Ars System Guide: December 2003 edition

Introduction

System recommendations are harder to do than most people think, but we’ve diligently worked to keep our guides up-to-date with the most mouth-watering hardware.

But reader beware: we’re not going to just choose the cheapest stuff or the best stuff and throw it together and call it a system (as many “recommenders” are wont to do). Rather, our guides are meant to reflect real world issues. For example, we’ll tally up prices for you based on what we glean from our own online comparison shopping engine, not vendors that we have special deals with, or even worse, MSRPs. Real-world prices, baby.

And, of course, this is Ars Technica. We are not concerned with what you should be buying your 500-person company for your next mass upgrade. These are the systems that we, your fellow enthusiasts, either have, plan to have, or would love desperately to have. :-) We know how you think, ’cause we think that way, too.

The criteria

Now, when recommending products, you’ve got to take two main factors into account: available funds and performance. Some lucky bastards have unlimited funds; some have to pinch every penny. Most of us are somewhere in between. So, when you say something is the “best thing out there,” it’s important to ask, “Best for whom?” In recognition of this fact, our recommendations come in the form of three hypothetical computers.

God Box

At the top, there’s the God Box. This is for the guy who has just won the lottery, or whose company is funding the purchase (same thing). Of course, this doesn’t imply adding stuff for the hell of it. Even on this spec, we don’t want to be wasting money. It will be, however, generally beyond the range of mere mortals.

Hot Rod

Next, there’s the Hot Rod. This one’s been juiced up, but with limited funds. Think of the auto hobbyist. He may not buy the fastest car out there, but he does the best he can with what he’s got. Likewise, the Hot Rod is going to be based on a price/performance ratio, a.k.a. best bang for the buck. It’s also going to be a system that almost anyone can build. Rather than cook up some mineral-oil soaked, refrigerator-powered machine, we’ve set out to bring power users systems that will rock without having to be tweaked to extremes. Extreme tweaking is cool, but it’s not the purpose of this recommendation.

Budget Box

If you’re trying to build on the cheap, we’ve got your answer: the Budget Box. This puppy is dedicated to finding the cheapest options possible while still giving you full functionality (for example, we might recommend a cheaper 2D/3D solution, but never an S3 Virge). The Budget Box may sound cheap, but it’s not. It’s simply inexpensive jet power.

So how do we define performance? Well, it depends on a lot of things, and can change from day to day. Benchmarks are important, but so are quality issues. Is the video crisp? Is the sound realistic? For each component, we’ll try to tell you what factors led to us choosing it. You may disagree. If so, we’d love to hear about it. Maybe you’ll even make us change our minds… Maybe. Keep an eye out to see what we put in these systems, and stop by often, ’cause they’ll be updated.

The Budget Box

All prices courtesy of Ars Shopping Engine, except where otherwise noted.

The Budget Box represents what the Ars Technica staff thinks is the current DIY sweet spot for low money/high performance in the hardware world. Although overclocking is always an option, this system’s specifications aren’t completely guided by the concerns of an overclocker. If you’ve got any suggestions, voice ’em in the OpenForum.

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Motherboard:

Shuttle AN35N

nForce is out. “What to replace it with” has been the question for a long time here at Ars. We choose to forgo onboard video in the nForce2 SPP due to our use of a separate graphics card in the Budget Box, but those who don’t need more 3D performance may want to choose an nForce2 IGP board instead.

We will use the integrated sound and ethernet provided by nForce2 boards. The Shuttle AN35N is a good example, including the full-fledged nForce2 Ultra400 chipset. MSI’s K7N2D-L is another excellent choice, as is the Asus A7N8X and Abit NF-7S.

Cost: US$55.12 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Processor:

AMD Athlon XP2500 OEM

This processor was in the Hot Rod a few short months ago, something we can scarcely believe. We probably even could have put the XP2500 in last edition’s Budget Box. Athlon XPs continue to decline in price, which means means no Durons in this update (unless you are extremely cost-concious).

For those who don’t need this level of performance, slower Athlon XPs such as the 2200+ are a somewhat better value. The XP2600+ is now available on the Barton core for just a few bucks more for those who seek additional performance, but it’s a very slight difference, and both should overclock nicely ? the 11×200 many XP2500s are capable of could mean 3200+ if you get lucky.

Cost: US$80 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

SVC GC69

Cheap, effective, and reasonably-low noise due to the use of a moderate-speed 80mm fan. Ideal for the Budget Box, especially at this price.

Cost: US$5.50 (12/01/2003) [Product Page]

RAM:

Two 256MB PC3200 DDR

Memory prices continue to fluctuate, with PC3200 and PC2700 price gaps shrinking dramatically, at least when checking prices on DealTime or Pricewatch. We use two 256MB sticks for optimal performance from our dual-channel DDR controller on the nForce2 Ultra400-based motherboard; two sticks so we can use both channels, with 512MB over 256MB for significantly enhanced usability.

