I'm a close follower of the entry-level market. This is mostly due to the fact that I'm so very, very poor. My main rig is powered by an Ultra V-Series 500W PSU I bought for $12 AR. The hard disks are ancient--a pair of three-year-old 80GB drives and an 8.4GB disk from 1999, for a total of 168.4 GB. I only have a single gigabyte of memory, and it's only rated for DDR2-675. My video card is a Biostar GeForce 6200 TC with only 64MB dedicated VRAM. At least my processor is fairly decent--a Core 2 Duo E6300 I bought last February, which is overclocked to a healthy 2.8 GHz. My bedroom rig, though, is hardly able to run modern software--an Athlon XP 1800+ @ 1.84GHz with a measly 256MB DDR memory and 32MB V3800 video card from the late '90s. Windows Vista is a distant dream for me, as are other commonplace-for-some luxuries like durable cases and wireless networking. At least I have high-speed internet, even though the bedroom computer relies on the other for it via a long and ugly yellow crossover cable. My parents are in an even worse situation. At least my Mom has an old hand-me-down Sempron 64 2800+ (s754 @ 2.32GHz) rig with 1GB DDR memory, 64MB GeForce4 MX and 40GB IDE hard disk, but my Dad has the worst of the worst: a Pentium II 400 MHz with 128MB SDRAM, 2MB video card and ~10GB hard drive, running Windows 98 First Edition! The two computers share a dial-up connection.
Hence my interest in entry-level components.
So I was very interested when Anandtech released another entry-level buyer's guide a few hours ago. Most components they selected elicited little or no surprise. The Samsung DVD and hard drives were fairly standard, even though reviews seem to indicate that Lite-on and Western Digital offer better choices for the entry-level prices. The E21x0 series was a no-brainer, as was the Brisbane X2 for AMD. The Logitech R-20 speakers look okay for what they are, and I'm mostly satisfied with the low-cost Microsoft wireless keyboard/mouse combo they suggested. I also agree that for $50 AR the 2GB (2x1GB) Crucial Ballistix kit is indeed a nice choice, even though something like 1GB (2x512MB) Wintec AMPX would be acceptable, and therefore slightly more appropriate for an entry level guide. The same goes for the Windows Vista Home Premium, which although is a good choice at its price point, isn't really "entry level."
I have absolutely no experience with LCD displays, and so I can't offer my thoughts on their Hanns-G HW-191DPB pick in that department.
However, I have some major problems with their suggestions regarding the case, power supply and motherboards on their entry-level guides. Let's take one at a time:
PSU
Having myself experienced the perils of low-grade PSUs (in the last two years, I've had two die completely and the fan on a third fail so that I didn't trust it enough to use), I'm shocked to see that Anandtech has for the second time in a row (cf. their last budget guide) suggested a bundled PSU. While the one they picked out is nice as far as bundled PSUs go, it's still apparently a no-name mystery box without any over-voltage protection. I admit it's distantly possible they actually tested samples, and through some strange fluke this particular bundled PSU is actually reliable--but, honestly, what are the odds of that? Yes, it is true that a standalone, reliable PSU is going to bump the cost of the system by $50 or more, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles. At least something like the Thermaltake PurePower is only $35 AR. Although not this exact moment, sometimes you can get Antec Earthwatts for about the same, from places like Fry's B&M. If *nothing* else, at least a low-power Fortron Source PSU might be acceptable ($31 shipped for 300W or $37 for 350W), considering we're talking about micro-ATX systems with integrated graphics and little or no overclocking. But a bundled generic PSU? Not in my rig!
