Future Proof 18k Build

M

MHG

Adept
Hi all!

Dad finally decided to upgrade our old Pentium 4 based rig to something which is of today's standards. He wants to buy Genuine Windows 7 and MS Office Home/Student edition if possible. The total budget is around 25k including tax, or 23k excluding tax.

Without the above mentioned software, I guess I need to restrict my hardware costs to 18K.

I am planning to go for a very basic but usable setup.

AMD Athlon II x3 440 @ Rs. 3.3k is my obvious choice of CPU as it has max VFM.

Asus M4A78LT-M LE @2.6k is the motherboard I selected but the problem is that this is restricted to 95W CPUs. Not good if I wish to upgrade to a good Phenom II 6-core CPU later.

2+2GB of Crosair DDR3 RAM I have decided.

IDE DVD Writer I'm salvaging from my existing rig. Also salvaging an 80GB IDE HDD. As far as HDD is concerned, I am looking for a cheap and reliable (speed doesn't matter THAT much as RELIABILITY) 0.5, 0.75 or 1TB HDD (cost per GB should be min).

CM Elite 310 with default PSU I have decided upon.

Need good sounding (for heavy metal music) 2.1 Speakers.

GPU I shall buy later when I get more cash.

Keyboard and Mouse also bought recently for existing rig. Planning to use those.

Have an Acer 17" CRT Monitor supporting 1280x1024 resolution currently. Planning to go for a cheap 3.8k AOC 1619SW LCD and using both in Dual Monitor setup. This will be better than going for expensive HD screen because at this budget modern games can only be run at max 720p or 1024x768. And for movies I have a 1080i HDTV with a 5.1 home theater system.

My motherboard needs to support 2 monitors or I'm pwned.

Can someone please give suggestions ? Planning to go tomo or day after to make the purchase. Will try delaying it if necessary.

And what about buying a branded desktop from a company like Dell ? I thought it could work out cheaper because of the software being OEM...
 
How about buying Original Windows 7 later? you would be able to build a much better rig within 25k... buying Win7 original is a good thing but 18k is way too less budget to build a decent rig... Plus i dont think your would be able to buy Win7 + Microsoft Office 2010 within 7k budget...
 
Processor AMD Athlon II x3 440 3300

Motherboard Gigabyte 880GM-UD2H 3900

RAM Corsair Value RAM 1333MHz 2x2GB 2100

HDD Seagate 7200.12 500GB 1700

GPU Onboard HD4250

Monitor Dell 1920IN 5200

Cabinet CM Elite 310 1500

PSU FSP Saga 350w / Corsair CX400 1500/2400

Total 19200/20100


If you want the rig to be within 18k then buy 2GB RAM only and add another after few days...

If you can spend some few bucks more then do consider CX400 PSU coz PSU is a very vital componenet of any rig as most computer parts life depends on PSU... Plus if you would buy CX400 then it would be good for future upgrades as it easily handles GPU like HD6850/ HD5770/ GTS450 etc...
 
buy SNB if u can stretch your budget

Core i3 - 2100 ~5950

Intel DH61WW ~3300

Gigabyte superb 460 is another PSU option
 
Stretching budget is rather hard.

And why not go for CM Elite 310 WITH PSU ? Wouldn't that work till I decide to go for a GPU upgrade ? Because I don't think I'll buy a new GPU for atleast an year when even basic games will find it hard to run on the onboard GPU.

Is the Gigabyte 880GM-UD2H capable of handling a Bulldozer CPU ? Because if its not, I think I can downsize on the motherboard and save atleast 1.2k which can go on a decent 2.1 speaker setup.

And are there any cheaper LCD options ? I intend to go for the CHEAPEST LCD possible.
 
MHG said:
Stretching budget is rather hard.

And why not go for CM Elite 310 WITH PSU ? Wouldn't that work till I decide to go for a GPU upgrade ? Because I don't think I'll buy a new GPU for atleast an year when even basic games will find it hard to run on the onboard GPU.

Is the Gigabyte 880GM-UD2H capable of handling a Bulldozer CPU ? Because if its not, I think I can downsize on the motherboard and save atleast 1.2k which can go on a decent 2.1 speaker setup.

And are there any cheaper LCD options ? I intend to go for the CHEAPEST LCD possible.
Click to expand...
Dont the cheap LCD s have response time over 8ms?
If yes, then watching movies or gaming will be a serious PITA!
I dont have too much idea about the lowest of the lot LCD s. So just asking!
 
hotshot05 said:
Dont the cheap LCD s have response time over 8ms?