Cost: US$52.99 each (US$105.98 total) (12/01/2003) [Buy from Crucial]

Video:

ATI Radeon 9100 128MB

ATI’s Radeon 9100 continues in the Budget Box. Seriously consider the Radeon 9600/9600 Pro or the nVidia Geforce4 Ti4200 for better performance. The current Budget Box + a 9600 Pro would be a formidable competitor to Hot Rods of just a year ago.

Those who don’t do anything 3D-related should stick with the on-board GF2MX-level graphics of the nForce chipset to save a considerable amount of money. An nForce2 IGP motherboard would be necessary for that, of course, such as the MSI K7N2G. For office work, the integrated graphics are an excellent solution at this price point.

Cost: US$72 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Sound:

None- nForce2 on-board

The price of nForce boards today makes this a no-brainer, especially given the features and quality. nForce2 sound in particular can be very good stuff, although you need to use the digital out to see the most benefit.

Cost: n/a

Communications:

US Robotics 56K V90 PCI

If you have high-speed internet access, you may wish to skip the modem recommendation entirely. For those who still need a modem, we recommend USR’s 5610A and 5610B “Peformance Pro” controller-based modems or the older 2976 and 2977 controller-based modems for compatibility and performance.

Cost: US$35 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Network card- none- on-board

The Shuttle AN35N has integrated 10/100 Ethernet on-board, which is adequate for the Budget Box.

Cost: n/a

Hard Drive:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB

Hard drives are all very close in price between 40GB and 120GB, and when sales and rebates are considered you may find that drives as large as 160GB are affordable.

We up the Budget Box to an 80GB drive due to the small price difference from a 60GB unit, although if you don’t need much space, feel free to buy what you need; just keep in mind that the GB per dollar value tends to suffer below 80GB.

Those who put performance above noise should consider Western Digital’s Special Edition drives or Hitachi’s Deskstar 7K250 series over the Seagate Barracuda 7200.7.

Cost: US$67 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

CD-RW:

Samsung SM-352BRNS

The price difference between CD-ROM, DVD, and CD-RW drives isn’t that big today. The most useful for most is a CD-RW, but reader feedback means we’re introducing DVD functionality in this update.

A plain CD-RW like the Lite-On LTR-52246S in the last update may be appropriate for those who don’t use DVD-ROMs, and if your goal is cheap, looking for hot deals from major retailers often nets US$10 or US$20 52x CD-RWs after rebate. Waiting for a sale and for a rebate check certainly isn’t ideal, but if price is a concern, such a deal may be worthwhile.

Those who feel separate DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives are a more desirable solution may want to look at the Pioneer 16x DVD units as well as the CD-RW of their choice. Pioneer and Toshiba remain top picks in DVD-ROMs while Plextor, Lite-On, Samsung, Teac, and others all produce solid CD-RWs.

Cost: US$58.82 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Case:

Antec SLK3700AMB

Mid-tower cases are generally the sweet spot for most systems, with ample expansion and decent cooling in today’s latest models. Many cut corners with cheap cases and cheap power supplies, which usually isn’t smart in the long run. A quality case such as the CasEdge LX734A, Chenbro PC-610, Fong Kai FK320, Evercase 4252, In-Win S508, Antec SLK2600AMB, or similar will have good cooling and a quality power supply, saving headaches in the future.

People usually argue for a more basic case in the Budget Box, but the cooling and quality of the SLK3700-series from Antec are a superb value at this price point. Many of the alternatives listed above are a little less intimidating than the SLK3700 in size and color.

Cases similar to the SLK3700, but without doors and in beige include the coolcases.com D8000. A more quiet version of the SLK3700AMB from Antec is the SLK3700BQE.

If you want a microATX case for a smaller box, the In-Win V500 is among many recommendations from Case and Cooling Forum members.

Cost: US$56.99 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Speakers:

Logitech Z-340

Speakers in this price range have been relatively uninteresting for a while, so the Logitech Z-340s remain in the Budget Box. The Altec Lansing ATP-3s are probably affordable now, and if you want surround sound the Logitech Z-560s are the next logical step up.

Cost: US$32.54 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Monitor:

NEC FE791SB 17″

17″ (16″ viewable), 1600×1200, 0.25mm. You can go cheaper, but your monitor is the thing you look at whenever you use your computer, which means a few more bucks here goes a long way. We’ve got a solid recommendation at a good price in the NEC, although the Samsung 700NF from previous editions is probably worth the US$40 extra if you can swing it for a 17″ tube. That US$40 more plus a little more money may make a 19″ unit such as the Samsung 955DF, 900NF, or NEC P95f+ affordable.

