Entry Level Buyer’s Guide, July 2005

System Summaries

With the selections that we've listed, we conclude once again with four system summaries. There are quite a few modifications that we've mentioned elsewhere that you might also find useful, as there is never a perfect system that will work for every user. We'll start with the Budget configurations.

Budget Recommendations

AMD Sempron System
Hardware	Component	Price
Processor	AMD Sempron 2800+ 1.60 GHz 256K socket 754 (Retail)	83
Motherboard	Foxconn nForce4 NF4K8AB-RS (754)	78
Memory	2x512MB Corsair Value Select PC3200 2.5-3-3-8 2T	83
Video Card	MSI Radeon X300SE 128MB PCIe	53
Hard Drive	Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 HDS728080PLA380 80GB SATA-2	57
Optical Drive	Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM Model SOHD-16P9S	22
Case and Power Supply	Codegen 4C-4063S-CA Combo 350W PSU	69
Display	Samsung 793DF 17" CRT	153
Speakers	Codegen Speakers (with case)	0
Keyboard and Mouse	Codegen Keyboard and Mouse (with case)	0
Bottom Line		598

Intel Celeron D System
Hardware	Component	Price
Processor	Intel Celeron D 330J 2.66GHz 256K L2 (Retail)	85
Motherboard	Biostar I915P-A7	79
Memory	2x512MB Corsair Value Select PC3200 2.5-3-3-8 2T	83
Video Card	MSI Radeon X300SE 128MB PCIe	53
Hard Drive	Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 HDS728080PLA380 80GB SATA-2	57
Optical Drive	Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM Model SOHD-16P9S	22
Case and Power Supply	Codegen 4C-4063S-CA Combo 350W PSU	69
Display	Samsung 793DF 17" CRT	153
Speakers	Codegen Speakers (with case)	0
Keyboard and Mouse	Codegen Keyboard and Mouse (with case)	0
Bottom Line		601

Priced at $600, the performance of our base recommendations is nothing to sneeze at - in most applications, either one will match up well against the $1000 to $1500 PCs of 18 months ago. While we would normally give the edge in gaming to AMD systems and a slight edge in encoding applications to Intel, these two systems are going to be extremely close in performance and it's hard to say that one is really better than the other. With a better graphics card, the Sempron would probably outperform the Celeron D, but the X300SE is going to limit both CPUs. For overclocking performance, we'd have to give the Intel system the edge, simply because the 533FSB will allow a lot of headroom on any decent motherboard. The maximum 8X CPU multiplier of the Sempron 2800+ is going to make overclocking rather difficult with the current selection of socket 754 boards.

Upgraded Budget System

AMD Athlon 64 System
Hardware	Component	Price
Processor	AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 512K 1.80 GHz socket 939 (Retail - Venice)	146
Motherboard	MSI nForce4 (939) K8N Neo4-F	85
Memory	2x512MB OCZ Gold Series 2-2-2-5 1T 2.8V	143
Video Card	Gigabyte GV-RX70P128D Radeon X700PRO 128MB	112
Hard Drive	Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 HDT722516DLA380 160GBSATA-2	87
Optical Drive	NEC 3540A Silver 16X DVDR	48
Case and Power Supply	MGE CAG-M1-BK Black/Silver ATX with 400W PSU	67
Display	Polyview V17E 17" 14ms LCD	210
Speakers	Logitech Z-3e 2.1	71
Keyboard and Mouse	Logitech Internet Pro Desktop	23
Bottom Line		992

Intel Pentium 4 System
Hardware	Component	Price
Processor	Intel Pentium 505 533 FSB (Retail)	134
Motherboard	Biostar I945P-A7	98
Memory	2x512MB OCZ DDR2 PC4300 EL Gold 3-3-3-8	131
Video Card	Gigabyte GV-RX70P128D Radeon X700PRO 128MB	112
Hard Drive	Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 HDT722516DLA380 160GBSATA-2	87
Optical Drive	NEC 3540A Silver 16X DVDR	48
Case and Power Supply	MGE CAG-M1-BK Black/Silver ATX with 400W PSU	67
Display	Polyview V17E 17" 14ms LCD	210
Speakers	Logitech Z-3e 2.1	71
Keyboard and Mouse	Logitech Internet Pro Desktop	23
Bottom Line		981

With the upgraded selections, our total cost increases to nearly $1000. You get quite a bit more performance and versatility as well as a nicer display, so the extra $400 isn't simply wasted. We have to give the performance nod to AMD on this setup, particularly at stock speeds. The X700Pro will allow both processors to stretch their legs, but the 505's 2.66 GHz clockspeed and 533 FSB are going to fall behind. Once you throw overclocking into the equation, it becomes a more interesting race. We've personally overclocked the MSI board with a 3000+ to 2.4 GHz without much difficulty, and the CPU/14 and CPU/11 memory dividers will allow you to reach that clock speed with any of the RAM that we've listed in this Guide without compromising performance too much. The Pentium 505 can actually reach very high clock speeds with a bit of effort, and even without exotic cooling, it should be capable of running at 3.4 to 3.6 GHz. We haven't tested the Biostar 945P board's overclocking abilities personally (yet), but the I915P-A7 has the necessary features to overclock 533FSB processors and we assume that the I945P-A7 will be similar. In the end, a 2.4 GHz Athlon 64 roughly matches a Pentium 4 3.8 GHz - with better gaming performance - both of which are possible with a bit of luck.

Conclusion

That takes care of another Buyer's Guide, and hopefully, you have a better understanding of the various options and the compromises that can be made in putting together a budget PC. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome. One thing to remember when building a budget PC is to keep the requirements in mind. It doesn't make sense to get a decent graphics card if the system will never be used for gaming, and even speakers may be overkill for a simple office computer. Some requirements will increase the total price while others may reduce it, but it's still possible to put together a good computer for less than $750.