Budget Buyer's Guide - October 2006

Display, Case and Peripherals

With all the core components covered, all we need now is a box to hold everything, power to make it go, and a display, speakers, keyboard, and mouse so you can actually use the computer. We have several options listed, all of which should work with any of the previously covered system platforms. Given that this is a budget buyer's guide, we definitely will not be spending a lot of money getting an aftermarket power supply (with one exception). Our experience with midrange systems and below is that they tend to work fine with the cheap case + PSU combinations that you can buy. If you want to get a better power supply, you can always do that after the fact, and as usual we would put Enermax, Fotron Source, OCZ, SeaSonic, and Silverstone at the top in terms of overall quality. One good reason to upgrade your power supply - other than providing more stable power and perhaps saving on electricity costs - is to reduce system noise. Many cheap power supplies can be obnoxiously loud, whereas all five of the manufacturers we just listed tend to be much quieter. SeaSonic S12 would probably be the best of those five, and PC Power and Cooling is another company known for their high-quality power supplies. Most of the really good power supplies from any of these companies are going to be difficult to get into a budget price range, unfortunately.

Budget Case and Accessories
Display	Sceptre 19" X9WG-NagaV 8ms 1440x900	$194
Case and Power	Rosewill R804BK Black Steel ATX with 300W 24-pin PSU	$39
Keyboard and Mouse	Microsoft CA9-00001 Black with Optical Mouse	$21
Speakers	Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers	$32
Operating System	Linux Distro + OpenOffice.org	$0
Total		$286

Windows XP Budget Case and Accessories
Display	Sceptre 19" X9WG-NagaV 8ms 1440x900	$194
Case and Power	Rosewill R804BK Black Steel ATX with 300W 24-pin PSU	$39
Keyboard and Mouse	Microsoft CA9-00001 Black with Optical Mouse	$21
Speakers	Logitech X-230 2.1 Speakers	$32
Operating System	Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B - OEM	$95
Total		$381

If you are looking to keep prices down at all costs, even a few $10 upgrades can quickly add up. We still have several of those upgrades in place, but for the basic build we have trimmed things down about as far as we're willing to go. We selected a 19" widescreen monitor from Sceptre, a brand known for targeting the budget sector. 17" LCDs might be slightly cheaper, but we would rather spend the extra $12 in this instance. That gives you a widescreen 1440x900 resolution as opposed to 1280x1024, and the size of the screen is also larger. Discerning viewers might have issues with the overall quality, but if you were to put even the cheapest 19" LCD next to your typical CRT, the vast majority of people are going to think the LCD looks better. It may not perform better, but it's hard to compete with thin and sexy when you're fat and large. (Ed: No offense intended towards any fat or large people out there - and hey, I'm working on my gut!)

The case and power supply come from Rosewill, another brand known for targeting the budget sector. You will likely find some sharp edges within the case, and the generic 300W power supply shouldn't be used if you plan on installing multiple hard drives, higher-end graphics cards, or doing serious overclocking. If you just plan on putting the system together and running it at stock settings, however, you shouldn't have any problems. The mouse, keyboard, and speakers are also budget choices that will still work well, though if you prefer something else get what you like instead.

For the operating system, we have two options. The first is to go the free route and install Linux, OpenOffice.org, etc. The obvious benefit is the price, but you also need to know your way around Linux and you may not be able to run every piece of software you would like (even using a Windows emulator like WINE). On the other hand, this would allow you to join the elite group of people that like to make fun of Microsoft and Windows. For basic computer tasks, Linux is more than capable of doing everything you need. Advanced users will even prefer the high level of customization available.

If you don't have any idea how to use a makefile, you're probably best off sending some money to Microsoft in order to use their operating system. You might not learn as much about computers that way, but it can also help you avoid arguments with other household members. After all, there's a reason Microsoft operating systems currently dominate the market. For single computer users, Windows XP Home is about the same as Windows XP Professional, but if you have a home network you might want to consider upgrading to MCE 2005 or XP Pro. As you can tell, the almighty dollar had its hand in our recommendation of XP Home.

