The Econobox
Because speed doesn't have to cost a fortune

Instead of being the cheapest possible combination of parts, the Econobox is an affordable gaming and general-use system. You won't find too many fancy extras here, but we've tried to select a balanced mix of peppy, reliable components with headroom for future upgrades.

Processor
Well well, a quad-core processor in the Econobox. Imagine that! Truth is, we initially settled on AMD's new triple-core Athlon II X3 435, which seems like a better deal in almost every respect than the Phenom II X3 720, our previous pick. Except the X3 435 has yet to materialize on Newegg or our price search engine, so we had to compromise.

We could have stuck with the Phenom II X3 720, but that processor costs $20 more than the Athlon II X4 620 and recently disappeared from AMD's price list, suggesting that its departure from e-tail listings might soon follow. Also, looking at benchmarks of the X3 720 versus the X4 620 around the web, we can see the the latter performs better in almost all CPU-intensive, multithreaded tasks—image editing, video encoding, 3D rendering, and video editing.

The most notable exception is games, where the Phenom II X3 720's higher clock speed (2.8GHz, up from 2.6GHz on the Athlon II X4 620) and large L3 cache allows for higher minimum frame rates. That said, the Econobox isn't exactly a high-end gaming rig to begin with, and our $130 graphics card will probably cause bottlenecks before the Athlon II does. However, more committed gamers may want to check out our alternatives section on the following page.

Motherboard
Gigabyte's MA770T-UD3P returns yet again because of its low price, robust assortment of ports and connectors, and positive user reviews on Newegg.

This board only takes DDR3 memory, by the way. That used to mean paying a small premium, but 4GB DDR2 and DDR3 kits have pretty much reached price parity at this point. Not only that, but DDR3 is slowly taking over the market, and DDR2 will likely become more expensive as DDR3 demand increases and DDR2 production wanes. The MA770T-UD3P's DDR3 exclusivity therefore presents an advantage from an upgrading perspective.

Memory
We hunted for the cheapest 4GB DDR3 dual-channel kit from a big name-brand company with lifetime warranty coverage, and we ended up with this Crucial DDR3-1333 offering. For reference, the cheapest comparable DDR2-800 kit only costs around $3 less right now.

You'll need a 64-bit operating system to take full advantage of all this memory, of course. 32-bit OSes do have enough address space for 4GB of RAM, but that figure is an upper limit for all memory in a system, including video RAM. In practice, 32-bit versions of Windows will only let you use 3 to 3.5GB of actual system memory, and they'll normally restrict each application's RAM budget to 2GB.

Workarounds exist for 32-bit Windows, but Microsoft says they can hurt compatibility; it advises that folks run a 64-bit version of Windows instead. Considering how mature Vista and Win7 x64 are these days, we're inclined to echo that recommendation. Check out our OS section on the second-to-last page of the guide for more details.

Graphics
DirectX 11 graphics have made their way into the Econobox. Isn't progress grand? Sure, the Radeon HD 5750 1GB is currently the slowest DX11 card on the market, and it's selling at a premium that isn't entirely justified by the card's performance in current games. Compared to previous-gen cards with similar horsepower, though, the 5750 delivers higher-quality texture filtering, lower power consumption, and support for more displays (up to three). We think those advantages are worth paying a little extra on their own, but this card also has DirectX 11 support, which future games should exploit to enable more realistic graphics, smoother frame rates, or both.

Sapphire's incarnation of the Radeon HD 5750 gets our vote for being the cheapest variant we found with a decent-looking heatsink and fan. Newegg does offer a similar Asus card with a different heatsink, but we had a bad experience with that same cooler on a pair of Asus' older Radeon HD 4850s.

Storage
Western Digital has three 640GB hard drives priced around $70, and we think the Caviar Black is the one best suited for a system drive. Not only does it have a 32MB cache, a full 7,200-RPM spindle speed, and the same noise level ratings as the slower SE16 model, but WD also covers the Black with a five-year warranty. We haven't seen another 640GB hard drive with specifications quite as good or warranty coverage quite as long. (Seagate no longer covers bare drives with a five-year warranty.)

For our optical storage option, Samsung's SH-S223B makes another appearance here. It may not have LightScribe support, but we like the combination of positive user reviews and low pricing, and its Serial ATA interface is reasonably future-proof.

Enclosure and power
Antec looks to have retired the original NSK 4480 we used to recommend for the Econobox. Thankfully, Newegg now stocks the NSK 4480B II. This newer enclosure has a slightly different look, but it includes a 380W, 80%-efficient power supply and essentially the same feature set as the original.

You might find cheaper cases out there, but we don't think you'll be able to save a whole lot by going with lower-quality components. Besides, bargain-bin power supplies generally have inflated specifications. A cheap PSU can also jeopardize system stability, damage sensitive components over time, and potentially even flame out in spectacular fashion, taking system components with it in the process.