Basic Guide Purchase a New System

[The_Devil_Himself]

I was in the market today to inquire about the price myself. I am getting Intel Pentium E2160 + Intel DG31PR motherboard for a combination price of Rs 6,400, is it worth it?

I may not be able to over clock, but that's not a necessity anyway. Intel DG31PR has most of things I need. It lacks Intel clear video technology but if I start to look at those things then it is better to buy a GeForce 8600 instead. I m not much into HD Movies, & GMA X3100 should suffice for my "OS only" needs. What say you guys?

One more thing, I am also buying a new Harddisk. 160 GB SATA 2.0 with 8 MB Buffer & 5 years warrenty, the brands are Seagete & Western Digital, which one to go for?

don't get e2160 if you don't plan to overclock(now repeat this like 100 times ),it will suck at stock speeds.

e2160+XFX 630i is the best bang for your bucks right now.And BTW this mobo has better onboard than x3100 afaik.Or if you really want it cheapo then you can bet palit n33 something(It is based on the same chipset and exactly same as xfx one except of course the quality).And FYI Abit counter-part of this mobo costs about 4.1k.

If I were you I would have gone for e4500+xfx630i(8k total) or e4500\e2160+abit ip35e(9.5k\7.5k) approx.

yea x3100 definitely is good enough for os only needs and so is the onboard 71xx of xfx 630i.


I have heard WD provides home pickup and delivery incase you need to RMA your harddisk,so its the better choice in this case IMO.but please do confirm.

 

[MetalheadGautham]

AMD solution available here is even more costly . Athlon64 4200+ Asus M2N motherboard = 8k

how about VIA chipset mobo + Sempron + 512 ddr667 stick ? It costs only 4000

 

[gxsaurav]

e2160+XFX 630i is the best bang for your bucks right now

XFX 630i is good but doesn't support Dual Channel Memory. I don't want it.

I have heard WD provides home pickup and delivery incase you need to RMA your harddisk,so its the better choice in this case IMO.but please do confirm.

Shopkeeper was saying the same. I wanted to know about reliability & performance though.

Hmm...what if I buy Intel Pentium E2160 & Asus P5KPL-VM motherboard which can over clock? Will that be a good deal?

 

[The_Devil_Himself]

dude have you ever heard how much performance gain dual channel provides over single channel?Just a meagre 2-4% iirc.so thats just not a acceptable point IMO.


and yea abit ip35e has no onboard video(just FYI incase you want to buy this super good mobo).

 

[gxsaurav]

Dude have you ever heard how much performance gain dual channel provides over single channel in Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Windows Media Encoder, ACDSee Album creation etc.

 

[MetalheadGautham]

Dude have you ever heard how much performance gain dual channel provides over single channel in Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Windows Media Encoder, ACDSee Album creation etc.

add <every game released since 2005> to this list.

DUAL CHANNEL ROCKS. ITS LIKE OVERCLOCKING WITHOUT OVERCLOCKING.

my friend first had Dual Channel 2GB config. Later, he added an extra 256 mb stick(greedily stole it from his office) and noticed a PERFORMANCE DROP instead of GAIN.

 

[gxsaurav]

So far this is what I have decided unless someone recomends something else, better in the same price segment.

Intel Pentium E2160 CPU
Intel DG31PR or Asus P5KPL-VM Motherboard, if Asus is available.
2X1 GB DDR2 667 RAM.
Western Digital WD1600AAJS Harddisk
iBall Baby 306 CPU Cabinet

Rest of the stuff will be my existing like my monitor, keyboard etc.

Will going for DDR2 800 give any noticable performance benefit over DDR2 667?

I will be selling my existing PC which is about 4.5 years old now for 6K to the shopkeeper.

Pentium 4 3.06 GHz
Intel 865GBF motherboard
2X1GB DDR 400 RAM
80 GB Samsung SATA HD
Frontech Cabinet
Zalman CNPS 7000 AlCu CPU Cooler
GeForce 6600GT AGP with 256 MB RAM

The main concern is that the computer should work as is. I need to install, configure the OS once & then my family should not get to any hassle with it. You know, just start & run the OS, that kind of PC.

Existing hardware which I will migrate to the new PC

Microsoft Erogonomics Keyboard 4000 with Laser Mouse 5000
Microsoft Lifecam VX-3000
Logitech X-230 Speakers
Philips HP-250 earphones
Pinnacle 100i Internal TV Tuner card
Samsung SH-S202J IDE DVD Writer
Windows Vista & Office 2007 License

 

[Choto Cheeta]

GX, even get it from IT wares that would be cheaper...

Intel boards are good, but when you compare any other available solution under such budget, they dont look good any more

if u want E2140, do note, without OC you really would be unhappy with its performance hence under that budget better thing would have been X2 4200+ and M2A-VM

*www.theitwares.com/processors/processors.htm

 

[gxsaurav]

Choto, not E2140 but E2160.

Performance wise E2160 is similar to Athlon64 X2 3800+ AM2. The thing is that the combination of X2 4200+ & M2N-VM is more costly compared to The intel combination

 

[axxo]

get E2160 + Biostar TP35D2-A7 (2.6+4.5)-7.1K
gr8 for overclocking
p35 chipset
dual channel
but no onboard vga..

