Gaming System : High End - Queries

[shadow2get]

After a long time (nearly 7 years) with in between upgrades to my old system(Celeron 766MHz proc + Asus CUSI-FX MB + 1GB SDRAM + NVIDIA 6200 PCI Graphics Card), I have finally come to a decision to buy a new one - which will be an all in one system(Gaming + Programming + Entertainment).

Recently, I got a 24" Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP Full HD LCD monitor for 25k as a start to purchasing the new system. It is a pretty high end system. This is the following configuration I am planning to buy:

1. Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz 12MB L2) - Rs. 17000
2. Motherboard - ASUS P5Q Deluxe - Rs. 12000
3. Memory - Corsair DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz - Rs. 5800
4. HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3450
5. PSU - Corsair 750W (CMPSU750TX) - Rs. 8100
6. Cabinet - Cooler Master CM690 - Rs. 4100
7. DVD - Sony SATA - Rs. 1200
8. K/B & Mouse - Logitech Combo - Rs. 700
Total - Rs. 52350 (with VAT - Rs. 54444)

The above configuration is without the GRAPHICS CARD. This is where I have a confusion as to which one to buy. I have the following cards in mind:

NVIDIA (Zotac Brand for the following below cards)
GeForce 9800 GT - Rs. 9500
GeForce 9800 GTX / GTX+ - Rs. 13500 / 13700
GTX 260 - Rs. 17500

AMD (Zotac/Palit/Sapphire Brands available here)
ATI Radeon 4850 - Rs. 11600
ATI Radeon 4870 - Rs. 17000

(The prices I have inquired are as of Sat, Oct 12, 2008 in SP Road, Bangalore)

The games I play will be old & new (all kinds of FPS, Strategy, Adventure & Sports). The newer games will be played in 1920x1200 res. The older ones with whatever maximum resolution the game supports. I will also be using the system for Programming - Application & Game based. OS will be XP & Vista.

I might/might not Crossfire/SLI(not in this m/b) in the future. Overclocking is a not a priority now, but will do so in the future. This system will not be changed for 2/3 years. So going for a high end one right now. I did think of waiting for the Nehalem / X58 based system, but couldn't wait due to the following reasons:
* Nehalem / X58 will be released in Nov 2008. Will come to India mostly in Jan 2009.
* Pricing will be High
* DDR3 Memory prices in India is still too high
* Don't know much about the actual processor / motherboard performance (due to evaluation / engineering models rcvd by reviewers)
* No idea about the newer architecture & processor issues
* Can't wait that long

Since I had done a lot of research on the graphics cards, I wanted to share with you guys that information. I have categorized the graphics card as below with some information from Tom's Hardware Graphics Guide:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In terms of Budget & Game Resolution Performance

For graphics card budget around 16.5-20k
Good 1920x1200 performance
in NVIDIA, GTX 260 / GTX 260 Core 216
in AMD, 4870

For graphics card budget around 10.5-14k
Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GTX / GTX+
in AMD, 4850

For graphics card budget around 7.5-9k
Super Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GT
in AMD, 4830 (not yet released)

For graphics card budget around 5.5-8k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9600 GT

For graphics card budget around 4.5-6k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games
in NVIDIA, 9600 GSO

In terms of Brands to go for (Blue - Good & Slightly Expensive Brands / Red - Ok & Cheaper Brands)
NVIDIA - XFX / EVGA / ASUS / GIGABYTE / MSI / Palit / POV / Xpert Vision / Zotac
AMD / ATI - ASUS / MSI / GIGABYTE / GeCube / Palit / Sapphire / Xpert Vision
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I actually have some other items on the wishlist, which I will be buying in the next few months to complete the whole system.

Wishlist Items
UPS - APC 1.5KVA - Rs. 9500
Soundcard - ASUS/Creative - TBD
Speakers - 5.1/7.1 - Creative / Logitech - TBD
Gaming Keyboard & Laser Mouse - Logitech/Microsoft/Razer - TBD
TV Tuner Card - Internal / External - TBD
CPU Cooling Heatsink+FAN - TBD

I will be buying the system next week. I can buy the system without the graphics card right now (will put my PCI-based GeForce 6200 card for the new system) if necessary.

All suggestions/criticism/questions are welcome for my chosen System components / Graphics Card / Wishlist Items.

