System Buyers' Guide: PCs for Under $1000
by Sean Hollister on February 12, 2010 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Get Your Upgrades
In the preceding pages, we've explained how to build the most PC for the least money while maintaining our high standards for quality in each and every individual component. In places, we've also found ways you could optionally "get less," saving some money in exchange for features most want but you don't necessarily need. But what if you're satisfied with your build and have some extra money left over? Are there any moderate upgrades that are similarly worth every penny you'll spend? That is the question we'll attempt to address here, in our new Upgrades section. Simply scroll down to the heading that best suits your computing style and we'll suggest a part or three that you won't regret adding to your purchase.
The Multitasker
If you're a business user looking to improve your productivity, there are two basic ways to ensure that happens as you build a new PC. First, you can make sure your computer is as responsive and multithread capable as can be; and second, you can optionally get a larger monitor with a higher resolution, so you have plenty of desktop real estate to work with.
When it comes to multithreaded performance, there's little we can do for the Intel Entry-level PC; upgrading to a quad-core LGA 775 processor is currently cost-prohibitive enough that you should just go with the Core i3-530 in our mainstream configuration instead. But you can easily spend an extra $30 for the $102 Athlon II X4 630 if you need an extra core in our AMD Entry-level PC. Also, though it's not terribly cost effective, you can also get better single and multithreaded performance in our AMD Mainstream PC by purchasing the $140 Phenom II X4 940 or better.
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Meanwhile, if you want a responsive computer, we suggest that you look at the $130 Intel X25-V solid state drive. With a capacity of only 40GB and exceedingly slow sequential write times, the X25-V isn't a replacement for your rotational storage. But with superb read and random write times thanks to the same controller used on Intel's critically acclaimed X25-M G2, it will serve as a fabulous boot drive that will cut your Windows load times in half and speed up basic computing. Since sales seem to come and go on this drive, you might want to shop around; currently, you can find one at ZipZoomFly for $110 after rebate.
Finally, if you need a bigger screen at an affordable price point, ASUS continues to have you covered. For an entry-level PC, upgrading from the 19" ASUS VW193TR to the 21.5" 1080p VH226H is a no-brainer; but if you need a couple of extra inches, the ASUS VH236H ($170 after a $20 rebate) provides a highly rated 23" screen for just $20 more. And though we're not certain that it's worth the premium price, if you're looking for the increasingly rare large 16:10 panels, the ASUS VW266H provides a relatively inexpensive 25.5" 1920x1200 screen for $300.
The Gamer
While it's true that some games can be limited greatly by the power of your CPU, hardcore PC gamers know that for the most part, the true heart of a gaming PC is its graphics card. What that means is that, up to a certain point, you can pick a powerful GPU and get greatly increased graphical performance in even an entry-level Pentium Dual-Core system like the one on page 3.
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If you plan to run titles that aren't particularly strenuous or you don't mind running at reduced graphics settings, the same $100 Radeon HD 4850 we recommended for our Mainstream rigs will provide plenty of power to one of our 1440x900 entry-level PCs. If you need even more power, however, a $160 Radeon HD 5770 should be able to provide enough horsepower for 1920x1200 gaming—in addition to Eyefinity and DX11—with minimal bottlenecking. If you're considering an upgrade for one of our Mainstream configs, there's once again the Radeon HD 5770, the Radeon HD 4890 provides excellent 1920x1200 performance for $200, and the Radeon HD 5850 hits the ceiling of reality at $300. We can't really justify the price for cards more expensive than the 5850 due to diminishing returns, just as we can't currently justify buying any gaming cards from NVIDIA unless you need PhysX or 3D Vision. As of today, when it comes to gaming, ATI beats NVIDIA at every price point.
If you're serious about gaming, you might also want to pick up a dedicated gaming mouse as well. While most gamers can get along just fine with a budget keyboard, the precision and response time of a gaming mouse really does make a difference, and these days you can find very good ones for $30 if you wait for a sale. Though the exact mouse you pick will depend on your dominant hand and grip style, right-handers will find it hard to go wrong with the comfortable Logitech MX518 optical wheel mouse for $40.
The Multimedia Enthusiast
If you're a true multimedia enthusiast, you probably already have the expensive screen and sound system on-hand, and you're looking to us for a budget pseudo-HTPC capable of supporting it. Well, if you picked our Intel Mainstream PC or our AMD Entry-level PC, you're already most of the way there; you just need to trade up for an appropriately small case to house the system, wireless peripherals and a Blu-ray drive.
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For roughly the same price of the Centurion 5 case and ModXStream power supply in our standard configurations, you can pick up the $110 Antec New Solution NSK2480 instead, a popular, component-style steel HTPC case built in collaboration with the editor of SilentPCReview.com. Featuring a built-in 380W, 80 Plus-certified power supply, full-height expansion slots and a number of important tweaks for airflow and quiet operation, it's an excellent choice for the money.
