Weekly Buyer's Guide: High End System - April 2004
by Evan Lieb on April 30, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Networking
Recommendation: Onboard networkingPrice: $0
Nothing more than onboard networking is needed for a high end system like the one we're building today. However, a nice additional feature that the ABIT IC7-G brings (in case you want to purchase our alternative) in terms of networking is its onboard Intel PRO/1000 CSA Gigabit controller, capable of 10/100/1000 transfer speeds. This isn't going to change the speed of your experience on the Internet, but Gigabit is very useful for transferring large amounts of data to and from multiple networked computers in, for example, an office or within a family of computers. Some will find the addition of Gigabit very useful for this purpose, while most will just stick to utilizing just the 10/100 capability.
Storage
Recommendation: Western Digital 1200JB (120GB) 7200RPM (8MB cache)Price: $88 shipped
While WD's Caviar series of IDE hard drives (their BB and JB series) aren't as fast as their Raptor counterparts, they offer plenty more storage and are quite fast in their own right, considering their 8MB buffer and 7200RPM spindle speed. Anyway, this type of additional capacity can be exceedingly useful if you're someone that stores an endless number of emails in Outlook, plays lots of games, listens to lots of MP3's, or simply needs additional space for the future 12 or more months down the road. Be wary of WD drives that emit the infamous "WD whine" that continues to annoy users to this day. Depending on your vendor, you may be able to return your drive for a quieter version if you receive one that whines consistently.
Alternative: Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000RPM SATA
Price: $214 shipped
74GB WD Raptor drives have stayed virtually the same in price since one month ago. The previous month, the 74GB Raptors had dropped in price about 6%. Anyway, the 74GB Raptor is the faster version of WD's 36.7GB Raptor, outfitted with the same 8MB buffer and 10,000RPM spindle that we looked at about a year ago here. Besides the difference in performance, this Raptor still has the same 5-year warranty and outputs just about the same amount of noise. Previously, 10,000RPM speeds or a 5-year warranty were features only found on enterprise/SCSI drives, but thanks to WD, they have finally reached the mainstream desktop, more or less. The only "problem" with Raptor drives is that they just don't store a lot of data, with only 36.7GB and 74GB versions of the Raptor currently available. If you can't live with a 36.7GB or 74GB drive, then we suggest that you simply skip this alternative and stick with the recommended 1200JB. But that's only if storage capacity is very important to you.
Optical Storage
Recommendation: NEC 2500A 8X DVD+/-RWPrice: $84 shipped
One of the best "bargain" DVD burners currently available is, without a doubt, NEC's 2500A. NEC's 2500A is probably one of the best bang-for-the-buck high end DVD burners that you'll find on the market today, without spending over $100. It's able to play and burn just about every DVD/CD out there, and up to 8X DVD+/-RW to boot. You won't be seeing higher end DVD burners for quite some time (read: mid-summer), so this drive will last you many, many months.
Listed below is part of our RealTime pricing engine, which lists the lowest prices available on storage from many different reputable vendors:
If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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Fr0zeN - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
Yeah I just hooked up raid0 on my IDE's and instead of scoring 41mb/s on Sandra, I score 55mb/s haha... I notice like no difference.Mushkin Level Ones are disappearing fast, and can't be had for that cheap anymore. As for OCZ Revision 2, OCZ has officially discontinued the product for MONTHS, you can still find 256mb sticks but 512mb sticks? In your dreams. If you're in the market for obsolete RAM, might as well auction for pc3500 level 2 mushkins off Ebay while you're at it. Looks like if you want to build this system you're on your own when it comes to RAM.
mino - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
#10 Exactcly, New raptor is Gorgoeus, take note I DON'T like WD, but this product has no match yet, exactly as 7k400 doesnn't have :)Rekonn - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
#7, While raid 0 does improve performance, it's doesn't do it by 40% in general. Typical improvement is more like 10%, seehttp://faq.storagereview.com/tiki-index.php?page=S...