 

[desiibond]

off balance rig.

YOu are putting 12k mobo, 17k processor and a weak GPU???

1) Quad Core Q9450 : 13k-14k (you need not pay 3k extra for just 300MHz seed increase in Q9550. That can be achieved with minimal overclocking)
2) ASUS P5Q Pro: 8k-8.5k (12k for mobo is not at all worthy)
3. Memory - Corsair DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz - Rs. 5800
4. HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3450
5. PSU - Corsair 750W (CMPSU750TX) - Rs. 8100
6. Cabinet - Cooler Master CM690 - Rs. 4100
7. DVD - Sony SATA - Rs. 1200
8. Logitech G1 Gaming Destop : 1300

GPU: HD4870 : 17k or GTX 260 Core 216

UPS: DOn't wast money here for 1.5kva. Get 650VA for some 4k. That should be enough.

Soundcard: Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer Platinum

Speakers: Logitech Z5500D

 

[RCuber]

After a long time (nearly 7 years) with in between upgrades to my old system(Celeron 766MHz proc + Asus CUSI-FX MB + 1GB SDRAM + NVIDIA 6200 PCI Graphics Card), I have finally come to a decision to buy a new one - which will be an all in one system(Gaming + Programming + Entertainment).

Recently, I got a 24" Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP Full HD LCD monitor for 25k as a start to purchasing the new system. It is a pretty high end system. This is the following configuration I am planning to buy:

1. Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz 12MB L2) - Rs. 17000
2. Motherboard - ASUS P5Q Deluxe - Rs. 12000
3. Memory - Corsair DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz - Rs. 5800
4. HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3450
5. PSU - Corsair 750W (CMPSU750TX) - Rs. 8100
6. Cabinet - Cooler Master CM690 - Rs. 4100
7. DVD - Sony SATA - Rs. 1200
8. K/B & Mouse - Logitech Combo - Rs. 700
Total - Rs. 52350 (with VAT - Rs. 54444)

The above configuration is without the GRAPHICS CARD. This is where I have a confusion as to which one to buy. I have the following cards in mind:

NVIDIA (Zotac Brand for the following below cards)
GeForce 9800 GT - Rs. 9500
GeForce 9800 GTX / GTX+ - Rs. 13500 / 13700
GTX 260 - Rs. 17500

AMD (Zotac/Palit/Sapphire Brands available here)
ATI Radeon 4850 - Rs. 11600
ATI Radeon 4870 - Rs. 17000

(The prices I have inquired are as of Sat, Oct 12, 2008 in SP Road, Bangalore)

The games I play will be old & new (all kinds of FPS, Strategy, Adventure & Sports). The newer games will be played in 1920x1200 res. The older ones with whatever maximum resolution the game supports. I will also be using the system for Programming - Application & Game based. OS will be XP & Vista.

I might/might not Crossfire/SLI(not in this m/b) in the future. Overclocking is a not a priority now, but will do so in the future. This system will not be changed for 2/3 years. So going for a high end one right now. I did think of waiting for the Nehalem / X58 based system, but couldn't wait due to the following reasons:
* Nehalem / X58 will be released in Nov 2008. Will come to India mostly in Jan 2009.
* Pricing will be High
* DDR3 Memory prices in India is still too high
* Don't know much about the actual processor / motherboard performance (due to evaluation / engineering models rcvd by reviewers)
* No idea about the newer architecture & processor issues
* Can't wait that long

Since I had done a lot of research on the graphics cards, I wanted to share with you guys that information. I have categorized the graphics card as below with some information from Tom's Hardware Graphics Guide:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In terms of Budget & Game Resolution Performance

For graphics card budget around 16.5-20k
Good 1920x1200 performance
in NVIDIA, GTX 260 / GTX 260 Core 216
in AMD, 4870

For graphics card budget around 10.5-14k
Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GTX / GTX+
in AMD, 4850

For graphics card budget around 7.5-9k
Super Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GT
in AMD, 4830 (not yet released)

For graphics card budget around 5.5-8k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9600 GT

For graphics card budget around 4.5-6k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games
in NVIDIA, 9600 GSO

In terms of Brands to go for (Blue - Good & Slightly Expensive Brands / Red - Ok & Cheaper Brands)
NVIDIA - XFX / EVGA / ASUS / GIGABYTE / MSI / Palit / POV / Xpert Vision / Zotac
AMD / ATI - ASUS / MSI / GIGABYTE / GeCube / Palit / Sapphire / Xpert Vision
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I actually have some other items on the wishlist, which I will be buying in the next few months to complete the whole system.

