High End Buyer's Guide - September 2004
by Wesley Fink on August 30, 2004 12:22 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Networking
Recommendation: Onboard networkingPrice: $0
The two onboard Gigabit ports that you will find on our recommended motherboard is all that you will need for a high end system. One of the gigabit LAN ports on the MSI K8N Neo2 is the on-chip nVidia gigabit LAN that removes at least one of the Gigabit LAN options from the PCI bus. Our Intel alternative, Asus P5AD2, also moves the LAN off the confines of the PCI bus and onto the much faster PCI Express bus. In fact, both gigabit LAN ports on the Asus are of the fast PCIe variety. This makes both recommended motherboards capable of the best performance that you can achieve with Gigabit LAN - with no confines of a PCI bus. The practical reality is that you will likely find no real difference in the Gigabit LAN provided by either MSI or Asus unless you have specialized networking needs. Broadband won't be any faster than the 10/100 solution found on almost any motherboard these days, but on-chip Gigabit can be useful when transferring large amounts of data to and from multiple networked computers in an office or within a home network.
Keyboard and Mouse
While not a major item, it's still important that you purchase the right keyboard and mouse. Reality is that different people have different preferences for a keyboard's feel and look, and the same goes for a mouse. Therefore, we suggest that you personally try out a keyboard and mouse. To recommend purchasing these items online is misleading, as there are too many users with different preferences for this type of thing. Visit your nearest PC outlet to try out a keyboard and mouse; a PC Club, Best Buy, CompUSA, or Circuit City store will do. We suggest that you start with Microsoft and Logitech keyboards and mice. Make sure you also check out optical mice from these manufacturers as well. A good solid optical mouse from either should run about $20, but in some cases, can run as little as $10 if you can find the right deal.There are also some great wireless optical mice out there, but it really depends on whether you care at all about a wireless mouse and are willing to spend the money to acquire it. It is also no value to buy a cheaper wireless mouse or keyboard just to find that you hate the feel of it. Wired or wireless, make sure you like to type on the keyboard or like the feel of the mouse before you buy it. Most will be satisfied with a standard optical mouse from Microsoft or Logitech for gaming, as it offers similar or better precision and feel compared to most wireless mice. Whichever you decide to get - wired or wireless - stick with what makes you most comfortable. It is no fun to fight a keyboard or mouse that you hate every time you use your computer
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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decptt - Sunday, September 12, 2004 - link
Sep 11, No OC guide again -_-"I am waiting for Fink' comment about HS/HSF.
rbils - Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - link
Ignore me. I read the comments last week, and didn't bother to read them again before I posted today. Sorry!rbils - Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - link
I didn't notice in the article, but are you using the included (retail) heatsink and fan that ships with the AMD processor? If so, do you feel that it is adequate as installed? I've read so much lately about 3rd party CPU coolers and thermal compound that it has me questioning whether or not the items shipping with the retail CPU are sufficient.Wesley Fink - Thursday, September 2, 2004 - link
The 480W True Power has been more than adequate for my tests, BUT the OCZ 520W was my recommendation for the last Overclocking Guide. I personally believe the Antec 480W is more than adequate, but the OCZ 520W does provide an extra margin of safety - particularly if you plan to overclock your video card or seriously overclock the whole system. The OCZ 520 has the added advantage of both 24-pin and 20 pin compatability as well. If you can handle the OCZ price of $150 it is an excellent choice.As for coolers, water cooling and phase-change are outstanding, but specialized and expensive, and beyond the scope of our recommendations. I have had good success with the stock A64 cooler made by Ajigo, and it is MUCH better than past AMD coolers - even for some modest overclocking. If you want more, there are coolers that do a better job. My favorites are the Scythe Samurai, the Thermalright SLK948U, and the Thermaltake Silent Boost K8. The Gigabyte 3D Cooler Ultra GT is also great-looking, but it really doesn't add that much in the way of improved cooling over the stock fan. The Samurai, SLK948U, and Gigabyte are Universal HSF and will work on most sockets.
southernpac - Thursday, September 2, 2004 - link
Congradulations on a comprehensive and well thought out guide. I will very shortly be relying on it a lot. Two concerns: As #16 has testified to his 480W PSU being inadequite, I would like for AnandTech to comment on this (we are relying on your advise in making this purchase). I realize that nVidia has revised their power requirement downward, but only after a lot of critism. As I don't want any more heat in the case than is really necessary, SHOULD more than 480W be shown necessary, I would also like your view of OCZ's 520W PSU.The one hole in the review certainly appears to be the lack of a recommendation for a better than "decent" (read adequite) cooler. If there are "better solutions" available - the high-end system should have it. Heat is the enemy of electronics, so the best cooler is worth while, particularly at only about $50. However it's not that simple - hence the need for a recommendation. #44 for example advocates his Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu, but if you look at Zalman's own site info on this cooler, Zalman specifically disavows moving any system having an installed cooler weigning over 450g. The 7000B-Cu weighs 755g (50% over Zalman's own limit). Many high-end coolers have similar weight. The just released Gigabyte 3D Rocket heat pipe cooler has just reduced it's weight to ONLY 500g's - but is it still effective now that it's aluminium instead of copper? Wesley please, we need a recommendation! In spite of the above - a great guide! Bill
NoGodForMe - Thursday, September 2, 2004 - link
Great article.I'd be interested in seeing if the Thermalright XP-120 fits in the Asus AV8 and other AMD boards for the FX53.
And most of these products are still hard to find. I'm sure someone will say they can get them, but it's very hard to do. For example, find me a BFG 6800 Ultra OC.
southernpac - Thursday, September 2, 2004 - link
gimper48 - Thursday, September 2, 2004 - link
When is the next Overclocking Review?!!swampy11 - Wednesday, September 1, 2004 - link
I certainly agree with your picks for the Hi-end set-up, but here is my question. With the new PCI-Express just around the corner and the supposed "horsepower" gain by this new architecture, should I jump in now with your suggested Hi-end recommendation or wait until the newer GPU and MB bear fruit.... probably fourth quarter?Thanks
`swamp
Uff - Wednesday, September 1, 2004 - link
Personally, I had quite a negative experience with my stock cooler, as soon as I locked the cam lever, it bent my motherboard just enough to make my RAM not make contact with the slots in the middle, resulting in failed boots. In addition to that, while it did keep my cpu temps at reasonable levels they were far from perfect.2 days later i received my Zalman 7000B-Cu and my temps dropped over 10C even if the cooler was running in silent mode (which is practically inaudible as opposed to the level of noise you get with the retail HSF).
While the stock cooler might do its job (barely), this was, after all, a high-end guide, and there's nothing high-end about that HSF.