Case
I've had very bad luck with cases, myself, and it's difficult to find informative reviews of entry-level models, so I was very much looking forward to reading what Anandtech had to suggest. They recommend the Athenatech A3602BB.400, which is just over $53 shipped from Newegg, but which they claim can be had for as little as $35. Personally, I think they've made a mistake on the price, and the *actual* cost is really the $53 I see on Newegg. However, even assuming it can be had somewhere for only $35, it's still an awful choice, judging from Newegg reviews. Those who purchased this case describe it as "flimsy," "thin" and "cheap," and caveats like "for the price" and "for a budget case" are tagged onto most of the otherwise positive comments. There are also warnings about sharp edges which can lacerate the hands of builders, something I have experienced myself and can assure anyone who has not yet done the same is worth a hefty price premium to avoid. Now, I understand the danger of trusting amateur reviews, but these allegations do not seem to be the sort of thing a person could get wrong. I mean, if the case is not sharp enough to cut a builder's hands, would someone really lie about it? And while one person's "flimsy" might be another's "sturdy," can it really be that so very many reviewers were so blatantly mistaken about it? It seems much more likely to me that Anandtech has simply made a *bad* suggestion. Like I said before, due to lack of first-hand experience I'm not sure what might be the *best* entry-level case, but I can darn well identify some better options than that God-awful Athenatech. Namely, I'm interested in learning more about the Foxconn TLM624-CN300C-01 ($55) and Foxconn TLM436-CN300C-01 ($55); they both look really nice, and if you resist the urge to use the generic PSU they include, should work well for any micro-ATX build. If not, though, there's always the Cooler Master Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1 ($55 AR).
LGA775 motherboard
I'm sorry, but despite the claims of the author, you can get a reliable integrated Intel board for *much* less than $105 shipped, which is what it costs for their suggested Gigabyte GA-73UM-S2H. Admittedly, that looks like a great board, but is it really worth the money? I mean, for that price you could get a decent full-sized board *and* a dedicated video card! More realistic would be something from ASRock, which churns out low-cost but very reliable boards; the ConRoe1333-D667 R1.0 ($59), for example, looks pretty nice. Personally, though, I'd go for the Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2, which appears to offer both reliability and mild overclocking for only $59 shipped.
Socket AM2 motherboard
As with the Intel guide, the AMD guide also features a questionable motherboard. This time, though, instead of a too-expensive board, Anandtech offers one that's too cheap: the Foxconn A690GM2MA-8KRS2H ($56 AR). Now, I do admit I don't have any personal experience with Foxconn boards, but judging from the reports of others, I would certainly never trust one. With the A690GM2MA-8KRS2H, for example, out of 34 reviewers, at least three of them had to RMA it. Instead, I'd look again to something from Gigabyte or ASRock--either the GA-M61SME-S2 ($55) or ALIVENF6G-VSTA ($60).
So, now that we've explored my particular complaints, let's look back and see what we can do. I'm going to reproduce Anandtech's recommendations here with Newegg prices including shipping and rebates. Then we'll look at *my* recommendations. I'm going to leave out the peripherals (keyboard/mouse/speakers/monitor) and operating system, as they are not interdependent with the internal hardware.
Anandtech AMD:
$75 Athlon 64 X2 4200+ "Brisbane" (they actually suggested the 4000+, but that's out of stock at Newegg, and only $3 less anyway)
$56AR Foxconn A690GM2MA-8KRS2H
$50AR Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800
$69 Samsung Spinpoint P Series SP2504C 250GB HDD
$31 Samsung 20X DVDRW/DL SH-S202G
$53 Athenatech A3602BB.400
TOTAL: $334 AR
Anandtech Intel:
$75 Pentium E2140
$105 Gigabyte GA-73UM-S2H
$50AR Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800
$69 Samsung Spinpoint P Series SP2504C 250GB HDD
$31 Samsung 20X DVDRW/DL SH-S202G
$53 Athenatech A3602BB.400
TOTAL: $383 AR
Now, admittedly, those prices will be very tough to beat once we substitute a reliable PSU and decent case. We're going to have to make some sacrifices in the way of performance. However, I think I'd rather have a reliable system that's a little bit slower than a shaky system that's not much faster. Here are my suggestions:
My AMD:
$40 Sempron 64 LE-1100 "Sparta"
$55 Gigabyte GA-M61SME-S2
$41AR Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 SDRAM
$56 Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB HDD
$28 Lite-on DH-20A3P-08 retail
$55 Foxconn TLM624-CN300C-01
$35AR Thermaltake PurePower W0100RU 500W PSU
TOTAL: $310 AR
You see, AMD's dual core isn't much less than Intel's, which means that if you're going to go dual core you should probably go Intel, since it's only a few dollars more for a significant performance boost. Meanwhile, the 45W "Sparta" is very low-power, which means you'll save on energy bills. I've also made a notable sacrifice with a 160GB hard disk instead of Anandtech's suggested 250GB. But remember, this is *entry level* we're talking about. The single-core Sparta is plenty powerful for most tasks, and can be overclocked a bit with the Gigabyte board. And we're still staying with 2GB RAM, thanks to Corsair's fantastic rebate deal.