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If you need a single drive that can read Blu-ray discs and burn DVDs, your best budget choice is the LG CH08LS10, a combo Blu-ray reader and 16X LightScribe-capable DVDRW for $100. If you only want to watch movies, you can pick up the Lite-On iHOS104-06, an internal SATA drive that reads Blu-ray, DVDs and CDs for a practically unheard of $60.
When it comes to cheap wireless peripherals, quality is always a mixed bag. The Logitech Cordless Desktop EX 100 hits all the important notes with a reasonably shrunk 102-key keyboard in a straightforward arrangement, an acceptable 1000dpi optical mouse with scroll wheel, RF connectivity and the low price of $31—only $10 more than our wired peripheral recommendation—for the pair. (Note that it's currently listed on sale at Target for just $20.)
As one last HTPC consideration, you might want to swap out your storage. For the same price as the WD Caviar Blue, you can get Western Digital's Caviar Green 500GB instead, which sacrifices the dedicated 7200RPM spindle speed of other drives for increased power savings and reduced noise—features that prove valuable in an HTPC hard drive.
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Taft12 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Probably because double the cache (and a couple hundred MHz) is worth the $10 extra.Jaguar36 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Could we get some power usage numbers on these setups? For the last cheap computer I built I think I've ended up paying more for the power to run it, than I paid for the system overall.FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Good job detailing the various parts and options.However, that is a lot of work to build something that will cost more than what you can just order from Dell and save all that trouble.
Yes, yes, the Dell is an OEM machine without the features and options you can play around with here, but really, if you're building a budget machine, you just want something that works well, not a super custom machine that you'll tinker with forever.
Right now, Dell is selling the following:
Inspiron 546
AMD Athlon II X4 630 (2.8GHz, 2MB)
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
20.0" Dell IN2010N HD Monitor
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
750GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 Graphics
All for $599.
That is a faster processer, larger monitor, bigger hard drive, for $100 LESS than your custom computer.
And it comes pre-built, ready to use, with a warranty from a single company.
And if you want to play games, yes it has a 16x PCI-E slot to put a better video card in.
I would like to see an article here detailing what to order from HP/Dell/Etc. For example, if you don't need a monitor, the Dell Outlet is a great source for cheap computers.
Right now, in the Dell Outlet, you can get:
Inspiron 546
AMD Athlon II X4 630 (2.8GHz, 2MB)
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
6GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 Graphics
For $389.
The Windows 7 alone is $105, that makes the hardware $284. Hard to beat that deal... That is for a Certified Refurbished machine, to be sure, however I've bought dozens of them over the past 3 years without any issues.
If you want to build a high end rig, you can do it for a lot less than Dell/Alienware will charge. If you want a budget rig, buy a Dell (or HP or whatever). Faster, for less money, and less hassle.
My 2 cents anyway.
Proud owner of a custom high end gaming rig and 10 Dell Vostro machines for everything else... because rolling my own is just work after the first one.
piasabird - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Dell is just So-So. It is not as junky as AMD, unless it is a junky AMD Dell.Windows 7 is priced $99.99 at www.directron.com
http://www.directron.com/gfc00599.html">http://www.directron.com/gfc00599.html
I couldnt tell if that includes shipping or not, so it may be about the same price.
Steele Phoenix - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I have done my own builds and bought budget computers from Dell as well. There are a couple issues that I really ran into:1) Video card MUST be only single slot. The 3 Dell's I have do not have room for a two slot width card. This is something that cannot be worked around without replacing the case. Requiring a single slot card makes it very difficult to upgrade video cards. Currently this will limit a user to a single 5770 option from HIS. All higher cards are two slot width.
2) Power supply must be replaced to support any video card that requires additional power. Once you do this the Dell warranty is technically void. You can still get support from Dell if you don't mention this but don't ship your computer back to them or ask a tech to come to fix something.
3) BIOS options are very limited.
4) External ports have very little options. No eSATA, Firewire etc.
Other than all of that your golden.
FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
And this is why I'd like to see a complete article on build it yourself vs. OEM systems...1. Not always, there are mini-towers from Dell that will take a dual slot card. Not all of them, but more than you'd think. It isn't the dual slot that kills it, it is the length. However, I've put GTX9800+ cards into Dell's mini-tower cases just fine, and those are dual slot coolers. As for the AMD 5770, that card kicks the heck out of the 3200HD built in graphics these systems all come with. If you really want more than 5770 level graphics, you aren't building this level of system anyway. In my opinion, a 5850/5870 really needs a Core i5/i7 CPU to do it justice.
2. Not true, many Dell systems come with PCI-E power cables. The above GTX9800 cards require 2 of them. The Dell system had 1, and you can buy adapters to get a second one from the standard power cables. Works great.
3. Very true, you won't be overclocking the Dells...
4. True, but do you care on a $500 computer? Maybe, maybe not. It isn't hard to add either using a PCI or PCI-E 1x card to a Dell however.
