Final Words
The problem with "entry-level" systems is that they are normally boring. They aren't normally sexy or groundbreaking, and PCs costing less than $800 are therefore normally devoid of any of the glitz and excitement associated with the midrange to high-end market. Many ignore low-end PCs and simply point to the latest Dell or HP special of the week - PCs that are hardly worthy of consideration as a "real" PC.
However, sometimes you can break that mold of the boring entry PC, and this is one of those times. It is all possible thanks to AMD's new wunderkind, namely the ATI HD 4770. You probably remember fondly the smile the NVIDIA 8800 GT brought to your face when you first found out "the only card that mattered" would cost around $200. The 8800 GT wasn't the fastest card you could buy from NVIDIA, but it was definitely the best value around in graphics performance. Nothing was even close at that $200 price point.
The ATI 4770 has grabbed our interest in the same way, but at a ridiculous "take the money and run" price of just $99. This $100 video card outperforms everything approaching its price. More than that, it is almost the Universal GPU, since any user who games on less than a 30" monitor will likely be very satisfied with the frame rates and "playability" of the 4770. We took the HD 4770 concept to its logical conclusion on pages 4 and 5. It is almost embarrassing to call these systems "budget computer", but for less than $550 the basic box certainly fits that category. We prefer to look at these two systems as redefining the expectations of a budget computer. Whichever of these two systems you decide to build, it will blow away what you've come to expect from an inexpensive PC. Console gaming got you down? Now you can do real work as well as play games for just a couple hundred dollars more. If you are an overclocker, you will be even more excited.
Of course, not everyone needs or wants a gaming rig, and the entry systems may be perfect for a parent's internet and email needs, a kid's computer, or an expandable system to start with if you have a very limited budget and want to grow with your computer. The basic AMD system is under $300, and a complete system with 19" widescreen LCD, speakers, and Vista Home Premium 64-bit for either Intel or AMD is less than $550. This is for a competent and capable Intel dual-core E5200 Wolfdale or a dual-core AMD 7750BE Kuma. The boards in both systems fully support HDMI and HD video. These are powerful systems at very friendly prices.
Finally, you will find a basic HTPC computer in a component-type case is also a better buy today. With either Intel or AMD, the HTPCs deliver HD output, 1TB HD storage, video-ripping power, and Blu-ray playback capabilities to your HDTV and home theater setup. The cost has dropped to just $550 for the basic HTPC box or $680 with the addition of the Vista OS and cordless keyboard/mouse.
With the ability to include a capable gaming video card in a complete computer system at around $800, the entry segment now covers a range of options wider than ever before. That is very good news for enthusiasts who have been looking for power but were previously held back by a tight budget. Build any of our budget PCs with a $99 ATI HD 4770 graphics card, and you will be able to rejoin the PC gaming world.
To put this value in perspective consider that the original 2.93GHz Core 2 Duo cost $1000. The $140 E7500 in our $825 Intel Budget System is basically the same CPU updated to a more efficient manufacturing process. It provides the same speed and similar performance to the $1000 part. That should give you a better idea of how quickly satisfying CPU performance has moved down to the entry-level computer segment. The $99 ATI 4770 included in our $825 Budget systems outperforms anything even close to its price. With that added graphics power you have a truly powerful computer system at a very entry price. That is the our idea of true value.
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bupkus - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link
Could you list a Crossfire motherboard option for those who think of a budget system as one that would allow a second HD4770 for future upgrade?Gary Key - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - link
Hi,Unlike the AMD side, there are not any standout CF boards that fit within our budget guidelines for this article. That said, I like the DFI BI P45-T2RS at $107, ASRock P45XE at $90, Biostar TForce TP45HP at $100, and my favorite P45 board, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P at $130 but $110 with a rebate right now.
With the last BIOS update, the DFI LP JR P45-T2RS at $110 is an interesting choice as it is an uATX format and works well in a SFF system, especially with two HD4770 cards. I have not tested the ECS BS P45T-A, but it seems to have positive comments around the forums (looking at price compared to performance/quality) for $82 with the MIR.
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link
For an AMD CPU there are lots of good Crossfire X motherboard choices. One geed choice is the Asus M4A78 Plus which sells for just $79 so it still fits the budget very well.Choosing an Intel board with dual PCIe x16 slots is a lot more difficult. I have asked Gary Key, our Motherboard Editor, to comment on an Intel choice.
