System Buyers' Guide: PCs for Under $1000
by Sean Hollister on February 12, 2010 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Introduction
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... it was a fantastic time to build a new PC. Last spring, with DDR2 memory prices in the toilet and budget Micro-ATX motherboards around every corner, we showed you how to piece together a quality dual-core PC for under $550—peripherals, monitor and operating system included. Then, we took the next logical step, and for the first time in Buyers' Guide history, we told you how to build a rig with no compromises—a fast chip, an overclockable motherboard, a 1080p LCD screen and even a gaming-quality graphics card—for just $300 more.
Needless to say, much has changed in the nine months since our last budget Buyers' Guide. Memory prices have risen drastically: the same exact 4GB of DDR2-800 we purchased for $27 last May would cost you $85 today. Intel has launched a series of exciting new 32nm processors—the Core i3 series in particular poised to offer serious value for mainstream computing—but at $125, they're too pricy for our budget box (though you'll find one in our mainstream config—see page 4). Windows 7 has completely supplanted Vista as the OS of choice for new PC builders and appears in all our suggested configurations, but even it comes at a $5 premium. And a number of the bang-for-the-buck parts we chose last year have been discontinued without a ready successor.
In short, it seems clear that you'll need to shell out a few more dollars if you want a new computer to match the high standards we set last year. But not all has changed for the worse. Even as DDR2 costs rise, quality DDR3 modules are close to finding price parity with their slower brethren. Motherboard and monitor features that once fetched a premium are also coming within reach of regular buyers. And if you shop around these days, you can often find free shipping on many if not all components. So if you do have the extra money to spare, we assure you that this edition of the System Buyers' Guide will afford you and yours more PC per penny than you've ever gotten before.
This guide continues the tradition of cordoning off the common components you may already own in a separate section of our pricing chart, allowing you to quickly and easily find the cost of a basic box without optional speakers, I/O, display or operating system, in addition to the total for a complete system with all required peripherals included. 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).
If you're looking for an inexpensive yet dependable machine for a friend, relative, significant other or even yourself, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than our AMD Entry-level PC on page 2. Shipped to your doorstep for $717 before tax, it is filled with tried-and-true components centered around a tri-core Athlon II processor, 4GB of quality DDR3 memory and a motherboard equipped with the favored AMD 785G/SB710 chipset. If you'd prefer to go the Intel route, you'll find a similarly priced LGA 775 system on page 3; but be warned that that our Intel box doesn't offer quite the value of its AMD counterpart.
No, true Intel aficionados would do far better to check out our Intel Mainstream PC on page 4. Equipped with a new Intel Core i3 processor and the best H55 motherboard we've yet gotten our hands on, it comes with a bang-for-the-buck 1080p LCD monitor and a graphics card capable of driving both it and most any game you'd want to display for under $950 before tax. Of course, at that price point, AMD offers some stiff competition. On page 5, you'll find a similarly equipped AMD Mainstream PC sporting the Phenom II X3 720 Heka Black Edition, a 2.8GHz tri-core chip with an unlocked multiplier and, if you're lucky, an unlockable fourth core as well.
We realize that value comes at a price and that you often get what you pay for when it comes to computer components—but having shopped around, we also believe that any PC user would be happy with the value they receive from our suggested budget and mainstream configurations. That said, we don't want to make you think that these PCs are "one size fits all." They can each be upgraded and customized to match your tastes and computing style, and on page 6 we'll look at some of the inexpensive ways you can personalize your PC buying experience.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
86 Comments
View All Comments
Taft12 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Probably because double the cache (and a couple hundred MHz) is worth the $10 extra.Jaguar36 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Could we get some power usage numbers on these setups? For the last cheap computer I built I think I've ended up paying more for the power to run it, than I paid for the system overall.FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Good job detailing the various parts and options.However, that is a lot of work to build something that will cost more than what you can just order from Dell and save all that trouble.
Yes, yes, the Dell is an OEM machine without the features and options you can play around with here, but really, if you're building a budget machine, you just want something that works well, not a super custom machine that you'll tinker with forever.
