SBM 1: Low Cost System

Memory: 2 GB Of Wintec AMPO PC2-6400

We've used 2 GB of Wintec AMPO in our budget overclocking marathon system, and we're happy to do it again. This RAM's overclocking reputation remains, but its price has come down, so picking up two gigabytes of the stuff is even easier on our pocketbook. We found two 1 GB sticks of it for just $81.

Hard Drive: 320 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA II 7200 RPM

Our last budget system had a 250 GB drive, but hard drive space is always something that gets cheaper over time. Our choice for the current low-cost build is a Seagate Barracuda 320 GB SATA II drive. This is a fine amount of space for a budget machine and is a fairly quick performer for the price, to boot.