You have two computers at a desk in front of you, both are using the same case, both are running the same software, both are performing equally to the naked eye, and both are crunching away quietly at the tests tossed at them.  The only difference between the two is the $500 separation between the price tags.

The definition of a "High End User" is a bit shady, and in the end it is up to the users' discretion as to whether or not they consider themselves High End Users.  For the most part, however, the computers we are amazed by and infatuated with are overkill for our common everyday computer tasks.  We all want the fastest and best thing out, if it weren't for this desire then we wouldn't see products like 3Dfx Interactive's Voodoo2 or the Intel Pentium II grow in popularity.  Unfortunately, often times this addiction to speed can be hazardous to the health of our bank accounts, a simple memory upgrade can turn into a need for a new motherboard, processor, and video card.  

If you happen to have an unlimited PC Purchasing Fund then the price-tag all of these expenditures carries no weight in your mind.  In the lives of most computer junkies however, things aren't so immaculate.   Upgrading your computer to the max no longer means just tossing in a Math Coprocessor and playing Wolfenstein at a smooth 30 frames per second, it now carries the definition of basically upgrading everything short of buying a new system.

The Driving Force

In order for a reaction to occur, there must be a driving force, or something that causes the reaction to take place.  This basic chemistry principle extends past the Oxygen atoms in our air to the computers we surf the net with.  Well, what drives this upgrading frenzy?  The Software Industry.

The software industry, especially the gaming industry, is constantly producing newer and more 'advanced' programs with added features, all designed to make our lives easier or more enjoyable.  With all of these software upgrades, dealing with everything from your favorite digital pinball game to your computer's operating system, the bar is constantly being raised for a base level of performance.  More advanced features means more lines of code behind the pretty windows of the applications you're running.  More lines of code generally means that you'll need a faster system to process the code, and since a faster system can't be provided for in software that burden is shifted over to the hardware world.

Relieving the Pressure

How does the Hardware Industry deal with the pressure to perform placed on it by the Software Industry?  The only way it knows how to, by releasing newer, faster, and 'better' products every so often in order to keep up with the now absurd pace of the rest of the industry. 

A wonderful example of this would be the evolution of the PC gaming platform.  At first, the PC wasn't considered to be a viable gaming platform, however the theories of the very first Computer Scientists who were blessed with the punch cards in their hands seemed to be put to death by the increasingly popular, yet incredibly simple, PC games.  Evolving from titles older Apple II and Commodore users may be familiar with, the PC gaming scene, at first, consisted of entertaining text based games with a few graphically pleasant titles appearing every now and then.  Games like Dig-Dug and eventually Pac-Man became common place on the home PC.  Times were good, performance demands weren't too incredibly unreasonable and just about everyone with a PC could enjoy both the productivity and entertainment features their unique investment could provide them with.   Soon the demand for more graphically intense titles became apparent, as games moved away from the barriers of text into an interactive graphical environment, then on to ray-traced 1st person shooters.  Over time, the 2D games we had learned to love were knocked out of their positions in our minds by the new wave of 3D games that were more pleasing to the eye, and at the same time, were more demanding on the hardware side of things.

In order to keep up with the demands of gamers, graphics cards took on a new function in addition to their standard DOS/Windows acceleration duties, the 3D Gaming Universe came into existence faster than any big bang could have taken place.  It wasn't long before 3D only cards, like those from 3Dfx, became part of that "home PC" configuration.  It is very interesting that the standard home PC configuration of a computer in 1998 seems to be much more than should be necessary for a computer whose primary function is nothing more than general use.   This calls for the need for general computer usage to be defined, does it mean business tasks or gaming too?  Just like the definition of a "High End User" the definition of what General Computer Usage is falls under the discretion of none other, than the users themselves. 

