Final Words
Most users that email questions about building a computer system are planning to build a midrange computer system. With a broad price range of $1000 to $2000, this covers a huge number of potential choices. With the launch of Phenom II just a few days ago, all of our thinking about systems in this price range was rearranged. Hopefully you are the beneficiary of the refresh in our system thinking.
Prior to Phenom II we had prepared a Value Midrange AMD system using our favorite AMD 9950 Black Edition. We did not really have an AMD system to present at the $2000 Performance Midrange price point because AMD had no offerings that competed well in that arena. However, we now have a complete Phenom II 940 system at the $2000 price point that will give the competing Intel Core i7 920 a real run for the money - even when overclocked. At the $1500 price point the AMD Phenom II system based on the Phenom II 920 will likely be the performance winner, since Intel has no real Core i7 offering that is cheap enough for a complete balanced system at $1500. At least that is true this week.
As those involved in this industry quickly learn, things can change very fast in the computer business. AMD is competitive again and we are happy to see Phenom II competing so well. Of course, Intel's 45nm Penryn quad-core chips also compete quite well with Phenom II, so the final choice can really go any of three directions.
The current world economic woes are having their impact on the computer industry as well as many other industries. As often happens in economic times such as these, some players will cease to exist. As also happens, price competition often becomes fierce and the large and strong are more able to play within these guidelines. It would be a mistake to read these economic comments as doom and gloom because there is a huge silver lining to this story. Today you can get more for your money than ever in a computer system. The contrarians among you will buy now for the value and be rewarded with terrific performance for their investment.
As you saw in the tables, our AMD and Intel Value Midrange systems came in closer to $1400 than to $1500. Both are complete systems and include a fast Core 2 Duo 3.16GHz CPU based on 45nm technology or a fast AMD Phenom II 2.8GHz quad-core based on 45nm technology. Both systems feature AMD 4870 1GB graphics, 4GB DDR2-1066 memory, a 1TB hard drive, audio card, powered speakers, a custom case, and quality 80 Plus certified 650W power supply, a Blu-ray/HD player/DVD burner, Vista OS, keyboard/mouse, and a 1080p LCD monitor. That is a lot of value and performance for the price. For those that already have the OS, speakers, keyboard/mouse, and monitor you are talking base component costs of less than $1100 for these very competitive systems.
There is no doubt that our $2000 complete systems easily occupy what would have been considered high-end just a short time ago. The Intel Performance Midrange is powered by a Core i7 920 that overclocks extremely well if that is your choice. 4.0GHz is a very doable and stable overclock. The AMD Performance Midrange is similarly powered by the top Phenom II 940, a 3.0GHz quad-core that reached 3.9GHz in limited OC testing for the AnandTech launch article. Both performance systems feature upgrades to almost all of the capable components in the Value Midrange offerings. This includes a 24" monitor, an upgraded case/700W power supply, and 4870X2 graphics or NVIDIA SuperClocked 280GTX graphics,
The point of all these component selections should be very clear. Now is a great time to build a Value Midrange or Performance Midrange system, with either an Intel or AMD core. The bang for the buck is as good as we have ever seen in computer space. You can build the latest Intel Core i7 or AMD Phenom II computer system for less than $2000 - with some systems costing less than $1500. If you already have a monitor and keyboard/mouse/speakers you can build a balanced base i7 system for less than $1600, or a Phenom II for less than $1100. And those are some pretty good silver linings.
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aenagy - Sunday, February 1, 2009 - link
I can't find the Xigmatek HDT-D1283 on the Xigmatek web site for thier air cooling products (http://www.xigmatek.com/product/aircooling.php)">http://www.xigmatek.com/product/aircooling.php) or by Googling (http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=site%3Axig...">http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q...k.com+D1...Is the author referring to the Dark Knight-S1283V/Dark Knight-S1283? Which one?
If so, what is the difference between the S1283V and S1283. Even after downloading the manuals I have not been able to figure it out. Maybe its the difference between the push-pin mounting vs. screws?
Joe Schmoe - Monday, January 26, 2009 - link
Hi folks!!I love this site and it was an excellent article.
I have a slightly different (perhaps warped) perspective on this topic. It's based on too many years of living in poverty so I could keep my hyperfast, sweet internet connection going.
