Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/610
Buyer's Guide: High-End Systems - August 2000
by Mike Andrawes on August 24, 2000 11:31 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
You do the research
on the products. You read all the reviews. You even discuss with friends.
But even with all that information, building a perfect, personalized system
from scratch can be quite a daunting task. With that in mind, it’s no surprise
that we’ve had request after request to provide some system recommendations.
With the third edition of the AnandTech Buyer's Guide, we changed things a little bit, splitting the Buyer's Guide into two parts, one for value systems and the other for high-end ones. Even though it feels like it has been much longer, we had Part 1 for the value systems two weeks ago, and as promised, here's Part 2 with the High-End systems. As noted in Part 1, the Dream System is included in the high-end part of the article.
Despite the slight format change, we'll continue to provide some system recommendations in 3 categories – small office / home office (SOHO), gaming, and professional. Remember that these are just a few recommendations from us if we were building the systems. Obviously, each individual’s needs will vary greatly, but that’s the beauty of building a custom system - it can be tailored to fit those special needs.
Every component, from the motherboard to the case to the monitor, is covered for each system. Sample prices based on a review of popular vendors and price search engines across the web are included as well. Note that shipping is not included in these prices. An OS recommendation is included, but that price is not included in the total system price listed. Components that are not readily obtainable were automatically out of the running for any system in the Buyer’s Guide. Where possible, we’ll link to reviews of the individual products on AnandTech for more in depth information.
This Month
Like last month, AMD's Socket-A Athlon (Thunderbird) processor continues to dominate our high-end gaming & professional value system recommendations. The big difference this month is that these CPU's themselves, as well as the supporting motherboards, are much easier to find compared to last month. There's also a number of new motherboard options this month for all Socket-A CPU's, compared with the sole option we had last month.
Intel CPU's have finally been dropped from all the high-end systems except the Dream System for simple cost reasons since prices on AMD Athlons have dropped quite a bit while comparable Pentium III's remain relatively costly for little to no performance improvement (and even a performance loss in some cases). Once simple reason allows Intel to remain the CPU of choice in our Dream System - dual processor support.
As a few people pointed out, RAID 0+1 is actually a better solution then RAID 5 for the best combination of performance and data integrity. But RAID 0+1 requires 1 more hard drive, for a total of 4. This is really only a reasonable option for systems where performance and data integrity are critical and you're willing to pay for such features - in other words, our Dream System, which adds that feature this month.
Also on the RAID front - we've dropped the Promise FastTrak 100 in favor of the built-in Ultra ATA/100 RAID controller on the ABIT KT7-RAID for many of the high-end systems this month.
We've also thrown a hardware MPEG-2/DVD decoder into the Dream System. While the GeForce2's DVD playback is pretty good, it's still not up to par with a dedicated hardware decoder, especially since a dedicated decoder will have Dolby Digital AC-3 output among a few other features that video cards generally do not include.
Finally, we replaced all Windows 98SE operating system recommendations with Windows Millennium Edition (Windows ME) now that it's finally available. Windows 2000 is, however, becoming a much more viable gaming platform as driver updates have surfaced from the likes of 3dfx, ATI, NVIDIA, Matrox, etc., but it's still not quite up to par with a Windows 9x based OS (like Windows ME).
Dream System
Not having to
worry about price is a luxury few people have, but it never hurts to dream up
what you would buy in such a situation. Or maybe you’ve just won the lottery.
Perhaps it’s not even your own money involved thanks to a grant or simply an
ungodly budget. Whether dreaming or actually looking to buy, putting together
the dream professional system can be a tricky, but fun, proposition. Below are
our picks for such a system.
CPU
– Dual Pentium III 933 - $675 x 2
The CPU is probably
the most critical, as well as the most controversial, component of any system.
The old AMD versus Intel battle wages on stronger than ever before with the
Athlon and Pentium III. It’s a touchy subject among many die-hard fans of each
processor type, but for the professional dream system, we have to go with an
Intel CPU for one key reason – SMP. While the benefits of SMP vary greatly
depending on the applications in use, professional apps are generally the ones
best able to take advantage of SMP. Recently, games have begun to take some
advantage of SMP, starting with Quake 3: Arena. Now that Windows 2000 supports
SMP and DirectX7, we should begin seeing more games that are capable of using
SMP.
While Pentium III’s up to 1.13GHz have already been announced by Intel, don’t even waste your time trying to get a hold of one at this point. We also decided to pass on the new Pentium III Xeon’s since the only difference between them and the standard model is the Slot-2 interface that it uses and the higher price.
The fastest readily available Pentium III is the 933 MHz model, so that’s what we’re going with. They’re currently available for around $675.
For more information on all Pentium III's, read our Pentium III 1GHz Review.
Motherboard
– Intel OR840 - $300
Our choice of dual Pentium III’s narrowed down our motherboard options very
quickly. While the Microstar 694D Pro has finally shown us the potential of
VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset in SMP mode, the
i840 with RDRAM is still able to maintain a slight performance lead. Those looking
to save quite a bit of money on their motherboard and memory should definitely
take a look at the 694D Pro, but since this is a dream system, we'll go with
the slightly faster i840 despite the large price premium.
