Introduction
You do the research on the products.  You read all the reviews.  You even discuss with friends.  But even with all that information, building a perfect, personalized system from scratch can be quite a daunting task.  With that in mind, it’s no surprise that we’ve had request after request to provide some system recommendations.

For the third edition of the AnandTech Buyer's Guide, we've decided to change things a little bit. The Buyer's Guide will be split into two parts, one for value systems and the other for high-end ones. The Dream System will be included in the high-end part of the article. This is Part 1, featuring the value systems, while Part 2 with the high-end systems will be published in about two weeks.

Despite the slight format change, we'll continue to provide some system recommendations in 3 categories – small office / home office (SOHO), gaming, and professional.  Remember that these are just a few recommendations from us if we were building the systems.  Obviously, each individual’s needs will vary greatly, but that’s the beauty of building a custom system - it can be tailored to fit those special needs.

Every component, from the motherboard to the case to the monitor, is covered for each system.  Sample prices based on a review of popular vendors and price search engines across the web are included as well. Note that shipping is not included in these prices.  An OS recommendation is included, but that price is not included in the total system price listed.  Components that are not readily obtainable were automatically out of the running for any system in the Buyer’s Guide.  Where possible, we’ll link to reviews of the individual products on AnandTech for more in depth information.

This Month

This month, we've seen the traditional price drops that we've come to expect and love from the fast paced computer industry. Intel and AMD are both selling CPU's like hotcakes, so prices on top of the line models remain, for the most part, unchanged. However, the introduction of the Coppermine128-based Celerons has led to some price drops and increased performance in the low end. The upcoming launch of the AMD Duron (formerly known by its codename, "Spitfire"), AMD's budget Athlon chip with on-die cache means that we'll continue to see this trend of "more for your money" in the low end. Look for the Duron to arrive in late June. With performance around 90-95% of the equivalently clocked Athlon, expect Duron to shake things up quite a bit on the low end.

As you may have noticed from coverage on AnandTech, spring-time means that the video card wars are ready to erupt again, with NVIDIA, ATI, and 3dfx all preparing to launch new products in the near future. GeForce 2 GTS cards are now available and as soon as 3dfx works out a couple kinks, the Voodoo5 will be out soon, as well. While the GeForce 2 GTS at $350 is a bit much for these value systems, it does mean that prices on GeForce SDR and DDR cards will drop a good bit.

Value SOHO

Processor – Intel Celeron 500 - $80
The Celeron makes the perfect choice for our value SOHO machine– it’s cheap, but you still get a relatively fast processor for the applications this machine will be used for.  If you're interested in overclocking, consider paying the premium for an FC-PGA model, either a 533A or a 566. These CPU's seem to hit 800 and 850 MHz, respectively, with minimal effort.

For more information on all Celeron processors, read our Celeron 600 Review.

Motherboard – AOpen MX3W - $90
As long as gaming performance isn’t involved, the i810 offers more than sufficient power for a basic home or office system.  Boards with the i810E currently cost about $50 more than comparable i810 boards, and we don’t need the 133 MHz FSB speed for our 66 MHz FSB Celeron anyway. 

Since this will be a work machine, quite possibly the most important factor in a motherboard is stability, and the AOpen MX3W was one of the most stable i810 boards we’ve tested.  It’s easy to find and costs under $90, making it a good choice for our system.  It is, however, a microATX board, so if you need a lot of expansion, look for something in a full ATX form factor.

For a bit more, you can go with an i440BX based motherboard. However, you'll then have to pay for a video card as well. This route will give you better performance and better expandability, but at a greater price.

For more information, read our AOpen MX3W Review.

Memory – 128MB Mushkin or Corsair PC133 SDRAM - $125
Never underestimate the value of RAM – it needs to be high quality, high speed, and most importantly, you need lots of it.  Not too long ago, 64MB seemed like a ton, but with prices so low today, 128MB is the real minimum you should accept.

