Multi-purpose home PC

[sanjay6502]

At the outset, let me say that I am very happy to see this forum and must admire all the persons who are keeping this invaluable forum running. An excellent forum indeed. Going through various threads has really improved my knowledge and has prompted me to further look into details / specifications from the net.

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: Raw pic editing, photoshop, handycam / camera videos editing, resizing and burning dvd's (amature only), ripping music n video dvd's, watching hd movies, downloading audio / video files from net

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans:Rs. 55,000 + 5000 (max)

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans:NO

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Windows 7, home premium, 64 bit

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans:SSD - 60GB, HDD - 1TB

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: Yes, 1920x1080

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: keyboard, mouse, speakers, webcam

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: in this month

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: no, will be built 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: Noida, yes will buy from Nehru Place, may buy from on-line too

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I have gone through many threads on this forum and have thought of following
a. Dell ultrasharp U2312HM IPS or U2412M IPS or AOC i2353 Ph/Fh
b. 2 x 4 GB RAM
c. 60 GB SSD (for booting win 7 and other application programs)
d. HDD - 1 TB, 7200 rpm, SATA III, 32/64MB cache (for data)
e. MOBO definitely USB 3.0 ( e-sata / firewire if possible)

Highly confused about which cpu to prefer. maybe AMD APU's or Phenom II 960T or i5-2400.... and a gpu best suited for my needs

In future i wish to connect tatasky STB to PC for recording as well as connect my pc to my sony HT for audio. (so tv tuner / video capture and sound card ?? as future extension).

I wish to buy psu and case keeping in mind likely future extensions.

UPS & Windos license are also to be bought in this budget.

I would like to buy robust, long life components and want to keep my pc running for 4-5 yrs

thanks in advance.

 

[whitestar_999]

processor|i5 2400|10000
mobo|intel DH67CLB3|5500
ram|2*4gb corsair 1333|2200
ssd| ADATA 500 Series 60 GB SSD SATA3 |5500
hdd|1tb seagate/WD|5000
graphics card|sapphire radeon 6670 1gb DDR5|5000
psu|corsair cx500v2|3200
dvd drive|asus sata|1200
ups|microtek 800VA|2500
cabinet|Cooler Master Elite 310|1600

total:41700

 

[RiGOD]

Component Make Price
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 8975
Motherboard ASUS M5A97 6050
RAM 2 X G.Skill DDR3 4 GB 2300
GPU MSI R6850-PM2D1GD5 8600
SSD ADATA 500 Series 60 GB 5450
HDD Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 5200
Optical Drive HP dvd1260i 1030
Case NZXT Source 210 Elite 2400
PSU Seasonic S12 II 620 4620
Monitor BenQ G2222HDL 7600
UPS Intex 1 KVA 1800
OS Windows 7 6200
TOTAL 60225

 

[sanjay6502]

thanks to Whitestar & RiGOD for their prompt suggestions

Following are somewhat fixed (maybe a little change here n there but approx budget will remain the same.

Monitor Monitor 23"IPS AOC 12000
OS Window 7 6500
Case CM Elite 310 / NZXT 210 2400
psu corsair cx500v2 3200
UPS Microtek 800VA 2500
dvd drive asus sata 1200
SSD ADATA 500 Series 60 GB 5500
HDD Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 5200
RAM 2 X G.Skill DDR3 4 GB 2300
total 40800

That means I am left with about 15-20000 (max) to cater to cpu, mobo n gpu.

I am confused with these probable configurations

A. AMD A8-3850 7400
GA-A75M-UD2H 6500
Total 13900
(may add gpu later on. But will it sustain my need for photoshop / amature video editing / encoding? )

B. AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 8975
ASUS M5A97 6050
sapphire radeon 6670 1gb DDR5 5000
Total 20025
( Will it need extra cooler? Does extra performance justifies extra money? )
(What about AMD Phemon II X4 970 + GA-880GM-USB3 (rev 3.1) + gpu 6670 combination costing rs. 17,700 ? Will it serve my need? )

C. i5-2400 10900
Intel DH67CL B3 5600
sapphire radeon 6670 1gb DDR5 5000
Total 21500

(Is this MOBO robust n reliable enough? )

Please support me with your vast experience, in making me choose my cpu / mobo / gpu. Once I am able to freeze them, rest of the components can be finalized......

 

[whitestar_999]

option C is the best performing config if you have the budget & DH67CLB3 is the most recommended H67 board here.
option A is the weakest & usually recommended only if a graphics card is not needed.

 

[RiGOD]

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: Raw pic editing, photoshop, handycam / camera videos editing, resizing and burning dvd's (amature only), ripping music n video dvd's, watching hd movies, downloading audio / video files from net

There's no gaming mentioned here. In that case isn't a 6 core Phenom a better option?

 

[Tech_Wiz]

i5 2400 Outperforms 6 Core phenoms in all applications including gaming.

So if Budget permits then get Option C then I would say Get Option B.

Phenom + 6670 > Any Llano ever born.

 

[sanjay6502]

Thank u all

So option B & C are for me ( SB preferred over Phenom)

Is choice of HD6670 1gb DDR5 appropriate for my usuages ( no gamming ) ??

