Budget 21-30k For home use

S

sky

Disciple
1.Q: What is your budget?
a.20-25k

2.Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
a. Samsung Syncmaster Monitor 17"
b. Seagate IDE 320gb HDD
c. Samsung Keyboard (PS2) and Mouse (USB)
d. Creative 2.1 speakers
e. Unbranded cabinet with Mercury SMPS
f. P4+Intel Mobo+2GB RAM+Nvidia GPU donated to someone as it was too old.

3.Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
a. Samsung Syncmaster Monitor 17"
b. Seagate IDE 320gb HDD
c. Samsung Keyboard and Mouse
d. Creative 2.1 speakers

4.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.
a.CPU - AMD 3.6 GHz AM3+ FX4100
b.Motherboard - any compatible motherboard with USB3.0, min 16GB RAM support, Audio support for 7.1 speakers
c.GPU - Integrated on mobo to save cost
d.RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws or Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB
e. PSU - No idea
f. Cabinet - No idea
g. UPS - APC
h. HDD - WD 1/2 TB (depends on money left)

5.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
a. LED monitor 21"
b. Speakers 7.1
May be in 6-12 months timeframe.
Do I need to add GPU and additional sound card for these?

6.Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
a.Delhi/Gurgaon
b.Open to online purchase if cheaper than mkt

7.Q: Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
a.No

8.Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
a.Browsing
b.Desktop processing
c.HTPC
d.Watching HD movies and listening songs
e. Running VMs (windows, linux, iOS) for testing applications.
f. No high end gaming, but suitable to play games like NFS MW (that was the last one I know and played) so onboard GPU should be capable to take that load.

9.Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
Going with AMD cpu becaz I am getting 4 core in it instead of 2 when I go with intel in same or more cost.
Will not prefer Seagate HDD. My last 2 SATA disks failed. Will prefer WD, if it is good. Rest you suggest.

10.Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
a. No idea, never played high system requirement games.

11.Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
No idea

12.Q: Are you looking to overclock?
a.No

13.Q: Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
a.Windows 7 64 bit

regards
 
@sky this is what I suggest --

Intel Core i3 3220 ~6500/-
GIGABYTE-B75M-D3H ~4500/-
Corsair Vengeance 4GB x2 1600MHz ~3000/-
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 500GB ~3000/- OR Western Digital Blue edition 500GB ~3000/-
ZOTAC! GTX650Ti ~10000/-
Cooler Master GX450W ~3500/- OR Corsair CX v2430W ~2700/-
Cooler Master eLite 311 Plus ~2500/-

  • You do not need a audio card, for now but a graphics card is a must.
  • The IDE 320GB hard-drive is not compatible with the new RIG.

Benchmark run --> Intel Core i3 3220 vs. AMD FX-4300

Hope this helps, Cheerio!

Get all this from Nehru Place, Delhi.

P.S. -- Welcome to Techenclave. Have a pleasant stay.
 
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Thanks Alpha17.

But my queries are:

1. When running multiple VMs, don't you think more core are helpful with AMD quad core processor instead of Intel i3 dual core.
2. Do I need any special heat sink for i3 or quad core or the one which came with processor is good enough?
3. GIGABYTE-B75M-D3H already have integrated graphics, do you think it is not good enough for playing low end games, playing 720p and 1080p movies. If yes, then why should I go with 10k GPU.
4. For HDD, I am looking for 1-2TB capacity range not less than that but this is not an issue. I just wanted to know whether I go ahead with WD or Seagate is the only option.
5. Do you think that given Gigabyte board will support 7.1 speakers which I am planning to buy in future. If no, then which card is good and where does it fit PCIe or PCI?
6. Is APC UPS BR600VA 230V enough if I add 4 SATA disk, 2 USB disk (1-2TB each)?
7. My future planning to fill slots are, just guide me which slots will be used for what card:
a. Sound card (if this board doesn't support 7.1 speakers)
b. GPU
c. Wifi card
8. Cooler Master eLite 311 Plus is priced ~3500 on flipkart. And this cabinet have 2 system fan options but mobo have only one. Is there any way or alternative to fit 2 fans in this cabinet? And Which system fan is good?

Ya, I will try to get parts from NP but that is too far as I stay in Gurgaon, but if getting good deal in all parts then I buy from there only.
 
sky said:
Thanks Alpha17.

