Old PC Upgrade @10K

[ybav223]

Hello all,

I am planning to revive my old PC which was eating dust since the motherboard gave up few years back. Old configuration is as follows:

AMD Phenom II X4 3 GHz (Not sure about the exact clock speed)
Gigabyte GA-M68M-S2P
Transcend 4GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 1 GB
CM PSU 500W

Looking to change the motherboard ( Upgrade to AM3+ socket type if possible ), the RAM (will have to get DDR3 with the new mobo. 4 GB) & a 500 GB Hard disk drive

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:

General purpose computer - Work related applications(Involves working with engineering softwares running on multiple procs.). A tad bit of music composition and sample editing.

Gaming- Mainly First Person Shooters (in low-medium resolution). Would love to play Sim city 5 & Flight Simulator X in decent settings.


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

Max budget of Rs.10,000. Can extend upto Rs.15000 Max if absolutely neccessary.

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans:

No.

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans:

Windows 7.

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans:

500 Gb is sufficient for the time being.

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:

I have an old viewsonic 22 inch (developed some ghosting issues lately) which I dont mind using. Would love to get a new 20 inch monitor if the budget allows. But monitor purchase is secondary over the internal components.


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

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4
Graphics- NVIDIA 8800 GT 1 GB
PSU- Cooler Master -500W
Keyboard/Mouse
Cabinet- Cooler master
DVD combo drive


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

August 1st Week.

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

Will assemble the components myself.

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:

Living in Bangalore. Will prefer to buy locally. Dont really mind ordering online if delivery is quick.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans:

I would like to get a new Graphic card as well if the budget allows. Any decent affordable card which can play latest games in low-medium settings.

Thanks

 

[topgear]

Asus M5A97 R2.0 @ 6.5k
Corsair VS 1333 Mhz 2x4 GB @ 4.4k
I would strongly recommend a PSU upgrade - get a Seasonic S12II 520 @ 4.1k

 

[ybav223]

Asus M5A97 R2.0 @ 6.5k
Corsair VS 1333 Mhz 2x4 GB @ 4.4k
I would strongly recommend a PSU upgrade - get a Seasonic S12II 520 @ 4.1k

Hey Topgear,

Thanks for the suggestion. Any strong reason to go for the M5A97 over others. Any cheaper alternatives available ?

 

[topgear]

I would not recommend a cheap mobo without VRM cooling for a 125W TDP cpu.

 

[Cilus]

For Ram, I think G-Skill RipjawX 1600 MHz single 8 GB stick is available @ 4.4K in Flipkart. OP should opt for that one instead of the 1333 MHz value Ram.

 

[ankush28]

Guys IMO op dont need 8GB of ram why not single g.skill ripjawsX 4 GB???
For mother board gigabyte 970 is also good option ~ 5k
OP which coolermaster psu you have be exact which model?? Because all coolermaster smps are not crap few series are good

 

[topgear]

^^ most people has the 500W version of CM extreme power Plus which has earned it's own share of reputation and only good old 500W PSU from CM is Silent Pro M500 if my memory serves well

For Ram, I think G-Skill RipjawX 1600 MHz single 8 GB stick is available @ 4.4K in Flipkart. OP should opt for that one instead of the 1333 MHz value Ram.

Op's cpu support max memory speed of 1333 Mhz hence I suggested that and not all Phenom Ii's IMC can play nicely with 1600 Mhz mem modules but getting 1600 Mhz module is more future proof nonetheless.