$1000 Budget PC Buyer's Guide -- Updated Prices and Parts for March 2009
Posted 03/10/09 at 12:30:00 PM by Norman Chan
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It's been far too long since we've run a Parts and Price Guide on the website, but we're now ready to get back into the groove of monthly component recommendations for your next PC build. This month, we're starting off with a $1000 PC. You'll be surprised at how much power and storage you can get for a grand -- even we're hesitant to call it a mere budget rig. In the following weeks, we'll also be running guides for $1500, $2000 systems, and will even try assembling and benchmarking a $500 configuration for the really budget-conscious (the troubled economy pretty much mandates it!). But for now, take a dive into our choices for a respectable system, and sound off on how you would build your PC differently!
(All prices found on newegg.com, as of March 8th, and do not include mail-in rebates)
Motherboard
Asus M3N72-D
$128, www.asus.com
We haven't had a chance to review this nForce 750a motherboard, but its support for SLI and 1066 DDR2 memory (with AM2+ CPUs) makes it ideal for the budget buyer. Dual PCI-E x16 and x2.2 slots give you plenty of breathing room for expansion, and the mobo even has integrated 8-series Nvidia graphics if you don't plan on gaming with a discrete GPU (or hate freedom). A plethora of I/O ports (12 USB supported), integrated Realtek audio, ExpressGate OS, and robust overclocking abilities makes this a smart buy at a great price.
CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 810
$169, www.amd.com
AMD's Phenom II won't win benchmark battles against Intel's top Core i7 CPUs, but these chips are competing for a different market. This 2.6GHz part will give you respectable performance (and overclocking potential) for its sub-$200 price. When you pit the Phenom II against a comparable Core 2 Quad from Intel, Amd walks away with a decisive price and performance win. One thing to note is this is a Socket AM3 chip, which will work in AM2+ motherboards like the one we recommend above.
Memory
Kingston KVR800D2K2 4GB
$41, www.kingston.com
Nothing much to say here. DDR2 memory is so cheap these days that there's no reason to get less than 4GB for your new system. To make use of all 4GB, we recommend you use a 64-bit OS like Vista Home Premium. In our experience, all the top memory brands are reliable, so you can't go wrong with Kingston, Crucial, Corsair, OCZ, or Patriot.
Videocard
EVGA GTX 260 216
$250, www.evga.com
From our EVGA GTX 260 review: "With the same stock clock speeds but 24 more shader processors than the original, the new version of the 260 GTX delivers comparable performance to the 4870 at a similar price. The speeds and feeds are about the same as the original 260’s, although EVGA clocked this card’s core at 626MHz (up from 576MHz stock) and includes 896MB of GDDR3 running on a 448-bit bus at 1053MHz (stock is 999MHz)... Performance was about what we expected; the card delivered scores that were slower than a GeForce GTX 280’s but slightly faster than the 4870’s in shader-intensive games such as Crysis." In other words, this is a fantastic mid-range part. Especially since the price has dropped to $250.
Power Supply
Corsair VX550 Watt
$104, www.corsair.com
SLI compatibility with dual-PCIE power cables (one six-pin and another eight-pin), a dedicated +12V rail, six SATA power cables, and six four-pin molex cables makes this PSU more than beefy enough to power our config. The only thing you won't be able to do is run two GTX 280 GPUs if you choose that upgrade path, because each require two PCIE power cables.
Sunday morning, I do nothing
Submitted by dcy0588136 on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 12:03am
Sunday morning, I do nothing idle, it took 20 yuan money to go shopping.
I went to the
underground shopping malls, shopping centers, crowded, very lively. Purchase of goods,
bargaining with the boss, put forward the Sino-Italian items on the shuttle is pleased the crowd, the music is all-win.
With the flow of people,
I came to a fine house, I saw shelves filled with shopping. These products form the very special, very strange name, I am on a phase by the name of the "Pirates of the blame," the baby pig.
This baby pig wearing a black coat, wearing a chic black hat, his face wearing a pair of black sunglasses, holding a stick of civilization, the very cute! I am only a small Pigs love
dolls, so I asked the boss before its price, the boss said: "The kids, good eyesight it, it 'Pirates of the blame' price of 68 yuan, but the restaurant is the only one of the final,
you have to sell cheap. A Price of 18 yuan! "I thought to myself after listening to: Hmm! This is not your business practice it? I would like to Mongolia, not the door! I see how you cut.
