Intel Value Midrange

The Phenom II has made AMD competitive through the midrange while Intel still dominates the high-end with Core i7. That means you can now choose Intel or AMD midrange system based on the features of each platform or expansion capabilities, rather than CPU brand. Since Phenom II uses a 45nm process, even overclocking capabilities are now competitive with Intel's Core 2 series.

The Intel value midrange builds around a fast Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. For most applications and gaming a faster dual-core chip is normally a better performance choice than a slower quad-core alternative, not to mention they're usually less expensive. CPU intensive applications like video ripping do benefit from a quad-core CPU, which should be your choice if those applications are important to you. A few recent games are finally taking advantage of quad-core as well, although gaming performance is normally about the same whether a CPU is dual-core or quad-core.

Intel Value Midrange PC
Hardware Component Price
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 65W 45nm (3.0GHzx2, 6MB L2) $166
Cooling Intel Retail HSF $ -
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P (after $20 Rebate) $115
Video HIS H487FN1GP Radeon HD 4870 1GB (after $20 Rebate) $130
Memory 4GB DDR2-1150 OCZ Blade OCZ2B1150LV4GK 5-5-5-15 at 1.8v $80
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1001FALS $95
Optical Drive Sony Optiarc 24X DVD - AD-7240S $32
Audio On-Board $ -
Case ANTEC Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower $60
Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W OCZ600MXSP Modular SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified (after $20 Rebate) $60
Base System Total $738
Display Acer X233Hbid 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor (1920x1080) $180
Speakers Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail $79
Input Microsoft CA9-00001 Black PS/2 Standard Keyboard and Optical USB/PS2 Mouse - OEM $16
Operating System Microsoft Vista Home Premium OEM $99
Complete System Bottom Line $1112

The CPU choice is the excellent E8400 Core 2 Duo chip at 3.0GHz with 6MB of L2 cache. The 3.00GHz speed is just two steps below the fastest Core 2 E8600 that clocks in at 3.33GHz. The E8400 also overclocks exceptionally well, reaching 4GHz and even higher with relative ease. Because of this overclocking ability and the value goal of this system build, we paired the E8400 with components that are also excellent choices for overclocking. This Intel system is ready to overclock to wherever your particular E8400 can go. The stock Intel cooler is adequate for modestly overclocking a Core 2 Duo, but it ceases to be effective before your E8400 reaches its top performance level. If extreme overclocking is your cup of tea you should replace the stock Intel HSF with a better cooler like the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle Cooler ($27 after a $10 rebate) that is featured in our AMD value midrange build on page four.

The big brother to the UD3R selected in our sub-$800 guide is the $135 GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P that has a similar feature set but adds a second x16 slot (in place of a PCI slot) for dual x8 CrossFire operation. You can currently save a few bucks with a $20 mail-in rebate. The board provides an excellent overclocking platform along with great stability. If the second x16 slot is not important to you, we suggest sticking with the UD3R. This P45 chipset motherboard has earned its reputation as an excellent overclocker while also exhibiting excellent stability. It is a good match to the selected Core 2 Duo E8400 or an alternate Quad-Core Q8200 (2.33GHz).

The memory choice for the Intel value midrange is some of the fastest memory we have tested - the OCZ Blade DDR2-1150 4GB kit. Perhaps even more important is the very low voltage needed for performance with the dual-channel Blade memory. It is rated at 5-5-5 timings at DDR2-1150 and just 1.8V. The low voltage design provides more overclocking headroom. This OCZ kit is more expensive than we normally chose for a value midrange system, but at $80 it is still a great performance value and is worth the cost.

Index Value Midrange Common Components
Comments Locked

71 Comments

View All Comments

  • JonnyDough - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    I had no idea AMD had 45nm parts. Partly because I'm broke, partly because I've been really busy with life and work and was taking an interest in worthless women instead of keeping up on important stuff like tech I can't afford - and that was partly because I was getting tired of computer component naming schemes. I wonder when we'll be getting the Athlon XP II X3. I just hope it says "Super Mach Turbo Shizam!" on the decal that comes with it so I know it's really fast.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    Just FYI, as is often the case several items listed in the original guide have gone out of stock at one vendor, so I have changed the links to another vendor with a similar price. You may find minor differences (less than $10) and no updates have been made to the text, but the original math at least works out. :-)

    --Jarred Walton
  • Regs - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    Under Intel Value system your have the case linked to a blue-ray rom.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    Fixed, thanks.
  • jonup - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    Jarred, Microcenter carries CPUs at very discounted prices (unlike most other stuff). They had the Q9550 for $169+tax which is close to the price of your e8400. And their i920 is $199 + tax. I am not questioning the choice of processor, just suggestion to squeez an extra buck out of the build.
  • bigboxes - Saturday, August 1, 2009 - link

    Just wanted to say thanks for the heads up. My mobo, which is almost 3 years old, wouldn't post after I returned home after a week away on business. So, being the tech guy I am decided to finally build a new machine. After five AMD boxes I have finally returned to the dark side. There's just no equivalent in the performance range. I got the i7 920 for $216 ($199 + tax) from the Microcenter here in North Dallas. I will be getting the rest of the parts in the next couple of weeks. The cpu was $280 at newegg and @$200 I just couldn't pass up the deal.
  • Nfarce - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    "They had the Q9550 for $169+tax which is close to the price of your e8400. And their i920 is $199 + tax."

    They still do actually.

    http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....">http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....

    http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....">http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results....

    These prices are good for the entire month of July, so if you were ever debating on getting one of these, now is the time.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    Problem is, they're in-store-only offers, which means you need a Microcenter in the area. There are plenty of readers that don't have that option, but if you do Microcenter's deals on CPUs are always worth a look.
  • The0ne - Monday, July 27, 2009 - link

    They are always in-store. Most people can't get them because MicroCenter B&M is very few and far between. Heck there's only one I know of here in Southern CA and it's about a 2 hour drive to get there! :)
  • jonup - Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - link

    I can say the same for Fry's. We do not have any in Michigan and shipping usually spoils the deal.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now