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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Rocket321 - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Is 100 hours an exaggeration or near the true testing time for that type of article? I guess that would leave lots of time to write an article to go with the numbers.Just curious.
Rocket321
JarredWalton - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Read the http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?...">Venice overclocking article. 100 hours isn't really an exaggeration, if I'm thorough. It's about 5 hours per complete benchmark run, assuming it doesn't crash or fail at some point. (Or just get stuck - WinStones can do that, even on a stable system. It just sits at some point where the script got stuck, and you have to manually restart it. That sucks when you start the benchmark, leave, and come back five hours later to find that it only ran for 5 minutes before getting stuck.)So, 1.8 GHz to 2.6 GHz is five configurations, and two RAM choices makes for 10 benchmark runs. Given the amount of time there are glitches to address, 100 hours is probably about right. Luckily, I don't have to be sitting at the PC the whole time. Heheh.
mino - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Well, as usuall. Someone clearly stole some letters here and there. I apologize for him :)just one addon:
This guide IS one of the best(if not the best) one could find around. No irony here.
I felt my comment was not clear enough on that matter.
yacoub - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid...">http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...amp;thre...noxipoo - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
while it is a good guide for the price, I think the price targets needs to be revised or followed better. it is the same issue I had with the mid-range system guide. 1200-1500 is just not mid-range for me. kind of feels like the guy that told me 55 grand for a car is mid-range because there are ferraris that cost a lot more...JarredWalton - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
A few quotes from the summary page:"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."
That should explain my philosophy. Others disagree with it, but if you can spend $500, you can also spend $600. This budget guide is cheaper (for the non-gaming setups especially) then the last one. I also offered advice on how to cut costs of either system:
"If the $500 price point is really important, dropping to 512MB of RAM and getting rid of the speakers will get you close."
As well as:
"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)."
The tables are quick summaries of 7000+ words of text, and as such they cannot even begin to convey all of the options that are out there. That's what all the extra writing is for, to explain why the final choices were made.
And of course, for every person like you who feels the price is too high, there are several others suggesting upgrades like a better PSU, an LCD, a different case, etc. Catch-22. If you can actually put together a complete PC for $500 that people on here would really consider better, I'd be more than surprised. Feel free to post such a system, though, and ask for comments from others. :)
PrinceGaz - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
I don't think dropping down from 2x512MB of RAM to 1x512MB of RAM would be a good idea on the AMD gaming system, despite it being a S754 CPU with asingle-channel memory, as it would only save $48 at the prices listed. Many games these days require a minimum of 512MB to run acceptably, and having 1GB makes a big difference with many. And then there's BF2 which likes more than 1GB, and others will follow soon.Rather than drop down from 1GB to 512MB and cause stuttering in the latest demanding games, you'd be better off saving a similar amount of money by getting a cheaper graphics-card like a standard 6600, or an X700Pro. Let's face it, the sort of games that need more than a 6600 or X700Pro, are also going to need more than 512MB of system memory to run smoothly, so the money is better spent on double the memory rather than a faster graphics-card.
Apart from that, a good article. Putting together systems on a tiny budget isn't easy as you're always having to weigh the consequences of shifting a few dollars from one area to another.
JarredWalton - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Actually, the 512MB RAM comment was for the office systems. For the gaming, I'd just go with the cheaper options (listed in the office configs) for every part, other than the GPU. $95 RAM vs. $87 RAM, $169 CRT vs. $127, etc.Adding up the total cost of the "value gaming", you could get:
AMD:
Sempron 64 (754) 3000+ - 128KB 1.80 GHz Palermo 75
DFI Infinity nF4X 77
Patriot Signature CL2.5 2x512MB 87
eVGA GeForce 6600GT 128MB 138
Hitachi 3.0Gbps 80GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar 7K80 57
NEC 3540A Black (OEM) 41
Foxconn 3GTH-002 plus 300W PSU 70
Envision EFT720 17" CRT 127
Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers 37
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop 23
Bottom Line $732
Intel:
Celeron D 331 - 256KB 2.66 GHz Prescott 79
Gigabyte GA-8I945P-G 113
Patriot Signature PC-4200 2x512MB 74
eVGA GeForce 6600GT 128MB 138
Hitachi 3.0Gbps 80GB 7200RPM 8MB Deskstar 7K80 57
NEC 3540A Black (OEM) 41
Foxconn 3GTH-002 plus 300W PSU 70
Envision EFT720 17" CRT 127
Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers 37
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop 23
Bottom Line $759
The display is still a big compromise, IMO, but everything else on that alternative gaming setup is almost as good as the higher cost version. I still prefer to spend the extra, particularly on the case/PSU, speakers, CRT, and HDD. The RAM and the DVDR upgrades are less critical.
RandomFool - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Not to nit pick but if you're going to make a budget system and set a target price of 750 you really shouldn't go over that by more than 20-30 bucks. I realize gaming systems need more oomph but it is a budget system. You could cut back on ram grab some normal 2.1 speakers (i don't think 5.1 is required at all.) and be alot close to 750 before OS that is.Also the price of an OS should be included because without one all you have is a box that wasted electricity.
flatblastard - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
I couldn't agree with you more. The trend here lately seems to be to blow the budget by $100 or more. The rigs in my newegg wishlist would probably have made better candidates for the entry-level and mid-range price guides of late, and they don't cost more than the budget I originally set for them either.