As for the exact brand of memory, we recommend Corsair or Mushkin modules.  We use them in our test systems and have had absolutely no problems with them. 

Video card – Integrated i810 Video – “free”
Although the integrated video on the i810 is not incredibly fast, it is more than sufficient to power basic Windows 2D applications. 

For more information, see our i810 Chipset Review.

Monitor – CTX VL950SL - $300
Monitors are one of the few computer components that you can usually hang onto for years to come.  With that in mind, we didn’t want to go with anything smaller than a 19” on our value SOHO system – besides, once you’ve worked on a monitor this big, there’s no going back.

The best deal we could find on a 19” monitor was the CTX VL950SL, which will run you about $300.  It’s a shortneck model that uses the same 0.26 mm dot pitch tube that many of the bigger brands use.  For a bit more, just about every monitor manufacturer is offering a value 19" model that would fit the bill.

Case – Fong Kai FK-603 - $60
We loved the Fong Kai FK-603 when we first tested it, and it’s the perfect case for our value systems.  It’s only $60, but has plenty of space for everything in our system.  What makes it the clear choice is the ease of access to the interior and excellent cooling for a case this size.  Although not critical for this system since it uses a Celeron, it also features an AMD approved power supply.

You could also go with a microATX case to save a bit more money, but the price differential isn’t worth being locked into such limited expansion.

For more information, read our Fong Kai FK-603 Review.

Sound card – Integrated AC97 Audio – “free”
The host-based AC97 CODEC will get you by for basic sound needs, but it eats up precious CPU resources when in use.  If you really need to keep the cost as low as possible, stick with this, but otherwise get a “real” hardware PCI sound card, even if you just want to play MP3’s.

For more information, see our i810 Chipset Review.

Speakers – Generic - $20
The AC97 CODEC isn’t of the highest quality either, so there’s no need to go with a hi-fi speaker set here.  We just need something to get us by for basic Windows sounds, so just go down to any local store and see what you can find for $20.

Ethernet – Linksys EtherFast 10/100 - $20
We use Linksys products here in the AnandTech lab all the time and have never been disappointed.  Besides, at just $20 for a card with full support directly from the manufacturer under the major OS’s, including Linux and Windows 2000, the EtherFast 10/100 is a deal that’s impossible to pass up. 

Hard drive – Maxtor Diamond Max 40 Plus 15GB - $120
We still maintain that hard drive speed is one of the biggest bottlenecks in a system, so we won’t skimp in this category.  As such, we’ve simply chosen a smaller version of the drive in our high-end system, the 15GB Maxtor Diamond Max 40 Plus.  It provides the same speed as the 40GB model, but with less storage space.

If you simply need more space, you can either drop down to a 5400rpm drive or pay a bit more for a larger 7200rpm model.

CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM - Name brand 40X – 50X CD-ROM - $40
While many will suggest going with the cheapest CD-ROM you can find, we highly recommend going with a name brand, not just the cheapest generic.  Our experience with the no-names is that many of them do not perform as advertised, and even have trouble reading less than perfect discs.  Acer, Creative Labs, Toshiba, and Teac all do an excellent job.

OS – Windows 2000 - $250
You want to get work done, right?  Well you definitely don’t want your system crashing and destroying unsaved work all the time.  Windows 2000 is the only way to go for rock solid stability.  If you don’t need all the features of Windows 2000, but want a more tried and true solution, drop back to Windows NT 4.0 but note that you’ll lose access to USB peripherals, which many of the cheap scanners out there use.

Bottom Line: $865 (without software)

Value Gaming

Processor – AMD Athlon 750 - $250
Although it’s a bit slower than a Pentium III in games on a clock for clock basis, the Athlon holds a significant advantage in price at similar clock speeds, and for that reason, we’ve chosen an Athlon 750 for our value system. That's a boost of 50 MHz for the second month in a row.  Throw in a Golden Fingers device and a good heatsink and the 0.18 micron core of the 750 can overclock to 850 or 900 MHz.

