Build Your Own: Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs, Updated!
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!
Picking the parts for your next system build just got a little easier…
Every quarter, Tom’s Hardware gives you its System Builder Marathon, which pits three of our authors at three different price points in a friendly little competition to demonstrate to you, our readers who generally don’t mind tweaking your systems for extra performance, the best possible value for your money (and then we give the computers away). In case you missed it, December’s series can be found here (this quarter's series will begin tomorrow morning and carry on through the rest of this week; check back to win our three Newegg-sponsored machines):
$700 Gaming PC
$1,300 Enthusiast PC
$2,500 Performance PC
System Value Compared
While this is always quite a bit of fun for us, it really focuses on gaming, and then only at three different prices. But there are oh-so-many other ways we use our systems, aren’t there?
That’s where BestConfigs comes into play. I’ve set up nine different configurations right off the bat, each with a parts list needed to build the machine in question.
For as many of the items going into each of these builds, we’ve linked you to our PriceGrabber shopping engine to help you find the best possible deals as you compile your parts list. For the items that aren’t well-represented in the engine, we pulled the prices from Newegg.
The last time I did this, in January, you posted quite a bit of feedback on each build. Some of this I've been able to implement immediately, especially as it pertains to improving the value of these setups. Next month I'm shooting to introduce three or four new builds to address your requests (a budget workstation, a home server, and a "how low can you go" system are all on the radar; thanks for those suggestions).
In the meantime, here are some of the changes I've implemented, thanks to the community:
- AMD-Based Office PC: saved some money by swapping in a 500GB (instead of 1TB hard drive), found a case/power supply combo (rather than sourcing the parts separately), upgraded the motherboard to allow for 4GB of DDR3 memory (instead of DDR2), priced in DDR3 (naturally).
- Intel-Based Office PC: Switched to a Core i3-530 and H55-based motherboard, dropped from 1TB of hard drive capacity to 500GB, picked up a case/power supply combo (rather than sourcing those parts separately).
- High-End Workstation: No changes.
- Budget Intel-Based Gaming PC: Dropped from a Core i5-750 to a Core i3-530, adopted an H55-based motherboard (down instead of P55), switched to a single Radeon HD 5850 (instead of CrossFire'd 5770s, in light of the single x16 link available through H55), grabbed a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3, more cost-effective case, and lower-capacity power supply. This should take some of the emphasis away from processing and put more of your money toward graphics performance.
- Budget AMD-Based Gaming PC: Upgraded the dual-core Phenom II to a quad-core Athlon II, switched to a 785G motherboard and a single Radeon HD 5850 (away from the two Radeon HD 5770s), added the Samsung 1TB hard drive, the Antec Three Hundred chassis, and a smaller power supply. Almost the reverse of the Intel build, we're using a more powerful quad-core CPU at your request, and using some of the money saved on the case/power supply to add a single Radeon HD 5850, too.
- Home Theater PC: Switched from the Radeon HD 5750 to a Radeon HD 5670 (optional, since the Pentium G6950 includes graphics, will bitstream Blu-ray audio, and accelerates video playback), ditched the silent SSD in favor of a 1.5TB low-power hard drive (for the folks who want to store their media on the HTPC, rather than a media server), tried out a different case. Received lots of feedback on this one, so for those of you who wanted a larger hard drive, now you have it!
- MicroATX Gaming Build: Ditched the LGA 1366 build altogether, picked up a Core i5-750, P55-based motherboard, and a single Radeon HD 5850 graphics card (taking into account the single PCIe link and need for more graphics performance), grabbed a lower-capacity power supply, too. This should be a more efficient, lower-heat, comparably-potent gaming system.
- High-End Intel Gaming PC: In light of the single x16 PCIe link, swapped from dual Radeon HD 5870s to a single Radeon HD 5970 (despite the fact that they're still largely unavailable), added Cooler Master's Hyper 212 cooler, upgraded from a 40GB boot drive to a second-gen Intel 80GB SSD, swapped from two 500GB drives in RAID 0 to two 1TB drives in RAID 0, picked up a lower-capacity power supply.