I'm in the USA so EU readers don't laugh at my appalling slow connection.
I think your midrange systems might be specced a little bit high.
It's exactly what I might buy today but, when I was still in college and money was a little tighter my gaming rigs were a little more.. rickety.
Do that many midrange rigs have blue ray drives?
Speaking from my heart..
I think I'm a midrange builder. A midrange PC doesn't have to start off so... well rounded....
No matter what we tell ourselves or how much we plan it. There are situations when we usually blow all our money on the new CPU (whether its rational or not) and upgrade the rest of the system bit by bit over the next year.
Practically all the CPU's on the market today are fast enough that's almost an undisputed fact.
But we have the I7 and the Phenom 2!! brand new!! for sale!! new chips!!
It's almost impossible to buy anything else. I couldn't bring myself to buy a e8600 instead. I can get a blue ray drive next month. I'd swap one dvd drive between two computers for 6 months if I have too to price in . (I've done that many times)
If you grabbed a regular DVD drive for now and used the onboard sound for a while. Those are things are easy upgrades-- two paychecks. You saved about $150 which you can through at the processor and board.
If you drop down to a 4850 (i know it hurts a little) and now can get an I7 920 and the x58 board. Within 6 months you buy a 2nd 4850 and you're golden.
The same setup for a Phenom 2 build.
My X-fi Extreme card passes from system to system like its a family hierloom.
By summer time I'd have the blue ray drive and probably crossfire 4850's.
My next computer is probably going to be:
One of the new processors.
New motherboard.
My current graphics card.
My current 4 gigs or RAM 6 gig of ram four of which I own already.
It's sad but true..
Well maybe not this time..
7Enigma - Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - link
Well wanted to thank everyone in the comments section, this and other articles for piecing together my upgrade system. Pretty much replaced everything except for the HD and case. Wanted to give a quick rundown of how it went and my initial impressions of the components:-E8500 CPU- You can tell it's been a while since I've built a system. Not seeing pins ON the chip kind of threw me for a loop. :)
-XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler was very annoying. Currently @35C idle at stock speeds on the E8500. The push pins suck, absolutely, positively suck. I had serious concerns I had damaged the CPU because some of the pushpins refused to stay down and would pop back up rocking the heatsink. The backplate accessory was $15 which would have increased the price of this cooler to top cooler territory. I will have to wait and see how this pans out because I do not have a good feeling about the longevity of those pins (imagine if they were to release when upright and on, that would be a disaster). I will never purchase a pushpin design again that is for sure. Also have quesetionable faith in the design of the base plate that has the heat pipes directly at the base. There are significant ridges that will not contact the cpu core. I used a bit more thermal paste than normal to hopefully fill in these ridges. Oh and this thing is HUGE. I literally sat there for 20min trying to decide which direction I wanted the fan/heatsink to face. There was NO clearance issues (thank you so much Mr. Fink!), which made the decision harder since I was not constrained by the mobo design. I ended up going with the heatsink moving air from the ram towards the back of the case (from right to left if looking at the tower sitting upright). I had originally wanted to go from the bottom of the case to the top, but I was concerned the GPU would block airflow.
-Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R - As the article mentioned I have no plans on SLI/X-fire and so went with the R model instead. Very nice piece, installed without a problem, retaining bracket for the CPU is well designed/made. I have zero complaints except for the short IDE connectors. Forced me to use a SATA DVD burner since the single one included could not stretch to hit both the HD and the burner even when I moved them closer together. Funny thing: I tried to find the VGA monitor cable on the mobo to do a test run before plugging in the expensive gpu only to realize it has no onboard video! :) Don't need it, but I hate firing up the system for the first time, and like to have the least amount of components in case something fries (never happened yet to me but I still worry).
-Tuniq Potency 550w PSU - On recommendation by Mr. Fink I grabbed this new PSU. Let's hope it makes the 500-550w PSU roundup that hoepfully will be coming out soon. Seems very high quality for the cheap price ($40 after $40 rebate), not modular which is annoying to me after coming from a modular PSU, but at least sleeved. I have a full tower (I think) and unfortunately the connectors are relatively short and so I had to move my HD closer to the PSU which isn't a big deal and would be a non-issue with a smaller mid-tower.