Wishlist Items
UPS - APC 1.5KVA - Rs. 9500
Soundcard - ASUS/Creative - TBD
Speakers - 5.1/7.1 - Creative / Logitech - TBD
Gaming Keyboard & Laser Mouse - Logitech/Microsoft/Razer - TBD
TV Tuner Card - Internal / External - TBD
CPU Cooling Heatsink+FAN - TBD

I will be buying the system next week. I can buy the system without the graphics card right now (will put my PCI-based GeForce 6200 card for the new system) if necessary.

All suggestions/criticism/questions are welcome for my chosen System components / Graphics Card / Wishlist Items.

[offtopic]
I have to say this.. This is the best query I have ever read in this forum. You did your home work. Your post sets the benchmark on how to ask questions here
[/offtopic]

 

[confused]

nice rig...and quite similar to my own
[*thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87334]

go for n260 and 1.5kva isnt reqd, 600va should be enough.
and corsair psu and ram rock.
q9550 only if u dont mind the extra cost, if u want to cut costs stick to q9450.(but i remember reading somewhere that q9450 and q9550 cost almost the same. may be it was a typo???)
my 2 cents.

 

[Cool Joe]

Go with desiibond's suggestions.

And for your TV tuner card, go for Leadtek's Winfast PVR2000 which is an internal TV tuner card.
And you can go for a Zalman CNPS9700 CPU heatsink with a 110mm fan.

 

[Psychosocial]

After a long time (nearly 7 years) with in between upgrades to my old system(Celeron 766MHz proc + Asus CUSI-FX MB + 1GB SDRAM + NVIDIA 6200 PCI Graphics Card), I have finally come to a decision to buy a new one - which will be an all in one system(Gaming + Programming + Entertainment).

Recently, I got a 24" Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP Full HD LCD monitor for 25k as a start to purchasing the new system. It is a pretty high end system. This is the following configuration I am planning to buy:

1. Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz 12MB L2) - Rs. 17000
2. Motherboard - ASUS P5Q Deluxe - Rs. 12000
3. Memory - Corsair DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz - Rs. 5800
4. HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3450
5. PSU - Corsair 750W (CMPSU750TX) - Rs. 8100
6. Cabinet - Cooler Master CM690 - Rs. 4100
7. DVD - Sony SATA - Rs. 1200
8. K/B & Mouse - Logitech Combo - Rs. 700
Total - Rs. 52350 (with VAT - Rs. 54444)

The above configuration is without the GRAPHICS CARD. This is where I have a confusion as to which one to buy. I have the following cards in mind:

NVIDIA (Zotac Brand for the following below cards)
GeForce 9800 GT - Rs. 9500
GeForce 9800 GTX / GTX+ - Rs. 13500 / 13700
GTX 260 - Rs. 17500

AMD (Zotac/Palit/Sapphire Brands available here)
ATI Radeon 4850 - Rs. 11600
ATI Radeon 4870 - Rs. 17000

(The prices I have inquired are as of Sat, Oct 12, 2008 in SP Road, Bangalore)

The games I play will be old & new (all kinds of FPS, Strategy, Adventure & Sports). The newer games will be played in 1920x1200 res. The older ones with whatever maximum resolution the game supports. I will also be using the system for Programming - Application & Game based. OS will be XP & Vista.

