Pre-AM2 Mid-Range Buyers' Guide, May 2006
by Jarred Walton on May 9, 2006 6:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
System Summaries
Amazingly, we're actually under the $1500 budget with both systems this time. Some of you might argue that $1500 is still too much for a midrange system, but considering that you get everything other than the software and applications, we think that's a pretty reasonable cost. Drop the keyboard, mouse, display, and speakers and you're down to $1000, but of course you need to add in $90-$150 for Windows XP. All told, you may not get the same level of service that you get with a prebuilt OEM system, but the quality of components and performance offered will almost certainly be higher - much higher should you choose to go the overclocking route. Here are the system summaries, but if you're looking for additional options remember to check out the individual component pages where we have listed some alternatives.| AMD Mid-Range System | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2x512K 2.0GHz (939) - Retail | 297 |
| Motherboard | DFI nForce4 SLI Infinity | 115 |
| Memory | Patriot PC-3200 2x1024MB EPLL (2-3-2-5-1T) | 190 |
| Video Card | EVGA GeForce 7600GT CO 256MB (580/1500) | 184 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital SATA3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 | 95 |
| Optical Drive | NEC 3550A (OEM) | 37 |
| Case | COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW | 61 |
| Power Supply | ENERMAX Liberty ELT400AWT ATX12V 400W | 86 |
| Display | BenQ 20 inch 8ms Widescreen LCD FP202W | 325 |
| Speakers | Logitech X-530 5.1 70W Speakers | 62 |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 | 32 |
| Bottom Line | 1484 | |
| Intel Mid-Range System | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Pentium D 930 2x2MB 3.0GHz (775) - Retail | 212 |
| Motherboard | ASUS 945P P5LD2 Deluxe | 151 |
| Memory | G.Skill PC-5300 2x1024MB Extreme LA (4-4-4-12) | 148 |
| Video Card | EVGA GeForce 7600GT CO 256MB (580/1500) | 184 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital SATA3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 | 95 |
| Optical Drive | NEC 3550A (OEM) | 37 |
| Case | COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW | 61 |
| Power Supply | ENERMAX Liberty ELT400AWT ATX12V 400W | 86 |
| Display | BenQ 20 inch 8ms Widescreen LCD FP202W | 325 |
| Speakers | Logitech X-530 5.1 70W Speakers | 62 |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 | 32 |
| Bottom Line | 1393 | |
If you're looking for a system that can do just about anything well, both of these qualify. Without any extra tweaking, the AMD system will usually be faster, but the Intel system certainly isn't bad. If you're looking for more performance from the Intel side of things, you might want to try the Core Duo + AOpen + Overclocking route, or else wait for Core Duo 2 to launch. Both systems as configured currently lock you into an "outdated" platform, but we don't generally recommend building systems for upgradeability. You end up spending more money for the potential to upgrade, and when the time comes to finally upgrade you often find that it's better to simply build a new system and sell off your old one.
As always, comments and questions are welcome - either via email or in the comments section. There is no such thing as a "one-size-fits-all" computer, so naturally it is possible to tweak the component choices in order to improve performance in the areas that you need it most. Upgrading the graphics card and downgrading the CPU, for example, is something to consider for gamers. I would still rather just spend the money on a faster GPU and go a bit over budget, however, because I really like my dual core systems.
If you're looking for something significantly cheaper, our next Buyers' Guide will be covering the budget sector, followed by a high-end Buyers' Guide once AMD AM2 platforms have begun shipping. We may also look at doing an HTPC Buyers' Guide in the future - let us know if you're interested in that one.
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toyota - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
it make more sense just to get the 7900gt now or get a 19inch lcd. no point in waiting a year for Vista to utilise a DX10 card. thats a long time suffer.gersson - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
Makes perfect sense to me.JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
Not everyone plays a lot of games, and I basically mention that the 7600/X1600 are what I consider the minimum for a current system. They should be able to run Windows Vista without any trouble, and even play some games. For $50 more, getting the GT with the much higher clock speeds was a reasonable upgrade. If you're serious about gaming, of course you can get a better GPU. I tried to make that clear by stating it at least two or three times. For non-gaming purposes, I like to have as big of a monitor as I can possibly get. Using stuff like Photoshop in widescreen mode is really nice, since all of the tool windows can fit on the sides while I edit regular aspect ratio images in the middle.Iscabis - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
It is not actually a couple hundred more.It is only 769.95 shipped at the moment. Plus it has height adjustment (not sure how many care about that). I will be getting one this summer, unless the 2407 is the same price. Hopefully the 2407 makes the 2405 go even lower on price.
Iscabis - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
Sorry my mistake. That site deceived and advertised free shipping. It is still 782 shipped from a different site though.neutralizer - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
I'd have to say that the LanParty is probably a better choice since I have a NF4 SLI Infinity and the support that DFI provides for it isn't very good considering its been so long since its release they still cannot fix the temperature sensor to display properly in Windows.cozappz - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
I am a little confused why AnandTech keeps saying AM2 will not bring a significant increase in performance over S939. AMD _clearly_ stated the change to AM2 is due to DDR2 adoption and unification of high, middle and low-end processors on the same socket, and it is expected to run on NF4 until NF5xx is released. But, if you want to buy an AM2 mobo, wait a couple of monts after release! Childhood ilnesses are inevitable both for AM2 and NF5xx.One43637 - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
while i agree that the WD250KS is a great value for performance, there is something that i think buyers should know about that drive. it runs hot.i don't know why, but that drive runs on average 18C higher then my WD 74GB Raptor that's 2 slots away from it. i have a good case in the P180, and i have good airflow. 3xPanaflow 120x38, and 1 Nexus 120x25 in the fan slot behind the HD in the bottom enclosures. it's just odd that Speedfan constantly shows that drive between 48-55C depending on use while my Raptor is around 32-38C.
SonicIce - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
True, mine runs hot as well. When my computer is idle, its hotter than both my CPU and videocard. It's usually in the mid 40's while my 80gb WD was in the mid 30's. I thought there was something wrong with it at first, but if you're having the same temps then maybe its meant to be like that.BigLan - Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - link
"It also sports two X16 slots (with X8 bandwidth in SLI mode)" - The board runs both slots at 8x bandwidth all the time, not just when in sli mode. AFAIK it doesn't have any performance impact, but I spent a long time looking for the setting to change my board to x16/x1