Budget Hero

Was that Satan I saw buying a parka at the coat factory? It’s been more than three

years since MaximumPC used or reviewed a case with 5.25- inch drive bays. With the $ 285 build, you used a case that not only had 5.25- inch bays, but also a 3.5- inch floppy bay. No, I will not let the word “retro” be used here. Did you know that 5.25- inch drive bays can be used for more than optical drives? You can buy USB 3.0 hubs with up to 10 ports that fit in 5.25- inch bays. You can use the bays for fan controllers and/ or temperature monitors. There are plenty of other things that can be done with a 5.25- inch drive bay; you just need the imagination.

If you’d shopped around, you could have saved $20 on the case. You should have also gone with the cheaper mobo. Then you could have got an 8GB memory stick instead of 4GB. I’m surprised you don’t know that when using integrated graphics, it uses system memory for graphics processing. You didn’t mention how much memory you dedicated to graphics— most systems only let you max out at 1GB; using less is only good for word processing and email. If you did that, you have just 3GB for the OS and apps.

Three items that seem to not be included in all builds except the Dream Machine are a mouse, keyboard and monitor. I don’t know anyone who would spend $ 450 on a mouse, other than you people. A decent keyboard and mouse combo can be had for around $ 40. A 14-inch brand-name monitor is less than $ 80. A no-name monitor can be had for about half that.

And lastly, Windows Home. Windows Home? Let’s build a decent system and neuter it with Windows Home.