A Budget PC for 2003
Jan 15 '03 (Updated Jul 11 '03)
The Bottom Line Your biggest payoff will be knowledge and satisfaction
Recently a friend, let’s call him “Bob”, called me with a problem, that in many forms has been presented to all computer geeks. He had just taken advantage of a special deal from Charter Communications and had cable internet access for a year for $28 per month. The problem was that his 1995 486 computer could not travel on the “information superhighway”, and he wanted my advice on avoiding being road-kill at a minimum cost. His number 1 concern was cheapness, economy, not spending a fortune, and…well you get the idea. He had been lurking on Dell’s refurbished computer and budget system pages and determined he could get an “adequate” box (he was happy with his 17” CRT monitor and his speakers) for around $500. Bob, though not a computer person, had considerable tinker skills, (carpentry, plumbing, car repair) and I convinced him that, with my help, and spending an extra $300 or so, he could build a far superior system from scratch.
I should stop and make one point here. If I was going to buy a pre-built system for the typical user, it would be from Dell. I don’t think they are a fantastic organization, and when you call them for technical support you will probably spend a half hour waiting in “Dell Hell” before you talk to a live person who may or may not be able to help you. I bought a $3000 system from them in July 2001 and wound up returning it I was so disappointed. And don't get me started on the problems you will run into if you try to replace some of Dell's proprietary parts, like their generally weak power supplies. It’s just that the other company I used to recommend along with Dell, Gateway, has gotten even worse, and with their stock selling at $3 a share I have to wonder how long they can continue to lose money before they are toast. Dell seems to keep gaining market share, so they must be doing something right. You can buy Compaq, HP, Emachine and other systems at places like Best Buy, Circuit City, and Sam's or Costco Warehouse clubs, and these are often decent computers, but you can never be sure what they're going to stick in those boxes.
If you have any computer savvy at all, a desire to learn just what makes a computer tick, a lot of hours to educate yourself (mostly through resources available on the Internet) and a willing friend available to help you over the rough spots, you can build your own box.
This is not necessarily a way to immediately save money, since once you are educated regarding the quality of components you will likely make a number of upgrades that will enhance your computing experience and extend the useful life of your machine. The true payoff is the satisfaction you will have, and your knowledge base (and knowing where to look for help on the Internet) that will make you your own help desk.
For example, the Dell budget system had a 30 GB hard drive. I convinced Bob that a much faster 80 GB Western Digital Hard drive with an 8MB cache was a better investment, even though it added at least $80 to the cost of his system. The Dell budget system had 256 MB SDRAM. The system Bob built had 256 MB 333(PC2700) DDR SDRAM (and supporting motherboard) which again added $60 to his cost but is not already obsolete (I couldn’t talk him into 512 MB). Bob got a faster processor than the 2 GHz in the Dell, again adding another $60. Bob got a better case and power supply, worth at least an extra $60. Of course I’m just guessing what some of these upgrades added to the cost, since Dell does not break out the cost of many individual components. Bob did not get any kind of warranty of his system, which might be valuable or worthless, depending on your own experience. He did get various warranty coverages on his individual components.
No discussion of building a computer would be complete with mentioning there are two CPU (and supporting motherboard) choices: Intel and AMD. Both make excellent products. The system I built for myself 18 months ago is based on a 1.4 GHz AMD Thunderbird. It is still plenty fast, and has run flawlessly (for a Windows system). At that time there was a considerable price difference between Intel and AMD. That price difference has narrowed considerably, and today I would give the nod to Intel for the average builder. The Intel chip runs cooler, it will not burn itself up if the heat sink comes off or the heat sink fan fails, and it uses 1/3 less energy. I have also found the Intel heat sink installation easier. Hobbyists often prefer AMD because of better gaming performance and overclocking potential, and we all have AMD to thank for forcing Intel to bring it’s pricing down.
Enough discussion. Here are the components of the budget system Bob built. The product descriptions were lifted directly from Newegg’s (www.newegg.com) web page. I (and thousands of others) have found Newegg to be an inexpensive, reliable supplier. All components were ordered on a Monday morning, and delivered to St. Louis Thursday afternoon, using the cheapest delivery method.
ANTEC SOLUTION SERIES Model# SLK2600AMB w/ANTEC SMART POWER 300W P4/AMD POWER SUPPLY ATX12V - RETAIL
Offering a large 8-drive capacity in a convenient mini tower. This cost-effective new Super Mini Tower comes in an attractive color - Antec Metallic Bronze - with the features and quality you expect from Antec.
Specifications:
Driver Bays: External 4 X 5.25" - 2 X 3.5" (Tool-less Drive rail system for 5.25 Devices) Internal 2 X 3.5" (Quick Release Drive cage for 3.5" Drive bays)
System Board: Standard ATX
Expansion Slot: 7 Slots
USB/IO: 2 X USB (front)
Optional Fans: 2 X 80mm (front & rear)
Case Dimensions: 16.75" (L) X 8.25" (W) X 16.75" (H)
This is a sweet little case and power supply that is easy to work with. The color is unique, and a plastic door on the front hides your differently colored components). I was amazed at the quality of the paint job. This was ordered with the 2 optional fans, and the airflow is outstanding. Total cost of case and 2 extra fans: $65. Shipping runs about $15 on this bulky item.
Intel Pentium 4 / 2.53GHz Northwood 512K Socket 478 Processor 533MHz Processor Bus
Specifications:
CPU: 2.53 GHz
Type: Pentium 4 Northwood
Cache: 512K
BUS: 533 Mhz
Socket: 478 Retail (Box with Heatsink and fan), 3-year MFG. Warranty
This CPU is just enough behind the curve now to be reasonably priced, but still delivers plenty of power. Be sure to get the RETAIL BOX which includes a heatsink and fan and a 3 year warranty, but cost just a few $ more. Three years ago you would have paid 4X the current price of $235 for maybe 1/3 the chip. Amazing.
