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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everman - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
Linux not even OS runner-up? This is a budget system, why not save $275 and use something...free?Knoppix would be mindlessly easy to install on that system for example.
Locutus4657 - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
Nicely put together system. I do have to contend with one of your selections though... I just had zipzoomfly.com ship me a 80GB IBM/Hitachi deskstar HD 2MB cache for 68 bucks. While your selection is a bit cheaper, I don't think it's so much cheaper that it's worth giving up 2x HD capasity. 40GB can fill up quick these days! Other than that excellent choices for a budget system.eyeguy - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
I agree that a budget deal is just get a computer with OS from HP/ Compaq for less than $400. Somehow MS does not want us to buy XP except in a bundle - otherwise get an n-force2 so you can upgrade to dual channel and OC if you want. Onboard nforce2 video is fine in an office (and free)dutchdabomb - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
What's the deal with the .bmp images? Why not PNG or JPEG?sprockkets - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
Might add the InWin cases like a few others have now fan ducts on the side so when air is drawn in the processor fan gets it first.I would spend an extra $15 to have Muskin PC3200 Blue Line ram just for when you would upgrade or for that matter PC3200 is almost the same anyhow since it is the current higher selling memory speed.
Regs - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
And of course, when everybody thinks Budget computer, they think of their budget computer.sprockkets - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
Well I would never get that Foxconn Case. A computer was made with this case for a friend of mine from CompUSA, and the covers on this case do not fit perfectly and the metal used is easy to bend. Not to mention the power supply in the case sucks.The InWin cases are very sturdy and precise fitting. Unfortuneately they do not come with Sparkle power supplies anymore.
johnsonx - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
The Radeon 9100 is another good budget choice for about the same price. It's just a relabeled 8500, and is very similar to the 9000/9200, but I think it's faster than even the Pro versions of the 9000/9200 chips (depends on the application I guess). I put one in my kid's computer; works great for his games.Also, anyone who has access to a Fry's Electronics should check their newspaper ad (or just go in anytime from Friday through Tuesday). They almost always have an AthlonXP 1800, 2000 or 2200 (T-Bred B each time I've bought) paired with a ECS K7VTA3 v8.0 (KT333CF) board for $55 to $70 total (yes, barely more than the price of the CPU or MB alone). They often have similar bundles for higher Athlon's and P4's, but the deal isn't nearly as good.
medfly - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
use maxtor hard drives instead, fluid bearings. The low end wd drives are ball bearing and after some time get damn loud with bearing whine. Use an albatron nforce 2 board and save about 8 bucks.if you dont care about gaming at all, radeon 7000's go for about $30 at new egg. Also, never buy a retail copy of M$, get it oem and save a huge chunk of change.
andreasl - Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - link
I was in this situation just a month ago when buying a budget system. But I ended up with an XP2500 and a Radeon 9000Pro. The 9000Pro cost about as much as the 9200 but is clocked higher. The only other difference is AGP 4x vs 8x. So if you can find a 9000Pro for about the same price I really recommend getting that one instead.