About a year ago I wrote a pretty successful article (it got Dugg over 1000 times and I still get traffic via search engines) and I’ve decided to revisit this article and update it a bit with fresh hardware. In a year, memory and processors got cheaper, so I will be including these in this new build. This time, we will be building the computer for about $500 (without tax) with Vista Home Premium included. I don’t get into the specific of building the machine itself because there are plenty of guides out there, like these from Lifehacker:

• Installing a motherboard and CPU
• Installing RAM
• Installing a hard drive

The original intention for this article was to demonstrate that you didn’t need an expensive computer to run Vista in its full glory (more specifically with Aero effects enabled). I will try to bust this misconception by demonstrating that you can have a Vista-worthy system and that you don’t even need a separate video card to run Aero for about $500. All parts for this build are from Mwave because they’ve got good prices and shipping is fast and cheap, but you could also go with NewEgg if you wish to.

1. Motherboard: I’ll be using a Gigabyte GA-73VM-S2 board for $56.75. It supports the latest Core 2 Quad processors (we’ll be using a Core 2 Duo for this build, so this is just for expandability). It also features an nVidia 610i chipset and a Geforce 7030 graphics chipset that fully supports Aero.

2. Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo e4600 2.4 GHz, the perfect balance of price and performance. At $141.75, you get 2 cores, low power consumption and a clock speed of 2.4 Ghz. Ideal for this build.

3. RAM: Crucial 2 GB ( 1 GB x 2) DDR2, PC2-5400 (677 mhz) $47. Crucial has proven to be dependable and low cost. Also, 2 GB of RAM is plenty for every days tasks and if you want to double the RAM, just double this on your order, the motherboard supports up to 4GB of RAM.

4. Case: I chose the Cooler Master Elite 330 case for its value, quality construction and durability. It goes for $48.50 and it includes a 350 watt power supply which is plenty of power for our machine.

5. Hard drive: Western Digital Cavia WD3200ks. 320 GB for $86.64. Also a good balance of value and performance, spinning at 7200 rpm, featuring SATA 3.0.

6. Optical drive: I chose the Samsung SH-S203B drive for $27.99 because it is the lowest priced SATA DVD-burning drive. Featuring burning speeds of up to 20X and support for burning dual layered discs.

7. OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit for $99.84.

The total comes to $504.72 (as of 02/02/08) not including tax or shipping. I just finished building 4 of these same exact machines for different clients, and they are very happy with the performance and the price. Again, this specific machine is to be used for basic, every day computing such as surfing the web, checking email, word processing and perhaps some light gaming. I am not claiming that this machine is a high performer, but I consider it to be the “best bang for the buck” PC that one can build.

If you are looking into getting a new monitor for your new system, I would recommend this Viewsonic 22″ monitor, featuring a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 1680 x 1050 resolution, and 5ms response time. Also, in my opinion, the “best bang for your buck” monitor-wise, for just $229 (or $199 after a $30 MIR).

As for input devices (keyboard and mouse) I would recommend the Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 for $33, which includes a wireless optical mouse and a wireless keyboard that is very comfortable, and the necessary batteries. Also, a very good value. For speakers, I would chose the Logitech R-10 speakers, for $7.

I do realize that many people aren’t precisely fascinated with Vista (I went back to XP myself a long time ago), but seeing as Windows XP won’t be offered after the second half of this year (2008), this might be the better option for general consumer. As for tech-savvy individual, Ubuntu (or any other Linux flavored distro) is always an option, and for the daring individual out there there is always turning this machine into a “Hackintosh” with OS X Leopard (read more here from Lifehacker).

So there you have it, a complete system with Windows Vista for about $800, with a beautiful 22” monitor. Try to get anything close to that from any big manufacturer (yes, Dell, HP, Acer, I’m looking at you!). Compare specs for yourself.