- High-End AMD Gaming PC: Added a Radeon HD 5970 (instead of the two Radeon HD 5870s in CrossFire), upgraded to an 80GB Intel SSD (instead of the 40GB boot drive), lower-capacity power supply.
Bear in mind that, in eight of the nine builds (High-End Workstation is excluded, since no changes were made), your recommendations shaved off hundreds of dollars from the original configuration prices, while, in almost every case, improving performance or better balancing the setup itself. Note that I didn't tie in operating systems yet; since everyone's path here will be different, just remember to budget in some cash for an OS (or not, if you're going with Linux). The goes for peripherals and other extras, like case fans. As mentioned, we'll have additional builds included next month, and I'm still looking into some of your other suggestions, like commenting on each system's respective page. Keep those suggestions coming. I'd like this to be an easy reference for friends and family looking to put their own systems together!
Chris Angelini
Managing Editor, Tom’s Hardware
crazipper on Twitter
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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.
Perhaps a video capture card with the home theater PC ?
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.
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 =)
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).
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
What's with the AMD high end build? It says 2x 5970 but there's only one.
I think the budget office builds could use mobos with USB3 ports.
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...
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!
I want to see a under $500 budget gaming build next time.....
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I do too... Extreme CPU OC'd, 4-8 graphics cards, 30gb ram, 2 TB's of SSDs, liquid nitro cooling, 2-3 1,000 watt power supplies, etc etc. Oh yeah... that's min system specs to play Crysis 2 maxed out...SORRY! had to...lmao
Nice variety. Thanks for the office builds.
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
+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?
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.
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.
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.
=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.
Why such overpowered PSUs in a budget build? A 5850 doesn't need a corsair 650w...
BUDGET should be cost of a minimal office PC and the cost of a console system. If you can't get to console performance, then recommend a console and set the bar to match a console.
HTPC: A TV tuner card might be a good idea.
The PSU are way overkill and eating loads of budget that they don't need to. Drop the GPUs to 5770 MAX and go with a $40-$50 PSU, Corsair 450VX or even an OCZ for budget and boards that can't CF/SLI anyway.
Sorry for being brash, but I find these setups a little out of touch with reality what users are actually looking for. A "best of" should be realistic and not test the bounds or challenge popular fact. Thats what the SBMs are for. You're taking some extremes and suggesting thats the best option and its far from.
Chris this is a good little article.
Well done.
Chris, you've got to stop pairing Gigabyte boards with dual GPU's or 2GPU's on a stick GPU's.
Gigabytes implementation of USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 requires 8 PCIE lanes. So this means, if you have USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 enabled, you can only install 1 PCIE card running at x8, and no second card.
Running a 5970 through only 8 lanes is not a good idea, if you disable the USB 3.0/SATA6.0 for a x16 slot, then you're basically paying extra money for nothing.
Instead, go with the Asus boards as they do not steal PCIE lanes.
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product
edit: Above applies only to Gigabyte P55/H55 boards, not x58 ones.
I really think Gigabyte screwed up their implementation big time. Lets add USB 3.0/SATA 6.0 by making P55's major weakness even worse! Great idea!
I've have never been a budget builder, I'm running 2x5870's... But I have to agree 5870 has no bussiness being in the "budget" category. A 5770 is all a budget builder needs(they are on a budget they aren't gonna be gaming at 2560x1600). Save some cash get a $20 case, and seriously you guys overkill ever PC in the PSU department. I power both my 5870's with a 750w. So the budget needs 450-500 tops! Save some time answering questions on the forums and put the budget build on a diet. I remember when you guys said the 5870 was so powerful could anyone really benifit from 2? Now you think everyone needs to have 1?
We all love the over the top builds, but people don't want the budget builds going that way too
Grr need edit button. Above post applies to gigabytes P55/H55 boards only, not x58 ones.