System Summary
Here are the final system configurations for this month's Mid-Range Guide. We stuck with the recommended parts on the base AMD and Intel configurations, in order to keep overall price comparable. The AMD PCIe alternative uses most of the alternative parts in order to get improved performance, although we have also listed all the alternative parts in a separate table for reference. If we were looking for a good value in a computer purchase for ourselves, a relative, or a friend, all of these systems provide a great computing experience.
AMD AGP Athlon 64 System
| AMD AGP Athlon 64 System |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Athlon 64 3200+ 512K 2.0 GHz 90 nm for 939 (Retail) |
215 |
| Motherboard |
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (NF3 250Gb) |
139 |
| Memory |
Corsair Value Select Dual Pack 2x512MB DDR PC-3200 CL2.5 |
145 |
| Video Card |
XFX 6600GT AGP 128MB GDDR3 |
209 |
| Hard Drive |
Seagate 160GB SATA with NCQ |
105 |
| Optical Drive |
NEC DVD+RW 3520A |
64 |
| Floppy Drive |
NEC/Sony/TEAC/Samsung/etc. |
8 |
| Case |
Antec SLK-3000-B |
76 |
| Power Supply |
Fortron Source Blue Storm 400W Model FSP400-60THN-R |
59 |
| Display |
Samsung 997DF 19" |
211 |
| Speakers |
Logitech X-530 5.1 |
56 |
| Keyboard and Mouse |
Logitech Optical Desktop Combo |
25 |
| Bottom Line |
|
1312 |
Intel Pentium 4 System
| Intel Pentium 4 System |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Pentium 4 540 (3.2 GHz) for 775 (Retail) |
215 |
| Motherboard |
ASUS P5GD1 (915P) |
116 |
| Memory |
Corsair Value Select Dual Pack 2x512MB DDR PC-3200 CL2.5 |
145 |
| Video Card |
Leadtek Winfast PX6600 GT TDH PCIe 128MB |
190 |
| Hard Drive |
Seagate 160GB SATA with NCQ |
105 |
| Optical Drive |
NEC DVD+RW 3520A |
64 |
| Floppy Drive |
NEC/Sony/TEAC/Samsung/etc. |
8 |
| Case |
Antec SLK-3000-B |
76 |
| Power Supply |
Fortron Source Blue Storm 400W Model FSP400-60THN-R |
59 |
| Display |
Samsung 997DF 19" |
211 |
| Speakers |
Logitech X-530 5.1 |
56 |
| Keyboard and Mouse |
Logitech Optical Desktop Combo |
25 |
| Bottom Line |
|
1270 |
AMD "Upgraded" PCIe Athlon 64 System
| AMD "Upgraded" PCIe Athlon 64 System |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Athlon 64 3500+ 512K 2.2 GHz 90 nm for 939 (Retail) |
334 |
| Motherboard |
ASUS A8N SLI |
197 |
| Memory |
Patriot/PDP XBL Dual Channel Kit 2x512MB DDR PC-3200 2-2-2-5 |
224 |
| Video Card |
Leadtek Winfast PX6600 GT TDH PCIe 128MB |
190 |
| Hard Drive |
Maxtor 300GB SATA-II with NCQ and 16MB cache |
194 |
| Optical Drive |
NEC DVD+RW 3520A |
64 |
| Floppy Drive |
NEC/Sony/TEAC/Samsung/etc. |
8 |
| Case |
CoolerMaster Cooler Master Cavalier 3 model CAV-T03-WW |
112 |
| Power Supply |
Fortron Source Blue Storm 400W Model FSP400-60THN-R |
59 |
| Display |
NEC/Mitsubishi FE991SB-BK 19" |
259 |
| Speakers |
Logitech Z-5300e 5.1 THX Certified |
153 |
| Keyboard and Mouse |
Logitech Optical Desktop Combo |
25 |
| Bottom Line |
|
1819 |
Alternative Equipment
| Alternative Equipment |
| Hardware |
Recommended Component |
Price |
| Processor |
Athlon 64 3500+ 512K 2.2 GHz 90 nm (939) |
334 |
| Motherboard |
Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 (NF4 4X) |
146 |
| Motherboard |
ASUS A8N SLI |
197 |
| Memory |
Patriot/PDP XBL Dual Channel Kit 2x512MB DDR PC-3200 2-2-2-5 |
224 |
| Video Card |
Leadtek A400GT TDH 256MB GDDR3 |
377 |
| Hard Drive |
Maxtor 300GB SATA-II with NCQ and 16MB cache |
194 |
| Hard Drive |
Western Digital Raptor 74GB with NCQ and 10000 RPM |
177 |
| Optical Drive |
Pioneer DVR-108D |
79 |
| Case |
CoolerMaster Cooler Master Cavalier 3 model CAV-T03-WW |
112 |
| Display |
ViewEra V172D Silver 17" LCD |
264 |
| Sound Card |
Creative Audigy 2 ZS |
75 |
| Sound Card |
M-Audio Revolution 7.1 |
98 |
| Speakers |
Logitech Z-5300e 5.1 THX Certified |
153 |
| Keyboard |
Microsoft Natural Multimedia Keyboard PS/2 |
29 |
| Mouse |
Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless |
63 |
Conclusion
That wraps it up for this Mid-Range Guide. We'll also have an Overclocking/Enthusiast Guide targeting a similar price range in the near future, which will address some of the areas that we didn't get to here. There is really no point in upgrading your computer unless you are unhappy with its current level of performance. The ideal time to upgrade is whenever you feel that way, although it may or may not be necessary to purchase an entirely new system. If you like to stay close to the top in terms of performance, selling your current system for a moderate price can lessen the impact of trying to keep up with the latest developments in technology.