For more information on all Athlon processors, read our Athlon 1GHz Review.

Motherboard – ASUS K7V - $150
If you’re going with an Athlon CPU, the VIA KX133 chipset is clearly the best platform to run it on today.  The ASUS K7V is our pick as the best overall KX133 motherboard. It's a bit pricey at $150, but well worth the added cost.

You can save a few bucks by going with the AOpen AK72 or ABIT KA7, both of which performed very well in the AnandTech lab. Overclockers may want to take a strong look at the ABIT KA7 for its tweaking abilities.

For more information, read our ASUS K7V Review.

Memory – 128MB Mushkin or Corsair PC133 SDRAM - $125
Never underestimate the value of RAM – it needs to be high quality, high speed, and most importantly, you need lots of it.  Not too long ago, 64MB seemed like the maximum amount that you would need, but with prices so low today, 128MB is the real minimum you should accept.

As for the exact brand of memory, we recommend Corsair or Mushkin modules.  We use them in our test systems and have had absolutely no problems with them. 

Video card – Leadtek GeForce 256 DDR Rev. B.  - $240
Even for our value system, we have to go with a GeForce DDR, especially now since the difference in price between SDR and DDR cards is relatively small while the performance difference is huge. Thanks to the recent release of the GeForce 2 GTS, the GeForce DDR is even cheaper.

While the performance of all GeForce DDR cards is within a few percentage points of each other, the Leadtek GeForce 256 DDR Revision B was able to out-distance the other cards in our recent roundup in other areas, namely its excellent cooling without a significant increase in price. Thanks to that cooling, we were able to push our evaluation sample up to 160 MHz core clock – the fastest of any GeForce we’ve tested to date. 

If you’re not overclocking, just go with the best deal on a GeForce DDR that you can find – they’re all clocked the same and most use the same NVIDIA reference design, thus perform within a few percent of each other.

For more information, read our GeForce DDR Roundup and our Leadtek GeForce 256 DDR Rev. B Review.

Monitor – CTX VL950SL - $300
Monitors are one of the few computer components that you can usually hang onto for years to come.  With that in mind, we didn’t want to go with anything smaller than a 19” on our value gaming system – besides, once you’ve gamed on a monitor this big, there’s no going back.

The best deal we could find on a 19” monitor was the CTX VL950SL, which will run you about $300.  It’s a shortneck model that uses the same 0.26 mm dot pitch tube that many of the bigger brands use.  For a bit more, just about every monitor manufacturer is offering a value 19" model that would fit the bill.

Case – Fong Kai FK-603 - $60
We loved the Fong Kai FK-603 when we first tested it and it’s the perfect case for our value systems.  It’s only $60, but has plenty of space for everything in our system.  What makes it the clear choice is the ease of access to the interior, excellent cooling for a case this size, and, most importantly, an AMD approved power supply.

For more information, read our Fong Kai FK-603 Review.

Sound card – Sound Blaster Live! Value OEM / Aureal SQ 2500 OEM Vortex2- $50
There’s nothing that makes the Live! or Vortex2 stand out ahead of the other to make the sound card choice for the value gaming system cut and dry.  A slight edge goes the SQ2500 since Aureal’s latest Vortex2 reference drivers include support for EAX, allowing it to work with both A3D 2.0 and EAX 1.0 games.  It looks like Aureal has filed for Chapter 11 and reorganized, so we should see continued support for Aureal cards in the future.

Speakers - Cambridge Sound Works PCWorks Four Point Surround / Altec Lansing ACS54 - $70
We still want a good set of four channel speakers for our value gaming system, and both the Cambridge PCWorks FPS and the Altec ACS54 fit our requirements while maintaining a relatively low price of $70.  If you don’t care about 4-channel surround, there are a number of speaker systems that will provide higher quality, but just stereo, sound at a similar price point.

