Buyer's Guide - Entry Level, October 2004
by Jarred Walton on October 6, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Case and Power Supply
Tastes in case design are very personal. Some do not mind a "boring" beige case, while others have to have lights and windows and all sorts of other extras. Since this is a Budget Guide, truly exotic designs are not really possible, but that does not mean that we have to settle for ugly or boring. The choice of case is one area where there is not as much difference between the office and gaming recommendations. However, heat is more of a concern in a gaming system, so we recommend that whichever case you select, you should add in an extra case fan or even two, just to be safe.We like cases that are easy to work with, and the more frequently that you upgrade components, the more important such concerns become. If you typically build your system and then rarely open it other than to blow the dust out every three to six months - something that we highly recommend all computer owners do, as dust can literally kill your computer parts - ease of use might take a back seat to outward appearance. Most budget cases are going to be made out of steel and plastic, although you might find some less expensive aluminum cases if you look around. Steel cases are usually more durable, but they also weigh more and some may feel that they are less visually appealing. Then again, you can always change the look of any case by modding it.
Budget Case Recommendation: Antec SLK1650B with 350W PSU
Price: $73 shipped
Antec is well known for their power supplies and cases. While they may not be the cheapest case around, their quality is beyond reproach. There are currently several variants of the SLK series from Antec, with this being the cheapest model. It lacks the door of the 2600-BQE, which many people actually prefer. The case includes a whisper-quiet 120 mm temperature sensitive fan for the rear, and there is room to add an 80 mm fan at the front of the case for improved cooling. Also included is a plastic duct on the side panel, which will help your CPU to draw in cool air. The 350W PSU that comes with this case retails separately for over $40, so when you consider that, the Antec case becomes even more attractive. Although they may not be the flashiest cases on the planet, Antec sells cases that are easy to work with, quiet in operation, and simple, yet elegant. It is hard to match their price without sacrificing reliability and features.
Budget Case Alternative: Aspire Black Turbo Case ATXB2KL with 350W PSU
Price: $52 shipped
Our alternative case comes from Aspire, and we include it more as an example of the other options that exist as opposed to a real recommendation. You can also look at our past Guides for some other options. Aspire makes a variety of cases in terms of both styling and color. We have chosen the base model, but you could also choose a model with a window on the side, with or without lights, in blue, red, green, yellow, etc. The quality of Aspire cases is merely okay, which fits with our budget motif. They will not win awards for being the best cases available in the market, but it is difficult to argue with the price. If you are looking for other options, RAIDMAX is another company that offers similar quality and at similar costs.
The front of the case is silver with doors that flip down to allow access to the CD/DVD drives. This looks nice, but the covers can be somewhat difficult to get lined up properly with some optical drives. You can always remove the covers, but then the overall look of your system will be marred. Installing your components into this case may also take a little more time and effort, and the durability of the case is not very good. However, if you do not move your case around much and you (or your children) do not use it as a stool, it should be fine. The case comes with a 350W power supply (PSU), but it is basically a generic PSU and the usual disclaimers about getting what you pay for apply. Overall, we feel this is an attractive case with some problems, but it is offered at a very low price.
Power Supplies
While both cases include 350W power supplies, they are not necessarily equal. In the past, it may not have mattered what sort of PSU you used, but modern computers require more of their power supplies. Inconsistent power can cause system instabilities that are very hard to track down. Many computer enthusiasts will have a spare PSU available just to be safe. It is important to state that the advertised wattage for a power supply can be influenced by a number of factors, temperature being the greatest. Some units might list a 350W operating capacity that can only be achieved reliably if the temperature is 70 F or lower - this is not a common occurrence for the inside of a computer case.You also have to look at how the power is distributed. The CPU, RAM and motherboard components will stress the 3.3V, 5V and 12V output. Hard drives, optical drives and fans only stress the 12V lines. Graphics cards that require an additional power connection will also stress the 12V lines. The amperage that is available for each is actually more important than the wattage. In the end, what you see on the sticker attached to a power supply may or may not be realistic. If you can actually compare various power supplies, we recommend giving each the extremely scientific heft test: pick up the power supply, and compare their weights. Heavier units usually have higher quality components and are, thus, more reliable.