Again, I'm not saying building your own is bad, I've built many of my own systems. I've also bought a lot of Dell's. They each have their benefits. Sometimes it just isn't worth the trouble to build your own. It all depends on your needs and what is important to you.
erple2 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I agree with the vast majority of what you've said. Having said that, I can also see the additional value of buying your own components. Right now, to do a fairly substantial upgrade for me, I have to buy Motherboard, Memory and Processor (going from DDR2, Core2Duo to DDR3 and i5/i7) only. So my intermediate upgrade price is substantially lower than Dell (which, for the last 3 Dell's I've worked on, they still used a custom format Motherboard that was not attainable from, say, Newegg).However, if you're intermediate upgrades don't involve "just about anything", then there's not that much reason (at this price point) for buying something other than a pre-packaged system. Unfortunately, Dell's prices for warranties beyond the default 1 year is extremely cost prohibitive at this level (200+ dollars on a 600 dollar system)...
FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
You are right about Dell's warranty upgrades beyond a year, they are expensive. I have never bought an extended warranty for a Dell desktop, and never needed one.However, I always buy 3 year warranties on my Dell laptops, and have used them more than once. The next day on-site service for something like a laptop is wonderful. Of course, spending $169 for a 3 year warranty on a $1,200 laptop makes sense. If it was a $500 laptop, I probably wouldn't. :)
Dell (and most big OEMs) actually do use a standard, the BTX form factor. You are correct, NewEgg doesn't sell motherboards in the BTX form factor, but NewEgg isn't the only place to buy stuff.
Google "btx motherboard Core 2" and click on shopping, you'll find something to use if you REALLY want to upgrade your 5 year old Dell. :)
But truth be told, what do you really save? If you have to upgrade the motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc. You're saving a case and a power supply, neither of which cost that much to begin with.
As someone else said, OEM systems aren't really meant to be upgraded, they are meant to be used for 3-5 years, then replaced with a new one. It would be interesting to compare spending $500 every 3 years compared to what some of us here spend upgraded every year. Heck, I've spent $500 on my last 2 video cards (the 8800GT, then the GTX260, they were $250 each when bought new), so I suppose it is all in how you look at it.
mm2587 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
while the big guys do offer some very competitively priced low end systems you do need to keep they also come with1) value ddr2 ram compared to high performance ddr3
2) a craptastic motherboard which has
a) no dvi port
b) no esata
c) no 7.1 sound
d) no optical out
e) probably no real bios options
3) a barely passable power supply
4) no side port memory and a weaker igp
I bet you could match the price of the new dell system if you went with lower end components then what was chosen. Its also completely unfair to compare new parts to refurb systems. You could drop the price of anandtech's system almost in half if you bout used parts.
FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Good points...1. DDR2 and DDR 3 cost about the same. Yes DDR3 is better going forward, however for such a basic system, does it really matter?
2. Dell's motherboards are generally made by Foxxcon, the same company that makes most of the fancy motherboards you already use. Believe it or not, there are not very many companies that actually make motherboards (or video cards for that matter). Dell's cheap boards are usually lean on features, but again this is a basic system.
2a. True, but for a 20" monitor, who cares? In any case, you'll have a DVI port if you upgrade the video card.
2b. Really? For a basic system we care about eSATA?
2c & d. Again, who cares... This is not a uber system, just a basic system. In my opinion, if you have a set of speakers to do 7.1 justice, you're spending a lot more on your computer than this.
2e. For sure, but again who cares, basic system remember?
3. The powersupply works fine, I've got GTX9800 cards running in 3 of these level systems and they don't complain, you don't need to spend $65 on a powersupply to get one that works.
4. The AMD 3200HD Graphics are not bad, better than most of what Intel provides. If you care about gaming, $50-100 fixes that right up.
Can you match the price of the Dell? Yes, but you have to drop everything down a bit, and you're still building it yourself...
From NewEgg:
Rosewill R2036-BK Black Computer Case 400W PS - $29.99
AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz - $101.99
ECS A780GM-M3 AM2+/AM3 Micro ATX Motherboard - $59.99
PQI POWER Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 - $74.99
HITACHI Deskstar 500GB 7200 RPM - $54.99
SAMSUNG 22x CD/DVD Burner Black - $19.99
Acer X203H Black 20" 16:9 5ms LCD Monitor - $124.99
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM - $104.99
Rosewill Keyboard & Mouse Combo - $10.98
Shipping on all that is $15.06
Total price - $597.96
The same price as the Dell, and you have to build it, install Windows, and support it yourself. The Dell comes ready to use out of the box, gives you a place to call and get service for a year, and generally just works.
I'm not knocking building your own computer, for many people it makes sense. I've built more than I can count over the years. All I'm saying is that for this level of computer, for basic computer tasks, for someone who isn't a heavy upgrader or gamer, an OEM system works just fine with fewer headaches.