-SAPPHIRE 512MB Radeon HD 4870 VapoChill- This is a kickass card. Factory OC'd, very nice heatpipe tech, and while not completely externally exhausted outside of the case, a fantastic design. To top it off with the rebate it was actually $10 CHEAPER than the stock Sapphire 512MB card. Don't have temp numbers yet as I haven't installed Vista and Catalyst drivers. Extremely pleased with this purchase and highly recommend it. There is nothing like being able to keep a video card stock and still being able to OC it more if needed (I hate changing out the coolers on GPU's).
-OCZ Reaper 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2-1066 Dual Channel Kit- This one had me really concerned. Firstly because the package came slightly damaged and I was concerned it may have been damaged (it's just a clamshell blister pack), and secondly because with the heatpipe it is VERY tall for ram. I was concerned the CPU cooler would not clear the ram, but again a massive thanks for Mr. Fink for making sure his components were compatible. Solidly designed, they have some massive heatsinks on them and feel like you could throw them across the room. Let's hope the added weight doesn't cause issues with the socket over time however.
OK that's about it. One more time thank you very much for the article and followup advice! Now off to game!
7Enigma - Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - link
Forgot to mention all parts were purchased from either Zipzoomfly (Vista and E8500) or Newegg (everything else). Ended up with about $100 in rebates if I so choose to fill them all out (some are $10 and probably not even worth the effort).7Enigma - Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - link
Quick question. What is the rational behind only 4GB of ram in the non-i7 systems? With DDR2 ram prices so rediculously low and using Vista X64, isn't there a benefit to higher ram amounts?Just wondering because I am building a C2D rig and only got 4GB and wondering if I should grab another kit at these cheap prices.
robl - Sunday, January 18, 2009 - link
First off, great article and good suggestions on the components. I'm itching to pull the trigger on an i7 upgrade with lots of memory and can't wait for your i7 motherboard roundup.I started pricing the intel midrange, and it looks like the motherboard only has 4 memory slots, yet you suggest a triple channel kit. Perhaps just 2x2GB or 4x2GB should be recommended for this board instead?
Do you have any suggestions for a good overclockable i7 MB for ~$200 that has 6 memory slots?
Thanks again!
7Enigma - Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - link
Triple-channel as the name implies means 3. So you get multiples of 3 for the ram amounts. Typically this is 3GB (1X1X1) for the budget builds (I don't know whom would choose this if they are already spending a good bit on a new system), or the much more common 6GB (2X2X2) setup as the guide recommends.HTH
StormyParis - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
I think value starts to drop sharply after two cores. Does anyone have stats on CPU utilization over a typical day, with 1/2/3/4 cores ?4 gigs is also debatable. To me, it's definitely more 'comfort' than 'value'. Even today's bloated software/OS does not really need that much, in most cases. Running WoW, a browser with 10 tabs, and a handful of other apps in 2gigs causes little to no disk thrashing.
Also, I don't understand why the monitor is included. There's no need to change monitors when you change PCs, and monitor choice is very dependant on use (purely PC work vs films vs games ...).
Wesley Fink - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Our Intel mid-range value system is in fact a Core 2 Duo - two cores. As we detailed in the Guide going for 2GB instead of 4GB will generally save you around $15 in today's market with commodity memory pricing. If saving $15 is that important to you then go for it.When we do not list a monitor in system builds many readers complain about the ommission. If including a monitor disturbs you then just subtract out that price from the build.
smacfarl - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
The big news in pc performance has got to be the ssd drive.I fully expected that you guys would be incorporating $60 sata II flash drives as the boot drives in all these systems in the mid range. Really they should be in the under $1000 systems as well. Sure you can then get a second traditional 500-1RB HDD drive for your movies, music, photos, whatever but even a 32GB flash drive is more than enough to run your OS and main apps from flash. Boot time goes way down and performance up. That's without even using the SSD upgrades announced at CES.
Seriously where is your head guys? I figure this first review post CES would usher in the new era, but it looks like you guys are sadly behind the curve hear at AnandTech. I am kind of sad because I have always looked at you guys as the leader in terms of system reviews. For example your comment that $300 budget boxes were now feasible minus OS and monitor is right on the money, though many other sites don't want to recognize this reality.
Wake up Anandtech! Post another guide review with the sdd drives before some else becomes the self-build system review leader.