pc upgrade ? is it really necessary at this time ? if yes, pls help.

[Cilus]

Yes, the FX series processors need AM3+ Motherboard whereas APU needs FM2 motherboard and they are completely different. If you want to keep this rig for 2 Year + time then I don't think there are any cons. But as per the rumor, the new generations of APU, codenamed Kaveri, going to be launched by the 1st quarter of next year and will use a different socket motherboard, FM2+. In that case, if you wanna upgrade, both the Processor and mobo need to be changed. This is a problem with 3rd Gen i3 (like i3 3220) based systems too as 4th gen Core series has already been launched and requires a new socket.
Only long lasting option is AMD FX series with AM3+ socket motherboard but they are out of your budget.

^ did you mean a10 6800k?

No, I meaned A8-6600K and I think was quiet clear about it.

 

[harshilsharma63]

well, u mean to say selling old ram, cpu and mother board ? as i'm not changing my monitor, keyboard, mouse, HDD.
really 8gb ram? does it have issues with 4gb ram?


are there any cons of taking this APU based config?
does motherboard for the APU (i think A10-5800k & A8-6600k are AMD based only) differ from motherboards for other amd cpu's ?

> yes, I mean to sell the old parts you'll not be re-using.

> A10 5800k has a powerful IGP that can itself take up upto 3 GB of ram. So, 3 GB for IGP + 4 GB for OS and apps. You can go with just 4 GB now, but try adding another 4 GB stick soon.

> APU is nothing but a CPU with IGP. Yes Intel offers them too (the HD graphics), but doesn't calls them with a seperate name. Its just AMD which likes to call them APUs. Nothing different from consumer's POV.

> Like a 2nd or 3rd gen Intel CPU requires LGA1155 socket board, 4th gen requires LGA 1150 board, FX series needs AM3+ board, similarly A10 5800k needs a motherboard with FM2 socket.

 

[TheLetterD]

Ok, a few points.
IMO The AMD A10 5800k has a faster Graphic Chip than the AMD A8 6600K, hence better performance.

Also no need to get 8GB RAM, 4 GB will do just fine too, just keep in mind to get *2* RAM Modules of 2GB Each and NOT 1 module of 4GB RAM. This will give you a significant performance boost.
The ONE disadvantage being IF you choose to upgrade to 8GB later on, instead of adding only 1 more 4GB module you will have to Buy 2 and replace those 2 2GB ones as there are only 2 Slots for RAMs on your budget motherboard. But I doubt you will.

And no need to dedicate more than 512 MB to the Graphic Chip(Although thats something to consider AFTER you make the purchase), it wont even be using that much, leaving you with 3.5GB of RAM for your other PC ... stuff.

 

[abhi615]

Yes, the FX series processors need AM3+ Motherboard whereas APU needs FM2 motherboard and they are completely different. If you want to keep this rig for 2 Year + time then I don't think there are any cons. But as per the rumor, the new generations of APU, codenamed Kaveri, going to be launched by the 1st quarter of next year and will use a different socket motherboard, FM2+. In that case, if you wanna upgrade, both the Processor and mobo need to be changed. This is a problem with 3rd Gen i3 (like i3 3220) based systems too as 4th gen Core series has already been launched and requires a new socket.
Only long lasting option is AMD FX series with AM3+ socket motherboard but they are out of your budget.

Well,information you guys have provided has got me in a dilemma but for good.
You guys mean to say only future proof rig is AMD FX6300 or a 4th gen intel and of course they are better than other budgeted rigs which i asked for.
But even if i try to extend my budget to include any of these two rigs ( 4th gen intel wil definitely be completely out of my reach i guess, any approx quotes ?) will there be any extra misc expenses to support these rigs in form of some better cabinet / coolers or things i'm not aware of..

> yes, I mean to sell the old parts you'll not be re-using.

