MAINSTREAM Doom 3: System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (Socket 754) Retail | $290 |
| Motherboard | MSI K8N Neo (nForce3-250Gb) Socket 754 | $123 |
| Memory | 1GB (2 X 512MB) Crucial PC3200 Ballistix | $267 |
| Video Card | 256MB nVidia 6800 GT | $389 |
| Monitor | PHILIPS 201B45 21" CRT Monitor | $389 |
| Computer Case | IN WIN Black/Silver ATX Mid Tower Prescott CAG 1.1 with 430W Power Supply, Model S564T.430BFD2BDA ($69 plus $19 Shipping) |
$88 |
| Sound Card | On-Board | $0 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System | $143 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100/1000 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate 200GB 7200RPM SATA (8Mb) (STORAGE) | $131 |
| DVD/CD-RW | Lite-On 12X DVD±RW Drive, Model SOHW-1213S | $75 |
| Bottom Line | $1895 | |
Our selections for the Mainstream Doom 3 system total a much more mainstream $1895. They include one of the fastest Athlon 64 processors in the 3400+ and a motherboard that will provide all of the unique nForce3 features. The system also includes the best-buy nVidia 6800 GT, which is basically the same card as the 6800 Ultra at a lower clock. Sound is still excellent, with the proven Logitech Z-5300 THX Certified 5.1 surround system. We have actually been playing Doom 3 with this speaker system running off an on-board ALC850, and we don't think that you will be disappointed with Doom 3 in this setup.
Also upgraded is the DVD burner, to a 12X model, and the memory is the Crucial Ballistix, which proved to provide 2-2-2 performance at DDR400 on an Athlon 64 board, as well as overclocking capabilities to DDR500+. You can check out how the Crucial performed in our recent =F-A-S-T= DDR Memory: 2-2-2 Roars on the Scene. A Doom 3 system also deserves all the monitor that you can give it, so we opted for a good value 21" flatscreen CRT. With the richness of detail in Doom 3, you will appreciate every extra square inch of a 21" CRT.
Because this system almost says "Please overclock me", we upgraded the Case and power supply to a new Inwin case designed to feed and cool a Prescott system with a decent 430 watt power supply. The use of large fans and the attention to details in the Inwin case will please many of you.
The Mainstream Doom 3 system is well-balanced to deliver the best Doom 3 experience for the money, which spells value. If $1895 is still a bit much, you can certainly drop to a 3200+ or 3000+ and save $70 to $115. The monitor can also be down-sized to 19" to save another $200. Substituting a 3000+ and 19" monitor drop the total to $1580. You can also go with the cheaper Logitech 5.1 speakers used in our Value Doom 3 system and save another $90, which still keeps the 5.1 speaker setup that Doom 3 supports. This gets the Mainstream total to $1490. Below this point, you should really take a look at the Value Doom 3 system.
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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.