PERFORMANCE Doom 3: CPU and Motherboard
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 FX53 (2.4GHz 1024K L2 cache)Motherboard: Abit AV8 (VIA K8T800 PRO)
Price: CPU - $825 shipped (Retail). Motherboard - $121 shipped
Performance CPU
For the best performance possible in Doom 3, the Athlon 64 FX53 is an easy choice. The FX53 tops all of the benchmarks in the Doom 3: CPU Battlegrounds review. This is also why the FX53 was our reference CPU in Doom 3 Graphics Deathmatch. The Athlon 64 is currently the fastest processor that you can buy, the Dual-Channel Socket 939 is the top-performing A64 Socket, and the FX is the fastest 939 processor. The FX series also has the distinction of being the only Athlon 64 processors that are completely unlocked. That means you can adjust multipliers both up and down, to obtain the highest possible speed at the fastest DDR400 memory timings, or to obtain the highest FSB that your high speed memory can run or your CPU can reach. Most FX53 that we have tested can easily reach 2.6GHz at default voltage with air cooling, and some do even better. This pegs performance at a clock speed that we won't see in a retail CPU until late this year.
Performance Motherboard
If we could find it for sale anywhere, our recommendation would have been the excellent MSI K8N Neo2, which was our Gold Editor's Choice in our recent Socket 939 Roundup: Battle at the Top. However, just as we were going to press, we received word of further delays in retail availability of the K8N Neo2. Quite frankly, after two months of recommending the K8N Neo2 and no one able to buy it, we are not going to recommend again a board that you can't buy today. The K8N Neo2 is a great board, if you are willing to wait for it, and the nForce3-250 chipset is a bit faster with an nVidia 6 series video card than VIA.Of the boards you can buy today, the Abit AV8 PRO and Asus A8V Rev. 2 were our Silver Editor's Choices in the Socket 939 roundup. The Asus Revision 2 is not yet in the market, but should be available in the next couple of weeks. The A8V that we have seen for sale are still the original revision, which performs quite well at stock, but does not have a completely reliable AGP/PCI lock. If overclocking doesn't matter, then the current A8V is an excellent choice, but if you want to overclock, wait for the A8V Revision 2.
The Abit AV8 is available today and is quite a value at $121. The AV8 performed very well in our Socket 939 roundup and will work very well with the FX53 and up to 4 Gigabytes of Dual-Channel memory. Even though the AV8 is one of the most reasonable Socket 939 motherboards that you can buy, it still includes Firewire ports, 6-channel on-board audio, and 2 SATA ports that support RAID. It also features one of the best selections of overclocking options that you will find on any Socket 939 board, so you can squeeze the most from your Doom 3 system.
For specifications and test results on the Abit AV8, please take a look at the AnandTech review at http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2128.
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Wesley Fink - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#29 and #30 -For $750 (after you added the value motherboard you forgot) you have:
1) A Video Card that is half as fast as the $998 Value System when playing Doom 3
2) A CPU that is 40% slower than the $998 Value system in Doom 3
3) A 17" Monitor instead of a 19" Monitor
4) NO CD or DVD at all
So for $250 savings (25%) you end up with a system that is a cumulative 60% slower than our Doom 3 Value System when playing Doom - with a smaller monitor and NO CD/DVD. That doesn't sound like value to me.
Did you not see the CPU charts for Doom 3 that show the Athlon XP at the bottom of perfromance charts? http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?... I also wish it were not so, but wishing will not change the performance we actually measured.
pliers - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#29 link130 you also forgot to include a dvd or cdrw combo.link130 - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
oops, add $55 for a shuttle nforce2 ultra mboardlink130 - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
I agree with Avalon on the value pc. $1000 is ridiculous. For $1000 I can almost build a socket 939 3500+ system.This is My VALUE PC that can play doom3 at 10x7 high quality no problems
Total cost including shipping:
$690 - As built below
If I choose a 6800 instead of the 9800pro then just add $90 to run the game extremely well. Which is still FAR below the cost of $1000.
Bought mostly from newegg:
AMD AXP-M 2400+ @ 2.4ghz 1.7v - $77
Thermalright ALX-800 Heatsink + 80mm Fan - $21
Samsung 512mb 400mhz @ 2-3-3-7 - $83
WD 80gb 7200rpm 8mb IDE - $60
Powercolor 9800 Pro - $200
Thermaltake 420w PSU - $41
Logitech 640z 5.1 Speakers - $55
Aluminum ATX Case with 2 Fans - $35
XDS 17in X-Flat Monitor -$115
as you see, all my parts are good quality yet extremely cheap
link130 - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
Avalon - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
My mistake with the raptor drive. No need to point it out three times. I know perfectly well how to read, it's just a matter of remembering an older article.#26 - I can play it VERY well. Don't tell me I have to go buy a new $1000 system to play the game well, when my cheaper old rig does that already.
SKiller - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#20 The guide is for people who want their system to play D3 *well*. When you fork over the money for a whole new system just so you can play 1 game (and maybe future games with eqivalent or greater requirements), you don't want it to play just OK. You want that system to play it *well*. Anything less would be a big waste of money. If you can't sepnd $1K on such a system, then you can't play it *well*, you *may* be able to play it OK, but then this guide is not for you.Embryo - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
LOL!pliers - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#21 avalon if you had read the article correctly about raptor hds it was about using raptor hds in a raid-0 configuration on a desktop system not about using a single raptor hd on a desktop system. You must be reading this article wrong also [quote] We also used a 74GB 10,000RPM SATA hard drive for the fastest boot and Doom 3 load you can get short of high-end SCSI, plus a 250GB Hitachi with quiet fluid bearings to store the games, downloads, images, and add-ons that a hard-core gamer will accumulate. [/quote] Yes there is a mention of a raptor hd and another hd but just having two hard drives in a system doesnt qualify them as a raid-0 setup.ps: And if the main goal was just to be able to play doom3 im sure a review of a system with a 1.5ghz cpu, 384MB ram, a gefore 3, and a ata66 hd from 3-4 years ago could be mentioned but who wants to go out and buy that as your new "value" doom3 system?
Wesley Fink - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
The 6800 was selected for the Value System because it costs $278 vs. $200 for a 9800 PRO. That $78 buys you DOUBLE the performance at 1024x768 medium res in high quality - 80.1FPS vs.42.6. The 6800 also provides PLAYABLE frame rates at High res - something the 9800 PRO can not do.The two lowest priced cards to generate PLAYABLE (above 30FPS) rates at the low 640x480 resolution were the 9600XT and the 5700 Ultra. These cards are about 50% to 65% the price at $140 to $180. While they are playable at low res, moving to 1024x768 they drop to a barely playable 25.5 FPS - about 1/4 the performance of the 6800. If you need to save $100 to $140 on the value system price you could choose a 9600XT or 5700 Ultra and still play Doom 3 at 640x480 or 800x600 at playable rates.
In the end this is a Doom 3 Buyers Guide. We could try to sugar-coat the facts but would you really want us to? For a more traditional Value System you need to look at our Entry Level Buyers Guide.