GeekLimit vs. ExtremeTech: $800 Gaming Machine

Posted by The Technocrat | Filed under Geeky, Hardware

Overclocking the 805 is fun, but if you want memory that can keep up, your cost will quickly go out of control. Luckily, as I described in my $1000 gaming machine article, the machine builds itself if we know what our limits are.

Processor and heatsink- $130 + $39

I need to beat a single-core 1.8Ghz with a 512GB L2 @ a FSB of 200×5, or 1000mhz. I’ll bring a dual-core Pentium D, overclocked to 3.6Ghz with 1GB L2 @ a FSB of 720mhz. While the bus speed is 25% lower than the A64′s, my CPU speed and L2 cache is double, very much worth it, especially since we’ve already stated that the HyperTransport protocol (1000mhz bus speed) really doesn’t affect a game’s frame rate anyway.

Since I’m overclocked, I’ll need a good aftermarket heatsink. I’ll go to my old friend, the Zalman CNPS-7700 series of CPU coolers, and pick up their copper-cored, aluminum-finned cooler.

Memory – $61

This P4 rig doesn’t have the benefit of on-CPU memory management, so I’ve got a bit of a delay to overcome, about 120ms or so. Since I’m going with an Intel board, I know I’ll have a memory multiplier of 3 or possibly 4 available to me. This being a budget system, I’ll assume I’ll go with 3, giving me a memory limit of DDR2-540 (actually, DDR2-533, since there is no 540) I’ll go with the pqi power series 2x512MB dual-channel kit. I’m still ahead, having my memory at DDR2-533, instead of DDR-400. One thing to note is that my CAS is at 4, while ExtremeTech’s is at 2.5. This may result in a slower machine, if I were using memory equal to their 1GB of DDR400, but I’m not…
Hard Drive – $88

A 7200 RPM SATA hard drive without Native Command Queueing is ok, but you can be sure that it’ll have a 8MB buffer. I’d rather go for NCQ and a 16MB buffer with less space. 3GB/sec would be nice too. They paid $69 for theirs – I’ll add an extra $19 and pick up a 250GB, 7200RPM Maxtor with a 16MB cache, 3GB/sec SATA and NCQ.

Motherboard – $87

I’ll take the latest chipset I can from one of my favorite manufacturers, ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. Plugging in my components so far, the boards come up featuring (from cheapest to more expensive) the 915P, 945PL, 945P, 945G, and nForce4 chipsets. All of these will support Gigabit Ethernet, but a quick check at Intel’s site says the 915P doesn’t have SATA 3GBps support. This leaves me with the next-cheapest board, a Gigabyte GA-8I945PL-G. It even comes with my 8-channel audio. Nice.

WinXP Pro SP2 – $142

Ouch. But worth it, compared to XP Home.

Case, fans and DVD-ROM drive – $51 +$4 + $19

All I need is a box with fans and something to read DVD’s. I like 120mm fans for their noise levels, so I’ll go with a moderately cheap case from Rosewill . Add in a couple more 120mm fans and a DVD-ROM from Lite-On. All that’s left of the graphics card…

Graphics Card – $174

With $174 left, I punch in my required spec’s for a video card – PCIe x16, at least 16 pipelines, at least 256MB @ at least 128-bit. Lucky me – I get a Sapphire Radeon X850XT, running at 520/1080mhz, with 256-bit 256MB memory over 16 pipelines, as opposed to 12.

Optical Mouse – $9

I’d prefer to get a great gaming mouse, but hey, I’d rather have the monster graphics card. Personal preference here… I’ll get a nice powmax one with a cooling fan in it for those long gaming sessions…I could instead go for a 5-button, 2 scroll-wheel AOpen one to map all my buttons to, also $9. Tough choice.

So what is the final cost?

$804, and much higher performance at nearly every level. The only categories that are close are:

  • case prettiness (I like mine better anyway)
  • memory (1 GB DDR400 vs. 1GB DDR2-533…but that’s not exactly close…)

Sorry guys, maybe you’ll get the next one… :-)

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Comments (14) | May 17th, 2006

14 Responses to “GeekLimit vs. ExtremeTech: $800 Gaming Machine”

  1. AtariBoy Says:
    May 17, 2006 at 1:30 pm

    Great article, shows what you can get if you shop around an know your stuff, I personally wouldnt like to put a strick limit on my buying of a gaming machine. I tend to go for quality.

