Entry Level Buyer's Guide, October 2005
by Jarred Walton on October 14, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
System Summaries
That takes care of all the recommendations, though if you skimmed the majority of the article, you may have missed our suggestions to upgrade a few of the areas. Specifically, we really recommend getting the best display that you can afford, most likely a 19" LCD. That would increase the price by $100 to $150, but it would really be a worthwhile investment. Your eyes will thank you in the long run. With the base recommendations, though, let's see if we managed to stay within our budget this time. (You might not realize this, but I actually pick the parts that I want to include and only then tally the cost. As long as I'm within about $100, I usually stick with it - if I overshoot the budget, it's because I really don't feel that it's a good idea to cut corners any further just to shave $50 from the total.)
Office Systems
The office configurations both come in at around $600, with the Intel system costing $40 more. If the $500 price point is really important, dropping to 512MB of RAM and getting rid of the speakers will get you close. Performance should be quite good for most home/office applications - not that surfing the internet and reading email really requires a ton of computing power. Remember that the cost doesn't include an Operating System or any other software (other than what might come with the DVDR and motherboard). Unless you plan on running Linux and OpenOffice, you'll need to spend another $90 for Windows XP Home and $70 to $200 (or more) for MS Works or MS Office. Corel Office is another option that can be had for under $50.
So, what about a bargain OEM system from Dell or the likes? You can get a 15" LCD and the OS included in that cost, but virtually every other component and feature has been cut. You'll likely drop to a 40GB hard drive, lose the DVDR, drop to 2x256MB (or even 2x128MB!) of RAM, and you won't even get an X16 PCIe expansion slot in all likelihood. That may or may not matter to you initially, but it could become important over the next year and beyond. Built-in obsolescence is never a good thing, so if you want the ease of assembly that comes with an OEM computer, we would look to spend closer to $750 or even $1000 in order to avoid specific problems.
Gaming Systems
Our gaming configurations exceed the target $750 price by a bit more, though there are additional opportunities for cutting costs. Getting the less expensive options on the RAM, HDD, DVDR, display, and speakers will cut the price of each system by $90 without really affecting performance or features much (other than the noticeable change in display size). As with the office system, you'll still need at the very minimum an OS, and for gaming, you are pretty much required to use Windows XP. That will add another $90 for the Home edition, or $135 for XP Pro. In case you missed it, a good alternative to the 6600 GT was listed earlier in the X800 GTO, but we didn't include it in the above list in order to come a bit closer to the $750 target.
OEM systems are really a poor choice for most gamers. The critical component is the graphics card, and market segmentation by the OEMs usually prevents you from getting the best price/performance in that area. Many OEMs will only offer the X300 or a similar card as a "gaming upgrade" - and they'll even charge as much as the 6600 GT that we've selected for the inferior "upgrade". If you go with a higher end OEM system, they may offer additional GPU options, but the rest of the system will also be upgraded to the point where a moderate gaming system from an OEM will cost closer to $1500. You could buy a $700 system and add your own graphics card, but if you have to start upgrading one piece of hardware, why not just go for the whole hog and build the system yourself? You'll also get the option to overclock if you DIY the system, which really helps performance of budget gaming.
Conclusion
That wraps up another Budget Buyer's Guide. Most of us would really prefer to spend a bit more money for additional quality and performance here at AnandTech, but not everyone needs a super fast computer. College students, parents, grandparents, and those looking for a secondary (or tertiary or even quaternary) system for the home will generally be happy with any of the above systems. Small businesses could also easily make use of a bunch of these systems, though there's a question of support and assembly costs if you start buying more than a couple and don't have a dedicated IT staff.
The biggest compromise that we made was undoubtedly the display choice, but it's hard to justify doubling the cost of the display for many people. If at all possible - particularly for a business setting - we'd drop the CRT and get a decent LCD instead. A budget PC with a mid-range LCD is our preferred combination for business computers.
As always, feel free to voice your opinion or ask questions in our comments section. Incidentally, if you email me specific questions and I think that they are relevant to what others may ask, don't be surprised to find me posting the response to the comments section and sending you a link. (Don't worry - no email addresses or names will be posted.) For every person that takes the time to send a comment, there are probably fifty others with a similar thought that will appreciate the additional information.
