System Buyers Guide: $800 to $1800

Final Words

Most users that email questions about building a computer system are planning to build a midrange computer system. With a broad price range of $800 to $1800 this covers a huge number of potential choices. With the launch of Phenom II all of our thinking about systems from Intel and AMD got rearranged. Further changes came with price cuts from both sides. The end result is that Intel and AMD are now competitive in the midrange segment of the computer market. This parity created by Phenom II has had a dramatic impact in lowering midrange CPU prices. The result is that midrange computers are an exceptional value in today's computer market.

The best evidence of the value you will find in today's midrange systems is to compare prices to systems in our guide published in January. Our price range then was $1000 to $2000 - stretched to include a Phenom II and Intel Core i7 systems at the top of midrange. This guide is $800 to $1800 and includes all Phenom II systems for AMD and a Core i7 system at the top of the Intel midrange. Generally components are either the same or have been upgraded. The result is comparable complete systems that cost $1150 today that were $1500 just three months ago. That is a price drop of over 20% in a very short time frame.

Certainly, processors and DDR3 memory represent the biggest price drops in the last three months. The always competitive GPU or video card market has also brought us lower prices compared to 3 months ago. Monitors are also getting cheaper, higher resolution, and larger to the point that you will be truly surprised at the low prices if you haven't shopped for monitors in a while. Hard drives also seem to be caught in competitive pricing squeezes and seem to drop a little every time we prepare a new system buyers guide. However, cases, power supplies, optical drives, and I/O devices have changed little over that time frame. Not surprisingly, the OS cost always seems the same if you choose Microsoft.  That could change a little when Windows 7 launches in the future but we could end up with an even more expensive Windows 7 in the future. There is the option to go to Linux, Ubuntu, or some other OS instead, but many will not seriously consider this option. Perhaps they should as the no-cost operating systems do continue to get better and easier to use with each new incarnation.

The current world economic woes are having their impact on the computer industry as well as most other industries. As often happens in difficult economic times price competition often becomes fierce, and the large and strong are more able to play in that environment It is likely that the bad economy will take its toll and some players will cease to exist. That is simple economics, and it is being played very hard right now. That doesn't mean everything is doom and gloom because great values for you are the silver lining to this story. The computer industry has always been about increasing value and bang for your buck. Moore's "Law" may not be exactly in force any more, but there is little doubt that today you can get more for your money than ever in a computer system. Smart buyers who still have a job (or a rich grandmother) will buy now for the value and be rewarded with terrific performance for their investment.

The point of all these buyers guides and component selections should be very clear. Now is a great time to build a value midrange or performance midrange system, with either an Intel or AMD processor. The value for your dollar is as good as we have ever seen. Those are great reasons to take a close look at replacing or updating your computer system.