http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/budget+pc used for category lists, takes arguments en http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/1000_budget_pc_buyers_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_march_2009 <!--paging_filter--><p> 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! </p> <p>(All prices found on newegg.com, as of March 8th, and do not include mail-in rebates) </p> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/pcparts_teaser.jpg" width="415" height="300" /></p> <h2>Motherboard</h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/asus_mobo.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Asus M3N72-D<br />$128, <a href="http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&amp;model=2271&amp;l1=3&amp;l2=149&amp;l3=659&amp;l4=0">www.asus.com</a> </h3> <p>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.  </p> <h2>CPU</h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/phenom_cpu.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>AMD Phenom II X4 810<br />$169, <a href="http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_15331_15917,00.html">www.amd.com</a></h3> <p>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. </p> <h2>Memory</h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/kingston_ram.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Kingston KVR800D2K2 4GB <br />$41, <a href="http://www.valueram.com/default.asp">www.kingston.com</a></h3> <p>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.  </p> <h2>Videocard</h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/evga_gpu.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>EVGA GTX 260 216<br />$250, <a href="http://www.evga.com/articles/00429/">www.evga.com</a></h3> <p>From our <a href="/article/reviews/evga_geforce_gtx_260_core_216_superclocked">EVGA GTX 260 review</a>: &quot;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.&quot; In other words, this is a fantastic mid-range part. Especially since the price has dropped to $250.  </p> <h2>Power Supply </h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/corsair_psu.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Corsair VX550 Watt<br />$104, <a href="http://www.corsairmicro.com/products/vx/default.aspx">www.corsair.com</a><br /></h3> <p> 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.  </p> <hr /> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Case </h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/case_nzxt.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>NZXT Tempest<br />$110, <a href="http://www.nzxt.com/products/tempest/">www.nzxt.com</a></h3> <p>This has been our favorite mid-tower case for months, besting out the similarly configured Antec 900 (the NZXT is slightly cheaper).  From <a href="/article/reviews/nzxt_tempest">our review</a>: &quot;We experienced no difficulties whatsoever installing a modern-day system into this no-nonsense chassis. There was plenty of room to manage cables around our huge 8800 GTX card, and the case’s eight hard drive bays come with screwless rails preinstalled—you pop them off, attach them to a drive, and slide the whole deal into place. The two 12cm front-panel fans take care of the cooling efforts.&quot;</p> <h2>Operating System</h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/vista_os.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Microsoft Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM <br />$100, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/64-bit.aspx">www.microsoft.com</a></h3> <p>If you're still wary of running 64-bit Windows, man up and have some faith. 64-bit Vista may have been a mess when it first launched, the Microsoft has hotfixed and patched the vast majority of compatibility problems with its soon-to-be-suceded OS. Trust us: 64-bit Vista stable, and it'll let you use all 4GB of memory you bought for this rig.  </p> <h2>Hard Drive</h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/wd_harddrive.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB<br />$104, <a href="http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=576">www.westerndigital.com</a></h3> <p>Along with memory, hard drive prices have also plummetted in the past six months. We still find it amazing that you can buy a terabyte of storage for almost less than $100. The Digital Caviar Green is relatively quiet and power-efficient, and doesn't fall victim to firmware errors that some of its competitors are currently suffering from. It may not be as fast as a Velociraptor, but we think most users will be happy with its modest speeds.  </p> <h2>Optical Drive</h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://dl.maximumpc.com/galleries/1000pc/optical_samsung.jpg" width="415" height="250" /></p> <h3>Samsung SH-S223F<br />$23, <a href="http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/type/type.do?group=computersperipherals&amp;type=opticaldiscdrives">www.samsung.com</a><br /></h3> <p><span class="product-description">The Samsung SH-223 is a minor upgrade from its predecessor, the SH-203, but it’s our new favorite. The burner has 22x DVD +/-R and though a majority of the specifications mirrored that of the older model, the SH-223 is seconds speedier. And don't worry if you can't find it listed on Samsung's website -- this drive is still very much alive and in production.  </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><span style="font-size: medium"><strong> Parts:</strong></span></p> </td> <td> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium"> Price: </span></strong> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Motherboard </td> <td> $128</td> </tr> <tr> <td> CPU</td> <td> $169</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Memory</td> <td> $41</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Video Card</td> <td> $250</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Power Supply</td> <td> $89</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Case</td> <td> $110</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Operating System      </td> <td> $100</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Hard Drive</td> <td> $104</td> </tr> <tr> <td> Optical Drive</td> <td> $23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h2>Total:  $1,014<br /></h2> http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/1000_budget_pc_buyers_guide_updated_prices_and_parts_march_2009#comments Features budget budget pc build a pc buyers guide hardware lean machine parts guide price guide Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0500 Norman Chan 5562 at http://www.maximumpc.com 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