Computer Tech: Final
I originally was going to do a multipart series on the latest computer technology but decided to just sum up my thoughts in one update. Reason being is that you really can't separate different components in the same generation. They tend to go hand in hand.
For example, Intel's latest 9xx series motherboard chipsets all support the very latest DDR2 memory, SATA hard drives, LGA775 processors using the latest 90nm technology and PCI Express video cards. This is bleeding edge stuff and on paper looks a lot better than the "old" 8xx series chipset which only supports AGP 8X video cards, mPGA478 processors (based on 130nm technology) and regular DDR memory.
AMD based systems have similar characteristics. The "legacy" systems support 130nm processors and AGP 8X video cards while the latest chipsets from NVIDIA (nForce 4) support 90nm processors, PCI Express video cards (even with dual PCIe support) and the fastest 3Gb/s SATA hard drives.
Since I plan to build a new system from scratch without using any components from my old system (other than my legacy ATA hard drive) I immediately thought of going with the latest and greatest. So I did my usual internet based research on prices and performance. It turns out that currently there isn't much of a performance difference between the "old" tech and the new. If fact in some cases like DDR vs. DDR2 memory for example, the latest DDR2 performed worse than DDR because of high latency issues. Other technologies like PCI Express video cards are superior on paper but perform no better than their AGP 8X counterparts. Nonetheless for a brand new system I still didn't see any reason to go with the older tech especially since upgrading in the future will be easier if you have the latest standards.
After more research I decided to go with an AMD Athlon 64 based system because it is the highest performing processor when it comes to game playing. Currently Intel can't match it on performance unless you choose the super expensive Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processors which currently runs between $900 - $1000 for each CPU.
For the motherboard chipset I decided to go with the NVIDIA nForce 4 because it supports all the latest technologies for a reasonable price. The only remaining issue I had was with availability, not just with the motherboards themselves (which are rumored to hit retail in December) but with high end PCI Express video cards. It seems like both ATI and NVIDIA are having serious yield problems with the high end cards so they only seem to produce the mid to low end PCI Express units. This means that I may have to wait until January for my dream system. This article from GamePC describes the card that I'm looking for, the PCI Express version of the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT. It seems to offer great performance for the money with the type of games I want to play (Doom 3, Half Life 2 and Far Cry).
Hopefully by this Christmas I will have the makings for one killer system. I've waited this long, what's another month or two?
For example, Intel's latest 9xx series motherboard chipsets all support the very latest DDR2 memory, SATA hard drives, LGA775 processors using the latest 90nm technology and PCI Express video cards. This is bleeding edge stuff and on paper looks a lot better than the "old" 8xx series chipset which only supports AGP 8X video cards, mPGA478 processors (based on 130nm technology) and regular DDR memory.
AMD based systems have similar characteristics. The "legacy" systems support 130nm processors and AGP 8X video cards while the latest chipsets from NVIDIA (nForce 4) support 90nm processors, PCI Express video cards (even with dual PCIe support) and the fastest 3Gb/s SATA hard drives.
Since I plan to build a new system from scratch without using any components from my old system (other than my legacy ATA hard drive) I immediately thought of going with the latest and greatest. So I did my usual internet based research on prices and performance. It turns out that currently there isn't much of a performance difference between the "old" tech and the new. If fact in some cases like DDR vs. DDR2 memory for example, the latest DDR2 performed worse than DDR because of high latency issues. Other technologies like PCI Express video cards are superior on paper but perform no better than their AGP 8X counterparts. Nonetheless for a brand new system I still didn't see any reason to go with the older tech especially since upgrading in the future will be easier if you have the latest standards.
After more research I decided to go with an AMD Athlon 64 based system because it is the highest performing processor when it comes to game playing. Currently Intel can't match it on performance unless you choose the super expensive Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processors which currently runs between $900 - $1000 for each CPU.
For the motherboard chipset I decided to go with the NVIDIA nForce 4 because it supports all the latest technologies for a reasonable price. The only remaining issue I had was with availability, not just with the motherboards themselves (which are rumored to hit retail in December) but with high end PCI Express video cards. It seems like both ATI and NVIDIA are having serious yield problems with the high end cards so they only seem to produce the mid to low end PCI Express units. This means that I may have to wait until January for my dream system. This article from GamePC describes the card that I'm looking for, the PCI Express version of the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT. It seems to offer great performance for the money with the type of games I want to play (Doom 3, Half Life 2 and Far Cry).
Hopefully by this Christmas I will have the makings for one killer system. I've waited this long, what's another month or two?
posted by Marcos at November 23, 2004
1 Comments:
For the record Mark, I didn't realize you created another blog until I got home tonight! Once I saw the new post I knew that we were both referring to the same GamePC article.
While I agree that this is the ideal card for both of us, I don't agree on the price gouging as shown here. As every graphic enthusiast knows, the 6800 GT should have a MSRP of $399. The 6800 Ultra should be $499. But $495? Don't tell me because it's a PCIe card. THe interface should make no difference in the price. Another example of the customer getting screwed by over-promises and paper launches. :(
Post a Comment
<< Home