I might/might not Crossfire/SLI(not in this m/b) in the future. Overclocking is a not a priority now, but will do so in the future. This system will not be changed for 2/3 years. So going for a high end one right now. I did think of waiting for the Nehalem / X58 based system, but couldn't wait due to the following reasons:
* Nehalem / X58 will be released in Nov 2008. Will come to India mostly in Jan 2009.
* Pricing will be High
* DDR3 Memory prices in India is still too high
* Don't know much about the actual processor / motherboard performance (due to evaluation / engineering models rcvd by reviewers)
* No idea about the newer architecture & processor issues
* Can't wait that long

Since I had done a lot of research on the graphics cards, I wanted to share with you guys that information. I have categorized the graphics card as below with some information from Tom's Hardware Graphics Guide:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In terms of Budget & Game Resolution Performance

For graphics card budget around 16.5-20k
Good 1920x1200 performance
in NVIDIA, GTX 260 / GTX 260 Core 216
in AMD, 4870

For graphics card budget around 10.5-14k
Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GTX / GTX+
in AMD, 4850

For graphics card budget around 7.5-9k
Super Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GT
in AMD, 4830 (not yet released)

For graphics card budget around 5.5-8k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9600 GT

For graphics card budget around 4.5-6k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games
in NVIDIA, 9600 GSO

In terms of Brands to go for (Blue - Good & Slightly Expensive Brands / Red - Ok & Cheaper Brands)
NVIDIA - XFX / EVGA / ASUS / GIGABYTE / MSI / Palit / POV / Xpert Vision / Zotac
AMD / ATI - ASUS / MSI / GIGABYTE / GeCube / Palit / Sapphire / Xpert Vision
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I actually have some other items on the wishlist, which I will be buying in the next few months to complete the whole system.

Wishlist Items
UPS - APC 1.5KVA - Rs. 9500
Soundcard - ASUS/Creative - TBD
Speakers - 5.1/7.1 - Creative / Logitech - TBD
Gaming Keyboard & Laser Mouse - Logitech/Microsoft/Razer - TBD
TV Tuner Card - Internal / External - TBD
CPU Cooling Heatsink+FAN - TBD

I will be buying the system next week. I can buy the system without the graphics card right now (will put my PCI-based GeForce 6200 card for the new system) if necessary.

All suggestions/criticism/questions are welcome for my chosen System components / Graphics Card / Wishlist Items.

Ya dude, Charan is right..... you really asked the questions in a good manner. Nice for you and us.

Ok, now on topic.

You can try this :-

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450
ASUS P5Q Pro
2x2GB Transcend DDR2 800MHz RAM (MUCH cheaper than Corsair and I think investing 5.8k in memory is not justifiable. Buy this instead.)
Seagate 7200.11 500GB HDD
Palit HD4870 SONIC (the one with dual slot cooler and dual heatpipes)
for PSU, I suggest the HX620W as its real output is around 680-700W which will be more than enough.
Sony SATA DVD-RW
Cooler Master CM690 cabinet
Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard + Logitech MX518 Mouse
Logitech Z5300 for speakers
You can try Thermalright Ultime 90i or Coolermaster Hyper 212 for a cooling fan

 

[imgame2]

as people have already suggested u many things .i will just suggest few things...

why not consider

Palit 4870 sonic with dual slot fan

(*techshop.in/store/product_info.php?products_id=2436&polytela=ea97812f2416ab538f11ce8070df348e)

or if u can get hold of palit 4870 1GB sonic

(*www.palit.biz/main/vgapro.php?id=969)

that will be best card u can get ur hands on pawns gtx260 core 216 easily.

u need to have one of those for the 24".


why not go for seagate 640 GB(32mb) available for 3.7k ~3.9k

and go for moserbear/liteon DVD-writer to be on safer side ..rather than sony.

 

[techking_dinesh]

ya go for Palit 4870 sonic with dual slot fan or palit 4870 1GB sonic

 

[ultimategpu]

for a real HARDCORE GAMING ---- try this settings ---- you will experience the next five years future proof for gaming ------- ASURED

INTEL CORE2DUO E8500/AMD PHENOM X4 9850---------9500/10200
ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA/ASUS CROSSHAIR AM2 SOCKET ----------13500/11100
2 X 2GB OF KINGSTON/CORSAIR ------------------------5000
PALIT 4870 DUAL SLOT COOLING -----------------17500
WD CAVIAR (better than seagate sure)500 GB-------------3950/4150
DVD WRITER(LG)----------------------1050

WITH THIS CONFIG YOU CAN TRY CRYSIS FOR VERY HIGH @ DX10.................

