktop system that you can buy, you will be hard-pressed to do better than our recommendations in this High End Buyer's Guide. Nest month, we will have a better feel of where the new Intel system (based on LGA 775) will fit in our High End Buyer's Guides. We know that the FX53 is still the fastest processor, but we still do not have a good feel for the price/performance and value that we will really see with the new 925X systems. There are many features on the Intel platforms that could make them attractive in a High End system.
Take a close look at the High End Socket 939 FX53 system, sharpen your pencil, and build the system. Please let us know what you think in the comments section.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
49 Comments
View All Comments
Coherence - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
I'm a bit confused with the choice of hard drive setup. In this article, AT uses a RAID-0 setup ("2 x 74GB, 148GB total"), and yet AT follows up with another article that says RAID-0 is a waste of money due to the negligible performance gains and decreased reliability (due to halving the MTBF).I'd say future versions of their rig suggestions should just get rid of RAID-0, and suggest RAID-1 setups instead.
Just a suggestion, Anand may want to coordinate with his team a little better so these kinds of contradictions are avoided.
cKGunslinger - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
Is that really the best LCD for gaming? I thought the Dell 2001FP was still the top chioice? Did the Samsung de-throne the Dell when I wasn't looking?
mino - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
Just wanted to say taht this is the best giude published so far. Of course except the optical remends. Combo(or Plextor Premium for DAE-> best on the market) + LG 4120 would be preffered.ImJacksAmygdala - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
Wonderful article! I look forward to each and everyone from Anandtech. I usually see what Sharky Extreme has posted, but it always seems cooker cutter when compared to the indepth information Anandtech provides. I plan on building a HTPC around fall time and I plan on following Anandtechs recommendations to the letter. I only wish that Anandtech tech would also include a recommended HDTV in the high end article, $3000 price tag excluded. This way Anandtech gets to play on a 65" screeen and we get solid gaming performance and screen resolution information. HDTV is the future for high end gaming but it is hard to find the quality information such as the kind Anandtech provides. Thanks again for such a great informative article!crimson117 - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
I'd go with a dual-layer DVD burner, and a fast combo CDRW/DVD-ROM. I know dual layer DVD media isn't widely available yet, but those building a high end system won't want to have to go buy a new DVD burner in 3 months because their drive can't do dual-layer.Also, how about some real mouse/keyboard recommendations? I know it's more of an individual preference thing, but you could highlight some cool, innovative mice and keyboards. Like a stylish new wireless combo or a fast response time optical mouse. For me, I'm still using a slightly damaged compaq keyboard that I looted from my old job, so I'd love to be convinced that there's a keyboard out there with features I never thought about.
BalAtWork - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
The only thing I would change would be the flat monitor choice. What about the Apple new 30" lcd. High resolution and low response time. OF course this wuld push you over 6k ;)Calin - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
I saw once a 20 MB drive - 5.25" and full height, as big as a normal CD-ROM unit, and while working it became as hot as barely touchable.The computer industry surely advances in leaps :D
Calin
FishTankX - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
Yup, 148MB of total memory..Spuffin - Thursday, July 1, 2004 - link
Small suggestion: I would like to have the components individually selectable at the summary. For instance I could pick the alternative harddrives or sound card via drop down menu, and it would automatically update the prices. Just a thought, I'm probably the only one that wants it.TrogdorJW - Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - link
#13 - both of the graphics cards are going to be very difficult to find, but if you're spending this much money, "settling" for anything less would just be stupid. It might take two more weeks to get the 6800U or X800XT cards, but I think it's a good recommendation to wait rather than buy an X800 Pro or 6800 GT.As for performance, it seems to be practically a tie between the two cards, but with the latest drivers, I belive the 6800U might have a slight edge. It certainly has more features than the X800 XT (although whether they're useful or not is a different question). IF (and that's a really big if) I were in the market for a $500+ graphics card, I would personally go with the 6800U over the X800XT (barely). Apparently, Wesley feels about the same.
Nice system, Wes. Too bad I will never buy it for myself! Unless I win the lottery.....