Help - Upgrade PC to HTPC

[Mr. Officer]

Greetings,

It maybe my first post but I've been spending sometime here, reading through posts on various topics.I'm a total novice and hope that I get your valuable guidance in learning a few things and in the process upgrade my vintage system the right way .

TIA


1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Generic answers will not work. Be exact and avoid the word 'et cetera.')

Ans: Primarily HTPC [720p Plasma] and some FPS games.
Music quality should match at least an entry level CD player and gaming experience similar to Sony PS2.


2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.

Ans:15,000 - 20,000/- can be extended but for a whole lotta more VFM

3. Planning to overclock?

Ans:If need be, then yes.

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?

Ans:Windows 7 [32 bit]

5. How much hard drive space is needed?

Ans:1 TB


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:Already have [LG 19" FLATRON # L192WS] and Panasonic Plasma 42X20D

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?

Ans:Already have - Proc [dual core E5300] Mobo [Gigabyte G41MT-S2, new] Keyboard+Mouse [Logitech MK320] HDD - 320 GB Seagate

8. When are you planning to buy the system?

Ans:Gradually, [01-02 months].
Already started upgrade purchases starting with Gigabyte G41 mobo replacing Intel G31 mobo.

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?

Ans:Most probably by an assembler.

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:Location - Delhi, NCR [open for online purchases]

11. Anything else which you would like to say?

Ans:Have a great weekend !

 

[Jripper]

Did you already buy the G41? If yes,then why? I mean if you have been reading through on various topics here then shouldn't it be apparent that the 775 socket is totally EOL?
You could have asked or posted in the forum before buying.

 

[Cilus]

Everything is not clear from your post.

1. You already have the cpu n ddr3 based motherboard, do you have DDR3 ram or want us to suggest one?
2. Your processor is little under-powered to take care of current games. If a powerful Gfx card is added, your PU will bottleneck the Gfx card.
3. Your Plasma TV has a resolution of 1024X768 which is really lower compared to today's standard. I don't think the current games will look very good at it. However, I think you can PS2 standard.

Here are the suggested upgrades:-
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5300 existing
mobo: existing
Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K
Gfx card: MSI HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 @ 5K
PSU: Corsair CX 500 V2 @ 3K
Sound system: Inspire 5.1 T6160 @ 3.8K
Sound card: Asus Xonar DX @ 4.1K

 

[Mr. Officer]

Did you already buy the G41? If yes,then why? I mean if you have been reading through on various topics here then shouldn't it be apparent that the 775 socket is totally EOL?
You could have asked or posted in the forum before buying.

Yes I already bought Gigabyte GA G41MT-S2 rev 1.5 yesterday. I wanted to buy a GPU but realized that my older mobo doesn't have a PCIe slot and no OC options in BIOS hence bought a new mobo.

Pardon my ignorance but what's EOL ?

Everything is not clear from your post.

1. You already have the cpu n ddr3 based motherboard, do you have DDR3 ram or want us to suggest one?
2. Your processor is little under-powered to take care of current games. If a powerful Gfx card is added, your PU will bottleneck the Gfx card.
3. Your Plasma TV has a resolution of 1024X768 which is really lower compared to today's standard. I don't think the current games will look very good at it. However, I think you can PS2 standard.

Here are the suggested upgrades:-
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5300 existing
mobo: existing
Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K
Gfx card: MSI HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 @ 5K
PSU: Corsair CX 500 V2 @ 3K
Sound system: Inspire 5.1 T6160 @ 3.8K
Sound card: Asus Xonar DX @ 4.1K

Cilus,

I have a Yamaha AVR and Wharfedale speakers already so that's alright.

I had Sony PS2 which I've now gifted to someone and it looked quite acceptable on my Plasma TV. It might not be a fair comparison but a 5500/- gaming console will perform better than a Dual core Proc + diescrete GPU, really ??

Will Overclocking not help overcome GPU bottleneck ?

In addition please suggest a RAM as well.

 

[skeletor]

EOL = end of line. Already buying a G41 motherboard was a bad idea if you want to chnage your processor. Reason? LGA 775 socket. it is end-of-line and outdated.

