I wanted to buy a computer..... help me guys

[jay4u]

My requirements and budget:

Purpose to use:
1. i will use the computer almost 8-10 hours a day
2. Play latest games watch movies do some video encoding and lots of office applications
3. I wanna have fast processor with fast data transfer between different drives
4. Will use CD and DVD writer a lot


Now as per my needs and following budget please suggest.....

1. Processor and motherboard : I wanna go for intel 3.0Ghz with intel original motherboard.. but which one to try i dont know.... some 915 945 i dunno which one... i wanna avoid any heating issues

2. RAm want 512 MB 400Mhz DDR Trancend (2 pieces) - total 1 GB

3. Graphics card wanna go for 6600 GT Geforce but which one to go for AGP 8x or PCIe i do not know... do all games run on PCIe cards... like nfs2 nfs underground, farcry, call of duty, medal of honor, cricket 2004 and ofcourse roadrash... can i get a good graphic card with TV out slot and TV tuner built on it.....

4. Do i need a soundcard or onboard saound will be enough..... i am not very much of a music lover but like surround sound in action movies and games.... dont wanna spend much on it

5. Hard disk i do not know which one o go.... does sata really show speed gain... because its cost is very high... i want around 200 GB space... do sata drives support 3 GB/s specification... Anyways i dont want any bottleneck in transfering data from one drive to another

6. A DVD writer... how much will single layer or dual layer (9 GB) disk writer cost...... and good company

7. A good cabinet.... with as many fans as possible.....

8. Monitor... which one to go for 17" or 19 "... and what is the cost difference... Flat or Round CRT.... Should i go for TFT/LCd if yes which one... i do not want any bottlenecks in gaming.....

9. Speakers... not want to spend much but can i get decent speaker set within 3-4 thousand may be a 5.1 surround..... a decent sound is ok ...

10 . Key board and mouse is decided logitech combo offer 900 rs wala

Please help me out... i am an mba and dont know much of hardware...... please do quote prices or any changes which will be good.....

thanking you all in advance.....

9.

 

[abhijit_reddevil]

First of all, why are you wanting a PC on Intel platform? AMD 64-bit is the leader nowadays, be it games, movies, video encoding or any other office task. Moreover it runs a lot cooler as well. Visit any tech site like www.cnet.com or www.tomshardare.com or hardware.gamespot.com and they will tell the same thing. I myself am an AMD fan but that does not mean that I am biased in my opinion but these are facts.

Secondly, the future of gaming lies in PCI-express. AGP will slowly but surely be obsolete. And there is no problem for the latest games to run on PCI-express platform. Infact, I want to give an out of topic information. One of the games that you mentioned, Farcry has exclusive content if you use 64-bit platform, which is not available on the 32-bit platform. You can download that from their website www.farcry-thegame.com

Anyway here goes the config according to your needs.
===================================

1) Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or 3200+ Venice core ~ 7300/9500
2) Motherboard: Asus A8N-E ~ 6400
3) RAM: 1GB (2 * 512MB) from Corsair/Hynix/Kingston ~ 4400
4) Hard Disc: 80GB/120GB ~ 2800/3500 depending on your choice.
5) Graphics Accelerator: Leadtek/XFX 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI-express ~ 10500
6) Monitor: Samsung 17" flat CRT (I don't remember the model number) or Acer 17" flat CRT (model: AC715) ~ 6500
7) Optical drive: Sony Dual layer DVD-writer ~ 3500
8) Keyboard/Mouse (optical): Logitech/Microsoft ~ 950
9) Cabinet: Antec ATX cabinet with 350W PSU ~ 1500
10) Speakers: Creative Inspire 5.1 5200 or Altec Lansing VS 3151 ~ 5000/6000

Total ~ 48850 (with 3000+ and 80GB). Total will vary according to the other choices made.

Here are some of my personalised observations:

*Believe me, 120GB is more than enough. No need for 200GB drive. 120GB is oceans of space. I personally have 80GB.
*Is DVD-writer really required? If not a combo-drive will suffice. But make sure it is from Sony or Liteon or Benq.
*If you really want a Intel Platform, then get 915 chipset based board and a 3GHz processor.

Congratulations and happy 64-bit computing.

Let us know your final decision on the config and the prices in your city the hardware vendors are qouting.

 

[Sourabh]

All the system upgrades, PC configuration help posts should be posted and discussed in the Hardware TroubleShooting Section. Members please take note Reviews section is strictly for reviews of software/hardware and their allied discussions.

 

[Keith Sebastian]

DDR2 is a better option for Intel based mobo's.

 

[suhas_sm]

wat about ddr2 on amd platform ??

 

[suhas_sm]

First of all, why are you wanting a PC on Intel platform? AMD 64-bit is the leader nowadays, be it games, movies, video encoding or any other office task. Moreover it runs a lot cooler as well. Visit any tech site like www.cnet.com or www.tomshardare.com or hardware.gamespot.com and they will tell the same thing. I myself am an AMD fan but that does not mean that I am biased in my opinion but these are facts.