Ethernet – Linksys EtherFast 10/100 - $20
We use Linksys products here in the AnandTech lab all the time and have never been disappointed.  Besides, at just $20 for a card with full support directly from the manufacturer under the major OS’s, including Linux and Windows 2000, the EtherFast 10/100 is a deal that’s impossible to pass up. 

Hard drive – Maxtor Diamond Max 40 Plus 15GB - $120
We still maintain that hard drive speed is one of the biggest bottlenecks in a system, so we won’t skimp in this category.  As such, we’ve simply chosen a smaller version of the drive in our high-end system, the 15GB Maxtor Diamond Max 40 Plus.  It provides the same speed as the 40GB model, but with less storage space.

If you simply need more space, you can either drop down to a 5400rpm drive or pay a bit more for a larger 7200rpm model.

CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM – Name brand 40X – 50X CD-ROM - $40
While many will suggest going with the cheapest CD-ROM you can find, we highly recommend going with a name brand, not just the cheapest generic.  Our experience with the no-names is that many of them do not perform as advertised, and even have trouble reading less than perfect discs.  Acer, Creative Labs, Toshiba, and Teac all do an excellent job.

OS – Windows 98SE - $150
There’s no doubt that Windows 98SE is the OS of choice for the value gaming machine.  It’s guaranteed to support all current games, and most future ones are still designed with Windows 98 in mind.  Windows 2000 can be installed and booted to when its time to get some “real” work done.  If you’re not nuts about the highest frame rates at all times, you can go with Windows 2000 and gain quite a bit of stability.

Bottom line: $1445 (without software)

Value Professional

Processor – AMD Athlon 750 - $250
The KX133 chipset helps the AMD Athlon come close to a Pentium III clock for clock, but if you compare dollar for dollar, the Athlon is the clear winner.  The Athlon 750 is the best bargain out there now on a performance/cost basis, and it is thus our pick for the value professional system.  Throw in a Golden Fingers device and a good heatsink and the 0.18 micron core of the 750 can overclock to 850 or 900 MHz.

For more information on all Athlon processors, read our Athlon 1GHz Review.

Motherboard – ASUS K7V - $150
If you’re going with an Athlon CPU, the VIA KX133 chipset is clearly the best platform to run it on today.  Last month there was a huge dearth of good KX133 motherboards that were actually available, but times have changed. The ASUS K7V is now available and is our pick as the best overall KX133 motherboard. It's a bit pricey at $150, but well worth the added cost.

You can save a few bucks by going with the AOpen AK72 or ABIT KA7, both of which performed very well in the AnandTech lab. Overclockers may want to take a strong look at the ABIT KA7 for its tweaking abilities.

For more information, read our ASUS K7V Review.

Memory – 256MB Corsair or Mushkin PC133 SDRAM (2x128MB DIMM’s) – $250
Once again, the amount of memory is a key factor in overall system performance under professional applications, so even our value system gets 256MB.  

As for the exact brand of memory, we recommend Corsair or Mushkin modules.  We use them in our test systems and have had absolutely no problems with them. 

Video card – Gigabyte GA-GF2560 SDR GeForce - $200
As long as you don’t need support for anti-aliased lines, the GeForce keeps up with the Quadro in most situations, but at less than one-third the cost.  The key is the powerful GPU that provides the most polygon power available today.  This, of course, makes the GeForce the perfect card for a value professional system. Fill rate isn't as critical for professional applications, so SDR memory is sufficient.

The price difference for a DDR card is much smaller than it used to be, so consider a DDR model if you do a significant amount of gaming on the side. For even more T&L power from the GPU, consider a GeForce 2 GTS, which benefits from a higher core clock speed and optimizations of the T&L core.

We went with the Gigabyte as it was the winner of our GeForce SDR Roundup and it is reasonably priced. It's not the easiest SDR GeForce to find, but it is possible. If you can't find it, just go with the best deal on an SDR GeForce that you can find.

