Upgraded AMD Budget Platform
Moving on to our upgraded AMD budget system, our preferences are reversed. Whereas we give AMD the advantage in the true budget sector, if you are willing to spend a bit more money in order to upgrade performance the advantage moves over to Intel. The upgraded budget systems can cost quite a bit more, although you can certainly choose a few the upgrades and stick with other baseline recommendations. You can also refer to our last
Midrange Buyer's Guide for additional component alternatives. We have upgraded every core component, and the end result is definitely closer to midrange rather than budget. As we said in the beginning, current memory prices as well as the added performance available make it difficult for us to recommend a true budget configuration right now.
| Upgraded Budget AMD Athlon X2 AM2 System |
| Hardware |
Component |
Price |
| Processor |
AMD Athlon X2 (AM2) 3800+ - 2.0GHz 2x512KB |
$160 |
| Motherboard |
DFI Infinity ULTRAII-M2 - nForce4 Ultra AM2 |
$96 |
| Memory |
PQI POWER Series 2GB (2 x 1GB)
DDR2-533 4-4-4-12 |
$195 |
| Video Card |
XFX PVT73GUGF3 - GeForce 7600GT 256MB |
$146 |
| Hard Drive |
Samsung SpinPoint P 250GB
SATA3.0Gbps 250GB 8MB 7200RPM |
$76 |
| Optical Drive |
LG GSA-H10N 16X DVD+/-RW (12X DVD-RAM) |
$36 |
| System Total |
$709 |
| Complete Package |
$995 - $1267 |
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Starting with the processor, the logical choice once again falls to one of the cheapest Athlon X2 CPUs. We could have gone for the X2 3600+ (2.0GHz 2x256K cache), but we don't feel the reduction in L2 cache per core to 256K is worth the $12 saved. (Feel free to disagree, however, as it isn't a terrible choice either.) About the only advantage that AMD currently holds over Intel is price, both for their CPUs as well as their motherboards. The net difference amounts to roughly $30, and for that price we would definitely encourage you to purchase a Core 2 Duo system instead. If you're averse to purchasing Intel hardware for whatever reason, you'll still get great performance from an Athlon X2 setup. Depending on what you plan on doing, you might not ever see the faster performance Core 2 offers anyway; many tasks are going to be bottlenecked by something other than the CPU, in which case saving the money is a fine alternative. Having higher performance potential is nice, but if you never use it than it really doesn't matter.
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For the upgraded AM2 motherboard, we decided to choose something that was still inexpensive but that would offer a lot of overclocking potential. The DFI Infinity ULTRAII-M2 uses the older nForce4 Ultra chipset, which still works with socket AM2. DFI also offers pseudo-SLI support, with the second PCI-E X16 slot running at X2 bandwidth. We aren't too concerned with SLI support, but we aren't going to complain about getting a second X16 PEG slot either. Despite using an older chipset, this DFI motherboard offers one of the most stable, painless overclocking experiences that we have encountered in recent history, and a 50% or higher overclock (depending on CPU) is not at all difficult to achieve.
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On the memory front, once again we had a debate on our hands. Getting 1GB of memory into the baseline recommendation was already difficult, but for the upgraded systems did we want to stick with that or did we want to move up to 2GB of RAM? If you plan on running Windows Vista during the life of your computer, having more memory is definitely going to be useful. Many of us also already run into memory constraints even without the added bloat of Vista, and while the price is high we really feel the upgrade to 2GB of RAM is worthwhile. Modern dual core systems allow you to run more programs concurrently than ever before without experiencing a slowdown, but only if you have enough memory. A bunch of web browser windows/tabs, several office applications, various chat programs, perhaps a firewall and antivirus software, maybe a BitTorrent client, and if you're like me speech recognition software... throw all that together (something many of us at AnandTech do on a daily basis) and 2GB isn't just recommended, it's required. The PQI Power memory kit has a lower rated bandwidth than the 512MB DIMMs we listed earlier (DDR2-533), but it also comes with better timings (4-4-4-12). It should still be good for moderate overclocking as well, provided you give it a bit more voltage and relax the timings. Memory like this used to cost closer to $140, and prices are slowly beginning to come down again. There's currently a $25 mail-in rebate available on this PQI memory, although even without the rebate the price is still better than most competing offerings.
If you can find similar quality memory from one of the major manufacturers (A-DATA, Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, Mushkin, OCZ, Patriot, etc.) for less money, that was our primary criteria in finding reasonable memory. You can also look at upgrading to DDR2-667 or even DDR2-800 memory, although you will definitely pay more for the latter right now. DDR2-800 memory will guarantee you that level of memory performance (assuming the RAM is compatible with your motherboard, which is thankfully becoming less of the concern now), and overclocking enthusiasts will definitely want to give serious consideration toward spending a bit more money on memory, especially for the Core 2 Duo platform.
