Need a gaming dabba for 22-25k

dune

Right off the assembly line
My old Acer 4770 laptop has assisted me very well. But it contains only 945GM integrated graphics :cry: which is useless for gaming. I am thinking to buy a new CPU for some Gaming and work purpose.

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: Gaming and Programming.
Visual Studio and Eclipse so need some RAM.
Games: Supreme Commander, Starcraft II, Crysis II, Dirt 3, NFS Shift. Only at medium setting. I would play at 720p or at max 1600x1200.

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: 22-25k

4. Planning to overclock?
A: Maybe. But have not done earlier.

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Win 7 and Linux.

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: At least 500gb.

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want? If you already want have one and want to use it, mention its resolution and size.
A: I have a Samsung 20' LCD Screen with 1600x1200 resoltion.

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: 5.

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

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: This week.

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: I would update processor and GPU after 1-1.5 year.

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Screen, Speaker, Keyboard, Mouse. I just need a Computing Dabba. And a good UPS.

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: Kolkata

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: I have asked MD Computers about prices. I am getting i3 2100 + H61 Mobo combo for Rs. 8150 + vat. The price for 955 BE was about 6000. I have seen various benchmarks like Anandtech and it seems that i3 2100 has an edge over 955 BE. Also I have heard that H61 mobo would support Ivy Bridge update. Should I take i3 or 955 BE?

My current choice for procy and GPU is
i3 2100 + h61 Mobo @ 8150 + vat
HD Raedon 6770 @ 6700 + vat


Any better ideas are wholeheartedly welcomed! :)

Note: i) I have heard that AMD cards are not that well supported on Linux. Still my first priority is performance on Windows and Gaming. Anyway I use only command line on Linux [Arch Linux] :cool:.
ii) I would be using my lappy. So the above budget is almost fixed. I cannot increase it. :-(
 
Last edited:

saswat23

Human Spambot
14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: I have asked MD Computers about prices. I am getting i3 2100 + H61 Mobo combo for Rs. 8150 + vat. The price for 955 BE was about 6000. I have seen various benchmarks like Anandtech and it seems that i3 2100 has an edge over 955 BE. Also I have heard that H61 mobo would support Ivy Bridge update. Should I take i3 or 955 BE?(
Yup, the i3-2100 is much faster than PhenomII X4 955BE but in games mostly. But in MultiThreaded pass where more than 2-cores are used, the P2-955BE performs a little better than the i3-2100.
IMO if you could a wait a little, then you could get your hands on AMD Bulldozer CPUs.

If you can't then here is my suggestion:
Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD AthlonII X4 640|4000
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-880G USB3|4800
RAM |G.Skill 4GB DDR3|1500
HDD |WDC Blue 500GB|1700
DVD Writer |LG 22X SATA DVD|900
PSU |FSP saga II 500W|2100
Case |NZXT GAMMA|2000
Graphic Card |SAPPHIRE HD 6770|7200
UPS |Microtek 600VA|1200
| Total |25400


The motherboard suggested is an AM3+ motherboard, so you can easily upgrade to BullDozer later when you want.

AFAIK 1600x900 is the highest resolution in a 20" Monitor.
Whats the model of your MONITOR ?
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
NZXT Gamma is not available in Kolkata. So OP has to go with either CM Elite 430 or 310. Rest of the config is spot on. APC 600VA can be considered too for UPS.


@saswat23: Monitor must be a 4:3 ratio screen. Previously they use to come at 16x12 resolution prior to widescreen era. ;)
 
OP
D

dune

Right off the assembly line
FSP saga II 500W is not available at MD computers.
Can I go for Tagan Stoneworks 500W. Or any other suggestion for PSU.

@saswat23
The monitor is Samsung SyncMaster 2033.
Yes you are right it 1600x900 and not 1600x1200.
 
OP
D

dune

Right off the assembly line
I would add an SSD after 1 year. Does Gigabyte GA-880G USB3 supports SSD drives?

i3 performs very good on Starcraft II. How x4 640 would perform?
Anyways, quad-core may be useful as modern C++ compilers are using multiple cores for compilation.

Does Radeon 6770 supports OpenCL?
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
1. SSD drives use Sata ports, so any mobo with sata ports will support SSDs. Currently SATA3 SSDs gives better speeds for SSDs than sata2. You can opt for GA-880GMA-USB3 mobo which have 6 Sata3 ports. In any case, you can always plug a SSD in any sata port.

