eBabble

As part of our PC Build update the $1000 PC has been lowered by $250 to reflect a great system for this price.  The $750 is by far the hardest computer to build. For this price range you can get many excellent used, refurbished or bare bone machines. Here we try and get the most bang for the buck. This system can be a standard office machine or home unit.

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core 2180

The heart of any PC is the processor. The 2180 gives a very nice price / performance ratio so we’re going with that this month.   It’s built on the Core 2 Duo platform so expect the same performance level, each core running at 2.0 GHz.

Motherboard: eVGA 112-CK-NF72-K1

An eVGA 7050/610i motherboard gives the best new features and a solid upgrade path to all current Intel processors. It supports DDR2 RAM, ATA133 and SATAII hard drives and is very speedy. This board has onboard 7000 series graphics but is already on it’s way out. If you need HDMI output spend another $20 and get the 7150/630i model.

RAM: OCZ Platinum XTC Rev 2 PC2-6400

Prices are rock bottom for DDR2 system memory. At this price it’s crazy so I went with two 1 GB sticks. That fills the available slots but should give enough room for Vista.

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250 GB

Storage is another area where falling prices and advancing technology have favoured the consumer.   250 GB for that kind of money with a 16MB cache.   It’s a bit small but fit the budget.

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-S203S TruDirect

A Samsung DVD rewriter is a fantastic storage option for the home user. 20x DVD rewriting, LightScribe and a SATA connection.

Removable Storage: Mitsumi FA404M Memory Card Reader and 3.5″ Floppy Drive

Much needed for our portable electronics such as digital cameras and MP3 players. Mitsumi memory card reader and 3.5” floppy drive combo: you never know when that floppy will come in handy.

Video Card: Onboard

Video is handled within the chipset, with system RAM used. Nothing spectacular, but 2D work and older games will perform well.

Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 920WM

This is a new 19″ widescreen LCD model from Samsung and is a real beauty. It’s 25% of our budget but it’s the item you stare at the whole time.  It has built in speakers so if your audio needs are modest you can get by with these.

Sound: Onboard

Sound is handled within the chipset as well, but with integrated 3D sound accompanying the Azalia HD audio.

Speakers: Logitech X-240

Went a little upscale with the speaker choice, the Logitech X-240 2.1 Speakers. Great surround sound for a minimal investment.

Input: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 Bundle

The keyboard and mouse are ergonomic Microsoft ergonomic models; very nice indeed. It’s an OEM bundle for resale with a new computer only.

Chassis: Antec Sonata III

The case chosen to house it all is the Antec Sonata III ATX. A mid size form factor and footprint, coole and quiet yet handles our components with aplom, plus it’s pretty slick looking and includes a 500 watt power supply.

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

The operating system was another difficult decision. While Linux is free, most people don’t know their way around it. XP is stable and well known, but Vista is Microsoft’s current OS and right now it’s cheaper. Include eBabble’s free software bundle.

UPS: APC BE350R

A UPS does two things: maintains clean and even power and provides a window of opportunity to shut down your PC during a power outage. Basically it saves your system from freak power surges and lightning storms. This is a low end unit but it will get the job done.  If you already have a UPS spend the extra $50 on a larger hard drive and a faster processor.