I beg to pretend that: "the boss, can a little cheaper?" I Weila voice, heard that the boss said impatiently: "Hey! This is the last of a restaurant, you say, to how much money?" Said: "The 14 yuan!" Cunning boss smiled and said: "Children, which is the cheapest, and I have a loss of original capital. 14 yuan money
to sell it to you, you have not told me to go jumping off a building wow! The lowest price, 16 yuan. "I thought to myself: you count hard, but not on the soft
to hard, you see how I escaped my Shouzhang Xin! I pig to lay down their dolls, pretend, said angrily:" Hmm ! Jiubu Xin, I only have you here, I have to go elsewhere to buy!
"I can not really expected, I just out of the shop, behind the boss no choice but to hear the voices of:" 14 yuan to 14 yuan, closing! " I turned back pay to buy a pig beloved dolls.
Out of the ground floor shopping arcade, I welcome the brilliant Chunyang, Enaduozi along the tree, I do not know how happy I was!
Submitted by da_samman on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 1:49pm
Looks like another recommended part is out of stock (again). This time, it's the recommended optical drive, the Samsung SH-223F. However, they have the SH-223L available for 28.99.
Sincerely yours, from Fort Lewis, WA
SGT Samuel E. McClard II
Life's a journey, enjoy the ride!!
Submitted by Giovani_Y on Mon, 04/27/2009 - 2:18am
That article is so factual. Before the US is fundamentally strong, and its traditionally vibrant economy, but now, US experiencing a terrible financial crisis. So I think it is a good help too. Nowadays, personal loans are in high demand, and it isn't exactly rocket science as to why. An increased demand for personal loans is more or less predictable during an economic recession. If you need personal loans due to a financial crunch, they have an ubiquitous use for whatever your need may be. If you're short on money to pay your bills or if you want to ward off mortgage and home foreclosure, they are good tools. You don't want to use them for a shopping spree, to be sure. If a credit solution is what you need, then a <a href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/04/19/high-demand-personal-loans/"<strong>personal loan</strong>a>might be the tool for debt relief that you need.
Submitted by da_samman on Fri, 04/03/2009 - 9:50am
Again I ask, what about a soundcard? And why Vista 64-bit? I have several older games, such as Baldur's Gate and Diablo, that I am unsure if they will run. PLUS, what about console emulators? There is a healthy population of gamers who love those too.
Check out my parts list for a Phenom II X4 based system WITH soundcard and tell me what you think.
Phenom II X4 Desktop PC core system
Avg Rating: (0 votes) Qty.ImageProduct DescriptionUnit PriceSavings Total Price1
- NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
- Model #:CS-NT-TEM-B
- Item #:N82E16811146047
- Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
- In Stock
- Mail in Rebate
$119.99-$10.00 Instant$109.991
- ASUS M3N72-D AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
- Model #:M3N72-D
- Item #:N82E16813131323
- Return Policy:30 Day Return Policy
- In Stock
$129.99-$10.00 Instant$119.991
- AMD Phenom II X4 810 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX810WFGIBOX - Retail
- Model #:HDX810WFGIBOX
- Item #:N82E16819103650
- Return Policy:Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
- In Stock
$179.99 $179.991
- EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
- Model #:896-P3-1265-AR
- Item #:N82E16814130398
- Return Policy:30 Day Return Policy
- In Stock
- Mail in Rebate
$214.99-$5.00 Instant$209.991
- CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
- Model #:CMPSU-550VX
- Item #:N82E16817139004
- Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
- In Stock
- Mail in Rebate
$104.99-$15.00 Instant$89.991
- Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
- Model #:WD10EADS
- Item #:N82E16822136317
- Return Policy:30 Day Return Policy
- In Stock
$104.99-$15.00 Instant$89.991
- Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2K2/4GR - Retail
- Model #:KVR800D2K2/4GR
- Item #:N82E16820134730
- Return Policy:Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
- In Stock
$37.99 $37.991
- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
- Model #:66I-01939
- Item #:N82E16832116488
- Return Policy:Software Return Policy
- In Stock
$99.99 $99.991
- SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
- Model #:SH-S223F
- Item #:N82E16827151171
- Return Policy:30 Day Return Policy
- In Stock
$24.99 $24.991
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
- Model #:70SB073A00000
- Item #:N82E16829102006
- Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
- In Stock
$90.99 $90.99Subtotal:$1,053.90
Sorry, the burner you suggested was out of stock.
