http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/buyer%27s+guide used for category lists, takes arguments en http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/budget_pc <!--paging_filter--><p class="MsoNormal">As some of you may recall, we featured a <a href="/article/features/budget_badass">Budget Badass Buyer’s Guide</a> at the beginning of the month to provide some guidance to those looking for solid performance at what we, Maximum PC, would consider to be a reasonable price. We read your responses to the build and many felt that $1500 was a bit over what the typical user would consider “budget.” So, we took it a step further and created a Budget PC below the $1500 mark. In fact, we even dropped it under $1000. At $800, we couldn’t quite figure out if it would even be possible to construct a PC that could play the latest games or even do some basic photo-manipulation in Photoshop. We stepped up to the challenge and built this Budget PC and put it to the test against our hardcore, $5000 machines to see how they match up. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Since we are still in the process of assembling the rig, benchmarks have yet to be run. For now, we give you our parts list. Check back soon for the results from our tests! </p> <div style="text-align: center"><img src="/files/u17625/budgetbuyers_teaser.jpg" width="415" height="150" /></p> </div> <div align="left" style="text-align: center"> </div> <p>(Prices as listed on Newegg) </p> <h2 align="left">Videocard</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u43131/hd4850.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">Visiontek Radeon HD 4850<br />$185, www.visiontek.com</h3> <div align="left"> </div> <p align="left">Named the Best of the Best mid-range video card, the <a href="/article/reviews/visiontek_radeon_hd_4850">Visiontek Radeon HD 4850</a> offers everything you need in a sub-$200 video card.  Don't be afraid to toss the latest games at this GPU, just don't expect Crysis to amaze you with anything over 10 FPS.</p> <h2 align="left">Motherboard</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u43131/p45neo_0.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">MSI P45 Neo3<br />$110, www.msicomputer.com</h3> <p align="left">Sporting Intel's latest P45 chipset, the P45 Neo3 is a toned down version of the popular <a href="/article/reviews/msi_p45_platinum">P45 Platinum</a>. The board only has one 16x PCI-E slot leaving the idea for SLI or Crossfire in the dust, but with our budget at $800, adding another video card to the equation is definitely out of the question.   </p> <h2 align="left">CPU</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u43131/gamer_cpu_0.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3GHz Wolfsdale<br />$170 (Retail), www.intel.com</h3> <p align="left">A few years ago, purchasing a PC with a Pentium 4 3GHz processor for under $800 was nearly impossible. Now, we can easily slip in a Core 2 Duo at a fairly low price. The E8400 Wolfsdale core features a 6MB L2 cache and 45nm technology allowing for a larger memory bandwidth. The chip also has massive overclocking potential. </p> <h2 align="left">Memory</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u43131/xms2.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">Corsair 2GB DDR2 800<br />$37, www.corsair.com</h3> <p align="left">We've recommended 4GB in our past build-it guides for the hardcore users, but with a budget of $800, 2GB will suffice for this system. With quality memory from Corsair, the XMS series will provide great performance for the budget user.  </p> <p align="left">Case, power supply, hard drive, and optical drive on the next page! </p> <hr /> <h2 align="left">Case</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u43131/antec300.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">Antec Three Hundred<br />$55, www.antec.com</h3> <p align="left">Antec has always had a solid series of chassis. While the <a href="/article/reviews/antec_three_hundred">Three Hundred</a> lacks a few features such as screwless mounting and a fairly cramped interior, it still offers plenty of cooling and a sturdy design. And for $55, we can't really complain since it's half the price of its budget case rival, the <a href="/article/reviews/nzxt_tempest">NZXT Tempst</a>. </p> <h2 align="left">Power Supply</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u43131/earthwatt500.