Weekly Buyer's Guide: Entry Level System - June 2004
by Evan Lieb on June 9, 2004 12:02 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Keyboard and Mouse
While trivial, it's still important that you purchase the right keyboard and mouse. Different people have different preferences for a keyboard's look and feel, and the same goes for a mouse. Therefore, we suggest that you personally try out a keyboard and mouse for yourself. Recommending purchasing these items online is misleading, as there are too many users with different preferences for this type of thing. Visit your nearest PC outlet to try a keyboard and mouse yourself; a PC Club, Best Buy, CompUSA, or Circuit City store will do. We suggest that you start with Microsoft and Logitech keyboards and mice. Make sure you also check out optical mice from Microsoft and Logitech as well. A good solid optical mouse from either manufacturer should run about $20, but in some cases, can run as little as $10 if you can find the right deal.If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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jamesey - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
i think the buyers guide should be titled by price and there can be 4 of them$600 and less - budget/entry level
600-1200 - mid range
1200-1800 - high end
1800-up - overclocking/luxury
aw - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
I second the motion for the SFF guide!!!mcveigh - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
how setup spme parameters for the systems?like the budget box will be under $600
mid-range under $1000, or 1200
the high end system will be under $5000
etc.
GP40X - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
Aw come on guys, The laste "Overclocked" system guide was April 8th. I'm starting to suffer withdrawl here. Two full months of guides & not a single one of the Overclocked system.Oh, I almost forgot. Recommend the 80 Gig. $10.00 isn't going to break the bank on this system. Cost vs. benefit shows to be a really good deal. More bang for the buck than the other alternatove recommnedations.
cKGunslinger - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
I'm going to agree with the 80GB HD suggestions. It doesn't make much sense to save $10-15 and only get *half* the storage space. 40 GB just doesn't go as far as it used to anymore. Especially with bloated OS and applications, MP3s, video clips, games requiring 3 CD for install, and the proliferation of Broadband access (which is assumed, since no modem is included.)
Onboard video might also shave a few $$ off the price, as long as the MB still has an AGP slot for some upgradability. The current Entry System has a pretty good upgrade path. If the user decides he wants to get into a little heavier gaming, an XP 2500+ and Radeon 9600 can be added for relatively little scratch and you'd have a respectable system. Actually, you'd have something resembling my main gaming rig. :)
cosmotic - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
Why not use an NF2 board with on-board video, it would take the price down quite a bit (relitivley) and still be pretty nice video.ZobarStyl - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
I'll have to agree with MAME even though it's a completely budget-oriented system a 10 dollar premium for 80 gigs is worth it; it would be a lot more tangible benefit than a processor upgrade and a lot of people these days are filling up these low-end HDD's fast.buckcow - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
I would like see the average price of the mid range system go up a bit. Below is the data of the last 3 months of guides, and the prices of the systems. Column 1 is low end, 2 is the middle, and 3 is the high end system. The 4th row of data is the average of the 3. I would like to see the mid range price really be about half way between the low and and the high end. Keep up the good work.552 934 3034
527 935 1965
504 833 1979
528 901 2326
Booty - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
Good call on that... of course, would it be a high-end or budget SFF? Or maybe one geared to home theater usage?MAME - Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - link
Guys, just recommend the 80 gig WD. It's $10 more than the 40 gig one and has an 8 meg buffer (instead of 2).I know you're keep prices low but seriosuly...$10!
I just can't see any justification for letting someone get the 40 gig flavor when $10 provides twice the storage and a much larger cache