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Sharky Extreme : Monthly Value Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
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Monthly Value Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
August Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 2By Vince Freeman August 13, 2004
Current Cost: $165 For the past few months, we've been looking to use the Athlon 64 2800+ in our value guide, but the price simply hasn't been right. AMD changed that in a big way, as the company cut CPU prices quite significantly, especially on the AMD64 models. This finally allowed us to move to the Athlon 64, and better still, the faster Athlon 64 3000+ moved within our budget. This is a serious processor for the money, and not only do we receive the benefits of an integrated DDR controller, an enhanced core, and 64-bit capabilities, but the newer AMD64 motherboards use a higher-end Socket 754 platform base. The Athlon 64 3000+ is about as high as we can go on the AMD charts, as the next-step Athlon 64 3200+ adds another $50-$60 to the price. Even so, it was a tight squeeze, and we had to keep an eye on the overall system price every step of the way. The Athlon 64 3000+ is a serious performance upgrade, not only for today, but also offers a much wider upgrade path for the future. Socket A has a ceiling of the Athlon XP 3200+, but there are Athlon 64 3200+, 3400+ and 3700+ models to choose from when the next upgrade cycle kicks in. The Athlon 64 3000+ also has overclocking headroom built right, and as the Athlon 64 3700+ clocks a full 400 MHz higher, 2.0 GHz is really just the starting line. Due to our budget, we've had to choose the Retail model, but if you have a killer 3rd-party HSF unit in mind, then going the OEM route is always an option.
Current Cost: $177 The Intel side also gets a much-needed CPU upgrade, although it's not quite as significant as the AMD selection. Intel has not lowered prices anywhere near the level of AMD, so although we do receive a faster processor, the Pentium 4-2.8E GHz (800 MHz) Prescott is a bit more of a standard upgrade. We've had to dip into the cookie jar to afford this $177 CPU, but it is worth it to get the benefits of an 800 MHz front-side bus, Hyper-Threading, and dual-channel DDR400 memory speeds. We're also not losing any core speed compared to last month's Pentium 4-2.8 GHz (533 MHz selection) and move to the performance equivalent of the 533 MHz Pentium 4-3.06 GHz. The Prescott models are actually becoming more affordable, and in addition to its 1-MB of L2 cache and SSE3 instructions, the core is also Hyper-Threading enabled.
These are significant performance upgrades compared to the Pentium 4-2.8 GHz model, and the combination of the 800 MHz FSB, dual-channel DDR400, SSE3, and Hyper-Threading really give a nice push to overall system performance. This is also a prime overclocking CPU, and even though the higher-speed Prescott models can run hot, 2.8-3.2 GHz is really prime territory for this core. The 2.8 GHz core speed insures that even at default settings, the Pentium 4-2.8E GHz (800) Prescott is a serious processor for any value gaming system. The Retail vs. OEM argument really comes down to price, just as it did with the AMD processor. The Intel Retail package makes the most sense, as not only do you get a nearly-free heatsink-fan and full 3-year Intel warranty, but also a sealed, totally untested CPU. The lower-clocked Pentium 4 models are still priced higher than corresponding AMD CPUs, so any method of cost savings is a good thing.
Current Cost: $0 The Retail Athlon 64 3000+ includes a bundled heatsink-fan, and for both budgetary and ease-of-use considerations, this is the best path to take. The retail model is slightly more expensive than the OEM processor, but you receive a nearly-free HSF and an extended product warranty to boot. Of course, this is simply a recommendation, and those with a particular 3rd-party HSF unit in mind should certainly go the OEM route, even though it may go a bit over our $1K budget.
Current Cost: $0 The street price of the Pentium 4-2.4 to 2.8 GHz 800 MHz processors means that choosing a Retail model is the best way to maximize our system budget. The price difference between the Pentium 4 OEM and Retail CPU models is almost nonexistent, and with the included Intel heatsink-fan, this amounts to a cost savings compared to an OEM CPU + 3rd-party heatsink-fan combo. The bundled HSF provides nice cooling for our Pentium 2.8E GHz, and the retail package allows us to stay within budget. The retail Pentium 4 coolers have passed our tests even using a 3.4 GHz model, and we have no problem at all recommending these for our value gaming system. These retail coolers provide rock solid stability at base clock speeds, and even have a bit extra left over for moderate overclocking.
Overall value is the best reason to spend a bit more for an Intel retail processor, but a nice side-benefit to the Intel retail cooler is its incredibly quiet operation, and inside a sealed case, the ambient noise levels of the Intel cooling fan are very low compared to 3rd-party HSF models. These Intel heatsink-fan units are also very easy to install and do not require any motherboard modifications or CPU socket adjustments.
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