VALUE Doom 3: System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Sempron 3100+ Socket 754 OR AMD Athlon 64 2800+ Socket 754 Retail |
$120 ($147) |
| Motherboard | Chaintech VNF3-250(nForce3 250) Socket 754 | $83 |
| Memory | Kingmax SuperRam 512MB DDR433 (CAS 2.5) Model MPWC22D-38 (1x512MB) |
$84 |
| Video Card | 128MB NVidia 6800 | $278 |
| Monitor | Samsung 955DF (19") DynaFlat CRT | $206 |
| Computer Case | ENERMAX Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Case with 400W PSU, Model CS-EN5171LBFS-S ($56 Plus $16 Shipping) |
$72 |
| Sound Card | On-Board | $0 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z640 5.1 | $55 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital SE 80GB IDE 7200RPM (8MB Cache) OR WD 120GB IDE 7200RPM 8MB |
$60 ($83) |
| DVD/CD-RW | Aopen Chameleon (COM5232) 52X32X52X16 Combo OR NuTech DDW-081 8X DVD+/-R/RW |
$40 ($65) |
| Bottom Line | $998 ($1073) | |
Yes, you can put together a complete new system for playing Doom 3 for $1000. Please keep in mind that you will need to add a keyboard, mouse, Operating System, and a copy of Doom 3. Everything else you need is here, though, including a decent set of entry level Logitech 5.1 surround sound powered speakers.
While the system tab is just $998, there is nothing cheap about our Value Doom 3 system. It is based on the Doom 3 top-performing Athlon 64 chipset and includes the top Doom 3 6800 video card. Admittedly, we are using entry-level A64 processors, and the lowest member of the 6 series video cards, but neither of these choices will have to apologize. As it stands here, our entry Doom 3 system, with the $27 upgrade to the 2800+, will perform at about the level of a Pentium 4 3.4E or a 3.2EE when playing Doom 3. The 6800 will significantly outperform the 9800 PRO or 5900, and will perform at near the level of an ATI X800 XT Platinum during Doom 3 play. The 6800 also outperforms the more expensive 9800 XT and the nVidia 5950 by more than 75% in Doom 3.
All in all, that's pretty heady performance for a $1000 value system playing the hottest new game to appear in a very long time. We even included a new value RAM find in Kingmax DDR433 CAS 2.5 SuperRAM. This single 512MB module should allow you to do some experimenting with overclocking. At $84 for a 512MB DIMM, it is certainly a great value that also performs very well. The new Enermax case features an Aluminum front panel to provide a bit of style in a Value box and a 400-watt power supply to provide a little extra leeway for pushing the system or overclocking the 6800 video card.
We've had a lot of fun putting together Doom 3 week for you. We hope that you enjoyed what we found, and also had fun learning about what it takes to make Doom 3 roar. We also hope that you find something in the three Doom 3 systems that we've assembled to make your decisions about what to buy for Doom 3 a little easier.
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Wesley Fink - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#29 and #30 -For $750 (after you added the value motherboard you forgot) you have:
1) A Video Card that is half as fast as the $998 Value System when playing Doom 3
2) A CPU that is 40% slower than the $998 Value system in Doom 3
3) A 17" Monitor instead of a 19" Monitor
4) NO CD or DVD at all
So for $250 savings (25%) you end up with a system that is a cumulative 60% slower than our Doom 3 Value System when playing Doom - with a smaller monitor and NO CD/DVD. That doesn't sound like value to me.
Did you not see the CPU charts for Doom 3 that show the Athlon XP at the bottom of perfromance charts? http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?... I also wish it were not so, but wishing will not change the performance we actually measured.
pliers - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#29 link130 you also forgot to include a dvd or cdrw combo.link130 - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
oops, add $55 for a shuttle nforce2 ultra mboardlink130 - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
I agree with Avalon on the value pc. $1000 is ridiculous. For $1000 I can almost build a socket 939 3500+ system.This is My VALUE PC that can play doom3 at 10x7 high quality no problems
Total cost including shipping:
$690 - As built below
If I choose a 6800 instead of the 9800pro then just add $90 to run the game extremely well. Which is still FAR below the cost of $1000.
Bought mostly from newegg:
AMD AXP-M 2400+ @ 2.4ghz 1.7v - $77
Thermalright ALX-800 Heatsink + 80mm Fan - $21
Samsung 512mb 400mhz @ 2-3-3-7 - $83
WD 80gb 7200rpm 8mb IDE - $60
Powercolor 9800 Pro - $200
Thermaltake 420w PSU - $41
Logitech 640z 5.1 Speakers - $55
Aluminum ATX Case with 2 Fans - $35
XDS 17in X-Flat Monitor -$115
as you see, all my parts are good quality yet extremely cheap
link130 - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
Avalon - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
My mistake with the raptor drive. No need to point it out three times. I know perfectly well how to read, it's just a matter of remembering an older article.#26 - I can play it VERY well. Don't tell me I have to go buy a new $1000 system to play the game well, when my cheaper old rig does that already.
SKiller - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#20 The guide is for people who want their system to play D3 *well*. When you fork over the money for a whole new system just so you can play 1 game (and maybe future games with eqivalent or greater requirements), you don't want it to play just OK. You want that system to play it *well*. Anything less would be a big waste of money. If you can't sepnd $1K on such a system, then you can't play it *well*, you *may* be able to play it OK, but then this guide is not for you.Embryo - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
LOL!pliers - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#21 avalon if you had read the article correctly about raptor hds it was about using raptor hds in a raid-0 configuration on a desktop system not about using a single raptor hd on a desktop system. You must be reading this article wrong also [quote] We also used a 74GB 10,000RPM SATA hard drive for the fastest boot and Doom 3 load you can get short of high-end SCSI, plus a 250GB Hitachi with quiet fluid bearings to store the games, downloads, images, and add-ons that a hard-core gamer will accumulate. [/quote] Yes there is a mention of a raptor hd and another hd but just having two hard drives in a system doesnt qualify them as a raid-0 setup.ps: And if the main goal was just to be able to play doom3 im sure a review of a system with a 1.5ghz cpu, 384MB ram, a gefore 3, and a ata66 hd from 3-4 years ago could be mentioned but who wants to go out and buy that as your new "value" doom3 system?
Wesley Fink - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
The 6800 was selected for the Value System because it costs $278 vs. $200 for a 9800 PRO. That $78 buys you DOUBLE the performance at 1024x768 medium res in high quality - 80.1FPS vs.42.6. The 6800 also provides PLAYABLE frame rates at High res - something the 9800 PRO can not do.The two lowest priced cards to generate PLAYABLE (above 30FPS) rates at the low 640x480 resolution were the 9600XT and the 5700 Ultra. These cards are about 50% to 65% the price at $140 to $180. While they are playable at low res, moving to 1024x768 they drop to a barely playable 25.5 FPS - about 1/4 the performance of the 6800. If you need to save $100 to $140 on the value system price you could choose a 9600XT or 5700 Ultra and still play Doom 3 at 640x480 or 800x600 at playable rates.
In the end this is a Doom 3 Buyers Guide. We could try to sugar-coat the facts but would you really want us to? For a more traditional Value System you need to look at our Entry Level Buyers Guide.