Build Your Own: Introducing Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs!

[cangelini]

[citation][nom]jared51182[/nom]Suggestions about the suggestions section: You can't comment on each build individually, can only comment here in the master list section. It would be easier to sort the comments if they are with the build itself - if that can be done.[/citation]

Will look into this, thanks Jared.

Keep the suggestions coming guys--the feedback is appreciated.

 

[lothdk]

[citation][nom]cangelini[/nom]None--I use a 4TB media server for that, which handles BR images with ease! The HTPC, ideally, should just be your interface, IMO.[/citation]

If, as you say about the HTPC, you want it to run as quietly as possible, why not go with a fanless 5750 or ditch it in favor an i3 with its IGP.

 

[noob2222]

[citation][nom]cangelini[/nom]None--I use a 4TB media server for that, which handles BR images with ease! The HTPC, ideally, should just be your interface, IMO.[/citation]
granted you can do that, but thats just another piece of hardware to add to the system cost. Also, you list the 5750 at $99, but click on the link for it shows $134, typo?

Isn't the point of an htpc to keep the noise and cost as low as possible since it will only play moives and browse the internet? If so, 4gb memory is overkill as well.

Also, on your budget gaming AMD pc, you have already shown the x3 athlon can beat the x2 550 at $15 cheaper. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-ii-x3,2452-10.html

Last, what high end gamer is going to run 2 high end video cards on a 1156 socket? If your spending $850 on 2 video cards, do you really want to gimp them 2-10% by saving $80 on the cpu?

 

[Ho0d1um]

[citation][nom]cangelini[/nom]None--I use a 4TB media server for that, which handles BR images with ease! The HTPC, ideally, should just be your interface, IMO.[/citation]
Well in that case could you also include a home server set up. I've been looking around and can't decide on the parts, or what OS to use with it.

 

[theholylancer]

someone likes to spec out systems lol

shouldn't workstation uses 2x 5520/5570s?

and the ssd setup should include a NAS solution if you are going with SSD, that SSD is going to fill up fast and chances are the snappy feeling isn't going to translate well when you are navigating menus

and why not a itx build using that case that can hold a 5870 and a full size PSU with the new dfi offering lol?

 

[optional22]

Instead of doing it like this, create a little program that let's you do a little thinking. Not everyone wants to spend exactly $2000 or $700 etc. Instead, you start off by picking a CPU by choosing if you want the highest end (i7) down to the low end for Core 2s (same thing with AMD). From there, you are given a list of video cards that would be a good match with that processor. A motherboard can automatically be recommended based off needs for SLI/Crossfire. RAM can be suggested based off system chosen so far. The case would be an easy addition. The PSU can be calculated by roughing out how much power the system needs.

This would be an amazing feature.

 

[megamanx00]

Seems like a great idea. Of course, it is yet to be seen if it will get out of hand .

 

[allan_karman]

From the HTPC build: "Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 $99"
Are you setting up a group buy so that the rest of us can get an HD5750 for $99?

 

[caamsa]

I would like to see a "how low can you go" in regards to building a super budget machine. I certainly don't want you to put a computer in a cardboard box but you could certainly go for a generic case and a PS that is adequate instead of over kill and stick with a single GPU. Every build I do I try to recycle part of my system but even building one from the ground up you should be able to keep it fairly cheap but still give decent FPS at the standard LCD resolutions. Also I think you need to include the cost of the OS in the build.

 

[indusan]

[citation][nom]killerclick[/nom]A "budget" gaming PC with 2 x 1TB drives and 2 graphics cards?? You know that there is a limit to how many FPS the human eye can see? These recommendations contradict those in "Best Graphics For The Money" articles in that a single GPU solution is now considered sub-budget.[/citation]

I also agree with these comments, but if you look at it from the perspective of Tom's Hardware trying to provide new and distinct information, compared to the quarterly system builders competition mentioned at the beginning of this article, it makes sense for the budget PC's here to fall around $1000 less risking redundancy with their December posts.

With that in mind, perhaps these two persistent events could be managed coherently so that perhaps the budget pc's in the best configs section includes an updated version of the $700 budget winner and the other processor base $700-$1000 that is comparable or better.

Or you could just keep it as it is and change budget gaming to mid range gaming.

 

[Computer_Lots]

Overall, I like the HTPC. I personally would have gone cheaper on the CPU and MB and spent the extra cash on a nice tuner card so I could run MythTV but the rest is good stuff. Reasonably priced stuff. I guess the hard drive would be up for debate though.
I see that you're intending for this to be a client PC and use a server or NAS to store the media. In that case, SSD would be better because it's silent, reliable and quick. If you intend for the HTPC to also store the media files (like 90% of people do) then you would obviously be better off spending $80 for a 1TB or $110 for a 1.5TB low power drive and then some form of backup like a 2nd drive in RAID or external drive.

 

[fannatick]

Love it.

 

[killerclick]

[citation][nom]indusan[/nom]Or you could just keep it as it is and change budget gaming to mid range gaming.[/citation]

The problem is someone considering to buy a PC will see this and think - "Oh, I need a $1000 for a budget (they read crappy) gaming system. I'll just buy an XBOX360 or PS3 instead"
In reality, you can buy a single sub-$150 GPU and a sub $100 CPU and even a 500GB hard drive and still have a machine on which the games will look and play better than on any available console plus it'll be a proper computer that can do everything.