But my queries are:

1. When running multiple VMs, don't you think more core are helpful with AMD quad core processor instead of Intel i3 dual core.
2. Do I need any special heat sink for i3 or quad core or the one which came with processor is good enough?
3. GIGABYTE-B75M-D3H already have integrated graphics, do you think it is not good enough for playing low end games, playing 720p and 1080p movies. If yes, then why should I go with 10k GPU.
4. For HDD, I am looking for 1-2TB capacity range not less than that but this is not an issue. I just wanted to know whether I go ahead with WD or Seagate is the only option.
5. Do you think that given Gigabyte board will support 7.1 speakers which I am planning to buy in future. If no, then which card is good and where does it fit PCIe or PCI?
6. Is APC UPS BR600VA 230V enough if I add 4 SATA disk, 2 USB disk (1-2TB each)?
7. My future planning to fill slots are, just guide me which slots will be used for what card:
a. Sound card (if this board doesn't support 7.1 speakers)
b. GPU
c. Wifi card
8. Cooler Master eLite 311 Plus is priced ~3500 on flipkart. And this cabinet have 2 system fan options but mobo have only one. Is there any way or alternative to fit 2 fans in this cabinet? And Which system fan is good?

Ya, I will try to get parts from NP but that is too far as I stay in Gurgaon, but if getting good deal in all parts then I buy from there only.
Click to expand...

Answers for the same --
  • Yes I did not see your needs for VM, re-configuring something for your needs.
  • If you are not over-clocking, then the stock cooler is good to go.
  • No, for gaming Intel iGP = teh SUCK!, to run 720p and 1080p RIPz it is fine. What games will you be playing, some basic idea. NFS MW the latest one OR the older one? And how many years do you plan to keep the PC without upgrading GPU / CPU all that adds.
  • Look anything over 1TB for the OS drive and you are opening yourself to risk of the disk failing abruptly and the data locked on it. So 1TB is good, for rest keep adding a TB / two TB drive at your discretion. I personally trust Seagate Barracuda drives, Western Digital Blue edition is also good but Green edition drives are not recommended as the primary boot partition.
  • Which 7.1 speaker do you plan in the future.
  • Yes the UPS will be fine but the SMPS will not.
  • [a] The motherboard supports 7.1 audio but has only analogue ports, no digital OR SP/DIF out.
    GPU can be added to the PCIe x16.0 slot, so you are covered there.
    [*] You do not need a Wi-Fi card, the chip is integrated into the motherboard (but is this a router card OR standard?)
    [*] Please do not buy the cabinet from flipkart.com, the price is very high compared to the retail channel and has a crappy SMPS bundled along with it.

Here is an AMD RIG for comparison --

AMD FX-4300 ~(?)/- [no idea on the pricing, this is the latest AMD Vishera CPU which is better than the older FX-4100 and Core i3 processors]
ASUS M5A97 ~6500/- ASUS M5A97 Motherboard | Motherboard | Flipkart.com
Corsair Vengeance 4GB x2 1600MHz ~3000/-
Seasonic S12II 520W ~4400/- Seasonic S12II 520 Watts PSU | Psu | Flipkart.com [because of the number of hard-drives you plan to put]
AMD HD6770 ~6000/- OR nVidia GTX650Ti ~10000/- [because the AMD 970 chipset does not have a iGP]
[rest all same as Intel system]

Hope this helps, Cheerio!
 
Hi Alpha17,

I would prefer AMD than Intel even if their benchmarks results are same as AMD is providing more core and cache than Intel in same price.

I have no plans for over clocking ever, since this system is just for home use and basic requirement.

I don't think I will get time to play new games, since most of the time it is used by my kid only. Whenever I start my desktop my kid take control over it. So I prefer some old games like NFS MW (old), AOE, RON, Red Alert etc and some flash games for my kid.

I have old SATA 160GB which I am planning to use as boot disk. New 2TB will be used as data only. Do you recommend keeping single partition of 2TB disk or partition it in 2 parts?

Didn't think of specific brand in 7.1 speakers as of now but I have some HD video stuff which I wanted to play, but cannot efford 7.1 as of now even of I got them in 2k. Focusing on main components as of now. But if I have to add additional sound card for 7.1 speakers where does it fit on PCI or PCIe x1?