Sincerely yours, from Fort Campbell, KY,
SGT Samuel E. McClard II
Life's a journey, enjoy the ride!!
Seriously thogh Legacy games
Submitted by nekollx on Fri, 04/03/2009 - 9:52am
Seriously thogh Legacy games as a anti Vista Excuse? By your logic no one should buy XP either, it can't play my Legacy Pinball DOS games or Police Quest!
FYI, I have Diablo, Diablo 2, and Diablo 2: Baal expansion on my Vista 64 laptop andthey play with out a hitch.
Submitted by da_samman on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 11:52am
OK, but what about console emulators? I'm a big fan of retro gaming via console emulators.
Sincerely yours, from Fort Campbell, KY,
SGT Samuel E. McClard II
Life's a journey, enjoy the ride!!
Submitted by nekollx on Fri, 04/10/2009 - 12:20pm
again copatability mode
Again, I HAVE DOS games i can't run on XP. So just run your emulator in Capatability mode and stop whining, your trying to ileaglly play a game on the wrong machine. Really you have no right to complain when it stops working, with ANY OS.
I tried running a GTX 260
Submitted by vistageek on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 9:16pm
I tried running a GTX 260 core 216 off a 600 watt PSU and the system was not stable. As soon as I switched to an 800 watt, everything was cream. So, invest in a better PSU. Trust me, you won't regret it.
Submitted by ccw720 on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 9:39pm
This is my disclaimer so please don't flame me... This will be my first time building a pc so any tips will be greatly appreciated and I don't really know what I'm doing but I have an idea and I've done lots of researching the past couple of months.
Case - I'll go with the NZXT Tempest - $110
Mobo - EVGA nForce 730i - $125
CPU - Intel Core Quad 2 Q8300 - $190
Ram - 4GB OCZ SLI Ready Dual Channel PC6400 800MHz - $55
PSU - OCZ Gamextreme 700w - $130
HDD - WD Caviar Green 1TB - $100
CD-Rom - LG GH20LS15 - $40
Graphics Card - EVGA GTX 260 - $250
This would put me right at $999 assuming everything works together I believe I would have a decent machine.
Submitted by DMI PC Repair on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 7:52am
ASUS P5Q Motherboard
Intel E5200 Duo
4 GB Crucial DDR2
nVidia 9500GT eVGA DDR2 1Gb
Seagate Barracuda 250 GB Sata 2
Thermal take Soprano RS 101 case
Coolermaster PSU 500w
LG Multi-Drive 22X
Windows Vista 64-bit
Total $665 and some change
A little kick ass machine with room for the future.
Xcore don't mean X processors dang it!!!
Submitted by stige on Fri, 03/20/2009 - 4:13am
I like most of the selections but if I were spending my money I'd prefer to shave some off the case and hdd to bump up the PSU and RAM. something along these lines would still be sub-1k.
same CPU, MoBo, Video Card, DVD and OS.
ocz Platinum DDR2 1066 8gb (4 x 2gb) - 60
pc p&c 610 single rail - 90
wd BLACK 750 - 85
antec 300 - 55
zalman CNPS 9700 - 45
I just bought a Corsair 650W
Submitted by suprattalljdm on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 1:25pm
I just bought a Corsair 650W PSU for $101.88 shipped before the mail in rebate.
Submitted by hentaiboi on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 5:58am
i wonder if this rig could run crysis smoothly at high settings...
Submitted by vistageek on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 9:18pm
Heck yes!!! And at lower resolutions, at very high with AA! (maybe 4X)
Submitted by Cythrawl on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 11:02am
Why did they go for the EVGA card for $250???
NewEgg have had the MSI GTX260 Core 216 ultra cheap for a while now, and its overclocked.
Right now after mail in rebate its at $159.99 ($189 before) nearly $100 cheaper than the EVGA part and is faster to boot (655mhz vs 626mhz GPU) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127409
And the PSU? I got the Corsair 650W one for $99.99 ($79 after rebate)...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 - and WHY does it say $104 on the first page for it and $89 on the second?
And I got this stuff before March (last week in Feb in fact) (I missed out of the GFX card as I paid $199 after rebate for it)
Some of these "March" prices are out of whack.