    Cant beat a G5, Raid0 and a good set of headphones for a gaming PC

  2. iiq374 Says:
    May 18, 2006 at 7:07 pm

    Hmmm – I suppose you set the terms of the comparison but I think going with an overclocked processor might be cheating somewhat. If the audience is DIY computer hobbyist rather than computer enthusiast then the comparison is probably flawed.

    At the very least your downside should include: processor has warranty voided…

  3. The Technocrat Says:
    May 18, 2006 at 10:18 pm

    the way I look at it is the same as my college days on a budget:

    can’t afford real food, eat ramen
    can’t afford internet, borrow the school’s wifi
    can’t afford furniture, modify some milk crates
    can’t afford high performance, overclock it…

    as with most things, you have two choices, buy your way out or sweat your way out. The rules for the contest were laid out by them: $805 and from a retailer. I chose to sweat, they chose to buy. Not so much cheating as it is choosing what you’re willing to trade off… everyone has their own priorities…

  4. E@zyVG Says:
    May 19, 2006 at 6:14 am

    Interesting comparison.
    I am sorry Technocrat, but I am goign with AMD64 processor.

    OK here is what I think:
    1. I am quite sure that minimum I can get from AMD64 1.8Ghz when o/c is 2.6Ghz – aha, your CPU can’t beat that in gaming (maybe 1-3 games have support for multi-cores, and your extra L2 cache won’t help much. it actually never helped intel in last 2 years or so – beafing up L2)

    2. I don’t need SLI, nForce4 Ultra is enough – i save some $ here, for better CPU cooler

    3. CL2.5 on DDR400 is on par with CL4 DDR2-533 most of the time. Don’t compare DDR and DDR2 directly with Mhz! And with AMD’s memory controller – again plus for gaming

    4. Video – I agree with you. The only drawback is that there is no suppot for 3.0 pixels – again not much games use that, so cool.

    5. HDD – surely 16MB version
    6. Can I say I can get Windows for $3 – :)
    Ok, Ok …. I have one licensed from notebook, and since I don’t use it there and it’s removed, I can use the license on my box. Wow – I just saved another $100+

    If the step 6 is allowed, then I am changing my card from x850xt ro x1800GTO and by flashing and o/c I am getting somewhere close to x1800XT

    And Logitech Keyboard+Mouse with whatever money I am left with.
    Tthe rest I stick with you.

    So, what you say … :)

    P.S>> $800 is not enough actually, at least $1000 and on top of that I like to make decisions on hardware myself … so shut up both of you and ^%$## —————— joking joking

  5. GeekLimit vs. Tom's Hardware: $800 gaming machine at GeekLimit Says:
    June 13, 2006 at 12:08 pm

    [...] Yes, this is a lower price than my recent "GeekLimit vs. ExtremeTech: $800 Gaming Machine" article, but let's do a comparison between the box I built and the latest one from Toms, shall we? (GeekLimit still is dominating, IMHO) [...]

  6. rob Says:
    July 8, 2006 at 4:33 am

    no powersupply listed? does it come with the case? if so how many watts?

  7. The Technocrat Says:
    July 8, 2006 at 9:14 am

    check out the link to the case – 450W power supply included

  8. cardgames Says:
    September 9, 2006 at 2:18 am

    cardgames cardgames

  9. Grover Covelli Says:
    July 20, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    If the idiot above me wasnt such an idiot then they could have then they could have extended the life of their laptop by up to 50%. Better luck next time, go check out http://notebookcoolingpads.info they have all the info you could ever need and will probably end up saving you some money!

  10. Graphics Card Says:
    September 19, 2010 at 11:16 am

    I think that C64 is the best graphic card…

  11. car lemon law ky Says:
    September 24, 2010 at 3:29 am

    For you personally to obtain something you’ll have to have to show that the supplier knew that there was a dilemma aided by the motor vehicle.!!!…!..
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  12. Lorenza Murtaugh Says:
    October 22, 2010 at 9:07 am

    If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Very best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one particular sounds far better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.

  13. Hosting Discount Says:
    October 30, 2010 at 3:09 am

    I would have to state, you plucked ur words well. The information you gave are well placed.

  14. Gerald Litchfield Says:
    December 12, 2010 at 5:18 am

    i genuinely do need to get a new one

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