Mid-level graphics + gaming system

[bottleHeD]

As per the questionnaire template:


Purpose
Primary: Print Graphics (I sometime work with designs files that are 1 gb+) // (no 3D or video/sound editing)
Secondary: Gaming (I'm ok with playing games that are 5-7 years old)

What is your MAX budget
30-35 k (excluding monitor / mouse+keyboard / hdd's / dvd drive)

Planning to overclock?
No

Which OS are you planning to use?
Windows 7 (will buy once I assemble my system)

How much hard drive space is needed?
I already have 2 500 gb drives
- WDC
- Seagate

Monitor resolution
I have a Samsung SyncMaster B2230. I run it at 1920x1080

How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10?
~5 (I know about individual components and what they do, but I haven't stayed in touch with brand and current specs and market leaders, and new advances)

Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
My friend will help me out

When are you planning to buy the system?
ASAP

Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
Well, atleast 2-3 years without any problems

Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
I have my peripherals (monitor, keyboard, dvd drive etc.) and hard drives

Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
Mumbai, buying from here only

Mention any other points if deemed necessary
This is my current, crappy build:
Intel Pentium dual cpu E2160 1.80 GHz
Mercury kobian PI945GCM motherboard
2 gb ram
Samsung 500 gb drive
WDC 500 gb drive
NVidia GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS
LG DVD drive (read/write)
Samsung SyncMaster B2230 Monitor
Logitech keyboard
iBall mouse

Here's what I need:
Motherboard
Processor
RAM (8 gb, since I do a lot of image editing)
Graphics / Video card
Cabinet (a big, airy one, preferably)
PSU
UPS

Have I missed anything?

 

[game-freak]

Component | Make | Price Processor |Intel Core i5 2400|9500
Motherboard |Intel DH67BL|5500
RAM |G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL|2200
Graphic Card |MSI R6850|9500
PSU |Seasonic S12II 520|3500
Case |CM Elite 430|2500
UPS |Numeric 800VA|2500|
| Total |35200

 

[manujohn]

Intel i5 2400 @ 9.7k
Intel DH67 BL/Gigabyte GA H67M D2/MSI H67 MA E35 @ 5.5k
G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM @ 2.5k
MSI N550GTX Ti Cyclone 1GD5/OC @ 8.5k
NZXT Gamma @ 2k
Corsair VX450W @ 3.5k
APC 800VA @ 3.5k

Total = 35.2k

Suggested RAM is 4GB so as to satisfy your budget.. You can add another 4GB stick later..

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Component | Make | Price Processor |Intel Core i5 2400|9500
Motherboard |Intel DH67BL|5500
RAM |G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL|2200
Graphic Card |MSI R6850|9500
PSU |Seasonic S12II 520|3500
Case |CM Elite 430|2500
UPS |Numeric 800VA|2500|
| Total |35200

+100

and op wont have to play games that are 5-7 years old with 6850. all latest games will run.

 

[Piyush]

@OP
a lil offtopic question
why dont you wanna play some latest games?
we can make it happen in this budget,,easily

 

[masterkd]

^um, with game-freak's config that'll happen actually!!

 

[manujohn]

In my opinion, get an Nvidia GPU. Because op's primary use is image editing and Nvidia CUDA delivers photoshop plugin acceleration. But even in Photoshop CS5 , only a little performance difference is there with CUDA. May be future products support it more.

 

[skeletor]

well, just avoid nVidia GTX 550 Ti at every cost. Its power consumption is equal to that of a HD 6870 and performance is on par with HD 5770.

HD 6850 is the best card which you can get for 10k. Otherwise buy GTX 460 for ~9.4k. Better than GTX 550 Ti.

 

[masterkd]

@10k budget 6850 is the best card..in fact i don't see any nvidia cards between 460 and 560 ti

 

[bottleHeD]

@OP
a lil offtopic question
why dont you wanna play some latest games?
we can make it happen in this budget,,easily

Haha, well, that's mostly because staying cutting-edge is kinda expensive. Older games are still fun, so I don't have a problem, with being a couple of years behind the latest release. Still, if I can get a good gaming rig in this budget, nothing like it!

Thanks for the system recommendations everyone, I had a query on the CM Elite 430 cabinet, how many usb ports does it have? I'd ideally like a case that has usb ports in the front too.

 

[Cilus]

Currently all cabinet come with 2 or 3 USB ports in front and it cannot have other usb ports as they are situated in the motherboard.