This brings us to a point that many people fail to consider: once you add in the shipping costs for ordering a case and power supply from an online reseller, you may have been better off buying from a local shop. In the latter scenario, you can actually physically handle any case that you might be interested in purchasing, along with the power supply. It may still be slightly cheaper online, but should your PSU fail for whatever reason, a quick trip to a local store is a lot nicer than going through a two-week (or more) RMA process through the mail.
PSU Alternative: Antec True430 430W PSU
Price: $70 shipped
For the budget office system, the PSU that comes with either of the above cases should be sufficient. The gaming system really needs a decent power supply to be safe, and we feel that the Antec case and its accompanying PSU win in this respect. Should you prefer a different case or you simply want a quality PSU, Antec, Enermax, and Thermaltake are regarded as being some of the best PSU manufacturers. Power requirements are only going to increase with time, so if you want to upgrade your budget computer with higher performing parts over time, a 400W or higher PSU would be worth the investment. For this reason, we recommend that users who are interested in a higher quality power supply should save up the money to actually get a really high quality part. The Antec True430 is, simply put, one of the best power supplies on the market.
The old adage of "you get what you pay for" certainly applies, but for some, the outward appearance of a case will be more important than the construction - after all, you only need to build a PC once if you do not upgrade parts, but you have to look at the outside of the system every day. So, if you do not like either of the cases that we have shown here, do not feel bad about purchasing a different case. You may need to purchase an additional power supply, and the interior may not be as friendly - many cheap cases come with sharp edges that can easily cut you if you are not careful - but once the system is assembled, it usually does not matter.
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Neurorelay - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
When you commented on budget gaming cards, you mentiond the 6800GT in the 200 range coming out soon. I think you meant to say 6800 LE.mino - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
#38 I STRONGLY disagree, the quality of the case and PSU will in time prove to be probably one of the most important factors(especially PSU) impeding the lifespan of PC. Also I will certainly suggest buyng some cheapo nice w/o PSU case and quite high quality Fortron 300W PSUhttp://www.home2000.net/client/fspgroupusacom/prod...
Jarred: Please ,in next guide case/PSU section, mention the very important fact: in any case DO NOT BUY cases w/PSU's under $50 !!!
SAVING $20 ON PSU IS THE MOST STUPID THING ONE CAN DO !!!
ksherman - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
#40-- I agree. I have two 120GB drives and my second drive is about 90% full, and my first drive if about 70% full... I would never be able to survive on an 80 or 100GB drive.draazeejs - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
What I do not understand, why it is never recommended to get the 200GB Seagate drive instead? It seems that the recommendations stop at 160, but if you want to store movies, some games, and still want to have a comfortable free space, why not the 200 one? Is there something wrong with the Seagates 200G drive?Egglick - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
#21: I think you have a "Budget Office" machine confused with a Business Server. I don't know *anybody* that runs a RAID array in their home office machine, nor do any of the machines at my workplace. The huge mainframe server does, but that's something altogether different.RAID is more expensive, much more difficult to set up and use, and in this situation, doesn't provide any real benefit over simply backing up your data to CD, etc (which they should be doing anyway even if they DO have RAID).
Egglick - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
Excellent article Jarred. You did a great job of explaining everything in depth and covering all the bases for those that are less knowledgable, or want to know exactly what their extra money is going towards. In addition to that, I agreed with almost everything you recommended.About the only thing that I might've questioned was the Case for the Budget Office computer. 75 bucks is a bit much to be spending there. It's actually the most expensive item in the list, after the Monitor. A good portion of that price might be due to shipping charges though, so if someone were to find something like that Aspire case you mentioned for around $35-40 at a local store, I'd recommend that instead. That would put the price under the $500 mark.
For the gamer however, that case (which includes a quality powersupply) would be a great choice.
Gioron - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
Ok, that turned out longer than I expected....Gioron - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
Excellent guide. You fixed most of my issues with the last budget guide and I'm now having a difficult time finding nits to pick.IIRC, what I had a problem with last time was as follows:
Previously ignored integrated graphics: Now mentioned twice in the article. Although I'd still like to see it recommended as the default office option (with a note to make sure whatever board you get has an AGP slot if you change your mind), thats mainly just a matter of opinion instead of a fault in the review.
Previously recommended low timing RAM: Now fixed, and I like the explanation and options for the RAM this time around. I'm not sure pushing dual-DDR is really a good idea for the value segment, but you aren't pushing it hard and it can make a couple percent difference, so I can't really fault you for it.
