PC Buying Guide - March 2011

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Thanks sam and vickybat. Some more APC prices please. Also guys reply in the link in my signature...

 

[Piyush]

@jassy & rajan

awesome work there bros....
this is so much organized and easy to implement into configs

just make sure to update it when required

we'll do our best too to make it a really handy guide

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

thanks baba..now can you arrange a list of apc prices.

 

[Piyush]

will surely tell u about these
just gimme a lil time

so here are some of the prices

* APC ups ES 500va 230V India (BE500Y-IN) – Rs.1800/-
* APC ups ES 650va 230V India BE500Y-IN (BE650Y-IN) – Rs.2900/-
* APC ups ES 800va (BE800Y-IN) – Rs.4800/-
* APC ups ES 1000va (BR1000-IN) – Rs.7100/-
* APC ups ES 1500va (BR1500-IN) – Rs.10,000

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Basic HTPC -

AMD Athlon II x3 435 @ 3.5k
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H @ 5.5k
G.Skill 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.1k
MSI HD5450 1GB DDR3 @ 3.3k
Seagate 1 TB @ 2.8k
LG 22X SATA DVD @ 0.9k
FSP Saga II 350W @ 1.5k
CM Elite 360 @ 2.6k
Benq G2420HD 24" @ 11k
Altec Lansing MX5021 @ 6.5k
Logitech Cordless Desktop @ 1.5k
APC 650VA @ 2.6k

Total - 43.9k

open for changes...

Also give some good tv tuner cards guys.

 

[coderunknown]

a few changes recommended:

1. HD5450 512Mb/1Gb will do. so price down little.
2. APC 650VA recommended. 24" may end up too heavy for the listed UPS.

rest everything in balance.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Done sam

 

[XTerminator]

^^dont get the need for an Altec Lansing when you can get a better gfx card with that additional money.

 

[NainO]

Nice!!!
Thnx for this thread, a quick PC buying guide

One question though -
You hav mentioned AMD FireGL V7600 @ 10k in mid end 3D PC...
Is this a graphics card??? If yes, is it specially used for 3D editing purposes only???

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

@XTerminator
its an HTPC and not a gaming rig. HTPC needs good speakers. a low end gfx card can also display full HD movies.

@NainO
thanks. that card is a workstation gfx card. its used in rendering and its performance is good.

do you guys recommend putting up a high end HTPC having a 42" LCD TV, better speakers, lian li HTPC cabinet and so on..

 

[coderunknown]

^^ that will be a lifestyle HTPC. can be done & yes few maybe interested in these type of HTPC.

 

[NainO]

HIGH END HTPC!!!
Go for it dude

And provide intel processors and mobo counterparts of mentioned categories...
Try using "/" to deal with space constraint-
like- amd x6(price)/intel i760(price)
and total- 52k/56k

 

[Vishw]

Very useful post, Jas!

BTW, how come APC 1100va @ 4.8k is cheaper than 1000va @ 7.1k ? What's the catch?

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Ok guys will make it tomorrow. In the mean time please mention good 42" lcd or above or any other suggestions.

@NAINO
ok will do that tomorrow.

@VISWV
that even i am unable to understand. Still to be confirmed.

Also mention some low-high end TV Tuners...

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Lifestyle High End HTPC -


AMD Athlon II x4 640 @ 5.2k
Cooler Master GeminII S @ 2.1k
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H @ 5.5k
G.skill 4GB DDR3 1333 Ripjaws Kit @ 4.2k
Sapphire HD5670 Ultimate 1GB @ 6.3k
ASUS Xonar DX @ 4.3K
Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 60GB @ 8.7k
WD 1TB Black SATA3 * 2 @ 10k
LG WH10LS30 Blueray @ 11k
FSP Saga II 500W @ 2.1k
Lian-Li PC-C34F @ 18.7k
Logitech Z-5500 @ 23.5k

Total - 101.6k


Still to add a Keyboard & Mouse, TV Tuner and TV..suggestions needed guys.
i choose that gfx card because it is fanless.

 

[Cilus]

Jas, I've suggestion for your sub 85K category. This is mainly for those who want a Core i7 in their system and a single GPU based solution and also wants the benefits of CUDA and PhysX.

CPU: Core i7 950 @ 14.3K
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EX58UD3R @ 14K
Ram: G.Skill 3 X2 GB DDR3 1600 Ripjaws kit @ 6.9k
HDD: Seagate 1 TB 7200.12 @ 2.8K
PSU: Xigmatek 80+ NRP-PC702 700W 5.2K
Gfx Card: ASUS GTX 470 18.7K
Display: BenQ G2420HD @ 11K
Optical Drive: LG 22X SATA DVD @ 0.9k
Mouse: Logitech MX518 @ 1.3k
Keyboard: Logitech Multimedia @ 0.8K
UPS: APC 1100VA @ 4.8k
Speaker: Altec Lansing VS2621 @ 1.6k
Cabinet: Xigmatek ASGARD II Black+Orange ATX Mid Tower @ 2.6K

Total 84.8K.

There are two entries for a new brand Xigmatek, PSU and Cabinet. It is a new player in Indian market and reputed for delivering high quality products in low price.
Check Xigmatek NRP-PC702 700W Specification in MediaHome.

This beast can deliver 648W to the 12 volt rail (it is having Dual 12V rail) and is 80%+ certified. I have found an in-depth review in Hardwareheaven.com where it performs exceptionally well and reached 85% efficiency at 100% load. It has 9/10 rating. So included it to cut some budget.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Perfect cilus. I will both the options of CF and single. Currently on mobile.

What about sabertooth x58? How does it compare to gigabyte one?

Can i have a complete pricelist of xigmatek psu and cabinet?

 

[Vishw]

BTW, how come APC 1100va @ 4.8k is cheaper than 1000va @ 7.1k ? What's the catch?

OK, I searched a little about this 1100VA model and found out that it doesn't come with the APC PowerChute Software and also no USB support. Also, as per APC's site, it's backup time is less than the 1000VA model. On 400W power draw, 1100VA gives 9 mins of backup as compared to 12 mins by 1000VA.

~Vish~

 

[vickybat]

Ok guys will make it tomorrow. In the mean time please mention good 42" lcd or above or any other suggestions.

Jas for your 42 inch query take a look at this:

VIERA TH-P42V20D @ 64k or might have fallen further (plasma)

This would be the ideal tv for any htpc. My brother owns a 50 incher of the same series and it simply rocks. The contrast levels are amazing and it has got fabulous reviews in WHATHIFI magazine that deals with hometheaters.

Research and tell me how it is.

 

[Jaskanwar Singh]

@Cilus
added your config. you must have meant Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R. its the one with usb3 and sata3. added both this and sabertooth in every option. also i asked about other good xigmatek products buddy.

@Vishw
thanks for the info. edited to 1000va.

@vickybat
i am unable to find this panasonic TV review. anyways will add this when high end HTPC is finalized. i found SONY Bravia 40NX500 winning 40" best performer in anniversary issue. its at 69k. check it out also.

@NainO
added alternate AMD/INTEL options.

now still TV Tuner cards, HTPC TV are left. moreover no reply on high end HTPC? waiting for change suggestions..