It should be noted that while we've seen the i440BX overclocked to a 133 MHz FSB successfully, only a few dual i440BX boards are even Coppermine capable, much less able to run at 133 MHz FSB with two CPU's in place. The option is there if you don't mind an overclocked system, but we'll stick to the Apollo Pro 133A and i840/i820 for more reliable dual operation. It should also be noted that the i815 is not an SMP capable chipset, as Intel has aimed it squarely at the value market.
Of all the i840 boards out there, the OR840 from Intel is the only one that fits our requirements and is relatively easy to get a hold of. It also throws in an optional onboard Intel 82559 ethernet controller and an AGP Pro 50 slot. There is also optional AC97 audio onboard, which may be sufficient if you don’t really use sound that much in your work. But why cripple a system like this with host-based audio? We’ll disable it and add a true hardware based PCI card later.
Unfortunately, the OR840 choice means overclocking is out for now. As more i840 boards become available, we’ll revise the motherboard selection with something that will allow us to push our CPU’s.
Memory
– 512MB PC800 RDRAM (2 x 256MB RIMM’s) - $1400
Not having to
worry about cost is a beautiful thing and really comes in handy when choosing
a memory type, especially since you can easily spend more on memory than most
people spend on their whole system. As such, we had no hesitation in picking
RDRAM for our dream system even though they cost $700 for a 256MB stick. RDRAM
prices are still dropping, but not nearly quickly enough for the majority of
users.
Since we’ve got two RAMBUS channels on our OR840 motherboard, we need to install our RIMM’s in pairs. Even without that requirement, what dream professional system would be complete with 512MB of RAM total? Since the largest RIMM readily available on the market today is 256MB, we need 2 sticks in order to get a total of 512MB RAM.
Video
card – Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB - $350
RealMagic Hollywood Plus PCI - $60
We knew the call between the ATI Radeon
and the NVIDIA GeForce 2 GTS would be a tough
one, and it's largely a matter of preference. We've settled on the GeForce 2
GTS simply because of driver stability - NVIDIA's drivers are much more mature,
while ATI's track record with drivers is quite poor.
Hercules was the first on store shelves with a 64 MB version, the 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB. While it's a bit pricey at around $400, Hercules has thrown in everything but the kitchen sink, including a DVI port, TV-out, a blue PCB, and even RAM heatsinks.
The GeForce2 Ultra will be the chipset of choice for the Dream System as soon as cards are actually available, which currently looks to be about a month away. Be forewarned that those cards will cost almost double what a GeForce2 GTS sells for.
This month, we've also added a RealMagic Hollywood Plus hardware MPEG-2/DVD decoder card. While the GeForce2's DVD playback is pretty good, it's still not up to par with a dedicated hardware decoder, especially since a dedicated decoder will have Dolby Digital AC-3 output among a few other features that video cards generally do not include. Besides, at just $60 it's hard to go wrong with such an addition to a system like this.
For more information, read our GeForce 2 GTS Review, GeForce 2 GTS 64MB Review, and our Hercules/Guillemot 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB Review.
Monitor
– Sony GDM-F500R - $1800
This pure flat
monitor is without a doubt the best monitor we’ve ever set our eyes on. The
FD Trinitron tube insures the screen is completely flat, but what makes the
GDM-F500R so special is the 0.22mm stripe pitch across the whole screen. Support
for resolutions up to 2048 x 1536 @ 75Hz rounds out the package. You’ve got
to see it to believe it – one look and you’ll be hooked. But at $1800, it remains
just a dream for the vast majority of us.
Case – Addtronics W8500-400A
- $400
We took a look
at the Addtronics W8500 not too long ago. For those that don’t remember, it’s
a WTX case, meaning that it’s backwards compatible with today’s ATX standard
and will also accept future boards based on the WTX standard. A grand total
of 9 fan locations ensure that you’ll always have plenty of cooling available,
while 11 drive bays handle expansion. To ensure that we have enough power,
we’ll go with the 400W power supply option from Addtronics – that should be
plenty for just about anything we could throw at it.
For more information, read our Addtronics W8500 Review.
Sound
Card – Sound Blaster Live! Platinum - $200
The sound card
selection for the dream professional system was as tricky as any other component.
But some careful thought shows that the Sound Blaster Live! is the best choice.
The first problem is that a number of sound cards out there don’t have drivers
that work properly with SMP systems under NT 4.0. Further, the ideal sound
card would also have driver support under Windows 2000, Linux, and BeOS.
The Aureal Vortex 2 cards come close, but they currently have no BeOS support and, more importantly, don’t work reliably with SMP under NT 4.0. The Sound Blaster Live! provides all the features we need in a sound card and thus it is the only choice for this system. It’s got full support under Windows NT 4.0 and is one of the first cards with a feature complete driver set under Windows 2000 with the recent release of Live!Ware for Win2000. Creative also has their own set of Linux drivers, while BeOS has built in support for the Live!
Specifically, we chose the Platinum model since we don’t have to worry about price and, besides, the Live Drive of the Platinum is a nice addition to any system.
Speakers
– VideoLogic Sirocco CrossFire - $400
As the best speaker
set we’ve tested to date, it’s no surprise the VideoLogic Sirocco Crossfire
ended up in our dream system. Although it “only” has 80W of power, the Crossfire
makes up for it elsewhere. Just like in the home audio market, more power doesn’t
necessarily translate to higher fidelity audio.