That takes care of all the recommendations, though if you skimmed the majority of the article, you may have missed our suggestions to upgrade a few of the areas. Specifically, we really recommend getting the best display that you can afford, most likely a 19" LCD. That would increase the price by $100 to $150, but it would really be a worthwhile investment. Your eyes will thank you in the long run. With the base recommendations, though, let's see if we managed to stay within our budget this time. (You might not realize this, but I actually pick the parts that I want to include and only then tally the cost. As long as I'm within about $100, I usually stick with it - if I overshoot the budget, it's because I really don't feel that it's a good idea to cut corners any further just to shave $50 from the total.)
Office Systems
| AMD Entry Level System | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Sempron 64 (754) 2600+ - 128KB 1.60 GHz Palermo | 63 |
| Motherboard | Biostar GeForce 6100-M7 | 66 |
| Memory | Patriot Signature CL2.5 2x512MB | 87 |
| Video Card | Integrated GeForce 6100 | 0 |
| Hard Drive | Hitachi 3.0Gbps 80GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar 7K80 | 57 |
| Optical Drive | NEC 3540A Black (OEM) | 41 |
| Case and Power Supply | Foxconn 3GTH-002 plus 300W PSU | 70 |
| Display | Envision EFT720 17" CRT | 127 |
| Speakers | Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers | 37 |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Logitech Internet Pro Desktop | 23 |
| Bottom Line | 571 | |
| Intel Entry Level System | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Celeron D 331 - 256KB 2.66 GHz Prescott | 79 |
| Motherboard | ASUS P5RD1-V | 91 |
| Memory | Patriot Signature CL2.5 2x512MB | 87 |
| Video Card | Integrated GMA-950 | 0 |
| Hard Drive | Hitachi 3.0Gbps 80GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar 7K80 | 57 |
| Optical Drive | NEC 3540A Black (OEM) | 41 |
| Case and Power Supply | Foxconn 3GTH-002 plus 300W PSU | 70 |
| Display | Envision EFT720 17" CRT | 127 |
| Speakers | Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers | 37 |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Logitech Internet Pro Desktop | 23 |
| Bottom Line | 612 | |
The office configurations both come in at around $600, with the Intel system costing $40 more. If the $500 price point is really important, dropping to 512MB of RAM and getting rid of the speakers will get you close. Performance should be quite good for most home/office applications - not that surfing the internet and reading email really requires a ton of computing power. Remember that the cost doesn't include an Operating System or any other software (other than what might come with the DVDR and motherboard). Unless you plan on running Linux and OpenOffice, you'll need to spend another $90 for Windows XP Home and $70 to $200 (or more) for MS Works or MS Office. Corel Office is another option that can be had for under $50.
So, what about a bargain OEM system from Dell or the likes? You can get a 15" LCD and the OS included in that cost, but virtually every other component and feature has been cut. You'll likely drop to a 40GB hard drive, lose the DVDR, drop to 2x256MB (or even 2x128MB!) of RAM, and you won't even get an X16 PCIe expansion slot in all likelihood. That may or may not matter to you initially, but it could become important over the next year and beyond. Built-in obsolescence is never a good thing, so if you want the ease of assembly that comes with an OEM computer, we would look to spend closer to $750 or even $1000 in order to avoid specific problems.
