Intel Core i3 rig in 24k?!

[ALPHA17]

^^

It does not affect the image quality.

So that is why I said LED is simply not a mature enough technology to jump into as off now, the performance is same but you have a price difference of --- 1K ~ 2K in the products < dependent on company >

The BenQ G 2200HD suggested by Hades is one of the best monitors available ~ 7K --- 7.5K

 

[joel.monty]

^^

It does not affect the image quality.

So that is why I said LED is simply not a mature enough technology to jump into as off now, the performance is same but you have a price difference of --- 1K ~ 2K in the products < dependent on company >

The BenQ G 2200HD suggested by Hades is one of the best monitors available ~ 7K --- 7.5K

Its good for its price,i can vouch for benq they have excellent service.

 

[rohitshakti2]

Motherboard ASUS M4A78LT-M LE ~2,700

IMO go with MSi 785GM-E51 is for Rs.3300/- and it is much better than the above mobo....

 

[ALPHA17]

^^

Try to get the MSI 785GM E65 ~ 3.5K you'll get all solid capacitors and sideport memory to boot

 

[neojjjk]

^^yea mate ...always buy a good mobo ...

iXBT Labs - MSI 785GM-E65 Motherboard - Page 2: Features, o/c, power, conclusions

Newegg.com - MSI 785GM-E65 AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

 

[iChaitanya]

Wow, MSI 785GM E65 ~ 3.5k is a very good option. 128MB sideport memory, all solid capacitors and other goodies!

Are you guys sure that the distribution of Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H has been stopped? :huh:

 

[joel.monty]

It hasnt stopped,my friend bought it like a week ago.

 

[ALPHA17]

Wow, MSI 785GM E65 ~ 3.5k is a very good option. 128MB sideport memory, all solid capacitors and other goodies!

Are you guys sure that the distribution of Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H has been stopped? :huh:

Bruv don't be so happy the MSI one doesn't have SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 support sadly it is almost 2 year old model < 785G + SB 710 chipset >, but overall it is a very VFM proposal right now .

 

[rohitshakti2]

Bruv don't be so happy the MSI one doesn't have SATA 3.0 and USB 3.0 support sadly it is almost 2 year old model < 785G + SB 710 chipset >, but overall it is a very VFM proposal right now

And how abt its IGP compared to ASUS M4A78LT-M LE recommended above?

 

[Dushie]

It hasnt stopped,my friend bought it like a week ago.

Hi
I am also interested in buying a 880GMA motherboard, where did your friend buy it for & how much did he pay ?

 

[mrnikhilsudo]

Get a good Gigabyte mobo with the Athlon II x3 or Asus board and you should be able to unlock the 4th core. besides it seems even Bulldozer will be backward compatible with these older boards so your friend will have a cheaper upgrade option in the future.

Led over lcd if the price difference is just 400 bucks. Go for it

 

[iChaitanya]

And how abt its IGP compared to ASUS M4A78LT-M LE recommended above?

MSI 785GM-E65 has ATI Radeon 4200 IGP while ASUS M4A78LT-M LE has ATI Radeon 3000 IGP.

ATI Radeon 3000 IGP (AMD 760G) doesn't even fully support H.264 video playback acceleration. :S

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Update:

I can also confirm that Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H is not available here in Pune. However, Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H is available in abundance! Former one has USB3 & SATA3 while the latter one has USB2 & SATA2. These are the only two differences I noticed. Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H costs 4,150 INR here in Pune. So, I've decided to go ahead with Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H.

Final config.:

Component|Brand (with model no.)|Price (in INR)

Processor|AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3.0 Ghz)|3,250

Motherboard|Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H|4,150

RAM|Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz|1,150

HDD|WD 500GB SATA (Green, WD5000AADS)|1,750

GPU|Onboard ATI Radeon HD 4250|-

Monitor|Dell LED-backlit LCD IN2020M 20”|6,550

Cabinet|Cooler Master Elite 310|1,700

Keyboard+Mouse|Logitech Multimedia Combo|725

DVD RW|LG OEM SATA|900

PSU/SMPS|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

UPS|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

Speakers|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

This is a pretty good config. in this budget!