Did anyone heared about CIRCLE company? One of my friend's friend is its distributor. He is providing 500W PSU in 2k and cabinets in 2-3k range.

BTW how much 420W PSU can take load in terms of disks like 3 or 5 or 6?

How about this mobo Asus M5A88-M? It also have integrated GPU. So can work for me time being and in future if I wanted to add I will add GPU in it.

AMD FX-4300 is not yet available on flipkart. I will try to located in local market or wait for it instead of going with FX-4100 now. Thanks for that suggestion Alpha17.
 
sky said:
I would prefer AMD than Intel even if their benchmarks results are same as AMD is providing more core and cache than Intel in same price.

I have no plans for over clocking ever, since this system is just for home use and basic requirement.

I don't think I will get time to play new games, since most of the time it is used by my kid only. Whenever I start my desktop my kid take control over it. So I prefer some old games like NFS MW (old), AOE, RON, Red Alert etc and some flash games for my kid.

I have old SATA 160GB which I am planning to use as boot disk. New 2TB will be used as data only. Do you recommend keeping single partition of 2TB disk or partition it in 2 parts?

Didn't think of specific brand in 7.1 speakers as of now but I have some HD video stuff which I wanted to play, but cannot efford 7.1 as of now even of I got them in 2k. Focusing on main components as of now. But if I have to add additional sound card for 7.1 speakers where does it fit on PCI or PCIe x1?

Did anyone heared about CIRCLE company? One of my friend's friend is its distributor. He is providing 500W PSU in 2k and cabinets in 2-3k range.

BTW how much 420W PSU can take load in terms of disks like 3 or 5 or 6?

How about this mobo Asus M5A88-M? It also have integrated GPU. So can work for me time being and in future if I wanted to add I will add GPU in it.

AMD FX-4300 is not yet available on flipkart. I will try to located in local market or wait for it instead of going with FX-4100 now. Thanks for that suggestion Alpha17.
Click to expand...

Don't even think about the FX-4100 in place of the FX-4300, both are very different processors and the latter cleanly demolishes the former.
  • I suggest that if you are going for the AMD RIG best is that you go for a basic graphics card OR you can get an nVidia GTX650Ti ~10000/- and forget about upgrading anything in ~3 -->4 years.
  • That will be great, use the older 160GB as the boot partition, you can get a Western Digital 2TB Green edition OR Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB drive but it will be slow and I recommend not to keep important data there. Also remember regular data backup is better than trying to rescue data from a dead (dying) drive.
  • Ummm... can you give us a screenshot of said graphics card (especially the pins), we might be able to tell you what and how better then.
  • Don't go by the wattage of the SMPS, best you look at the efficiency rating given to the SMPS. Good SMPS carry 80+ Normal / Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum (in that order) efficiency rating. Maybe you can get a cheap cabinet from that contact but stick to a Seasonic S12II 520W SMPS if you want to add more than 3 hard-drives + optical drive on the same.
  • Answered your hard-drive --> SMPS wattage query above.
  • No, yours is a Piledriver CPU, the 880G chipset is old (by 2 generations) and does not support a lot of newer features that AMD has put into the Piledriver architecture, like advanced frequency throttling, power-gating and faster RAM support. So no point buying such a new processor and pairing it with a half-supportive chipset.
Hope this helps, Cheers!

And sorry for the late response.
 
Alpha17

Ya, I have decided to with FX-4300 now, so I can wait.

My intention was to use 2TB for data backup, since I have some old IDE disk which I used to backup my data and connect frequently when required. I thought if I buy 2TB then my all data is always available online and I throw those IDE since they are of no use in new system. What is the failure rate of 2TB disk? Do you recommend to go for 1TB for my requirement?

OK, I will go with cheap cabinet upto 1.5-2k range and Seasonic PSU.

Since you said that 880G chipset is old, please suggest me good mobo for FX-4300 cpu in 4-6k range from Asus (prefered)or Gigabyte?
 
sky said:
My intention was to use 2TB for data backup, since I have some old IDE disk which I used to backup my data and connect frequently when required. I thought if I buy 2TB then my all data is always available online and I throw those IDE since they are of no use in new system. What is the failure rate of 2TB disk? Do you recommend to go for 1TB for my requirement?

OK, I will go with cheap cabinet upto 1.5-2k range and Seasonic PSU.