Submitted by LatiosXT on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 9:47am
I'd rather go with EVGA than MSI. Life time warranty that isn't void if you tweak with the card, step-up program, the ability to buyand use an aftermarket heatsink? Sign me up!
If I'm buying NVIDIA, I always buy from EVGA or XFX, no ifs, ands, or buts.
Submitted by Cythrawl on Sun, 03/15/2009 - 9:56am
LOL...
Thats the most stupid reply I have ever heard.
Lets see....
Lifetime Warranty... Ok so the MSI doesnt have a lifetime warranty, but it does have a three year warranty. Now I dont know about you but I have NEVER had a video card for more than 2 years tops. TOPS. Since the 3DFX Voodoo, so that point is totally and utterly moot unless you are thinking of never upgrading again.
Only EVGA offers a warranty for an aftermarket heatsink, and really if you going to put an aftermarket heatsink on it then you are obviously going to overclock over the stock settings of that particular card. Now AFAIK none of them warranty the card if you overclock it over thier settings in any way shape or form. And really when was the last time a Video card acutally broke on you after you have had it for 6 months?
So go ahead, pay more for really no gain (the only one that is applicable is maybe the step-up program tha eVGA offers). The MSI card runs very well, is cheaper than the part listed on this list, and runs better with the standard clocks without overclocking it....
Last card I had was a BFG, and the card before that was a EVGA and the card before that was an MSI I have never had any issues with any of them ...... ever.... Last time I had a faulty video card was a Diamond Stealth 64 Vesa Local Bus Card way back in the mid 90's.... before the first 3DFX card was ever even thought of.
Submitted by LatiosXT on Sun, 03/15/2009 - 5:04pm
"Now I dont know about you but I have NEVER had a video card for more than 2 years tops."
And there's a problem with your argument right there. Unless you're really anal about your 60FPS at maximum detail, upgrading every two years isn't cost effective. I still have an 8800GT. It still plays games just fine. Do I need an upgrade? No. Are most people going to be like "Oh, I'm going to upgrade every two years!"? I guess I wasn't aware that most MPC readers have money to burn on things every two years Also, while EVGA doesn't cover damages caused by any modifications, XFX will if you overclock the GPU and tip it over the edge.
And the other flaw in your argument to use MSI: vendor pricing. Newegg so far is the only store I've found anyone selling a GTX 260 216 for $189. Tiger Direct had a GTX 260 216 for $179 after MIR and they throw in Mirror's Edge. And then after that, no other store store I went around sells a GTX 260 216 anywhere close to $200. Fry's? Nope (at least the online store). Amazon? Nope. Dell? Nope. Pricegrabber? Nope.
Also saying "you should go grab this part at X store" isn't a smart thing to do publication wise. While I'm sure the guys at MPC love Newegg.com, it's not a good idea for a writer on MPC to say specifically, to use Newegg.com. It's like kicking sand in the face of MPC's other sponsors. You don't advertise Coke and have one of your editors go "Coke sucks, Pepsi's better".
Submitted by Cythrawl on Sun, 03/22/2009 - 6:36am
Again you arent reading TFA......
First off -
"And there's a problem with your argument right there. Unless you're
really anal about your 60FPS at maximum detail, upgrading every two
years isn't cost effective. I still have an 8800GT. It still plays
games just fine. Do I need an upgrade? No. Are most people going to be
like "Oh, I'm going to upgrade every two years!"? I guess I wasn't
aware that most MPC readers have money to burn on things every two years"Hmm.. Correct me if I am wrong ... this is MAXIMUM PC, Not INEVERUPGRADEPC magazine. Most readers of MPC will upgrade thier cards every couple of years, Im sure if someone posted a poll you'd see that. Secondly the GTX260 is a huge bargin right now, so it would be stupid NOT to upgrade. I went from a 8800GT to the 260GTX (at those bargin prices and I might add has cost me LESS than the 8800GT did when I bought that) and theres nothing anal about the preformance. Its marketedly better... much better. I had issues with some of the games this past year running at 1680x1050(native res of my monitor) You can see it struggleing and having a hard time. Now I upgrade when I see that.. not just because. I waited until the prices went down and I didnt buy the high end part. Dont tell me you can run Crysis at 1680x1050 on gamer settings just fine on your 8800GT, because I know you are lieing. I went for the MAXIMUM value and MAXIMUM performance gains at that price. This MAXIMUM PC you know...
