Intel Budget
In the past, Intel offerings have tended to be more expensive than configurations from AMD, but our Intel and AMD budget PCs carry virtually identical prices. With prices the same, you can choose your budget system based on other features that are important to you.
| Intel Budget PC | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale (Dual-core 2.93GHz, 45nm, 65W, 3MB Shared L2, 1066FSB) |
$140 |
| Cooling | CPU Retail HSF | - |
| Video | Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512MB 100277L | $100 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L Intel G41 Micro ATX | $65 |
| Memory | OCZ Platinum Model OCZ2P10664GK 2x2GB 5-5-5 DDR2-1066 ($63 less $25 Rebate) |
$38 |
| Hard Drive | WD Caviar Green WD6400AACS 640GB 16MB Cache | $65 |
| Optical Drive | Sony Optiarc Model AD-7240S-OB 24X DVDRW SATA | $24 |
| Audio | On-Board | - |
| Case | Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Mid Tower | $40 |
| Power Supply | BFG Tech LS Series LS-550 550W SLI/CrossFire Ready 80 Plus Certified ($80 less $20 Rebate) |
$60 |
| Base System Total | $532 | |
| Display | ASUS VH222H 21.5" 5ms Widescreen 16:9 LCD (1920x1080) | $155 |
| Speakers | Cyber Acoustics CA3090WB 2.1 Gaming Speakers | $16 |
| Input | Microsoft CA9-00001 PS/2 Keyboard and Optical Mouse | $17 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Vista Home Premium SP1 (for System Builders) | $99 |
| Complete System Bottom Line | $819 | |
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The E7500 ups the bus to 1066 from the 800FSB of our entry-level Intel system. A dual-core 2.93GHz with 3MB of cache won't be a slouch in any department in your budget system. Yes the new Core i7 is faster, but it is also much more expensive. The question for a budget system is how good the performance is for the money spent. The E7500 SYSmark 2007 score is about 72% of the top Core i7 965 Extreme. That is fantastic performance for a CPU that costs just $140. The E7500 is also a candidate for overclocking if you are inclined to move the performance a bit closer toward the 3.33GHz Core 2 Duo E8600, which reaches 88% of the i7 965 SYSmark performance. The only drawback to this processor choice is the lack of Intel's Virtualization Technology (Intel VT). If running the Windows Virtual PC under Windows 7 for XP Mode (as one example) is important to you, then moving up to the E8x00 range is the only valid option near this price point.
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Unfortunately, we do not have any motherboards in the Intel budget sector that offer the price to performance ratio of our AMD choice. However, we did find a board that would suit most of our needs and it also comes from Gigabyte. The GA-G41M-ES2L motherboard offers a very solid platform for our processor and discrete ATI 4770 video card choices. It could also double as a barebones entry-level contender. This board features the Intel G41 Northbridge and ICH7 Southbridge along with support for 8GB of memory. Gigabyte tosses in the Realtek ALC 888B HD audio codec, Realtek RTL8111DL Gigabit LAN controller, eight USB 2.0 ports, one IDE connector, and four SATA 3Gb/s connectors. The board uses the uATX form factor, and while uATX boards are often a layout nightmare the Gigabyte layout is very good for most applications.
Designed for the casual overclocker in mind, the BIOS allows for decent headroom with FSB speeds hitting 333MHz on our E5200 and E7400 processors. The board has been extremely stable in testing so far and we recommend it. Our only drawback is the small number of SATA ports and the missing support for AHCI/NCQ due to the use of ICH7. In order to get the ICH10 Southbridge, you will have to step up to the G43/P43/P45 offerings that run an additional $15~$30 more for performance-oriented motherboards. That will be a small price for many users, but when every penny counts it can certainly matter.
We did not select an aftermarket CPU heatsink for either budget system to go along with our CPU choices. For this budget, a $50 solution from Thermalright or Scythe is simply not a realistic option, and the stock AMD and Intel heatsinks are good for decent if unspectacular overclocks of the E7500 and Phenom II 720BE. However, if you want spectacular overclocking, both CPUs benefit from better cooling and you can take either CPU to Mt. Olympus heights by adding a better CPU heatsink/fan. You'll just have to decide if the $50 spent on a separate cooler and higher CPU overclocks are better than a larger HDD, faster GPU, better LCD, or more RAM.
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Again, we have discussed the option of discrete video cards for our budget systems in past guides. However, it was always an option that would drive up the cost of the system by $150 or so. We just could not recommend an inexpensive budget based card like the ATI HD 4550 as the price to performance benefits over the integrated solutions were just not there. Our opinions changed with the release of the ATI HD 4770 card last month. We did our best to figure out a way to shoe horn in this remarkable "budget" card to create a system that allows midrange gaming performance in most game titles, excellent HTPC capabilities, HD video playback, and crystal clear Aero performance at high resolutions in Windows 7 or Vista. Yes, not everyone in this market sector needs this "luxury" option. We are selecting the ATI Radeon HD 4770 as our jack-of-all-trades GPU for our budget configurations. If you want less performance for a lower cost, the MSI HD 4670 is a reasonable alternative at just $53 after rebate.
