PC Buying Guide - July 2011

[ssengupta]

@ Jassy

Please change the monitor to G2220HDL since it has LED back light and consumes less power. It is currently retailing around 7.7k to 8.2k.

 

[rahul18348]

why does not core i3 2100 get a recommendation here? It is one hell of a gaming processor at its price point.

 

[Sarath]

^^ yeah vengeance is good than ripjaws

I have seen some people complain about the vengeance modules interfering with custom CPU coolers. Doesn't it need to be factored too.
I think tkin has these ram modules on his new PC.

 

[topgear]

^^ I think he has got 2x 2GB Vengeance modules and he is going to get Hyper N620 which at best will cover up 2 mem slots near cpu but on the rest 2 ram slots vengeance can be installed without any issue - so if some one is going to get 2x 4/2GB vengeance modules he can use them

 

[tkin]

I have 2x4GB vengeance modules and they cause issues with large coolers aka v6gt, noctua d14 etc, only cooler master N620 fits and keeps clear of all the ram slots(although since I use 2 modules asus recommends using the second and fourth slot, so I have 35mm space there, 4x module users have 25mm space)

 

[Cilus]

The Sapphire HD 6870 referred by Jas does not comes with a reference cooler, it comes with the same cooler of Sapphire Toxic edition without the factory overclock. It can be overclocked very easily up to 950-960 MHz very easily. With voltage modulation, the card can be oced more. I'm using it with 950 Mhz Core and 1110 Mhz (standard 1050) Memory without any issue.

 

[vwad]

AMD counterparts of 60k and 70k please Jas bhai

 

[icefrog]

My motherboard is INTEL 845G model. Budget is 5k-7K. i have no idea abt the PSU. it came along with cabinet.

What motherboard are you using? Upgrading of RAM & graphics card depends on that?

My motherboard is INTEL 845G model. Budget is 5k-7K. i have no idea abt the PSU. it came along with cabinet.

Tell us your budget for gfx card, mobo model and monitor type and size and what PSU you have ( model and brand ).

If you have a mobo which only supports DDR ( not DDR2 or DDR3 ) Ram then it's time for get a new cpu+mobo+ddr3 ram first.

My motherboard is INTEL 845G model. Budget is 5k-7K. i have no idea abt the PSU. it came along with cabinet.

 

[vickybat]

guys please post a review comparing those or similar kits.

Corsair Vengeance > G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

The reviews you had posted had the cl7 version which is 50$ expensive than the vengeance in the states. I guess it retails around 3.5k or more here.

The vengeance was almost neck and neck in performance with the cl7 gskill modules. So its obvious that they are better performers than the cl9 version.

Here cl9 and vengeance are similarly priced but not cl7. The internet is flooded with cl7 reviews but couldn't find even one cl9 review. I will post here if i found one.

Btw i even found in some forums that fitting large cpu coolers like noctua d14 faced a problem when vengeance modules were installed. But they posed no problems with gskill ripjaws x cl9.

Found some reviews:

Corsair Vengeance oveclockers club

Gskill ripjaws X CL9 overclockers club.

What i've found out in the reviews is that both are performing on par and almost equal across all benchmarks. Both received gold award. So you can recommend anyone you like. Ripjaws are a bit better when you fit large coolers. This point has to be noted.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

batman thanks for links.
but that isnt the review of ripjaws X

Corsair Vengeance > G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

The reviews you had posted had the cl7 version which is 50$ expensive than the vengeance in the states. I guess it retails around 3.5k or more here.

The vengeance was almost neck and neck in performance with the cl7 gskill modules. So its obvious that they are better performers than the cl9 version.

not necessary, vengeance couldn't remain stable at 2133mhz!
(though i know people here mostly wont oc the memory)

and toms also used ripjaws x in their 2000$ performance pc (cl8 version).

as its height is low i think ripjaws x is fine. people wont have to worry mostly before adding coolers.

NZXT
Lexa S 28cms
Tempest Evo 33cms

based on many reviews online and a few youtube vids on official NZXT website. I bought the Tempest Evo and this is how a HD 6970 (274mm)looks inside.

you need to do some cable management buddy. are you using the routing options?

and the lengths you mentioned are internal clearance i hope?

Of course same, hawk, lightning are designed for pure oc'ing(that's why they have upgraded power connector), idle is same, loads vary according to clockspeed, but hawk/lightning models have better overall efficiency, so they draw a little less power at load even with higher clocks(the lightning has a 60MHz OC on the charts below)

thanks for the info tkin

The Sapphire HD 6870 referred by Jas does not comes with a reference cooler, it comes with the same cooler of Sapphire Toxic edition without the factory overclock. It can be overclocked very easily up to 950-960 MHz very easily. With voltage modulation, the card can be oced more. I'm using it with 950 Mhz Core and 1110 Mhz (standard 1050) Memory without any issue.

exactly!

AMD counterparts of 60k and 70k please Jas bhai

sure, when bulldozer comes out

@ Jassy

Please change the monitor to G2220HDL since it has LED back light and consumes less power. It is currently retailing around 7.7k to 8.2k.

G2220HD is vfm.

why does not core i3 2100 get a recommendation here? It is one hell of a gaming processor at its price point.

phenom 955be is better option

 

[vickybat]

@ jaskanwar

You sure of that ripjaws X price? Seems pretty attractive.

 

[Cilus]

Just found a very cheap Intel H67 motherboard, Intel DH67VR in deltapage.com, available @ 4.8K. This board is having all the features like 4 Ram slots, USB 3.0 and SATA 3 support, 10 channel audio, HDMI and DVI output etc. Here is the official link for it.

Guys, please check it out and let me know how good it is.

 

[Extreme Gamer]

A good option for budget HTPC.

I'm talking GT520/HD 6470 + 4GB DDR3 + i5 2400/i3 2300 on a small form factor 300W PSU.

 

[nilgtx260]

^^ yeah it will be a fine config but I say HD 6570 is good

 

[mukherjee]

Just found a very cheap Intel H67 motherboard, Intel DH67VR in deltapage.com, available @ 4.8K. This board is having all the features like 4 Ram slots, USB 3.0 and SATA 3 support, 10 channel audio, HDMI and DVI output etc. Here is the official link for it.

Guys, please check it out and let me know how good it is.

Its god imho..has all the building blocks for a great config sans proccy overclocking if u ask me...damn good mobo at the price!

 

[Extreme Gamer]

@nilGTX260: I was referring to Cilus's post.

Unless you game in an HTPC you dont need something over 6470.

Then only other scenario I can see that benefits is GPU computation like F@H, SET@H, Badaboom etc.

 

[Cilus]

Extreme Gamer, I didn't understand why this board is only good for HTPC. It has all kind of expansion slot to transfer it to a real gaming rig. For HTPC, people should get the H61 mobos. Any specific reason to suggest it for HTPC.

 

[vwad]

sure, when bulldozer comes out

Aah !! Playing Safe Et Tu Brutus

 

[Extreme Gamer]

@cilus: its mATX. for gaming, get P67 or Z68.

 

[vickybat]

^^ It doesn't matter that much. You can still fit any accelerator on its pci-e. Good enough for a gaming system. A gaming system doesn't always necessarily mean crossfirex or sli.

A non-multigpu setup can also be a gaming rig. Cilus himself has a mATX board and he has 2 6870's in cf. Is that not a gaming system?