System Buyers Guide: PCs for Under $1000
by Wesley Fink on December 29, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Intel Budget
While Intel offerings have tended to be more expensive than configurations from AMD, our Intel and AMD budget PCs are all but the same price with just a $2 difference. With prices all but 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 E7300 Wolfdale (Dual-core 2.66GHz 3MB Shared L2 1066FSB) |
$120 |
| Cooling | CPU Retail HSF | - |
| Video | Powercolor AX4830 512MD3-H Radeon HD 4830 | $85 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | $120 |
| Memory | G.Skill 4GB DDR2-800 Kit (KVR800D2N5K2/4G) | $40 |
| Hard Drive | WD Caviar GP WD6400AACS 640GB | $85 |
| Optical Drive | Samsung 22X DVDRW/DL SH-S202G | $25 |
| Audio | Onboard | - |
| Case | Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid-Tower Case | $60 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified | $35 |
| Display | Acer X193W+BD 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor (1680x1050) | $130 |
| Speakers | Logitech R-20 12 Watts RMS 2.1 Multimedia Speaker | $18 |
| Input | Microsoft CA9-00001 PS/2 Standard Keyboard and Optical USB/PS2 Mouse - OEM | $16 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Vista Home Premium OEM | $99 |
| Bottom Line | $833 | |
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The E7300 ups the bus to 1066 from the 800FSB of our entry-level Intel system. A dual-core 2.66GHz with 3MB of cache won't be a slouch in any department in your budget system. Yes, the new i7 is faster, but it is also much more expensive - especially once you factor in the cost of the motherboard and DDR3 memory on top of the CPU! The question for a budget system is how good the performance is for the money spent. The E7300 SYSmark 2007 score is about 72% of the very top Core i7 965 Extreme (all other components being the same). That is fantastic performance for a CPU that costs just $120. The E7300 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 Extreme in SYSMark.
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The Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R is a favorite budget board among the AnandTech staff, mostly because nothing about the board makes you think it is a budget board. It is an excellent match to the overclocking potential of the E7300 CPU. Gigabyte features the P45 and ICH10R chipsets. Gigabyte also includes the Realtek ALC 889a HD audio codec, Gigabit LAN, 16GB memory support, six 3Gb/s ports capable of RAID 0/1/10/5, two additional 3Gb/s SATA ports, IEEE 1394A, 12 USB ports, and Gigabyte's Ultra Durable 3 technology.
The BIOS caters to the overclocker and this board just performs great. Our E8600 easily reached 540FSB if that is important to you and did it in a very stable manner. Gigabyte also tosses in their EasyTune 6 application along with their DualBIOS technology. All in all, this is one of the better "budget performance" boards we have used in a long time.
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By this time, you may be wondering why we chose not to include an aftermarket CPU heatsink to go along with our CPU choices. For this budget, a $50 solution from Thermalright or Scythe is not an option without cutting some other area, but with the stock AMD and Intel heatsinks incorporating heatpipe technology, we figured we'd still be good for a decent if not spectacular overclock.
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The Power Supply choice for the Intel Budget system is the same final price of $35 after rebate as the AMD Budget system. However, we have changed the PS choice to the Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400W power supply. The OCZ ModXStream 400W used on the AMD has a 4-pin CPU power connector, while the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R motherboard for this Intel system has an 8-pin socket. Normally, using a 4-pin connector in the 8-pin socket is not a problem, but some have reported issues with a 4-pin CPU power connector on the 8-pin connector of the Gigabyte board. To play it safe we have recommended the Corsair 400W power supply for this Intel Budget system.
The rest of the components are the same as those found in the AMD budget system. Sound cards at this price range 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 go further with sound and exactly where you might want to go.
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bearxor - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
It surprises me that you picked a 95w processor for the AMD build. Is it a HTPC or is it a computer hooked up to a TV? There should be a differentiator. HTPC's generally never get used for regular computer tasks.A computer that is hooked up to a TV that you use on a regular basis and then happen to stream some movies or downloaded stuff to every once in a while is LRPC (Living Room PC), not a HTPC, which should be inside the media interface full-time and only used as a computer on special occasions and even then, for pretty much nothing except web browsing/youtube playing.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
lol, just what we need, another acronym for another supposed market segment.I believe the reason they recommend reasonably fast processors is for transcoding duties. If you don't record TV and rip your optical media elsewhere, or don't mind shuffling files around a lot, then the HTPC obviously wouldn't need much processor power.
bearxor - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
That's the thing though, recording tv doesn't use a lot of processor power at all. It's all about the speed of your hard drive. I can record 2 SD, 2 HD and 2 Digital Cable (QAM) simultaneously while playing back an HD recording and still wind up using less than 50% of my processor with an Opteron 165. Any dual-core machine can handle HTPC duties with ease.spiral529 - Monday, December 29, 2008 - link
For the Budget Intel build, the specified motherboard (Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R) accepts an 8-pin CPU power connector, while the suggested power supply (OCZ OCZ400MXSP 400W) only has a 4-pin plug.According to some of the NewEgg reviews, the board will not operate correctly without the 8-pin supply!
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
The CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply is also 80 Certified, the same cost of $35 after $25 mail-in rebate and it also has the 8-pin CPU power connector. Our PS Editor picked it in the Case and Power Supply Roundup.We will change the PS for the Intel Budget system to the Corsair 400W so buyers do not have to wonder if the PS will work properly with the motherboard. You can buy the Corsair at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8....
spiral529 - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I just bought this board without noticing the connector. I'll try it out with my current (4-pin) PSU first before I spring for a new one.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Normally a good PS 4-pin 12V will drive the motherboard 8-pin just fine, but we don't have the OCZ PS in the lab to confirm right now. A 4-pin to 8-pin 12V converter should fix the issue - if there is one - at a very low cost. The converter is available from Newegg for $3.50 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...5&Tp....We really prefer the modular PS cables of the recommended OCZ PS because of their flexibility and the ease of upgrading, but we are looking at some possible alternates as another recommendation for the Bargain PS.
StriderGT - Monday, December 29, 2008 - link
Zotac N73PV-Supreme NVIDIA GeForce 7100 HMDI:I am looking for the worst case scenario (%) vs using a dual channel DDR2 intel chipset eg G3X/G4X with the same Dual Core 5200@default speeds as well as OCed around 3Ghz
(integrated GPU performance excluded)
trake1 - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Test Results: Single Vs. Dual Channel RAMMuch less than 5% difference depending on application
trake1 - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Test Results: Single Vs. Dual Channel RAMhttp://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/PARALLEL-PROCE...">http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/PARALLEL-PROCE...