For more information, read our Video Logic Sirocco Crossfire Review.
Ethernet – integrated
Intel 82559 on motherboard – “free”
Since our motherboard
choice, the OR840 already has an integrated Intel 82559 chip onboard, there’s
no reason to go with anything else. It’s an excellent 10/100 fast ethernet
chipset, used in Intel’s Pro/100+ Management adapter for the desktop, and is
supported fully under Linux and Windows 2000. Even if it weren't on the motherboard,
we'd probably be picking the Pro/100+ Management adapter in its place anyway.
Hard Drive – 4 x Seagate
Cheetah 73 - $1100 x 4
Hard
drive performance has always been one of the biggest bottlenecks in the speed
of a computer. After all, the only component whose speed is measured in milliseconds
is the hard drive – everything else is nanoseconds or microseconds. But at
10,000 rpm the Seagate Cheetah series has always led the market in performance.
The new Cheetah 73 moves to even higher density platters for increased capacity
and speed. With 73GB of space, it should satisfy all but the most storage intensive
tasks, while the Ultra 160 interface provides a maximum throughput of 160MB/s
to keep things moving along smoothly. We'll go with four of them to keep that
RAID card purring along happily in RAID 0+1 mode for the best combination of
performance and data integrity.
SCSI RAID Adapter – DPT
SmartRAID IV Century PM2865U3 - $900
The first name
that pops to mind for SCSI adapters is, of course, Adaptec. While Adaptec didn't
have an Ultra160 RAID solution at the time of publication, one of the companies
they own, DPT, does offer one. The PM2865U3 is a 2 channel controller with an
80 MIPS i960 processor onboard to keep things moving along smoothly. This particular
model includes 32MB of cache, but up to 128MB of cache is available. It's actually
a 64-bit PCI card, but will work just fine in the 32-bit slots of our OR840
motherboard. Best of all, it supports all the OS's we want to run except BeOS.
CD-ROM/CD-R(W)/DVD-ROM
Pioneer DVD-304S
/ Plextor UltraPlex Wide - $150
Plextor Plexwriter 12/4/32 - $350
This one is a
matter of personal preference, but the top two options are the Pioneer 10X SCSI
DVD-ROM, which is also capable of reading CD’s at 40X max, and the Plextor Ultra
Plex 40X max UW SCSI CD-ROM. Plextor drives are well known for their reliability
and excellent performance, although Pioneer is certainly no slouch. If you
want DVD support, go with the Pioneer. Otherwise, stick with the Plextor.
Note, we passed on the 16X DVD from Pioneer in the interest of keeping our system all SCSI, although that is an option if raw DVD performance is critical to you.
Plextor can’t be denied in the CD-RW category as they have one of the few 12X burners on the market. The Plextor name is synonymous with reliability and high performance and the Plexwriter 12/4/32 delivers on all accounts. It’s a SCSI model, but that’s not a problem since we already have a SCSI adapter in the system for the HD.
Operating System – Quadruple
boot:
Windows 2000 Professional - $250
Windows Millennium Edition – $175
Your favorite Linux distribution – free download or $50 retail
BeOS Version 5.0 - $70 (Personal Edition is a free download)
This is another matter of preference, and is obviously affected by your particular application requirements. However, since we’ve gone with an SMP system, we at least need an SMP capable OS, and all of the above take advantage of SMP except for Windows ME. We’ll quadruple boot between the OS’s depending on what we need to do.
Windows 2000 Professional is probably the best bet if you have the future in mind. Its enhanced hardware support, including full USB and IEEE1394 (Firewire), will be the key to its success and the reason it’s our pick over NT 4.0. Windows NT 4.0 is a more tried and true solution; so if that is of concern to you, by all means go with NT 4.0.
Just about any current Linux distribution should support SMP right out of the box. If not, go with the tried and true Redhat 6.2 – we know for sure it supports SMP without any additional installation steps. The beauty of Linux? It’s free if you’re willing to download a distribution from the internet. This is getting easier and easier now that you can just download a bootable ISO CD image that you can burn. If that’s too much work, but you still want it cheap, there are a number of companies on the net that will sell you the GPL (same as the download) version of your favorite distribution for under $5. If you want a full manual and support, go for a retail distribution, like the boxed Redhat set that sells for about $50.
The last major SMP-aware OS is BeOS, an OS that hasn’t been around nearly as long as any of the others. We think that this OS is cool enough to be worth its price of admission, only $70. Of course, version 5.0 was released on the web for free on March 28, 2000, so you should definitely give it a shot then.
Of course, the option of booting to Windows ME is still there if you need to play games, but remember that it doesn’t support SMP. Windows 2000 users won’t absolutely have to do this as 2000 has full DirectX 7 support built in, although it does take a performance hit in some games compared to Win98/WinME. Note that the NVIDIA's 5.xx drivers don't seem to get along with SMP that well and actually run slower when Quake 3 is put in SMP mode under Windows 2000.
Bottom Line: $11,460 (without software)
High-end SOHO
The small office/home office machine has a unique set of requirements. It
must provide quick and snappy 2D performance and be very stable. The keys to
good performance on such a machine is lots of RAM and a fast hard drive. This
system should be able to handle just about anything a typical business user
might throw at it.