Intel Motherboard for Pentium 4 Processors, (Brownsville 2) Model# D845GEBV2L
CPU: Intel Pentium 4/Celeron processor (mPGA478)
Chipset: 845GE
IDE: 2x IDE Ultra DMA 33, and ATA-66/100 support
FSB: 400MHz/533MHz
RAM: 2x 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets (DDR 333/266) support
Slots: 1x AGP (1X/2X/4x), 6x PCI
Ports: USB 2.0 supported, 1x Serial, 1x Parallel
Onboard Audio: AC'97using the analog devices AD1981B codec
Onboard Video: Intel Extreme Graphics
Integrated Onboard LAN 82562ET
HDD ATA66/100
USB Ports 4 Back, 2 Front support
Integrated AC'97 Audio
ATX 12.0X8.2 Inches
Pro 100 Connection
3 Year MFR Warranty
Talk about your integrated motherboard. What more could you want? What’s left to put in the PCI slots? The video and sound are just fine for most users, but if you want to do some serious gaming or music enjoyment, I would forget this board, and look at Intel's PE or Blue Mountain boards. Remember, this is a budget system, and I think 90% of PC users would be happy with the quality of these integrated components. This is salvation from PCI card conflict Hell! All this and a bag of potato chips for a little over $110.
CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2700 DDR RAM - OEM
184-Pin, CL=2.5-Unbuffered 2.5V, 6-Layers CT3264Z335 Requires DDR supported Motherboard - Lifetime Warranty. OEM
Yea, just 256K, but that is enough for current applications and Windows XP, and we’ve still got a DIMM slot open to add another 256K to keep up with future software developments. And we’re using PC 2700 DDR RAM (also called DDR333) Which is theory is over 20% faster, and in reality up to 10% faster. And remember, this is a budget system. When 512K of DDR333 won’t cut it, we’ll just build again from scratch. Prices of RAM can fluctuate wildly, but at the moment 256K of this Crucial brand RAM is $65.
WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY
Specifications:
Size: 80 Gigabytes
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Seek time: 8.9ms
RPM: 7200
Cache 8MB
OEM (Drive alone) 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty
A lot of good things have been written about this drive. Apparently that 8 MB buffer is a real performance enhancer. System and program load times are fantastic. The 80 GB might be overkill, but hard drive space is like closet space – can you really have too much? Also performance tends to drop off when you start making read-writes to the inner parts of a hard drive, since more head movement is required. By keeping activity to the outer half of the drive you will assure maximum performance. Cost: $109.
Lite On 48x24x48 CDRW Model LTR-48246S Retail Buffer under run error free & automatically adjust writing strategy plus running OPC to meet various burning condition.
Specifications:
Speed : Recording 48Xmax CAV Re-writing 24X High-Speed CLV Reading 48Xmax CAV
Interface : ATAPI-E/IDE, support up to Ultra-DMA Mode2 33.3MB/sec
Access Time : 80ms (typical)
Buffer Memory Size: 2MB
Operating System : Windows 95/98/NT/XP/2000/ME
MTBF : 70000 Power On Hours with 25% Duty
Retail Box (Comes with .Manual and Audio cable. and disks)
I’ve read a lot of good things about Lite On. Remember to buy the retail box and make sure you get an audio cable. Either confirm the CDRW you get has an audio cable, or buy one (for $2 online or $25 at CompUSA). A CDRW is a necessary input-output device in 2003, and it costs less than $55.
Logitech Black Logo Classic Desktop bundle with: Standard Windows 98 keyboard & S48 wheel mouse - OEM Designed with simplicity in mind. This keyboard designed for Windows power management is easy to install and easy to use. Just plug it into the PS/2 port, turn on the system and it is ready to go. The Logitech mouse model S48 is the world's largest selling 3-Button wheel mouse. Use the wheel for fast and easy scrolling in documents or on the web, or as a third button. Featuring the Logitech logo in Black, it is the assurance of premium quality from the world's leading manufacturer of computer mice & peripherals. The ambidextrous shape is designed to maximize comfort for both right and left-handed users. PS/2 Connector only.
You can’t go wrong with this for $14.
SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE - OEM
Specifications:
Size: 3.5 Inch 1.44MB High Density
Model: MPF920-Z
Model Highlights:
Compatible with 720 KB and 1.44 MB 3.5-inch Floppy Disks
Ideal for replacing older floppy drive, or adding a second drive
Standard 34-pin floppy drive interface for easy installation
Legendary quality from Sony
Arguably not required since you can boot from a CD and transfer files on rewritable CDs, but you will still use this on occasion. This is a budget PC, but not having an A: drive is a poor way to save $8. I have not included a DVD player in this system, which I normally would, but Bob wouldn’t go for it, and it is still not a VITAL component. It’s a cheap and easy upgrade if required.
So for a total of around $700, including shipping, we put together a system that is reasonably state of the art now, and should fulfill Bob’s computing needs for at least the next 5 years. Add an operating system and software (I’ve seen XP Home for under $90 and MS Works for under $30) and you’re still around $800. Again, you will spend many hours on this project, and you will not save money, but your biggest payoff will be knowledge and satisfaction. I should add, no build that I’ve been a part of has ever gone flawlessly, but that is part of the learning process.
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Epinions.com ID:
vplite
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Location: Las Vegas, NV
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 17 members
About Me:
Computers are great, but the more you know, the more you know you don't know.
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