Performance Desktop for 80,000 INR

[depolo08]

I will be getting a new PC in August. Been doing a lot of homework over the last month. The budget is 80,000 INR. Here's what I have so far... I'd appreciate some feedback

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E8400
Figured it's too early to go quad. the 8400 offers pretty similar performance to the top of the line 8500 at around Rs. 3,500 lesser. Sensible buy, methinks.

Motherboard: Waiting for the new mainstream P45 based boards with PCIe 2.0 support. There are previews of a bunch of upcoming releases all over the internet. Yet to decided the specifics. I'm going DDR2. Crossfire/SLI support isn't a concern for me. Overclockability is. I'm planning on putting my E8400 through some pretty tough rigours.

Graphics: GeForce 8800GT. The OVERCLOCKED Gigabyte card with the Zalman cooler seems like a lock at 12,000 INR. I've read a buncha reviews of the same and the opinions are unanimously in favour of this card. Will post specs if necessary.

RAM: 2X1GB High frequency, Low latency. Again, yet to decide the specifics. Suggestions, folks?

HDD: 500GB Seagate Barracuda/WD Caviar. They both retail for around 5,000 INR. Decent buys.

Monitor: 19" Widescreen. The new Samsung touch series seems yummy. I'm hoping the price drops to around 10k by August.

Gamepad: Logitech Rumblepad 2. Rs. 2,000 aprx.

I know there's a lot still missing, namely... PSU, Cooling, Case, Optical Drive, Speakers, Headphones, Keyboard, Mouse and UPS. I've intentionally left quite a lot of budget space for the remaining components. Not very certain of how costly they would turn out to be. Should be within 80,000 though.

I will be updating this post with the new components once I've done enough digging. Please do check back often. Later

 

[Hitboxx]

Please do check back often. And it's great to be here on Tech2. Later...

Say again?!

 

[sakumar79]

For the given specs, I think 2x1GB may be a bottleneck... Perhaps you can go for 2x2GB?

Arun

 

[confused]

Say again?!

+1

 

[Blackfire]

i will answer all that first answer me which type of PC are you making gaming or entertainment etc & do you plan to OC or not?

 

[ring_wraith]

Very Nice config. However, it's not too early to go quad I would suggest getting a quad purely because its going to be a lot more future-proof. If youre spending close to a lakh on something, it really should last you a while.

The 8800GT may be nice, but I recommend a Series9 Card. For DX 10.1. That .1 might prove to be extremely pissing off later on.

The RAM is hardly a bottleneck. You definetly want to get something better than a Transcend though. OCing without unlocked multis is not going to be easy with bad RAM.

If there is a bottleneck, then it's your HDD. At least 2 Disks in RAID0 is mandatory.

You are also going to want to get a CPU cooler. Get A ThermalTake cooler with Arctic Fans.

 

[depolo08]

I posted the same at the tech 2 forums thinkin i'd get as much input as possible. Moving on... The computer i'm building is gaming oriented. I'm not sure what the differences would be though excepting the peripherals. And yes, i do plan on overclocking.

 

[Blackfire]

CPU E8400 is good choose

MB go for abit IP35-e

GF consider 9800GTX or 9800GX2

Ram Corsair XMS2 4GB 800Mhz = 6500

PSU = this is final componet of the computer & so i will answer that when all your other computer componets are selected

CPU fan CM Hyper TX2 = 1700

Case CM690 = around 4.5k or Antec 900 = around 7k (choose acc to your needs)

Optical drive Samsung Sh203-b = 1200

Keyboard Logitech G15 = 4.5k

Mouse Logitech MX518 = 1200

 

[nish_higher]

Q6600 with ultima 90i or 120extreme
msi p7n sli
2*8800gt in sli
4gb corsair or gskill ram
western digital 750gb hdd
dell or samsung 19/22inch tft
corsair 620hx
cooler master case

 

[confused]

Ram Corsair XMS2 4GB 800Mhz = 6500

which model are u talking about here? is it this one? (i want to verify price)

 

[Blackfire]

which model are u talking about here? is it this one? (i want to verify price)

No bro that is DHX it costs more i am talking abt normal XMS2. This one *www.corsair.com/_datasheets/TWIN2X2048-6400.pdf

now i have to go. i had to watch IPL

 

[confused]

what is the avg street price for DHX?

 

[Cool Buddy]

For that budget, going for 8800 ultra or 2 8800 GT in sli would be a good choice. however, you might not need that power. Make sure you buy a good display.

 

[confused]

@threadstarter - HDD is not 5k, its more like 4k.

