PC Buying Guide - July 2011

[Sarath]

Dell Ultrasharp U2311H- 23" IPS panel is sold for INR 16000 by Dell officially.

ONLINE: You have to write an email to them for that. Its sold by some third party seller based in Haryana.

LOCAL: Same price quoted by Local Dell store. [They charge for shipping even if you buy from their retail store]

I got it locally for INR 14323 (lowest I could manage) from Binary World, Indiranagar, Bangalore

guys some things you suggest to cut down cost to 130k ?

Sub 130k (Ultra High End Gaming)

Spoiler

Component | Make | Price Processor |Intel Core i7 2600k|16000
CPU Cooler |Noctua NH-U12P SE2|3800
Motherboard |ASUS P8Z68 V PRO|13500
RAM |G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM|5400
Graphic Card |MSI HD6950 2GB Twin Frozr II/OC * 2 Crossfire|30000
Sound Card |ASUS Xonar DX|4200
SSD |OCZ VTX3-25SAT3-120G 120GB| 14900
HDD |Seagate 1TB 7200.12|2700
DVD Writer | LG 22X SATA DVD|900
PSU |Corsair TX850 V2|7200
Case |Lian Li Lancool PC-K63|7600
Monitor |DELL Ultrasharp U2311H|14000
Mouse |Razer Imperator|3000
Keyboard |Logitech G110|3000
Mouse Pad |Steel Series 4HD|1500
UPS |APC 1.1KVA|4300
Speakers |Logitech Z-506|5000
| Total |137000

~Can state the CPU cooler as optional in case he wont OC beyond the safe temperatures
~Sound Card costs the same as the speakers. Are you sure the onboard would be significantly bettered by the dedicated card (yes obviously but) when tested/heard through these speakers?
~A 20GB SLC for SSD caching and a 60GB for the OS& frequently used programs [or just a single 80GB MLC] and a 1TB old platter tech for dumping huge files. How would that be?
[Given todays usage scenarios a 120GB HDD wont really feel like a huge step from say 60 or 80GB]
~A sub 1k mouse pad would do fine. Unless you are going for gaming competitions.

OTHER POINTS:
~Mention both R. Imperator and Logitech G500. Same price w/ 1 & 3year waranty resp.
~G110 from Oct 2009 still a good KB?
~Weren't those OCZ ones recalled for stability problems?
~A mention of 60, 80 to 120 GB SSDs w/ prices would leave the end choice to the buyers preference

Anyone going for this config would not be going for cost cutting. They wont go "Oh I dont have 5k more so I cant buy this". Not asking for an Insane Rig, just telling you even if you cut costs, mention them as optionals.

Just my opinion.

 

[Skud]

~Sound Card costs the same as the speakers. Are you sure the onboard would be significantly bettered by the dedicated card (yes obviously but) when tested/heard through these speakers?

Seems pretty valid argument to me.

 

[vickybat]

Yup i agree. Jas , asus xonar dx is overkill for a z506. Today's onboard audio solutions are more than enough for entry level 5.1's like z506. Xonar dx will prove advantageous with some high quality sets from klipsch, harman kardon, or the logitech z5500d and its sucesssor as a bare minimum.

So you can give the xonar dx as optional upgrade.

Secondly, downgrading to 80gb ssd instead of 120gb will lower the cost further.

That's more like it. Rest of the components are fine.

 

[Skud]

And do we really need the K63 at 7.6k? Cheaper and definitely better looking, if not better performing, cases are available at less than 6k.

 

[Sarath]

And do we really need the K63 at 7.6k? Cheaper and definitely better looking, if not better performing, cases are available at less than 6k.

I can vouch for NZXT Tempest Evo @6k.

Pretty decent rig. 6 fans and spacious enough for a HD 6970.

 

[Skud]

Yeah, that's one beast of a case.

 

[d3p]

Even nothing bad with HAF Brothers i.e 912 & 922. Except USB 3.0 concept in 912.

Onboard sound doesn't always take advantage of having 5.1. 5.1's prven with decent sound card not with onboard, so IMO Sound card is a must for 130k config & any 5.1 including any elcheapo brand to Onkyo, Denon, Polk & Yamaha.

Contact Mailme.manju or Mega Mind...probably he can justify it the fact more clearly.

Yep as others, i too agree to reduce the SSD to 60 & hence the total cost too marginally.

 

[Skud]

Only problem is that if you have 3 HDDs and a 580/6970 - you have to look elsewhere.

