Gaming Buyer's Guide - November 2004
by Jarred Walton on November 21, 2004 5:54 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Additional Components
The remaining components will not have as much of an impact on performance, but they are still important. A cheap display, for example, will limit your maximum resolution in games. The low-end power supplies that come with many cases can cause instabilities that are difficult to track down. Your hard drive might also run out of space if you find yourself installing numerous games at the same time, ripping CDs to MP3 format, and/or storing movies on your system. Here, then, are the remaining components, in no particular order.| Hard Drives | ||
| Target Segment | Component | Price |
| Budget | Seagate Barracuda 80GB EIDE model 7200.7 (PATA Hard Drives) | 59 |
| Mid-Range | Seagate 160GB SATA 7200RPM 8MB Model ST3160023AS (SATA Hard Drives) | 93 |
| High-End | Western Digital Raptor 74GB SATA 10000RPM 8MB Model WD740GD | 173 |
| High-End | Maxtor 300GB SATA 7200RPM 16MB Model 6B300S0 | 207 |
The two major factors in the hard drive segment are capacity and performance. We recommend 80 GB 7200 RPM models with 8 MB of cache as the bare minimum for any hard drive, as getting less than this can noticeably affect performance while saving only $10 or $15. With the more expensive models, you get increased capacity, except with the Raptors, which instead go for faster access times and sustained transfer rates. RAID 0 is also an option for increasing transfer rates, but our testing has shown that you are not likely to notice the difference in many tasks.
| Optical Drives | ||
| Target Segment | Component | Price |
| Budget | Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM Model SOHD-167T | 30 |
| Mid-Range | NEC DVD+/-RW Drive Model 3500A (DVDR Drives) | 72 |
We have only listed two optical drives, a 16X burner and the other, a 16X DVD-ROM. 8X and 12X DVDR drives are also sufficient and can save you a bit of money. We suggest that anyone building a system should add in a DVDR these days, as they are very handy for doing large backups of critical data. If you're sure that you don't need the capability to burn CDs and DVDs, we prefer DVD-ROM drives. They only cost $10 more than CD-ROM drives and we are starting to see more games shipping on DVDs. It is much more convenient to install from a single DVD than from multiple CDs.
| Cases and Power Supplies | ||
| Target Segment | Component | Price |
| Budget | Athenatech A602 Black/Silver with 350W PSU | 62 |
| Mid-Range | Antec SLK3700-BQE with 350W | 91 |
| High-End | Antec True480 480W PSU | 95 |
| High-End | Antec Lanboy Aluminum | 96 |
| High-End | Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU | 98 |
| High-End | Thermaltake VA3000 Dream Tower Tsunami with 400W PSU | 135 |
| Mid-Range SFF | Shuttle XPC SN95G5 (AMD socket 939) | 299 |
Depending on your personal tastes, a case can be simply a box to hold your components or it can be a fashion statement. Some cases are built to be more accessible than others, but once a system is assembled, that doesn't matter anymore. The only factors that you will notice are the noise level and appearance. For appearance, SFF cases are a reasonable suggestion, while noise levels are harder to address. Some people can tolerate higher noise levels than others, and you can always try to find lower RPM fans or install a fanbus in order to reduce the noise levels. Larger 120mm fans can also reduce the amount of noise emanating from your case by moving the same amount of air as a faster spinning 80mm fan. The power supply will also contribute to the noise levels, but more importantly, a low end power supply can actually cause a high end system to crash. The AntecTrue480 and the Ultra X-Connect are both high quality parts that should allow even the most powerful systems to run reliably. They won't improve performance, but we value stability over performance.