 

[banthracis]

Looked at your high end Intel, and it's a mess >.<

You should be using spinpoint F3 1 TB drives. They're better performance at a cheaper price per your own charts.

HSF CM Hyper 212 Plus is cheaper, same performance and doesn't have bracket issues w/ P55.

Why bother with a $210 mobo, when you can get the Asus w/ USB 3.0/SATA 6.0, dual x8 PCIE slots for $189.99?

2x 5870 on a P55 system? Contradicts your own article about performance in P55 w/ multiple GPU's.

Save $170 get a 5970 for almost equal performance.

950watt PSU? Your own articles state a 750W PSU is enough to run a 5970 system.

Use savings to upgrade to an Intel X25-M 80gb G2 drive. Not the neutered 40gb version.

The other builds aren't much better.

Disappointing guys.

 

[banthracis]

Next time just link to the excellent builds on your own forums instead.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/269162-31-recommended-builds-usage

 

[belial2k]

[citation][nom]noob2222[/nom] Also, on your budget gaming AMD pc, you have already shown the x3 athlon can beat the x2 550 at $15 cheaper. http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 52-10.html [/citation]

I think you were looking at the OVERCLOCKED versus the stock. When you compare stock to stock they perform very close and trade wins in different games. The reason to recommend the 550 is because not only will it win most of the time against other sub $100 CPUs, but it has over a 80% chance to unlock to a quad core when paired with a modern AM3 board. Also having the unlocked multiplier means OCing can be a little easier.

 

[sublifer]

Good idea. With few exceptions though your office PC is more powerful than it needs to be. Only looked at the AMD config. Dualcore should suffice, don't need 4gb ram, 2gb is plenty for your basic office PC. Also, 1TB is far excessive on an office PC. 80-160GB is sufficient. Yes there are exceptions, graphic designers & video content editors will need more; but for internet+office suite which is all that 70% of office users do....

 

[belial2k]

[citation][nom]dndhatcher[/nom]I dont believe you can really get a 5750 for $100, maybe a 5670.I dont like the "budget" gamer build with twin 512MB 4850s. Going with a single 4890 or 5770 lets you save money on the case and PSU. Also an antec 900 as a budget case? I think an Antec 200 or 300 are more appropriate for budget gaming builds.[/citation]
I agree a lot could have been saved on the PSU and case. A good 550W PSU can easily drive two 4850s or a 4850x2. But I disagree about replacing the cards with a 4890. It will cost about the same, but you will lose a lot of performance. 4850 crossfired probably has the best price/performance ratio of any graphics solution at the current prices. It gives you slightly more power than a 5850 (which cost over $100 more). Any build planning on using 19x12 resolutions should really consider using this as their graphics solution as long as current prices hold.

 

[doron]

Since there are so many people with so many ideas I think it'll be wiser to add a couple of options to the more questionable hardware parts, i.e. "ssd (If you have a media server) / hdd (if not)" for the htpc build.

Secondly, I think the phII x2 550, or any other dual core is not such a good idea for gaming anymore. You can already see the mighty core 2 duo e8xxx series bottlenecking some of the newer titles in one of your clarksdale reviews, and with a couple of new dx11 titles around the corner, it's only going to get worse.

 

[Guest]

I personally would like to see a media server with media boxes - no windows os expect for maybe the media server - now that would be coool

 

[tecmo34]

Budget Intel-Based Gaming PC Configuration:
CPU & MOBO Combo: Intel Core i3 530 Dual Core Processor & ASUS P7H55-M PRO - $214.98
GPU: XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB - $299.99
RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - $114.99
HDD: 2x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB (RAID0)- $179.98
HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - $29.99
Case & PSU Combo: Antec 300 Illusion & Antec EA 750w PSU- $159.89
DVD: Sony AD-7240S-0B Black Internal Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive - $27.99

Total Cost: $1,1027.90 from Newegg.com

 

[tecmo34]

[citation][nom]tecmo34[/nom]Budget Intel-Based Gaming PC Configuration:CPU & MOBO Combo: Intel Core i3 530 Dual Core Processor & ASUS P7H55-M PRO - $214.98GPU: XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB - $299.99RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - $114.99HDD: 2x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB (RAID0)- $179.98 HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - $29.99Case & PSU Combo: Antec 300 Illusion & Antec EA 750w PSU- $159.89DVD: Sony AD-7240S-0B Black Internal Dual Layer DVD±RW Drive - $27.99Total Cost: $1,1027.90 from Newegg.com[/citation]
Actual cost $1,027.90.... type-o

 

[puddleglum]

I love this. It's a great idea. Just look again at your Workstation build. It's missing a motherboard. Woooops!

 

[banthracis]

Real Budget Build From tecmo34's Thread. Though I'd recommend knocking price up to $550 and grabbing a 4850 instead.

Bargain: $516.73
■CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDX545WFGIBOX - Retail
■MOBO: ASUS M2A74-AM AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
■RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
■HSF: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail
■HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
■PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ... - Retail
■GPU: SAPPHIRE 100254HDMI Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
■DVD: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
■Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
■Thermal Compound: Comes with heatsink.
This build will allow you to play games at mid. to max. settings at a monitor resolution of 1440x900 or less.

 

[qwertymac93]

definitely switch all the amd systems to ddr3. prices are only going to go down and the future proofness will pay off in the long run. spend $10 more now, save $30 later.