PCSTATS     
[X]   Directory of
Guides & Reviews

Beginners Guides
Motherboards by Brand
Weekly Newsletter
Archived Newsletters

+70 MORE Beginner GUIDES....
PCSTATS February 2009 ShoppingList Assistance
PCSTATS February 2009 ShoppingList Assistance - PCSTATS
The mainstream system has gone SLI! The dual 9800GTs have come down a lot in price recently, and getting a pair of them for under $300 is a pretty amazing deal, since in games they can give even the Geforce GTX 285 a run for its money... PCSTATS ShoppingList is a guide to help you get good PC gear, because it's filled with suggestions we'd actually buy ourselves.
Filed under: Business / Industry Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: PCSTATS Feb 01 2009   Max Page  
Home > Reviews > Business / Industry > PCSTATS

PCSTATS
February 2009 ShoppingList Assistance

Picking the right components for a new computer system or upgrade can be a daunting task. The PCSTATS ShoppingList is a guide to help you get good PC gear, because it's filled with suggestions we'd actually buy ourselves. Below you'll find three ShoppingList's which you can use as a general set of guidelines for what to get, or where to start looking. PCSTATS covers the basic components needed to assemble a full PC system and lists the average $USD price each part retails for. Use the ShoppingList as a guide to build a better "white box" system, or follow our recommendations to the letter - it's totally up to you.

The ShoppingList is updated on the 1st of each month so as prices drop and new computer hardware is released it reflects the changes. However, just because something newer and faster has come to market, it doesn't mean it's worth getting right away! Be sure to read the "Notes" section for a brief explanation of why some hardware made it onto the list, and why other gear didn't.

$449 Budget PC System
$999 Mainstream PC System
$2000 High-End Performance/Gaming System

The PCSTATS ShoppingList covers three different types of desktop computers to reflect differing consumer budgets, and requirements. Each system contains a full list of the most important hardware you'll need which is widely available in stores, or online. If you've every wanted to ask "what should I get", then the PCSTATS ShoppingList is your answer. Each list contains recommended hardware that we would actually consider getting ourselves. When we've reviewed the hardware in question, we'll also include a link so you can get an in-depth perspective.

PCSTATS Shopping List Assistance

$500 Budget System Parts List

February 2009
Avg. Price* Description / Model No. Review
$77 Intel Pentium 2180 Dual Core Processor Get $ Price -

$70

Asus P5N73-AM Socket 775 Motherboard Get $ Price -
- On Board Video
$28 A-DATA 2GB DDR2 800MHz Memory Get $ Price -

$70

Seagate 500GB 7200.12 Hard Drive Get $ Price -
$20 Lite-on 20x DVD Rewriter Get $ Price -

$44

Inshin R220, Black, 350W PSU Case Get $ Price -

$135

Acer X183H Black 18.5" Widescreen Monitor Get $ Price -
($112) Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Operating System OEM
- Also Consider: Keyboard, Mouse, 3.5" Floppy Drive, 56K Modem, Speakers.
$445 Estimated Overall Price
* All prices are approximations and are listed in $CDN for simplicity.

Notes: We've moved from an AMD to an Intel platform for February's budget system, following a few mail-in-rebates on Intel integrated motherboards and price drops for Intel procssors. We've kept the 2GB of RAM from last month, but it's not manufactured by A-Data instead of Crucial.

PCSTATS Shopping List Assistance

$999 Mainstream Parts List

February 2009
Avg. Price* Description / Model No. Review

$195

Intel Core Duo E8200 2.6GHz 6MB L2 Processor Get $ Price
$151 EVGA nForce 750i SLI motherboard Get $ Price -
$54 Kingston VALUEram 4GB 800MHz memory Get $ Price -
$138 (2) XFX Geforce 9800GT Videocard Get $ Price -

$70

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB Hard Drive Get $ Price -
$22 LG GSA-H54N 18X Write DVD Optical Drive Get $ Price -

$103

Antec NSK6580B Mid Tower w/PSU Case Get $ Price -
$169 Acer X203HBD 20" LCD Monitor Get $ Price -
($112) Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Operating System OEM
- Also Consider: Keyboard, Mouse, 3.5" Floppy Drive, 56K Modem, Speakers.

$1073

Estimated Overall Price
* All prices are approximations and are listed in $CDN for simplicity.

Notes: The mainstream system has gone SLI! The dual 9800GTs have come down a lot in price recently, and getting a pair of them for under $300 is a pretty amazing deal, since in games they can give even the Geforce GTX 285 a run for its money.

PCSTATS Shopping List Assistance

$2000 High-End Performance Parts List

February 2009
Avg. Price* Description / Model No. Review
$383 Intel Core i7 920 Quad-Core Socket LGA1366, 2.66Ghz Processor Get $ Price
$257 Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Motherboard Get $ Price -
$99

OCZ 3GB DDR3 PC3-10666 Memory

Get $ Price -
$180 (2) EVGA 9800 GTX 512MB Videocard Get $ Price -

-

$142 (2)

Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB Hard Drive

Get $ Price -
$120 LG GBC-H20L Blu-Ray Optical Drive Get $ Price
$90

Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Case

Get $ Price -
$85 Cooler Master Extreme Power 650W Power Supply Get $ Price

$280

Acer P241WAiD, 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor Get $ Price -
($199) Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Operating System OEM
- Also Consider: Operating System, Keyboard, Mouse, 3.5" Floppy Drive, 56K Modem, Speakers.
$2032 Estimated Overall Price
* All prices are approximations and are listed in $CDN for simplicity.
Notes: The high-end system has also hopped on the NVIDIA train, packing a pair of 9800GTX videocards. It's also got 2TB of storage, that can be RAIDed for security or speed, or kept separate for increased storage.

Operating systems, keyboard / mouse, floppy drives, 56K modem, 10/100 network cards, and speakers are not listed separately or included in the overall target budget since they are very common requirements, or may not be needed.


 

Contents of Article: PCSTATS

 
Hardware Sections 


 
PCSTATS Network Features Information About Us Contact
FrostyTech
PCSTATS Newsletter
Tech Glossary
Technology WebSite Listings
News Archives
(Review RSS Feed)
Site Map
PCstats Wallpaper
About Us
Privacy Policy
Advertise on PCSTATS

How's Our Driving?
© Copyright 1999-2023 www.pcstats.com All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use.