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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jonp - Thursday, February 18, 2010 - link
start with the intel mainstream; drop the hd 4850, case and power supply; use Antec Two Hundred case $39.99, Antec Earthwatts Green EA-380D power supply $39.99; the base system is $482!!! For only $30 more than the E5300 configuration! The case has two BIG fans, power supply on the bottom; usb, indicator lights, power and reset buttons on the top-front (since most sit on the floor) and very quiet. Even at 380 watts, the power supply is probably 4 times more than this system configuration will use and the supply is used in a more efficient way (i3-530, asus p7h55-m pro, 4gb ddr3, wd blue drive, sony optiarc, media reader, 3rd case fan == 82 wall-watts under IntelBurn Test (4 threads)).dankegel - Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - link
I did some research yesterday on my own, and also chose the Antec Two Hundred case. I may switch to the Earthwatts supply, thanks.My proposed configuration is written up at
http://kegel.com/new-computer-2010.html">http://kegel.com/new-computer-2010.html
please check it out and let me know what you think.
I'm aiming at really fast C compilation and entry level
(but not crappy) gaming.
JonnyDough - Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - link
"But now, by popular demand, we've separated mail-in rebates and added estimated shipping costs within the continental United States as well. With this measure in place, discerning buyers can find the true out-of-pocket cost of any of our suggested builds without having to consult a virtual shopping cart (except for taxes—you're on your own there)."THANK YOU for that! :)
kjartan333 - Monday, February 15, 2010 - link
$120 for a case and power supply has no place in a budget build!No blu-ray is listed because $60 is too much... No graphics card either...
But for some reason a fancy case with 5 external bays and a 500w power supply is necessary? Get real.
zerobug - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
If you are not a gamer and use your PC to surf the net, watch movies, store pictures, and do office work, you do not need to upgrade. Ditch windows, move to Linux, and you'll gain a modern operation system and applications that can achieve all those tasks fast and efficiently even with a 10 years old machine.v12v12 - Tuesday, February 23, 2010 - link
And a STEEP arse LEARNING CURVE required for even the most mundane problems. The person you're talking about is NOT going to need to use, nor want to use Nix. This person is a drone, another worker-bee in society using their computer to surf sites for mindless shopping, gossip sites and the like... Great idea, logical, but not practical for the worker-bee drone.I wish they were smarter... but, yadda...yadda...
hombre - Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - link
My wife uses Ubuntu Linux every day, and she's certainly not a techie. It came pre-installed on her netbook, and the only thing I had to help her with was setting up the wireless adapter, and that's only because she didn't know what our WEP key was.gychang - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
I am very interested in the AMD budget for general and photoshop use at home, due to space constrsints is there a thinner or smaller case that will fit with all suggested components?thanks,
gychang
qwertymac93 - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
like this one?http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
or this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
or this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Blur - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
I'm really glad to see this feature come back, i built my first system using the parts recommended in a previous guide.