For more information, read our GeForce SDR Roundup and our Gigabyte GA-GF2570 Review.

Monitor – iiYama VisionMaster PRO 450 - $650
Using a Mitsubishi Diamondtron NF, the iiYama VisionMaster Pro 450 provides a perfectly flat display surface using the same technology in Sony’s FD Trinitron models, but at a lower cost.  Make sure you can deal with the damper wires that all Trinitron style tubes have.  The VisionMaster PRO 450 is a 19” monitor and it is highly recommended by us at AnandTech and owners alike.  If you’ve got the funds, we highly recommend you go with the 22” VisionMaster PRO 510 for about $1000.

For more information, read our iiYama VisionMaster PRO 450 and VisionMaster PRO 510 Reviews.

Case
Supermicro SC750-A Full Tower ATX - $150
Fong Kai FK-320ATX Mid Tower ATX - $120
We need a case that can handle anything we can throw at it, but at a reasonable price level.  That case is the Supermicro SC750-A full tower and is available for about $150 with an Athlon approved 300W Sparkle power supply.  A total of ten drive bays and the ability to accept an extended ATX motherboard ensures that this system will always have room for upgrades. 

If you want something a little smaller than the monstrous SC750-A for your home or office, consider the Fong Kai FK-320ATX. It offers plenty of room to work inside, is well built, provides excellent cooling, and even includes an Athlon 1 GHz approved Enhance 730-ATX power supply.

For more information, read our Supermicro SC750-A and Fong Kai FK-320ATX Reviews.

Sound card – Sound Blaster Live! Value OEM - $50
The choice here is simple – SBLive!, since Creative is the only manufacturer offering complete driver support under Windows 2000.  If you want to save a bit more money, go with any name brand card supported under Windows 2000.

Speakers – Generic - $20
We just need something to get us by for basic Windows sounds, so just go down to any local store and see what you can find for $20.

Ethernet – Linksys EtherFast 10/100 - $20
We use Linksys products here in the AnandTech lab all the time and have never been disappointed.  Besides, at just $20 for a card with full support directly from the manufacturer under the major OS’s, including Linux and Windows 2000, the EtherFast 10/100 is a deal that’s impossible to pass up. 

Hard drive – Maxtor Diamond Max 40 Plus 15GB - $120
We still maintain that hard drive speed is one of the biggest bottlenecks in a system, so we won’t skimp in this category.  As such, we’ve simply chosen a smaller version of the drive in our high-end system, the 15GB Maxtor Diamond Max 40 Plus.  It provides the same speed as the 40GB model, but with less storage space.

If you simply need more space, you can either drop down to a 5400rpm drive or pay a bit more for a larger 7200rpm model.

CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD-ROM - Name brand 40X – 50X CD-ROM - $40
While many will suggest going with the cheapest CD-ROM you can find, we highly recommend that you pick a name brand, not just the cheapest generic.  Our experience with the no-names is that many of them do not perform as advertised and even have trouble reading less than perfect discs.  Acer, Creative Labs, Toshiba, and Teac all do an excellent job.

OS – Windows 2000 Professional - $250
The choice here is clear – Windows 2000 Professional is the latest and greatest OS from Microsoft that provides all the functionality of NT 4.0, but enhanced hardware support.  If you want to stick with a more tried and true solution, go with NT 4.0 Workstation.

Bottom line: $1900 (without software)

Final Words

And that concludes our recommendations for value systems in the third edition of the AnandTech Buyer's Guide. In about 2 weeks, we'll have the second part of this guide, covering high-end systems.

As always, we’re open to any suggestions you may have.  Remember that these are merely recommendations for a few system configurations. We know a lot of you won’t agree with the exact components chosen here, and we expect that, so plan on tweaking things a bit to get the perfect system for your needs.  When sending in suggestions, remember that all the components must be readily available in the market today in order to be considered for the Buyer’s Guide.