Just about any upper-budget or midrange system is going to do away with integrated graphics, and this is no exception. We were faced with several options for discrete graphics, ranging from the low-end X1300 and 7300 up through more expensive solutions like the X1900 GT. While the latter definitely sounds like it has no place in a budget guide, we do have to point out that there are very few graphics cards in the $120 price range that currently include HDCP support. Moving up to the $200 price range, you begin to find quite a few more HDCP solutions. If you care about gaming performance or you want HDCP, a Radeon X1900 or GeForce 7900 series card isn't a bad idea (the GeCube GC-H1900GTD-VID3 is one such option). If you don't care much about gaming or HDCP, but you want a better motherboard than our base recommendation (i.e., for overclocking), just about any discrete graphics card will be acceptable.
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We eventually settled on the GeForce 7600 GT as our upgrade pick, but even then there were several considerations we still had to make. Many vendors are offering factory overclocked cards, although the minor differences in clock speed usually aren't worth losing sleep over. We also saw some short-term sales, for example a BFG 7600 GT was going for $120 earlier this week, but once the sale is over we are back to looking at prices and features. You can still find a cheaper 7600 GT card, or you could downgrade to the 7600 GS. We chose to go with the XFX 7600 GT at a slightly higher price, not because of the factory overclock (which it has), but rather because it includes two DVI ports instead of a VGA port and a DVI port. We prefer LCDs these days, and we prefer to use LCDs with a DVI connection. DVI ports can also be useful for connecting your computer to many HDTVs. For these reasons, we were willing to spend an extra $15. If you disagree with us, EVGA, BFG, and many others offer competing graphics cards that may or may not be cheaper.
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mpc7488 - Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - link
Thanks for the reply. I'd like to caveat my response by saying I'm *not* trying to argue or be a jerk - I just enjoy a good hardware discussion :) I also use your guides for comparison to what I'd do for myself (midrange usually) or for my friends, coworkers, etc. (budget). I totally agree, in this price range, you're still always getting better expandability with these. However, features and performance is much greyer to my mind, and with the right deals I think an OEM with a little tinkering can be a powerful option for the non-power user, even at prices outside of the bottom range.Speakers: point made, I meant to include them and forgot. The X-230s are $31.25 at Newegg (free shipping).
OEM configurations: I've found the trick with Dell is generally not to upgrade their base configurations to get the best deals. For instance, buying the DVD-R/W and speakers from Newegg saves you $38. That can get put towards a real video card, instead of the 7300LE. Upgrades will quickly inflate the price and skew the deal.
Ok, direct comparisons:
Budget AMD: Athlon 64 3000+, 1 GB DDR2-667, 160 GB HDD, GeForce 6150, DVD-R/W, 19” Sceptre, keyboard, mouse, X-230 speakers, Win XP Home, $749
Dell E521: Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 1 GB DDR2-533, 160 GB HDD, GeForce 6150, DVD-R/W, 19” Dell 1907FP Ultrasharp, keyboard, mouse, X-230 speakers, Win XP Home, 1 year on-site warranty, $686.25 (with burner and X-230 speakers from Newegg)
"better expandability, performance, and features at roughly the same price"
Expandability: Without a doubt. This is where OEMs can't compare.
Features: $65 savings for a faster dual-core processor, better monitor, and warranty coverage. You lose DVI output (thanks yehuda) and have slightly slower memory. It's close enough though, as prices will fluctuate, I'll concede this one.
Performance: I'd have to say the crown would go to the 3800+! More impressively for media encoding and Windows tasks than for gaming, with the weak 6150.
Upgraded Budget AMD: Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2 GB DDR2-533, 250 GB HDD, GeForce 7600GT 256 MB, DVD-R/W (with DVD-RAM), 19” Sceptre, keyboard, mouse, X-230 speakers, Win XP Home, $1090
Upgraded Dell E521: Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 1 GB DDR2-533, 160 GB HDD, GeForce 7900GT 256MB, DVD-R/W (with DVD-RAM), 19” Dell 1907FP Ultrasharp, keyboard, mouse, X-230 speakers, Win XP Home, 1 year on-site warranty, $875 (with burner, PCIe video card and X-230 speakers from Newegg)
Expandability: Without a doubt. This is where OEMs can't compare.
Features: $215 savings for a much faster video card, better monitor, and warranty coverage. You lose 1 GB of memory and HDD space.
Performance: The 7900GT would absolutely smoke the other box in just about any game, even with less RAM. Media encoding and Windows tasks would benefit from the greater RAM of the other config.
Obviously I am bored at work today. To each their own of course - I think OEM builds with alterations can be a powerful adversary, in price, performance and features, to self-builds in the budget price range, especially if overclocking is not a consideration, and shouldn't be relegated to the bottom of the heap. Just my $0.04.