If I was anal and had money to burn as you suggest, I would have bought the GTX295, that is actually reviewed in this months MAXIMUMPC, not this months INEVERUPGRADEPC..
Now your other point:
"And the other flaw in your argument to use MSI: vendor pricing. Newegg
so far is the only store I've found anyone selling a GTX 260 216 for
$189. Tiger Direct had a GTX 260 216 for $179 after MIR and they throw
in Mirror's Edge. And then after that, no other store store I went
around sells a GTX 260 216 anywhere close to $200. Fry's? Nope (at
least the online store). Amazon? Nope. Dell? Nope. Pricegrabber? Nope."
UMMMM... Again did you read the f*ckiing Article????? Right at the top it says the following:
(All prices found on newegg.com, as of March 8th, and do not include mail-in rebates)
DID YOU EVEN SEE THAT???. Your argument regarding this article is way off base. Again most people who buy and upgrade parts dont go into Fry's or Best buy, and if you are ordering online you rarely go to Amazon, or Pricegrabber. Most will shop and dedicated online vendors like newegg.com, Mwave, etc.. In fact I actually bought the Domino ALC cooler just recently from of all places BUY.com.. it was cheaper than retail and newegg dont stock it. If you are shoipping online you SHOP AROUND..... Same as if you go in a mall.
Really please RTFA before commenting please.
Excellent work Cythrawl. I
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 8:44am
Excellent work Cythrawl. I almost thought I was alone in my struggle against the anti MaximumPC crowd.
At least one guy admitted to have quit purchasing the mag. A sacrilage for sure. Our favorite website is under attack by possible Mac terrorists. I'm not sure about it and I can't back up my claims.
As for myself I'll look at what fastest hardware is available and figure out what corners I can safely cut without losing performance.
I then save up and buy as much hardware as I can afford. Some times I save a little longer to get more important things like Highend graphics cards and best performing motherboard.
You can build a computer in one of two ways or even both ways. You can save up around $1000dollars and build a computer with that $1000. This would be like using your tax refund to build a computer right now with no waiting. There you have a single budget. Your stuck with hunting down all the components that will bring you within budget. This is ok but I would rather build a wish list in Newegg and use my money to get most of the hardware and leave the cheapest items to be purchased in a few weeks of saving paychecks. If I've got that $1000 dollars I'm going to get the most expensive components with it. Like the video card and CPU and motherboard.
Then like a few weeks later with a couple hundred dollars I'll get the cheaper stuff like the ram, sound card and power supply and hdd and case.
It's very easy to build a computer by saving and making smart purchases. You'll be amazed at how powerfull of a computer you can build all without having to blow $5000 dollars all at once.
As I said I just can't recommend buying crap hardware.
Submitted by nekollx on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 10:01am
except if you wait to long your be out of the RMA window, what if that speed new coreI7 doesnt work cause it was a bad batch. I prefer a 4 step process
Step 1: Case
Step 2: POST essentials, Mobo, Ram, CPU, PSU
2a: Make sure eveything can POST. RMA if need be
Step 3: GPU, sound card, optical, basicly evertything BUT theHard Drive, OS can be in this stage or the next
3a: Again POST test.
4: Harddrives, and softwear install.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 10:10am
That's how I build awesome pc's on my meager pay. What do you do when you want to build a kick ass pc without cutting corners? Do you buy piece meal like I do?
Submitted by nekollx on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 10:30am
I don't know if piece meal is the right word, i spec out a complete build in phase 1, then update it as i enter each new phase but i buys the parts of each phase in one go.
Submitted by nekollx on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 11:03am
since Mail in rebates are iffy MaxPC only goes by the actual price at checkout
Submitted by Cythrawl on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 12:04pm
Even so, before MIR the prices of both are $189.99 and $99 (vs $250 and $104 (that mysterioulsy changed to $89 on the second page)) respectivily. Both are cheaper than the ones mentioned on this build, and are better parts.
And both were cheaper at the end of Feb before this article was done... When I got the card from the Egg it was $220 still a whole $30 cheaper than the EVGA part and still better spec, in fact the EVGA card was around $270-$280 mark at the time I purchased.
Submitted by nekollx on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 9:47am
i prefer for cases this onehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
its 20 bucks less, and sometimes on sale for another 30 off, that 50 bucks can get you more wiggle room for say...the gpu or processor...
