System Buyers' Guide: PCs for Under $1000
by Sean Hollister on February 12, 2010 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Final Words
Many people have preferences as to who makes a better product: AMD or Intel. There's a good amount of competition between the two, and while it's pretty easy to say that Intel has the fastest current CPUs, such processors cost too much for entry-level and mainstream system. There are pros and cons to any PC build, but realistically we have to give the win for the best overall entry-level builds to AMD right now. There's simply no beating the bang for the buck offered by the tri-core processors, at least not with an equivalently priced Intel CPU. Once we move into the mainstream category, the tables turn and we give the overall advantage to Intel, although the AMD setup remains viable. Of course, we've only touched lightly on some other aspects such as overclocking, so your interest in such endeavors may sway your vote one way or the other.
Astute readers of websites like AnandTech have long known that by building your own PC, you'll wind up with a system that's more powerful—and cost-effective—than any pre-built box a retailer could offer. The question has never been "if," but "when." When is the right time to invest in today's components, when tomorrow's will undoubtedly be better?
To be quite honest, when we began this guide we were inclined to think that our readers would indeed be better off waiting for tomorrow. In the months ahead, AMD will launch a brand-new series of CPUs, Intel will undoubtedly introduce new LGA-1156 processors, and NVIDIA will finally unveil their Fermi desktop graphics solutions, each of which might reduce the price on existing components. As the DDR3 memory supply increases to meet demand and memory manufacturers successfully make the transition to the cheaper 30nm process, memory prices will fall once more. But then, we realized, these are not the thoughts of a true PC buyer with a tight budget.
For the true budget buyer, the right time to buy a new PC is when their old machine no longer performs tasks to their satisfaction. These days, more often than not that happens when your old system goes to the great junk heap in the sky. Whatever the cause, for the true budget buyer, the right time to buy is always right now. We hope to provide the best information we can in regards to purchasing parts that will maintain their utility and provide fantastic value for money even as the tides of time bring "newer" and ostensibly "better" with each passing day. We've started with the budget sector once again, with upgraded options pushing into the mainstream price range. We'll be posting updated recommendations for more expensive builds as well in the coming weeks and months, and we'll do our best to update these guides regularly.
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DominionSeraph - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
For only $6900 + a measly $400 tax (CT), you could have an 8 core 2.93GHz with a whopping 6GB RAM and a rebranded Geforce 8600 GT!Can i haz tek job nao?
chrnochime - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
I haven't been keeping up to date with the socket h burn issue. So, has Anand et al figured out, with or without help from the manu, determine the source of the socket burn problem?I can only speak for myself that unless this is determined conclusively, I'm stuck going with either socket 1366 or frantically scour up the last of the 775 motherboards.
stardude82 - Saturday, February 20, 2010 - link
There was never an really issue with the 1156 Boards. The problem was only with Foxconn sockets used for extreme overclocking above 4 Ghz. If you are really concerned there are lots of boards with the Lotts manufactured sockets.clarkn0va - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Ignoring ACC and the possibility of unlocking one core of the Athlon II X3 435, it's not obvious why one would pay an extra 67% for the Phenom II X3 720, at least not from the information provided in the article.Looking in Bench, these two CPUs trade blows on all the benchmarks and there is no obvious winner. Add to that the possibility of turning the 435 into a quad, and the fact that it's $50 cheaper, according to this article, and I have no idea how SH can recommend the 720 at all, at least not without looking at information beyond what's presented here and in Bench. Please enlighten me if I'm missing the point though.
Great article, Sean. It's always interesting to see what other pros are recommending and why.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=112&...">http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=112&...
SeanHollister - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
You're right on the money, pun intended. In terms of performance per dollar at stock clocks, the Athlon is indeed a much better value for today's software, especially if you manage to unlock the fourth core.That said, there are three things that distinguish the Phenom. First, it's a better (and easier) overclocker. Second, it's the better gaming CPU in all benchmarks I've yet seen. Third and most importantly, it's got a sizable L3 cache—fast becoming an industry standard for CPUs—where the Athlon has none.
In today's software and benchmarks, the L3 cache doesn't offer much of an advantage, just as a dual-core processor wouldn't offer an advantage over a single core a number of years back, but I'm guessing that as just as multithreading takes hold, so will the L3 cache that assists it.