Right now, Dell is selling the following:
Inspiron 546
AMD Athlon II X4 630 (2.8GHz, 2MB)
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
20.0" Dell IN2010N HD Monitor
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
750GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 Graphics
All for $599.
That is a faster processer, larger monitor, bigger hard drive, for $100 LESS than your custom computer.
And it comes pre-built, ready to use, with a warranty from a single company.
And if you want to play games, yes it has a 16x PCI-E slot to put a better video card in.
I would like to see an article here detailing what to order from HP/Dell/Etc. For example, if you don't need a monitor, the Dell Outlet is a great source for cheap computers.
Right now, in the Dell Outlet, you can get:
Inspiron 546
AMD Athlon II X4 630 (2.8GHz, 2MB)
Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
6GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 Graphics
For $389.
The Windows 7 alone is $105, that makes the hardware $284. Hard to beat that deal... That is for a Certified Refurbished machine, to be sure, however I've bought dozens of them over the past 3 years without any issues.
If you want to build a high end rig, you can do it for a lot less than Dell/Alienware will charge. If you want a budget rig, buy a Dell (or HP or whatever). Faster, for less money, and less hassle.
My 2 cents anyway.
Proud owner of a custom high end gaming rig and 10 Dell Vostro machines for everything else... because rolling my own is just work after the first one.
piasabird - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Dell is just So-So. It is not as junky as AMD, unless it is a junky AMD Dell.Windows 7 is priced $99.99 at www.directron.com
http://www.directron.com/gfc00599.html">http://www.directron.com/gfc00599.html
I couldnt tell if that includes shipping or not, so it may be about the same price.
Steele Phoenix - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I have done my own builds and bought budget computers from Dell as well. There are a couple issues that I really ran into:1) Video card MUST be only single slot. The 3 Dell's I have do not have room for a two slot width card. This is something that cannot be worked around without replacing the case. Requiring a single slot card makes it very difficult to upgrade video cards. Currently this will limit a user to a single 5770 option from HIS. All higher cards are two slot width.
2) Power supply must be replaced to support any video card that requires additional power. Once you do this the Dell warranty is technically void. You can still get support from Dell if you don't mention this but don't ship your computer back to them or ask a tech to come to fix something.
3) BIOS options are very limited.
4) External ports have very little options. No eSATA, Firewire etc.
Other than all of that your golden.
FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
And this is why I'd like to see a complete article on build it yourself vs. OEM systems...1. Not always, there are mini-towers from Dell that will take a dual slot card. Not all of them, but more than you'd think. It isn't the dual slot that kills it, it is the length. However, I've put GTX9800+ cards into Dell's mini-tower cases just fine, and those are dual slot coolers. As for the AMD 5770, that card kicks the heck out of the 3200HD built in graphics these systems all come with. If you really want more than 5770 level graphics, you aren't building this level of system anyway. In my opinion, a 5850/5870 really needs a Core i5/i7 CPU to do it justice.
2. Not true, many Dell systems come with PCI-E power cables. The above GTX9800 cards require 2 of them. The Dell system had 1, and you can buy adapters to get a second one from the standard power cables. Works great.
3. Very true, you won't be overclocking the Dells...
4. True, but do you care on a $500 computer? Maybe, maybe not. It isn't hard to add either using a PCI or PCI-E 1x card to a Dell however.
Again, I'm not saying building your own is bad, I've built many of my own systems. I've also bought a lot of Dell's. They each have their benefits. Sometimes it just isn't worth the trouble to build your own. It all depends on your needs and what is important to you.
erple2 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I agree with the vast majority of what you've said. Having said that, I can also see the additional value of buying your own components. Right now, to do a fairly substantial upgrade for me, I have to buy Motherboard, Memory and Processor (going from DDR2, Core2Duo to DDR3 and i5/i7) only. So my intermediate upgrade price is substantially lower than Dell (which, for the last 3 Dell's I've worked on, they still used a custom format Motherboard that was not attainable from, say, Newegg).However, if you're intermediate upgrades don't involve "just about anything", then there's not that much reason (at this price point) for buying something other than a pre-packaged system. Unfortunately, Dell's prices for warranties beyond the default 1 year is extremely cost prohibitive at this level (200+ dollars on a 600 dollar system)...
FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
You are right about Dell's warranty upgrades beyond a year, they are expensive. I have never bought an extended warranty for a Dell desktop, and never needed one.However, I always buy 3 year warranties on my Dell laptops, and have used them more than once. The next day on-site service for something like a laptop is wonderful. Of course, spending $169 for a 3 year warranty on a $1,200 laptop makes sense. If it was a $500 laptop, I probably wouldn't. :)
Dell (and most big OEMs) actually do use a standard, the BTX form factor. You are correct, NewEgg doesn't sell motherboards in the BTX form factor, but NewEgg isn't the only place to buy stuff.
Google "btx motherboard Core 2" and click on shopping, you'll find something to use if you REALLY want to upgrade your 5 year old Dell. :)
But truth be told, what do you really save? If you have to upgrade the motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc. You're saving a case and a power supply, neither of which cost that much to begin with.
As someone else said, OEM systems aren't really meant to be upgraded, they are meant to be used for 3-5 years, then replaced with a new one. It would be interesting to compare spending $500 every 3 years compared to what some of us here spend upgraded every year. Heck, I've spent $500 on my last 2 video cards (the 8800GT, then the GTX260, they were $250 each when bought new), so I suppose it is all in how you look at it.
mm2587 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
while the big guys do offer some very competitively priced low end systems you do need to keep they also come with1) value ddr2 ram compared to high performance ddr3
2) a craptastic motherboard which has
a) no dvi port
b) no esata
c) no 7.1 sound
d) no optical out
e) probably no real bios options
3) a barely passable power supply
4) no side port memory and a weaker igp
I bet you could match the price of the new dell system if you went with lower end components then what was chosen. Its also completely unfair to compare new parts to refurb systems. You could drop the price of anandtech's system almost in half if you bout used parts.
FlyTexas - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Good points...1. DDR2 and DDR 3 cost about the same. Yes DDR3 is better going forward, however for such a basic system, does it really matter?
2. Dell's motherboards are generally made by Foxxcon, the same company that makes most of the fancy motherboards you already use. Believe it or not, there are not very many companies that actually make motherboards (or video cards for that matter). Dell's cheap boards are usually lean on features, but again this is a basic system.
2a. True, but for a 20" monitor, who cares? In any case, you'll have a DVI port if you upgrade the video card.
2b. Really? For a basic system we care about eSATA?
2c & d. Again, who cares... This is not a uber system, just a basic system. In my opinion, if you have a set of speakers to do 7.1 justice, you're spending a lot more on your computer than this.
2e. For sure, but again who cares, basic system remember?
3. The powersupply works fine, I've got GTX9800 cards running in 3 of these level systems and they don't complain, you don't need to spend $65 on a powersupply to get one that works.
4. The AMD 3200HD Graphics are not bad, better than most of what Intel provides. If you care about gaming, $50-100 fixes that right up.
Can you match the price of the Dell? Yes, but you have to drop everything down a bit, and you're still building it yourself...
From NewEgg:
Rosewill R2036-BK Black Computer Case 400W PS - $29.99
AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz - $101.99
ECS A780GM-M3 AM2+/AM3 Micro ATX Motherboard - $59.99
PQI POWER Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 - $74.99
HITACHI Deskstar 500GB 7200 RPM - $54.99
SAMSUNG 22x CD/DVD Burner Black - $19.99
Acer X203H Black 20" 16:9 5ms LCD Monitor - $124.99
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM - $104.99
Rosewill Keyboard & Mouse Combo - $10.98
Shipping on all that is $15.06
Total price - $597.96
The same price as the Dell, and you have to build it, install Windows, and support it yourself. The Dell comes ready to use out of the box, gives you a place to call and get service for a year, and generally just works.
I'm not knocking building your own computer, for many people it makes sense. I've built more than I can count over the years. All I'm saying is that for this level of computer, for basic computer tasks, for someone who isn't a heavy upgrader or gamer, an OEM system works just fine with fewer headaches.