Hi,
Am a social worker from Mumbai and am planning to get a new desktop and hence this posting. A total illiterate as far as computer hardware is concerned, I have in the past one month, did a lot of reading especially in this forum and in forums like Anand Tech, Tech Radar and bestcovery as a result of which I now understand things. My gratitude to your members like Jaskanwar Singh, comp@ddict, saswat23, Cilus and a whole lot of others. Thank you guys !!
Coming to the issue, my current desktop (6 years old) configuration ( and please don’t laugh !!) is as follows:
Name Intel Pentium 4 506
Codename Prescott
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 775 LGA (0x4)
L1 Data cache 16 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 1024 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory Type DDR
Memory Size 512 MBytes
Channels Single
Memory Frequency 133.3 MHz (1:1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mainboard Model D915GVWB (0x00000219 - 0x009D52B2)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphic APIs
Name Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family
Memory size 64 MB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c
This suited my needs, to say 70-80%. The reason I am saying this is to give you an idea of my needs. However, of late, my computer is giving me problems – running very slow, constant blue screen and frequent rebooting. So I thought that this would be the best time to get a new desktop. My work is mostly in MS Office especially Powerpoint and Excel (handling huge population databases) and of late I have developed an interest in photography and so use Photoshop. My sons also share the same desktop and show an interest in medium gaming, which too I have to keep in mind.
After all the reading which I did, the specifications which I finalized (and the reasons) are as follows:
1. Intel Core i3-2100 – Longer life cycle because of possibility of upgrading in the future to i7 or even Ivybridge when prices drop. Moreover processors like Core2Duo also cost same or more, as i32100 and requires a new motherboard too
2. AS Rock Z68 Extreme 4 Gen3 – Possibility of upgrading to Ivybridge and PCI-E 3 GPU’s in the future. Despite a 2 year warranty, am getting one for Rs. 7000, which I think is a good buy.
3. Gskill Ripjaws X F3 2*4GB 1600 MHz, Dual Channel
4. Seagate or Western Digital 1TB SATA 7200rpm
5. LG / Samsung 22X SATA DVD Write with SATA Port
6. NZXT Gamma – could note that this is a dual rail cabinet which can in the future accommodate other add ons
7. Corsair GS600 – could note that this has good cooling if it is required in the future
8. Logitech Multimedia Keyboard + Mouse SET
9. Benq V2210 HD Black- has an HDMI port
10. Speaker-Creative Inspire 2.1 T3130
11. Windows 7 Home Premium-Currently am using an unofficial XP which is giving frequent problems and so I thought I would go with an official one for which frequent updates are available
What I would request this forum is
1. To critically evaluate the above specifications and offer criticisms and suggestions
2. To give me an idea of the how much it would cost me- going through all the posts here and in other websites, I have calculated the total price to be about Rs. 43,500 without labor. However when I called for quotes from various suppliers the quotes I am getting are all above Rs. 51,000. So I thought I would check with this forum first as to what would be the right cost.
3. Can I add the monitor and the speaker later, say after 1 -2 months ? Monitor and cabinet since this does not involve opening up the computer cabinet unlike RAM or HDD for which the cabinet needs to be opened. In the interim period, can I use my old CRT Samsung SynMaster793c ? The reason being, I can then avoid a complete down payment of Rs. 44,000 initially and spread out the expense.
4. Suggest me a good and reliable vendor in Mumbai. Unlike most of you I am not knowledgeable enough to do this myself.
Thank you for your patience in reading this rather long post.
Cheers !!
Am giving the mandatory thinkdigit questionnaire below:
1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A: MS Office, Photoshop, Browsing, online movies /music, and casual gaming ( gaming more for my kids in say 1-2 years. Game of managing a household is challenging enough for me !!)
2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: Yes.
3. What is your MAX budget?
A: Rs 50,000(Strict including all peripherals, OS, and assembly charges)
4. Planning to overclock?
A: Not immediately. But may require it in say 2 years time.
5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Windows 7 x64
6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: 1 TB.
7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want?
A: 19/22" full HD monitor with HDMI port (if comes under budget).
8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A: 2
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: Never
10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: ASAP
11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: Yes if possible. By future proof what I mean is that I do not mind spending a small amount once in a year to add say a GPU or upgrade a processor. I do not mean getting cutting edge stuff at any cost with the intention of “ future proofing “ it. So a better term that suits me would be future “upgradeability “
12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in
this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Do not immediately need a sound card , GPU. Also was wondering whether
I could delay buying the monitor and speaker for a few month and using my
old bulky CRT monitor for the interim
13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from
other city/states?
A: Mumbai
14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: Would appreciate it if one of the members connect me to a reliable vendor
in Mumbai who could assemble the same for me at the right price
Am a social worker from Mumbai and am planning to get a new desktop and hence this posting. A total illiterate as far as computer hardware is concerned, I have in the past one month, did a lot of reading especially in this forum and in forums like Anand Tech, Tech Radar and bestcovery as a result of which I now understand things. My gratitude to your members like Jaskanwar Singh, comp@ddict, saswat23, Cilus and a whole lot of others. Thank you guys !!