PC Reviewer - Monday, May 18, 2009 - link
id change the video card to an hd 4890 if you could throw in the extra money..http://pcreviewer.org/new-radeon-hd-4890-video-car...">http://pcreviewer.org/new-radeon-hd-4890-video-car...
Lunyone - Monday, May 18, 2009 - link
As the previous poster stated that the Gigabyte g41 mobo listed has only 2 DIMM slots and not 4 as pictured in the article. This is one of the main reasons I prefer AMD mobo's over most Intel based mobo's. AMD's mobo's "usually" have more options included for a given price (usually less than Intel based ones). This isn't always true, but I'd say that 80-90% of the time it is true.Anyone know of any good links to the Sigma 500w PSU?? I'm just curious how well it does under testing or in real world situations. I try and keep up on good PSU's and I'm having a hard time finding reviews for the Sigma PSU listed in this review. I've read some on their other offerings >650w, but can't seem to find one for the 500w level.
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link
We had the correct Gigabyte G41 photo in the images, but the wrong link. THat has been corrected and you will now see the small image with the two dimm slots, which is all available on the $65 G41 MB.The 2 dimm slots can easily handle our recommended 4GB of memory. If you want more than 4GB you will need a more expensive motherboard.
Shocker1322 - Sunday, May 17, 2009 - link
I happen to be specing out a computer that is also using the GA-G41M-ES2L, however the picture posted looks to be that of a GA-EP45-UD3R. A key difference is the 4 DIMM slots on the GA-EP45-UD3R vs the 2 DIMM slots on the GA-G41M-ES2L.PrinceGaz - Friday, May 15, 2009 - link
I know the main point of this article was main system recommendations, but I would suggest you do some basic research before recommending some of the other bits to go with it.The recommendation of the Logitech EX110 wireless keyboard and mouse set literally left me open-mouthed. Just because it has the Logitech name doesn't mean it is a quality product. I had an EX110 for a day. The keyboard was DOA, and the mouse both felt and acted like the very cheap optical mouse it was (when left stationery, the mouse pointer slowly creeped to one side, and sometimes the mouse pointer jumped to the edge of the screen). And that's before the batteries. The EX110 is known to eat batteries very quickly, so you should add the cost of some NiMH rechargeables (and the charger if necessary) to the system build cost. My overall impression of it (the keyboard didn't work but I still got a feel for how the keyboard felt) was that it was bargain-bin no-name product, which Logitech have foolishly stuck their name on to capture some of the low-end market.
Spend a touch more on the keyboard and mouse and you can get products which perform much better, like the LX-6 mouse which can run off a single AA cell for two or three months of heavy use (or you can put two in for double the life as they are connected in parallel), instead of using two of them in a week or so. As for the keyboard, any RF wireless keyboard with sufficient range should be fine as even the cheap ones don't eat batteries (there is no potentially power-draining LED or laser needed on a keyboard), and an HTPC is unlikely to be used for serious typing duties.
Apart from that small point about what I guess was a blind "this is cheap and is wireless from a good company" recommendation of the EX-110, it was an excellent article.
Ah yeah, one other thing made me smile: on the page 3 (Intel entry-level) about the Asus P5QL-CM mobo:
"It is not an overclocking demon with our E5200/E7200 being limited to the 345FSB range due to the chipset, but that is more than enough headroom (4.16GHz with the E5200) for most users."
This is the entry level system costed at around US$300 for the base system, and you feel the need to mention the recommended CPU with that mobo will probably not be able to be overclocked beyond 4.16GHz from its stock 2.5GHz! Good grief, if it were an overclocking-system guide, then you might mention that, buy you are talking about what is an over 70% overclock limitation in what is an entry-level box! Seriously-- a 70% overclock limitation because of the mobo in an entry-level box.
strikeback03 - Monday, May 18, 2009 - link
We have bought 3 of the EX110 sets for student computers here at work. All have worked on arrival, and none eat batteries excessively (couple months per charge). The keyboard isn't the highest quality, but my biggest concern for HTPC use would be the range. They seem to be limited to a few feet, which would mean the receiver would have to be buried in the couch or something.pirspilane - Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - link
Yes, the range is a problem. The EX110 is better suited for desktop use.I put the RF receiver on the top rear of my armoire, since the cord wouldn't reach to the front. Reception was erratic from only 6 feet away.
It works OK now that I moved the receiver to the front of the armoire on top of the TV shelf.