 

[Hades.]

MSI 785GM-E65 has ATI Radeon 4200 IGP while ASUS M4A78LT-M LE has ATI Radeon 3000 IGP.

ATI Radeon 3000 IGP (AMD 760G) doesn't even fully support H.264 video playback acceleration. :S

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Update:

I can also confirm that Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H is not available here in Pune. However, Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H is available in abundance! Former one has USB3 & SATA3 while the latter one has USB2 & SATA2. These are the only two differences I noticed. Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H costs 4,150 INR here in Pune. So, I've decided to go ahead with Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H.

Final config.:

Component|Brand (with model no.)|Price (in INR)

Processor|AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3.0 Ghz)|3,250

Motherboard|Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H|4,150

RAM|Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz|1,150

HDD|WD 500GB SATA (Green, WD5000AADS)|1,750

GPU|Onboard ATI Radeon HD 4250|-

Monitor|Dell LED-backlit LCD IN2020M 20”|6,550

Cabinet|Cooler Master Elite 310|1,700

Keyboard+Mouse|Logitech Multimedia Combo|725

DVD RW|LG OEM SATA|900

PSU/SMPS|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

UPS|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

Speakers|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

This is a pretty good config. in this budget!

Damn... u dint even consider what most ppl have suggested u... WD green? why u wanna save some electricity bill? If u dont care much about performance then buy it... And y are u still considering the ddr3 kingston ram when u can buy a corsair one which comes wid 10 urs warranty... If u cant find the 880GMA-UD2H then buy MSI 880GMA-E45(Sata3+USB3) which will cost u some 400 bucks more... AND IMO buy Corsair XMS3 1600 CL9 4GB Stick which will cost u Rs.2450

Here's a new config for u wid revised prices:

Processor AMD Athlon II x3 440 3250

Motherboard MSI 880GMA-E45(Sata3+USB3) 5200

RAM Corsair Value RAM 1333MHz 2GB 1100

HDD Seagate 7200.12 500GB 1700

GPU Onboard HD4250

Monitor BenQ G2220HD 7500

Cabinet NZXT Gamma 2100

PSU Gigabyte Superb 460w 1950

Keyboard Logitech Combo 700

Mouse

ODD Samsung/Sony/LG 950

Speakers Altec Lansing VS2621 1500

Total 25950

 

[ALPHA17]

MSI 785GM-E65 has ATI Radeon 4200 IGP while ASUS M4A78LT-M LE has ATI Radeon 3000 IGP.

ATI Radeon 3000 IGP (AMD 760G) doesn't even fully support H.264 video playback acceleration. :S

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Update:

I can also confirm that Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H is not available here in Pune. However, Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H is available in abundance! Former one has USB3 & SATA3 while the latter one has USB2 & SATA2. These are the only two differences I noticed. Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H costs 4,150 INR here in Pune. So, I've decided to go ahead with Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H.

Final config.:

Component|Brand (with model no.)|Price (in INR)

Processor|AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3.0 Ghz)|3,250

Motherboard|Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H|4,150

RAM|Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333Mhz|1,150

HDD|WD 500GB SATA (Green, WD5000AADS)|1,750

GPU|Onboard ATI Radeon HD 4250|-

Monitor|Dell LED-backlit LCD IN2020M 20”|6,550

Cabinet|Cooler Master Elite 310|1,700

Keyboard+Mouse|Logitech Multimedia Combo|725

DVD RW|LG OEM SATA|900

PSU/SMPS|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

UPS|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

Speakers|(not yet decided; still researching)|-

This is a pretty good config. in this budget!

Just buy a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500 GB HDD ~ 1.7K < they are more reliable than WD Green as I've seen more than a bunch of <WD Green> flame out in last semester in college > buy only if you want to save on electricity bill as Hades has pointed out kindly.

Please buy a decent PSU not Cooler Master eXtreme Power better go for Corsir CX 400 ~ 2.7K < will last longer/ will not give up on you >, same for the UPS.