 

[ajayashish]

which model are u talking about here? is it this one? (i want to verify price)

ITwares quote around 6800 for the same ram... please confirm in the shop

No bro that is DHX it costs more i am talking abt normal XMS2. This one *www.corsair.com/_datasheets/TWIN2X2048-6400.pdf

now i have to go. i had to watch IPL

 

[mayanksharma]

@depolo,
what!!! One same thread on two different forums?
Anyways, u got reply on one!

 

[Blackfire]

ITwares quote around 6800 for the same ram... please confirm in the shop

bro r u sure that 4gb of DHX is at 6800?????????

as far i know 4gb of DHX should cost upward of 7600.

 

[darklord]

The 8800GT may be nice, but I recommend a Series9 Card. For DX 10.1. That .1 might prove to be extremely pissing off later on.

If there is a bottleneck, then it's your HDD. At least 2 Disks in RAID0 is mandatory.

You are also going to want to get a CPU cooler. Get A ThermalTake cooler with Arctic Fans.

FYI, Geforce 9 series is only DX10 compliant and not DX10.1, its the ATI HD38xx series that is DX10.1 compliant.Proof of this, the entire Geforce 9 series is based on G92,the same core found in 8800GT and 8800GTS 512MB.

Before recommending RAID 0, i guess its necessary to beware users of the risks involved with setting up RAID 0 setup.

I wouldnt recommend a Thermaltake cooler.Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme is one of the best cooler with very good VFM.

depolo08

P45 isnt going to offer anything out of this world in terms of 45nm Dual Core overclocking. It would be a good decision to get a good P35 board too which can do 550+ FSB.If you can wait, then its fine going for P45 but the boards wont be cheap either.

 

[confused]

ITwares quote around 6800 for the same ram... please confirm in the shop

i think u mean CAS5 costs 6800. CAS4 about which me and blackfire are talking is costing upwards of 7k.

 

[depolo08]

Alright, let me say this once and for all I realise that spending more money doesn't automatically guarantee better performance. I'm looking for a good ratio. If I can wrap up all that I need within a very comfy 65-70k, that would be great. Thank you for reading.

Very Nice config. However, it's not too early to go quad I would suggest getting a quad purely because its going to be a lot more future-proof. If youre spending close to a lakh on something, it really should last you a while.

I believe that getting more performance out of the applications available right now is more important that sitting on eggs for another 2 years. Quad core is arguably still in it's toddler phase. I'll go for a quad core solution when I upgrade/build a new rig.

The 8800GT may be nice, but I recommend a Series9 Card. For DX 10.1. That .1 might prove to be extremely pissing off later on.

As someone pointed out, the 9 series cards don't support DX10.1 either. 8800GT it is.

The RAM is hardly a bottleneck. You definetly want to get something better than a Transcend though. OCing without unlocked multis is not going to be easy with bad RAM.

Do recommend a nice set of 2X1GB RAM's.

If there is a bottleneck, then it's your HDD. At least 2 Disks in RAID0 is mandatory.

I did a quick check on RAID 0. What are the real world benefits and risks? Also, would it be ok if I just got a couple of 250GB disks and ran them in RAID 0?

Case CM690 = around 4.5k or Antec 900 = around 7k (choose acc to your needs)

Someone suggested the LEXA Blackline cabinet. It does seem better than the CM690. Ideally, I'd be looking for some good property hovering around the 5K mark.

For that budget, going for 8800 ultra or 2 8800 GT in sli would be a good choice. however, you might not need that power. Make sure you buy a good display.

I'm getting an Intel chipset based board, so SLI isn't an option. How much does the ultra cost?

@threadstarter - HDD is not 5k, its more like 4k.

I quoted the prices from this month's Digit mag.

I wouldnt recommend a Thermaltake cooler.Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme is one of the best cooler with very good VFM.

I've had my eyes on that one for a while. How much does it retail for in India?

P45 isnt going to offer anything out of this world in terms of 45nm Dual Core overclocking. It would be a good decision to get a good P35 board too which can do 550+ FSB.If you can wait, then its fine going for P45 but the boards wont be cheap either.

PCIe 2.0 and official FSB 1600 support. It is future proof. Overclockability should be better than the P35 based boards. I plan on taking the E8400 to close to 4GHz on air. And yes, I'm fine with waiting. I'm getting the comp only in August. There should be a few P45 based boards doing the rounds by then.

Now, people, answer me these please

How much power supply would I need with the stated config and my overclockability demands? Would 650W be safe?

What are good available options when it comes to 2.1 speakers? I don't want to overspend.

Headphones... good brands? Heard Sennheiser has a decent range. 1-1.5k budget.

What are the good UPS brands? How much would one that suits my requirements cost?