Processor
– AMD Athlon "Thunderbird" 800 - $200
Although CPU performance
isn’t the most important factor for many office applications, there are some
where CPU performance is critical. At similar clock speeds, the Athlon holds
a significant advantage in price, and for that reason, we’ve chosen a Socket-A
Athlon 800, which means that it's using the new Thunderbird core with on-die
cache.
Besides the direct performance benefits of full speed on-die cache, we also get the side benefit of enhanced overclockability. If you're willing to overclock our CPU, you can save some money by going with the 700 MHz model, most of which will hit 900 - 950 MHz at default voltage, all without exotic cooling. The 800 MHz chip will overclock to the same range, so there's little point in spending the extra money on it if you do plan to overclock.
For more information on all Athlon processors, read our Athlon "Thunderbird" 1GHz Review and our Thunderbird / Duron Overclocking Revealed Aritcle.
Motherboard – ABIT KT7-RAID
- $190
We recently looked at as many Socket-A boards as we could get a hold of
and one board stood out head and shoulders above the rest - the ABIT KT7-RAID.
As we noted in the roundup, the KT7 is the
perfect board to overclock with thanks to its completely jumperless Soft Menu
III CPU setup.
The ASUS A7V is also an excellent choice that also offers complete overclocking/multiplier control, albeit not in 100% jumperless form.
If you don't plan on overclocking, Gigabyte and Microstar offer solid products that can save you a a bit of money.
For more information, read our Socket-A Motherboard Roundup (August 2000) and our ABIT KT7-RAID Review.
Memory – 256MB Corsair
or Mushkin PC133 SDRAM (2x128MB DIMM’s) – $180 x 2
Even though memory
is relatively cheap these days, 256MB is more than enough. We could have dropped
down to 128MB, but the savings didn’t justify the performance loss. Besides,
this is our high-end SOHO machine, and there’s room in the budget.
As for the exact brand of memory, we recommend Corsair or Mushkin modules. We use them in our test systems and have had absolutely no problems with them.
Video
card – Matrox G400 32MB Dual Head - $115
We’ve always found
Matrox cards to do an excellent job in business environments, and their latest
card, the G400, is no exception. You’ll get snappy 2D display, DVD playback,
and excellent display driver utilities that include useful features like virtual
desktop. With the option for dual head, you can add a second monitor to potentially
double your workspace. And if you need to take a break from work, the G400
is ready to frag away ;)
NVIDIA's GeForce2 MX features TwinView, which is functionally very similar to Matrox's Dual Head. We've yet to see any retail boards available with the necessary headers included, but the GeForce2 MX could be another option to fill this category.
For more information, read our Matrox G400 & G400 MAX Review.
Monitor
– iiYama VisionMaster PRO 450 - $600
If you’re going
to be sitting in front of your monitor for hours a day, it’s critical that you
have a crisp monitor that can provide a flicker-free refresh rate at your resolution
of choice. Using a Mitsubishi Diamondtron NF, the iiYama VisionMaster Pro 450
provides a perfectly flat display surface using the same technology in Sony’s
FD Trinitron models, but at a lower cost. The VisionMaster PRO 450 is a 19”
monitor and has been highly acclaimed here on AnandTech and by owners alike.
If you’ve got the funds, we highly recommend you go with the 22” VisionMaster
PRO 510 for around $1000.
For more information, read our iiYama VisionMaster PRO 450 and VisionMaster PRO 510 Reviews.
Case
Supermicro SC750-A Full Tower ATX - $150
Fong Kai FK-320ATX
Mid Tower ATX - $120
We need a case
that can handle anything we can throw at it, but at a reasonable price level.
That case is the Supermicro SC750-A full tower and is available for about $150
with an Athlon approved 300W Sparkle power supply. A total of ten drive bays
and the ability to accept an extended ATX motherboard insures that this system
will always have room for upgrades.
If you want something a little smaller than the monstrous SC750-A for your home, consider the Fong Kai FK-320ATX. It offers plenty of room to work inside, is well built, provides excellent cooling, and even includes an Athlon 1 GHz approved Enhance 730-ATX power supply.
For more information, read our Supermicro SC750-A and Fong Kai FK-320ATX Reviews.
Sound
card – Sound Blaster Live! Value OEM - $50
The choice here
is simple – SBLive!, since Creative is the only manufacturer offering complete
driver support under Windows 2000. If you want to save a bit more money, go
with any name brand card supported under Windows 2000.
Speakers – Cambridge
SoundWorks Digital - $100
The SoundWorks
Digital is a 2.1 system that features the same drivers and sub as the highly
acclaimed Desktop Theater DTT2500. Need we say more?
For more information, read our Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theater DTT2500 Review.
Ethernet – Linksys EtherFast
10/100 - $20
We use Linksys
products here in the AnandTech lab all the time and have never been disappointed.
Besides, at just $20 for a card with full support directly from the manufacturer
under the major OS’s, including Linux and Windows 2000, the EtherFast 10/100
is a deal that’s impossible to pass up.
