CPU+mobo+SMPS+HDD in 20k

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rhlravi

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Q: What is your budget?

20K

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

CPU - Intel E4400

Motherboard - Gigabye 945-GX

GPU - NVIDIA 9800GT

RAM - Transcend 2X1GB DDR2 667MHz

Monitor - LG E2240T 21.5"

Hard disk- 2x250GB Hitachi 7200 RPM

SMPS - Generic :P

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

Monitor - LG E2240T

Everything apart from CPU+SMPS+mobo+RAM, like speakers, cabinet, KB+M etc...Will be keeping 1 of 2 old 250 GB hard disks.

Q: 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 Phenom II X4 955BE ~6.5k

Motherboard - Asus M4A78LT-M LE ~2.7k

RAM- 2x2GB DDR3 Corsair 1333MHz VS2GB1333D3 ~2.1k

SMPS- Corsair VX450 ~3.4k

Hard disk- Seagate Barracuda LP(5900 RPM) 2 TB ~4.6k

Total: 19.3k

Q: Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component

Yes, will upgrade the following within 6 months

GPU- ATI 6850

Nothing major apart from this for the next 3-4 years.

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

Mumbai(Lamington road)

Q:Open to online purchase

No

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

No

Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware

Gaming

Programming

Browsing

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

Dislike- Gigabyte motherboards(me and a couple of friends have had a few bad experiences with Gigabye mobos)
Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?

Modern games. All genres at high-very high settings, 1920x1080 res.
Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage

1920x1080

Q: Are you looking to overclock?

No, never

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

Windows 7 64 bit

Other points:

1.I will not add any major component to this rig apart from GPU for the next 3-4 years.

2.I do not need things like USB 3.0, SATA3, and such other modern stuff on my motherboard. A simple one which

does the job will do. I want to squeeze as much performance as possible in 20k for these components. Extra features

are just a bonus. Decent on-board audio, LAN will do. Will not be using on board GPU too.

So i would rather prefer a 6.5k CPU and 2.5k mobo than a 5k GPU and 4k mobo.

3.This mobo which i have written(the asus one), is the cheapest with AM3 socket and having PCI-e x16 2.0 slot.

There may be a better alternative within 3k.

4.Will be installing games and keep windows on the old 7200 RPM hard disk, the new 2 TB just for music, movies, setups etc...

5.I am not in favour of(or a fanboy of :P) any particular brand. I think this rig provides me the best value according

to my research. I would like a confirmation that this is the best i can get under 20k, which suits my needs.

I feel that LGA1156 mobos are too expensive and intel core 'i' series quad core processors are also out of budget and AMD processors offer better value in that segment at the moment.

6. LAST AND VERY IMPORTANT:

I was thinking of upgrading my PC after a couple of months but due to a motherboard failure(mobo is also out of warranty),

i have to upgrade it now. I have a laptop but i cannot stay without a PC for a few months, so the upgrade must come

now, with a 7-10 days of wait at max, so i dont think i can wait for newer models of processors to launch or for the

prices of existing models to drop that much.

Please give your suggestions for my rig(can i get something better for 20k? Are there any compatibility issues in this rig?) and if you need any more details please ask.

(I would appreciate it if there are no comments on why i kept a generic SMPS :P)
 
With that budget your configurations looks good enough :).
if you can skimp on the 2TB hdd you can go fr 1TB for 2.7k and upgrade hdd later and invest that much for a better motherboard like
ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 AM3 5.6k
 
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For your usage this configuration is better suited --

AMD Phenom IIx4 840 ~ 5200/- as you aren't overclocking why spend extra on a Black Edition processor --AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.20 GHz Review - Page 12/12 | techPowerUp

ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 ~ 5500/-

RAM Corsair OR G.Skill ValueRAM 1333 MHz 2* 2GB ~ 1250/- per stick Theitdepot - Corsair Value Select 2GB DDR3 1333 FSB Desktop Memory (VS2GB1333D3)

SMPS Corsair VX 450 OR FSP Saga II 500W ~ 3500/- Theitdepot - Corsair 450W Power Supply (MPSU-450VX) OR 2500/- OR Theitdepot - FSP 500W PowerSupply (SAGA II 500)

HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ~ 2700/- Theitdepot - Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB SATA Desktop Hard Drive (ST31000524AS)

Cabinet NZXT Gamma ~ 2000/- Theitdepot - NZXT Gamma Black Steel Mid-Tower ATX Cabinet / NZXT Gamma « XSReviews

Add an extra HDD later with the card, like WingZero said. All prices mentioned are from Bangalore until links provide otherwise. Get a decent cabinet its worth it, hope this helped.
 
