Video Card
To some degree, the onboard graphics capabilities of the GF8200 and 780G would have sufficed for the majority of our needs. However, I like to play RTS or Racing/Flight Simulation games when time is available (wishful thinking actually) and my daughter is a big Sims 2, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, and World of WarCraft fan. The capabilities of the 780G and GF8200 allow these games to perform reasonably well in resolutions up to 1280x1024 depending on quality settings, but we wanted to stick with the native 1920x1200 LCD resolution where possible so a discrete card is mandatory.
Since the games we play are not as graphically demanding as current FPS titles, we have some latitude in our selections. The first GPU that popped into my mind is NVIDIA's 9600GT. This chipset offers excellent performance for the price and has the HD display output capabilities we both need. The AMD HD 3850 was also a logical choice, especially with the budgetary requirements. However, not being logical at times can pay off. Considering the fact that I would like to get a good two years out of our GPU selection, it was time to move up market for something a little more powerful but a choice that would not break the bank.
I might have OCD, but in my experiences, keeping the same chipset manufacturer for both the motherboard and GPU seems to reduce the number of variables to diagnose when something goes wrong. In addition, at least subjectively, performance always seems a little better if it is an NVIDIA GPU on a NVIDIA board and the same with AMD.
With that thinking in mind, I decided to go for an HD 3870 card for my 780G machine. We have used the MSI, ASUS, and Gigabyte cards extensively in the labs and any one of them is an excellent choice. At any time, you can find several HD 3870 cards on sale for $149~$159 from various manufacturers. Knowing how cramped our case is and subject to increased thermals with our component loads, I decided on the Sapphire Toxic Radeon HD 3870 card as it runs about 5C cooler than other cards and it features a single-slot cooling design that is a requirement. The price of $159.99 after rebate was a little higher than the budget allowed, but by this time you have figured out the budget is flexible - at least until the Visa bill arrives.
For the GF8200 board in my daughter's system, I really debated whether to go the 9600 GT or 8800GS route, but knowing Spore and Sims 3 is on the horizon it appeared a little more power would provide some safety. So I decided on the 8800GT 512MB and like the AMD cards, there are numerous cards on sale at various times ranging from $150~$170 range. In the end, it came down to the MSI NX8800GT 512M OC at $159.99 or the Zotac 8800GT AMP! at $154.99 after rebates. The MSI card runs the core GPU clock at 660MHz and the Zotac at 700MHz, both guaranteed clocks above the 600MHz standard, which is nice to know that the supplier is promising an overclock without repercussions. Besides the slightly better price, the Zotac card had one large advantage: a single-slot cooler design, which is perfect for our uATX case.
I have to say I am very impressed with both video cards, from not only a design viewpoint but also looking at performance in our primary applications. However, the games I play benefit greatly from anti-aliasing and the HD 3870 suffers in this area when compared to the 8800GT. I knew that going in and it was the primary reason I wanted the GF8200/8800GT combination. I simply could have bought another 8800GT from Zotac and used it on the AMD board without problems, but between the OCD and balancing funds to each competitor, I decided to let my fondness for music make the decision. I will explain why in the audio section.
When it comes right down to it, the HD 3870 even with AA/AF enabled still provides very good performance for my needs. In addition, I still think AMD has a slight edge in Vista driver compatibility and desktop screen quality after comparing the two systems. Zotac includes an extensive accessory package along with a solid design that just gives you a secure feeling about the product and that the company backing it knows what the customer wants. The Sapphire package and product design also gives you that same sense of security and the card just looks right in the system, what little of it you can see.
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jay401 - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Gary - where can I read more about this card being cancelled? I wasn't aware it was cancelled and didn't see any news to that effect anywhere but sure enough it's no longer listed on Auzentech's products page. Thanks.Badkarma - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Hi Gary,Have you heard anything from Nvidia as to why 5.1 LPCM via HDMI has been removed? Also, have you seen the posts on AVS stating that a Phenom is required to get BD playback? Do you know if Nvidia will be updating their drivers to allow X2 cpu's to playback properly?
Thanks.
royalcrown - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Nice build, but I think you should have shopped more carefully for your video cards...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...turesmx-...
I got this ECS 8800 gts for 159.00 ( I asked for $10 off because it went up by ten.)
It would give you an average of 10 percent over the 8800gt for free and dump the heat outside the case, so maybe cooler even; most certainly it would kick the crap out of that radeon.
Don't be in a hurry next time when you buy video cards ;)
FYI- I am running mine on a 450 watt kingwin w no probs...
masouth - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Do people bother to actually READ these articles before posting?This looks like a great deal but it seems fairly clear to me that he wants a single slot cooler.
FITCamaro - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
I just bought two of those cards for my system. Terrific value at that price. I replaced the cooler though with a Accelero S1 Rev. 2 w/ the turbo fan. Extremely quiet. Haven't seen temps yet though cause I only just got Vista loaded late last night. I was going for a near silent gaming system. Went with those coolers, a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, and 4 16db 54cfm 120mm fans(3 case, 1 cpu cooler). With the case open I barely hear everything.autoboy - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
My favorite cheap cooler is the Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 (or 64 if you want a 3 pin fan). You can find it for around $10-$13, and it is much quieter than the stock fans you get with the processor. They are not the greatest coolers for high heat processors, but for anything less than 65W with some fan control they are inaudible even in completely silent computers. I use them in all my regular builds except for my gaming rigs that see overclocking. I cannot recommend them enough and everyone that uses them (in 65W and lower rigs) loves them. I put one on a 95W Athlon at one time, and while the fan had to ramp up to where you could hear it, it was still much quieter than stock coolers and cooled the processor enough to keep it under 60C which is my cutoff.bauser - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Interesting read, especially because I just built 3 mATX systems in a row. Total cost varied from $800 to $1000 CDN for each system. The tradeoff for the lower end system was the lack of a video card and sound card. Some savings were offset by the need for keyboard/mouse (at this price range 20 bucks makes a big difference).Your findings highlight that sacrifices must be made to save money. In this price range, every decision you make will have a cost/benefit consideration. Personally, I'd sacrifice the sound card and 5.1 speaker system and spend the extra dough on a better processor (E8400, Q6600) and motherboard. I'd also go for an 8800GT over the ATI. Good stuff, looking forward to part 2.
BPB - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
"I had bought new monitors for each of us last year so that major expense was out of the way. We both upgraded from first generation Acer 22" LCD panels (Ed: wonder what the parents will get for Christmas this year…) to the Gateway 24" FHD2400 we recently reviewed. I ended up purchasing a couple of under 30 day open box returns for $279 each, a major expense yes, but about $200 less than street price along with a new warranty."How the heck did you get two open box Gateways? I'd love to do the same.
poohbear - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
the AMD 4850E is relatively overclockable compared to a e7200? it wouldn't provide anywhere near the same overclock as an e7200. just fyi.Lightingguy - Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - link
Good article! But as a builder of mid-range systems for friends and family, I've got to point out that your budgets/actual expenses don't include entries for the OS. While I'm sure that you can get a good deal given your connections, that is a major budget item for those of us out here who don't want to use a Linux release.