Competition Brings Out the Best

Intel was ready to drop the 486 line after the 100MHz DX4 processor was announced, had it not been for a few companies the 486 platform would have probably come to a premature end at around 66MHz, making way for the new '586' chips.  Those companies, led by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), managed to make a noticeable dent in Intel's share of the market.  Soon enough, the 486 reached new speeds never thought possible, first it was the Enhanced 486 series which extended the life of the 100MHz 486 further than originally thought possible, next came the 486 DX4/120 and then the overclocker's dream, the AMD 5x86-133 which was nothing more than a 133MHz 486.  The 5x86-133 from AMD, and the 5x86-120 from Cyrix, while remaining a full generation behind that of the Pentium processors, managed to redefine the term Budget PC's as they offered performance comparable to that of the more expensive next generation processors.   Much like the way AMD's K6-2 is breathing life back into the Socket-7 platform while Intel has already abandoned it, the 5x86 processor was designed to breathe life back into the Socket-3 (486) market...and that it accomplished for a lengthy period of time.  

If it weren't for the efforts of companies like AMD and Cyrix, we wouldn't have the demand for a low-cost/high-performing PC that exists in the market today. 

Meeting the Demands

Being the good sports that they are, Intel was forced to meet the demands of the users, officially, the most important thing in the market ;)  This is where the Intel Celeron comes into play, aimed at putting the final nails in the Socket-7 coffin, the Slot-1 interface of the Intel Celeron was ultimately designed to extinguish any remaining competition on the low end from AMD or Cyrix.  With Cyrix essentially out of the gaming picture due to their poor FPU performance, AMD was pretty much Intel's only competition on the low end, a small yet fierce competitor to the microprocessor giant.   Officially, the intention of the move to the Slot-1 architecture was to reduce upgrade pains, increase efficiency, and take advantage of future technologies more easily.   Intel has since realized that their costs for manufacturing a large Slot based processor are just too much to remain competitive on the low end, especially with AMD's Socket-7 K6-2 alternative is not only cheaper than the Celeron but can compete directly with Intel's top of the line, Pentium II processor.  Because of this, Intel will be moving the Celeron's interface back to a Socket design in 1999, currently referred to as the "370-pin Socket", (sounds much like the naming of the Socket interfaces on Alpha motherboards) Intel has admitted that they need to drive costs down even lower to compete on the Budget PC end of the market.

The Celeron's poor Business Application performance opened the way for Cyrix to step in with their latest Socket-7 processor, the M-II, which excels under Business Applications for a very low cost and at a very low clock speed in comparison to the rest of the Socket-7 processors out today.  The AMD/Cyrix duo, combined with the increasing threat from IDT with their Winchip seems to have extended the life of the Socket-7 motherboard beyond all initial predictions.   Chances to take advantage of a dying yet high performing platform such as Socket-7 don't come around every day, so the Socket-7 platform now becomes, not only a high performing solution, but also the foundation for a redefined Budget PC.

Processor, Motherboard, & Memory

The core combination that must be made with the utmost care, the processor/motherboard combination.  There are quite a few options in this area, all varying depending on your intended use for the computer.   The ideal choice in this case would naturally be an AMD K6-2.  A K6-2 will run you about $130 for a 266MHz version, which is a bit pricey if you remember that these are Budget PC's that we are building.  The next step down, from an overall performance perspective (including games) would be a Pentium MMX, however with the price of a Pentium MMX very close to that of a K6-2 it is best to just forego the idea of a Pentium MMX system unless you find a great deal on a 233MHz chip (< $90).  Many people looking for a decent Budget PC are overlooking an excellent contender, the original AMD K6 processor.  A K6-200 can be bought for around $70 now, and if you couple that with a Super7 Motherboard that can run it at the 100MHz FSB, you'll be getting an excellent performer for the price, although its gaming performance will be a bit on the slow side.   If all you're planning on running is Business Applications with a fair share of Net Surfing, you may want to give the Cyrix M-II line a try.  With prices no higher than around $125 for the PR2/300 chip, the M-II is a definite performer on the Business end of things and is beyond just affordable.  Keep in mind that your primary choice should be a K6-2 if you are a gamer, followed by the original K6 and the Cyrix M-II.