My Intel:
$90 Pentium E2180
$59 Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2
$41AR Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 SDRAM
$70 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB HDD
$28 Lite-on DH-20A3P-08 retail
$55 Foxconn TLM624-CN300C-01
$35AR Thermaltake PurePower W0100RU 500W PSU
TOTAL: $378 AR
This isn't *really* entry-level, but it's a low-budget dual core system that I think is more reliable and which is quite clearly faster than Anandtech's recommendations, yet slightly cheaper nonetheless. For only $15 more than the E2140, we get the E2180, which is 25% faster by clock speed. The Western Digital Caviar SE16 is the same 250GB capacity as the Samsung, but I think it's probably slightly faster. The Lite-on drive is reliable, and includes Nero software in its retail box. Mostly, though, these are matters of personal preference, and don't matter much. The big issues, as mentioned above, are the cases, PSUs and motherboards.
Some final thoughts: I don't mean to sound like an ass, here. I am well aware of my limited experience, and I don't doubt that whoever authored the Anandtech guide probably blows me away when it comes to knowledge of PC components. So I know how presumptuous it seems for me to say that his (or their) suggestions are so bad, and mine are so much better. I want to make it clear that my suggestions are quite tentative. I'm really not too sure about those Gigabyte boards, for instance, or the Foxconn case, or even the Thermaltake PSU. I give them because, first of all, I'm genuinely interested in learning more about whether I have some good ideas (because I'm going to build a system for my Dad which will probably resemble the Intel system I suggested above), and secondly, it seems like I shouldn't just criticize Anandtech's offerings, but provide a specific set of alternatives. Yet, despite my limited experience, I'm almost *positive* that my suggestions would be much better choices than those found in Anandtech's article. All I can think is that maybe the author(s) rushed their entry-level guides, or that maybe they're so used to looking at higher-priced components they've forgotten where you can skimp and where you really shouldn't. Whatever the reason, though, I think my criticisms deserve to be heard. If I'm wrong, though, please go easy on me, and just explain how and why. I'll try to be receptive and open-minded.
Hence my interest in entry-level components.
So I was very interested when Anandtech released another entry-level buyer's guide a few hours ago. Most components they selected elicited little or no surprise. The Samsung DVD and hard drives were fairly standard, even though reviews seem to indicate that Lite-on and Western Digital offer better choices for the entry-level prices. The E21x0 series was a no-brainer, as was the Brisbane X2 for AMD. The Logitech R-20 speakers look okay for what they are, and I'm mostly satisfied with the low-cost Microsoft wireless keyboard/mouse combo they suggested. I also agree that for $50 AR the 2GB (2x1GB) Crucial Ballistix kit is indeed a nice choice, even though something like 1GB (2x512MB) Wintec AMPX would be acceptable, and therefore slightly more appropriate for an entry level guide. The same goes for the Windows Vista Home Premium, which although is a good choice at its price point, isn't really "entry level."
I have absolutely no experience with LCD displays, and so I can't offer my thoughts on their Hanns-G HW-191DPB pick in that department.