LCDs are reasonably affordable too, but they’re still out of the price range of the Budget Box unless you specifically want to blow US$300 and up on a good LCD. If your video card supports DVI out, you’ll probably want to take advantage of that as well, and that definitely means you won’t find an inexpensive LCD to use.

Cost: US$155 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Mouse:

Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse

Optical mice are downright cheap. Buy what you like, be it Microsoft, Logitech, or whoever else. We prefer Logitech, although Microsoft’s competitor Intellimouse is just as cheap. If you crave more buttons, higher-end mice from most companies including Microsoft and Logitech are readily available for more money.

Cost: US$15 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Keyboard:

Generic

As long as it’s comfortable to you, then it’s a keyboard that will work for you. While the cheapest price we found is listed, don’t be afraid to spend a little more. Logitech, Microsoft, and other name-brand units are a little more expensive if the generics don’t cater to your needs. Keep in mind the important nature of personal preference in this decision, and the fact that your keyboard is a critcal piece of your interface to your computer.

Cost: US$4.95 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Floppy:

Mitsumi 1.44MB

A floppy drive is still a basic tool for system construction, especially for pesky new pieces of hardware which aren’t supported by the bootable CD you’re using. Teac is another name brand we like, but in reality, a random pull from a vendor is likely to be a quality Sony, Teac, Mitsumi, or other unit.

Cost: US$6.95 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Total Price: US$757.84 + S&H (12/01/2003, no OS)

Recommended operating systems:

Windows XP Home, Windows 98SE, Linux, FreeBSD

We can recommend them all, because they’ll all run well on this box, but you don’t need them all!

Windows XP Home: Windows 2000 with a lot more glitz and a few improvements. Gaming support is further improved over Windows 2000, and while some quirks due to the high level of feature integration remain, XP Home is a choice many want to make.

Price: US$85 (12/01/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Windows 98SE: It’s a dated recommendation useful only for gaming, but there are those with their reasons for needing it. The elusive command-line boot disk without all the crap is one of them . . . and heck, some programs may not run on anything else. Like XP, 2k and NT, you’re best off buying it with some hardware.

Price: US$70 (12/01/2002) [Comparison shop for this item]

Linux: Any computer enthusiast worth his salt boots more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice for the budget box: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distributions and go nuts! Slackware, Debian, Suse, and Mandrake, try Linuxiso.org or Cheapbytes.com, or others.

Price: Free, or around US$50 for a prepackaged distribution like Debian’s (12/01/2003)

FreeBSD: probably better hardware support than other BSDs, which is important for us. Try FreeBSD.org or other sites such as BSDMall or FreeBSDMall to purchase FreeBSD, or FTP it from a site like FreeBSD.org’s FTP…

Price: Free, or around US$50 for a prepackaged distribution (12/01/2003)

The Hot Rod

All prices courtesy of Ars PriceGrabbing Engine, except where otherwise noted.

The Hot Rod represents what the Ars staff considers to be the current DIY sweet spot for a new boxen. The Hot Rod pulls up to ?ber-expensive yuppie-mobiles at traffic lights, and smokes ’em. If you’ve got any suggestions or complaints, voice ’em in the OpenForum.

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Motherboard:

Asus P4P800 Deluxe

The performance of the P4-2.4C makes it our choice this month, backed by its overclocking potential and the excellent performance of the i865 and i875 chipsets from Intel. Asus is one among many with excellent boards, so don’t overlook alternatives from other manufacturers.

AMD Athlon XP’s have excellent motherboards from Asus, Iwill, MSI, and others, on nForce2 and Via KT400 chipsets. Intel users get the i845 and i865 chipsets to play with, with dual channel DDR and other nifty features in the i865/ICH5 combo. Asus A7N8X-DLX, MSI K7N2Delta-ILSR, Epox EP-8RDA+ are among many good choices for those who wish to go AMD.

Cost: $123.50 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Processor:

Intel Pentium 4 2.4Ghz 800mhz

The overclocker in us wins this month. P4-2.4C (512KB, 800mhz FSB) is a solid recommendation for the Hot Rod, particularly when its overclocking potential is considered… A little luck, helped by good components, should give 3Ghz or greater for those who seek to overclock. The small price difference between OEM and retail chips means we’ll pick up the retail one and get the three year warranty and retail heatsink/fan.

For AMD fans, a Barton-core Athlon is no downgrade in performance, although it certainly is a different feeling for the overclockers out there. The 512KB cache and 333mhz FSB over the old 256KB and 266mhz FSB make a nice performance difference over Throughbred.