| Displays | ||
| Target Segment | Component | Price |
| Budget | Samsung 793DF 17 Black/Silver CRT (1280x1024@75 Hz) | 139 |
| Mid-Range | Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19 CRT | 234 |
| High-End | Samsung 172X 17 LCD | 429 |
| High-End | NEC/Mitsubishi FP2141SB-BK 22 | 634 |
| High-End | ViewSonic VP912B 19 LCD 12ms | 710 |
Like the case of your system, displays can either be a functional unit or a statement of style. The latter generally requires the use of an LCD panel, as it is hard to consider a bulky CRT as stylish. If you can afford it and have the desk space, a large 22" CRT still provides what is arguably the best gaming experience. Whichever path you choose, remember that a high quality display can easily last through three or more computer upgrade cycles. The initial investment may be painful to bear, but $600 for six or more years of quality use is a good investment.
| Speakers and Sound Cards | ||
| Target Segment | Component | Price |
| Speakers | Logitech Z-640 5.1 | 52 |
| High-End | Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS | 75 |
| High-End | M-Audio Revolution 7.1 | 92 |
| Mid-Range+ | Logitech Z-5300e 5.1 THX Certified | 159 |
| High-End | Logitech Z-680 5.1 THX Certified | 236 |
Finally, we come to the sound category. For most users, integrated audio is more than enough to handle even the most recent games. If you're something of an audiophile, we recommend spending more on speakers before you look into purchasing a better sound card. Once you're at the $200+ speaker price point, however, a separate audio card can provide a noticeable difference in sound quality. If you happen to notice a high-pitched hiss coming from your speakers, an add-in card can also cure that ailment. While the audio codecs and sound processing capabilities are usually sufficient with integrated audio, some motherboards do generate a lot of noise.
Of these parts, the only areas that we would really suggest that you take a look at are the displays and hard drives. Capacity is our primary concern with hard drives, so if you store a lot of movies and music on your system in addition to games and other documents, a larger hard drive would be almost a requirement. For the displays, given their longevity relative to the rest of the system, upgrades can be with you for years to come. For gaming, we definitely recommend getting a display that can handle the highest refresh rates possible. Enabling VSYNC (Vertical Synch) will avoid tearing, but it can have a massive impact on frame rates. Running with VSYNC disabled, on the other hand, will result in noticeable tearing in many games. (Tearing is what you get when the frame buffer is updated while the monitor is in the middle of refreshing the screen's content.) At refresh rates of 100+ Hz, tearing is very difficult to notice; however, at 60 to 75 Hz, we definitely feel that it results in a loss of image quality.
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spartacvs - Wednesday, January 5, 2005 - link
I decided to wait and I'll most probably go for nforce4. One thing I reallly like about your guide is the fact that there is many budgets. Most of the guides provides 3 systems (budget, price/performance and power) but more systems is really helpfull.Careless Joe - Tuesday, January 4, 2005 - link
RE: the "Cheap" psu in the budget case. Its a re-badged fortron. Very reliable.JarredWalton - Saturday, December 4, 2004 - link
Just FYI, I recently upgraded from the integrated audio on my MSI K8N Neo Platinum to an Audigy 2 ZS. My benchmarks in Half-Life 2 (using a measley 9800 Pro) went up a whopping 1 FPS. It might matter more with a faster GPU, but for my setup the sound card didn't matter much. It did, however, eliminate some static/noise from the audio. I couldn't hear it on the speakers, but on headphones it was very noticeable.Was it worth $75? That depends on how much disposable income you have and how annoying any extra static is. Since I often use headphones on my PC at night (no need to wake the wife and neighbors), it was annoying enough for me that I went and spent the money. For most people - particularly those using moderate to cheap speakers - you probably wouldn't notice.
