MAINSTREAM Doom 3: System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon 64 3400+ (Socket 754) Retail | $290 |
| Motherboard | MSI K8N Neo (nForce3-250Gb) Socket 754 | $123 |
| Memory | 1GB (2 X 512MB) Crucial PC3200 Ballistix | $267 |
| Video Card | 256MB nVidia 6800 GT | $389 |
| Monitor | PHILIPS 201B45 21" CRT Monitor | $389 |
| Computer Case | IN WIN Black/Silver ATX Mid Tower Prescott CAG 1.1 with 430W Power Supply, Model S564T.430BFD2BDA ($69 plus $19 Shipping) |
$88 |
| Sound Card | On-Board | $0 |
| Speakers | Logitech Z-5300 5.1 THX Certified Speaker System | $143 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100/1000 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate 200GB 7200RPM SATA (8Mb) (STORAGE) | $131 |
| DVD/CD-RW | Lite-On 12X DVD±RW Drive, Model SOHW-1213S | $75 |
| Bottom Line | $1895 | |
Our selections for the Mainstream Doom 3 system total a much more mainstream $1895. They include one of the fastest Athlon 64 processors in the 3400+ and a motherboard that will provide all of the unique nForce3 features. The system also includes the best-buy nVidia 6800 GT, which is basically the same card as the 6800 Ultra at a lower clock. Sound is still excellent, with the proven Logitech Z-5300 THX Certified 5.1 surround system. We have actually been playing Doom 3 with this speaker system running off an on-board ALC850, and we don't think that you will be disappointed with Doom 3 in this setup.
Also upgraded is the DVD burner, to a 12X model, and the memory is the Crucial Ballistix, which proved to provide 2-2-2 performance at DDR400 on an Athlon 64 board, as well as overclocking capabilities to DDR500+. You can check out how the Crucial performed in our recent =F-A-S-T= DDR Memory: 2-2-2 Roars on the Scene. A Doom 3 system also deserves all the monitor that you can give it, so we opted for a good value 21" flatscreen CRT. With the richness of detail in Doom 3, you will appreciate every extra square inch of a 21" CRT.
Because this system almost says "Please overclock me", we upgraded the Case and power supply to a new Inwin case designed to feed and cool a Prescott system with a decent 430 watt power supply. The use of large fans and the attention to details in the Inwin case will please many of you.
The Mainstream Doom 3 system is well-balanced to deliver the best Doom 3 experience for the money, which spells value. If $1895 is still a bit much, you can certainly drop to a 3200+ or 3000+ and save $70 to $115. The monitor can also be down-sized to 19" to save another $200. Substituting a 3000+ and 19" monitor drop the total to $1580. You can also go with the cheaper Logitech 5.1 speakers used in our Value Doom 3 system and save another $90, which still keeps the 5.1 speaker setup that Doom 3 supports. This gets the Mainstream total to $1490. Below this point, you should really take a look at the Value Doom 3 system.
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Wesley Fink - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
#21 - A recent storage article said there was no need for RAID on the desktop. It did not say there was no need for Raptors. In fact the title of the first article using the new storage benchmarks was "WD Raptors vs. the World"Avalon - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
On another note, you just had an article a while ago saying that there are no need for Raptor HD's on a desktop system, yet you recommend it for the performance segment. May I ask why we should waste $175 on this drive when you yourselves said we had no need for it? Especially if the main goal of this rig is just to play Doom 3.Avalon - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
I'm most definitely complaining about value, not crap. Mainstream Doom 3, while higher than general, is definitely not that freaking high. Who would buy a Dell for a GAMING system? This guide is for those who BUILD there own, so Dell has absolutely nothing to do with this, nor do their horrendously expensive computers. For a mainstream Doom 3 experience, a 6800GT was quoted as being required. This is a $400 card that allows you to practically play the game at 16x12 with AF and AA. Are mainstream Doom 3 users going to run at this setting? No. Even the value recommendations will run Doom 3 at 12x10, no sweat. Value should be those looking to play the game, but not having to spend much money and not caring about high res and eye candy. This is why I dissagree with the recommendations and pricing. If you think I'm wrong, that's your opinion and I could care less. My own personal rig was about $800 with the monitor included, and it runs the game at 10x7 on high detail. I'd consider that more mainstream than what the value recommendations would get you.Pollock - Sunday, August 8, 2004 - link
May I ask what the point is of having a 12x DVD burner on a mainstream system devoted to playing Doom 3? And by the way, I agree with #1...this is just too much hype. Who would spend $1900 so that they could get "mainstream performance" on another $50 purchase?Myrandex - Saturday, August 7, 2004 - link
I agree with the CRT recommendations over a LCD. LCDs are coming to amazingly low response time, but I don't think I have ever seen one as good as a CRT. Good recommendations though. Maybe a 5900XT would be an even more value alternative, as I thought if I remmeber correctly it performed alright, overclcoekd a lot on average, and is pretty inexpensive.Randawl - Saturday, August 7, 2004 - link
It is pretty amazing that you can buy such a powerful system with such a fantastic video card for around $1000. Things have come quite far in such a short time.Zanfib - Saturday, August 7, 2004 - link
Good enough article, a few typos, but helpful. Still kinda hurts to know that even the value system recommends needs a new (almost next) generation video card, but I can't argue with the value price. $1000 for a pretty good system is quite acceptable.BornStar18 - Saturday, August 7, 2004 - link
It's a minor correction but you mention that the Chaintech VNF3-250 doesn't have GbE (correctly) in the article but in the table, you mention it has onboard 10/100/1000.Good article, I just wish I had $1000 to be able to play Doom3...
Wesley Fink - Saturday, August 7, 2004 - link
#10 - We had technical problems with posting today and I did not get to make final changes as usual before the review posted. In fact the Performance system does now have a 2GB memory recommendation since we finally found 1GB dimms that could still give us 1T Command Rates with timings that were still pretty decent. The Guide has been updated with the 2GB recommendation, the revised price, and several other planned edits.kmmatney - Saturday, August 7, 2004 - link
So looks like I'll be playing Doom3 around April 2005...Its been 10 years since Doom 2, so whats another year.