Cost: $168 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Thermalright SLK-947U w/92mm fan

Good cooling is important, as the Case and Cooling Fetish forum will remind you, but you could skip this recommendation and stick with the retail heatsink/fan to save a few bucks, especially if you’re not looking to overclock. Heatsink Factory, SV Compucycle, 2cooltek and plenty of others out there provide lots of choice when it comes time to buy a heatsink. Thermalright’s SLK-947U ought to be plenty of cooling, even with a relatively low-flow/low-noise 92mm fan.

Cost: $50 (9/15/2003) [Product Page]

RAM:

Two 512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM

Yes, quality RAM is important. With an overclocked AMD or P4 for us, PC3200 is easy to take advantage of… and is a necessity if you plan get the most out of your overclocked P4.

This update represents the affordability of 1GB of ram today. You could put just 512MB into the Hot Rod, but at this price point, why?

Cost: $92.99 each [$185.98 total] (9/15/2003) [Buy from Crucial]

Video:

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB

GeforceFX hasn’t turned out quite as we’d like, and the 9800Pro 256MB is just too expensive. The ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB happens to fit the bill for the Hot Rod, allowing the Hot Rod to deliver incredible performance for those with a bit of cash to spend–but who aren’t willing to bleed their wallets totally dry for the 256MB version.

Those who don’t game at all may find the Matrox Parhelia the card of choice for the ultimate in 2D with triplehead. Keep in mind that not all video card cooling fans are created equal: some brands may be quieter than others. In this case, the Radeon 9800Pro listed is Built By ATI, so everything should be top-quality.

Cost: $298 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Sound:

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

Creative’s Audigy, Terratec’s DMX 6fire, Turtle Beach’s Santa Cruz, Hercules’ Game Theatre XP, and others have livened the sound card arena in the last year. Terratec and M-Audio in particular have brought consumer soundcards much closer to pro-level quality, although their gaming prowess isn’t quite as good as their cheaper gaming-focused competition.

The TBSC is getting a little long in the tooth, but it remains an attractive soundcard. Serious consideration should also be given to the Creative Audigy2 if gaming is your focus.

Cost: $62.95 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Communications:

Network card – none (on-board)

Home networking is almost a given today among computer enthusiasts. High-speed internet access almost always requires a NIC of some sort. 10/100 ethernet is built into most enthusiast motherboards today, making a separate NIC redundant. Some boards even come with Gigabit ethernet on board, such as the Asus P4P800…

Wireless cards and access points are affordable and may be of interest to those with wireless devices, or those who simply don’t want to run wireless for their new home network. They’re not for everyone though and are not a part of the recommendation, but 802.11b may be worth considering for many. Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, and many others do 802.11b gear.

Cost: $NA (10/5/2003)

Hard Drive:

Western Digital WD1200JB 120GB

Storage Review’s current 7200rpm ATA drive favorite is one of the Western Digital Special Edition drives, specifically the WD2000JB. Its sibling, the WD1200JB, is this update’s pick for the Hot Rod. Blazing speed and performance, combined with an excellent price per gigabyte make this drive very attractive for the Hot Rod. SATA is not yet the recommendation in the Hot Rod, because it brings no appreciable performance advantage with it at this time.

Western Digital’s Raptor 10K RPM SATA unit is the top ATA performer, but it’s just too small for the Hot Rod until the 74GB version hits the market. A Raptor in conjunction with a larger 7200rpm unit for storage might appeal to many of you–make sure your motherboard supports SATA if you go this route.

Harddisk prices vary very little between 60GB and 120GB, so buy what you need, but keep in mind that the price per gigabyte often gets much better around 120GB or so. If you don’t like Western Digital, IBM’s Deskstar 180GXP is a somewhat better value with excellent performance, and Seagate’s Barracuda 7200.7 is always worth considering.

Cost: $95.99 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

DVD/CD-RW:

Pioneer DVR-106

DVD-writers are now affordable enough for the Hot Rod. Pioneer, NEC, Plextor, and Sony (have we forgotten anyone?) all have nice units out, with Plextor taking the lead with an 8x DVD-writer that unfortunately is just a little too expensive to include here. Pioneer’s 4x DVD-R/+R unit is substantially cheaper but still a nice unit, even if it can’t burn DVD-recordable at 8x… heck, nothing else besides the Plextor PX-708 burns DVDs at 8x!

Cost: $145 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Pioneer 16X DVD-ROM

It doesn’t cost much more than a CD-ROM, and you need a second drive for CD to CD copying. 40X CD performance isn’t a slouch either. You can get one in a slot load or a tray load version, take your pick.