However, I have some major problems with their suggestions regarding the case, power supply and motherboards on their entry-level guides. Let's take one at a time:
PSU
Having myself experienced the perils of low-grade PSUs (in the last two years, I've had two die completely and the fan on a third fail so that I didn't trust it enough to use), I'm shocked to see that Anandtech has for the second time in a row (cf. their last budget guide) suggested a bundled PSU. While the one they picked out is nice as far as bundled PSUs go, it's still apparently a no-name mystery box without any over-voltage protection. I admit it's distantly possible they actually tested samples, and through some strange fluke this particular bundled PSU is actually reliable--but, honestly, what are the odds of that? Yes, it is true that a standalone, reliable PSU is going to bump the cost of the system by $50 or more, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles. At least something like the Thermaltake PurePower is only $35 AR. Although not this exact moment, sometimes you can get Antec Earthwatts for about the same, from places like Fry's B&M. If *nothing* else, at least a low-power Fortron Source PSU might be acceptable ($31 shipped for 300W or $37 for 350W), considering we're talking about micro-ATX systems with integrated graphics and little or no overclocking. But a bundled generic PSU? Not in my rig!
Case
I've had very bad luck with cases, myself, and it's difficult to find informative reviews of entry-level models, so I was very much looking forward to reading what Anandtech had to suggest. They recommend the Athenatech A3602BB.400, which is just over $53 shipped from Newegg, but which they claim can be had for as little as $35. Personally, I think they've made a mistake on the price, and the *actual* cost is really the $53 I see on Newegg. However, even assuming it can be had somewhere for only $35, it's still an awful choice, judging from Newegg reviews. Those who purchased this case describe it as "flimsy," "thin" and "cheap," and caveats like "for the price" and "for a budget case" are tagged onto most of the otherwise positive comments. There are also warnings about sharp edges which can lacerate the hands of builders, something I have experienced myself and can assure anyone who has not yet done the same is worth a hefty price premium to avoid. Now, I understand the danger of trusting amateur reviews, but these allegations do not seem to be the sort of thing a person could get wrong. I mean, if the case is not sharp enough to cut a builder's hands, would someone really lie about it? And while one person's "flimsy" might be another's "sturdy," can it really be that so very many reviewers were so blatantly mistaken about it? It seems much more likely to me that Anandtech has simply made a *bad* suggestion. Like I said before, due to lack of first-hand experience I'm not sure what might be the *best* entry-level case, but I can darn well identify some better options than that God-awful Athenatech. Namely, I'm interested in learning more about the Foxconn TLM624-CN300C-01 ($55) and Foxconn TLM436-CN300C-01 ($55); they both look really nice, and if you resist the urge to use the generic PSU they include, should work well for any micro-ATX build. If not, though, there's always the Cooler Master Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1 ($55 AR).
LGA775 motherboard
I'm sorry, but despite the claims of the author, you can get a reliable integrated Intel board for *much* less than $105 shipped, which is what it costs for their suggested Gigabyte GA-73UM-S2H. Admittedly, that looks like a great board, but is it really worth the money? I mean, for that price you could get a decent full-sized board *and* a dedicated video card! More realistic would be something from ASRock, which churns out low-cost but very reliable boards; the ConRoe1333-D667 R1.0 ($59), for example, looks pretty nice. Personally, though, I'd go for the Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2, which appears to offer both reliability and mild overclocking for only $59 shipped.
Socket AM2 motherboard
As with the Intel guide, the AMD guide also features a questionable motherboard. This time, though, instead of a too-expensive board, Anandtech offers one that's too cheap: the Foxconn A690GM2MA-8KRS2H ($56 AR). Now, I do admit I don't have any personal experience with Foxconn boards, but judging from the reports of others, I would certainly never trust one. With the A690GM2MA-8KRS2H, for example, out of 34 reviewers, at least three of them had to RMA it. Instead, I'd look again to something from Gigabyte or ASRock--either the GA-M61SME-S2 ($55) or ALIVENF6G-VSTA ($60).
So, now that we've explored my particular complaints, let's look back and see what we can do. I'm going to reproduce Anandtech's recommendations here with Newegg prices including shipping and rebates. Then we'll look at *my* recommendations. I'm going to leave out the peripherals (keyboard/mouse/speakers/monitor) and operating system, as they are not interdependent with the internal hardware.