Now you are stuck with Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad processors which are old and still priced highly. For example, Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 is still priced Rs. 5500. AMD Athlon II X2 260 which is as fast as E7500 is priced Rs. 2800. Phenom II X4 840 and Core i3-2100 which are much faster are priced Rs. 5200 and Rs. 6400 respectively.

Coming to the point, buying a G41 motherboard will make no difference if you intend to use your current processore i.e. Intel Dual Core E5300. For an HTPC, it is completely fine.

In addition please suggest a RAM as well.

RAM has been suggested.

Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K

 

[Mr. Officer]

PS: The new GA G41MT-S2 has 02 video ports 1 x d-sub and 1 x VGA port.
Can two displays be connected through these, even if only 01 is used at a time i.e either Plasma or PC monitor.


**********SOLVED**********

Thanks to "ico"

Will it be possible to play modern FPS games on my system after adding parts like GPU,PSU,RAM (suggested in earlier posts) as I have E5300 dual core and GA G41MT-S2 with cheapo RAM,PSU and Cabinet OR shall I drop the idea of gaming and just add a basic GPU+PSU and use it only for everyday computing and HTPC ?

After the suggested upgrades will I get any where near to "gameplay videos" on youtube as some guys have OC E5200 with OC RAM and OC GPU playing those games like BF3 , Crysis etc ?

PS: I have no experience about OC only very basic stuff that I've read on net.

 

[skeletor]

now....being able to run modern FPS games was the reason why you shouldn't have hurried up for the motherboard. A quad core is recommended these days to run modern games.

If you go for a graphic card around and above HD 6850, I can see E5300 being a bottleneck. For graphic cards less than HD 6850, E5300 overclocked is fine.

I'd say...add a basic GPU and PSU and use it for HTPC.

 

[Mr. Officer]

Thanks again for your genuine advise.

Now, that gaming is aside shall I still buy the same GPU as advised already OR settle for a low-end GPU + PSU and buy a better cabinet which can fit in my A/V rack (horizontal) ?

 

[skeletor]

Settle for low-end GPU + PSU. Use it for HTPC.

A GPU like HD 6850 deserves a better processor. And HD 6850 is overkill really for HTPC.

 

[Mr. Officer]

Settle for low-end GPU + PSU. Use it for HTPC.

A GPU like HD 6850 deserves a better processor. And HD 6850 is overkill really for HTPC.

Can you please advise GPU+PSU+HTPC (brand/model no.) in this case.

Can someone please advise whether GT430 IGB DDR3 will suffice for my HTPC needs OR GT440 1GB DDR5 is the way to go?

 

[skeletor]

For HTPC needs, GT 430 is fine.

GT 440 is faster in *gaming* though. But then, for the price of GT 440...HD 6570 is much faster.

 

[Mr. Officer]

However, I think you can PS2 standard.

Here are the suggested upgrades:-
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5300 existing
mobo: existing
Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K
Gfx card: MSI HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 @ 5K
PSU: Corsair CX 500 V2 @ 3K

As per these suggestions shall I bite the bullet and take a chance knowing that it might not handle high-end modern games.

My expectations are not too high...all I'm expecting is gaming standard to match a Sony PS2 (I'm open to OC if that helps)

 

[Cilus]

Mr. Officer, you can go with my suggestion as HD 6670 is not a high end Gfx card and your processor can handle it. It will enable you to all the current games with mid or lower details.
I have another suggstion for you, read it carefully. All the dual Core E5XXX series are known to be good overclocker. People were able to run it @ 3.6 GHz with air coolers and within acceptable temparature (67 degree C). So get a Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler @ 1.2K and overclock the CPU to 3 GHz. It will provide you additional boost in gaming.
And regarding Gfx card, you can also go with Sapphire HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 @ 4.2K but the extra performance of HD 6670 is really justified for just extra 800 bucks.

So here will be the final config:

Intel Dual Core E5300 Overclocked to 3 GHz
Gigabyte G41M2-ST
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 @ 1.2K
Corsair 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 Ram @ 1.2K
MSI HD 6670 1GB GDDR5 @ 5K
FSP SAGA II 500W @ 2.2K/ Corsair CX430 V2 @ 2.3K/ CX 500 V2 @ 3K

Total: 9.6K with FSP SAGA II PSU. Corsair CX 500 V2 is really not necessary, I've suggested it thinking of some future upgrades.

