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Sharky Extreme : Monthly Value Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
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Monthly Value Gaming System Buyer's Guide |
October Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide - Page 2By Vince Freeman October 8, 2004
Current Cost: $160 In our last edition, we made the jump from the Athlon 64 2800+, all the way up to the powerful Athlon 64 3000+. As such, there is really no need (or budget) to upgrade any further, and the value-priced, 2.0 GHz Athlon 64 3000+ is a perfect match in terms of both price and performance. This is a very serious processor, as not only do we receive the benefits of an integrated DDR controller, an enhanced core, and 64-bit capabilities, but the newer AMD64 motherboards offer a higher-end Socket 754 platform base. The Athlon 64 3200+ is still priced well out of our budget, but we really don't give up much in terms of overall performance. It still requires some juggling to fit the Athlon 64 3000+ into our value guide, but its features, performance and platform options make it more than worth the effort. The Athlon 64 3000+ is a significant performance upgrade compared to the Socket A Athlon XP, and 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 your PC needs a speed injection. There is also overclocking headroom built right into these Athlon 64 3000+ models, and as the Athlon 64 3700+ runs a full 400 MHz higher, 2.0 GHz is just the starting line. Due to our budget, we've had to choose the Retail model and its nearly-free heatsink-fan, but if you have a killer 3rd-party HSF unit in mind, then going the OEM route is always an option.
Current Cost: $189 Last time out, we added a much needed 800 MHz speed bump to our Intel processor, and upgraded to the Pentium 4-2.8E GHz. This month, we're upgrading once again, but not for the reasons you might suspect. The Pentium 4-2.8E offers more than enough power, but while evaluating the retail prices, we found that the Pentium 4-3.0E GHz checked in at only a nominal price increase. Adding on 200 MHz for a few bucks is always a good call, and so we made the move to 3.0 GHz. The Pentium 4-3.0E GHz gives us all the standard Prescott enhancements, such as an 800 MHz front-side bus, Hyper-Threading, and dual-channel DDR400 memory speeds.
The higher-speed Prescott core models continue to become more affordable, and in addition to the 1-MB of L2 cache and SSE3 instructions, we were able to nab 200 MHz in extra core speed for almost nothing. Even though the higher-speed Prescott models can run hot, 3.0 GHz is certainly not pushing the core, and overclocking is a definite option. The high core speed also insures that even at default settings, the Pentium 4-3.0E GHz (800) Prescott gives us serious power for value gaming system, while providing some overclocking headroom for the enthusiasts. 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. Most 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 4 800 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 3.0E 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 model, but a nice side-benefit to the Intel Socket 478 retail cooler is its 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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