Cost: $37 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Case:

Antec SLK3700AMB

Personal choice is probably the biggest consideration, here. The Hot Rod will fit into a tiny case with careful component selection, but we prefer something more substantial, like the Antec SLK3700AMB or coolcases D8000.

If you seek a case with even more serious cooling potential, try Addtronics’ 7896A, and for more exotic ones there’s the Lite-On FS020, Chenbro Genie, Lian-Li PC60 and Coolermaster ATC-201SX. Unfortunately, for these somewhat nicer cases, you will definitely find yourself paying more…

This is one area where the lines are fairly definite between size/capacity and price, with cases such as the In-Win S508, Antec Plus660, CasEdge LX734A, and other mid-towers around $60 with the quality 300watt power supply that the Hot Rod requires, while their larger cousins with more drive bays run around $100 or more. The SLK3700AMB is a rare exception to this rule, especially because of its excellent cooling which usually is not seen in cheaper cases.

Don’t forget a quality power supply. Bundled case/power supply combos often include quality power supplies already, such as the Antec 350watt unit with the SLK3700AMB.

Cost: $51.37 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Monitor:

NEC FE991SB

Audio/Visual forum members seem to be hot on LCDs today, but a 19″ CRT is a little more conventional and a little better for gaming, not to mention easier on the wallet than a 17″ 16ms LCD…

The NEC FE991SB, Viewsonic P95f+, and Samsung 900NF are all excellent choices in 19″ CRTs. For LCDs, the NEC 1760NX is a very nice 17″ 16ms unit.

Cost: $205.94 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Speakers:

Logitech Z-560 4.1

Listen to different speakers to see what’s out there. Logitech’s 4.1 setup is nice, but there are nicer out there if you have specific needs. Logitech’s 5.1 Z-68 or Klipsch’s Promedia 5.1 are higher-end choices if you demand 5.1 speakers.

If we had to go with a nicer 2 or 2.1 setup we’d switch our recommendation to the Diva M200’s or something else, perhaps from CSW…

Cost: $105.64 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Mouse:

Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse

Optical mice are affordable for everyone today. First and foremost, buy what you like! We stick with the de facto 2 button + wheel recommendation, in this case a Logitech, and leave the more capable mice out of the recommendation for the moment.

For fancier mice, the Logitech MX500 is a strong favorite among many readers, along with the MX700. The Microsoft Intellimouse 3.0A is a contender as well. Don’t forget about wireless mice and keyboards for those of you who want something a little different.

Cost: $15 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Keyboard:

Microsoft Natural Keyboard

Fight RSI with a keyboard that isn’t totally out of whack, like its Natural Keyboard Elite predecessor. The built-in USB hub is useful too, and some like the extra buttons on top. If you prefer, regular 104-key keyboards are still good too. Older “click” models such as the IBM Model M are favorites for many, while some of us prefer quiet units such as Dell’s Quietkey.

Cost: $21.50 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Floppy:

Teac 1.44MB

A floppy drive is still a basic tool for system construction, especially for pesky new pieces of hardware which aren’t supported by the bootable CD you’re using. A Teac is a name brand we like, but in reality, a random pull from a vendor is likely to be a quality Sony, Teac, Mitsumi, or other unit.

Cost: $6.99 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

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Total Price: $1572.86 + S&H (10/5/2003), w/o OS

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Recommended Operating Systems:

Windows XP Professional, Windows 98SE, Linux, FreeBSD

We can recommend them all, because they’ll all run well on this box (with the exceptions listed above). But you don’t need all of these!

Windows XP Professional: Windows 2000 with a lot more glitz and a few improvements. Gaming support is further improved over Windows 2000, and while some quirks due to the high level of feature integration remain, XP Professional is a choice many want to make.

Price: $128 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Windows 98SE: It’s a dated recommendation useful only for gaming, but there are those with their reasons for needing it. The elusive command-line boot disk without all the crap is one of them… and heck, some programs may not run on anything else. Like other Windows OSes, you’re best off buying it with some hardware.

Price: $69 (10/5/2003) [Comparison shop for this item] [Submit a review of this item]

Linux: Any computer enthusiast worth his salt boots more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice for the Hot Rod: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distributions and go nuts! Slackware, Debian, Red Hat, Suse and Mandrake, try Linuxiso.org or Cheapbytes.com, or others.

Price: Free, or around $50 for a prepackaged distribution (10/5/2003)

FreeBSD: probably better hardware support than other BSD’s, which is important for us. Try FreeBSD.org or other sites such as BSDMall or FreeBSDMall to purchase FreeBSD, or FTP it from a site like FreeBSD.org’s FTP…

Price: Free, or around $50 for a prepackaged distribution (10/5/2003)

The God Box

All prices courtesy of Ars Shopping Engine, except where otherwise noted.

