Advice regarding upgrade

[imnasir]

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans:Mainly for word & pdf documents,MATLAB PROGRAMMING, POLYMATH & applications like that, web browsing, multitasking, downloading & multimedia (HD) usage ( movies), Itunes, Vlc.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans:10000, can extend upto 12000

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans:Yes

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans:i already hv Windows XP Pro 32 bit

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans:250GB

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans:No i already hv one. Dell ST2220M ( 19208*1080)

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans:Monitor,DVD writer, keyboard, mouse, speakers, graphics card ( Nvidia 8600GT)

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: ASAP

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans:No i haven't, but know how to do it

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans:Srinagar. I guess i hv to relying on purchasing the items online as the same might be too high priced here.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Anslease reply as soon as possible.. i shall be highly thankful

 

[coderunknown]

AMD A4 3400 @ 3.67k
Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V @ 3.54k
Western Digital 500Gb Blue @ ~4k (don't go for Seagate as warranty is reduced to just 1yr. price of 250Gb is almost same)
Corsair DDR3 2 GB @ 0.63k

TOTAL: 11.84k (maybe more as price of HDD is not same everywhere). all items are available at flipkart. for HDD, check locally else give SMCInternational a call/mail. they should have HDD at cheapest rate. For PSU, you have already reached your limit. so you may need to go for a local one.

another option for you is:

AMD Athlon II 260 @ 3.3k
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P @ 2.6k
Corsair DDR3 2 GB @ 0.63k
Western Digital 500Gb Blue @ ~4k
FSP Saga II 350W @ ~1.5k (from SMC or other online stores)

TOTAL: 12.03k

 

[thetechfreak]

+1 for the first A4 based config. would be better suited for the multimedia purposes you are building PC

 

[imnasir]

@SAM
Thanks for replying.

I currently hv Pentium D (3.0GHz) & 1 GB of RAM . Hence wanted to shift shift to something faster, since i also sometimes indulge in casual gaming.

I can drop the idea of Increase in HDD space, to accomodate a faster CPU. or is it really necessary considering my usage.

Also wanted to know if a motherbord with FM1 socket can be used with future generation AMD processors, or i should go for AM3+ socket? Really Confused

Thanks

 

[vickybat]

^^ Hello and welcome to tdf imnasir.

First and foremost, you've answered Ques.7 wrongly mate. Anyways i assume you only need to buy the proc,mobo,ram and psu. Then you've mentioned you need 250gb hdd but didn't include in the "want to buy" list.

Please make a list of the things you want to purchase so that we can suggest better.

And for 12k budget i suggest the following:

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD Llano A6-3500| 4k
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V | 3.5k
Ram |Gskill 4GB RAM F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL| 1.5k
Psu |Corsair CX430-V2 |2.3K
Total ||11.3k

What about cabinet? Do you have that or you plan to include in your buying list? And what about hdd?

@ Sam

Wd blue 250gb is 4k. Where did you find the 500gb price mate?

And i found this - Seagate 500GB cache 16MB ST500DM002, 7200 RPM @ Rs 4050

Update- WD Caviar Blue 500 GB HDD Internal Hard Drive (WD5000AAKX) @ 4.5k

 

[imnasir]

^^ Hello and welcome to tdf imnasir.

First and foremost, you've answered Ques.7 wrongly mate. Anyways i assume you only need to buy the proc,mobo,ram and psu. Then you've mentioned you need 250gb hdd but didn't include in the "want to buy" list.

Please make a list of the things you want to purchase so that we can suggest better.

And for 12k budget i suggest the following:

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD Llano A6-3500| 4k
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V | 3.5k
Ram |Gskill 4GB RAM F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL| 1.5k
Psu |Corsair CX430-V2 |2.3K
Total ||11.3k

What about cabinet? Do you have that or you plan to include in your buying list? And what about hdd?

@ Sam

Wd blue 250gb is 4k. Where did you find the 500gb price mate?

And i found this - Seagate 500GB cache 16MB ST500DM002, 7200 RPM @ Rs 4050

@Vickybat
I have made some corrections in my first post.Please hv a re look.
Since i am upgrading my pc, i plan to use my old cabinet (HCL make)..also i forgot to mention that i am looking for a PSU as well, since my current PSU makes a lot of noise.. mabe i will drop the idea of HDD& later on go for an External HDD.

 

[imnasir]

@ everyone

Why are my replies not being displayed??

 

[whitestar_999]

500gb wd/seagate is 3800 at cost2cost,nehru place.hdd prices are always the lowest in nehru place,delhi/lamington road,mumbai & highest at online sites.

 

[coderunknown]

@ Sam

Wd blue 250gb is 4k. Where did you find the 500gb price mate?

And i found this - Seagate 500GB cache 16MB ST500DM002, 7200 RPM @ Rs 4050

Update- WD Caviar Blue 500 GB HDD Internal Hard Drive (WD5000AAKX) @ 4.5k

someone here got a Seagate/WD 500Gb for ~3.9k so maybe HDD price has lowered a bit. again, flipkart is new in computer section so expect a higher price for HDDs.

@ everyone

Why are my replies not being displayed??

have you checked the FAQs for new members in my signature?