 

[de.das.dude]

he has problem with AMD?? tell him to sheel out more money then if he wants similar performance.
what is it with people, why cant they realise where what is good value!! sheesh

i go along wit a previous post stating the AMD x4 640 config. its wayyyyyyyy better than he is hoping for with that i3.

 

[iChaitanya]

Damn... u dint even consider what most ppl have suggested u... WD green? why u wanna save some electricity bill? If u dont care much about performance then buy it... And y are u still considering the ddr3 kingston ram when u can buy a corsair one which comes wid 10 urs warranty... If u cant find the 880GMA-UD2H then buy MSI 880GMA-E45(Sata3+USB3) which will cost u some 400 bucks more... AND IMO buy Corsair XMS3 1600 CL9 4GB Stick which will cost u Rs.2450

I agree with everything you have said but it's exceeding his (friend's) allotted budget. He can afford only upto 24k. Firstly, we had decided to go for the Intel config. as I didn't have much idea about AMD. Now I'm convinced that an AMD config. will be best for his budget.



HDD: I think I made a mistake by choosing WD Green for this config.! I bought a WD Green 1TB for myself few weeks ago (for media storage) and it's nice so I thought it'll be good for this particular AMD config. as well. :S

I personally use WD Blue for OS and this new WD Green for media storage. Thanks a lot for pointing this out!

I just read on some thread @ TE that WD Blue spins at 7200 RPM while WD Green spins at ~5400 RPM. Final: WD5000AAKS (Blue) :clap:
RAM: I thought 2*2GB dual-channel RAM would perform better than a single stick of 4GB. I'm not a RAM guru but that's what I've read. I'll go with Corsair instead of Kingston - that's not an issue. But I'm still unsure whether to go for 2*2GB dual-channel or single stick of 4GB. Earlier we had decided to go with just 2GB of RAM but now even I've realized 4GB is must.

Mobo: I did some research here in Pune. In the last week I met 20+ dealers and Pune's top 3 hardware distributors. Two of these three distributors know me by name as I regularly buy stuff from them. Most of the people I've met said that MSI's A.S.S (atleast in Pune) is crap. Almost everyone suggested me to go for Intel Desktop Board (Intel config.) or GIGABYTE/ASUS (AMD config.) - So I'm a bit confused. I know mobo won't die but if at all it dies, A.S.S should be good. Still, I'll check out the MSI mobo that you've mentioned.

LCD: BenQ G2220HD is going a little out of budget. I'll see what can be done as this is one awesome VFM LCD!

Thanks a lot for your advice!

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Just buy a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500 GB HDD ~ 1.7K < they are more reliable than WD Green as I've seen more than a bunch of <WD Green> flame out in last semester in college > buy only if you want to save on electricity bill as Hades has pointed out kindly.

Please buy a decent PSU not Cooler Master eXtreme Power better go for Corsir CX 400 ~ 2.7K < will last longer/ will not give up on you >, same for the UPS.

I'm not gonna take Seagate even if they offer it to me for free! :bleh:

Q9: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.

A9: Do not want to buy Seagate HDD as 3-4 of my Seagate HDDs have failed within a year. Worst HDD brand ever.

I've also been using WD since couple of years and I've faced absolutely no problems with WD.

My 3 Seagate HDDs have already died (within a year!). 4th one has started making weird noises. Even RMA'ed drives last 1yr. After 1yr, they start acting up. :|

So you see, my personal experience with Seagate has been pretty awful. Maybe you had a good experience.

he has problem with AMD?? tell him to sheel out more money then if he wants similar performance.

what is it with people, why cant they realise where what is good value!! sheesh

i go along wit a previous post stating the AMD x4 640 config. its wayyyyyyyy better than he is hoping for with that i3.

He's not much of a geeky person so it's me who'll decide the final config. For e.g. when it comes to mobiles, a typical non-geeky Indian 'aam admi' will buy Nokia. Similarly, when it comes to a PC config. the same 'aam admi' will go for Intel. It's the mentality of a typical non-geeky Indian 'aam admi'. They'll go for Nokia instead of SE even thought SE is more VFM. Similarly, they'll go for Intel instead of AMD even though AMD is more VFM. Getting my point?