Now it seems I got another option here. I can put in the hard disk's money and get an i5 sandy bridge processor 2300 or 2400. Cheapest mobo for this would be around 4-5k(of biostar maybe) and it would total up to around 20k, without hard disk. So the performance diff. Between i5 sb and phenom worth sacrificing the HDd upgrade for around 6 months? Will stock phenom ii bottleneck ati 6850 which I will buy later?
 
PhenomII X4 will not be a bottleneck for the HD6850. Heck even a AthlonII X4 would do.
AthlonII X4 640 ~ 4.5k
Gigabyte or Asus 785G based mobo with 5 SATA ports ~ 3.4k (Just make sure the positing of the SATA ports is good. Else they might be blocked by the HD6850)
RAM- 2x2GB DDR3 Corsair 1333MHz VS2GB1333D3 ~2.1k
SMPS- Corsair VX450 ~3.4k
Hard disk- Seagate Barracuda LP(5900 RPM) 2 TB ~4.6k

If you insist on i5 then get the following,
Intel Core i5 2400 ~ 9.7k
MSI H67MA-E35 (B3) ~ 5.4k (Has all the bells and whistles and comes at a budget price :P)
Corsair 4GB DDR3 1333MHz single stick ~ 2.1k (Since mobo has only 2 RAM slots)
Corsair VX450 ~ 3.4k

Total: ~20.6k (21k in the higher end)

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Alternate Intel mobo that is widely available is the Intel DH67BL B3~ 5.5k (Though the caps are not high quality solid ones (except CPU VRM ))
 
Ok, if the phenom ii x4 will do well for everyday performance and will not bottleneck a 6850, there is no need for spending the extra thousands on an i5. Thanks for the info :) .

Athlon may do the job but due to no L3 cache, there may be an impact on performance in games, so as phenom iix4 is within budget, it is safer.

Also, what more do i get in these more expensive 745G, 880G motherboards apart from maybe USB 3, more SATA ports and more USB ports as compared to the 2.6k asus motherboard i have stated? better on-board audio or LAN? any performance impact?
 
Hades. said:
@OP

Phenom II x4 840 doesn't have L3 cache either...
Click to expand...

Ya i know that. Higher range Athlons have been promoted to 'Phenom 800 series' so no L3 cache for 800 series phenom ii series.

But i am not considering Phenom II x4 840. The model under consideration is 955BE.
 
DarkAngel said:
PhenomII X4 will not be a bottleneck for the HD6850. Heck even a AthlonII X4 would do.

AthlonII X4 640 ~ 4.5k

Gigabyte or Asus 785G based mobo with 5 SATA ports ~ 3.4k (Just make sure the positing of the SATA ports is good. Else they might be blocked by the HD6850)

RAM- 2x2GB DDR3 Corsair 1333MHz VS2GB1333D3 ~2.1k

SMPS- Corsair VX450 ~3.4k

Hard disk- Seagate Barracuda LP(5900 RPM) 2 TB ~4.6k

If you insist on i5 then get the following,

Intel Core i5 2400 ~ 9.7k

MSI H67MA-E35 (B3) ~ 5.4k (Has all the bells and whistles and comes at a budget price :P)

Corsair 4GB DDR3 1333MHz single stick ~ 2.1k (Since mobo has only 2 RAM slots)

Corsair VX450 ~ 3.4k

Total: ~20.6k (21k in the higher end)

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Alternate Intel mobo that is widely available is the Intel DH67BL B3~ 5.5k (Though the caps are not high quality solid ones (except CPU VRM ))
Click to expand...
Wouldn't Barracuda Green be better? LP is the older one.
 
boogeyman said:
Wouldn't Barracuda Green be better? LP is the older one.
Click to expand...

Yes that is correct, thanks for pointing out.

I am, however, still in a dilemma whether to go for the i5-2400 processor because i have read in reviews that it is better than even phenom IIx6 processors in most cases and the phenom II x4 is no match for it. But then, you get what you pay for right? :)
 
You aren't over-clocking and still you want to pay ~ 500/- premium to get an unlocked multiplier, better get the similar performing Athlon IIx 640 OR Phenom IIx4 840 save cash get a better card later, the Athlon IIx4 640 will not be a bottleneck for a good card like the GTX 560 Ti if you plan something above that card, then yes please go ahead with a better processor otherwise save your cash for later.