 

[Choto Cheeta]

@gx_saurav

Just 200 MHz anyway man u would be ending up wasting the extra bucks spent for E2160

anyway, I can only suggest, choice is ur own personal vote is for E2140 + XFX 630i 7150 as I see on real world apps, @ 2.2 GHz this Intel conbination performance better than 4200+ with M2A-VM

 

[gxsaurav]

Since it has no onboard VGA that increses the total cost to about 10k.

Sorry, onboard graphics is a must yaar.....what will I do of a GFX card in this situation. I will indeed buy one but later, when required.

Choto, Any idea about Asus P5KPL-VM motherboard's cost?

@gx_saurav

Just 200 MHz anyway man u would be ending up wasting the extra bucks spent for E2160

It seems like 2140 is a better deal if I over clock & 2160 a better feal if I don't over clock.

personal vote is for E2140 + XFX 630i 7150 as I see on real world apps, @ 2.2 GHz this Intel conbination performance better than 4200+ with M2A-VM

I know yaar, it is indeed good but single channel memory is a downer in my case. Also this motherboard is not easily available here.

 

[Choto Cheeta]

Local kolkata dealers are asking Rs. 5300/- + TAX without bargain didnt yet bought one so cant confirm their exact pricing

 

[gxsaurav]

^^^ That's it, I m buying E2160 with Intel DG31PR motherboard & will overclock as much as the Intel motherboard supports or won't over clock. I need a hassle free system which works & I m not paying much anyway as i m getting some money by selling my old system.

What about harddisk? Western digital or Seagate. Both are available at same price, & warrenty.

 

[Choto Cheeta]

I know yaar, it is indeed good but single channel memory is a downer in my case.

Sure ??

just a thought, real world test, Q6600 with XFX 630i Ultra and 4 GB (2x2) Single channel 667 MHz Kingstone lavue RAM and Q6600 with ABiT IP35-E and 2 GB (2x1) Dual Channel 800 MHz RAM with 8400 GS... rest all same...

AutoGK encodes 8.5 GB DVD to 700 MB rip 20 to 30 mins faster where as their price (total system) is same, infact ABiT one is costly because of the extra grfx card

^^^ That's it, I m buying E2160 with Intel DG31PR motherboard & will overclock as much as the Intel motherboard supports or won't over clock.

GX, once again a personal thought, on stock, Intel Pentiun D 925 (65nm version) would be much better than E2160 also Intel boards comes with No OC at all

@GX

Why dont you order from ITwares ?? they have a fare pricing, may be expensive than Kolkata local rate but its much cheaper than your place as I see

 

[gxsaurav]

GX, once again a personal thought, on stock, Intel Pentiun D 925 (65nm version) would be much better than E2160 also Intel boards comes with No OC at all

Hmm, let me see if Pentium D 965 Is available or not. Pentium D is famous for over heating but 65 NM might be able to help it.

I cannot order from ITWares cos I m buying the system from a shop here & selling my old system in the same shop. Don't have enough time to look for a potential buyer myself.

Off Topic : Got a call from ISBM Pune today on XAT score....might have to go back to Pune in few days.

Sure ??

just a thought, real world test, Q6600 with XFX 630i Ultra and 4 GB (2x2) Single channel 667 MHz Kingstone lavue RAM and Q6600 with ABiT IP35-E and 2 GB (2x1) Dual Channel 800 MHz RAM with 8400 GS... rest all same...

AutoGK encodes 8.5 GB DVD to 700 MB rip 20 to 30 mins faster where as their price (total system) is same, infact ABiT one is costly because of the extra grfx card

Bro, DVD encoding is CPU intensice not Memory Subsystem intensive. Try a photoshop/3Ds Max/gaming test & you will know.

It's true that I won't be doing much 3Ds Max & rest of the work on this CPU, but it won't hurt to use this PC as a 2ndry computer to render as a render farm

Choto, if I go my way of E2160 & Intel DG31PR motherboard, how much performance/money will I lose?

 

[Choto Cheeta]

Its Pentium 925 which may fall at a lower budget and the new 65nm ones seems to be better than older 90nm ones...

but note, I once again say ON STOCK a 925 would be better than E21xx processors

Choto, if I go my way of E2160 & Intel DG31PR motherboard, how much performance/money will I lose?

GX, its personal Vote, get an AMD Solution from ITwares over this E21xx ones...

in your budget that would be a better choice

 

[gxsaurav]

Again, can't get from ITWares. I will look for Pentium 925 tomorrow.

One thing I like about the E2xxx series is the CPU feature set. Despite of being a desktop CPU it can throttle the CPU Clock,FSB & cache to reduce power consumption.

 

[MetalheadGautham]

I recomend aXXo's biostar e2140 config. just add a sub 2k graphics card to it.

 

[gxsaurav]

I recomend aXXo's biostar e2140 config. just add a sub 2k graphics card to it.

Sub 2K graphics card = GeForce 7 series. No way, If I buy a gfx card now it has to be a DirectX 10/OpenGL 2.1 based gfx card.

I checked Pentium D 925, Sorry..it is Netburst architecture, no way I m gonna buy this.

I asked a lot, not many choices available here on my budget of 10K for everything. Final config is

Intel Pentium E2160 CPU
Intel DG31PR motherboard or Asus P5KPL-VM motherboard, if Asus is available I will stretch my budget
2X1 GB DDR2 667 RAM
Are koi harddisk ka to bolo bhai....WD or Seagate