Submitted by da_samman on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 9:21am
Even a budget rig needs a sound card, even if the mobo has decent onboard sound. The one mentioned has Realtek, which may have gotten better recently, but I would still add a soundcard.
Sincerely yours, from Fort Campbell, KY,
SGT Samuel E. McClard II
Life's a journey, enjoy the ride!!
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 9:49am
I agree that should be the first thing that gets upgraded after the build. I would either go with the PCI XFI Extreme Gamer or the new PCI Express XFI sound card. Both are within $50bucks of each other and unless you are a musician you really have no need for that drive bay thingie or the break out box. I prefer to connect the case front connectors to my sound card. It's alot better because I'm mainly a gamer and porn browser and MaximumPC Blog troll.
Submitted by nekollx on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 9:41am
but what component would you downgrad to add a sound card. Rember the budge is 1k (give or take a few buck) th next up is a 1.5k rig then 500 Price is key here
Submitted by proro1974 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 4:28am
i'd cut out the $100 Corsair. $50 OCZ will do the job more than adequately, put the savings towards the 940BE. cut out the budget ram. that's not necessary when you can get brand name RAM for the same money or less. think I'd get a 790GX board too.
Submitted by silentrob187 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 6:04am
ALL PRICES FROM THE EGG....as of 3/11/2009 no rebates included.
CPU: AMD Phenom II 940 219.99
Case: Coolermaster Centurion 5 54.99
Motherboad: Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4 114.99
GPU: Sapphire 4870 1GB 199.99
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W 94.99
Mem: Mushkin 4GB PC2 8500 (1066) 66.99
Hard Drive: Western Dig WD1001FALS 1TB 109.99
LinkskeyLKA-CR15B Internal Card Reader* 14.99
Fan Upgrade: Thermaltake Dual Orb* 64.99
TOTAL $940.42
*Without these components which are optional. $860.44
I assume you already own a DVD drive that will work with this config.
(I bought 2 new Samsung SATA DVD drives for $50 which still keep me under $1000).
I say go cheap on case, high on CPU, GPU, PSU, and Memory. Gigabyte makes killer MBs IMO and I have owned both ASUS and Gigabyte (ASUS are obviously good as well just cost more). Hardrive is a monster. I like my list better.
In a recession Intel IS overpriced compared to the performace gain you would get with that system. I built a comprable Intel system to compare and it was about $250 more with no fan, card reader or case. I went AMD again given my budget.
EDIT: ALso, those complaining about MPC using 550W PSU, you shouldn't. Given what they put into their case 550W is plenty of juice.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 5:49pm
BTW WalMart sells the retail boxed Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 for only $129.00 dollars. Home Basic SP1 is even cheaper but who is going to get that?
I checked and double checked and no where on the box does it say anthing about it being an upgrade. It's the full retail box. Newegg has the retail box for $222.00.
I would take the retail box from Walmart because that $29 extra dollars over the OEM copy adds flexibility not available when you buy the OEM. The Retail allows you to install it on I believe three machines. At least I remember talk about being able to install it on a desktop and a laptop at the same time. OEM is tied to the hardware and Retail is tied to the license owner. It's a good deal.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 5:23pm
Here's my Budget system. It's a little more expensive but not as much as that it would be extravagant.
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Model #:CMPSU-850TX
Item #:N82E16817139009
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate
Note (Add)
$159.99 -$20.00 Instant $139.99
Update
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
Model #:BX80601920
Item #:N82E16819115202
Return Policy:Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)
$288.99 $288.99
Update
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ - Retail
Model #:F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ
Item #:N82E16820231225
Return Policy:Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add)
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Submitted by nekollx on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 9:56am
what part of "1k" don't you get. this is closer to the 1.5k build!
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 1:55pm
Ohhhh I thought that was 1K not 1k... Makes a big difference. Doh... You know like 1KB and 1Kb... Or 1Mb and 1MB.
Submitted by nekollx on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 1:58pm
don't get snarky, you posted a build for $1300+
the very first paragraph clearly says they have 4 build budgets, 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000. so a 1300 is far outside the scope of a 1000 budget build.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 2:23pm
You gotta admit that for just a few hundred more look at the awesome computer you can have. A computer spec'ed like that from the big companies would cost more than a thousand dollars more than building it yourself. That build alone could easy cost more than $2000 dollars from Dell or HP.