Bench - CPU - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

boogeyman said:
Wouldn't Barracuda Green be better? LP is the older one.
Click to expand...
Western Digital Green's aren't that good have seen two 1 TB's crashing in quick succession in the last year better go for the Seagate Barracuda OR Western Digital Blue series (the Black edition by Western Digital is overpriced).

rhlravi said:
I am, however, still in a dilemma whether to go for the i5-2400 processor because i have read in reviews that it is better than even phenom IIx6 processors in most cases and the phenom II x4 is no match for it. But then, you get what you pay for right? :)
Click to expand...
You can't fit a decent Sandy-Bridge configuration into your budget bruv, it'll be to tight. The processor that will fit in your budget is the Core i3 2100, which can't justify its price tag compared to the AMD Phenom IIx4 965 plus setting up an Intel based RIG is much more expensive with no credible change in experience. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=289
 
ALPHA17 said:
You aren't over-clocking and still you want to pay ~ 500/- premium to get an unlocked multiplier, better get the similar performing Athlon IIx 640 OR Phenom IIx4 840 save cash get a better card later, the Athlon IIx4 640 will not be a bottleneck for a good card like the GTX 560 Ti if you plan something above that card, then yes please go ahead with a better processor otherwise save your cash for later.

Bench - CPU - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
Click to expand...

L3 cache is the main reason for preferring piix4 over aiix4, not the presence or absence of unlocked multiplier. L3 cache plays a good role in increasing framerates in games.

ALPHA17 said:
You can't fit a decent Sandy-Bridge configuration into your budget bruv, it'll be to tight. The processor that will fit in your budget is the Core i3 2100, which can't justify its price tag compared to the AMD Phenom IIx4 965 plus setting up an Intel based RIG is much more expensive with no credible change in experience. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=289
Click to expand...

Point taken.

But i can sacrifice the hard disk upgrade for around 6 months or maybe persuade my parents about the hard disk later :) . The main reason for thinking about the i5 is that i must not regret settling for a processor that is significantly less powerful to save a few thousand for fitting in a hard disk whose more than half capacity wont be occupied for 6 months at least. If my mobo had not gone kaput now i could have waited for ivy bridge/bulldozer processors (dont know how they will be priced though). So basically if i buy a pIIx4, after 3 years i will end up owning a 5-6 year old model of pIIx4 which may be totally outdated as opposed to SB processors which will come close in performance to the processors which will be out even after a couple of years. You could say that i am trying to make it as future proof as i can. The only thing i want to know now regarding this is: How much the performance difference, in general use like archiving, decompressing, audio conversion etc..?(given that gaming performance will not be much different). Looks to be quite significant from benchmarks.

ALPHA17 said:
Western Digital Green's aren't that good have seen two 1 TB's crashing in quick succession in the last year better go for the Seagate Barracuda OR Western Digital Blue series (the Black edition by Western Digital is overpriced).
Click to expand...

All models of hard disks we have discussed so far are only Seagate, no WD. Even the green series discussed above is of seagate only.
 
I've never heard of Barracuda Green Edition, okay jumped the gun there OP apologies, I'm an ass :facepalm:.
 
Ok then, i think i will go for the more future proof i5-2400 with preferably the MSI mobo which darkangel stated.

Final build:

intel i5-2400

MSI H67MA-E35 (B3) motherboard

(Intel DH67BL B3, just in case the MSI is not available anywhere or is way above the price you stated)

Corsair VX450

Corsair 2x2GB or 1x4GB DDR3 1333MHz

And Seagate 1TB 7200.12 (Persuation successful and considered what you guys said about 2 TB)

Totals to around 23k, around 20k without hard disk.

Finally again, a few queries:

1) Any compatibility issues/severe bottlenecks in the above rig?

2) Will corsair vx450 comfortably handle the rig after the GPU upgrade to ATI 6850(or maybe some other card which costs around 10k and offers best value after 6 months)?

(considering that i will not add anything else at all to this rig(at max another hard disk or a stick of RAM after a couple of years) and will not overclock at all.)

3) The 7200.12 1TB HDD will be faster than the 2TB 5900 RPM Green series(in general), right? meaning, can i use it normally for installation of games/windows too unlike the 2TB which is preferably used for storage of data(due to slower speed) rather than for installing windows etc.. If there is no difference in speed at all or the 2TB is faster,i will consider skipping the HDD upgrade for now and upgrade to 2TB after 6 months(due to lower price/GB cost).

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Going for purchase soon- would appreciate a quick reply to above queries as soon as possible, thanks.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Please help fast! i am still waiting for an answer so that i can go and purchase it!
 
1) There shouldn't be any compatibility issues.

2) Without breaking a sweat. VX450 is a fine PSU.

3) Yes the 7200.12 will be faster and will do fine for your intended usage.
 
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