 

[skeletor]

^

+1 to that too.

HD 5670 and 6670 will run most games fine on 720p resolution.

 

[Mr. Officer]

Thanks Cilus & ico,

Your post(s) are very encouraging !

Can I choose either of the two RAM - 1 OR RAM - 2 ?

I cant seem to find any competitive pricing for HD6670 online - do you think visiting Nehru place will be a better idea for all items ? OR shall I buy some of it online if the price is right ?

I can always check with you guys here before making a purchase !

Regards

 

[sukesh1090]

i guess at 720p resolution processor plays a major role than gfx card.isn't it?
@mr.officer,
go with cilus's suggestion.it is the best config at your budget.6670 can handle all the games that are released till today i have played crysis,crysis 2,dirt 3,witcher 2,skyrim etc., at mid to high settings without any problem at 1366X768 resolution.

buy 6670 @ 5.4k from smcinternational.in,nehruplace,delhi.and also buy a standard corsair ram from smc only.i don't think your mobo will support vengeance 1600mhz,so why you pay extra money for that.

 

[Cilus]

Get Ram_1, the Corsair Value Ram. RAM_2 Corsair Vengeance is a high performance 1600 MHz ram, designed for gaming and overclocking. Since LGA775 based processors does not have on-die memory controller; the memory controller is present inside the motherboard, it can't utilize high speed DDR3 memory modules. So get the 1st one.
If you are open to Online shopping, then get the Gfx card from here:
GRAPHIC CARDS - ::::::::::The Ultimate IT Solutions::::::::::

The Sapphire HD 6670 is available @ 4.94K and the MSI HD 6670 is available @ Rs 5.09K. It is a Kolkata based shop having both Online an Street Shop with very good reputation. A lot of forum members including me have purchased from them.

 

[Mr. Officer]

^

+1 to that too.

HD 5670 and 6670 will run most games fine on 720p resolution.

@mr.officer,
6670 can handle all the games that are released till today i have played crysis,crysis 2,dirt 3,witcher 2,skyrim etc., at mid to high settings without any problem at 1366X768 resolution.

buy 6670 @ 5.4k from smcinternational.in,nehruplace,delhi.

Cheers mate...good to know that

Can you advise If I should pick Corsair vengeance over value as the price diff is not huge !

Also, buy 6670 @ 5.4k from smcinternational.in,nehruplace,delhi - is it the same MSI HD6670 1GB DDR5 as suggested by Cilus ?

PS: do you buy these PC games off the shelf or DL ?

I know I've got a long way to go

TIA

Get Ram_1, the Corsair Value Ram.
If you are open to Online shopping, then get the Gfx card from here:
GRAPHIC CARDS - ::::::::::The Ultimate IT Solutions::::::::::

The Sapphire HD 6670 is available @ 4.94K and the MSI HD 6670 is available @ Rs 5.09K. It is a Kolkata based shop having both Online an Street Shop with very good reputation. A lot of forum members including me have purchased from them.

Thanks for reasoning given for choosing RAM -1, so that's decided.
@Cilus - that's a good online shop with very reasonable pricing.

 

[Cilus]

Ya, it is the same HD 6670 model suggested by me. Normally the Kolkata prices are lower than Delhi and Mumbai prices. XFX HD 6670 GDDR5 is available @ 4.7K when I checked in last Friday.
2ndly I know Vengenace looks attractive, but I know why I'm suggesting. Check the specs of your motherboard n you will find out that the max ram speed it supports even after overclocking is 1333 MHz. So anything over 1333 MHz speed will be downclocked to 1066 MHz speed. By overclocking you can achieve max 1333 MHz speed.

 

[sukesh1090]

cius has already told that vengeance is not useful for your config.it will be clocked low to match the speed supported by your mobo i.e., 1066mhz.so i reccomend to buy the standard one over vengeance.
Yes it is the same card cilus has suggested and which i am using.btw bought the game which i liked,others left in the middle.
P.s-btw not allowed to talk piracy in this forum.
@cilus,
bro isn't it better he buy it locally than online as there will be mere 100rs difference after including shipment charges.even he can do some bargaining.