Anandtech AMD:
$75 Athlon 64 X2 4200+ "Brisbane" (they actually suggested the 4000+, but that's out of stock at Newegg, and only $3 less anyway)
$56AR Foxconn A690GM2MA-8KRS2H
$50AR Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800
$69 Samsung Spinpoint P Series SP2504C 250GB HDD
$31 Samsung 20X DVDRW/DL SH-S202G
$53 Athenatech A3602BB.400
TOTAL: $334 AR
Anandtech Intel:
$75 Pentium E2140
$105 Gigabyte GA-73UM-S2H
$50AR Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800
$69 Samsung Spinpoint P Series SP2504C 250GB HDD
$31 Samsung 20X DVDRW/DL SH-S202G
$53 Athenatech A3602BB.400
TOTAL: $383 AR
Now, admittedly, those prices will be very tough to beat once we substitute a reliable PSU and decent case. We're going to have to make some sacrifices in the way of performance. However, I think I'd rather have a reliable system that's a little bit slower than a shaky system that's not much faster. Here are my suggestions:
My AMD:
$40 Sempron 64 LE-1100 "Sparta"
$55 Gigabyte GA-M61SME-S2
$41AR Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 SDRAM
$56 Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB HDD
$28 Lite-on DH-20A3P-08 retail
$55 Foxconn TLM624-CN300C-01
$35AR Thermaltake PurePower W0100RU 500W PSU
TOTAL: $310 AR
You see, AMD's dual core isn't much less than Intel's, which means that if you're going to go dual core you should probably go Intel, since it's only a few dollars more for a significant performance boost. Meanwhile, the 45W "Sparta" is very low-power, which means you'll save on energy bills. I've also made a notable sacrifice with a 160GB hard disk instead of Anandtech's suggested 250GB. But remember, this is *entry level* we're talking about. The single-core Sparta is plenty powerful for most tasks, and can be overclocked a bit with the Gigabyte board. And we're still staying with 2GB RAM, thanks to Corsair's fantastic rebate deal.
My Intel:
$90 Pentium E2180
$59 Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2
$41AR Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 SDRAM
$70 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500AAKS 250GB HDD
$28 Lite-on DH-20A3P-08 retail
$55 Foxconn TLM624-CN300C-01
$35AR Thermaltake PurePower W0100RU 500W PSU
TOTAL: $378 AR
This isn't *really* entry-level, but it's a low-budget dual core system that I think is more reliable and which is quite clearly faster than Anandtech's recommendations, yet slightly cheaper nonetheless. For only $15 more than the E2140, we get the E2180, which is 25% faster by clock speed. The Western Digital Caviar SE16 is the same 250GB capacity as the Samsung, but I think it's probably slightly faster. The Lite-on drive is reliable, and includes Nero software in its retail box. Mostly, though, these are matters of personal preference, and don't matter much. The big issues, as mentioned above, are the cases, PSUs and motherboards.
Some final thoughts: I don't mean to sound like an ass, here. I am well aware of my limited experience, and I don't doubt that whoever authored the Anandtech guide probably blows me away when it comes to knowledge of PC components. So I know how presumptuous it seems for me to say that his (or their) suggestions are so bad, and mine are so much better. I want to make it clear that my suggestions are quite tentative. I'm really not too sure about those Gigabyte boards, for instance, or the Foxconn case, or even the Thermaltake PSU. I give them because, first of all, I'm genuinely interested in learning more about whether I have some good ideas (because I'm going to build a system for my Dad which will probably resemble the Intel system I suggested above), and secondly, it seems like I shouldn't just criticize Anandtech's offerings, but provide a specific set of alternatives. Yet, despite my limited experience, I'm almost *positive* that my suggestions would be much better choices than those found in Anandtech's article. All I can think is that maybe the author(s) rushed their entry-level guides, or that maybe they're so used to looking at higher-priced components they've forgotten where you can skimp and where you really shouldn't. Whatever the reason, though, I think my criticisms deserve to be heard. If I'm wrong, though, please go easy on me, and just explain how and why. I'll try to be receptive and open-minded.
Nicely done and good points!
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