 

[DigitalDude]

^^^
5 years in Tech time is pretty looooong


_

 

[imgame2]

for a real HARDCORE GAMING ---- try this settings ---- you will experience the next five years future proof for gaming ------- ASURED

INTEL CORE2DUO E8500/AMD PHENOM X4 9850---------9500/10200
ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA/ASUS CROSSHAIR AM2 SOCKET ----------13500/11100
2 X 2GB OF KINGSTON/CORSAIR ------------------------5000
PALIT 4870 DUAL SLOT COOLING -----------------17500
WD CAVIAR (better than seagate sure)500 GB-------------3950/4150
DVD WRITER(LG)----------------------1050

WITH THIS CONFIG YOU CAN TRY CRYSIS FOR VERY HIGH @ DX10.................

i disagree ..first ur choice of AMD setup for gaming ..
and this card even though powerhouse can't play crysis in full HD on acceptable frame rates ...today ..

how can u assure anyone that it will be good for 5 year ?

 

[comp@ddict]

DUdes!!!!! STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Q9550(it OCes much better) or Q9450 @ 16k or 15k respectively
ASUS P5QPro @ 12k
2x2GB Corsair/Kingston/<> 1066MHz RAM ! 5-6k
WD 500GB @ 4k or Seagate 500GB @ 3.8k(synthetic benchmarks show seagate to be better)
LiteOn DVD Writer @ 1.2k
Cooler Master Centurion @ 3.5k
Corsair VX600W @ 6k

Now for the Gfx card: what r u nuts, going for a 4870, when the decision shud be this:

2x4850 @ 18-19k(9-9.5k per card)
The performance is better than GTX280, and almost matches 4870X2. Best thing is it outperforms 4870 and GTX260 216 by such a big margin that even 1gm gold cannot be drawn soo long(and 1 gm of gold can be drawn 12km lol)

So, hope u liked this ULTRA RIG

 

[imgame2]

ASUS P5QPro @ 12k

last time i checked on itwares thats a few mins ago its still 9k ..u must be talking P5Q deluxe ..right ??

WD 500GB @ 4k or Seagate 500GB @ 3.8k(synthetic benchmarks show seagate to be better)

prices have gone so much high ? only last week i bought seagate 640 GB (32 mb) for 3.9k

Now for the Gfx card: what r u nuts, going for a 4870, when the decision shud be this:

2x4850 @ 18-19k(9-9.5k per card)
The performance is better than GTX280, and almost matches 4870X2. Best thing is it outperforms 4870 and GTX260 216 by such a big margin that even 1gm gold cannot be drawn soo long(and 1 gm of gold can be drawn 12km lol)

So, hope u liked this ULTRA RIG

well i think buying a HD4870 sonic makes sense cos he can afford it and when he has money he can add another HD4870 sonic ..in crossfire ...its ultra gaming ! till then a HD4870 will suffice ...

u can see man he is really going for ultra rig here ..so i guess my choice would be palit 1GB HD4870 sonic

 

[Psychosocial]

^^+1

 

[shadow2get]

Thanks for all the replies. I will have a look & reply to certain posts by tonight. (I am going out now). Will take some time to finalize the final config with all the inputs you have given.

 

[comp@ddict]

last time i checked on itwares thats a few mins ago its still 9k ..u must be talking P5Q deluxe ..right ??


prices have gone so much high ? only last week i bought seagate 640 GB (32 mb) for 3.9k



well i think buying a HD4870 sonic makes sense cos he can afford it and when he has money he can add another HD4870 sonic ..in crossfire ...its ultra gaming ! till then a HD4870 will suffice ...

u can see man he is really going for ultra rig here ..so i guess my choice would be palit 1GB HD4870 sonic

EYah, an 18k 4870, another one, totals up to 36k(letz round it iff to 35k)
More than the 29k-30k 4870X2, and lesser performance too.
Now say what, I waz speaking since no matter how much money, u shud spend wisely, and u don't need TOOO much..

 

[acewin]

@desibond, you said 650VA will be enough. I could not get. because the output of 650VA is aroun 400W, will it be able to take load. I am little confused in this area. I have to get a UPS, thinking of getting HP 800VA Premium because I have already used it my friend had bought and it worked well for us. I would needing it to run desktop + printer. Plus my wireless router, mostly the system and router to keep internet on for atleast 15-20 mins of powercut. The HP UPS ran well over around 20-25 mins with the desktop

 

[shadow2get]

From all of the suggestions given, I have come to a conclusion for this config:
Also, the SP Road guys keep telling me that the Prices of all computer items have increased. And minor fluctuation will be there everyday.

