I played a magician when EQ first came out, leveled to around 40th or so by Kunark, then quit playing. I recently started again and created a Barb Warrior. I had about 60k to equip him with (thanks to a lot of old friends still playing EQ).
As mentioned, gothic plate is nice and very cheap. I have started replacing a few items with Helanic Tundra (I chose to worship The Tribunal instead of being agnostic). Price is high, but AC, HP, and stats are wonderful... close to the Velious quest armors. Recommended level is 45th, though.
Anyway, good cheap gear:
Skull-Shaped Barbute. HP and Magic Resistance... still hard to find much better.
Ry'Gorr. Cheap and useful for certain spots. I'm not wearing any right now, but I considered more than a few pieces.
Gothic Plate. As mentioned above.
Crustacean Shell gear. Nice Str and Sta. Small hits to Agi, Cha, and rarely Dex. Not bad for a few different slots and cheap.
Hero Bracer. Got mine for 200 plat, though I've seen them go up to 1500 pp. Keep an eye out for a cheap one.
Chitinous Belt. Cheap, nice AC and stats IF you don't have a haste item there.
Shield of the Arisen Cultist. Can be a nice cheap back item if you can find one (relatively uncommon).
Gauntlets of the Black. Not the best, but dirt cheap.
Rings: Platinum or Velium Fire Wedding Rings... AC 6 / 65 HPor AC 5 / 55 HP. Nice item regardless of your level.
Neck: Spider Fur Collar is a nice cheap item. Glimmering Mithril Torque has nice AC (15 +2 str, if memory serves), dirt cheap.
Earrings: Orc Fang Earrings are one of the best cheap choices. AC, HP, and some strength. Go for about 25-50 pp.
Haste Items: Silver Chitin Hand Wraps about 3k (22% with some stats) or Flowing Black Silk Sash (21%, no stats) about 2k.
Regen: Ceremonial Iksar Chestplate. Around 6.5k. Very, very nice if you can afford it.
Weapons: Centi Short Sword (1HS) or Stone Bladed Axe (1HS) have been nice low-level weapons. Find a fast 2HS for lower levels (Ornate Rune Blade is 19/30) and a slower, higher damage one at mid-levels (I like the Argent Protector, but that's around 3.5k on my server). Centi War Hammer is a good 1HB that is, again, very cheap. It is a bit slow (around 15/31, if memory serves), but hits hard after the damage caps start coming off.
Duel-Wield is around 13th, I believe. Double-Attack is around 15th.
Hope that helps.