The God Box represents what the Ars folk would buy if money were no obstacle, and x86 was still the platform du jour. Sure, some might argue that a God Box could only be accurately identified as a CAVE, but at Ars, for a box to be the pinnacle of power and wisdom, it needs balance and realism. If you’ve got any suggestions or complaints, voice ’em in the OpenForum.

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Motherboard:

Tyan Thunder K8W (S2885)

Opterons replace Xeons in this update of the System Guide. While we’re not entirely satisfied with the current Opteron chipsets and motherboards, the Tyan Thunder K8W looks to fulfill our feature and performance requirements. MSI and IWill solutions look good as well. AGP Pro, SATA, support for up to 16GB of RAM, onboard gigabit Ethernet . . .

For those who prefer Intel, the Xeon is still an excellent choice. Supermicro’s X5DA8 and Asus’s PC-DL Deluxe are both excellent choices, with Supermicro’s board being better-suited towards server markets and Asus’ i875 board better suited for the desktop.

Cost: US$454 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Processor:

2 x AMD Opteron 246

Going to Opteron 244s saves a considerable bit of money over the 246s, but if you’re building the God Box, you’re probably more interested in performance and are willing to splurge a little on your CPUs. That said, figure out your own personal needs for your God Box, and make your purchases accordingly.

We go with retail CPUs in this update; aftermarket solutions from Alpha, Zalman, and others are out there, but they’re a little hard to find at the moment. Those who choose to go Xeons have a somewhat better selection available . . .

Cost: US$802 each [US$1,604 total] (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

RAM:

4096MB ECC PC2700 DDR

Four 1GB modules. There’s no sense in restricting yourself to a mere 512MB or 1GB in the God Box. Recommending 4GB was very tempting. In fact, fitting up to 16GB on the Thunder K8W is possible with 2GB DIMMs. Make sure to buy compatible RAM for the motherboard, ideally from Tyan’s Memory Recommendation List.

Smart 1GB ECC sticks fit the bill this time, since Tyan’s recommendation list is a little scarce on 1GB PC2700 modules.

Cost: US$309.95 each [US$1239.80 total] (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Video:

ATI Radeon 9800XT

nVidia’s GeforceFX 5950 is a good solution, but the Radeon 9800XT is the best available right now. The 128MB version of the 9800 Pro is much cheaper, but at this price range, we demand the 256MB.

Those who don’t game much may find the Matrox Parhelia for 2D graphics and triple-head love. For those looking to make a true professional graphics workstation, a 3D Labs Wildcat 4 would probably be a better choice, at the expense of gaming performance. For those of you picking up a card capable of dual-head DVI use, make sure you pick up a dual link DVI to VGA adapter, as a dual link DVI cable is required for 1600×1200 operation on both outputs.

Sticking with the 9800XT ? if dual monitors aren’t enough, you may want to add a Matrox Parhelia PCI or something else to feed the extra monitors, or something more ordinary like a Matrox G450 PCI or ATI Radeon 7500.

Cost: US$458.50 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Sound:

M-Audio Revolution 7.1

For gamers, a Creative Audigy2 is probably a better choice. It’s got better gaming support and should give slightly better performance. The M-Audio does deliver higher quality sound through its analog outputs, although with a semi-pro/pro-level card in the God Box, the utility of this is somewhat limited.

As much as we like the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, it is getting old and is at a disadvantage versus newer competition from the Audigy2 and Revolution 7.1, to name but a few competitors.

Cost: US$90 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Terratec DMX 6 fire 2496

For something closer to professional level audio, there are cards from Echo, Terratec, M-Audio, and others. The Audio/Visual forum members like a number of cards, including this one. Cards like these usually don’t turn up on Pricewatch or Dealtime, but we know it’s widely available at places like audiomidi.com and JDSound.com. Even a few computing places carry high-end audio cards now, like Central Computer.

Cost: US$229 (12/1/2003)

Communications:

3Com 3C996B-T 10/100/1000 PCI

In the God Box, we expect nothing less than Gigabit Ethernet, and with multiple-channel Gigabit, we’re completely covered. High-speed internet, your internal network connection, the declining costs of Gigabit Ethernet equipment . . . dual-channel Ethernet is where it’s at.

Wireless solutions under 802.11g, Bluetooth, and other technologies may have their place in the God Box as well, but they are not yet must-haves for the God Box.

Cost: US$86 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

SCSI cards(s):

LSI Logic 21320-R

We need a quality SCSI controller capable of Ultra320 speeds for the God Box. Adaptec, Tekram, and LSI Logic are all competitive options. Dual Ultra320 channels should keep God Box users happy, although those whose focus is on a powerful disk system may wish to consider additional harddisks beyond our recommendation backed with a RAID controller such as the LSI Logic MegaRAID320-2.

