Weekly Buyer's Guide: Entry Level System - May 2004
by Evan Lieb on May 15, 2004 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Entry Level System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (OEM) - $52 Cooler Master HSF - $10 |
$62 |
| Motherboard | ASUS A7N8X-X (nForce2 400) | $69 |
| Memory | 1 X 256MB Kingston PC3200 ValueRAM (CAS3) | $52 |
| Video Card | 64MB Sapphire Radeon 9200SE | $39 |
| Monitor | Samsung SyncMaster 17" CRT (763MB) | $150 |
| Computer Case | CaseEdge TS1 Mid Tower plus 360W PSU | $71 |
| Sound Card | Onboard sound | $0 |
| Speakers | Creative Labs SBS270 2.0 | $20 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 400BB (40GB) | $57 |
| CD-RW | Sony 52x32x52 CD-RW | $32 |
| Bottom Line | - | $552 |
$552 is the final price of this week's entry level system, not including any money that you'll spend on software (Windows XP Home or Professional, Office, etc.) or a keyboard and mouse.
The bang for the buck that you get with this system is quite impressive. All components were tested right here at AnandTech with these exact specifications, with everything working beautifully. Factor in excellent performance for the money and 3-year warranties on parts such as the CPU and hard drive, and you've got yourself quite the complete system. The major alternative picks that will make the biggest difference in your daily usage include the faster 2500+ CPU, faster and larger hard drive, and better graphics performance, all for minimal price increases. We suggest that you consider the alternative picks seriously.
Now, go build your system and let us know what you think in our comments section.
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jensend - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
This statement from the cpu alternative page needs work: "All this adds up to noticeably better performance that, depending on what applications are run, you may or may not notice."The audio page also needs to be changed to say "Recommendation: Onboard audio" rather than "Recommendation: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (6.1) OEM", which it currently says.
GP40X - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
Yep, I've been going through withdrawl waiting for the overclocked system. Hope it didn't get lost in the shuffleDismal - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
woo, i'm glad these are back.. I was beginning to think they stopped doing them.l3ored - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
you skipped the overclocking system...blckgrffn - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
Why are we insisting on WD hard drives and Sony opticals? Both have been very unreliable, in my opinion. I really like samsungs for both now. At least none of them have fail so far, and they are much quieter.Other than that, I would upgrade to 512 or at least 384 for ram and call it good! I would also got the Abit motherboard, too, its feature set is worth the $11.
Nat
Grelk - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
Why are there repeating pricing lists for the processors but none for the motherboards?DanDeighan - Saturday, May 15, 2004 - link
I think you suggested the wrong budget cooler for the Athlon XP200+. The Cooler Master DP5-5G11A is only rated for Athlon's up to 850Mhz, according to Newegg.