Another "Help me upgrade" thread

[DKant]

Getting it done finally. But I'm only getting the dibba spruced up. Will keep the monitor, optical drives and the UPS. KB, mouse and speakers are new neway.

Alright here goes:

Budget - 28K (not a lot more than that)
Apps - Gaming of coz, at low-to-med. res. Good enuf 4 me.
Priority - Long term. Like 5 years. (Second thoughts..maybe 3) Which is why I wanna maximise the mobo+procy investment since I'm not likely to upgrade those in the foreseeable future. GPU, RAM and basically everything else can be pushed down as low as is reasonable. O! And I'm also not likely to purchase a new cabby or HDD as a replacement. However, I'ld obviously add some space after a few months.

Config:

Procy : A-64 3200+ S-939 (which core?) - 9500 approx.
Mobo : ECS-KN1 Extreme - 8750
RAM : 256 MB DDR 400 - 1500 approx.
GPU : Gf 6200 PCI-X 128MB XFX or ASUS (which one?) - 3800 approx.
HDD : Hitachi HDS728080PLA380 80GB SATA2 (7200 rpm, 8MB buf) - 3000
Cabby+SMPS : 1500 approx.

NOTE:

1) I'm NOT planning to OC in the near future.
2) RAM will be upped within a couple of months, UPS in a few more, GPU and monitor after about a year (or whenever it goes plonk. No I don't mind.).

So taking these factors into consideration, is this config balanced enuf? Any issues? And r there ne cheaper GPU alternatives (PCI-X ONLY)? Though I'm not likely to change my mind on the 6200..but still.

About the UPS, I currently have a 500VA walla..working pretty OK. Had the battery replaced just a month back. Just a li'l noisy when the fluctuation mimick's Amma Jaya's thoughts. But otherwise it's fine. Can I stick onto it? I wanna since I'm on a pretty tight budget.

Also, need suggestions on the RAM and cabby brands. I might want to squeeze the RAM a li'l bit.

 

[asdf1223]

if u arent planning to oc i guess u dont need an ecs extreme motherboard just a winfast nf4 ultra mobo should do.will save u around 3k. if u want a bit more go for asus a8ne/msi neo 4 platnium.use it for the more pressing ram upgrade.as for graphics 6200 should suffice if u upgrade ur gpu later.an fx 5300 should be even cheaper.if u go for a 6200 try to get a gainward one.it got best buy gold in digits graphics cards shootout.

 

[drvarunmehta]

If you're going to buy a better graphics card in some time, why waste money on a 6200? Buy a board with onboard graphics like the MSI RS480M2-IL and add a graphics card later. Use the money you save to buy more RAM. 256 MB is too little.

 

[DKant]

Well I might OC maybe 1 year down the line when I want to extract more juice. I said "not in the near future" cuz I didn't want suggestions like "get this cheaper procy and OC it to that". That's all.

Besides, I'll be upping the RAM in a couple of months so I'm sticking to the 256 megs. A little sluggishness is OK with me. Besides upgrading the RAM is NOT A BIG DEAL AT ALL!

I'm more concerned about the procy and mobo. @drvarun, sorry but I can't tolerate onboard gfx even for a day. And the gpu upgrade is only about six-seven months down the line. Though it's a relatively long time, it's still not that long, which is why I'm looking out for cheaper PCI-X's..in the 2-2.5K range, if possible. Though I still can't take my eyes off the 6200 without some difficulty.

EDIT: If anyone is concerned about how 'slow' or 'unfulfilling' my gaming experience is going to be (with the initial config)...please set ur worries aside. I've been through a lot more than most people...like playing HL2 on a PIII 866 w/ 192 megs of RAM and a 32meg SIS card. And I was actually quite happy with how things were going. So please please don't worry about that, and the RAM in particular. Like I said the investment here is primarily on the mobo+procy+HDD combination. The rest are addons that can go as low as is reasonable. The gfx part is unavoidable, due to the reasons mentioned above.

 

[drvarunmehta]

sorry but I can't tolerate onboard gfx even for a day

Any you were happy playing HL2 on a 32 MB SIS card?

The onboard graphics on the RS480 is a modified X300. It's not that slow. I have this board and have posted a review it on this forum. It'll show you that most games can be played at a reasonable resolution with this mobo. Click here to check it out.
The onboard graphics on this mobo are better than a FX5300 that you want to buy. Still, it's your money so do what you want.

 

[DKant]

sorry but I can't tolerate onboard gfx even for a day

Any you were happy playing HL2 on a 32 MB SIS card?

He-he. I know it sounds kinda contradictory. But then the SiS thing was the best I cld have (given my budget then) with a PIII system. The visual quality was terrible to say the least, but atleast, it worked. What I could tolerate was the speed @ which it was going, just about in the double digits. So, on that front, onboard gfx aren't a problem. Also given a neat gig of RAM (or more) the gfx wld be more than adequate for stuff like HL2, DIII etc. In other words the uber-popular games.

So the only problem I have with onboard solutions is their general incompatibility with games that require h/w TnL. Only some games have an alternate s/w mode in which they can work, if forced to do so. But the results in such cases r usually quite disappointing.

Besides the gfx upgrade is quite a way down the line - mid 2006 - and I intend to play stuff like PoP:WW, CoD : UU, Dx : IW (which might work on the 480 with 3dA's help. But still.) among the older games and a few which will be releasing by Q4-2005. That's why I don't wanna touch ne onboard solution.

Plus I mentioned the speeds I can tolerate so u understand I can make do with 256MB of RAM for two maybe three months. After that I'll be getting an additional 512meg/1gig stick, which will put the system back on track, and speed no longer remains an issue. However, if I were to skip the gpu now, there's no way I can afford a better card (like a 6600GT or better) within the same time frame. So, I remain stuck in a lower speed range for much longer - ie. until I can afford a better card. If I were to get the same 5300 or 6200 two months down, then there's no difference between the two choices.

Still, it's your money so do what you want.

Yes it is, but it's also your opinion and I value it, which is why I've been posting all this while. I'm just trying to make sure u completely understand my position.

 

[DKant]

Pot-hole. *bump*

 

[Aniruddh]

and make sure u go for a gud companies ram.like Kingston,corsair.and if u r not goin 4 a ups den it will b a big mistake betta go for a ups numeric600va it will come around 2k.