VALUE Doom 3: System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Sempron 3100+ Socket 754 OR AMD Athlon 64 2800+ Socket 754 Retail |
$120 ($147) |
| Motherboard | Chaintech VNF3-250(nForce3 250) Socket 754 | $83 |
| Memory | Kingmax SuperRam 512MB DDR433 (CAS 2.5) Model MPWC22D-38 (1x512MB) |
$84 |
| Video Card | 128MB NVidia 6800 | $278 |
| Monitor | Samsung 955DF (19") DynaFlat CRT | $206 |
| Computer Case | ENERMAX Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Case with 400W PSU, Model CS-EN5171LBFS-S ($56 Plus $16 Shipping) |
$72 |
| Sound Card | On-Board | $0 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z640 5.1 | $55 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital SE 80GB IDE 7200RPM (8MB Cache) OR WD 120GB IDE 7200RPM 8MB |
$60 ($83) |
| DVD/CD-RW | Aopen Chameleon (COM5232) 52X32X52X16 Combo OR NuTech DDW-081 8X DVD+/-R/RW |
$40 ($65) |
| Bottom Line | $998 ($1073) | |
Yes, you can put together a complete new system for playing Doom 3 for $1000. Please keep in mind that you will need to add a keyboard, mouse, Operating System, and a copy of Doom 3. Everything else you need is here, though, including a decent set of entry level Logitech 5.1 surround sound powered speakers.
While the system tab is just $998, there is nothing cheap about our Value Doom 3 system. It is based on the Doom 3 top-performing Athlon 64 chipset and includes the top Doom 3 6800 video card. Admittedly, we are using entry-level A64 processors, and the lowest member of the 6 series video cards, but neither of these choices will have to apologize. As it stands here, our entry Doom 3 system, with the $27 upgrade to the 2800+, will perform at about the level of a Pentium 4 3.4E or a 3.2EE when playing Doom 3. The 6800 will significantly outperform the 9800 PRO or 5900, and will perform at near the level of an ATI X800 XT Platinum during Doom 3 play. The 6800 also outperforms the more expensive 9800 XT and the nVidia 5950 by more than 75% in Doom 3.
All in all, that's pretty heady performance for a $1000 value system playing the hottest new game to appear in a very long time. We even included a new value RAM find in Kingmax DDR433 CAS 2.5 SuperRAM. This single 512MB module should allow you to do some experimenting with overclocking. At $84 for a 512MB DIMM, it is certainly a great value that also performs very well. The new Enermax case features an Aluminum front panel to provide a bit of style in a Value box and a 400-watt power supply to provide a little extra leeway for pushing the system or overclocking the 6800 video card.
We've had a lot of fun putting together Doom 3 week for you. We hope that you enjoyed what we found, and also had fun learning about what it takes to make Doom 3 roar. We also hope that you find something in the three Doom 3 systems that we've assembled to make your decisions about what to buy for Doom 3 a little easier.
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Wesley Fink - Monday, August 9, 2004 - link
#41 - This is a Buyers Guide for Doom 3. I doubt your friend would go out to buy a Ti200 system to play Doom 3. If $278 is too much video card for you then you could save $78 with a 9800 PRO and have half the framerate at 1024x768. Or you could save $140 by getting a 9600XT or 5700 Ultra and still get playable (over 30FPS) frame rates at lower quality at 640x480 and 800x600.Value means best performance for the buck as I see it. The two options above gave up too much perfomance for the savings in my opinion, but you are entitled to your opinion.
Perhaps I should have added a 4th Category called CHEAP Doom 3 System - if it can boot the game it is A-OK by me :-)
brian_riendeau - Monday, August 9, 2004 - link
$1000 value system? I thought I went to AnandTech, not Dell.com.Not everyone needs a $300 video card to be happy. You are WAY to caught up in "...another $100 you can get 40% more performance". Do you actually need that 40% more to enjoy the game? No. The game runs fine on cards much slower than a 6800. I have a friend who plays the game on a GF3 Ti200. I am not sure what his settings are, but the game runs fine for him. Maybe the difference is that he actually spends his time playing the game, not staring at textures on the walls and looking for 10 more frames per second to help kill those zombies.
//Editted
brian_riendeau - Monday, August 9, 2004 - link
$1000 value system? I thought I went to AnandTech, not Dell.com.Not everyone needs a $300 video card to be happy. You are WAY to caught up in "well another $100 you can get 40% more performance". Do you actually need that 40% more to enjoy the game? No. The game runs fine on card must slower than a 6800. I have a friend who plays the game on a Ti200. I am not sure what his settings are, but the game runs fine for him. Maybe the difference is that he actually spends his time playing the games, now staring at textures on the walls and looking for 10% more frames.
Zebo - Monday, August 9, 2004 - link
I always thought "value" was the highest point in the price to performance curve.If the Fx-53 were 8X faster than the A64 2800+ it would constitute a value as well. But since it's only about 30% faster for 700% more money it's a horrendous value.
This is why a lot of builders above are correct in recommending the 9800pro instead of the generic 6800. In fact, either the more expensive 6800 GT or the 9800pro repersent the best "value" of all video cards out right now since thier price to performance curve is the highest.
Anyway I agree with you guys, get the 9800 then a real nice monitor, which will make a huge diff:
9800pro OC $190
A64 2800 OC to 2.4 $140
ChainTech $70
Cheapest branded 512 cas 2.5 $75
NEC diamondtron DP930SB-BK 19" $280
Antec case Slk3700w 350W $65
Sony combo drive $40
Samsung 80 giger $63
Logitech Z640 5.1 $55
=980
link130 - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
reply to #32 Wesley Finkyou forget that we are talking about "Value PC" which is synonymous with "Buget PC" I also said you can upgrade the 9800pro to a 6800 with $80. with a 6800 the difference btw a 2800+ A64 and a 2.4ghz barton are very small if you refer to the charts on this site.
Murst - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
The review seems to make some good reccomendations... except I really cannot see why you would reccomend a 3400+ over a 3500+ when the difference in price is 75$ and the socket 939 has a future. I suppose if its ONLY to play Doom3....mickey - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
What I would really like to see in future articles especially based on a single game (no doubt the same will be done for hl2) is benchmarks of the corresponding systems so that we can make a decision as to whether or not going for a better system is worth the extra $$$$Wesley Fink - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
Yes, it is a bit freaky, pliers. I would also personally choose the 2800+ at just $27 more for twice the cache and 64-bit architecture. The 2800+ is also a decent overclocker.pliers - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
freaky that twice now youre like a few mins a head of me.pliers - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
So now your price is around $782. It a nice system but I would still lean more towards the anandtech system with the 2800+ a64 cpu which totals $1025. If you look at the two systems for $240 more youre getting a geforce 6800, a 19" monitor, and a 64bit processor. Thats insane for $240 more.