Future Proof PC for ~30k w/o monitor & peripherals.

[Shreelesh Kumar]

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: Photo editing softwares like GIMP, Photoshop, Lightroom and probably video editing softwares too in future to edit up to full HD videos, watching full HD movies, and playing new games at decent settings at least.
I haven't been gaming at all for the last ~6 years, so not much idea but I'd like to play the latest release of games like Battlefield, Splinter Cell, COD etc and DOTA. However, gaming is not the first priority right now and I can forgo investment in a graphics card if other needs are met by onboard graphics.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans: Rs ~30k. Can extend this little bit if it makes better sense. Even willing to sacrifice by postponing the graphics card to coming months.

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: Never.

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Primarily Win7 64 bit with option of running XP via VMware or dual boot since one of the softwares I use is licensed only for XP. Would upgrade to Win 8 64 bit but only if some essential software doesn't work anymore on Win7.

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans: 2 TB. I have an old SATA Seagate 500 GB HD which had crashed. I'd probably fix it someday and add that too. I may add an SSD in the distant future.

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: I have an LG full HD 23 inch LED monitor which I will continue using. I will upgrade this later to a larger screen.

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: Monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers. I will reuse all these for now. However, I need a suggestion for erognomic mouse too since I’m starting to develop pain in my index finger.

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: As soon as possible, maybe next weekend or the one after that. However, I'm willing to wait if any new and better component is hitting the market soon and it makes sense to go for it instead of buying right now.

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: Will be done by assembler but future component upgrades I can install myself.

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: Bangalore. Planning to buy from SJP Road (shop suggestions welcome). Open to online stores as long as I know for sure that the company will honour warranty for purchases from e-commerce sites.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I prefer a silent and power efficient rig and this is very important. The PC will be running for long hours at a stretch. AMD or Intel does not matter.

 

[bssunilreddy]

AMD Config
AMD FX 6300 -7700,
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 -4700,
Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1600Mhz -4500,
WD Caviar Green 2TB -5700,
Asus 24D3ST DVD/RW -1100,
Antec VP550 -4000,
Deepcool Tesseract BW -2800.
TOTAL -30,500.

Intel Config
Intel Core i3 4150 -8000,
Gigabyte H81M-S1 -3900,
Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1600Mhz -4500,
WD Caviar Green 2TB -5700,
Asus 24D3ST DVD/RW -1100,
Antec VP550 -4000,
Deepcool Tesseract BW -2800.
TOTAL -30,000.

 

[harshilsharma63]

I'd suggest the AMD config mentioned above. Get 4 GB x 2 RAM instead of single 4 GB RAM. This will allow you to run tgem in dual channel mode and you'll also be able to use your PC when one ram fails.

 

[Shreelesh Kumar]

I'd suggest the AMD config mentioned above. Get 4 GB x 2 RAM instead of single 4 GB RAM. This will allow you to run tgem in dual channel mode and you'll also be able to use your PC when one ram fails.

I compared both the chips here and wasn't quite impressed with the power consumption. AMD consumes almost double of what Intel does, and there doesn't seem to be much difference in both performance wise (?). Over a period, the operating cost would be higher.

Good point about the RAM but my plan is to buy another 8GB RAM in the coming months. So ultimately, I'll still end up with a dual channel RAM.

AMD Config
AMD FX 6300 -7700,
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 -4700,
Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1600Mhz -4500,
WD Caviar Green 2TB -5700,
Asus 24D3ST DVD/RW -1100,
Antec VP550 -4000,
Deepcool Tesseract BW -2800.
TOTAL -30,500.

Intel Config
Intel Core i3 4150 -8000,
Gigabyte H81M-S1 -3900,
Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1600Mhz -4500,
WD Caviar Green 2TB -5700,
Asus 24D3ST DVD/RW -1100,
Antec VP550 -4000,
Deepcool Tesseract BW -2800.
TOTAL -30,000.

In both the configs, what are the future upgrades possible? Which graphics card would you suggest that I buy later for either configs? My friend has been suggesting to go for i5 4440 instead, which I think is comparable to the AMD you suggested. Intel Core i5 4440 vs AMD FX 6300. The comparisons have confused me even more especially since price wise AMD FX6300 is cheaper than i5 4400.

 

[harshilsharma63]

I compared both the chips here and wasn't quite impressed with the power consumption. AMD consumes almost double of what Intel does, and there doesn't seem to be much difference in both performance wise (?). Over a period, the operating cost would be higher.

Good point about the RAM but my plan is to buy another 8GB RAM in the coming months. So ultimately, I'll still end up with a dual channel RAM.



In both the configs, what are the future upgrades possible? Which graphics card would you suggest that I buy later for either configs? My friend has been suggesting to go for i5 4440 instead, which I think is comparable to the AMD you suggested. Intel Core i5 4440 vs AMD FX 6300. The comparisons have confused me even more especially since price wise AMD FX6300 is cheaper than i5 4400.

i5 is beyond FX 6300. it performs miles ahead of it. But that will cost ~12k alone.

 

[bssunilreddy]

Intel Config is miles ahead of AMD Config

Intel Config
Intel Core i5 4440 -12500,
Gigabyte H81M-S1 -3900,
Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 1600Mhz -4500,
WD Caviar Green 2TB -5700,
Asus 24D3ST DVD/RW -1100,
Antec VP550 -4000,
Deepcool Tesseract BW -2800.
TOTAL -34,500.

 

[Ricky]

Avoid i3, else you will regret, go for i5 instead for your kind of need.. talking from personal experience.

 

[Shreelesh Kumar]

I think I'll stretch it a bit and go for i5 instead in that case as suggested by you guys.

What graphics cards would you suggest to go along with it in the future? Will I be able to add an SSD and another HDD to this config in future?

 

[bssunilreddy]

I think I'll stretch it a bit and go for i5 instead in that case as suggested by you guys.

What graphics cards would you suggest to go along with it in the future? Will I be able to add an SSD and another HDD to this config in future?

If you have the budget then GTX960 or else GTX750Ti.
You can add another SSD or HDD in the future to this RIG. Dont worry.

 

[Shreelesh Kumar]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I went with the same config with a few modifications due to availability etc. The changes I made were
Motherboard: Gigabyte H97.
LG DVD writer instead of Asus since it was only 900
RAM: HyperX Fury 8GB 1866Mhz (Free upgrade)
Cooler Master K380
Corsair VS450

Also added a Dragonwar Thor Gaming Mouse.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

You shouldn't have bought VS450