HTPC Case and Accessories
Display	Existing HDTV (or other display)	$0
Case	Silverstone SST-LC17-B Black Aluminum HTPC Case	$141
Power Supply	SeaSonic S12-380 380W PSU	$65
Keyboard and Mouse	Logitech Keyboard and Mouse - Wireless + Rechargeable	$56
Speakers	Existing Home Theater	$0
TV Tuner	Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500 MCE Dual Tuner + FM	$140
Operating System	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2B (OEM)	$115
Total		$517

One of the great uses for a budget computer, if you're the type of person that has several computers around the house (Ed: or a computer in every room like some of us...), is as an HTPC (Home Theater PC). Why buy a TiVo or other subscription service if you can get all of their features for a simple one-time payment? You may not be able to record every single channel you get using an HTPC, but overall it offers far greater versatility. Recompress the videos you record into an MPEG-4 format, share all of your videos throughout your home network, download and/or watch movies from the Internet, burn your recordings to DVDs... you can do all of that plus other multimedia tasks with an HTPC. If you already have a really nice home theater setup, adding a computer may be the next logical step. You don't need a display or speakers most likely, so we left those out, but you probably also want something that's quiet and will fit in better with your other stereo components.

We took the money we saved from skipping the LCD and speaker purchases and put that towards getting a nice HTPC case and a quiet power supply. We also added in a wireless keyboard and mouse and a dual TV tuner. The Silverstone case is one of the larger HTPC cases out there and it is capable of holding a full-size ATX motherboard (although it can be a pretty tight fit). It can also use any standard ATX power supply, and in order to keep noise levels down we went with a SeaSonic S12 380W power supply. An alternative power supply configuration you might want to consider is something with modular cables, as the confines of many HTPC cases are very cramped and the ability to omit unnecessary cables can be useful.

Our HTPC configuration naturally chose to go with an HTPC operating system, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. MCE 2005 is a lot like XP Pro, only with video timeshifting and recording features and a 10 foot UI. Finally, our preferred TV tuner comes from Hauppauge, the WinTV PVR-500 MCE Dual Tuner + FM. While we haven't specifically reviewed any Hauppauge products in a while, they are still among the best quality analog TV tuners available. (They are also fully compatible with Linux - at least, the non-MCE versions are - so if you want to build an HTPC using MythTV you could also go that route.) The total cost of our HTPC accessories ends up being quite a bit more than any of the other configurations, considering it doesn't include an LCD or speakers. However, going with a really cheap HTPC case often brings undesirable results. We wouldn't necessarily consider this a budget selection, but depending on the other components used it could qualify as a "budget HTPC".

If you're looking for an HTPC case that is more "budget" than what we have listed here, one reader points out the Antec Solution Series NSK2400 as a good option. This case will require the use of a micro ATX motherboard, so you might lose some features, but you can save over $100 relative to the Silverstone + PSU that we've selected. Whether or not you prefer the appearance of the Silverstone or the Antec will probably play a part in your final decision as well. (Truth be told, I was trying to find a case like this Antec NSK2400 for the article and apparently it never turned up in my searches. It is definitely a better budget choice! Thanks for the comment, "autoboy".)

Upgraded Case and Accessories
Display	BenQ 20.1" FP202W 8ms 1680x1050	$270
Case and Power	Cooler Master Centurion RC-534-SKR5 Silver Aluminum with 430W 24-pin PSU	$77
Keyboard and Mouse	Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 with Optical Mouse	$28
Speakers	Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers	$68
Operating System	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2B (OEM)	$115
Total		$558

The upgraded configuration of course includes more expensive - and better - components. Starting with the LCD, we upgraded from a 19" widescreen to a 20" widescreen model. While the screen isn't a lot larger, the 20" model does come with a higher 1680x1050 native resolution. We still consider BenQ more of a budget LCD brand, but we would rate them quite a bit higher than Sceptre. The case and power supply we selected are from Cooler Master, a well-known and generally respected brand. The included power supply still isn't a super high quality model, but with a 430W rating it is definitely more than enough to drive any of the budget systems we put together in this guide. We stuck with MCE 2005 as the operating system choice, even though this isn't an HTPC build (although it could be with the addition of the TV tuner). The keyboard and mouse have a few more buttons but are otherwise about the same as our basic setup - get whatever keyboard and mouse you are most comfortable with if you don't like our choice. Finally, we bumped up a notch on the speakers from 2.1 to 5.1 audio. The Logitech budget speakers all perform well for the price, so there's usually not much point in getting some other brand.