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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.
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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 | |
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$500
Budget System Parts List |
February
2009 | |
|
Avg. Price* |
Description / Model No. |
 |
Review |
|
$77 |
Intel Pentium 2180 Dual Core Processor |
Get $ Price |
- |
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$70 |
Asus P5N73-AM Socket 775 Motherboard |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
- |
On Board Video |
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$28 |
A-DATA 2GB DDR2 800MHz Memory |
Get $ Price |
- |
|
$70 |
Seagate 500GB 7200.12 Hard Drive |
Get $ Price |
- |
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$20 |
Lite-on 20x DVD Rewriter |
Get $ Price |
- |
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$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 |
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- |
Also Consider: Keyboard, Mouse, 3.5" Floppy Drive, 56K Modem,
Speakers. |
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$445 |
Estimated Overall Price |
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| * 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 |
|
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$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 |
- |
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$22 |
LG GSA-H54N 18X Write DVD Optical Drive |
Get $ Price |
- |
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$103 |
Antec NSK6580B Mid Tower w/PSU Case |
Get $ Price |
- |
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$169 |
Acer X203HBD 20" 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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$1073 |
Estimated Overall Price |
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| * 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 |
- |
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- |
|
$142 (2) |
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB Hard Drive |
Get $ Price |
- |
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$120 |
LG GBC-H20L Blu-Ray Optical Drive |
Get $ Price |
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$90 |
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Case |
Get $ Price |
- |
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$85 |
Cooler Master Extreme Power 650W Power Supply |
Get $ Price |
|
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$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. |
|
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$2032 |
Estimated Overall Price |
|
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| * 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
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