MAINSTREAM Doom 3: CPU and Motherboard
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (Socket 754)Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo (nForce3-250Gb)
Price: CPU - $290 shipped (Retail with HSF). Motherboard - $123 shipped
Mainstream CPU
With Dual-Channel adding just 3% to Doom 3 performance and the 1MB cache just 5% faster than 512k on the Athlon 64, it is clear that the Single-Channel Socket 754 Athlon 64 offers the best performance for the money for most Doom 3 players. Please keep in mind that 3% plus 5% means a Socket 939 with 1MB of cache is 8% to 10% faster than a Socket 754 with 512k cache, so the 754 chips are not a complete free lunch.
There is no doubt that not many buyers are willing to part with $825 for an FX53, and you don't have to step down very far in performance to reach the 3400+. The price of the 3400+, however, is a much more mainstream $290. There are two versions of the the 3400+. The original runs at 2.2GHz and has 1MB of on-chip cache, while the latest Newcastle design runs at 2.4GHz and has a 512K cache. Since we found that Doom 3 responds a bit better to on-chip cache than to a clock speed increase, we recommend that you buy the 1MB cache version for Doom 3 if you can find one. They are disappearing fast as Newcastle core takes over, but the 1MB cache chip is definitely a bit faster in Doom 3. However, the difference is not huge, and either 3400+ will do an outstanding job of driving Doom 3.
Mainstream Motherboard
Our Socket 754 Roundup: Comparing Generation 2 took a close look at the 2nd generation of Socket 754 Athlon 64 motherboards based on the updated nVidia nForce3-250 family and the VIA K8T800 PRO. While there are bargains available from close-out first-generation boards, you are better off buying one of the boards based on the newer chipsets for A64. The reason is simple - the new boards have many more features than the earlier boards. Also, from a performance standpoint, both new chipsets feature higher Hyper Transport speeds and working AGP/PCI locks. The Higher HT and working lock translate into better performance and much higher overclocking capabilities than the first generation nVidia and VIA motherboards.
The MSI K8N Neo Platinum was our Silver Editors Choice in the 754 roundup, but several developments have tilted our choice in that direction. It is now about 25% cheaper than the Gold winner in that roundup, and the MSI is readily available at a good price from many vendors. This of course adds up to good value.
It also helps that the MSI uses the nForce3-250Gb chipset, and therefore, supports all the distinctive nF3 features like on-chip Gigabit LAN, nVidia Firewall, and nVidia RAID, which allows the user to combine SATA and IDE drives in any way they want to create RAID arrays. The rest of the feature set is also top-notch, as you would find on any top-of-the-line motherboard. The MSI K8N Neo has top-line features and performance at a very reasonable price.
Last, but certainly important, is the fact that nVidia 6 series video cards actually perform a bit better on nVidia chipset motherboards. This means that you will be combining an nVidia nForce3-250GB board with the nVidia 6800 GT, which should boost Doom 3 performance a little bit.
You can read more about the MSI K8N Neo Platinum in our review at http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2063.
Listed below is part of our RealTime pricing engine, which lists the lowest prices available on the AMD motherboards from many different reputable vendors:
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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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.