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Prices on high-end components have dropped nicely in the past month or so, which has made it easy to shave a few hundred dollars off the top of our high-end performance system. If you're so inclined, add $100 to the system total and pop in the Radeon HD 4870 X2 in place of the Geforce 285 GTX... PCSTATS ShoppingList is a guide to help you get good PC gear, because it's filled with suggestions we'd actually buy ourselves.
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PCSTATS
July 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 |
July
2009 | |
|
Avg. Price* |
Description / Model No. |
 |
Review |
|
$77 |
AMD Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition Processor |
Get $ Price |
|
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$92 |
MSI KA880G AM2+ 780G Motherboard |
Get $ Price |
Click |
|
$120 |
HIS H485FN512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB Video Card |
Get $ Price |
Click |
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$26 |
Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB DDR2-800 |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$60 |
Seagate 500GB 7200.12 Hard Drive |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$20 |
Lite-on 20x DVD Rewriter |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$38 |
LinkWorld Black Midtower Case w/ 430W PSU |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$129 |
ASUS VH196T Black 19" Widescreen LCD monitor |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
($112) |
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Operating System OEM |
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- |
Also Consider: Keyboard, Mouse, 3.5" Floppy Drive, 56K Modem,
Speakers. |
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$562 |
Estimated Overall Price |
|
|
| * All prices are
approximations and are listed in $CDN for simplicity. |
|
Notes: We've taken a few liberties with the price
limit of our budget system, but have also gotten some amazing returns out
of it - with a Radeon 4850 in it, this system can really
game! |
| PCSTATS
Shopping List Assistance | |
|
$999
Mainstream Parts List |
July
2009 | |
|
Avg. Price* |
Description / Model No. |
|
Review |
|
$189 |
Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz E8400 Processor |
Get $ Price |
Click |
|
$148 |
Asus P5Q Pro Turbo Intel P45 Motherboard |
Get $ Price |
|
|
$65 |
G.Skill 2X2GB PC2-8500 1066MHz Memory kit |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$217 |
HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB Videocard |
Get $ Price |
Click |
|
$92 |
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$22 |
LG GSA-H54N 18X Write DVD Optical Drive |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$100 |
Raidmax SMILODON black case with 500W PSU |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
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|
$179 |
BenQ G2200W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
($112) |
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Operating System OEM |
|
|
|
- |
Also Consider: Keyboard, Mouse, 3.5" Floppy Drive, 56K Modem,
Speakers. |
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$1012 |
Estimated Overall Price |
|
|
| * All prices are
approximations and are listed in $CDN for simplicity. |
|
Notes: We've again matched up the Intel E8400
CPU with the Radeon 4890 videocard, and have bumped up the storage on
the mainstream system up to a full terabyte. |
| PCSTATS
Shopping List Assistance | |
|
$2000
High-End Performance Parts List |
July
2009 | |
|
Avg. Price* |
Description / Model No. |
|
Review |
|
$310 |
Core i7 920 2.66GhHz Processor |
Get $ Price |
|
$210 |
MSI X58 Pro-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 Motherboard |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$100 |
Patriot Extreme Viper 6GB DDR3-1600 memory |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$360 |
Sparkle Geforce 285 GTX 1GB Videocard |
Get $ Price |
|
|
$91 x 2 |
Western Digital Caviar 1TB SATA2 7200RPM Hard Drive |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$180 |
LITE-ON Black 4x Blu-Ray Rewriter |
Get $ Price |
|
|
$90 |
Cooler Master ATCS 840 Full Tower Case |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$85 |
Sunbeam PSU-HUSH680-US-BL 680W PSU |
Get $ Price |
|
|
$270 |
Samsung Syncmaster 245B 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. |
|
|
|
$1787 |
Estimated Overall Price |
|
|
| * All prices are
approximations and are listed in $CDN for simplicity. |
| Notes: Prices on high-end
components have dropped nicely in the past month or so, which has made it
easy to shave a few hundred dollars off the top of our high-end
performance system. If you're so inclined, add $100 to the system total
and pop in the Radeon HD 4870 X2 in place of the Geforce 285 GTX.
|
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
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