It'd be interesting to see how a custom build would hold up against a Dell box with upgrades, in a cheapo-gaming-and-media-machine shootout.
batter - Friday, November 10, 2006 - link
Nice discussion; I always compare to dell/hp and always decide to build my own: I know what is in it, I build with future upgrades in mind, I do not use proprietory hardware. Also keep in mind that a bunch of people already have a keyboard, mouse, windows license, speakers etc and might even be able to re-use the case and or PS. With that in mind I usually come out ahead.Calin - Thursday, October 26, 2006 - link
For the difference between the Dell and the homebuilt system (75$) you could easily buy a video card with not one but two DVI outputs. So, in features, Dell (with upgrades) would be a better deal(but I would build my own anyway :D )
JarredWalton - Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - link
You can also do:Upgraded Budget AMD Alternative: Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 1 GB DDR2-533, 250 GB HDD, GeForce 7900GT 256 MB, DVD-R/W (with DVD-RAM), 19” Sceptre, keyboard, mouse, X-230 speakers, Win XP Home, $1109 shipped.
Upgraded Dell (purchasing everything from Dell): Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 1 GB DDR2-533, 250 GB HDD, GeForce 7300TC LE, DVD-R/W, 19” 1907FP, keyboard, mouse, 2.1 speakers, Win XP MCE2005, $759 (plus taxes). Add $240 for 7900GT = $999. You still get MS Works for "free" though.
Once you start going online and purchasing upgrades, however, I think you have moved away from your typical Dell PC buyer. Most people either want to buy the whole system with everything they want, or else they will go to a local store to buy a system or just put the whole thing together themselves. If you actually want Dell to put together a better gaming solution -- or anything with even moderately upgraded graphics -- you basically have to move up to their XPS line. That gives you a better CPU and maybe a few other extra perks, but the price suddenly jumps up to $1289.
As you say, you can usually do better getting the base OEM configuration and making upgrades on your own, but I'm not sure how many people really go that route.
yyrkoon - Thursday, October 26, 2006 - link
I recently upgraded for under the cost of your listed upgrade, however I migrated HDDs, mouse, keyboard, monitor, and PSU. In my opinion, this would be a 'true' upgrade for a person such as myself. I could have even saved another $160 usd, if I didnt care about the onboard graphics where gaming is concerned, and unfortunately, for my wallet, I do ;)At last tally, I spent between $750-$800 usd, including the low-end Lian Li case (very nice BTW), eVGA 7600GT, AM2 3800+, Corsair DDR2-6400 XMS (advertised at 5-5-5-18 timings, but my motherboard typicaly detects it as 4-4-4-12, as long as I'm running it stock), and an Asrock AM2NF4G-SATA2 motherboard. I'd like to add that this motherboard is JUNK, it overclocks fine, but the system gets BSoDs regularly, whether I OC it or not. Wont be long before I make a platform upgrade, to a Conroe CPU/ ABIT motherboard . . .
ThelvynD - Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - link
It's a fairly decent monitor and you can pick them up from Newegg right now for 179.99. My biggest complaint about it is the rather cheap stand it's on.imaheadcase - Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - link
That memory is now the most expensive part of a normal computer.Memory manufactors are making a fortune I bet on all types of memory. Not to mention off all these suckers who buy "gaming" memory. "Oh please mom i have to be the best geek on the net to have camo on my memory heatsink spreader!".
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - link
Memory manufacturers make the finished dimms, and almost all of them buy memory chips on the open market from Samsung, Micron, Elpida, and other huge semi-c0nductor manufacturers, This means companies like Corsair, OCZ, Kingston, Mushkin, etc. are as much at the mercy of chip prices as buyers are. I bring this up because the chip makers themselves are where chip prices haves been rising, and that is where the questions should be directed.yyrkoon - Thursday, October 26, 2006 - link
Forgot to mention, look at the latest part (sold by newegg) thats obviously jacked up in price, the 'Killer' network adapter, marketed as the 'the ultimate gaming NIC'. Somehow, I seriously doubt the card is worth $270 usd, I dont care if it shoots sparks out its behind . . .yyrkoon - Thursday, October 26, 2006 - link
Yeah well, Crucial is part of Micron, and they charge more for thier memeory than alot of 'manufactuers', IF you buy direct from them. Then again, if you buy direct from Crucial, IF your memory ever goes bad, they will send you a replacement before they even recieve the bad part (atleast this is what thier reps claim over the phone).I myself paid $230 usd for my Corsair DDR2-6400 XMS memory about 3-4 months ago, 5-5-5-15 timings (supposedly, my system regularly detects it as 4-4-4-12 timings). At the time, I thought it was outrageous, and they also gave me a $50 rebate, which I've recieved by now. Turns out comparred to now, I actually recieved a good price ;)
This all seems to be a trend started by the graphics companies over a year ago, offer a product that you CLAIM is a gaming part, and jack up the price. Motherboard manufactuers, and memory manufactuers just now seem to be catching on, this wont go away, until the kids stop spending mommies, and daddies money on such parts. Hopefully, this trend will go away eventually, and once these companies realize they could actually make more money from people like us who build systems for more than just themselves. *shrug* I dislike buying non branded memory, and preffer a company with a reputation for reliability, but at the same time I refuse to buy parts that have obviously been jacked up, because the manufactuer has turned greedy.