SDA - Saturday, December 4, 2004 - link
Jarred, very true.. I've seen people defend PowerStream purchases after being told that they're the same as Tagans (which I don't do, by the way; I hate to even implicitly insult something that someone else owns) by saying that OCZ is a good name and is better-recognized, as if that really has anything to do with PSU performance. If you ask me, I don't think that sort of thing should really be factored into recommendations.. if someone wants to pay more for a brand name (when it has been demonstrated that there's no functional advantage), they're probably in the minority. (If someone wants to pay more for the PowerStream's looks, they need 20ccs of taste, stat. .. kidding, PowerStream owners ;)Oh, and spartacvs, just remember that integrated audio (non-SoundStorm integrated audio, anyway) will eat more CPU than a dedicated sound card will. It's not much of a big deal with today's overpowered PCs, if you ask me, and you still get plenty of bang for your buck (infinite bang for your buck, actually, since integrated audio is free).
spartacvs - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link
JarredWalton, yes, I think I understand your argument: AGPat the end of his life and PCIe is comming in.I had bad information about integrated audio. Integrated audio is not fantastic but I'm sure it'll be a majhor improvment over my old sb live!value 4.1... And, as I said, it's a way to save a few dollars. Something I, unfortunately, have to be very cautious these days :(
Thank you very much for your wise comments.
JarredWalton - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link
SDA - I understand that the internals are the same. For some people, however, the outside (and the brand) will matter. It doesn't bother me much, but convincing others of this is more difficult to do. I always prefer the weight test for PSUs (assuming you're at a store where you can pick up the PSU). All things being apparently equal, always go with the heavier PSU. :)Spartacvs - *all* motherboards include integrated audio these days. What Nforce4 doesn't include is the SoundStorm audio that was in Nforce1 and Nforce2 (certain models). NVIDIA is supposed to be working on a high-definition audio solution, but when that will actually arrive is a little difficult to say. The audio that will be on Nforce4 is the same as what is on most Nforce3 boards these days, so don't worry too much about that. If audio is really important to you, pick up a Creative Audigy 2 ZS (for games) or the M-Audio Revolution 7.1 (for more serious audio work).
SDA - Friday, December 3, 2004 - link
That depends on your definition of close, Jarred ;) The only real differences between them are cosmetic (shell, sticker, brand). The components, layout, and design are nearly identical.If you're having trouble with this concept, here's a parallel for you: Alienware's older notebooks (before they switched to Uniwill) and equivalent Sager notebooks (with a comparable configuration, obviously). Same platform, same layouts, same chassis, same components (possible that they used different brands of memory or something, but that's about it), same party assembling them; the differences are almost entirely cosmetic, and the ones that aren't don't apply to functionality.
Hopefully this is all a little clearer now, the world of computer hardware is really far too convoluted for its own good..
spartacvs - Thursday, December 2, 2004 - link
Ok, thanks for you answer. The place I want to buy have most of the memory brands. It's just muskin, they have only a few models.As for the MB. What I don't like about nforce4 is the lack of integrated audio. It increase the price tag a little bit more and I'm tight on money :(
JarredWalton - Thursday, December 2, 2004 - link
SDA - Just pointing out that they're not identical. Close, perhaps, and which you like more is probably more a matter of preference, but they certainly aren't identical.Spartcvs - Corsair, GEIL, Kingston, OCZ, and quite a few others are decent RAM. For value RAM, Kingston and Corsair are probably the most widely spread, but I don't really know what other countries are like in terms of availability. The difference between the motherboards is more difficult to quantify. I really like Abit boards, but I'm not as keen on the VIA chipset - NVIDIA just seems more stable in my experience. Either one is still a fine motherboard, and there are several other socket 939 NForce3 250 boards available. Now, though, waiting for NForce4 non-SLI might be a good idea - get one of those for ~$130 and get a 6600GT PCIe card.
spartacvs - Thursday, December 2, 2004 - link
Hey guys, I have a few questions.Fisrt, I do not overclock my system and will most probaly go with the Antec 2650 case because it's smaller and still a good case. Will also take the 120 GB HD because 160 is overkill for me (hey I hardly fullfill my actual 40 GB).
I hesitate between the abit board and the msi one. What do I lose going for the abit rather than the msi? The Abit is a via chipset, right?
Where I want to buy they don't have much of the mushkin memory. Can you recommand another brand (and model please because there is so many type of memory modules, it's easy to be lost).
Thanks