If you have extra $$ you're better off getting the raptor than going raid0 with two 7200rpm drives.
mino - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
Yes, It does have.However:
1) 3400+ should be FX-53, since next year there will be dual-core Opteron !!! Great upgrade option!
2) WD 1200JB is pretty shitty drive(buggy, NOISY, slow), 1x Raptor system + 1xHitachi 7k400 400G for storage
3) MSI Main ?? It is a Joke, I hope ! It's like recommending ECS to server :)
And overal I mean that You should extend 4 guides systems to 5 or 6:
Allways reliability is first but second is:
1.) <$400 Low End -> price
2.) <$800 Mid Range ->price/perf ratio
3.) <$2000 High End ->performance, price/perf (3200+ wil suffice)
4.) <$5000 Enthusiast ->performance (FX-53 is a MUST)
5.) <$600 Low End overclock ->price/perf after overclock
6.) <$1500 High End overclock ->price/perf after overclock
When last 6th guide is only as an option an both 5th and 6th are now well enough represented by Overclock system guide.
You will also get one week + time distance in between guides what proves to me to be pretty neccesary after some full cycles of guides since You usually doesn't have what to change.
Tokat - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
Whoops! Sorry, i'm new to this forum stuff here! Hey everybody. I just wanted to say that I agree with the stuff about the quicker raptors, and since the recommended motherboard has SATA RAID onboard, why not make it 2xRaptors? That'd be great performance and enough space!... as for somebody talking about 2x1200JB drives in raid mode... does this mobo have IDE RAID??Pjotr - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
I agree with 6, dual 120 GB S-ATA drives are so cheap today, you get in general 40 % performance increase on the slowest part of your system.nigham - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
In my experience, getting two harddisks in a RAID array increases performance much more than say, going from a 2.8 GHz to a 3.4 GHz processor, especially for desktop applications. Why not recommend a RAID array for the "high-end" user?GokieKS - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
I have to second the comment about the case. For a system of this stature, a better case is very much warranted. Heck, I personally think even the Kingwin KT-424 is a better case than the K11 (I hate the acrylic front), and that's about the same price. Beyond that, I think the CoolerMasters and Silverstones are worth the increased cost. Even the SST-TJ03 Nimiz wouldn't be out of place. Sure, $270 more (much more) than what most people would spend on a case, but it's such a well-built case with great features (not that you need the Extended ATX support...) that it's warranted for a high-end system.TrueWisdom - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
One thing that has always shocked me is the lack of emphasis put on the hard drive, especially in this latest "High End System" guide. The Western Digital Raptor is the single fastest desktop-oriented hard drive on the market: in single-user scenarios, it is neck-and-neck (and often outperforms!) 15K U320 SCSI drives. I've built computers with a spectrum of hard drives, from 5400RPM 2MB to the Raptor itself, and as far as speed goes, it's like comparing a GeforceMX 200 to a Radeon 9800XT: the difference really is that dramatic. Not even the Special Edition WD drives can hold a candle to the Raptor, and in a high-end system, you can't ignore something like that. Furthermore, the noise difference between the 1st gen (36GB) and 2nd gen (74GB) Raptors is very noticeable. While I understand the desire to keep costs down, please realize that you are sacrificing more than "just a little" performance when you pass over the 74GB Raptor. For verification of everything I've said, go to www.storagereview.com. They have in-depth benchmarks of basically every notable hard drive released in the past 5 years, and then you'll see how badly other desktop drives are outclassed by the Raptor.Mackintire - Friday, April 30, 2004 - link
I can not fathom the idea of using a Western Digital 1200JB (120G) anymore. Having experienced Seagate's 7200.7 FDB serial ATA (120G) hard drive it is plain and simply no contest. The Seagate drive is faster, quieter, more reliable, runs cooler, and has a higher sustained transfer rate.I build near 30 computers a month, and since I have switched to Seagate's hard drives with FDB I have not had a single return due to bearing noise. I had a 3 out of 10 western digital drive bearing failure rate.
Mackintire