Secondly, the future of gaming lies in PCI-express. AGP will slowly but surely be obsolete. And there is no problem for the latest games to run on PCI-express platform. Infact, I want to give an out of topic information. One of the games that you mentioned, Farcry has exclusive content if you use 64-bit platform, which is not available on the 32-bit platform. You can download that from their website www.farcry-thegame.com

Anyway here goes the config according to your needs.
===================================

1) Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or 3200+ Venice core ~ 7300/9500
2) Motherboard: Asus A8N-E ~ 6400
3) RAM: 1GB (2 * 512MB) from Corsair/Hynix/Kingston ~ 4400
4) Hard Disc: 80GB/120GB ~ 2800/3500 depending on your choice.
5) Graphics Accelerator: Leadtek/XFX 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI-express ~ 10500
6) Monitor: Samsung 17" flat CRT (I don't remember the model number) or Acer 17" flat CRT (model: AC715) ~ 6500
7) Optical drive: Sony Dual layer DVD-writer ~ 3500
8) Keyboard/Mouse (optical): Logitech/Microsoft ~ 950
9) Cabinet: Antec ATX cabinet with 350W PSU ~ 1500
10) Speakers: Creative Inspire 5.1 5200 or Altec Lansing VS 3151 ~ 5000/6000

Total ~ 48850 (with 3000+ and 80GB). Total will vary according to the other choices made.

Here are some of my personalised observations:

*Believe me, 120GB is more than enough. No need for 200GB drive. 120GB is oceans of space. I personally have 80GB.
*Is DVD-writer really required? If not a combo-drive will suffice. But make sure it is from Sony or Liteon or Benq.
*If you really want a Intel Platform, then get 915 chipset based board and a 3GHz processor.

Congratulations and happy 64-bit computing.

Let us know your final decision on the config and the prices in your city the hardware vendors are qouting.

I have the same config in my mind too n also me looking to buy a new pc.
but i would like to be clarified few things
1. is DDR2 good for asus a8n sli
2. is asus a8n sli n a8n e different mobos
3. is 3800+ processor available here in mumbai ?
4. Is omitting graphics card for now feasible ? as the onboard card must be good being nforce4 based !

 

[Kniwor]

@jay4u

Forget INTEL...AMD is the way to go.....
AMD runs cooler...
Better for gaming....
U get advantage of 64bit computing for ruture needs...

very much as digitized said

get 160Gb HDD because that is reasonable as per gb costs...i dont think u should get anything below 160Gb..

Get a Liteon DVD writer...those are the best....sone is essentially Liteon...just badged sony...so u can get sony also....BENQ is also good...

STAY AWAY FROM LG and Samsung....



@suhas_sm
I dont think DDR2 is an attractive option at this point of time....DDR2@533Mhz is slower than DDR@400Mhz... u get the benifit of DDR2 only at higher speeds above 667Mhz...


If u want to leave graphics card u need to get a motherboard with integrated graphics....in that case u can get MSIRS480M2-IL....@Rs. 4500/-. It will play each and every game in the market right now ...also has a PCI x16 so that u can add a graphics card later.
But let me warn you it has no overclocking options and is only meant to run at stock speeds...

 

[suhas_sm]

Hmm lemme check out the features of the same. isnt nforce 4 (asus a8n e or sli )bundled with a good intergrated graphics ?

Also is getting ddr2@667Mhz diffcult in mumbai ?

 

[harish_21_10]

I have the same config in my mind too n also me looking to buy a new pc.
but i would like to be clarified few things
1. is DDR2 good for asus a8n sli
2. is asus a8n sli n a8n e different mobos
3. is 3800+ processor available here in mumbai ?
4. Is omitting graphics card for now feasible ? as the onboard card must be good being nforce4 based !

1.DDR2 is not available for AMD platform for now.Only the intel boards support DDR2

2.Asus A8NE has only one PCI-E slot and Asus A8NE-SLI has two PCI-E slots which allows u to use two similar graphics card on as one resulting in increase of performance.But i wouldn't suggest a SLI board.Take it only if planing to take a GE FORCE 6800GT or heigher end card and can add the similar one later on.

3.I am in hyderabad so no idea

4.Ther is no onboard VGA in the Asus A8NE board so u will have to take a graphic card with it.I got the same board so i know it.

About the RAM,i DDR2@533 will deffinetly be better than DDR@400 or DDR@533.But if u want an AMD sys then forget the DDR2 RAM.
And if i am not wrong then there are no DDR2@667 higher RAM's

 

[Kniwor]

I have the same config in my mind too n also me looking to buy a new pc.
but i would like to be clarified few things
1. is DDR2 good for asus a8n sli
2. is asus a8n sli n a8n e different mobos
3. is 3800+ processor available here in mumbai ?
4. Is omitting graphics card for now feasible ? as the onboard card must be good being nforce4 based !

1.DDR2 is not available for AMD platform for now.Only the intel boards support DDR2

2.Asus A8NE has only one PCI-E slot and Asus A8NE-SLI has two PCI-E slots which allows u to use two similar graphics card on as one resulting in increase of performance.But i wouldn't suggest a SLI board.Take it only if planing to take a GE FORCE 6800GT or heigher end card and can add the similar one later on.

