Budget 0-20k Cpu, mobo, ram upgrade.

6pack

ex-Mod
Questions

1. What is your budget?
-
1. Less than 20K.

- What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)

* CPU - Intel E6300
* Motherboard - Asus p5ld2vmse Lga 745
* GPU - ATI Radeon 6670 1GB Ddr5
* RAM - ocz 2X1GB PC5300 ddr2
* Monitor - Aoc 2353ph full HD ips
* PSU - Corsair VX450
* TV tuner - Hauppauge colossus 1212 pcie slot tv tuner.

- Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)

* Monitor - aoc 2353ph
* PSU - Corsair VX450
* gpu - ati radeon 6670 1gb ddr5
* TV tuner - Hauppauge colossus internal pcie slot TV tuner.

- Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.

* CPU - amd FX 6300 or 8xxx if budget permits.
* Motherboard - asrock 970 extreme3
(Need some board with at least two pcie slots since one will be occupied by tuner always.)
* Memory - 4GB gskill/corsair

Haven't researched much on Intel rig, since haswell prices are too high now.
If Intel, I would prefer a core i5 rig. :p

- Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future.

* Yes. Won't be upgrading for few years.

- Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)

* Mumbai
* Open to online purchase

- Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market

* If I get a good deal. Prefer new first.

- What is your intended use for this PC/hardware

* Desktop Processing - will occasionally convert full HD content from raw m2ts to mp4 using megui and x264.
* HTPC - main use.
* Watching full HD movies and series.

- Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.

* Would prefer non gigabyte, non msi boards since their support seems iffy nowadays.

- If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?

* won't be playing games.

- What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage

1. Gaming - n.a.
2. Desktop - 1920x1080

- Are you looking to overclock?

* Not at present. Maybe in future if I feel the system is slow.

- Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?

* Windows 7/8 64 bit.
 
For an HTPC, an Intel rig will be idle due to it's slightly lower power consumption and less heating. Even an i3 will suffice your requirements.

i3 3220 (7500)
Gigabyte B75M DH3 (4600) or Asus P8A75M-LX (5600)
Kingston HyperX Blu 1600 MHz 4 GB (2300) at flipkart
WD Blue 500 GB (3200)
local cabinet (1000)
Logitech MK200 (800)
Asus optical drive (1050)

total: 20,450

Do you already have KB, mouse and optical drive?
 
If you want Haswell,
i5 4440 - 12K
B85M Intel/Gigabyte - 6K

For ivy bridge
i5 3470 - ~12.5K
B75M - 4.5K

RAM 4gigs vengeance/ripjaws - 2.5~3K

So, if you want just Proc+mobo+RAM - even a Haswell built will fit into your budget. :)

Flipkart prices are way too high than market prices for Processors.
 
Thanks guys. I don't mind getting an i3 or i5. But problem is the extra gpu on die of the CPU. I already have a hd6670 which is much better than HD 2000/4000 on Intel CPU. Why should I pay extra for something I won't be using....

I also want to do encoding stuff of full HD content. Want some real good CPU that can do a 40 min episode (2passes in x264) in say 20-25 mins. Don't want to wait hours for something to finish.
Core i3 doesn't seem powerful enough to do that.
Core i3 is like, bottom of line processor & not I'm too keen on it. (Just my opinion, don't flame me).

Btw, Isn't there a Intel CPU without gpu attached to it?

I plan to use rest of small stuff like kbd, mouse, DVD writer, hdds, from existing rig. So want to only concentrate on buying the three main parts.
 
Thanks guys. I don't mind getting an i3 or i5. But problem is the extra gpu on die of the CPU. I already have a hd6670 which is much better than HD 2000/4000 on Intel CPU. Why should I pay extra for something I won't be using....

I also want to do encoding stuff of full HD content. Want some real good CPU that can do a 40 min episode (2passes in x264) in say 20-25 mins. Don't want to wait hours for something to finish.
Core i3 doesn't seem powerful enough to do that.
Core i3 is like, bottom of line processor & not I'm too keen on it. (Just my opinion, don't flame me).

Btw, Isn't there a Intel CPU without gpu attached to it?

I plan to use rest of small stuff like kbd, mouse, DVD writer, hdds, from existing rig. So want to only concentrate on buying the three main parts.