Coming to the issue, my current desktop (6 years old) configuration ( and please don’t laugh !!) is as follows:
Name Intel Pentium 4 506
Codename Prescott
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 775 LGA (0x4)
L1 Data cache 16 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 1024 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory Type DDR
Memory Size 512 MBytes
Channels Single
Memory Frequency 133.3 MHz (1:1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mainboard Model D915GVWB (0x00000219 - 0x009D52B2)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphic APIs
Name Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family
Memory size 64 MB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c
This suited my needs, to say 70-80%. The reason I am saying this is to give you an idea of my needs. However, of late, my computer is giving me problems – running very slow, constant blue screen and frequent rebooting. So I thought that this would be the best time to get a new desktop. My work is mostly in MS Office especially Powerpoint and Excel (handling huge population databases) and of late I have developed an interest in photography and so use Photoshop. My sons also share the same desktop and show an interest in medium gaming, which too I have to keep in mind.
After all the reading which I did, the specifications which I finalized (and the reasons) are as follows:
1. Intel Core i3-2100 – Longer life cycle because of possibility of upgrading in the future to i7 or even Ivybridge when prices drop. Moreover processors like Core2Duo also cost same or more, as i32100 and requires a new motherboard too
2. AS Rock Z68 Extreme 4 Gen3 – Possibility of upgrading to Ivybridge and PCI-E 3 GPU’s in the future. Despite a 2 year warranty, am getting one for Rs. 7000, which I think is a good buy.
3. Gskill Ripjaws X F3 2*4GB 1600 MHz, Dual Channel
4. Seagate or Western Digital 1TB SATA 7200rpm
5. LG / Samsung 22X SATA DVD Write with SATA Port
6. NZXT Gamma – could note that this is a dual rail cabinet which can in the future accommodate other add ons
7. Corsair GS600 – could note that this has good cooling if it is required in the future
8. Logitech Multimedia Keyboard + Mouse SET
9. Benq V2210 HD Black- has an HDMI port
10. Speaker-Creative Inspire 2.1 T3130
11. Windows 7 Home Premium-Currently am using an unofficial XP which is giving frequent problems and so I thought I would go with an official one for which frequent updates are available
What I would request this forum is
1. To critically evaluate the above specifications and offer criticisms and suggestions
2. To give me an idea of the how much it would cost me- going through all the posts here and in other websites, I have calculated the total price to be about Rs. 43,500 without labor. However when I called for quotes from various suppliers the quotes I am getting are all above Rs. 51,000. So I thought I would check with this forum first as to what would be the right cost.
3. Can I add the monitor and the speaker later, say after 1 -2 months ? Monitor and cabinet since this does not involve opening up the computer cabinet unlike RAM or HDD for which the cabinet needs to be opened. In the interim period, can I use my old CRT Samsung SynMaster793c ? The reason being, I can then avoid a complete down payment of Rs. 44,000 initially and spread out the expense.
4. Suggest me a good and reliable vendor in Mumbai. Unlike most of you I am not knowledgeable enough to do this myself.
Thank you for your patience in reading this rather long post.
Cheers !!
Am giving the mandatory thinkdigit questionnaire below:
1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A: MS Office, Photoshop, Browsing, online movies /music, and casual gaming ( gaming more for my kids in say 1-2 years. Game of managing a household is challenging enough for me !!)
2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: Yes.
3. What is your MAX budget?
A: Rs 50,000(Strict including all peripherals, OS, and assembly charges)
4. Planning to overclock?
A: Not immediately. But may require it in say 2 years time.
5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Windows 7 x64
6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: 1 TB.
7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want?
A: 19/22" full HD monitor with HDMI port (if comes under budget).
8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A: 2
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: Never
10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: ASAP
11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: Yes if possible. By future proof what I mean is that I do not mind spending a small amount once in a year to add say a GPU or upgrade a processor. I do not mean getting cutting edge stuff at any cost with the intention of “ future proofing “ it. So a better term that suits me would be future “upgradeability “
12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in
this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Do not immediately need a sound card , GPU. Also was wondering whether
I could delay buying the monitor and speaker for a few month and using my
old bulky CRT monitor for the interim
13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from
other city/states?
A: Mumbai
14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: Would appreciate it if one of the members connect me to a reliable vendor
in Mumbai who could assemble the same for me at the right price
!!) with DVI but not vice versa. So Question - Is this advantage worth the premium of Rs. 2000 or so ?
!! Changed the monitor to Dell ST2220 ( some reviews showed this as not having HDMI but the Dell website says that it does). Also changed the cabinet to Corsair Carbide and the cost of Windows 7 as per flipkart. Thanks 