Hard drive – 2 x IBM
Deskstar 75 GXP 15GB - $120 x 2
The fastest IDE
drives on the market are all members of the IBM 75GXP family, so the decision
was relatively easy. It
doesn't hurt that they're one of the few that support Ultra ATA/100 either.
We'll need two of these drives in order to reap the speed benefits of RAID striping.
If you’re work is disk intensive, considering going with a 10,000 RPM drive and an Ultra 160 controller. The Atlas 10K II is widely available and is well known to be one of the fastest drives available.
CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Pioneer DVD-105S 16X Slot Load DVD - $150
Plextor Plexwriter 12/10/32 - $280
What high-end
system is complete today without a DVD-ROM? Pioneer continues to lead the pack
with their DVD-105S, a 16X DVD-ROM drive. Of course, it also reads CDs as well
at a swift 40X max clip. This month, the Slot loading version of the 16X DVD
is now available.
If you don’t need DVD support, the Kenwood TrueX 72X will provide you with the fastest CD-ROM speed at a slightly lower cost of about $120.
Plextor is back again, this time with the fastest IDE CD-R on the market right now. The PlexWriter 12/10/32 is their second entry into the IDE market, and it has been selling like hot cakes since its release.
OS
– Windows 2000 - $250
You want to get
work done, right? Well, you definitely don’t want your system crashing and
destroying unsaved work all the time. Windows 2000 is the only way to go for
rock solid stability. If you don’t need all the features of Windows 2000, but
want a more tried and true solution, drop back to Windows NT 4.0, but note that
you’ll lose access to the vast array of USB peripherals out there.
Bottom Line: $2455 (without software)
High-end Gaming System
The purpose of
this system is simple – maximum frame rates at all costs. Of course, we already
have a “cost is no object” dream system, so "all costs" isn't taken
quite so literally. We’ve decided to shoot for a price in the $3500 range on
the high-end gaming system. That price is without floppy, keyboard, mouse,
or software. Even though it’s not in the price, we will recommend an OS configuration.
Processor
– AMD Athlon "Thunderbird" 800 - $200
While we've generally
recommended Intel CPU's in the past for our gaming systems, prices on AMD CPU's
are dropping all the time, while Intel CPU's remain relatively unchanged. This
month, we're not longer able to justify the 50% higher cost of an Intel CPU
at similar clock speeds, considering the minimal performance difference in games.
The Athlon 800 seems to be the best compromise of high performance without breaking
the bank.
Besides the direct performance benefits of full speed on-die cache, we also get the side benefit of enhanced overclockability. If you're willing to overclock our CPU, you can save some money by going with the 700 MHz model, most of which will hit 900 - 950 MHz at default voltage, all without exotic cooling. The 800 MHz chip will overclock to the same range, so there's little point in spending the extra money on it if you do plan to overclock.
For more information on all Athlon processors, read our Athlon "Thunderbird" 1GHz Review and our Thunderbird / Duron Overclocking Revealed Aritcle.
Motherboard – ABIT KT7-RAID
- $190
We recently looked at as many Socket-A boards as we could get a hold of
and one board stood out head and shoulders above the rest - the ABIT KT7-RAID.
As we noted in the roundup, the KT7 is the
perfect board to overclock with thanks to its completely jumperless Soft Menu
III CPU setup. You can save about $30 by dropping the RAID option, which of
course changes the model name to just KT7.
The ASUS A7V is also an excellent choice that also offers complete overclocking/multiplier control, albeit not in 100% jumperless form.
If you don't plan on overclocking, Gigabyte and Microstar offer solid products that can save you a a bit of money.
For more information, read our Socket-A Motherboard Roundup (August 2000) and our ABIT KT7-RAID Review.
Memory – 256MB Corsair
or Mushkin PC133 SDRAM (2x128MB DIMM’s) – $180 x 2
Even though memory
is relatively cheap these days, 256MB is more than enough. We could have dropped
down to 128MB, but the savings didn’t justify the performance loss. Besides,
this is our high-end gaming machine, and there’s room in the budget.
As for the exact brand of memory, we recommend Corsair or Mushkin modules. We use them in our test systems and have had absolutely no problems with them.
Video
card – Creative Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 - $250
Once again, the
Radeon or GeForce 2 GTS question comes up and once again NVIDIA gets the nod
for their solid driver support.
The majority of GeForce 2 GTS cards on the market are retailing for $350 and selling closer to $300. Creative has undercut the competition with a retail price of $300 and street price closer to $250. True, it's just a plain jane card, with no TV-in/out, but it gets the job done and is the most overclockable GeForce 2 GTS we've tested to date. We were able to push our sample up to 250/395 MHz (core/memory), making it the first 2 Gigatexel (theoretical fillrate) card in the AnandTech lab.
For more information, read our Annihilator 2 Review, GeForce 2 GTS Overclocking Guide, and GeForce 2 GTS Review.
Monitor
– iiYama VisionMaster PRO 450 - $600
Using a Mitsubishi
Diamondtron NF, the iiYama VisionMaster Pro 450 provides a perfectly flat display
surface using the same technology in Sony’s FD Trinitron models, but at a lower
cost. The VisionMaster PRO 450 is a 19” monitor and has been highly acclaimed
here on AnandTech and by owners alike. If you’ve got the funds, we highly recommend
you go with the 22” VisionMaster PRO 510 for about $1000.