If yes, then watching movies or gaming will be a serious PITA!

I dont have too much idea about the lowest of the lot LCD s. So just asking!
Click to expand...
What I remember these kind of LCD's don't even EXIST in the market and even the cheapest today are decent...
 
Costs if you want CD's also :WIndows 7 Home Basic is 5.5K + Office 2010 Home and Student combined edition is 2.5k ( approx) anyways, I guess getting only the Genuine keys from MS costs even lesser ( AFAIK)
 
I would say for a cheap build you can try this config. There is nothing Future proof in Tech.

Processor AMD Athlon II x2 555 4400
Motherboard ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 4500
RAM Corsair Value RAM 1333MHz 2x2GB 2100
HDD Seagate 7200.12 320GB 1900
Cabinet CM Elite 310 1500
PSU FSP Saga 400 1900
Total 16.3k

Also you can use your current CRT and save money for a 22" BenQ/Acer/Samsung TFT

PS: CM310 does not come with a PSU
 
urssriks said:
Costs if you want CD's also :WIndows 7 Home Basic is 5.5K + Office 2010 Home and Student combined edition is 2.5k ( approx) anyways, I guess getting only the Genuine keys from MS costs even lesser ( AFAIK)
Click to expand...

Windows 7 Home Basic is 3.5k for OEM right ?

And you sure Office 2010 Home/Student Edition comes for 2.5k ?

Is there a site where I can get prices of such software ?

Roxtin said:
I would say for a cheap build you can try this config. There is nothing Future proof in Tech.

Processor AMD Athlon II x2 555 4400

Motherboard ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 4500

RAM Corsair Value RAM 1333MHz 2x2GB 2100

HDD Seagate 7200.12 320GB 1900

Cabinet CM Elite 310 1500

PSU FSP Saga 400 1900

Total 16.3k


Also you can use your current CRT and save money for a 22" BenQ/Acer/Samsung TFT

PS: CM310 does not come with a PSU
Click to expand...
Future proof only means (in the case of THIS rig) ability to support 8GB RAM and 125W CPUs and a PCIe 2.0 x16 (electrically and physically) slot.

And current CRT Monitor is a PITA. Its reaching end of life. Screen takes 5-10 minutes to reach normal color till then everything is of a weird hue and blue is sometimes invisible. Lots of flickering. Everyone at home use the PC for a lot of internet surfing, documents and reading stuff. I don't want to end up paying more for our medical bills by trying to save money and keeping this CRT. It would do well as the secondary monitor but not primary.

You really think its worth going for a faster clocked Regor than a slower Rana ? I personally feel for the kind of multitasking seen at home, more cores imply better performance...
 
Future proof only means (in the case of THIS rig) ability to support 8GB RAM and 125W CPUs and a PCIe 2.0 x16 (electrically and physically) slot.
Click to expand...

From 780g onwards mid range motherboards support these features, how can it comes in the category of future proof.Future proof IMO support for new architecture,compatibility with newer RAMs,interfaces etc.

Regarding monitor u definitely need to spend some bucks.

Also clearly mention the use of PC is it only surfing and office related work or ...........
 
vip said:
From 780g onwards mid range motherboards support these features, how can it comes in the category of future proof.Future proof IMO support for new architecture,compatibility with newer RAMs,interfaces etc.
Click to expand...

Not all. I saw one which supports only a 95W CPU.

And many budget boards have only 2 RAM Slots, making it impossible to use 2+2+2+2 RAM configuration.

Anyway, future proof is a relative term. So I stated my exact need from the board.

I need the cheapest board supporting 4 RAM slots and 125W CPU.

Regarding monitor u definitely need to spend some bucks.
Click to expand...

I'm considering Dell 1920IN at the moment. 5.3k for it seems OK even if it means spending a little more.

Can this handle gaming decently at 1360x768 ?

Also clearly mention the use of PC is it only surfing and office related work or ...........
Click to expand...

Internet, office and movies (not HD just normal 700MB XVID) will be the main purpose.

Once I buy the graphics card, it will also be used for low to mid range gaming.

Another purpose of this machine is lots and lots of programming. Planning to install Gentoo Linux hence the requirement for 8GB RAM support.
 
i clearly mentioned mid range motherboards.

as far as CPU is concerned AMD Athlon II x3 440 would be better choice.
 
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