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.
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Lokinhow - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
Good article, but.....a GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P paired with Phenom II X4 940?How did you manage that?
It's impossible to put a AM2+ CPU on a AM3 motherboard.
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
The AMD Performance Mid-Range has been corrected with the Phenom II 940, Foxconn 790FX AM2+/AM2 motherboard, and OCZ Reaper DDR2-1066 memory.With the 945/925 Socket AM3 upgrades due in the near future we also asked the question of whether it made sense to wait for the upgraded Phenom II processors. Performance will not likely be faster, but with all the new AMD AM3 boards appearing and DDR3 memory prices dropping fast, choosing DDR3 is no longer such an expensive option.
whatthehey - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
Obviously the CPU needs to work with the motherboard, but you'd be far better off with a different mobo in my opinion. Foxconn just has a lot of problems, from questionable QA to a messed up BIOS and random incompatibilities. I think the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H would have been the better overall choice. The Foxconn has an amazing price after the rebate ($85!?), but then I have to wonder WHY the price is so low. Seems like they might be trying to clear inventory and stop supporting the board rather than addressing remaining issues. Also, my one experience with Foxconn support was enough to make me never want to buy another one of their products. Just my two cents, though.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
You are absolutely correct. We know the 945 is on the way and projected ahead. There were also a couple of motherboard changes made after the writing was complete. That combo slipped through the cracks. We will correct the AMD Performance choices.Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
When are the 945/925 processors going to be in stores?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
We are expecting additional Phenom II choices in about 2 weeks, but that is always open to revisions in release dates.Depeche - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
Are they just releasing the 945/925 or are they releasing others?zshift - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
I like how soon you published this article after the one done just a few months ago, but it shows just how much has changed in a few months. Had I been patient I might have been able to get away with the i7 system you recommended, but the system I have now is so fast I doubt I would notice a difference other than benchmarks. right now i have the following: intel core 2 quad q9300 @3.52GHz@1.38V, asus p5q-e mobo, 2x2gb mushkin pc6400 kit running 935MHz@2.1V/5-5-5-18 (best ram ive ever bought. it was recommended in the holiday memory guide and i can easily hit 1066 on these, only running in 935 due to fsb/ratio limits :/) have an asus eah4870 dk top 512 running 835MHzgpu/1085MHzmem (wish i woulda waited for better prices on 1gb version or for the 4890), wd 750gb caviar black, wd 500gb caviar, lite on 22xdvd burner sata.Also, I really like the small push for linux and no-cost operating systems. I currently have vista ult. x64 on my 750gb hdd and ubuntu 9.04 alpha x64 on my 500gb. ubuntu literally boots (with the ext4 filesystem) in under 6 seconds from posting to login. i cant imagine how fast it would be with my black edition drive or with an ssd. and drivers arent a problem because it recognized everything from my build, the only thing i needed to do was approve the download of the propietary ati driver (which ubuntu detected itself) and all was working perfectly.
garbageacc3 - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 - link
no one asked you what your specs were.your comp isn't that great, and the value gaming wise isn't that great.
why the hell are you bragging about your comp in this article anyway?
you should have spent less money on q9300 or other things and gotten the 1 gb 4870.
the q9300 is a terrible processor for overclocking, low and locked multi = always fsb bound.
i have a q6600 and 260gtx 216 that i'm sure spanks your rig at gaming(vantage gpu score = ~12300)
bill3 - Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - link
3Dmark is useless so only noobs qoute a vantage score like it means anything. Especially since with the physx portion only in Nvidia the Nvidia score is very inflated. AKA your brag of 12,300 score is stupid. In actuality his 512MB 4870 will toast your 260 in most games.That said yeah, 1GB is much better for the future.