PC Buying Help

[bhavikv9488]

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A: Entry-Level Gaming say FIFA 11/COD, Run other s/w like VS2008, Photoshop

2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: Yes

3. What is your MAX budget?
A: 15k-17k

4. Planning to overclock?
A: Sorry but i have no idea about it, but help and knowledge on it is highly appreciated

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Windows 7 32-bit

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: 1 TB

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want? If you already want have one and want to use it, mention its resolution and size.
A: 1280 x 1024

8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A: 5

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: I have manage to assemble it.

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: In a Weeks Time

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: Yes

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Monitor (LCD, as i have a one from my old machine)

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: Mumbai

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A:

 

[thetechfreak]

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD Phenom II x4 840|4800
Motherboard |Asus M4A78LT-M LE|2600
RAM |G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNQ|1100
Graphic Card |Sapphire HD6750|6000
HDD |Seagate 1TB 7200.12 |2700
DVD Writer |LG 22X SATA DVD|900
PSU |FSP saga II 500W|2000
Case |Zebronics Bijli (w/o psu)|1000
Keyboard & Mouse |Logitech MK100|500
UPS |Microtek 600VA|1200
Speakers |Logitech Z313|1000

Total= Rs.21600

Although its a bit over budget but its a very much reccomended rig

 

[Piyush]

you can decrease the budget by going for AMD athlon x3/x4 440/640 @ 3.5k/4k
and gfx card as 5670 512mb @ 4.5k

 

[coderunknown]

how about going for Llano & skipping the GPU, if OP can't increase his budget.

 

[vickybat]

@bhavikv9488

For your kind of work, amd's llano based system is perfect. Check the following:

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD A3650|5800
Motherboard |MSI A75MA G55|5500
RAM |G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL|2000
HDD |Seagate 500GB 7200.12|1900
DVD Writer |LG 22X SATA DVD|900
PSU |FSP Saga II 500W|2000
Case |CM Elite 310|1500
Keyboard & Mouse |Logitech MK100|500
UPS |APC 600VA|1500
Speakers |Logitech Z313|1000
Total |20600|

Exceeds your budget a bit but totally worth it. You really don't need a discrete gpu for your usage and llano's on-die 5570 class gpu will cover all your needs effortlessly.

The A3650 is a fast 32nm quadcore processor with dx11 5570 class gpu packaged in a single die. The A75 mobo is llano future ready as it also will support future bulldozer based trinity cpu's.

Go for min 4gb ram now because they are cheap nowadays. The psu can easily handle a midrange gpu if you want to add in future. Going for a 6670 gpu will enable dual graphics as it will crossfire with the on-die llano gpu. But only till 6670 cards are supported and not higher than that.

Post your comments.

 

[Cilus]

Here is my suggestion:-

AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ 4K
Asus M4A78LT-M LE @ 2.6K
G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL @ 2K (4 GB stick) or G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNQ @ 1.1K (2 GB)
Seagate 500 GB 7200.12 @ 1.8K
LG 22X SATA DVD R/W @ 0.8K
MSI HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 @ 5.4K
Zebronics Bijli Cabinet without PSU @ 1K
Logitech MK100 @ 0.5K
Corsair CX 400 @ 2.3K / FSP SAGA II 500W @ 2K
Microtek 600VA @ 1.2K
Logitech Z313 @ 1.2K

 

[Techguy]

Even a basic i3 (6k)
with a Radeon 6670 or Nvidia GT440

 

[bhavikv9488]

Thanks guys for all ur replies

Actually I have been using intel+gigabyte combo and i have heard that there are issues with heating with the amds . . dont know whether dats true . . well a mobo+gfx card on it would b also a better option for me . . any suggestions on that ??

@bhavikv9488

For your kind of work, amd's llano based system is perfect. Check the following:

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD A3650|5800
Motherboard |MSI A75MA G55|5500
RAM |G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL|2000
HDD |Seagate 500GB 7200.12|1900
DVD Writer |LG 22X SATA DVD|900
PSU |FSP Saga II 500W|2000
Case |CM Elite 310|1500
Keyboard & Mouse |Logitech MK100|500
UPS |APC 600VA|1500
Speakers |Logitech Z313|1000
Total |20600|

Exceeds your budget a bit but totally worth it. You really don't need a discrete gpu for your usage and llano's on-die 5570 class gpu will cover all your needs effortlessly.

The A3650 is a fast 32nm quadcore processor with dx11 5570 class gpu packaged in a single die. The A75 mobo is llano future ready as it also will support future bulldozer based trinity cpu's.

Go for min 4gb ram now because they are cheap nowadays. The psu can easily handle a midrange gpu if you want to add in future. Going for a 6670 gpu will enable dual graphics as it will crossfire with the on-die llano gpu. But only till 6670 cards are supported and not higher than that.

Post your comments.

Hey thanks vickybat for ur response

Ur comment "But only till 6670 cards are supported and not higher than that."
Is this for the psu support or the mobo support ????.

I did liked ur idea of onboard graphics . . but i may add a better gfx card later say when the money starts flowing . . so need a mobo of that ideology in mind.

Please provide me few alternates to mobo+processor+gfx card if possible

thanks again for ur time

 

[Cilus]

Heating issue with AMD is a very very old story, currently all AMD processors don't have any heating issue. SO go with AMD without thinking.

Ur comment "But only till 6670 cards are supported and not higher than that."

He was talking about Multi-GPU configuration. IF you use a graphics card up to HD 6670, then the Llano GPU will work simultaneously with the dedicated card as a multi GPU solution. Any card higher than that will simply disable the IGP. But the thing is this kind of Hybrid Crossfire solution is very immature till now and only DX11 titles are supported. Even in some Dx11 titles sometimes actually performance decreases when this Hybrid mode is used.