The rest of the components are the same as those found in the AMD budget system. Sound cards at this budget are simply an unnecessary luxury, and the onboard offerings continue to improve with each new motherboard generation. You can be reasonably happy with the onboard sound until you figure out if you want to upgrade to something better.
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Hrel - Thursday, May 28, 2009 - link
Why spend 100 dollars on that card when you can get the GTS250 for 10 DOLLARS MORE?!! That's right, just 10 bucks. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...Or, if you run your monitor at a stupidly high resolution for some reason, you can get the 1GB version for only 125. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Not sure if you guys at anandtech were just unaware of this or if you really are bias against Nvidia, but the GTS250 is WAY more card for the extra 10 bucks.
dndavis57 - Saturday, May 23, 2009 - link
I've been planning something along the lines of your AMD Budget Build, to replace my deceased Athlon 64-3000 rig, so the Builder's Guide is quite timely.Question: If you're not going to use a mobo with ACC, would the Phenom II X3 710 be the value choice or is the additional speed of the 720 worth the slight ($20) price difference?
I already have a Corsair TX650W PSU, since the $80 price AMIR was too good to pass up. I had planned to reuse my original Antec Sonata, but probably will get a Sonata Elite instead ($89 at my local Micro Center). Does anyone know of any problems with this combo?
I'm thinking of swapping the mobo for Gigabyte's AM3 version, since it's only $30 more and DDR3 isn't much more than DDR2 these days. I know DDR3 doesn't make much difference on the Phenom II platform, but it may be a reasonable upgrade even if AMD can't make any changes to the existing architecture or BIOS to take better advantage of it. I just have to figure out how tight my budget truly is, since I need to build now.
Lummox - Sunday, May 24, 2009 - link
I am building something like this already. Maximum bang for buck is the BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M, It has just about everything including two PCI-E x16 2.0 Slot (CFX x8), firewire, DVI, HDMI, VGA and the 790 and 750 chip sets. Also you can play most games with the eye candy turned off.When combined with a X2 7850 it is $129 AR of $10, which I got. This is $3 cheaper than the Entry Level, with better processor and MB.
When combined with a X2 Phenom II X3 720 it is $199 AR of $10. This is same price as the Budget Level, with better MB.
When combined with a Phenom II X4 940 it is $250 AR of $10.
When combined with a Phenom II X4 955 it is $305 AR of $10. and it is on the list of compatible MBs
All with free shipping. This is same price as the Budget Level, with better MB. The only limit On games is a Power Supply big enough for your eventual graphics card.
I you build the entry level all you need is a new PS and faster GPU, to turn it into a gaming machine. For memory, You can either buy 1066 now, upgrade later, or leave it at 600. There is not a dramatic difference between 800 and 1066.
PS all prices on NEW EGG
links
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?...">http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?...
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?...">http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?...
http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/491-pheno...">http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/491-pheno...
For a few bucks more the Foxconn A7DA-S has two x16 and two x8 slots. no on board video
pashbe1 - Friday, May 22, 2009 - link
Let me just start by saying Anandtech has been my hardware education. I have a question for you experts though. I spend 8-10 hours a day on 3d CAD and Rendering and maybe 15 hours a week gaming. My current rig, dont laugh, is an old dual Xeon workstation. I would really like to replace it with the mid-level AMD system that you describe in this article. Here is my concern, every ATi gpu that I have ever had to work with has had problems with the hardware acceleration in CAD. If the acceleration is maxed, the cursor prompts become a garbled box. If I set the acceleration one step down, I get a stutter in when moving around in 3d, and obviously when gaming I get a gimped cursor. So I feel compelled to stick with Nvidia, even if I have to pay a premium. Have the newer ATi cards fixed this problem? What combination of parts can I put together to come up with the performance, overclock ability, and base system price of the mid level AMD system described in this article that uses a good Nvidia card?Hrel - Thursday, May 28, 2009 - link
you should get the GTS250 from Nividia, it only costs $110 after rebate; and it's MORE card for the money. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...Here's the 1GB version, since that may be helpful with CAD. Still only 125; both reliable companies.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
PC Reviewer - Thursday, May 21, 2009 - link
first might i add that there is no such thing as "gaming speakers"no speakers are good for gaming.. the only way to go is headphones.. now obviously this is entry level but at least shell out a few more dollars for headphones if you are going to insert it with the title "gaming"
second thing is that case isnt very good. This is on sale for $54 and the quality is way better...
http://pcreviewer.org/cheap-antec-300-computer-cas...">http://pcreviewer.org/cheap-antec-300-computer-cas...
nordicpc - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - link
Hey guys, the X2 Black Editions don't ship with a stock heatsink. Be sure to pick up a Freezer 64 or something for it.Gary Key - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - link
The 7750 and 7850BE retail units we received from Newegg both had heatsinks.jospoortvliet - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - link
Guys,I would love to see a few comparative benchmarks added to these systems - just to see how the entry-level Intel and AMD compare, for example...
Gary Key - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - link
early June.. ;)