PC Buying Guide The Budget Box

• Decent performance • Good for everyday computing • Gaming only with add-on graphics

If you just need to create a few documents and check your email, you can get by on much less than a $500 desktop. Hell, a $300 netbook can tackle that job while remaining highly portable. Buying a netbook is a worthy route for the road warrior, but desktops still reign supreme in terms of value and expandability.

If you follow this build you'll have a system acceptable for any role apart from running graphically intense applications. Throw a budget video card into the mix -- which can be had for less than a $100 these days -- and you'll have a humble solution to gaming as well.

Component	Product	Price
Motherboard	MSI H61M-E33	$70
Processor	Intel Core i3 2100	$125
Memory	2x2GB G.Skill DDR3 1333MHz	$40
Graphics	Integrated	$0
Sound	Integrated	$0
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB	$40
Optical	Lite-On iHAS124-04	$20
Power	Antec Neo Eco 400C	$50
Case	NZXT Gamma Classic Series	$40
Monitor	Acer S201HLbd 20"	$110
Speakers	Logitech S220	$25
Peripherals	Logitech Standard Deluxe 250	$20
	Core System Total	$385
	Core System + Monitor and Peripherals	$540

Motherboard, Processor, Memory

The new dual-core Core i3 2100 is a perfect match for this machine, offering comparable performance to the acclaimed quad-core Core i5 750 ($200 retail) in applications that don't utilize the two extra cores -- which includes most games. Additionally, the new Sandy Bridge processors have a respectable on-die graphics core, making them especially ideal for a budget machine that can get by with integrated graphics.

With Intel's chipsets issues resolved, it should be easy to find an LGA 1155 motherboard online. We've opted for an H61-based board by MSI, which offers everything you need in a basic system: one PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, two PCIe x1 slots, one legacy PCI slot, eight-channel audio, gigabit Ethernet, as well as D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and USB 2.0 ports. If you require SATA 6GB/s or USB 3.0, the next notch up is ASRock's H61M/U3S3.

Although you could save a little cash by purchasing 2GB of RAM for basic productivity tasks and web browsing, the chosen MSI board only has two memory slots. That being the case, it seems like a better idea to fill them 4GB instead of potentially shorting yourself. Better safe than sorry as they say, and DDR3 RAM is incredibly cheap at the moment with a 2x2GB kit running as little as $40 -- roughly half of what they were a year ago.

Graphics, Sound

This build is not intended for gaming, but adding a relatively low-cost GPU like the Radeon HD 4850 will do wonders for your FPS, transforming this into a viable machine for casual PC gaming. We recently published a tech tip with a list of the top budget and mid-range graphics cards available, which should offer some guidance. In addition to a Radeon HD 4250 IGP, the chosen motherboard has a Realtek ALC662 audio chipset and integrated sound is more than sufficient for a basic machine.

Storage

The way hard drives are priced these days, a few extra dollars can literally yield a 50% increase in storage space -- and the gigabytes disappear faster than you think. But if you are certain that you won't need the additional storage space, you're welcome to save a couple bucks by choosing a less capacious drive. The 500GB Caviar Black currently offers the best bang for your buck.

Power, Case

You wouldn't put diluted gas in your car and you shouldn't feed your PC dirty power. The instability offered by your typical no-name PSU will inexorably lead to an untimely failure, leaving you with an unglamorous paperweight. In short, friends shouldn't let friends buy cheap power supplies. Antec's Neo Eco 400c will not only provide this build with all the power it could ever need, it should also meet the requirements of most entry-level video cards in circulation.

There are plenty of basic chassis priced in the sub-$50 bracket, and the NZXT is our personal pick with plenty of space for expandability and a stock 120mm rear exhaust fan, which should be sufficient for a system with no discrete graphics. It's almost always available with free shipping, which is a major plus if you're buying a 13lb metal box.

Monitor, Speakers, Peripherals

A 20" display doesn't sound like much these days, and there's no denying it's toward the smaller end of desktop monitors. The Acer S201HLbd features a native resolution of 1600x900 and unless you've already been spoiled by larger high-res displays this should prove adequate for general computing tasks. No display in the sub-$150 range is going to boast superb imagery, and most are comparable enough in quality that you're safe buying anything with decent reviews.

We recommend just finding something that fits your size and resolution needs. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to rely on sales, rebates, open box, or refurbished monitors if you're after one that's larger than 20" and cheaper than $135.

Our chosen display doesn't have integrated speakers and frankly, we wouldn't recommend using built-in speakers anyway -- at least for anything outside of basic Windows sounds. Dip into your piggy bank and invest in some low-end 2.1 speakers, such as Logitech's S220. You'll be glad you did.

Wired keyboard and mice combinations start at about $10 with choices including several Logitech, Microsoft and Apevia combos under $25. Our pick is currently one of the cheapest solutions available, but if you have a few extra dollars and prefer a wireless setup, have a look at Logitech's EX 100.