Submitted by stige on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 4:18am
all i really gotta admit is that you posted this in the wrong place. you shoulda put all this "awseomness" in the $1500 build and labeled it as a value.
putting it here is just, :rolleyes:
breaking the 1k barrier defeats the purpose of having a target price. while it may be a nice system (i didn't even bother looking at it) it doesn't belong in this discussion. if you want to suggest something really impressive, do it for under 1k.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Thu, 03/12/2009 - 5:46pm
I just can't get myself to do it.. God I need help. I just can't buy crap.. God I just can't get myself to even suggest buying crap.. God help me..
I'm Keith Whisman and I have a problem...
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 2:35pm
The Dell XPS 730x with some edits to look more like the system I posted costs $2509dollars with 1066mhz ddr3 ram. The system I spec'ed is better and only costs $1369.00dollars. And that is one of the reasons why MaxPC posts budget builds like this and the reason why we tear into it and scream about little odds and ends and what parts we each prefer.
Me I would definately do the math and shop around and figure that if I have $1000 I'll just save another week or two and with $1400dollars I'll build a really really kick ass system.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 4:58pm
Well if he didn't use AMD parts the AMD fanboys would have gone nuts. It does use an Nvidia SLI chipset so that's a plus but really there isn't much reason to build a non Core I7 based system.
Submitted by sasquatch42 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 3:15pm
yes, they would have gone nuts, lots of normal people would've also: Ph2 is better than Core 2, its not the Phenom crap all over againlike the name suggests
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 3:41pm
Core I7 is more expensive than an AMD based system but I think I showed that its not prohibitively more expensive to build a pc that outright slaughters the fastest amd system available. Im not a fanboy of any one company. I just want supreme power at whatever cost. But it does'nt cost alot.
Basically for $369 more dollars your moving from a fast high speed 4banger to a supercharged V8 muscle car.
Submitted by sasquatch42 on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 4:20pm
use the Ph2 720 instead of the 810, save 20 bucks
overclocks way better, beats the 810 at a couple things out of the box
What upgrade path?
Submitted by Cache on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 3:55pm
With a declining market, and AMD selling off chunks of itself just to survive (for a nice visual representation, look at http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NYSE:AMD and scroll the stock date prices just back to 2008). With a questionable market strategy that has changed every quarter for the last year and a half, would you sink money into AMD?
Price/performance doesn't matter if AMD has to change it's market strategy yet again. Intel, on the other hand, has had nothing but winners for the last two+ years. I'd rather spend a little more now with the comfort of knowing my chipset isn't going to be unsupported when the company decides to shift focus, or need to 'sell off that part' because they are running in the red.
and I totally missed that
Submitted by whathuhitwasntme on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 2:45pm
and I totally missed that you went with value ram?
from newegg pricing that day you could get corsair xms2 2x2gb pc 6400 for 45 dollars before any rebate that they happened to have one for 25 bucks making it 19 dollars for a WAAAAAAAAAAAY better ddr2 choice
maybe you should subscribe to the deals of the day from the newegg site? you are paying too much
Blindly Going Where many have gone before but often failing to read the directions!
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 4:21pm
I wasn't going to touch that one but I got some Patriot DDR2 800 4gig modules with latencies set at 5*5*5 CL12 for $28 dollars. You have to oder them online at Frys.com and select in store pickup for delivery option.
Submitted by whathuhitwasntme on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 2:42pm
The 800 dollar rig you outlined a few months back would totally OWN this amd set up.
Did they pay you for this advertisement?
I have way less than a grand in my pc and its based around the 800 dollar build out that you spec'd out before you apparently drank the kool aid.
Blindly Going Where many have gone before but often failing to read the directions!
Submitted by sasquatch42 on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 4:01pm
no, this isway better than the $800 build
1)it has a faster graphics card, GTX260 core216>HD 4850
2)is has a faster processor, I would go for a Ph2 720 instead of the 810 for its overclock ability but both of them are faster than the E8400
Submitted by Th3MadScientist on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 2:10pm
This feature is straight garbage, for a much better, indepth feature check out Anandtech's Phenom II System Buyers' Guide.
http://anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3521
Parts are compared and evaluated and enitre systems are built in three catergories.
Please do not post these amateur reviews anymore.
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