Gaming Systems
| AMD Entry Level Gaming System | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Sempron 64 (754) 3000+ - 128KB 1.80 GHz Palermo | 75 |
| Motherboard | DFI Infinity nF4X | 77 |
| Memory | OCZ Premier 2x512MB | 95 |
| Video Card | eVGA GeForce 6600GT 128MB | 138 |
| Hard Drive | Hitachi 3.0Gbps 160GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar T7K250 | 81 |
| Optical Drive | BenQ DW1640 Black (OEM) | 46 |
| Case and Power Supply | Foxconn TPS544-S350 plus 350W PSU | 82 |
| Display | Envision EFT920 19" CRT | 169 |
| Speakers | Labtec ARENA 685 5.1 Speakers | 47 |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Logitech Internet Pro Desktop | 23 |
| Bottom Line | 833 | |
| Intel Entry Level Gaming System | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Celeron D 331 - 256KB 2.66 GHz Prescott | 79 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-8I945P-G | 113 |
| Memory | Patriot Signature PC-4200 2x512MB | 74 |
| Video Card | eVGA GeForce 6600GT 128MB | 138 |
| Hard Drive | Hitachi 3.0Gbps 160GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar T7K250 | 81 |
| Optical Drive | BenQ DW1640 Black (OEM) | 46 |
| Case and Power Supply | Foxconn TPS544-S350 plus 350W PSU | 82 |
| Display | Envision EFT920 19" CRT | 169 |
| Speakers | Labtec ARENA 685 5.1 Speakers | 47 |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Logitech Internet Pro Desktop | 23 |
| Bottom Line | 852 | |
Our gaming configurations exceed the target $750 price by a bit more, though there are additional opportunities for cutting costs. Getting the less expensive options on the RAM, HDD, DVDR, display, and speakers will cut the price of each system by $90 without really affecting performance or features much (other than the noticeable change in display size). As with the office system, you'll still need at the very minimum an OS, and for gaming, you are pretty much required to use Windows XP. That will add another $90 for the Home edition, or $135 for XP Pro. In case you missed it, a good alternative to the 6600 GT was listed earlier in the X800 GTO, but we didn't include it in the above list in order to come a bit closer to the $750 target.
OEM systems are really a poor choice for most gamers. The critical component is the graphics card, and market segmentation by the OEMs usually prevents you from getting the best price/performance in that area. Many OEMs will only offer the X300 or a similar card as a "gaming upgrade" - and they'll even charge as much as the 6600 GT that we've selected for the inferior "upgrade". If you go with a higher end OEM system, they may offer additional GPU options, but the rest of the system will also be upgraded to the point where a moderate gaming system from an OEM will cost closer to $1500. You could buy a $700 system and add your own graphics card, but if you have to start upgrading one piece of hardware, why not just go for the whole hog and build the system yourself? You'll also get the option to overclock if you DIY the system, which really helps performance of budget gaming.
Conclusion
That wraps up another Budget Buyer's Guide. Most of us would really prefer to spend a bit more money for additional quality and performance here at AnandTech, but not everyone needs a super fast computer. College students, parents, grandparents, and those looking for a secondary (or tertiary or even quaternary) system for the home will generally be happy with any of the above systems. Small businesses could also easily make use of a bunch of these systems, though there's a question of support and assembly costs if you start buying more than a couple and don't have a dedicated IT staff.
The biggest compromise that we made was undoubtedly the display choice, but it's hard to justify doubling the cost of the display for many people. If at all possible - particularly for a business setting - we'd drop the CRT and get a decent LCD instead. A budget PC with a mid-range LCD is our preferred combination for business computers.
As always, feel free to voice your opinion or ask questions in our comments section. Incidentally, if you email me specific questions and I think that they are relevant to what others may ask, don't be surprised to find me posting the response to the comments section and sending you a link. (Don't worry - no email addresses or names will be posted.) For every person that takes the time to send a comment, there are probably fifty others with a similar thought that will appreciate the additional information.
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i am getting angry - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
As most of you known, I'm usually a big fan of Anandtech, however this time I couldn't disagree more!A "cheap/no name/ POS" PSU is an open inventation to every problem possible!
Very good PSU's can be had for under $30!
Cheap, but Good PSU's! [url]http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1027898523...[/url]
I am "davidhammock200" however I couldn't login as me!
JarredWalton - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
"A 'cheap/no name/POS' PSU is an open inventation to every problem possible!"It depends a lot on how high-end you go with parts. I've got a system sitting two feet from me with that MGE case and PSU. It's running at 2.70 GHz with a Sempron 3100+, and it's been running that way for three months. Did I get lucky? Maybe. More likely, people are just a little too concerned about power supplies and budget systems. $30 more would be enough to upgrade the 19" CRT to a 17" LCD - which do you think most people will choose?
I personally have never encountered instability that I would attribute to a PSU. I've had PSUs fail on numerous occasions, but in every case all it required was a new PSU. I've heard the stories of PSUs taking out the entire computer, and it's certainly possible in theory. I've never actually seen it happen, though.