3.I am in hyderabad so no idea

4.Ther is no onboard VGA in the Asus A8NE board so u will have to take a graphic card with it.I got the same board so i know it.

About the RAM,i DDR2@533 will deffinetly be better than DDR@400 or DDR@533.But if u want an AMD sys then forget the DDR2 RAM.
And if i am not wrong then there are no DDR2@667 higher RAM's

ok...i made a little mistake....DDR2@533Mhz is the same performer as DDR@400Mhz....with about 1% better performance....

 

[harish_21_10]

ok...i made a little mistake....DDR2@533Mhz is the same performer as DDR@400Mhz....with about 1% better performance....

well i still have a doubt if thats true,because if DDR@533MHZ is better than DDR@400MHZ then DDR2@533MHZ will be much better than DDR@400MHZ.
If i am wrong then just provide some sourse to clarify it for me pls

 

[Kniwor]

ok...i made a little mistake....DDR2@533Mhz is the same performer as DDR@400Mhz....with about 1% better performance....

well i still have a doubt if thats true,because if DDR@533MHZ is better than DDR@400MHZ then DDR2@533MHZ will be much better than DDR@400MHZ.
If i am wrong then just provide some sourse to clarify it for me pls

they are diffrent technoligies and havve diffrent performance at diffrent speeds...check the cost of DDR@400Mhz and DDR2@533Mhz they are the same....also the performance...searching for proof...wait some time...but I'm sure on this one...so dont doubt...

 

[Keith Sebastian]

wat about ddr2 on amd platform ??

I've heard there's no real advantage with DDR2 on AMD boards. That's what I've heard. Some may dispute this claim.

Keith

 

[Kniwor]

wat about ddr2 on amd platform ??

I've heard there's no real advantage with DDR2 on AMD boards. That's what I've heard. Some may dispute this claim.

Keith

Actually socket M2 is coming with DDR2...the integrated memory contollers have great performance...but are not all that flexible....and anyhow DDR2 is not a great advantage at this point of time....but yes it will be faster later....sometime back i heard that AMD was planning to move directly to DDR3 but now M2 has clarified everything....

 

[Kniwor]

ok here's M2....

*www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=MTU0MjEsT2N0b2JlciAgLDIwMDU

though i think there is some time to it....and more in india....

 

[suhas_sm]

will amd athlon n a8n sli sustain if i keep my pc on 24/7 ??

 

[vignesh]

Opt for a SATA harddisk.

 

[geekysage]

Opt for a SATA harddisk.

li'l correction there: Definitely opt for a SATA hard disk.

Oh yeah, don't forget to check the drive's cache, i recommend 8MB+, don't know what's available in India so can't recommend a particular model/brand.
Also, don't skimp on the PSU. Get atleast a 400W decent SMPS. Look here for a list of good PSU brands. Today's power hungry CPUs and GPUs need more juice and although i don't have any statistics but a large number of problems have their roots with bad power supply, can't emphasize it enough!
As for the Intel/AMD dilemma, i too was a loyal intel user but my latest rig is an amd x2. Clear enough. Hopefully, Intel will spring back soon..eeewww...must have p_issed off some forum users

 

[Kniwor]

As for the Intel/AMD dilemma, i too was a loyal intel user but my latest rig is an amd x2. Clear enough. Hopefully, Intel will spring back soon..eeewww...must have p_issed off some forum users

What u did is great....
Well what i say is fanboyism is nothing good...just go with the company that's providing u better...at this point of time I purchase all AMD based systems but if INTEL comes up with something good...I'll go get an INTEL...just dont be biased...but i think at this point of time amd is the way to go.. Most of the ppl on this forum will suggest u an AMD...and for that matter on any forum around(except intel forums)...but it's only a matter of time...and performance....

 

[choudang]

Inel
1) Processor: 3.00GHz
2) Motherboard: Intel 955xkb
3) RAM: 1.5GB DDR2 (dual ch 2*512 (1-3), 2*256(2-4)
4) Hard Disc: 80GB/120GB SATA 10000 rpm
5) Graphics Accelerator: nVidia @ 256 DDR3 PCI ex
6) Monitor: Samsung 17" flat
7) Optical drive: Sony d/l DVD-writer
Keyboard/Mouse (opt choise it
9) Cabinet: ATX cabinet with 450W PSU
10) Speakers: 5.1 Altec Lansing/Creative

AMD
1) Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+
2) Motherboard: Asus A8N-E
3) RAM: 1.5GB DDR2 (dual ch 2*512 (1-3), 2*256(2-4)
4) Hard Disc: 80GB/120GB SATA 10000 rpm
5) Graphics Accelerator: nVidia @ 256 DDR3 PCI ex
6) Monitor: Samsung 17" flat
7) Optical drive: Sony d/l DVD-writer
Keyboard/Mouse (opt choise it
9) Cabinet: ATX cabinet with 450W PSU
10) Speakers: 5.1 Altec Lansing/Creative



THE Choice goes for INTEL at 955xkb ---- its supports all the 4 categories ... P4, with HT, EE, D-core ---- have the High Def Audio Onboard.