 

[game-freak]

CM elite 430 has 2 USB ports

 

[bottleHeD]

#@$%, buying all the components from a vendor is a pain, I've been calling and mailing many vendors, but no one is responsive, I haven't received a price list from any of them.

I even considered junking the whole thing and getting the Dell XPS Desktop system (it looks bloody gorgeous), but is too expensive at a minimum of 55k, damn.

Anyway, looking here on the forums, I found this vendor - Prime ABGB Today's Cool Deal !

They have pretty much all the parts needed:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7500, 2.93 GHz
Rs. 5,600.00

Gigabyte GA-H67M-D2-B3 Motherboard
Rs. 5,300.00

G-skill F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL
Rs. 2,200.00

SAPPHIRE HD 6850 1GB GDDR5 PCIE
Rs. 9,950.00

Seasonic 750W SS-750JS Power Supply
Rs. 5,400.00

APC Back-UPS Rs. 1100VA 660 Watts/1100 VA
Rs. 4,850

Total - 33,300


I can't decide decide between the following drive:
WD Caviar Green 1TB - rs. 2,750
Seagate Barracuda 1TB - rs. 2,900

And cabinets (they all look so good):
CoolerMaster Gladiator 600 mid tower chassis - rs. 3,400
Coolermaster RC-430-KWN1 Chassis (Elite 430?) - rs. 2,750
NZXT GAMMA Classic Series BK Steel Midtower - rs. 2,200

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

what are you doing? pairing an old e7500 with h67 board!!!

get these -

processor -
*www.primeabgb.com/index.php?page=s...tegory_id=122&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

mobo -
*www.primeabgb.com/index.php?page=s...tegory_id=100&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

ram ok

gpu ok

psu -
*www.primeabgb.com/index.php?page=s...tegory_id=124&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

ups ok

hdd -
*www.primeabgb.com/index.php?page=s...ategory_id=70&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

get nzxt gamma or cm 430

 

[bottleHeD]

Hey Jas, thnxx for the motherboard, psu and hdd reccos! I was thinking of calling them tomorrow and seeing if they have the intel core i3 2100 processor. I'm not sure the i5 is really worth the extra ~4k, I'd rather spend that money on another 4gb RAM chip.

Will having an ATX motherboard be substantially better than a micro-ATX ? (A friend of mine was of the opinion that a full-ATX motherboard has more distance between components, leading to better heat dissipation than the micro-ATX.)

If yes, are there any within my budget? Most of the ATX motherboards I've looked at are in the 9k+range.

Also, my budget is kinda getting shot (max 40k now), so are there any cheaper PSU and UPS alternatives? Maybe around 5-6k for both?

 

[bottleHeD]

I've spoken to a few friends, and decided to go ahead with the Intel DH67CL motherboard, full ATX size, since it's only about 600 bucks more. Is there a good Gigabyte Full ATX board in this price range? (~6k)

I'd still like to know if there's any cheaper PSU and UPS alternatives, maybe around 5-6k for both. If I save a bit on this, I can upgrade from an i3 dual core to an i5 quad core.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

i5 is completely worth extra 3.5k~

full atx offers more expansion possibility. i dont think mATX develops more heat and anything like that.

for ups you may try a APC 800VA.

that smps is vfm.

 

[bottleHeD]

Thanks Jas!

Is the GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3L motherboard (full atx) + Intel i5 processor a good combination?

 

[Demon Lord]

Thanks Jas!

Is the GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3L motherboard (full atx) + Intel i5 processor a good combination?

Which i5 proc?
i5 2400 or 2500?
NO!
u jus cannot pair any mobo with any proc.(earlier u paired a e7500 with a h67!)
the p55 mobo u listed supports procs with LGA 1156 socket i.e first gen i core procs(i3 550,i5 650 etc)
n y do u wanna go for a older proc?
get i5 2400 with a h67 mobo.
The intel dh67cl mobo that u r considering is good.

 

[bottleHeD]

I'll be getting this config:

Intel DH67CL (atx) + Core i5 2400 - 15,000/-

G-skill F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL - 2,200/-

Sapphire HD 6850 1GB - 9,950/-

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 rpm - 2,900/-

Coolermaster Elite 430 - 2,750/-

Seasonic S12II 520 - ~3,500/-
(alt - Corsair CMPSU-600G or Corsair VX450W)


I'm getting the following rates for UPS:
APC 1100 VA - 4700
APC 800 VA - 4800
APC 650 VA - 3250

I'm leaning towards the 650 VA, would that be good enough?