You can go with just 4 GB now, but try adding another 4 GB stick soon.

i'l rather add it same time if at all i decide to buy this one but you guys here are making me reconsider my budget.

Ok, a few points.
IMO The AMD A10 5800k has a faster Graphic Chip than the AMD A8 6600K, hence better performance.

i think cilus pointed out nearly equal performance with less power consumption for A8-6600., and various blogs online seem to point the same way.

Also no need to get 8GB RAM, 4 GB will do just fine too, just keep in mind to get *2* RAM Modules of 2GB Each and NOT 1 module of 4GB RAM. This will give you a significant performance boost.
The ONE disadvantage being IF you choose to upgrade to 8GB later on, instead of adding only 1 more 4GB module you will have to Buy 2 and replace those 2 2GB ones as there are only 2 Slots for RAMs on your budget motherboard. But I doubt you will.

And no need to dedicate more than 512 MB to the Graphic Chip(Although thats something to consider AFTER you make the purchase), it wont even be using that much, leaving you with 3.5GB of RAM for your other PC ... stuff.

i'll keep this in mind if i buy this rig.

 

[harshilsharma63]

Well,information you guys have provided has got me in a dilemma but for good.
You guys mean to say only future proof rig is AMD FX6300 or a 4th gen intel and of course they are better than other budgeted rigs which i asked for.
But even if i try to extend my budget to include any of these two rigs ( 4th gen intel wil definitely be completely out of my reach i guess, any approx quotes ?) will there be any extra misc expenses to support these rigs in form of some better cabinet / coolers or things i'm not aware of..



i'l rather add it same time if at all i decide to buy this one but you guys here are making me reconsider my budget.

> An FX 6300 rig is already suggested for reference. An i5 based Haswell config along will cost around 23000 excluding a graphic card.

> If you can increase your budget to 25k, you can get FX 6300 + HD7770 or better. Its a one time purchase and you'll probably want to give you a decent gaming experience for about 3 years. You can wait for ~1 month if that means increased budget

 

[abhi615]

i came across CPU + motherboard combo ( i3-540 & zotac h55) on cost to cost @ 8290 plus vat.
could it be a stop gap arrangement along with a high end graphics card which i could use in future when i decide to upgrade this stop gap rig.
is this zotac mobo compatible with ddr2 ram ? ( that wil save me some money as well for time being).

> An FX 6300 rig is already suggested for reference. An i5 based Haswell config along will cost around 23000 excluding a graphic card.

> If you can increase your budget to 25k, you can get FX 6300 + HD7770 or better. Its a one time purchase and you'll probably want to give you a decent gaming experience for about 3 years. You can wait for ~1 month if that means increased budget

that means i5 rig with graphic card will be atleast 33k.
ya i 'l have to wait for a 1-2 months, if i decide to go with i5 / FX6300 rig.

 

[harshilsharma63]

i came across CPU + motherboard combo ( i3-540 & zotac h55) on cost to cost @ 8290 plus vat.
could it be a stop gap arrangement along with a high end graphics card which i could use in future when i decide to upgrade this stop gap rig.
is this zotac mobo compatible with ddr2 ram ? ( that wil save me some money as well for time being).



that means i5 rig with graphic card will be atleast 33k.
ya i 'l have to wait for a 1-2 months, if i decide to go with i5 / FX6300 rig.

> i3 540 is a first gen cpu and it is not at all recommended to make such purchase. the socket support for I gen (LGA 1156) was dropped as soon as the II gen came. Its a dead end. if you go with Intel, haswell is the only sensible choice.

> Buying temporary cpu + motherboard is the biggest waste of money.

> No Intel Code i gen CPU's support DDR2 rams.

 

[Cilus]

Here your best choice is getiing a FX-6300 + AMD 970A chipset based AM3+ Socket Motherboard. It is slightly over your budget unlike the 4th Gen Intel config which is way over your budget, having a good upgrade path as even the Steam Roller based next Generation AMD FX series will be compatible with AM3+ Motherboard, will provide really good gaming performance as well as excellent multi-threaded and multi-tasking performance for the money. So better increase your budget by a bit and get this combination.

