Budget System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon XP 1800+ | $59 |
| Motherboard | ASUS A7N8X-X | $69 |
| Memory | 256MB Crucial PC2100 (DDR266) | $35 |
| Video Card | Sapphire 64MB Radeon 9200 | $58 |
| Monitor | Samsung SyncMaster 763MB | $146 |
| Computer Case | CaseEdge TS1 | $40 |
| Sound Card | Onboard Realtek ALC650 | $0 |
| Speakers | Creative Labs SBS270 2.0 | $20 |
| Networking | Onboard Realtek 8201BL 10/100 controller | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital WD400BB (40GB) | $57 |
| CD-RW | Sony 52x32x52 | $32 |
| Bottom Line | - | $516 |
When all is said and done, $516 is the final price of our system, not including any money you'll spend on software (Windows XP Home or Professional, Office, etc.) or a keyboard and mouse.
This is definitely one of the best budget systems currently available on the market. By no means is it close to the fastest system in the world, but it is definitely one of the cheapest and most reliable you can build while still being a good performer.
Now go build your system and let us know what you think.
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Zebo - Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - link
Great guide evan.Couple changes I'd make
1. Duron 1.8 Ghz will smoke the XP1800 for $40
2. Shuttle An35N is a equivalent board and cheaper $60
3. 2100 mem? Whatever..why are you buying a chipset 3200 capable then?
There I recommend Buffalos CH-5 cas2.5 PC3200 for $44 each a bit more money but signifigantly better performing.
newuser12 - Thursday, February 26, 2004 - link
I know this is a bit late, but I felt it might be good to note....Fry's Electronics has a good deal on a motherboard+CPU almost every day (where I live, at least). I find it hard to beat about $70/$80 for an athlon 2200+ with an ECS motherboard and heatsink and fan, or a simliar deal. I know the ECS motherboards are rather bare, but this is after all a budget system. They even had/have a $40 deal for a 1.6 duron+motherboard.
barton2500 - Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - link
For a real low budget system, swap with my recommendations here:1. Processor: Applebred Duron 1.4 GHz is cheaper and will overclock quite well if you want to. Save about $20.
2. Motherboard: Asrock K7VMM2. Cheap $59 Cdn and has integrated video/sound/lan. Budget systems aren't mean for gaming. You can always add a video card to that too. A7N8X-X is about $105 Cdn, so the saving is $46 Cdn for the board, and save the video card.
If you want to game, then go for the AthlonXP, but you can still use a cheaper board with a nicer card like a GF4 Ti 4200.
Pumpkinierre - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - link
I'd second that one #28 Cygni. The duron's the way to go in a budget system. The 9000-9200 arent true Dx9 cards - rebadged 8500s, so you could settle for a Ti4200-4600, solid and compatible. Else a cut down 9600 eg GeXcube which is a true DX9 card.KenRico - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - link
Actually gusmahler hit it on the head the XP2500+ retail is now in sight of $80ish retail with fan.As far as "cheapest" you could load up a ECS K7VMMW with a AMD Athlon 80GB SAMSUNG HD 256MB and cheapied case FD and CD for under $240
gusmahler - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - link
A few comments:* This article doesn't copy Sharky. Sharky's budget was $1000.
* The XP 2500 is only $40 more than the XP 1800. You can save $50 by going with XP Home instead of XP Pro. The other $10 can be used to upgrade to PC2700 RAM instead of PC2100 RAM. (Actually, I think the difference isn't even $10).
* I don't think $40 pushes the budget into "mid-range". Even if you keep the same OS, a $40 change from $640 to $680 is tiny, not "mid-range".
* $57 for a 40 GB hard drive is just stupid. 40 GB will be filled up within a week. Newegg lists the WD 80GB drive for $66 and the 120 GB drive for $88.50. I don't think anyone's budget will be blown by an extra $9.
I think this guide was pretty lame. I suggested two changes that don't add any money to the system, yet the performance and usability will be markedly improved. Getting the cheapest part for the sake of being cheap is pretty silly when you can increase the performance with minimal additional expenditure.
txxxx - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - link
Why not pick a mainboard with soundstorm? A few $ more only. And where's the CPU cooler price / suggestion?As for speakers, wouldnt a budget user be better off with headphones at this price level? And 266 FSB memory, ? Surely DDR 333 is the same price?
And finally doesnt the A7N8X-X use the nVidia ethernet controller and a Realtek PHY?
Cant help but think this article was RUSHED out the door. Try harder next time, Evan.
SKiller - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - link
39I think he was asking about how much CPU time the onboard sounds takes up compared to a dedicated card. While creative cards have problems, they're pretty well known for having low CPU utilization.
johnsonx - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - link
Don't you hate it when people double-post, and then post yet again either apologizing or claiming they didn't do it, the website must be crazy? As if we'd otherwise think they meant to double-post if they didn't post again saying they didn't mean to.... doesn't that just add to the original crime?BTW, I didn't double-click... the website must be crazy.
johnsonx - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - link
to #37 (bhtooefr):Seems to me for a budget system, the AXP 2500+ is too expensive: about double the cost of the selected CPU's. A 2500+ would push the system solidly to the value-midrange, not budget. Then you'd also need PC-2700 RAM instead of the slightly cheaper PC-2100 stuff listed.
I do agree that a Linux distro might have been mentioned, but keep in mind all of Anandtech's price guides are really about the hardware; they toss in an OS to avoid the inevitable "what about an OS?" question. Now of course they get nitpicked about the OS they toss in... I think AT should just say "The guide is about hardware... choose your own OS".
Regarding the nVidia card as a runner up to the ATI... at the low budget level, nVidia has no runner up that makes any real sense. The 5200 cards just don't perform as well as the 9000/9100/9200 cards in DX8 apps, and the 5200's DX9 support is about useless since it lacks the horsepower to run DX9 code.