FX 6300 (7600)
Asus M5A97 R2.0 (7300)
Kingston hyper X Blu 1600 MHz 4 GB (2300)
Antec VP450P (2700)

total: 19,900
 
Thinking of getting fx8320 (10.3k), Asus m5a97 (7.3k), 4gb ram (2.5k). Total around 20.5k.
What's the difference between a LE and non LE board?
Saw Asus m5a97-le @ around 6k. Specs seem the same as non LE version on site.
 
Thinking of getting fx8320 (10.3k), Asus m5a97 (7.3k), 4gb ram (2.5k). Total around 20.5k.
What's the difference between a LE and non LE board?
Saw Asus m5a97-le @ around 6k. Specs seem the same as non LE version on site.

Yeah, that is a good option.

FX 8320 (10300)
Asus M5A797 LE (6200)
Kingston hyper X Blu 1600 MHz 4 GB x2 (4600)

total: 21,100
 
I bought gigabyte 970a ds3p mobo from eBay few days back.
Will be buying fx6300 and 8gb ram plus thermal paste from prime in this week.

Just wanted to know if aftermarket cooler is required for the CPU. Winter will be over by Feb and temps will rise to 35+ by May. Will the stock cooler suffice for stock speeds?
I wanted to buy cm hyper 212+ or evo but both are out of stock at prime. EBay sellers are selling at close to 3k.

My budget for cooler is Max 2.5k. High ambient temps in summer is the main reason I decided to buy 6300 instead of 8320. :(
 
I think the 8320 comes with a better cooler than the 6300.
see here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2296689
Since your budget for the CPU is about Rs.10,000 I'd suggest going for the 8320 + stock cooler instead of the 6300 + aftermarket cooler.

If you feel that it gets too warm, then either reduce the max turbo, underclock it a bit or disable a couple of cores and get the TDP down to below 95 watts, instead of the stock 125, and the 8320's stock cooler should be able to keep your temps under control, even if it does get a bit noisy.

And I don't think there's a need to buy thermal paste, atleast not unless you've got everything else sorted out first. ie. 1)you've bought a great after market cooler ( but sometimes they come with decent paste included) 2) you've got your case airflow sorted out etc.

It doesn't make sense to me to spend 600-700 bucks on paste to cool the CPU a couple of degrees, when it would make more sense to use that cash buy either more fans, a better cabinet or a better cooler, things that'll probably affect your cooling more than extremely good thermal paste.
 
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Thanks for the tip. So I can under clock or shut off cores in an 8320? Wow. Didn't know that. :ashamed:

Air flow in case is good. I currently have two 140mm fans on top which I don't use. There's one 120mm front intake and 120mm back exhaust. Should I shut off back 120mm and switch on both the top 140mm fans? Those two fans should be enough I guess.
 
Nah, can't change top 140 mm fans. The mounting on top is for 140mm only. I tried last night with just both top fans running. The CPU became hotter by 2-3 degrees. Previously it ran at 42-44, now with side exhaust stopped, it was around 45-46, and even hit 50.
Probably this is because the stock hsf throws hot air in circular motion around the CPU. Seems one 120 mm is required at top back side to immediately expel hot air from CPU.

Btw, are XMP memory modules compatible with amd chips? I was searching for ram, and all I can find is xmp ones. I read on te in an old thread that such sticks can be troublesome.
 
Yes, XMP wont work on AMD boards. You'll have to manually overclock the ram. Also, check in the datasheet of the RAM that what Voltage does it require to run at the speed you are running it at. You should then manually set the required voltage ib BIOS.

This thread will be useful.[DOUBLEPOST=1388562758][/DOUBLEPOST]About fan setup, set 1 120mm rear exhaust, 1 140 mm top exhaust and 1 120/140 mm front intae. Run the front fan at higher speed to compensate from the high -ve pressure.
 
OK will try that fan setup tonight.
Didn't get what you wanted to say about the xmp rams. As per my understanding, I think you said i need to manually overclock the ram to desired speed and voltage from bios, right? So that means I can buy xmp rams but the speed settings won't get changed by cpu.

I think you left out the thread URL that you wanted to share.
 
Could you guys link me to some good 4gb ddr3 1600 memory on flipkart or eBay?
Memory prices are very high now for some reason.

Should I get the fx6300 instead of 8320?
Performance difference is not much in single or multi threaded scenarios.
www.cpu-world.com/Compare/301/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6300_vs_AMD_FX-Series_FX-8320.html

In multi threaded encoding, its just about 20-25% slower than the 8320. If the 8320 does something in 10mins this one would take 3 more minutes at max. No sense in spending 3k more for 8 cores for so little difference imo.
 
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