In the end, we're still waiting for better availability, pricing, and performance of Athlon 64 platforms with PCI Express. Three months ago, we were sure that all would have been taken care of before Christmas, but as with so many other recent product launches, retail availability has lagged far behind the initial launch and preview dates. There are reasons for the delays, of course: nForce4 had some silicon problems with A03 and they only released the initial SLI batches to Tier 1; VIA launched the K8T890, but no one picked it up right away; and ATI had problems getting Tier 1 and Tier 2 vendors to adopt the Xpress 200 chipset, particularly in non microATX form. We're not particularly happy with the delays, and we hope that the future will bring fewer paper launches. Everything mentioned in our Guides should at least be attainable were you to go out and try to purchase the parts today, which is about the best that we can do in trying to tame the dreaded paper launch.
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JarredWalton - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
Rand - That doesn't surprise me too much, given our recent article showing that the NF4 Ultra and NF4 SLI are the same chip with a tweaked package. I would guess there's a reasonable chance the NF4 4X is the same as well, with other modifications to the package. As far as I know, what I put about their difference is the "official" NVIDIA stance. If the 4X is just the "validated" version... well, not a big deal, really. I'll modify the text a bit to reflect this.KristopherKubicki - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
N3cr0: The nForce4 board you mentioned is not shipping yet.Kristopher
Jep4444 - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
I think the Asus A8V Deluxe would of been a better motherboard recomendation than the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum. The Asus board is pretty much the best 939 AGP board out and it costs less than the MSI aswell.Avalon - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
'Samsung calls the 997DF a "perfectly visually flat" tube. What they really mean is that the surface of the glass is perfectly flat, but the inside of the glass is very slightly curved. Most people will never notice it, but we feel that in the interest of full disclosure, it should be mentioned'Yes. Thank you for pointing that out, Jared. I purchased this monitor about a month ago, and noticed it right upon powering it up. No matter how much you adjust the geometry, there is always a slight curve. I was so angry at one point I was either going to hit it with a bat or return it. Now I've just learned to deal with it, and I'm no longer really bothered by it.
Rand - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
Slight addendum to my above post-I just tried nVidia's hardware firewall.. it's working fine.Apparently that also runs on the basic nForce4.
Rand - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
Slight addendum to my above post-I just tried nVidia's hardware firewall.. it's working fine.Apparently that also runs on the basic nForce4.
Rand - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
"The difference, if you recall, is that the Ultra has an unlocked HyperTransport multiplier and will generally offer more in the way of overclocking, while the 4X is locked at a 4X HyperTransport multiplier (800 MHz)."I believe that's since been proven false.
There are a couple threads in the Motherboards forum about overclocking on said board, and I haven't seen anyone comment on any difficulties adjusting the HTT.
My own board is running at 300x3 HTT (900MHz HTT) right now. (Adjustable from 2-5X), though it did need +0.2V to the chipset to run stable at 1000HTT.
The differences right now between the NF4 and NF4 Ultra would appear to be 3Gb/s SATA vs. 1.5Gb/s SATA, and official support for 1000HTT vs 800HTT.
As well as not supporting nVidia's firewall.
geogecko - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
Where are all the nForce4 Ultra (non-SLI) boards? Really looking forward to ASUS A8N-E Premium, but no news, except that some have said this board will never exist?!Gage8 - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
I don't know, this guide just confirmed for me that now is not the time to buy if you want stability and upgradability (new word?).Nforce2 taught me not to buy revision 1.x...so lesson learned, bring on Nforce4 revision 2.x.
N3cr0 - Friday, January 21, 2005 - link
Just curious why the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI wasn't put in as an SLI board for the AMD choices. It seems to be lower price then the Asus board. I'm going to get one of the two boards and can't really figure out what the differences are aside from some networking items. (That and the HyperTransport which I dont get at all)