Otherwise AMD A8-6600K is the best budget solution for you due to its price, very good IGP perfromance, offering of 4 physical cores with 4 MB L2 Cache, a crucial point for gaming and multi-threaded applications when compared to dual core processors and overclocking capability which will offer you extra performance.

 

[abhi615]

> i3 540 is a first gen cpu and it is not at all recommended to make such purchase. the socket support for I gen (LGA 1156) was dropped as soon as the II gen came. Its a dead end. if you go with Intel, haswell is the only sensible choice.

> Buying temporary cpu + motherboard is the biggest waste of money.

> No Intel Code i gen CPU's support DDR2 rams.

thanks for pointing that out..i'l definitely not consider it now.

Here your best choice is getiing a FX-6300 + AMD 970A chipset based AM3+ Socket Motherboard. It is slightly over your budget unlike the 4th Gen Intel config which is way over your budget, having a good upgrade path as even the Steam Roller based next Generation AMD FX series will be compatible with AM3+ Motherboard, will provide really good gaming performance as well as excellent multi-threaded and multi-tasking performance for the money. So better increase your budget by a bit and get this combination.

Otherwise AMD A8-6600K is the best budget solution for you due to its price, very good IGP perfromance, offering of 4 physical cores with 4 MB L2 Cache, a crucial point for gaming and multi-threaded applications when compared to dual core processors and overclocking capability which will offer you extra performance.

it seems to me that i wanted quite a few things within my limited budget, so i'm definitely thinking of increasing my budget cos i do not want to end up in same situation 2-3 yrs down the line (of not being able to use any of old GPU/CPU/Mobo).

time to do some more calculations.

 

[Cilus]

Let us now about your updated budget and we will suggest the best accordingly.

 

[abhi615]

Let us now about your updated budget and we will suggest the best accordingly.

i'll keep you guys updated but it can take me a few days to figure it out. but in any case i think even to get FX6300 rig, i'l have to go till 25k. can you give a rough idea of i5 rig ( i'm taking it to be anywhere from 32-35k) as then i'l decide budget and timing of purchase accordingly.

 

[Cilus]

i5 4430 is around 12K and a good B85 or H87 Motherboard is around 6 to 7K.

 

[TheLetterD]

Ahh, thinkdigit. Where you end up spending twice as much as you initially planned to. Haha

 

[harshilsharma63]

^ Correction: Ahh, thinkdigit. Where you end up spending twice as much as you initially planned to avoid doing so again the next to next year. Haha TDF FTW!

 

[abhi615]

guys does intel i3 / i5 have built in gpu? if yes wil that help me in postponing the graphic cards for a later date ? or is it just a gpu for the sake of one which serves no purpose as far as gaming is concerned.

Ahh, thinkdigit. Where you end up spending twice as much as you initially planned to. Haha

haha so true..

^ Correction: Ahh, thinkdigit. Where you end up spending twice as much as you initially planned to avoid doing so again the next to next year. Haha TDF FTW!

well u nailed it. lol

i5 4430 is around 12K and a good B85 or H87 Motherboard is around 6 to 7K.

ya it wil end up around 33-35k. lets see.

 

[Cilus]

all the Intel processors doe have IGP but they are no good for gaming unless you play old games and at very lower resolution.

 

[abhi615]

guys, i'm still reconsidering my budget. i'll keep you all informed as soon as i'm able to decide my budget and time frame.

all the Intel processors doe have IGP but they are no good for gaming unless you play old games and at very lower resolution.

ok.

 

[abhi615]

hi guys,
because of some unforeseen circumstances, my plan to upgrade desktop has been put on a hold for a considerable time.
i appreciate and thank all of those who took out time to help me. i'll definitely trouble you guys again whenever i decide to upgarde it.
thanks again.