PC Buying Guide 2011- Q4

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nilgtx260

nilgtx260

Maximum Craze
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

^^ it costs 899$ that means around 50k but the performance is also unmatched with stunning cool temp, one of the coolest water blocked gpu I have ever seen. In that review I also noticed Sapphire HD 6950 Flex is also very cool but a little bit slower than the reference version.
 
d6bmg

d6bmg

BMG ftw!!
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

nilgtx260 said:
look at this, isn't powercolor HD 6990 LCS so cool at load, amazing temp :shock:
Powercolor LCS HD 6990 4GB Review » Page 14 - Testing: Temperatures - Overclockers Club
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I wouls say, simply awesome. One can't expect anything better than 50C load temperature while OC'ing.
 
topgear

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

d3p5kor said:
Features wise, its fine but not with the price. The price at which these both motherboard falls, will change the whole budget itself. Anything from MSI or Biostar.
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what about MSI 880GM-E35 or MSI 880GM-E41 - they are around ~3.6k ;-)

Jaskanwar Singh said:
but TP why monitor? i think we should add a TV? or both of them and leave choice on user. for monitor i think dell ultrasharp u2311h will do better.

and i thought to make the rig a little all rounder. x4 635 is not that power hungry and just 1.1k more. and with gpu a person can do casual gaming as well. what say? 6670 is also not power hungry.

digit mentioned it 3.9k. may it be available at lamington road.
or we can mail smc and ask them?

congrats and thanks for feedback of steel series service.
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A TV would be good to have but I've seen many people are using computer monitors with HTPCs rather than TVs so we can keep both options like you said and BenQ G2420HD @ 10k has good picture quality with reasonable price and makes it a great VFM product and that's why I recommended it.

My focus was to make a HTPC only and that's why I've suggested a dual core cpu and no gfx card and a HTPC should consume very little power possible as more power draw means more heat and not all HTPC cabinets have great ventilation like desktop cabinets and that's why some high end HTPC cabinets from Antec ships with only 150W PSU ;-)
 
Cilus

Cilus

laborare est orare
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

But Topgear, even for high quality HD playback, especially using generic Graphics filters to improve quality, can't be done by Onboard GPU. I have tested with Media Player HC and Radeon 4250 IGP and found out that issue. I think at least a basic Graphics card is recommended in HTPC config, something like GT 520 or HD6450.
 
vickybat

vickybat

I am the night...I am...
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

^^ I agree. (Sorry buddy to bring this terminology but i couldn't control myself :grin:)

On a serious note, radeon 4 series igp isn't good enough for applying post processing filters like cilus mentioned as the video stutters a lot. Normally it would play fine but that's not what an htpc is meant to do. For playing 1080p normally, one can invest in a standalone HD media player and attach an external hdd to it for feeding content.

But htpc are for advanced users who want to tinker with the video quality by applying filters and enabling gpu acceleration ( i owe this to cilus for providing me this knowledge).

Believe me, the quality improves a lot and the experience becomes more richer and this is the role of a true HTPC.

Therefore, a dedicated GPU is a must when building an htpc.
 
OP
Jaskanwar Singh

Jaskanwar Singh

Aspiring Novelist
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

ok then so this?? -

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD Athlon II X2 255|2900
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H|4000
RAM |G-skill F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT(4Gx1)|1100
Graphic Card |MSI R6670-MD1GD5|5300
HDD |WDC 2TB Green|4000
Blu-ray Burner |Asus BW-12B1LT 3D|8700
PSU |FSP Saga II 500W|2000
Case |Silverstone GD04|5200
Monitor |Benq G2420HD|10000
Keyboard & Mouse |Logitech MK320|1400
UPS |Intex 1KVA|1800
Speakers |Logitech Z-506|5000
| Total |51400

or some cheaper card?
 
Cilus

Cilus

laborare est orare
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

Jas, try to provide a LED display as LED provides better Viewing angle, Brightness and color reproduction, some of the essential factors for HD movie watching. I think Dell ST2320L 23" Wide LED @ 9.45K or LG E2360 23" LED @ 9.5K is a good choice. Also Asus 23" LCD Monitor - Model ML238H BK/2MS/AP within 11K is one of the best 23" led DISPLAYS. It has 2ms response time
 
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vickybat

vickybat

I am the night...I am...
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

Well an led display has nothing to do with viewing angle or colour reproduction. It simply improves the contrast ratio and bright scenes look a bit more vivid in an led lit display.

Viewing angle and colour reproduction, are the parameters of panel type and current IPS (in plane switching type developed by hitachi) are the best in providing these. They are better than mva , pva , s-pva, tn etc and even give stiff competition to plasma displays in terms of contrast. (Yes, plasma's produce much better contrast than lcd/led panels but ips panels are catching up fast)

An ips panel coupled with led backlighting is a force to reckon with and will produce extremely vivid and accurate images. I have an ips based (non led backlit) tv and i must say it produces far richer and accurate colors than my monitor.

