Best Value?
As we have seen in the game performance tests the CPU has little effect on game performance compared to the impact of the video card. So with the EP-8NPA priced at roughly $100 (at time of publishing) and support for cheaper Socket 754 CPUs, you can focus more money on a good quality GPU rather than sinking money into a more expensive Socket 939 CPU and a possibly more expensive motherboard.
Let’s compare some nForce 4 configurations.
|
nForce 4 SLI with Dual 6600GTs | ||||
|
nForce 4 SLI Socket 939 |
nForce 4 SLI Socket 754 | |||
| Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI | $100 | EPoX EP-8NPA | $100 | |
| A64 3000+ Venice OEM | $135 | Sempron 2500+ OEM | $60 | |
| 2x 6600GT 128MB | $270 | 2x 6600GT 128MB | $270 | |
| Corsair 1GB Value Select PC3200 | $80 | Corsair 1GB Value Select PC3200 | $80 | |
| WD 200GB / 8MB SATA-II | $100 | WD 200GB / 8MB SATA-II | $100 | |
| ==== | ==== | |||
| $685 | $610 | |||
|
nForce 4 SLI with Single 7800GT | ||||
|
nForce 4 SLI Socket 939 |
nForce 4 SLI Socket 754 | |||
| Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI | $100 | EPoX EP-8NPA | $100 | |
| A64 3000+ Venice OEM | $135 | Sempron 2500+ OEM | $60 | |
| 7800GT | $330 | 7800GT | $330 | |
| Corsair 1GB Value Select PC3200 | $80 | Corsair 1GB Value Select PC3200 | $80 | |
| WD 200GB / 8MB SATA-II | $100 | WD 200GB / 8MB SATA-II | $100 | |
| ==== | ==== | |||
| $745 | $670 | |||
The most enticing system above is the system with the EP-8NPA and the 7800GT. Having saved $75 by using a Sempron 2500+ CPU, you’re able to get a much faster GPU and still come in cheaper than the Socket 939 with either dual 6600GTs or a single 7800GT. Expect the above savings to improve as the EP-8NPA becomes more available too.
I understand that Sempron CPUs lack some appeal to hard core system builders, but if you’re looking to build a killer gaming system and only play games, there’s no sense in getting anything more expensive than a Sempron.