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">Antec EarthWatts 500W<br />$50, www.antec.com</h3> <p align="left">We're usually a little weary on &quot;green&quot; hardware for our PCs, but the EarthWatts series from Antec is no joke when it comes to energy efficiency. With its 80 PLUS Certification and stable power output, not only will you be saving money building your PC, but you'll also be saving on your energy bill.  </p> <h2 align="left">Operating System</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u17625/poweruser_vista.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">Windows Vista 32-bit Home Basic<br />$100 (OEM), www.microsoft.com</h3> <h3 align="left">Ubuntu Linux<br />Free, www.ubuntu.com</p> </h3> <h2 align="left">Hard Drive</h2> <p align="left"><img src="/files/u17625/hdd_seagate.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3 align="left">Seagate 500GB Barracuda <br />$70, www.seagate.com</h3> <p align="left">Seagate's popular Barracuda series has still yet to disappoint. So, when we were looking for a budget hard drive, we first turned to this 500GB Barracuda. 500GB may not be enough storage for the hardcore users out there, but it is plenty to the average user. </p> <h2 align="left">Optical Drive</h2> <p align="left"> <img src="/files/u17625/optical_samsung.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3 align="left">Samsung SH-S223F DVD Burner<br />$26, www.samsung.com</h3> <p align="left">We've hyped up this drive for the past few build-it guides. With it's solid performance and affordable price, we feel this burner is suitable for any system or budget.  </p> <p> <h2 align="left">Total: $803 </h2> http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/budget_pc#comments Features budget budget pc build a pc buyer&#039;s guide cheap cheap pc hardware lean machine parts guide price guide Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0500 Benson Hong 4061 at http://www.maximumpc.com http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/budget_badass <!--paging_filter--><p>Since our <a href="/article/features/budget_badass_buyer%E2%80%99s_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_for_july_2008">last Budget Badass</a> update back in July, the hardware industry has made some dramatic turns as far as new technology goes. With the release of the energy-efficient Penryn core from Intel, we took a side step away from the Kentsfield core and took a swing at the Q9300. While the Q9300 sports a slightly smaller cache than the Q6600, we found the Penryn to <a href="/article/amd_s_new_x4_quad_core">perform better</a> in our tests. With the extra leeway we had in the budget from the previous configuration, we also swapped out the Radeon 4870 for a beefier GTX 280 while keeping the final price tag under $1500. Now this, my friends, is what we would like to call a Budget Badass!</p> <div style="text-align: center"><img src="/files/u17625/budgetbuyers_teaser.jpg" width="415" height="150" /></div> <p> <h2> </p> <p>Videocard</h2> <p><img src="/files/u43131/bfg-geforce280GTX-small.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>BFG GeForce GTX 280 1GB<br />$389, www.bfgtech.com</h3> <p>With the drop in video card prices, we couldn't help but to move up the graphic card chain to the <a href="/article/reviews/bfg_geforce_gtx_280_oc_1gb">next best thing</a>. The GTX 280 is faster across all benchmarks against the Radeon 4870 and features all the video-processing capabilities available on the 9000 series cards.      </p> <h2>Motherboard</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/mobo_msip35.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>MSI P35 Neo2-FR<br />$120, www.msicomputer.com</h3> <p>One of our best budget motherboards to date. Offering stellar performance with a price tag hovering around the $100 zone, this motherboard will meet all your budget standards and more.</p> <h2>CPU</h2> <p><img src="/files/u43131/q9300.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.5GHz Penryn<br />$259 (Retail), www.intel.com</h3> <p>Despite the chip's smaller cache size, the 5-percent clock-speed advantage and its faster <a href="/article/amd_s_new_x4_quad_core">benchmark results</a> were enough to put this chip ahead of the Q6600. </p> <h2>Memory</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/ram_patriot.