Techguy, there is no comparison between a GT 440 or Radeon HD 6670. 6670 offers almost double the performance of GT 440. It actually offers performance very close to a GTS 450.

 

[bhavikv9488]

Heating issue with AMD is a very very old story, currently all AMD processors don't have any heating issue. SO go with AMD without thinking.



He was talking about Multi-GPU configuration. IF you use a graphics card up to HD 6670, then the Llano GPU will work simultaneously with the dedicated card as a multi GPU solution. Any card higher than that will simply disable the IGP. But the thing is this kind of Hybrid Crossfire solution is very immature till now and only DX11 titles are supported. Even in some Dx11 titles sometimes actually performance decreases when this Hybrid mode is used.

Techguy, there is no comparison between a GT 440 or Radeon HD 6670. 6670 offers almost double the performance of GT 440. It actually offers performance very close to a GTS 450.

So what would you suggest ?? going for the hybrid or buy a different mobo and add an external gfx card ??

and please suggest me a good gfx card too ( Radeon HD 6670 or the Sapphire HD 6750 or any other ) . . which i can work with for say next 3yrs.

Are these gfx cards of ddr5 . . if thats the case is there a diff mobo to buy for ddr5 support . . suggest me some ??

 

[Cilus]

If gaming is in the requirement list of yours, then my suggestion is always go with a discreate graphics card. Till now, no matter how good a Integrated GPU is, it simply can't compete with even today's middle range Gfx cards.

If you wanna use it for 3 yrs without major upgrades, then HD 6770 @ 7K is the best choice. Otherwise, get HD 6750 @ 6/6.3K

Regarding DDR5 ram of a Graphics card, try to understand it what I am saying.

A graphics card is a completely standalone system to process Graphics. It comes with its own GPU or Graphics processing unit, a special purpose processor designed to process graphics, its own memory or RAM and the memory BUS connecting the GPU and Graphics ram.
So when you plugged a Gfx card in your system, its memory, no matther the type of it, is not plugged into the motherboard, it is handled internally by the GPU. So there is no such compatibility issues. A graphics card communicates with the system as a whole unit through the PCI Express X16 slot.
And the Ram you are seeing in a Graphics card, like GDDR3 or GDDR5, they are completely different than desktop memory. A GDDR3 and a standrad DDR3 is not at all same. G stands for Graphics as GDDR memory is designed for a GPU.

 

[bhavikv9488]

If gaming is in the requirement list of yours, then my suggestion is always go with a discreate graphics card. Till now, no matter how good a Integrated GPU is, it simply can't compete with even today's middle range Gfx cards.

If you wanna use it for 3 yrs without major upgrades, then HD 6770 @ 7K is the best choice. Otherwise, get HD 6750 @ 6/6.3K

Regarding DDR5 ram of a Graphics card, try to understand it what I am saying.

A graphics card is a completely standalone system to process Graphics. It comes with its own GPU or Graphics processing unit, a special purpose processor designed to process graphics, its own memory or RAM and the memory BUS connecting the GPU and Graphics ram.
So when you plugged a Gfx card in your system, its memory, no matther the type of it, is not plugged into the motherboard, it is handled internally by the GPU. So there is no such compatibility issues. A graphics card communicates with the system as a whole unit through the PCI Express X16 slot.
And the Ram you are seeing in a Graphics card, like GDDR3 or GDDR5, they are completely different than desktop memory. A GDDR3 and a standrad DDR3 is not at all same. G stands for Graphics as GDDR memory is designed for a GPU.

Hey thanks Cilus for the info . . that has made all clear . . but please suggested few good motherboards . . what should i go for with an AMD . . MSI or any other ?? . . i had a pretty bad experience wrt service of gigabyte but the product was good (945gcmx-s2 and g31 s2-L).

 

[Cilus]

Hey thanks Cilus for the info . . that has made all clear . . but please suggested few good motherboards . . what should i go for with an AMD . . MSI or any other ?? . . i had a pretty bad experience wrt service of gigabyte but the product was good (945gcmx-s2 and g31 s2-L).

All of them are of good quality. Personally my pick is Gigabyte, all my previous three mobos were from Gigabyte and their 880G and 785G based mobos are pretty strong. Asus and MSI are also not bad either.

 

[bhavikv9488]

Guys,

matter of fact i got a replacement for my motherboard and i gt a mother g41-es2l . . was planning to continue for sumtime as my pc is working fine as of yet . . and i hv postponed my upgrade plans . . but wud like some helpful replies on which gfx card shall i buy to play fifa 11/12 on the same config . .

my config is :

e4500 + g41-es2l
2gb ram
17" LCD
basic intex smps (got with the cabinet)
apc 600va ups


my lookout is within the range of around 4k (can vary) and also i sholud b able to use the gfx card after i upgrade to newer boards (if possible).

also suggest me a psu, if i require . . thanks for ur time and ur replies

 

[Cilus]

Going for any dedicated GPU, you should change the PSU of yours first. My suggestion is:-
Sapphire HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 @ 4.1K
FSP SAGA II 350W @ 1.4K

If you can't spend on the PSU then get at least some local 500W/600W SMPS from Frontech or Intex. They will be within 1K range. Another thing is while going for the Gfx card, make sure you are getting the GDDR5 version. There are couple of 1 GB GDDR3 version available @ same price, don't fell for those by thinking of 1GB memory. The 512 MB GDDR5 version performs better than the 1GB GDDR3 version.

 

[bhavikv9488]

Hey thnks for ur reply . . but does the ddr5 gfx card wud b usefull if i go for an upgrade ??