Intel Core i3 is now out of question. We're going for AMD Athlon II X3 440 (3.0 Ghz). AMD Athlon II X4 640 is going out of budget, so opted for X3 440 instead. Will try to unlock the 4th core on X3!

Get a good Gigabyte mobo with the Athlon II x3 or Asus board and you should be able to unlock the 4th core.

Yup, I'll try unlocking the 4th core. Let's see! hyeah:

 

[rohitshakti2]

I am also looking forward to buy a PC in the same budget. Many senior members have helped me for this. What I hv summarised is reported here under.

RAM: I thought 2*2GB dual-channel RAM would perform better than a single stick of 4GB. I'm not a RAM guru but that's what I've read. I'll go with Corsair instead of Kingston - that's not an issue. But I'm still unsure whether to go for 2*2GB dual-channel or single stick of 4GB. Earlier we had decided to go with just 2GB of RAM but now even I've realized 4GB is must.

Buy 2 X 2GB rams if u donot want to upgrade the ram in near future else 2 X 2GB kit will be running a little faster due to dual channel and not to forget that Corsair rams come with 10 yrs warranty.

Reg. the HDD, check out the service centres near yr house and buy accordingly as many people hv got problems with both WD as well as with Seagate, so buy whose service centre is near yr house.

Reg. the Processor, better buy AMD X2 Phenom 555 BE (if in yr budget) as it is eazier to overclock and the possibility of its converting to X4 is much greater than X3 processors & not to forget that it has 7MB cache and when it is unlocked it becomes Phenom X4.

Reg. the mobo, I am also confused, but buy high cost mobos only if u donot want to add graphic card in future, else its integrated graphics will become useless.

Reg the SMPS get either Corsair SCO400CX For Rs.2600/- or FSP Saga II 500W Power Supply for Rs.2300/- as better power supply is needed to overclock as well as for unlocking. Not only that, if u want to add a graphic card later, these power supplies will be sufficient.

 

[Hades.]

Reg. the Processor, better buy AMD X2 Phenom 555 BE (if in yr budget) as it is eazier to overclock and the possibility of its converting to X4 is much greater than X3 processors & not to forget that it has 7MB cache and when it is unlocked it becomes Phenom X4.

Dont suggest him something which is not even capable of outperforming x4 640 in performance as well as in value... What if the 555BE he buys doesn't unlock? He will end up having a dual core which easily gets pwned by x4 640...

 

[ALPHA17]

Reg. the HDD, check out the service centres near yr house and buy accordingly as many people hv got problems with both WD as well as with Seagate, so buy whose service centre is near yr house.

Reg. the Processor, better buy AMD X2 Phenom 555 BE (if in yr budget) as it is eazier to overclock and the possibility of its converting to X4 is much greater than X3 processors & not to forget that it has 7MB cache and when it is unlocked it becomes Phenom X4.

Reg. the mobo, I am also confused, but buy high cost mobos only if u donot want to add graphic card in future, else its integrated graphics will become useless.

R

The IGP based boards are cheaper than non-IGP boards so your advice on boards is faulty too, it is cheaper to buy the AMD 870G cheaper > than 880G cheaper > than 890GX board < top-of-the-line IGP > which is cheaper > than 890 FX based board < top end non-IGP board >.

You cannot have the service center deciding your components, Wester Digital Green edition drives are pitiful performers compared to standard Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA II drives + Service Centers are generally in the vicinity of the computer marts like S.P Road in Bangalore or CTC in Hyderabad.

The FSP Saga II series is good only uptill 400W, for a 500 W PSU from FSP look towards the Blue Storm series, they are 80+ certified too .

From price and value point of view I agree with Hades the new Phenom IIx2 are harder to unlock to Quads < as they often are dual-core dies not binned quads > + the Athlon IIx4 640 butchers the unfortunate Dual at most tasks and is future proof against multi-threading

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/120?vs=188

 

[de.das.dude]

yes bt SE is a nono value for moey. they cost too much and are not as durable as nokia. LG has great VFM though