For more information, read our iiYama VisionMaster PRO 450 and VisionMaster PRO 510 Reviews.
Case
Supermicro SC750-A Full Tower ATX - $150
Fong Kai FK-320ATX
Mid Tower ATX - $120
We need a case
that can handle anything we can throw at it, but at a reasonable price level.
That case is the Supermicro SC750-A full tower and is available for about $150
with an Athlon approved 300W Sparkle power supply. A total of ten drive bays
and the ability to accept an extended ATX motherboard insures that this system
will always have room for upgrades.
If you want something a little smaller than the monstrous SC750-A for your home, consider the Fong Kai FK-320ATX. It offers plenty of room to work inside, is well built, provides excellent cooling, and even includes an Athlon 1 GHz approved Enhance 730-ATX power supply.
For more information, read our Supermicro SC750-A and Fong Kai FK-320ATX Reviews.
Sound
card – Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer - $100
Choosing between
the Aureal SQ2500 and the SBLive! had been one of the more difficult decisions
in this guide, but with Aureal in serious financial troubles, the choice is
clear - go with Creative. It doesn't hurt that it has full Liveware 3.0 support
under Windows 2000 either. We chose the X-Gamer model for its digital speaker
interface, although you can save about $50 by going with an OEM / Value model.
Speakers
– Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theater DTT2500 - $200
We obviously need
some speakers with 4-channel surround support to properly render the 3D positional
audio output of our SBLive! As mentioned previously, we also wanted something
that could interface with the digital out on the Live! Well, the Desktop Theater
DTT2500 looked to fit the bill. But the real key is its top-notch sound quality
and built-in Dolby Digital decoder.
For more information, read our Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theater DTT2500 Review.
Ethernet – Linksys EtherFast
10/100 - $20
We use Linksys
products here in the AnandTech lab all the time and have never been disappointed.
Besides, at just $20 for a card with full support directly from the manufacturer
under the major OS’s, including Linux and Windows 2000, the EtherFast 10/100
is a deal that’s impossible to pass up.
Hard drive – IBM Deskstar
75GXP 45GB - $250
Once again, the
fastest drive on the market gets the nod, plain and simple. We've chosen to
stick with just one drive since RAID performance doesn't really help that much
in gaming situations where disk access is not a major bottleneck. If you do
any disk intensive work, definitely consider using the RAID features of the
KT7 by simply adding another drive.
CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Pioneer DVD-105S 16X Slot Load DVD - $150
Plextor Plexwriter 12/10//32 - $280
What high-end
system is complete today without a DVD-ROM? Pioneer continues to lead the pack
with their DVD-105S, a 16X DVD-ROM drive. Of course, it also reads CDs as well
at a swift 40X max clip. This month, the Slot loading version of the 16X DVD
is now available.
If you don’t need DVD support, the Kenwood TrueX 72X will provide you with the fastest CD-ROM speed at a slightly lower cost of about $120.
Plextor is back again, this time with the fastest IDE CD-R on the market right now. The PlexWriter 12/10/32 is their second entry into the IDE market, and it has been selling like hot cakes since its release.
OS
– Windows 2000 / Windows Millennium Edition Dual Boot - $250 + 175
Even though Windows
2000 supports DirectX 7, immature drivers and the general overhead of the OS
prevent it from performing on par with Windows Millennium Edition when it comes
to games. Of course, Windows 2000 is the future, and its just so much more
stable. Our solution: work in Windows 2000 and boot back to Windows ME if you
need maximum performance for games. Of course, if you just need a quick break
from work, you can still frag in Win2K.
Bottom Line: $2750 (without software)
High-end Professional
3D
A high-end professional
3D system requires a number of high-end components. CPU performance is critical
and we need more RAM here than any other system we've looked at previously.
The graphics requirements are also very different in the professional space
and a large monitor is critical.
Processor
– AMD Athlon "Thunderbird" 900 - $325
At similar clock
speeds, the Athlon holds a significant advantage in price and performance in
professional 3D applications. That, of course, makes the decision for our High-End
Professional system's CPU a no-brainer. We’ve chosen a Socket-A Athlon 800,
which means that it's using the new Thunderbird core with on-die cache.
Besides the direct performance benefits of full speed on-die cache, we also get the side benefit of enhanced overclockability. If you're willing to overclock our CPU, you can save some money by going with the 700 MHz model, most of which will hit 900 - 950 MHz at default voltage, all without exotic cooling. The 900 MHz chip will overclock to the same range, so there's little point in spending the extra money on it if you do plan to overclock.
For more information on all Athlon processors, read our Athlon "Thunderbird" 1GHz Review and our Thunderbird / Duron Overclocking Revealed Aritcle.
Motherboard – ABIT KT7-RAID
- $190
We recently looked at as many Socket-A boards as we could get a hold of
and one board stood out head and shoulders above the rest - the ABIT KT7-RAID.
As we noted in the roundup, the KT7 is the
perfect board to overclock with thanks to its completely jumperless Soft Menu
III CPU setup.
The ASUS A7V is also an excellent choice that also offers complete overclocking/multiplier control, albeit not in 100% jumperless form.
If you don't plan on overclocking, Gigabyte and Microstar offer solid products that can save you a a bit of money.