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Patriot 4GB DDR2 800<br />$80, www.patriotmem.com</h3> <p>Memory seems to be getting cheaper and cheaper these days, giving one more reasons to go for the full 4GB. Since Vista is known for it's memory thievery, it wouldn't hurt to stock up on the extra GB.  </p> <hr /> <h2>Case</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/case_nzxt.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>NZXT Tempest<br />$110, www.nxzt.com</h3> <p>This <a href="/article/features/budget_cases_reach_new_heights">budget case</a> offers a very spacious interior, screwless hard drive bays, and plenty of cooling for the budget user. There's a reason why this chasis received a <a href="/article/reviews/nzxt_tempest">kickass</a> verdict.  </p> <h2>Power Supply</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/psu_610.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>PC Power &amp; Cooling Silencer 610Watt<br />$110, www.pcpower.com</h3> <p>PC Power has been known for it's no-BS wattage output, and since we are Maximum PC, we concur with no-BS. </p> <h2>Operating System</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/os_winxp_oem.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Windows XP Professional<br />$140 (OEM), www.microsoft.com</h3> <p>Alternatively, you can buy the cheaper OEM version of Windows Vista Premium or save a hundred bucks with Ubuntu Linux. </p> <h3>Windows Vista Premium<br />$110 (OEM), www.microsoft.com</h3> <h3>Ubuntu Linux<br />Free, www.ubuntu.com</p> </h3> <h2>Hard Drive</h2> <p><img src="/files/u43131/SamsungF1.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Samsung F1 HD103UJ 1TB<br />$135, www.samsung.com</h3> <p>It's our <a href="/best-of-the-best">Best of the Best</a> hard drive, and since we can't cram a pricey Velociraptor into our tight budget, we feel this <a href="/article/samsung_hd103uj_terabyte_drive">1TB of storage goodness</a> is the next best thing.</p> <h2>Optical Drive</h2> <p> <img src="/files/u17625/optical_samsung.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Samsung SH-S223F DVD Burner<br />$26, www.samsung.com</h3> <p>We were sad to see the <a href="/article/samsung_sh_s203b">SH-S203N</a> model discontinued after such a good showing, but we were quickly condoled with the SH-S223F and its remarkably fast speeds.  </p> <h2>Sound Card</h2> <p> <img src="/files/u17625/soundcard_xfi.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer<br />$91, www.creative.com</h3> <p>It's not quite at the level of the <a href="/article/creative_labs_x_fi_xtremegamer_fatal1ty_pro" title="Creative Labs X-Fi Xtremegamer Fatal1ty Pro">Xtremegamer Fatal1ty Pro</a>, but for almost half the cost, this one will tickle your ears just fine. <a href="/article/creative_labs_x_fi_xtremegamer_fatal1ty_pro" title="Creative Labs X-Fi Xtremegamer Fatal1ty Pro"></a></p> <h2>Total: $1,460</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/budget_badass#comments Features budget budget badass build a pc buyer&#039;s guide hardware lean machine parts guide price guide Web Exclusive Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0500 Benson Hong 3703 at http://www.maximumpc.com http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/budget_badass_buyer%E2%80%99s_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_for_july_2008 <!--paging_filter--><p>Back in our <a href="/article/april_2008_build_your_own_nocompromises_1500_pc">April 2008 issue</a>, we showed you how to configure and build a <a href="/article/build_your_own_nocompromises_1500_pc">$1,500 no-compromises PC</a>. Our budget badass wasn’t just an affordable “lean machine,” it performed admirably in our system benchmarks, earning respectable scores in comparison to our desktop testbed. Now that it’s several months later, and we wanted to give you an update to our component recommendations. Not only have hardware prices dropped since we wrote the story, but <a href="/article/features/ati_nvidia_youre_a_dinosaur">new technologies</a> and products have also emerged that give you more for your money. In fact, our no-compromises $1,500 PC now only costs $1,320, that’s including upgraded parts. By <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Galaxy_Quest">Grabthar’s Hammer</a>, what a savings! </p> <div style="text-align: center"><img src="/files/u17625/budgetbuyers_teaser.jpg" width="415" height="150" /></div> <p>As a point of reference, here’re the <em>old</em> parts and price list from the April issue's $1,500 PC: </p> <ul> <li><strong>Videocard</strong><br /> XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 512 Alpha Dog Edition<br /> $350, <a href="http://www.xforce.com/">www.xfxforce.com</a></li> <li><strong>Motherboard</strong><br /> MSI P35 Neo2-FR<br /> $120, <a href="http://www.msi.com.tw/">www.msi.com.tw</a></li> <li><strong>CPU</strong><br /> Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600<br /> $275, <a href="http://www.intel.com/">www.intel.com</a></li> <li><strong>Memory</strong><br /> Patriot 4GB DDR2/800<br /> $120, <a href="http://www.patriotmem.com/">www.patriotmem.com</a></li> <li><strong>Case</strong><br /> Cooler Master CM Stacker STC-T01-UW<br /> $120, <a href="http://www.coolermaster.com/">www.coolermaster.com</a></li> <li><strong>Power Supply</strong><br /> PC Power &amp; Cooling Silencer 610<br /> $120, <a href="http://www.pcpower.com/">www.pcpower.com</a></li> <li><strong>Operating System</strong><br /> Windows XP Media Center Edition*<br /> $120, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">www.microsoft.com</a></li> <li><strong>Hard Drive</strong><br /> Seagate 750GB Barracuda AS 7200.10<br /> $184, <a href="http://www.seagate.com/">www.seagate.com</a></li> <li><strong>Optical Drive</strong><br /> Optiarc AD-7190A<br /> $25, <a href="http://www.sonynec-optiarc.com/">www.sonynec-optiarc.com</a></li> <li><strong>Soundcard</strong><br /> Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer<br /> $80, <a href="http://www.soundblaster.com/">www.soundblaster.com</a></li> </ul> <p>And here’s how we would configure it today (prices as listed on Newegg):<br /> <h2>Videocard</h2> <p><a href="/article/features/ati_nvidia_youre_a_dinosaur"><img src="/files/u17625/vid_4870.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></a> </p> <h3>VisionTek Radeon 4870 512MB<br />$310, www.visiontek.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Motherboard</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/mobo_msip35.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>MSI P35 Neo2-FR<br />$120, www.msicomputer.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>CPU</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/cpu_q6600.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz Kentsfield<br />$210 (Retail), www.intel.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Memory</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/ram_patriot.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Patriot 4GB DDR2 800<br />$85, www.patriotmem.com</h3> <hr /> <h2>Case</h2> <p><a href="/article/reviews/nzxt_tempest"><img src="/files/u17625/case_nzxt.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></a> </p> <h3>NZXT Tempest<br />$110, www.nxzt.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Power Supply</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/psu_610.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>PC Power &amp; Cooling Silencer 610Watt<br />$115, www.pcpower.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Operating System</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/os_winxp_oem.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Windows XP Professional<br />$140 (OEM), www.microsoft.com</h3> <p>Alternatively, you can buy the cheaper OEM version of Windows Vista Premium or save a hundred bucks with Ubuntu Linux. </p> <h3>Windows Vista Premium<br />$110 (OEM), www.microsoft.com</h3> <h3>Ubuntu Linux<br />Free, www.ubuntu.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Hard Drive</h2> <p><img src="/files/u17625/hdd_seagate.jpg" width="415" height="250" /> </p> <h3>Seagate 750GB Barracuda<br />$120, www.seagate.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Optical Drive</h2> <p> <img src="/files/u17625/optical_samsung.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Samsung SH-203N DVD Burner<br />$30, www.samsung.com</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Sound Card</h2> <p> <img src="/files/u17625/soundcard_xfi.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer<br />$80, www.creative.com</h3> <h2>Total: $1,320</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/budget_badass_buyer%E2%80%99s_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_for_july_2008#comments Features budget budget badass build a pc buyer&#039;s guide hardware lean machine parts guide price guide Web Exclusive Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:48:35 -0500 Norman Chan 2618 at http://www.maximumpc.com