The one thing I think I'd like to see is more recommendations on niche items. With a basic system like this, its fairly easy to add one or two components and make it suitable for various specialized tasks. The one that leaps to mind immediately is making a TIVO-like system just by swapping out the video card for an AIW card. It looks like it would be fairly easy to add a section that says, basicly: "for a mythtv system(add link to earlier article), we recommend the basic office computer, but replace the video card with XXXX and make sure you have at least XXXX RAM, XXXX processor, and don't bother buying a monitor". It might be a signifigant chunk more work, but I think it would be useful, and there are several purpose-built boxes you can make with only minor mods to the basic budget build. Somewhat like the difference between the office and gaming systems, but hopefully without needing to recommend items for every single part.
#21, I don't think there's much point to using RAID on a value system. It basicly doubles the cost of the hard drives and thats hard to justify for the return. RAID 0 won't speed things up that much for gaming if you're only going to be using software raid, so you'd probably be better off using the cash to buy a raptor instead. And even then, assuming you have enough RAM to handle it, it'll only really speed up load times, not frame rates. RAID 1 for the office might be debateable, but for the cost of it its still not worth it. Most people aren't working on things that are all that irreplaceable, and if you are you really should be making backups or have a copy on a remote system. For most people, you'd be better off doing weekly backups to your CD drive and storing them in some other room. Besides, RAID 1 can give a false sense of security. On the last computer I had die on me, the power supply blew and took everything else in the case with it, including both drives. The data loss in that case wasn't more than an annoyance, but relying on RAID 1 to protect vital data is not a good idea.
As to #24s post, I think there are enough similarities between the two systems that it makes sense to put them together. A gamer on a tight budget might pick up an office item or two, and an office customer with more money might pick up a gaming item. All the items are picked with almost the same criteria, just a slightly different audience in mind. I'd actually like to see more recommendations of different parts for niche markets, as I mentioned before, with one of these systems as a baseline.
Now, for my opinions:
CPU/motherboard: good choices. I might pick different ones, but only if the price points change. I'd probably go a bit lower on the gaming CPU, but thats just me.
Memory: Nice explanation. I completely agree.
Graphics: I'd probably go with the 9600 pro instead, but your arguments do have merit (and at least you mention the 9600 in passing). Although you won't be able to turn the details up on all your games, they're still playable and the price difference is large enough to sway me. Oh, and you might want to mention the 9600 All-In-Wonder in passing as well. Most people don't need the TV compatibility, but even some value customers might find it very useful.
Hard Drives: I'm still partial to WD, but admittedly there isn't a whole lot of difference. I agree with your size, speed and buffer recommendations, although I'd be tempted to recommend the office drive for both systems and only recommend the gaming drive as an upgrade for those who like to store lots of media on their computer. By far the most space on my hard drives is taken up by video files, and even then I'm finding it hard to fill up a 120gig drive. For games, 80 gigs is probably plenty for now.
CD drives: I agree with your recommendations, but I'd at least mention a specific DVD+-RW drive for those that want to upgrade.
Case/power: I think the 430W power supply is a bit much for a value system, but as only an alternative I can't say too much against it.
Displays: Been too long since I've been in the market for these, so I guess your recommendations are good enough. I would like to see a cheap LCD recommendation as an alternative, but I'm not sure what I'd pick myself.
Misc. components: This is the area I'd like to see more mention of other niche items you can add to the system, but thats more of a feature request instead of a bug, your keyboard and mouse recommendations (or lack thereof...) are decent. I personally like Logitech wireless mice, but I know they aren't the only valid option.
Poser - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
I know that Windows XP is pretty much the only choice for a mainstream system, but I think it's probably worth it to mention in every guide that you should get an OEM copy when you're buying parts. I knew somebody who paid a full $200 for a retail copy when they were building a system -- they knew enough to put it together, but not enough to avoid getting shafted. =/daclayman - Thursday, October 7, 2004 - link
#23 is right on with the Asus Terminators. Check ebay for teh refurbs; they are dirty cheap. If you're leary about that power supply (I think it's proprietary or microATX), then I like the Athenatech A301BS.Q300. The PowerQ power supply is actually a Fortron: (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?desc...