Cost: US$248.51 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

LSI Logic LSIU40SEB

Finding Ultra320 controllers with separate channels to support narrow-SCSI devices (such as most optical drives) is possible, but a bit of a pain. LSI Logic’s UltraWide adapter fills this need very well. Adaptec’s infamous 2940UW is another excellent choice for this role.

Cost: US$36.92 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Hard drive(s):

Fujitsu MAS3735NP Ultra320 SCSI 68-pin LVD

Ultra320 (320MB/sec peak) interface, 15,000 RPM, 3.3ms seek, 8MB cache. Fujitsu’s new 15K drive is even faster than the competition from Seagate, Maxtor, and IBM, which means it’s a very fast drive standing at the top of a pile of already-impressive 15,000 rpm competition.

We await 4th-generation 15K drives from Seagate, but there’s no sign of them yet.

Cost: US$579 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Two Maxtor Atlas 10K IV 146.9GB 8B146L0

Ultra320 (320MB/sec peak) interface, 10,000 RPM, 8MB of cache for your data storage desires. For those who need the capacity, you can buy a few more and put them in a RAID array with a RAID controller such as the LSI Logic MegaRAID320-2, although at 146GB each, the capacity of even one of these drives is very respectable.

For greater, more economical, but slower storage, consider IDE RAID. 3ware PATA and SATA controllers with a collection of 250GB 7200rpm ATA drives are much cheaper, but the Other Hardware members shoot down IDE RAID every time it’s suggested for the God Box and we’re inclined to agree.

Cost: US$686 each (US$1372 total) (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Optical drives:

Plextor 40x SCSI CD-RW

SCSI is no longer stuck at 24x or 32x ? Plextor’s PXW-4012TS is finally here with 40x write speeds. It’s not quite as speedy as the Yamaha CRW-F1SZ (44x CD-R 24x CD-RW), but Plextor is unbeatable in terms of quality and durability, and their return to the SCSI CD-RW world has been eagerly awaited. DVD-writers make a CD-RW sort of unnecessary in some eyes, but we appreciate the quality and performance of this Plextor unit.

Cost: US$210.95 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Pioneer DVD-305S 10X SCSI

If you have any plans of making direct copies of CD-ROMs, you need a second drive. We’re trying to stay all SCSI (with 1 exception) this time around, and the Pioneer is the best you can get. Beware of DAE issues when extracting full CDs in burst mode, but there is no other alternative whose performance can equal the DVD-305S in all areas: data DVD, data CD, and audio CD.

Cost: US$138.55 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Plextor PX-708A

DVD-R/-RW, DVD+RW/+R, CD-R/RW… up to 8x write on DVD (+R only)… we’ve got everything we need here except a top CD-R speed, but for CD-R we’ll be using the dedicated CD-RW anyway. In the God Box, being able to write to DVDs isn’t a luxury, it’s a requirement.

Competing 8x units from Sony, Pioneer, and others have yet to arrive– we watch and wait, and wonder what new features they will bring.

Cost: US$202.99 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Other media:

Exabye VXA-2 Internal SCSI

80/160GB data backup, recommended by Other Hardware forum members. An affordable solution that’s big enough for the God Box’s 300GB+ still eludes us, so we’ll stick with the three SCSI drives and the Exabyte VXA-2 for backup in this installment of the GodBox.

The God Box really needs an autoloader to prw operly back up all of the data it can contain; if you do a massive IDE RAID in the God Box, it definitely needs an autoloader for proper backup. Unfortunately, be it VXA-2, AIT, DLT, or whatever modern backup solution there is out there, the autoloaders are still too expensive for a US$10,000 God Box.

Cost: US$867.34 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Case:

Lian-Li PC-71

A suitable case for the God Box never comes easy. You need superior cooling, capacity for drive expansion, along with construction, quality, and fit-and-finish worthy of the God Box. We have yet to find the ideal case.

For capacity and cooling, Chenbro’s NET and ECHO server cubes (especially modified from coolcases) are worth considering. There are a lot of cases out there to choose from, so don’t limit yourself! For a little more style, or more specialized needs that many have, a “generic” God Box case recomendation is extremely tough to make.

We move to the Lian-Li PC-71 because the PC-76 is now somewhat harder to find… while neither is an ideal solution (the Lian-Li PC-73SL looks good though, but it still lacks 120mm fan mounts!), they work pretty well, and shiny aluminum is a rare indulgence to our vanity. Also, it’s not too massive, like some of our other favorites, so it’s a safe choice!

Keep in mind that on non-beige (or non-black, depending on your accessories) cases without doors, you may wish to paint your drives to match the case color, if vanity demands it, anyway. Drive stealthing and other options abound. Try the Case and Cooling forum for lots of options and examples on what to do and what’s been done.