Since you said that 880G chipset is old, please suggest me good mobo for FX-4300 cpu in 4-6k range from Asus (prefered)or Gigabyte?
Click to expand...

I have never used very huge Green edition drives, so I am the wrong person to answer that question definitively. Myself never recommend anything over 1TB because the larger the capacity of the individual disc -- more data you loose (in case of a crash) and the chances of a crash also increases because the hard drive has more access heads and platters that might fail.

@cranky and @Chaos, your inputs solicited.

ASUS M5A97 ~6500/- OR GIGABYTE-970A-DS3 ~6500/- Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 Motherboard - Hardwire.in are your best bets in my opinion. Cheers!
 
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I have 7 drives over 1TB in size and not (knock on wood) a single failure in three years. All are from the WD Green series. To put it into perspective, my historical drive capacity is about 20TB (~15TB at the moment), of which I have seen failure in about 2TB worth of disks - just around the 10% mark.

I would suggest drive failure is a statistical issue and not to be linked to the size of the drive etc. A good backup strategy will avoid the pitfalls of drive failure. If necessary, the purchase may be spread over time to use smaller drives to begin with and expand the sizes/numbers as the data increases. A single drive is a recipe for heartbreak at some point.
 
Thanks @[Alpha17 and @[cranky]

I will go with Fx-4300 with 970 chipset mobo only and 1TB disk.

@<Alpha17> , you suggested Seasonic S12II 520W SMPS, I was looking around flipkart and found:

Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2UK 600 Watts ~4300
Corsair CMPSU-500CXV2UK 500 W ~3900
Seasonic ECO 600 600 Watts ~4350
Seasonic S12II 520 ~4500

Isn't 600W is good choice in same amount?
 
sky said:
@<Alpha17> , you suggested Seasonic S12II 520W SMPS, I was looking around flipkart and found:

Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2UK 600 Watts ~4300
Corsair CMPSU-500CXV2UK 500 W ~3900
Seasonic ECO 600 600 Watts ~4350
Seasonic S12II 520 ~4500

Isn't 600W is good choice in same amount?
Click to expand...

Don't look at from the point of view of Wattage, the Seasonic S12II 520W is the best in the given set of SMPS because of its honest rating (500W), good cable set (shorter though), brilliant efficiency. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/954, also Google -- Seasonic S12II 520W Johnny Guru review.

I would recommend the Seasonic over any other SMPS in the price range.

Hope this helps, Cheerio!
 
Thanks @Zack for sharing that link.

But as @ALPHA17 said, I am not interested in high end gaming. Given link mentioned that diff is only $10, but I think it will be much more in Indian market. But if it is below 1k, I will go with FX-6300.
Still waiting for their availability in market. I am not in hurry.

I also heard about AMD Trinity a lot in this forum that it is good. Does it comes in AX processors or FX-xxxx too?
 
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sky said:
I also heard about AMD Trinity a lot in this forum that it is good. Does it comes in AX processors or FX-xxxx too?
Click to expand...

AMD APU series processors come only on the FM socket platform and their naming hierarchy is A-****K (K stands for unlocked multiplier).
 
Hi,

I checked 970 chipset mobo ASUS M5A97, GIGABYTE-970A-DS3 and Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3. None of them have integrated GPU so in turn increasing my budget for that. Would you suggest another mobo with integrated GPU or external GPU (below 5k range) which is suitable to play entry/medium level games.

Does anyone confirm the price of AMD FX-4300, this cpu and its price is still not available?
@ALPHA17 you mentioned in one of your thread that "for a gaming RIG (standalone) AMD is a strict no" Why? Is AMD not suitable to play games?
 
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No news of the FX-4300. =[

About the motherboard, you will need to go for a AMD 980G / 990X chipset based solution. Those cost upwards of ~6500/- and can range upto ~16000/-.

Also, why I said that as a standalone gaming RIG, AMD looses out in the following parameters --
  • Performance, same frame-rates as the Core i3, even the FX-8350 barely manages to pull ahead.
  • Higher power consumption, current FX processors take up ~100W (for quad-cores) -->130W (for octa-cores) vis-á-vis Intel's ~50W -->60W (for dual-cores) and upto ~85W (for quad-cores).
  • Lacking performance in single-thread / light multi-thread workloads which is what characterizes games.
Hope this helps, Cheerio!
 
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