The dell u2311 H (LED VERSION) is out now as well and is a must buy for pure movie enthusiasts. Its around 15k.

But for budget buyers , normal tn based fullhd monitors will more than suffice. For a 50+k htpc, i would look for an ips or s-ips based panel.
 
topgear

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

Cilus said:
But Topgear, even for high quality HD playback, especially using generic Graphics filters to improve quality, can't be done by Onboard GPU. I have tested with Media Player HC and Radeon 4250 IGP and found out that issue. I think at least a basic Graphics card is recommended in HTPC config, something like GT 520 or HD6450.
Click to expand...

great info - much appreciated ;-)

Jaskanwar Singh said:
ok then so this?? -

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD Athlon II X2 255|2900
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H|4000
RAM |G-skill F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT(4Gx1)|1100
Graphic Card |MSI R6670-MD1GD5|5300
HDD |WDC 2TB Green|4000
Blu-ray Burner |Asus BW-12B1LT 3D|8700
PSU |FSP Saga II 500W|2000
Case |Silverstone GD04|5200
Monitor |Benq G2420HD|10000
Keyboard & Mouse |Logitech MK320|1400
UPS |Intex 1KVA|1800
Speakers |Logitech Z-506|5000
| Total |51400

or some cheaper card?
Click to expand...

IF we are adding a discrete gfx card why not get a little bit cheap mobo like Gigabyte GA- MA78LMT-S2P @ 2.6k and a HD6450 around ~2.6k - this will save up some money for a better monitor ;-)
 
OP
Jaskanwar Singh

Jaskanwar Singh

Aspiring Novelist
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

TP 880GM ud2h has better audio codec?
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3 - GA-MA78LMT-S2 (rev. 3.x)
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3 - GA-880GM-UD2H (rev. 1.3)

so we can provide 1TB green for now with 6450 to add DELL Ultrasharp U2311H as mentioned by batman and cilus?
 
Cilus

Cilus

laborare est orare
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

I guess so because Display is a component which you are not gonna replace frequently but HDD cn be added anytime. Also for starter 1 TB is not at all small.
 
prvprv

prvprv

Journeyman
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

what is the red cover on this RAM? is that a cooler?

*cgi.ebay.in/GSKILL-4GB-DDR3-1333MH...7?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item1c1d660e13
 
d6bmg

d6bmg

BMG ftw!!
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

prvprv said:
what is the red cover on this RAM? is that a cooler?

GSKILL 4GB DDR3 1333MHZ RIPJAWS X (F3-10666CL9S-4GBXL) | eBay
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No its not a cooler of any kind. Cooler means you can see fan(s) or water retention hole. Its heatsink which will reduce heat/extra heat generated in the ram while OC'ing.
 
prvprv

prvprv

Journeyman
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

ok. got it. thanks skud & d6bmg:)

I heard that intel boards for i3, i5 normally dont have FSB support for greater than 1333mhz. Is it true? what are best VFM boards which support these kinda RAMs (1600MHz and higher)?
 
topgear

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

for 1600 Mhz get either P67 or Z68 mobo ;-)

Jaskanwar Singh said:
TP 880GM ud2h has better audio codec?
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3 - GA-MA78LMT-S2 (rev. 3.x)
GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3 - GA-880GM-UD2H (rev. 1.3)

so we can provide 1TB green for now with 6450 to add DELL Ultrasharp U2311H as mentioned by batman and cilus?
Click to expand...

alright mate ;-)

BTW, what's the price of WD 1TB green - if the prices are same we can go for Seagate 1TB 7200.12 drive for improved disk performance ;-)
 
topgear

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

check this out guys ;-)

Asus 9 Series BD mobo prices

Asus M5A97 @ 5.7k
Asus M5A97 PRO @ 6.8k
Asus M5A97 EVO @ 7.1k

Asus SABERTOTH 990FX @ 13k
Asus M5A99X EVO @ 10k

Suitable mobos for upcoming BullDozer configs ;-)
 
OP
Jaskanwar Singh

Jaskanwar Singh

Aspiring Novelist
Re: PC Buying Guide - July 2011

topgear said:
for 1600 Mhz get either P67 or Z68 mobo ;-)



alright mate ;-)

BTW, what's the price of WD 1TB green - if the prices are same we can go for Seagate 1TB 7200.12 drive for improved disk performance ;-)
Click to expand...

TP WDC green 1TB will be 2.7k
green will be power saver, what say? and i dont think we need high disk performance for movies?

topgear said:
check this out guys ;-)

Asus 9 Series BD mobo prices

Asus M5A97 @ 5.7k
Asus M5A97 PRO @ 6.8k
Asus M5A97 EVO @ 7.1k

Asus SABERTOTH 990FX @ 13k
Asus M5A99X EVO @ 10k

Suitable mobos for upcoming BullDozer configs ;-)
Click to expand...

very nice. time to update configs with these wherever possible;-)
 
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