For more information, read our Socket-A Motherboard Roundup (August 2000) and our ABIT KT7-RAID Review.
Memory – 512MB Corsair
or Mushkin PC133 SDRAM (2x256MB DIMM’s) – $375 x 2
Even though memory
is relatively cheap these days, it is a key factor in the performance of most
professional apps. For a high-end system like this, 512MB is not unreasonable
and easily fits within the budget.
As for the exact brand of memory, we recommend Corsair or Mushkin modules. We use them in our test systems and have had absolutely no problems with them.
Video
Card – ELSA GLoria II (NVIDIA Quadro) - $600
NVIDIA’s Quadro
is simply the most powerful workstation 3D accelerator we’ve tested to date.
Based on the same T&L GPU of the GeForce, the Quadro runs at a higher core
clock speed, 135 MHz, and enables certain features that were left disabled on
the GeForce. Among these features is enhanced support for anti-aliased points
and lines, which, although it isn’t a commonly used feature with most users,
was an extremely poor performance point for the GeForce.
With their previous experience in the professional market, ELSA was able to score exclusive rights to manufacture the Quadro. The Gloria II is ELSA’s implementation and comes with 64MB SDR SDRAM. While a DDR version of the Quadro has been announced, and even tested by AnandTech, it’s not actually available anywhere at the moment. At $650, the SDR version of the Gloria II is a relative steal compared to some of the other professional 3D accelerators out there. Throw in the fact that it’s fully support under Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Linux and it becomes quite clear that the Quadro is the best choice.
NVIDIA has already announced a professional version of the GeForce 2 GTS, the Quadro2 Pro and the Quadro2 MXR. The Quadro2 Pro is GeForce2 GTS based, while the MXR is the GeForce2 MX based part - ELSA once again has the "exclusive" distribution rights on cards using these chipsets. Unfortunately, neither card has surfaced just yet, so with that in mind, it seems wise to hold off a bit if you can. For more information, see our ELSA Gloria II Review.
Monitor
– iiYama VisionMaster PRO 510 - $1000
Using a Mitsubishi
Diamondtron NF, the iiYama VisionMaster Pro 510 provides a perfectly flat display
surface using the same technology in Sony’s FD Trinitron models, but at a lower
cost. Make sure you can deal with the damper wires that all Trinitron style
tubes have. The VisionMaster PRO 510 is a 22” monitor and has been highly acclaimed
here on AnandTech and by owners alike.
For more information, read our iiYama VisionMaster PRO 450 and VisionMaster PRO 510 Reviews.
Case
Supermicro SC750-A Full Tower ATX - $150
Fong Kai FK-320ATX
Mid Tower ATX - $120
We need a case
that can handle anything we can throw at it, but at a reasonable price level.
That case is the Supermicro SC750-A full tower and is available for about $150
with an Athlon approved 300W Sparkle power supply. A total of ten drive bays
and the ability to accept an extended ATX motherboard insures that this system
will always have room for upgrades.
If you want something a little smaller than the monstrous SC750-A for your home, consider the Fong Kai FK-320ATX. It offers plenty of room to work inside, is well built, provides excellent cooling, and even includes an Athlon 1 GHz approved Enhance 730-ATX power supply.
For more information, read our Supermicro SC750-A and Fong Kai FK-320ATX Reviews.
Sound
card – Sound Blaster Live! Value OEM - $50
The choice here
is simple – SBLive!, since Creative is the only manufacturer offering complete
driver support under Windows 2000. If you want to save a bit more money, go
with any name brand card supported under Windows 2000.
Speakers – Cambridge
SoundWorks Digital - $100
The SoundWorks
Digital is a 2.1 system that features the same drivers and sub as the highly
acclaimed Desktop Theater DTT2500. Need we say more?
For more information, read our Cambridge SoundWorks Desktop Theater DTT2500 Review.
Ethernet – Linksys EtherFast
10/100 - $20
We use Linksys
products here in the AnandTech lab all the time and have never been disappointed.
Besides, at just $20 for a card with full support directly from the manufacturer
under the major OS’s, including Linux and Windows 2000, the EtherFast 10/100
is a deal that’s impossible to pass up.
Hard
drive – 2 x IBM Deskstar 75 GXP 15GB - $120 x 2
The fastest IDE
drives on the market are all members of the IBM 75GXP family, so the decision
was relatively easy. It
doesn't hurt that they're one of the few that support Ultra ATA/100 either.
We'll need two of these drives in order to reap the speed benefits of RAID striping.
If you’re work is disk intensive, considering going with a 10,000 RPM drive and an Ultra 160 controller. The Atlas 10K II is widely available and is well known to be one of the fastest drives available.
CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Pioneer DVD-105S 16X Slot Load DVD - $150
Plextor Plexwriter 12/10//32 - $280
What high-end
system is complete today without a DVD-ROM? Pioneer continues to lead the pack
with their DVD-105S, a 16X DVD-ROM drive. Of course, it also reads CDs as well
at a swift 40X max clip. This month, the Slot loading version of the 16X DVD
is now available.
If you don’t need DVD support, the Kenwood TrueX 72X will provide you with the fastest CD-ROM speed at a slightly lower cost of about $120.