Cost: US$180 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item (Pricewatch)]

6 Panaflo 80mm L1A case fans

For low noise, the Case and Cooling Forum guys say you’ll want to swap out the provided fans for Panaflo L1As or other quiet fans; common specs for the 80mm square x 25mm thick case fan in a low-noise flavor are around 18~26CFM at around 24dBA typical. Panaflo, NMB, Vantec, Sanyo-Denki, PC Power and Cooling, Papst, and many others are out there.

Allelectronics, BGmicro, MPJA, 2cooltek, Directron, Coolcases, and many others carry Panaflo fans.

Cost: US$5 (US$30 total) (12/1/2003) [Product Page]

Case accessories:

Assorted rounded cables from 2cooltek, Sidewinder, SV Compucycle, or others. Round floppy, round IDE, 50-wire SCSI and 68-wire SCSI cables- one of each in the longest size needed for the monster PC-71 for the essential case detailing.

Cost: US$1.55 + US$2.45 + US$19.98 + US$19.98 + US$15.00 Silver floppy/silver 24″ ATA133/two 4-device 68-wire SCSI+terminator/4-device 50-wire SCSI (12/1/2003)

Fan controllers are definitely luxury items you could easily omit, simplify (with a normal FanBus), or increase in complexity! Zalman, Coolermaster, Vantec, and a few other major names now make fancy units in addition to the less-flashy stuff from PCMods and many others.

The Case and Cooling forum would be happy to tell you what else they might recommend instead of something as pedestrian as a premade device, too.

Cost: US$28.99 (12/1/2003) [Product Page]

Power supply:

PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 XE/ATX12V

The God Box needs lots of power, and up in this range, not many companies deliver. Antec’s newly released TruePower line have been very good, and PC Power and Cooling is always a favorite if you don’t care about noise. Check the specs on the Turbo-Cool 510 XE, though. You’ll be impressed how powerful it is. We could go redundant in the God Box, but strictly speaking it’s not necessary, although Zippy/Emacs N+1 redundant units are very, very nice.

Cost: US$199 (12/1/2003) [Product Page]

APC Smart-UPS 1500VA

Power protection with a true line-interactive UPS- none of the cheaper automatic-voltage-regulation-only stuff in the God Box. Sine wave output to keep sensitive components happy and enough capacity to handle LOTS of expansion. Keep your God Box protected, from the box itself to the monitor to, well, almost everything else attached to the God Box (except a laser printer!) on a UPS this large.

Belkin, TrippLite, and others make excellent units as well. TrippLite in particular may be a better value, but for now we’ll stick with APC.

Cost: US$494.94 (12/1/2003) [Comparison shop for this item]

Monitor:

Two Dell 2000FP 20″ LCD

Dell’s 2000FP is back after a short stint for the Viewsonic VP210M (we couldn’t find the Dells available during the last update). They’re back this time around, and people have requested their return. Three LCDs for triple-head action sure is tempting, but we’ll stick with dual in this setup. The Dell 2001FP and a whole host of 20″ 16ms response time LCDs are on the way, dragging down price on older 20″ units such as the 2000FP. We seriously advise you get a look at one of these new 20″ 16ms units before plunking down your cash on the somewhat older Dell 2000FP, Samsung 213T, etc. as everything we’ve heard says that these new units are worthwhile successors and more.

23″ LCDs such as the Apple 23″ Cinema Display and the Viewsonic’s 23″ VP230MB LCD are very tempting but at more than double the price of a 20″ unit, buying two or three 23″ units becomes a very expensive proposition.

Gamers may wish to consider CRTs instead LCDs, such as the NEC Mitsubishi DiamondPro 2070SB (in black!), Sony GDM-FW900, Sony G520, Samsung 1200NF, etc. Don’t limit yourself to LCDs ? buy what suits your needs best!

Cost: US$824.25 each [US$1648.50 total] (12/1/2003) [Product Page]

Speakers:

Logitech Z680

Extensive discussion in the Audio/Visual forum brought models from Klipsch, Logitech, Videologic (Digitheatre DTS), and Boston Acoustics (BA-7800) into consideration. Logitech’s Z-680 and Klipsch’s Promedia 5.1s are both standout choices, we make our pick the Z-680 this time around for outstanding performance and features. For those of you who don’t need or want a 5.1 setup, the Diva M-200’s are an excellent choice that seem to stand out among other 2 speaker setups.

If you’re spending this much money on a computer, you probably want something more elaborate in the form of a real home theater setup. We don’t feel qualified to give such a recommendation, although our Audio/Visual forum members would be glad to help.