1. Processor
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 (2.66GHz 12MB L2) - Rs. 16500 OR
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz 12MB L2) - Rs. 17000
I will go for Q9450. If price difference is within 500 for Q9550, then will go for Q9550.
AFAIK from the official Intel PRICELIST HERE, both Q9450 & Q9550 are priced the same, due to the fact that Q9450 is being replaced by Q9550 & will no longer be manufactured. But the Indian shopkeepers sell these two for exorbitant prices.

2. Motherboard - ASUS P5Q Deluxe - Rs. 11600
It will overclock better than the P5Q Pro AFAIK from reviews over the net. I will overclock later, so will go with this motherboard.

3. Memory - Corsair DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz - Rs. 5800
Will be going with Corsair brand for its Overclocking, Quality & Warranty wise - very good. Not going for Corsair 1066MHz as it is 10k for 2x2GB model. Will check if Kingston 1066Mhz is available for cheap.

4. HDD
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3450 OR
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 640GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3950
Will go for 640GB if available.

5. PSU - Corsair 750W (CMPSU750TX) - Rs. 8100
I think this will support SLI/Crossfire Easily rather than go for the 620W one which would be crunch for it wrt TWO GTX260/ATI 4870 irrespective of Motherboard.

6. Cabinet - Cooler Master CM690 - Rs. 4100
No change in this. It is spacious & very well ventilated. Lots of good reviews all over the net for the Price/Performance it gives as a Mid-Tower Cabinet.

7. DVD Writer - Sony SATA - Rs. 1200
I prefer to stay with Sony rather than Samsung/LG/Moserbaer. I have no probs with my earlier Sony 16x DVD Writer till date.

8. K/B & Mouse - Logitech Combo - Rs. 700
Will buy Gaming K/B & Mouse Later. For now, this would suffice.

Regarding Wishlist Items,
UPS - Currently, I have a 650VA UPS which gives me around 23/13 mins backup (without/with LCD monitor on). The older system I have consumes around 90W. Newer system will consume around 350-400W @ max load. My 24" LCD would consume around 60-70W. So was thinking of going for a 1.5KVA which gives me a backup of 10-15mins. Actually might go for an inverter for my house shortly. So will be mostly going for a APC 800VA @ 4700. Before buying, I Will check if the current UPS can support both the systems when power goes & the total Power consumption.

Other items like Soundcard, Speakers, Gaming Keyboard & Laser Mouse, TV Tuner Card & CPU Heatsink will be bought by end of this year.

WRT the graphics card, I have finally decided on these 2 options: NVIDIA GTX 260 Core 216 or ATI Radeon 4870 1GB. Dunno if both are available in Bangalore. But, I am willing to wait till it arrives.

I have read some reviews on Techreport, AnandTech, ExtremeTech & others. This is what they say:
* it is not clear on which to choose as both are equally good
* both cards are good, but NVIDIA is a better option

for GTX 260 : It is Fast, good power efficiency, low noise. But Poor performance with AA modes above 4x.
for ATI 4870: Excellent AA performance, especially 8xAA. Poor idle power utilization, reference cooler could be better.

Check reviews here:
The Radeon HD 4870 1GB: The Card to Get
GeForce GTX 260 reloaded vs. the Radeon HD 4870 1GB
GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 and ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Review

I have also read many more Heated-Discussions between the two cards. The final conclusion I got from all that was to buy the card wrt "which game supports which card better".

Even then, I am still in a confusion as to which one to go between the two. If I go for NVIDIA, i can't SLI. Will have to buy a newer m/b. If I go for ATI, I can crossfire but the P45 chipset will be a bottleneck. So Help me to decide between these 2 GRAPHICS cards. And you can point out if I said something wrong anywhere.

Also, the Nehalem/X58 launch dates of Nov 18th are haunting me to go for that.

 

[comp@ddict]

From all of the suggestions given, I have come to a conclusion for this config:
Also, the SP Road guys keep telling me that the Prices of all computer items have increased. And minor fluctuation will be there everyday.