2. Check this link for Starcraft II performance :-

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty GPU & CPU Performance > CPU and Multi-core Performance - TechSpot Reviews

Athlon II X4 might suffer a bit.

3. Yeah, 6770 supports OpenCL 1.1.
 
OP
D

dune

Right off the assembly line
Can I overclock AMD AthlonII X4 640? I read on this forum that it is quite easy to overclock 955 BE.
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
You can, but not so easily like the 955 BE. The Phenom II BEs have an unlocked multiplier so you can easily OC it just by changing the multiplier.
 
OP
D

dune

Right off the assembly line
Are there any nvidia alternative for HD 6770. I am also using Linux and AMD support for Linux has been less than stellar.

Also which shops would be recommended in Kolkata for buying the parts.
I asked MD computers. The price for 955 BE at their shop is quite high (~Rs 6100).
 

ico

Super Moderator
Staff member
^ HD 6770 works fine. The Open Source driver works fine and is much better than nouveau. As you are on Arch, you are probably going to face trouble with proprietary Catalyst and new X.org releases due to Arch being a rolling release. That's the reason why Catalyst rots in AUR. In distros like Ubuntu, Catalyst runs completely fine.

If you want to get nVidia, then get GTX 460 by shelling out a couple of grands extra. I'll recommend you to get GTX 460 overall.
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
Are there any nvidia alternative for HD 6770. I am also using Linux and AMD support for Linux has been less than stellar.

Also which shops would be recommended in Kolkata for buying the parts.
I asked MD computers. The price for 955 BE at their shop is quite high (~Rs 6100).


Look at Vedanta & Eastern Logica. Also give a visit to other shops of Chandni. You might get a better deal.
 
OP
D

dune

Right off the assembly line
I called Vedant today. They were quoting following price:-

amd phenom II X4 955 - 6050
p II x4 840 - 4825
athlon II X4 645 - 4750
i3 2100 - 5150

Gigabyte GA-880G USB3 - Rs 4250/4850 (2 slot/4 slot)
H61 mobo - ~Rs 3000
DH67VR-B3 mobo - ~Rs 4000

HD 6770 - Rs 7000
HD 6790 - Rs 7800

They don't know what is Tagan stonrock and FSP Saga II.:blink:

Athlon II seems to me somewhat costly with respect to i3 2100. :-(

I also asked Mr. Misra Ji at Eastern Logica infotech.

The prices were almost same with 100-200 rupees cheaper overall.

HD 6770 or GTX 460 was not available. :-(

When I asked him about FSP Saga II and Tagan Stonerock he was confused. Then on persistence he said "Hum ye sub chijen nahi rakhte." :|

At least MD seems to know something about computer. May be I would go to them. Would MD assemble the computer for free if I buy all parts from them.

By the way I am getting i3 2100 combo for Rs 8100 vs Athlon II 645 combo for Rs. ~8700-9200.
Which one should I take?
 

ico

Super Moderator
Staff member
^^ the Athlon II X4 645 combo has the better motherboard. i3-2100 would be better for gaming in most games whereas AMD's 4 cores would be better for multitasking.
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
I called Vedant today. They were quoting following price:-

amd phenom II X4 955 - 6050
p II x4 840 - 4825
athlon II X4 645 - 4750
i3 2100 - 5150

Gigabyte GA-880G USB3 - Rs 4250/4850 (2 slot/4 slot)
H61 mobo - ~Rs 3000
DH67VR-B3 mobo - ~Rs 4000

HD 6770 - Rs 7000
HD 6790 - Rs 7800

They don't know what is Tagan stonrock and FSP Saga II.:blink:

Athlon II seems to me somewhat costly with respect to i3 2100. :-(

I also asked Mr. Misra Ji at Eastern Logica infotech.

The prices were almost same with 100-200 rupees cheaper overall.

HD 6770 or GTX 460 was not available. :-(

When I asked him about FSP Saga II and Tagan Stonerock he was confused. Then on persistence he said "Hum ye sub chijen nahi rakhte." :|

At least MD seems to know something about computer. May be I would go to them. Would MD assemble the computer for free if I buy all parts from them.

By the way I am getting i3 2100 combo for Rs 8100 vs Athlon II 645 combo for Rs. ~8700-9200.
Which one should I take?


Yeah, MD would assemble free of cost. :)

And AMD has a much better mobo. Get one with SATA 6Gbps ports.
 
OP
D

dune

Right off the assembly line
^^
What benefits would I get from AMD mobo in comparison to h61 mobo.

I know about SATA 6gbps and USB 3. What are other benefits?
 
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