Maybe I just care for my PCs too well? I do try to give them a good dusting every 3 months, which does wonders for fan life. I also don't try putting high-end builds with low end power. Low end parts with a low end PSU is exactly what you get from Dell and the likes, though. I've got a P4 2.8C Dell at my corporate job that has a 150W PSU. Amazing, eh? And it's been running 24/7 for over two years.
bldckstark - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
If you want to get PO's about an article take a look at this one that is posted on THG. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. They put together a MAJOR POS, don't use any logic, then also don't have any benchmarks to show what a piece it is. Take a look @ http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051014/index.h...">$500 gaming rig from THGYou may disagree with some of the picks here, but that whole system is crap. But at least they stayed in budget! I used to love THG, but now it is ridiculous. They have become a system buyer site, instead of a system builder site. It's like PCWorld bought them or something.
If you were going to build a system for $750, and you found you could build a significantly better one for $100 more wouldn't you do it? Hell, that is only 13%. I recently did the exact same thing. I got an SLI board cuz it was only $20 more. I got a 3200+ on a deal cuz it was only $15 more than the 3000+ on a package deal. I got a 6600GT even though they cost more than I originally thought. I got 512MB OCZ Platinum Rev2 ram cuz I can buy more later instead of 1GB of value ram now. I got a 300GB SATA drive cuz it was cheaper per GB than a 250, but it cost more too. Any project of any kind should have built in 10% contingency plan. In my lonely opinion Jarred is only liable for grief on the 3% over that. So here it is WAAaa.......... (3% of a whine).
bgladwyn - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
It seems odd to include a speaker package with a subwoofer for an office setup when headphones would do. Similarly, flat panels are useful in the office because of the desk space they liberate. Lose the $37 speakers and shell out $199 for the cheapest 17" TFT on PriceGrabber and you have $33 well spent.JarredWalton - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
When I say office in this guide, I mean "home office" as opposed to an actual workplace computer. For a workplace, speakers are generally frowned upon. There are many ways to get to an LCD, but quality is a bit more important than price if you're going that route. I'd forget about 15" LCDs and put 17" as the minimum, with a DVI input being preferred. Still, $200 for a 17" LCD isn't bad. $250 will even get you a 19" model, possibly with DVI.Like I said in the displays section, the only reason I didn't include an LCD was to get closer to the $500 price. I highly recommend anyone that can should spend more money on the display, with 19" LCDs being the ultimate goal.
bgladwyn - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Fair play, I've read all the article now(!) and can see that you'd already considered this point.ceefka - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Any expectations on integrated DVI graphics?I think that a 17" VGA LCD like the Samsung 710v (think it was 12 or 16ms) is quite OK for office use. Granted it is more expensive than a "comparable" CRT. It uses less juice, produces less heat and occupies less space, plus you actually work on that screen. My latest experience on a CRT was that after some time the numbers danced before my very eyes :D Just weigh that in and draw your own conclusions.
pcmatt1024 - Saturday, October 15, 2005 - link
i believe the new 6150 from nvidia (basically the higher end version of what was used on the amd office board) will have dvi out. boards should be out in the next few weeks.
JarredWalton - Saturday, October 15, 2005 - link
I can say for sure that the ATI Xpress 200 and Intel 915G both *can* support DVI output. The problem is that no motherboard manufacturers actually have such support so far. (I know that it's possible because I have two SFF cases with those chipsets, and they both have DVI ports.) Basically, DVI is a "high-end" option and IGP is often "value-oriented". It's sort of like the problem with uATX motherboards: no one makes an "enthusiast uATX" design; they're all built for value. And yes, there are some people that would like a high quality uATX mobo.PrinceGaz - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
LCD panels are certainly getting better and I know for a fact that my next display (when this Mitsubishi DP 2070SB fails, which hopefully won't be for several years) won't be a CRT as there is already nothing available as good as it.If you were having problems using a CRT, then the refresh-rate was almost certainly too low. Windows 2000/XP defaults to 60hz which is unusable for most people for extended periods with a CRT monitor, and that is probably what you were using. Any half-decent CRT monitor will support at least 85hz at the ideal resolution, with which most people have no problems. Really good CRT monitors will support 100hz or more at their optimum resolutions, but unfortunately those really good CRT monitors can only be bought second-hand now as all the best manufacturers have switched to LCD panels.