System Buyers Guide: PCs for Under $1000
by Wesley Fink on December 29, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Final Words
The problem with systems under $1000 is that they aren't normally sexy or groundbreaking. Lower end PCs are therefore completely devoid of any of the glitz and excitement associated with the midrange to high-end market. Most consider low-end PCS to be just the Dell or HP special of the week - hardly worthy of consideration as a "real" PC. That perception is really a shame, because the sub-$1000 market is where many PC buyers choose to buy - or are forced to buy because of budget constraints. Today, more than ever, you will get a lot for your money in this market segment. When dual-core CPUs can be choices in Entry PCs, 4GB of DDR2-800 can be bought for $40 or less, and the starter hard drive is a $59 500GB 7200RPM, there truly is value to be had at these price points.
Our entry systems, complete with a 1440x900 monitor and decent integrated graphics, are just $538 for either Intel or AMD. These are prices for a complete system with LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse, and Vista Home Premium OEM Operating System. We can't recall a time where you received better value for your $500. Indeed, the Intel/AMD wars in the CPU space and the NVIDIA/ATI wars in GPUs have created some truly excellent values in the market. This value has been further enhanced by the worldwide recession. It is ironic that the best prices coincide with the scariest economic times, but that is how economies work. If you are in the market for a PC, though, even an entry model, you will be pleased with the values you can find.
A year ago, the entry-level PC cost around $750 and the budget or value PC cost over $1000. Today that $750 price point is the beginning of the budget category. Both our budget PCs are complete systems at less than $850. Both include a Radeon HD 4830 GPU at that price, a 1680x1050 LCD, 4GB of DDR2-800 memory, a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive, and a tri-core Phenom Black Edition or dual-core Intel 1066FSB CPU, Microsoft keyboard and mouse, Vista OS, and a Logitech 2.1 speaker system. Either system will provide excellent performance in general use - much better than you would expect for a system at this price level.
If your budget interests extend to gaming you can substitute a full HD 1080P monitor in a 21.5" 1920x1080 LCD and upgrade to the well-regarded ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB video card to bring your new system up to current gaming PC standards. This would only add $165 to your system price. That means you can build a 4870 gaming rig with a 1080P 1920x1080 HDMI LCD for just $998. That kind of value did not exist until recently, and that is why it is such a good time to buy and build a new PC.
Finally, who would have thought that an AMD and Intel HTPC could be built with so many features for so little money? You can get 4GB of memory, a reasonable CPU, and graphics fast enough to provide stutter-free and tear-free Blu-Ray playback for a song! Add in 1TB of quiet hard drive storage, a combo 6X Blu-Ray player/DVD burner, and HDMI capable onboard graphics, all wrapped in a Lian Li aluminum case with a PC Power & Cooling 500W Silencer power supply for around $750, including the Vista OS and a wireless keyboard and mouse. The result is tremendous value for the money spent.
As has been pointed out many times in the last few months, AMD and Intel performance are almost price par for low-end to midrange systems. That is to say, a $120 AMD CPU is pretty comparable in performance to a $120 Intel CPU today - and the same goes for $70 and $100 options. Intel still owns the top of the CPU market, but that may be subject to revision in a few days when the AMD Phenom II launches.
This price parity in the sub-$1000 segment is part of the reason so much value is available at such relatively low prices, but CPUs aren't the only values. You can buy what we consider a top ATI HD 4870 1GB GPU for $220 if you shop around, and it will perform as well as or better than yesterday's $500 video card. 500GB is now and entry-level hard drive and 1TB drives offer storage at $0.105 per GB; 1TB at around $100 is now a reality. Memory has also reached commodity pricing levels when we can recommend 4GB of high-speed DDR2-800 for less than $40.
Put it all together and you can buy an excellent entry, budget, or HTPC computer for well under $1000. You can even deck it out with a 1080P monitor and a 4870 video card and still barely reach $1000. It is a good time to be shopping for a new PC. Value is the rule of the day as competition, a mature market, and a lackluster world economy have created great deals in every computer component category… except perhaps when it comes to operating systems (excepting Linux, naturally).
Next week we will take a closer look at midrange systems, recommending system configurations with a broad price range of $1000 to $2000. Many of you will find you can even meet your high-end computer dreams in this price range that was once reserved for the middle of the road PC and the beginning of computer gaming.
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naveensn - Saturday, March 28, 2009 - link
I built the AMD budge computer with more or less the components that you had in your article. This was the first time I did this and was much easier that I thought it would be.The computer is up and running and I installed Ubuntu also on that. Thanks for the info.
Naveen
HHumbert - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link
I copied the article and friggen Newegged everything on here. Here goes nothing, as I've never built a PC before. Which is funny, because I majored in Electric Engineering, and I've had Investment Banker friends put together PCs, and I have lacked the testicular fortitude to do so.Finally. Thanks for this very well-written guide. I'll come back on after it arrives and let you know how it goes. Any idea how long it takes to slam together one of these things?
I took the path of putting together the INTEL Budget PC with the Radeon 4870 GPU.