(Ans: Raw pic editing, photoshop, handycam / camera videos editing, resizing and burning dvd's (amature only), ripping music n video dvd's, watching hd movies, downloading audio / video files from net )

Is choice of 60GB SSD ok (capacity wise)? Only about 55 GB out of nameplate rating of 60GB will be available to me I intend to keep win OS and other applications / programs onto it. All data will be kept on HDD.

Will Corsair Force 3 60GB SSD be better ?
Corsair Force 3 60GB SSD

It is discussed here under Hardware Q&A in thread "Buy New SSD!!!"

Buy New SSD!!!

(Sorry using the feature of links for the first time. )

Is delta a reputed on-line store? Frankly has used only Flipcart and Smart Shopper for on-line shopping till date

Is it possible to use a 120 / 90 gbSSD with two partitions (say c: of 60-70gb for win OS & other programs and the rest as d: for editing photos / videos etc. It will enable us to make full use of SSD capabilities while finalized works can be shifted to HDD on say monthly basis ? Just wanted to know ur opinions

I think slowly my configuration will be finaized .......

 

[whitestar_999]

corsair looks good as it has good after sales support.also a bigger capacity drive will be beneficial in long run not just because of extra space but also because of performance issue too.see here:
Exploring The Performance Of A Full SandForce-Based SSD : Ten 60 GB SandForce-Based Boot Drives, Rounded-Up

delta is a good store in the same league as primeabgb,smcinternational,theitwares etc.

 

[sanjay6502]

After going through various reviews on the net, I have finalized SSD - Corsair 120GB Force GT. Though I wanted a 60GB SSD, but only Force GT SSD I could find was 120GB, so ordered the same and it has been dispatched today

Now my configuration is looking like this

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium rs.6364

Intel Core i5-2400 Processor rs.10400

Intel BOX DH67CL B3 LGA 1155 rs.5615

Corsair DDR3 4 GB RAM X 2 nos. rs.2330

CORSAIR FORCE GT 120GB SSD rs.9200

Seagate Barracuda 1 TB SATA III, 64 MB Cache, 7200 RPM rs.5614

SeaSonic S12II 520 rs.3770

Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" Monitor with LED rs.14200

Asus DRW-24B3ST Optical Drive rs.1109

Total except GPU, Cabinet & UPS 58602

What are your comments over this configuration?

Now I need your help in deciding about the balance items i.e. GPU, Cabinet & UPS

What about GPU HD6670, 1GB GDDR5 (rs.5400) or HD6770, 1GB GDDR5 (rs.6550) or HD6850, 1GB GDDR5 (8850) ? Though I do not play games, but maybe because of this beautiful system me or my kids may also play some games (offcourse nothing complicated)? And in that scenerio I want to make sure that I do not start thinking about upgrading GPU in comming 2-3 yrs.

Also wanted to make sure if opted psu (seasonic 520W) will be sufficient for my setup ( including a few likely upgradations like tuner, sound, wifi etc)?

Kindly give your views and advice.....

 

[whitestar_999]

520W is sufficient.6850 is a good card which can handle most games at full HD with mid settings.for gaming 6850 is the best option among 3 if budget permits.however if by complicated games you mean most popular first/third person shooting/racing games & such then even a 6770 will do.since i am not a gamer so can not say with certainty but i know this much that 6850 is a card most recommended for serious gaming with budget restrictions,6770 for serious gaming but at lower resolution(720p or less than full HD) & 6670 for average casual gaming of older games & some new games at low settings.

 

[Cilus]

I think in Photoshop and other Video editing and encoding applications, Phenom II 1090T and 1100T is slightly better than 2400. Also even if OP has mentioned that he isn't gonna overclock, Phenom II 6 core BE processors will provide him overclocking headroom to fetch some extra performance if he changes his mind in near future as overclocking BE processors are real easy.

In most of the multi-threaded benchmarks, including X264, DivX, WMV, 1100T is faster than i5 2400. Check here: AnandTech - Bench - CPU

 

[sanjay6502]

@Cilus
AnandTech- Bechmarks - CPU is very informative and yes I agree with what you say. But I am nothing like professional and will be doing video editing / encoding of personal clips taken from handycam / DSLR ...... using freeware / open source program, for personal use as well as a hobby. I think that 4 cores of i5 will give me sufficient muscle to do this type of amateur jobs and faster core-wise performance of i5 will serve me better in other normal applications. So I am sticking with Intel combination.

But, now I want to go for the latest Z77 chip mobo..... looked into the option of ASRock Z77 Extreme4 at the pricing of Rs. 9500+taxes (maybe about rs.10,000 overall) and am quite impressed with its reviews. It seems to be high quality board and considering the existing prices of Z68 boards and considering Z77 mobos have been launched just yet, it is priced quite fairly. What's the opinion of the forum

Also if I go Z77 way, I will have to upgrade myself from i5-2400 to i5-2500k, so as to properly utilize this mobo. Though I am not a gamer (who knows about future !!!!), but I would like to dwell into the various intricacies of pc hardware and learn things e.g. overclocking, optimizing SSD etc.

Or should I wait for Ivy processors to be launched?

(Though my budget is going haywire (unfortunately) I have stopped thinking about it )

 

[whitestar_999]

In most of the multi-threaded benchmarks, including X264, DivX, WMV, 1100T is faster than i5 2400.

@cilus,you may want to edit it because as per the link i5 2400 is faster in both divx & wmv tests.

 

[skeletor]

I'd say, go for i5-2400.