Buyer's Guide - Entry Level, October 2004

Speakers

Depending on what you want to do with your computer, there are a few different options in the sound department. We will leave it to you to decide which option fits your needs best.

Office Recommendation: None/Headphones
Price: $0

If you are only interested in an office computer, you really have no need for actual speakers. Save your pennies for something that you will actually use, as the Windows beeps are not going to be missed. Besides, if you need sound at some point, you probably have a pair of headphones that you can plug into the computer. Should you change your mind, buying a set of speakers and hooking them up is about as easy an upgrade as you can find.

Office Recommendation 2: Altec Lansing 220 2.0 Speakers
Price: $16 shipped

If you want to listen to the occasional CD while you work on your taxes, or maybe play a few games now and then, these speakers will work well without costing a lot. They are pretty anemic when compared to something like a set of Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1's, but at less than one twentieth the price, you cannot expect them to compete with Klipsch. You could also opt for a setup that includes a subwoofer, like the Creative SBS330 2.1, but then you are getting close to the cost of the last option with much lower quality.

Gamer Recommendation: Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speakers
Price: $56 shipped

If it seems like almost every Guide that we have written lately includes these speakers as an option, just consider that a sign of their quality. There may be competing speaker setups from other companies, but we have yet to find one that can match the price and quality of the Z-640s. Even Logitech has come out with several new inexpensive 5.1 setups that cannot beat them. There are better sounding speakers out there, but they typically cost three times as much, if not more. These speakers can get plenty loud, and we can personally attest to the fact that they work well while playing games and watching movies. Some of us have even chosen to forgo expensive stereo components and just stick with these on our entertainment system. The only thing that they really lack is a remote control, but that's just us being greedy.