Weekly Buyer's Guide: Entry Level System - July 2004
by Evan Lieb on July 7, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Entry Level System Summary
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| CPU & Cooling | AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (cooling included) | $56 |
| Motherboard | ASUS A7N8X-X (nForce2 400) | $68 |
| Memory | 1 X 256MB Crucial PC3200 | $49 |
| Video Card | 64MB ATI Radeon 9200SE | $40 |
| Monitor | Samsung SyncMaster 17" Flat-Tube (model 763MB) | $150 |
| Computer Case | CaseEdge TS1 Mid Tower plus 300W PSU | $63 |
| Sound Card | Onboard sound | $0 |
| Speakers | Creative Labs SBS270 2.0 speakers | $20 |
| Networking | Onboard 10/100 Ethernet | $0 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 800JB (80GB) | $69 |
| CD-RW | Sony 52x32x52 CD-RW | $31 |
| Bottom Line | - | $546 |
$546 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.
Simply put, it's going to be difficult to find more value per dollar than you're getting right here. You may be able to find some good deals on pre-built, OEM systems if you look long and hard enough. But if you want the best combination of performance, price, reliability, and support/warranty, you're going to find it right here, right now; you won't have to wait.
So, go build your system and let us know what you think in our comments section.
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Evan Lieb - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
As far as the system you're recommending Tostada....if you really want to go with a bottom of the barrel manufacturer like Biostar, the absolute worst 2D and 3D video performance you can find on the market in the nForce2 IGP, and a 2MB cache 80GB HDD instead of an 8MB cache HDD, then be my guest. ;)Oh, and the Apex case comes with a no name 300W PSU. Another huge no no.
Evan Lieb - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
Degrador, it has been fixed. :)Tostada, no, even at 1024x768 the text quality difference between an nForce2 IGP board and an ATI 9200 board is quite noticeable. It's even fairly noticeable at 800x600. Not sure what IGP boards you have used, but I've used basically all of them. They're OK if you want cheap video with occasional gaming, but 9200 cards are better if you want even better gaming and noticeably better 2D text quality.
As far as the keyboard/mouse, we explained our reasoning quite clearly. A keyboard/mouse is a much more individualized purchase than, per your example, a set of speakers. You're constantly feeling and touching a keyboard/mouse, so our recommendation would be based purely on opinion, on personal preference. That's really not what we want.
WD 8MB cache drives are widely considered a bit faster than comparable Seagate/Samsung/Hitachi 8MB cache drives, are on the whole a bit cheaper, and are generally considered very reliable. They really don't run much hotter than comparable drives, and they are only noticeably louder than Seagate drives. The difference is minute, at best, either way you look at it.
I'm not sure what your definition of crippling is, but 256MB of RAM is hardly crippling for an entry level Windows XP machine. How many times is an entry level user going to notice a boost in performance with more than 256MB of memory? Hardly many times at all, and certainly not enough times that they would actually be compelled to spend $50 or more. And since you mentioned it, exactly where are these "many other places" that you could cut costs in this system?
Tostada - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
If I was going to spend $546 on an entry level system (with monitors and speakers), I think this would be a MUCH better system:$180 NEC 17" SuperBright Diamondtron
$57 Athlon XP 2000+ T-bred Retail
$61 Biostar M7NCG 400 nForce 2 dual-channel IGP
$64 Samsung 80G
$90 2 x 256MB Corsair PC3200 CL2.5 Value Select
$40 Sony 52x32x52x16 combo DVD / CD-RW drive
$32 Apex 300W case
$20 Creative SBS250 speakers
$544 delivered from newegg.
A better monitor, twice the RAM, a dual-channel board, and the ability to play DVD's for $4 less.
I would generally spend the extra $23 to get an Athlon XP 2500+ Barton, though.
Tostada - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
I really must (as always) beg to differ on this system. It makes me wonder if the author of the guide has built many entry level systems for average people.In this price range, buying a video card is a complete waste of money unless you need the DVI output (which the $40 Radeon listed doesn't have). The nForce2 IGP does very well, and text quality is perfect for the average user (who isn't going over 1024x768 anyway).
A computer pretty much needs a keyboard. I find it quite odd that the price of speakers is included, but a keyboard/mouse is not. You can use a computer without speakers.
I also find it odd that the guides are sticking to Western Digital drives, especially the WD800JB. WD's specs for their 80G drives are quite bad -- they reserve the right to give you 40G platters. WD drives (with exception of the Raptor) are generally louder, hotter and slower than most of the competition from Samsung/Hitachi/Seagate.
And honestly, 256MB is pushing the limits of what is acceptable. There are many other places to cut costs before you cripple a machine with 256MB RAM.
Frallan - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
I like this system I find it to be really good value for money since you acctually found good products that are also decent performers.But I would really like to se the Overclockers guide as well :0)
Degrador - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
I think I pointed this out last time too with the cpu alternative: "All this adds up to noticeably better performance that, depending on what applications are run, you may or may not notice". Please, please, please can you fix this? It really bugs me :)Apologiliac - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
*fondApologiliac - Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - link
I'm particularly found of this weeks budget system.