1. Processor
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 (2.66GHz 12MB L2) - Rs. 16500 OR
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz 12MB L2) - Rs. 17000
I will go for Q9450. If price difference is within 500 for Q9550, then will go for Q9550.
AFAIK from the official Intel PRICELIST HERE, both Q9450 & Q9550 are priced the same, due to the fact that Q9450 is being replaced by Q9550 & will no longer be manufactured. But the Indian shopkeepers sell these two for exorbitant prices.

2. Motherboard - ASUS P5Q Deluxe - Rs. 11600
It will overclock better than the P5Q Pro AFAIK from reviews over the net. I will overclock later, so will go with this motherboard.

3. Memory - Corsair DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz - Rs. 5800
Will be going with Corsair brand for its Overclocking, Quality & Warranty wise - very good. Not going for Corsair 1066MHz as it is 10k for 2x2GB model. Will check if Kingston 1066Mhz is available for cheap.

4. HDD
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3450 OR
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 640GB (32MB Buffer) - Rs 3950
Will go for 640GB if available.

5. PSU - Corsair 750W (CMPSU750TX) - Rs. 8100
I think this will support SLI/Crossfire Easily rather than go for the 620W one which would be crunch for it wrt TWO GTX260/ATI 4870 irrespective of Motherboard.

6. Cabinet - Cooler Master CM690 - Rs. 4100
No change in this. It is spacious & very well ventilated. Lots of good reviews all over the net for the Price/Performance it gives as a Mid-Tower Cabinet.

7. DVD Writer - Sony SATA - Rs. 1200
I prefer to stay with Sony rather than Samsung/LG/Moserbaer. I have no probs with my earlier Sony 16x DVD Writer till date.

8. K/B & Mouse - Logitech Combo - Rs. 700
Will buy Gaming K/B & Mouse Later. For now, this would suffice.

Regarding Wishlist Items,
UPS - Currently, I have a 650VA UPS which gives me around 23/13 mins backup (without/with LCD monitor on). The older system I have consumes around 90W. Newer system will consume around 350-400W @ max load. My 24" LCD would consume around 60-70W. So was thinking of going for a 1.5KVA which gives me a backup of 10-15mins. Actually might go for an inverter for my house shortly. So will be mostly going for a APC 800VA @ 4700. Before buying, I Will check if the current UPS can support both the systems when power goes & the total Power consumption.

Other items like Soundcard, Speakers, Gaming Keyboard & Laser Mouse, TV Tuner Card & CPU Heatsink will be bought by end of this year.

WRT the graphics card, I have finally decided on these 2 options: NVIDIA GTX 260 Core 216 or ATI Radeon 4870 1GB. Dunno if both are available in Bangalore. But, I am willing to wait till it arrives.

I have read some reviews on Techreport, AnandTech, ExtremeTech & others. This is what they say:
* it is not clear on which to choose as both are equally good
* both cards are good, but NVIDIA is a better option

for GTX 260 : It is Fast, good power efficiency, low noise. But Poor performance with AA modes above 4x.
for ATI 4870: Excellent AA performance, especially 8xAA. Poor idle power utilization, reference cooler could be better.

Check reviews here:
The Radeon HD 4870 1GB: The Card to Get
GeForce GTX 260 reloaded vs. the Radeon HD 4870 1GB
GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 and ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Review

I have also read many more Heated-Discussions between the two cards. The final conclusion I got from all that was to buy the card wrt "which game supports which card better".

Even then, I am still in a confusion as to which one to go between the two. If I go for NVIDIA, i can't SLI. Will have to buy a newer m/b. If I go for ATI, I can crossfire but the P45 chipset will be a bottleneck. So Help me to decide between these 2 GRAPHICS cards. And you can point out if I said something wrong anywhere.

Also, the Nehalem/X58 launch dates of Nov 18th are haunting me to go for that.

I don't understand, why are u settling for a 4870, when the 2x4850 setup will cost u 1k more, but performance will be a millon better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, I thing I wud suggest, such a high rig, shame it wud get pawned by nxt generation cpus in a second. U get what I mean?

What I mean is, WAIT FOR NEHALEM CAUSE U GOT SUCH A GOOD BUDGET~!

 

[m-jeri]

and in the same sense a 2*4870 is also a possibility for him..hence he opted the 4870...and any how a single card option is always preferred...so 4870 is the best buy....