PC Buyer's Guide for Entry-Level Gaming -- April 2012 - Page 3

Sound Card: Integrated
Current Price: $0
Logitech LS21 Speaker System
Current Price: $20

As in past editions of this guide, we once again decided to forego a dedicated sound card and instead chose to make do with the integrated 8-channel chipset that each of our selected motherboards comes with, pairing the integrated sound card with Logitech's LS21 speaker system.

Mouse: Gigabyte GM-M6800 Gaming Mouse
Current Price: $15
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Keyboard
Current Price: $12  (+$1 from last month)

The Gigabyte GM-M6800 Gaming Mouse and the Logitech K120 Keyboard remain our choices for input devices. Though the combined price for the two has once again inched upwards, this time to $27, it remains a great price for a solution that should easily meet your needs.

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-pack for System Builders
Current price: $100

As we have for months and will likely continue to do so until the next Windows upgrade comes along, we once again selected Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit as our operating system of choice.

Price Roundup

AMD FX-6100 System

Case: Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower - $50  * NEW Recommendation
Power Supply: Antec Basic BP550 Plus 550W - $65
Processor: AMD FX-6100 3.3GHz - $150
CPU Cooling: Stock Cooling - $0
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ (AMD 990X) - $140  (+$10)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX 2 x 2GB kit - $28  (+$4)
Hard Drive: Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB - $80  (-$5)
Optical Drive: LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner GH22NS90B - $16
Video Card: XFX HD-677X-ZNLC Radeon HD 6770 - $110  * NEW
Monitor: Acer G215HVAbd 21.5" 5ms 1920x1080 - $110  * NEW
Sound Card: Integrated Sound - $0
Speakers: Logitech LS21 Speaker System - $20
Mouse: Gigabyte GM-M6800 Gaming Mouse - $15
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Keyboard - $12  (+$1)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $100
Total Price: $896

Intel Core i7 System

Case: Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower - $50  * NEW
Power Supply: Antec Basic BP550 Plus 550W - $65
Processor: Intel CPU: Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz - $180  (+$1)
CPU Cooling: Stock Cooling - $0
Motherboard: MSI P67A-G43 (P67) - $115
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX 2 x 2GB kit - $28  (+$4)
Hard Drive: Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB - $80  (-$5)
Optical Drive: LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner GH22NS90B - $16
Video Card: XFX HD-677X-ZNLC Radeon HD 6770 - $110  * NEW
Monitor: Acer G215HVAbd 21.5" 5ms 1920x1080 - $110  * NEW
Sound Card: Integrated Sound - $0
Speakers: Logitech LS21 Speaker System - $20
Mouse: Gigabyte GM-M6800 Gaming Mouse - $15
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Keyboard - $12  (+$1)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $100
Total Price: $901

Closing Remarks

While we ended up going $1 over budget on the Intel build in this edition of the guide, the AMD build came in just below budget, and with the various rebates and coupon deals available both builds should come in well under the $900 budget. Whichever build you go with, you'll end up with a solid system for both work and play.