Build Your Own: Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs, Updated!

[cangelini]

Welcome to this month's BestConfigs update, where you can find recommended parts for office PCs, gaming rigs, a workstation, or a home theater setup. If you're so inclined, feel free to chip in with suggestions for next month's recommendations, too!

Build Your Own: Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs, Updated! : Read more

 

[heartburnkid]

I still think your "budget" gaming builds are priced a hair too high. Let's face it, $900 isn't a budget PC in the modern marketplace. Dropping the GPU down to a 5770 or a 4890 would provide a system more realistically thought of as a budget PC, and still deliver kick-ass performance at 1920x1080 or 1680x1050.

 

[tsnor]

Perhaps a video capture card with the home theater PC ?

 

[lunyone]

I'll state this again (almost every build you do), This isn't a budget gaming build at >$900! Budget gaming builds should be around $500-550 or so. Your original budget gaming build was at $500 and then crept up to $550 and is now at $900. Not sure why you keep upping the "Budget" build, but when you get down to a budget build around $500 than you will be in the "Budget" then.

 

[cangelini]

If a $750 build is more up your alley, make sure you check back on Thursday--Paul will post his Gaming config, which you'll be able to win =)

 

[flyinfinni]

A couple ways to drop the budget gaming rig ($900 really isn't budget- its mid-range at the most!) Maybe drop to a 5770 (a 5850 is by NO means a budget card, no matter how you look at it), drop to a 500gig HD. for the AMD Build I'd probably drop the the triple-core Athlon II instead of the quad. I'd almost say to drop to 2gigs of DDR3, as for a budget user, that's probably enough, but I'm not as sure about that one. That right there is almost $250 off the AMD rig (keeping 4 gigs of RAM).

 

[haplo602]

amd gaming budget build: WTH ? drop the 5850 to a 5770, athlon 635 to 630 (you are only losing 100MHz). you only need cca 450-500W PSU now. maybe a smaller drive will work too.

 

[Guest]

Just finished my build took some time to get the right parts at the right price.

Asus P6X58D Premium MB - $230 shipped
Intel i7-920 - $212 shipped
OCZ Vertex Cooler - $24 shipped
Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 (6GB) - $140 shipped
Sapphire 5770 - $150 shipped
Hitachi 1TB HD (2 units) - $120 shipped
OCZ Vertex 30GB SSD (2 units) - $140
Corsair 750TX PSU - $60
Lite-On DVD-RW (2 units) - $55 shipped
Roswill card reader - $10 shipped
Lian Li Case - Had from previous build (add $50 for decent case

Total $1191 shipped for everything (added $50 for a case)!

Running 4.2GHz on air!!!!!

BP

 

[Rehnquist-]

Aw come on, guys- $900 is perfectly fine for a budget PC build. Your "budget" is $900 hyuk hyuk

I agree, though. "Budget" is something that can be scraped together with the savings of someone in college (at most $600), and the HD5850 isn't a budget-build card.

 

[enzo matrix]

I agree with what most people have said so far about the budget builds. Perhaps a 3-tier system would be better:
Budget $600
Mid-end $1000
high end $1800

 

[jryan388]

Instead of the 785gm-e51, get the 785gm-e65. It has 1GB ddr3 1333 memory sideport and only $10 more. Then drop the ram to 2 gigs. Also the -e65 supports 140w processors.
+1 for 5770, 500w.

 

[runevirage]

What's with the AMD high end build? It says 2x 5970 but there's only one.

 

[dassox]

I think the budget office builds could use mobos with USB3 ports.

 

[liquidsnake718]

If $900 is a budget build, then this is an EXETREME contest and will be most interesting. This would make the other builds tri SLI or Quad Crossfire with the most stable watercooling systems that probably use some coolant instead of water... and the new i980x, which i know less than ten-thousand people in the world will have as their PERSONAL pcs in the next few months......

We are close to having "true" mini super computers in our homes if need be...

 

[-Fran-]

Great going Mr. Chris!

I'd add a "resolution" disclaimer for tighter budgets. Since a 5850 is a little overkill for 1280x1024 or 1440x900 and so on... Also, a i5 750 is an "overall" winner, but gaming wise, we all know the PhII965BE (don't use PII please, reminds me of the good ol' Pentium II XD!) is more than plently

Cheers!

 

[TheEvolution]

I want to see a under $500 budget gaming build next time.....