All that said, is a bit of futureproofing and a little extra gaming performance worth $50? To be completely honest, when I first chose the Phenom chip, I was calculating its value at the Newegg price of $105, which I realized at the very last minute was the price for the bare CPU, *without a cooler,* and failed to rethink the value equation when I adjusted the price.
piasabird - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
http://www.directron.com/clarkdalesys1.html">http://www.directron.com/clarkdalesys1.htmlPart Number:SYS-Clarkdale-System-01Regular price:$419.99On Sale: $399.99
System Components:
Processor: Intel Core i3 530 2.93GHz Clarkdale 32nm Dual Core CPU
Memory: 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 1066 memory
Motherboard: MSI H55M-E33 Socket 1156 Micro-ATX motherboard with Intel H55 chipset
Video: Integrated
Audio: 8 Channel Audio
Storage: 320GB SATA2 Hard Drive
Optical: 24X DVD-RW Drive
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition mid-tower case with TR2 450W power supply.
jigar - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
My very first post on Anandtech. before today i hadn't even heard of Anandtech. Found it really impressive (especially the CPU benchmark comparison bit).after reading this article i have decided to build my own base unit (with the help of a pal). my old unit stopped working few days ago (hence the reason me trawling the net).
thing is, the prices quoted are in dollars. do you guys have any idea how much cheaper/expensive they are in UK? i tried shopping on amazon for parts and found out that intel core i3 530 is about £90 (is that reasonable? do you guys know where else i could shop for parts?)
also, i got confused whilst reading the article. do i need to buy two hard drives or just one? you have mentioned WD Caviar blue 500GB on the intel mainstream pc system but in the upgrade section you have said that intel X25-V solid state drive which is only 40GB (£96 on amazon) is essential for a multitasker as it also speeds up basic computing and will cut windows load times by half.
i am actually not a gamer. i just want a system where as mentioned above, the windows load up quickly and where i can use different programs at once (without slowing down the computer - e.g. internet and microsoft word etc).
the other thing you mentioned was Cooling - CPU retail HSF - i searched for it on amazon but nothing came up :(
i also already have a monitor so just need a base unit which is fast and reliable (i am totally fed up with installing windows software every few months).
my original budget was between £200 and £300 but may spend upto £400.
Any help will be really appreciated.
FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Welcome to AnandTech, one of the better tech review sites on the web.A quick heads up, most of us here have been doing this awhile and are rather techie, so forgive us when we talk over your head, it is not meant to be rude.
The Heatsink & Fan come with the Retail version of the CPU, you do not buy them separately.
You don't have to buy 2 hard drives, the suggestion for the 40GB Intel drive is just due to the speed of SSDs (Solid State Drives). These drives use flash memory rather than spinning disks, they are fast, but expensive.
As for places to buy, almost everyone here will tell you NewEgg, however they do not sell internationally. Google "newegg uk equivalent" to get some ideas.
jigar - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
but if i only get one hard drive with a 40Gb storage (i admit it will be faster and that is what i want) but where would i store all the files?what if i buy two hard drives? one fast solid state 40GB to boot up the computer and the other to store files (i would like the system to work for atleast few years so i probably will need a big enough hard drive) so is it possible to have two hard drives, one to boot up and one to store files?
how big is 40GB, will it be enough for me? i watched avatar and saved it on my desktop (the legend of aang series is alone 15GB). it was my favourite so i downloaded it. but i dont download/save movies so probably something like 250 or 500GB should be enough for me?
since i saved those avatar files, my computer went really slow. it would take minutes (literaly) to take any single action.
can you make a separate list for me please? (using uk part names) there is this website www.pcspecialist.co.uk (may be you can guide me through their prices and parts).
Ratman6161 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Take for example your Intel entry level build at $690.00.Check out this from HP: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/compute...">http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp...ktops/Ev...
Or I'll save you the time of following the link by saying its an i3 based system with 4gb DDR3 RAM and onboard video and audio. So that should be better performance than the E5300 and its $549.00
About two months ago I bought my inlaws a similar system but with the 5300 and 3 GB DDR2 on my company's employee purchase program for $349.00.
Build it yourself makes sense for mid-range to high end -- if that is you are the kind of person who wants to get exactly the specs you were looking for. But on the low end, there is just no way that you can build a system for the prices the big OEMs are charging. The other big advantage is that if I built the system for them, then I would also become their technical support where this way they can call HP. Then again, the system has been working so well, they haven't had to call HP either.