Ques: I am able to post but why are my posts not appearing. It says it goes into moderation and some other things??
Ans: The first 5 posts of new members are manually moderated by the moderators. This is to prevent spam and advertisements

 

[imnasir]

@ Sam

i made a few changes in my answer template in the first post, & also replied in subsequent posts..Please have a re-look & suggest accordingly.

Thanks

 

[vickybat]

^^ If you plan to drop the hdd purchase and reuse you existing harddrive, then the config i've suggested should be perfect for you. You'll get a powerful base system.

 

[whitestar_999]

FM1 socket will not be compatible with next generation of AMD processors.FM2 socket is planned for next generation of AMD processors with integrated graphics.AM3+ is the only option regarding future upgradeability.since you already have a 8600GT it should take care of your multimedia needs.the 2nd config suggested by sam is good.you can also go for an intel based config(future upgradable)with a pentium dual core G620 2.6GHz for ~3400(based on sandybridge architecture of core i series)which will perform better than AMD dual cores along with a H61 mobo for ~3100.

 

[vickybat]

^^Except the cabinet and psu, nothing is future proof. Offcourse trinity will be better but these existing llano chips do offer superb value. The igp can even beat an 8600gt and power consumption is brilliant as well.

For op's usage A6 is perfect imo. He can even add a better gpu in future if the need arises.
Its a perfectly balanced system.

 

[whitestar_999]

@vickybat,i did not used the term "futureproof" i said "future upgradable",there is a difference.i was addressing op's query which seems like he is interested in future upgrades.

Also wanted to know if a motherbord with FM1 socket can be used with future generation AMD processors, or i should go for AM3+ socket? Really Confused

op is not a gamer but the applications he mentioned can certainly take advantage of no. of cores & core by core anything based on sandy bridge architecture is better than amd.in both situations getting an AM3+ mobo with dual core or G620 with H61 is more suited for op's usages than a llano.

 

[imnasir]

One more thing i needed to ask..

Ideally speaking if i go for the upgrade as given by @ vickybat, for hw long can i expect it to give me great performance??

I currently don't have a 64 bit OS ( Windows 7 Home Premium) available with me, but within next month or so i plan to install it. In that case should i go for 4 GB RAM, since the 32 bit OS wont recognize RAM greater than 2GB.

& how much should i expect for my old motherboard ( LGA 775), ASUS make P5GZ-MX, Pentium D ( 3GHz), 1 GB DDR2 RAM & 400W PSU( since it was HCL branded, don't know the PSU make), if i want to sell it. I have been using the system for last 4 years.

Thanks & would really appreciate your response..

 

[whitestar_999]

depends on your usage.if you plan on using the same applications for time to come llano will suffice.if you are planning on using more core intensive applications in future then you might have the urge to get a 4 core.

 

[vickybat]

I would rate the A6 3500 tad better than G620.

The reasons are:
1. G620 isn't a hyperthreaded processor unlike i3 2100. It even has lesser cache.
2.Although G620 has strong IPC, A6 3500 makes up for that with an additional core ( its a triple core processor).
3. A6 gives a much more balanced performance in both light cpu intensive apps and multimedia fronts.

Check this guru 3d review.

A small quote from them:

So who should buy an A6-3500 APU ? Well, I can tell you who shouldn't buy it, that would be professional desktop users, mainstream gamers, enthusiast users and prosumers. But the ones that simply need to build a cheap PC for internet, simple desktop work, a spreadsheet or two, word, simple gaming and audio/video playback, well it's for these guys where the A6 series APU's can make sense

.
Whatever is written in the quote matches op's answer to Ques.1 more or less.
So i strongly suggest op to stick with A6 here as its perfect for the tight budget.

 

[whitestar_999]

@vickybat,i think you did not got my point.i was not comparing G620 with llano.

a pentium dual core G620 2.6GHz for ~3400(based on sandybridge architecture of core i series)which will perform better than AMD dual cores

my point was if op was getting a dual core amd he could also get G620 at almost same price with better performance.i am suggesting a 4 core upgradable path with an AM3+ processor.also what you quoted from guru3d does not exactly cover matlab,polymath & similar applications which are definitely not mainstream & core intensive for which that quote is directed towards.op may need to upgrade to 4 cores in future for such applications & AM3+ provides the best option here.of course if op is certain that he will not require a 4 core in next 3 years he can get llano but at least he should be given pros & cons of all options instead of using term like "perfect option" which sounds more like a forced opinion instead of giving choices to let op decide.

 

[vickybat]

^^ During engineering, i had worked on matlab in our DEC lab. We had pentium dual core (lga 775) based systems and everything ran fine.

It should be a piece of cake for the A6.

Besides i always said "imo". It isn't a forced opinion. Read carefully before commenting.

Have you looked at that budget?? How can you fit a quad core am3+ cpu mobo in a 12k budget and render the system balanced??

And you're forgetting llano too offers quadcores like the A6 3650 and A8 3870. Op can have a look at them. Besides op was given lots of choices and he's smart enough to decide.

 

[Minion]

imnasir,Go with A6 3650 around 6000 you will get quadcore for rest go with Sam.