As far as motherboards are concerned, with the price of Super7 motherboards so incredibly low already it would seem pointless to go with anything else than an AT Super7 motherboard.  For under $100 you can pick up a decent Super7 motherboard, your only sensible choice if you're going with a K6-2, however if you don't mind the lack of a 100MHz FSB setting then you can pick up a decent Socket-7 AGP motherboard for around $60 - $70. 

For memory, standard 72-pin EDO SIMMs will work just fine.  For you Super7 users, this does limit you to MVP3 boards only (since the MVP3 chipset allows you to run your Memory Clock at 66MHz while your FSB operates at 100MHz) however that isn't much of a limiting factor as there are very few AT Super7 boards out based on the Aladdin V chipset. 

Video

Voodoo² is almost completely out of the question, unless you can find room for an extra (but well spent) $180 in your budget.   If you're looking for cheap 3D acceleration, then there is no replacement for a used or even a new Voodoo accelerator (yep, the original card).  Not only does the Voodoo chipset offer outstanding performance, it is now much more affordable because of the release of the Voodoo² chipset.  For your 2D needs you can pick up a decent AGP card based on a Trident chipset, however if you happen to have a larger monitor you may want something with a bit more quality at higher resolutions.  In which case there is no replacement for a low-cost AGP 2D accelerator based on the S3 Virge GX/2 chipset.  On a 21" monitor you can barely tell any difference between a Millennium II AGP and a Virge GX/2 based accelerator, with the latter carrying a price tag of around $45 - $55.

Storage

UltraDMA/EIDE, there is no arguing here SCSI is simply out of the question for a Budget PC.  For most gamers a SCSI drive is overkill in any case, so a decent EIDE Hard Drive should take care of all of your needs.   Keep your aims high, but also remember to keep the price of your system low, so your best bet would be purchasing an average sized Western Digital, Maxtor, or Fujitsu Hard Drive.  While those may not be the best brand names out, most users will swear by the overall reliability of Western Digital Hard Drives and Maxtor drives aren't at the bottom of the line either. 

A decent CD-ROM drive can be purchased for a little more than $20 or $30, you don't need anything faster than an 8X drive, even a 6X would do the duty although anything slower can't be recommended due to performance issues.  

For your floppy drive, as well as any other components that this may apply to, try to reuse an old drive you have laying around the house.  In the case that you can't find one, do not purchase one from a retail store as you will probably end up paying anywhere from $15 to in excess of $45 of what you should be paying for a simple floppy drive.  If you are making any purchases through mail order vendors see if you can have them ship you a floppy drive with the rest of your components, sure you'll pay shipping, but you'll end up saving more on the cost of the drive.

Other Components

Components like your case, sound card, and modem are left up to your own discretion.  Make wise decisions in those areas as they may come back to haunt you with compatibility problems in the future, if possible go for a brand name Sound Card and Modem as you will usually have fewer problems later on (drivers) with brand name modems and sound cards.  These are the only places you should cut any corners, leave the other four categories mentioned above alone as far as cutting corners goes.  If you skimp on any of the first four areas then you'll most likely end up losing performance, which defeats the purpose of taking these steps to ensure that you have a high-performing Budget PC. 

Be sure to get a tracking number on your packages before you hang up the phone if you are dealing with any mail order vendors, also be sure to write down an order number, and the name of the representative who you dealt with.  Don't be afraid to ask questions, be sure to get copies of the company's return policy in writing with your package as well as a full receipt of your transaction.   These seem like small things but you would be amazed at the number of vendors that fail to provide you with key information and documentation. 

With proper knowledge of what it is you are going after, you can easily save a few hundred dollars by going with a Socket-7 system over a more expensive Pentium II system/upgrade while sacrificing little or no performance at all depending on your budget and your component choices.  Again, keep in mind that you have to be prepared for this upgrade, do the research on the products before hand and you should have no problem eliminating the deceptive Low Cost demeanor of a Budget PC with your new high performance upgrade.