 

[tkin]

Even nothing bad with HAF Brothers i.e 912 & 922. Except USB 3.0 concept in 912.

Onboard sound doesn't always take advantage of having 5.1. 5.1's prven with decent sound card not with onboard, so IMO Sound card is a must for 130k config.

Yep as others, i too agree to reduce the SSD to 60 & hence the total cost too marginally.

That USB 3.0 passthrough cable is quite nice, too bad it lacks the header but very easy to route.

Only problem is that if you have 3 HDDs and a 580/6970 - you have to look elsewhere.

Here here, I want to kick myself, just 5k more and I could have bought the HAF X, too late to change now, not worth the effort.

PS: You can use supplied converter to put one hdd on the odd panel, so 3 hdds total with haf 912.

 

[The Sorcerer]

Guys, stop recommending VX450s. Newer ones aren't of the same quality as the older ones.

 

[rajan1311]

^but are they bad or not as good?

 

[thetechfreak]

Guys, stop recommending VX450s.
Newer ones aren't of the same quality
as the older ones.

err.... Than what should we reccomend ? Fsp Saga right?


Btw, a general info:
Fsp Saga isnt avilable in any North East city. Guwahati is the hardware heaven of Ne and the shop keepers have no idea about it.

Even Corsair is very hard to find

 

[The Sorcerer]

There's seasonic. Antec has EA lineup but I am not sure how good is the warranty support unless someone wants to explore unchartered waters the old fashioned way. Anyways its been more than a year since I've being saying about VX450's quality drop. Not sure of VX550.

I know only about 1 model about FSP saga but can't say about other wattage/series. Anything lower than what one would require something like vx450 (the older versions)- there's Gigabyte Superb 460. There's a seasonic 380w version IINM.

 

[vickybat]

^^ I am using a vx 450 since one an a half years and i'm totally satisfied. Thermal levels are completely in check and psu is extremely silent.

 

[thetechfreak]

^^ I am using a vx 450 since one an a half years and i'm totally satisfied.

I think Mr.Clius meant to say that fresh products of the Mill are b@d. The older products are good quality but newer ones arent of that quality

 

[vickybat]

^^ He was saying that its been more than a year since vx 450's had quality drop and not worth recommending. My psu is also more than a year. That is the reason i commented.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

thanks for inputs guys.
working on it.

confused on sound system!

some things that will make a person choose a ASUS P8Z68 V PRO instead of ASUS P8Z68 V for extra 1-1.5k?

 

[Skud]

That USB 3.0 passthrough cable is quite nice, too bad it lacks the header but very easy to route.


Here here, I want to kick myself, just 5k more and I could have bought the HAF X, too late to change now, not worth the effort.

PS: You can use supplied converter to put one hdd on the odd panel, so 3 hdds total with haf 912.

Still one short of my band. BTW, I have an external SATA dock also but HDD just becomes hotter there, around 45-47C, whereas inside the case, they remain at 37-38C. BTW, with the ambient at 35-40C are the temps inside the case normal?

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

guys which SSDs you suggest?
if i only change ssd to a ocz solid 3 60gb the cost comes down to 130.5k. what say?

and benefit of P8Z68 V PRO over P8Z68 V?

 

[tkin]

Still one short of my band. BTW, I have an external SATA dock also but HDD just becomes hotter there, around 45-47C, whereas inside the case, they remain at 37-38C. BTW, with the ambient at 35-40C are the temps inside the case normal?

Hmm, in my case, while not gaming, the top hdd(WD black) is at 40c, the lower hdd(Seagate) is at 38c, if I could used the middle cage it would be 36c for both drives(tested), ambient is 35c around. So its normal, as long as HDD remains below 50c you should never worry, if it goes over 55c, then it means danger, if it touches 60c it will probably die(max operational temp is 60c with the wd black).

PS: Can your case fit the 580 Lightning? If so I'd say a very good case indeed.

guys which SSDs you suggest?
if i only change ssd to a ocz solid 3 60gb the cost comes down to 130.5k. what say?

and benefit of P8Z68 V PRO over P8Z68 V?

Corsair is recalling force so that's out, why not kingston V series? Those are quite vfm and does the job just fine(my friend has one).

Vpro has 2 extra SATA 6GBPs ports(marvel), i.e total 8, V has 6 SATA ports only, 2 being SATA 6GBPs ports, so guys who use more hdds will benefit more from Vpro, also VPro has start and reset switch on board, V has just the start, and some other nit picks, nothing significant.