VALUE Doom 3: CPU and Motherboard
CPU: AMD Sempron 3100+ (256K cache, Socket 754) $120OR AMD Athlon 64 2800+ (12k Cache, Socket 754) $147
Motherboard: Chaintech VNF3-250 (nForce3-250)
Price: CPU - $120 ($147) shipped. Motherboard - $83 shipped
Value CPU
We finally reach the point in our Doom 3 Buyers Guide where we are sweating nickels. Our Value goal was to put together the best Doom 3 gaming system that we possibly could for as little money as possible. We hoped we could do that for about $1000, but we weren't sure it could be done.
The new Sempron 3100+ certainly helps us out with a Value Doom 3 system. As you saw in our CPU tests with Doom 3, the 3100+ actually outperforms the Pentium 4 3.2 Northwood in Doom 3 performance, at a very reasonable $120. The Sempron 3100+ is also Socket 754, so at least you have some place to go with future processors if you start with the Sempron. Frankly, the Sempron processors are just now entering the market and they're a little hard to find, but AMD tells us that the pipelines will start to fill later his month. This is the reason why we listed an alternate CPU.
The 2800+ is very easy to find; in fact, you can find it in many places with the retail AMD heatsink fan for a little less than $150. The 2800+ also moves you up the food chain with double the on-chip cache to 512k. As you saw in the CPU performance charts in the Doom 3 CPU comparison, the 2800+ moves you up near the performance level of the Prescott 3.4E and the 3.2EE in Doom 3. This gain in performance comes at a cost increase of just $27 over the Sempron 3100.
Either the Sempron 3100+ or the A64 2800+ will make a great heart for a Value Doom 3 system. Either of them far out-distance the Athlon XP processors, and the middle of the current Pentium 4 line. The naming is very confusing, but the 3100+ is actually a little slower than the 2800+. The Sempron was named to compete with Celerons, which have high numbers, but lower performance than other P4 chips at the same speed. Both the Sempron 3100+ and A64 2800+ run at 1.8GHz, but the Sempron has half the cache. The Sempron also does not have 64-bit capabilities, but it is otherwise the same as other A64 processors. Doom 3 is not 64-bit, so the Sempron is a great choice to save about $30 in a Doom 3 value system.
Value Motherboard
The Chaintech VNF3-250 won an Editor's Choice in our Socket 754 roundup for one simple reason - it displays screaming performance at a bargain price. Chaintech designed the VNF3-250 around the latest nForc3-250 chipset for performance, but they chose the basic nF3-250 chipset to save money. This means that the Chaintech does not support nVidia on-chip LAN or Firewall. However, Chaintech made the right use of the basic 250 chipset here because the Chaintech is the only nF3-250 board that we know about that sells for around $80 to $85.
You get all the upgrade nF3-250 performance, and a superb selection of overclocking controls, including a very wide selection of memory, chipset, processor, and AGP voltages. Chaintech also includes Memory Ratios below the rated CPU ratio and a CPU Clock Frequency range from 200 to 400. When all is said and done, the Chaintech VNF3-250 is the perfect motherboard for a value system that performs like the best - with overclocking capabilities that will not leave you wishing for more.
Listed below is part of our RealTime pricing engine, which lists the lowest prices available on the AMD CPUs 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 - 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.