 

[dilbert]

On the "High-End Intel Gaming PC Configuration", 60% of the price comes from graphics and storage. One can play with different options for those components to get to a considerably lower price without affecting performance too much. For example, using the "Budget Intel-Based Gaming PC Configuration" for those parts (Radeon 5850 and a single 1TB HDD) you save almost $700 and still have a very capable machine. Use the extra cash for the monitor.

 

[falchard]

I disagree with the high-end workstation. I would prefer to use a new Socket G34 with the 2.0 ghz 12 core opteron in dual socket mode. The processors are relatively cheap for a business machine while having alot of processing power. I can also pack 32GB of memory on it, and still have plenty of money left over with a $4000 budget for the top range ATI GPU, and an impressive raid array.

 

[matt314]

Im a bit new to tom's hardware, does this mean that there will be no builder's marathon in april after the release of Fermi? That's when I was planning on making a new build and I was really hoping to see how the new gpus / price drops would effect the recommendations.

 

[FrozenGpu]

[citation][nom]otacon72[/nom]Good article but I have to agree, $900 for a "budget" rig is too high. I could build a pretty high end rig for $900 minus the monitor. Also, throw in an Extreme catagory as well. I always like seeing the best-money-can-buy-that-I-can't-afford rigs.[/citation]
I love seeing the "best-money-can-buy-that-I-can't-afford rigs" it's always nice to know what I may be missing.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Nice variety. Thanks for the office builds.

 

[Guest]

Hi All,
I just put together a budget AMD gaming build that I'd like to share with you.
Total Cost: $448.24 + S&H

CPU AMD|ATH II X2 240 AM3 2.8G RT - Retail $57.99
CASE ROSEWILL|R101-P-BK RT - Retail $24.99
MB ASROCK K10N78M GEFORCE 8100 RT - Retail $54.99
MEM 2Gx2|PQI MAD44GUOE-X2 R - Retail $74.99
VGA BIOSTAR|VN9603TD52-BS20R 9600GT - Retail $69.99
DVD ROM ASUS | DVD-E818A6T/BLK/B/G - Retail $18.99
PSU CORSAIR|CMPSU-400CX 400W RT - Retail $54.99
HDD Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB $69.99

 

[j-g-faustus]

+1 for "home server" and "how low can you go".

How about a "how small can you get it" category?

I would like to see a suggestion for a tiny, quiet and low-power system that still has decent performance. I'm thinking along the lines of i3/i5 with integrated graphics and one of the new mini-ITX boards.

You already have an article on how to get an i5 system to 25W idle/75W max, I would like to see it extended with "nearly silent" fans and the smallest case it could fit into without overheating.

Example uses include
* home server (using NAS or external disks for data storage)
* desktop (without gaming)
* HTPC, for those of us who think that normal HTPC cases are way too big. (A streaming-based HTPC could skip the optical drive.)

The i5-at-25W article uses an i5 661 with overclocked IGP. For a "smallest possible" build I would suggest 660 instead to shave a bit off the peak power, simplifying cooling and possibly allowing a smaller case.

With peak power draw below 70-80 W, an external "brick" type power supply is an option.

"Small" is a feature I am willing to pay a premium for, but not without limits. Perhaps a budget limit of +50% compared to a desktop system of similar performance?

 

[anamaniac]

[citation][nom]heartburnkid[/nom]I still think your "budget" gaming builds are priced a hair too high. Let's face it, $900 isn't a budget PC in the modern marketplace. Dropping the GPU down to a 5770 or a 4890 would provide a system more realistically thought of as a budget PC, and still deliver kick-ass performance at 1920x1080 or 1680x1050.[/citation]
I play modern games and I use a single 5770 across three 2048x1152 monitors. Sure, I have to drop it to only 2xAA, but still, it's awesome.[citation][nom]Matt314[/nom]Im a bit new to tom's hardware, does this mean that there will be no builder's marathon in april after the release of Fermi? That's when I was planning on making a new build and I was really hoping to see how the new gpus / price drops would effect the recommendations.[/citation]
=D
I know I referenced the SBM's heavily when I built my system due to a lack of confidence. They're a great tool.

Thank you Mr. Angelini.
Tom's Hardware is a news site I wouldn't even care if it were subscription based upon articles like these alone.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Why such overpowered PSUs in a budget build? A 5850 doesn't need a corsair 650w...