My situation is that I have an Inspiron 1520 laptop that I've been gaming on (COD:WaW), Crysis 2 (when I get a more powerful computer, but it's getting long in the teeth, even with a dedicated GPU on the laptop.
So, I'm building this first one for our weekend house and want to get it to play movies on the home theatre (I also ordered LG BR/HD drive for it).
If that goes well, I'll be buying another one of these systems for the downtown house so I can have dual setups.
Thanks again!
Ryphil - Monday, January 26, 2009 - link
If this is your first assembly, be patient and don't cut corners. Plan for a few quiet, uninterrupted hours for the task at hand. So assuming you don't run into any problems that can't be fixed on the spot, you should be able to slam this together in 30 minutes to two hours. And don't forget thermal compound for the processor's heat sink! Let me know how this went for you if you get a sec.Mozee - Friday, January 9, 2009 - link
Here's a question, since I'm building a system with very similar specs to the AMD Budget System. If you increase the video card from the ATI HD4830 to an HD4850, would you still be able to use the 400W power supply, or would that require a higher powered psu?Malachi9 - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Be careful with cases containing an Imon LCD - Silverstone, Anatec, Thermatech. There is a serious bug which connects and disconnects the USB hub causing pauses in games e.g PES 2009. I have the LC16M and have to physically disconnect the LCD to play games.djhunt - Saturday, January 3, 2009 - link
First, I wanted to say thanks for these buyer guides. I used the mid-range guide four years ago to build my first system. For someone who can't keep up on all the latest hardware, these guides are a great starting point.Now I'm looking to do a replacement based on the Intel budget recommendation. I've tweaked a few items to get a quieter system (my current system whines like a jet engine), but I'm stuck on what to do for a video card. I don't have serious video requirements (minimal gamer, no HTPC) but would probably like something a little above onboard video. Since the GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R doesn't have onboard video, what should I get? I'm currently looking at the ASUS EAH4350 SILENT/DI/512MD2 Radeon HD 4350, but not sure if it's any good. Recommendations under $75 or so?
bearxor - Sunday, January 4, 2009 - link
Thought about one of the newer GF9400 Motherboards?http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Wesley Fink - Saturday, January 3, 2009 - link
The Asus Silent HD 4350 sounds like a good choice in line with the requirements you describe. It is not nearly as powerful as the Powercolor HD 4830 at $85 that we selected, but since silence is your major requirement the Asus will likely meet your needs better.Martin84a - Saturday, January 3, 2009 - link
Hi, you don't mention a lot about the ram which is a shame, because a lot of these guides are read by people that have been away from the hardware scene for a while, eg. like me. I haven't upgraded my PC since 2003, but know i felt it was the time. But while it is fairly easy to read a CPU review and compare the results, it is a jungle of chipsets and motherboards out there, and they of course affect your choice of RAM.I was actually going with an Asus P5Q Pro, because of good reviews and its Loadline Calibration, which eliminates the Vdrops that happens under load. See http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canu...">http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/ha...p5q-pro-...
But now i see your EP45-UD3R recommendation..
Gigabyte - Asus
AWARD vs AMI bios.
1x PCI-E vs 2x PCI-E (Can do crossfire as well)
Realtek ALC889A soundchip vs Realtek ALC1200
3x PCI vs 2x PCI
Not sure about EP45-UD3Rs warranty, but the P5Q Pro has 3 years of warranty.
Then there is the matter of how good BIOS and driver support there is, and when it will stop. No clue here though :(
But overall, the Asus P5Q Pro is a bit cheaper, and comes with 2x PCI-E, and i just love that Loadline Calibration, i mean look at that straight line. Would you still pick the Gigabyte?
Thanks.
SleepyItes - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
The HTPC truly is a "very personal machine", and I'm glad that you mentioned this in the beginning of the HTPC segment. I just finished a budget HTPC for under $400 (granted I used an existing HDD, TV Tuner, and OS license) and I can say that the choices in this market segment are vast, and require careful evaluation of particular requirements and considerations. I toyed around with various configurations and price ranges before I finally found the balance that was right for me. Home theater organization, TV resolution, gaming needs, and budget all played a role in component selection.I started with a case that would fit nicely with my A/V rack, the Antec NSK 2480. I found an excellent deal on a CPU/Mobo combo at an unnamed local vendor. I was building this for a low-ish resolution TV (1280x768) so I chose not to go with blu-ray, which saved me a bundle. I wanted discreet graphics to be able to do some casual gaming. However, since I have such a low resolution TV (and such old games), I did not even need a mid-range card. Instead, my focus was on power consumption, so I decided to go with a Radeon HD 4670. Sure, for $10 more (after rebate) I could have gotten the 4830, but it uses a lot of power, runs hot, and takes up a lot of space (which is at a premium in an HTPC case).
I'm just reinforcing the notion that building an HTPC is not about pure performance, features, or bang for buck. It's about building a system that fits into your entertainment center and satisfies your particular needs.
Fantastic guide! I cannot wait to read next week's.