Plextor is back again, this time with the fastest IDE CD-R on the market right now. The PlexWriter 12/10/32 is their second entry into the IDE market, and it has been selling like hot cakes since its release.
OS
– Windows 2000 Professional - $250
The choice here
is clear – Windows 2000 Professional is the latest and greatest OS from Microsoft
that provides all the functionality of NT 4.0, but enhanced hardware support.
If you want to stick with a more tried and true solution, go with NT 4.0 Workstation.
Bottom line: $3830 (without software)
Summary
|
Dream
System
|
CPU |
Dual
Intel Pentium III 933 - $675 x 2
|
Motherboard |
Intel
OR840 - $300
|
Memory |
512MB
RDRAM - $1400
|
Video Card |
Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB - $350
RealMagic Hollywood Plus PCI - $60 |
Monitor |
Sony
F500R 21" - $1800
|
Case |
Addtronics
W8500-400A - $400
|
Sound Card |
Sound
Blaster Live! Platinum - $200
|
Speakers |
VideoLogic
Sirocco Crossfire - $400
|
Ethernet |
Integrated
i82559 - $0
|
Hard Drive |
4
x Seagate Cheetah 73 - $1100 x 4
|
Hard Drive Controller |
DPT
SmartRAID IV Century PM2865U3 - $900
|
CD-ROM |
Pioneer
DVD-304S / Plextor UltraPlex Wide - $150
|
CD-RW |
Plextor
Plexwriter 12/4/32 - $350
|
Bottom line |
$11,460
|
|
High-End
SOHO
|
CPU |
AMD
Athlon "Thunderbird" 800 - $200
|
Motherboard |
ABIT
KT7-RAID - $190
|
Memory |
2
x 128MB Corsair/Mushkin PC133 SDRAM - $180 x 2
|
Video Card |
Matrox
G400 32MB Dual Head - $115
|
Monitor |
iiYama
VisionMaster PRO 450 - $600
|
Case |
Supermicro
SC750-A Full Tower ATX - $150
Fong Kai FK-320ATX Mid Tower ATX - $120 |
Sound Card |
Sound
Blaster Live! Value OEM - $50
|
Speakers |
Cambridge
SoundWorks Digital - $100
|
Ethernet |
Linksys
EtherFast 10/100 - $20
|
Hard Drive |
2
x IBM Desktstar 75GXP 15GB - $120 x 2
|
Hard Drive Controller |
N/A
|
CD-ROM |
Pioneer
DVD-105S 16X DVD - $150
|
CD-RW |
Plextor
Plexwriter 12/10/32 - $280
|
Bottom line |
$2455
|
|
High-End
Gaming
|
CPU |
AMD
Athlon "Thunderbird" 800 - $200
|
Motherboard |
ABIT
KT7-RAID - $190
|
Memory |
2
x 128 MB Corsair/Mushkin PC133 SDRAM - $180 x 2
|
Video Card |
Creative
Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 - $250
|
Monitor |
iiYama
VisionMaster PRO 450 - $600
|
Case |
Supermicro
SC750-A Full Tower ATX - $150
Fong Kai FK-320ATX Mid Tower ATX - $120 |
Sound Card |
Sound
Blaster Live! X-Gamer - $100
|
Speakers |
Cambridge
SoundWorks Desktop Theater DTT2500 - $200
|
Ethernet |
Linksys
EtherFast 10/100 - $20
|
Hard Drive |
IBM
Deskstar 75GXP 45GB - $250
|
Hard Drive Controller |
N/A
|
CD-ROM |
Pioneer
DVD-105S 16X DVD - $150
|
CD-RW |
Plextor
Plexwriter 12/10/32 - $280
|
Bottom line |
$2750
|
|
High-End
Professional
|
CPU |
AMD
Athlon "Thunderbird" 800 - $200
|
Motherboard |
ABIT
KT7-RAID - $190
|
Memory |
2
x 256MB Corsair/Mushkin PC133 SDRAM - $375 x 2
|
Video Card |
ELSA
Gloria II (NVIDIA Quadro) - $600
|
Monitor |
iiYama
VisionMaster PRO 510 - $1000
|
Case |
Supermicro
SC750-A Full Tower ATX - $150
Fong Kai FK-320ATX Mid Tower ATX - $120 |
Sound Card |
Sound
Blaster Live! Value OEM - $50
|
Speakers |
Cambridge SoundWorks Digital - $100
|
Ethernet |
Linksys
EtherFast 10/100 - $20
|
Hard Drive |
2
x IBM Deskstar 75GXP 15GB - $120 x 2
|
Hard Drive Controller |
N/A
|
CD-ROM |
Pioneer
DVD-105S 16X DVD - $150
|
CD-RW |
Plextor
Plexwriter 12/10/32 - $280
|
Bottom line |
$3830
|
Final Words
And that concludes our recommendations for high-end systems in the fourth edition of the AnandTech Buyer's Guide.
As always, we’re open to any suggestions you may have. Remember that these are merely recommendations for a few system configurations. We know a lot of you won’t agree with the exact components chosen here, and we expect that, so plan on tweaking things a bit to get the perfect system for your needs. When sending in suggestions, remember that all the components must be readily available in the market today in order to be considered for the Buyer’s Guide.