| Component | Product (with review link) | Price | Summary |
|
|
|
CPU |
Athlon 64 3000+ (socket 939) | $143 (
check) | Great for games, but down the line you’re going to want to move to a dual-core CPU. |
|
|
|
Motherboard |
MSI K8N Neo4-F | $85 (
check) | Gets you into nForce 4 on the cheap, and is ready for dual-core CPUs later on. |
|
|
|
Memory |
1GB Kingston PC3200 (512MB x2) | $82 (
check) | Not very low latency and not much overclocking headroom, but these DIMMs will give you 1GB without breaking the bank. |
|
|
|
Graphics |
XFX GeForce 6600GT 128MB | $163 (
check) | You’ll definitely want to upgrade this as the mid-range cards using the next generation of PC graphics chips hits the market, but for now it’s a great deal. |
|
|
|
Sound card |
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value | $50 (
check) | If you’re into games, it’s a sound investment (pardon the pun). We wouldn’t recommend it for home recording and the like, though. |
|
|
|
Keyboard |
Microsoft Natural Multimedia | $20 (
check) | Microsoft makes reliable and comfortable keyboards with good software. The large media keys are more useful than you think. |
|
|
|
Mouse |
Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical | $15 (
check) | It's not a cutting-edge 1600 DPI gaming mouse, but it's reliable and responsive, good for left or right-handed users, and includes side buttons. |
|
|
Hard drive |
Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 80GB | $58 (
check) | Storage is like money – more is always better. You’ll probably grow beyond 80GB before long. For now, the performance and price are great. |
|
|
|
Optical drive |
Lite-On SOHD-167T | $30 (
check) | It’s a cheap optical drive with pretty good performance, but it’s certainly worth it to spend more for a CD or DVD burner. |
|
|
Case |
Antec Performance TX 640B with SmartPower 2.0 400W | $95 (
check) | This isn’t Antec’s most handsome case, nor its quietest, nor the most full-featured. But it’s solid, priced well, and includes a decent 400-watt power supply. |
|
|
Operating system |
Windows XP Home | $74 (
check) | If you're into games, you want Windows XP. The Home Edition gives you everything you need, and costs a lot less than Pro. |
|
|
| Total |
| $815 |
|
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