New Surround Gaming machine for 80K, Suggestions plz.

K

kannan921

Recruit
Hi all,
I have been following TE from 2006. Great community, use the site to update myself.
I have decided to get a machine. This machine is for Games - 95%, Movies - 5% . A SURROUND GAMING machine.

1. Q: What is your budget?
1. 80K (Would increase, only if it is going to enhance my gaming experience significantly)

2. Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
1. None

3. Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
1. None

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.
1. CPU - Core i3 2100. (also open to AMD)
2. Motherboard - any compatible motherboard
3. GPU - Sapphire 6950 2GB Flex edition
4. PSU - Seasonic S12II 520w
5. HDD - Seagate 1 TB 7200.12
6. RAM - Corsair 4GB DDRIII 1333MHz
7. Monitor - Dell ST2220L 21.5†/ Benq g2222HDL
8. Speakers - Edifier DA 5000 Pro
9. Cabinet - NZXT Gamma (Is there anything cheaper available. I absolutely don't mind about the looks.)

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
1. Final Config.

6. Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
1. Delhi, NCR
2. Open to online purchase

7. Q: Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
1. Yes

8. Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
1. Gaming - 95%
2. Watching HD movies - 5%

9. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
1. Nothing, as of now.

10. Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
1. Mostly FPS and Racing

11. Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
1. Gaming - 5760x1080
2. Desktop - 5760x1080

12. Q: Are you looking to overclock?
1. Not at an extra cost. (I think instead of spending extra money for cooler and mobo I would invest on a better cpu or gpu.
Correct me if I am wrong)

13. Q: Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
1. Windows 7 32/64 bit
2. Windows xp

One thing that I am very confused about is the sound card. I have never experienced EAX effects. Hence suggest me sound card that supports EAX, and has good driver support. (Haven't played games since 2005)

Few questions...
1. Does 7.1 speakers has no significant effect over 5.1 speakers in games? Why no 7.1 speakers available?
2. Do Dolby/DTS play any role in games? How important are they?
3. Are there any software solutions availble for Dolby/DTS decoding?
4. Have surround sound in games, dead? Why 5.1 speakers not recomended even in a 140K machine here?
http://www.techenclave.com/pc-buyin...an-technology-community-pc-buying-196627.html

5. What is the size of the bezel in the monitors metioned above? Are there any other monitors that has thinner bezel?
6. Will i3 bottleneck my GPU? If yes, then by how much? and suggest cheap alternatives.
7. edifier S550 is extremely attractive. My room size is 10'x12' approx. Will s550 be an overkill?

I want the machine to be as cost effective as possible. Hence, also mention about online deals and sales.
Thank you all for your valuble time & thoughts.
 
Processor Core i5 2400 ~ 9300

Motherboard Intel DH67BL(B3) ~ 5100

HDD Seagate 1 TB 7200.12 ~ 2750

GPU MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II/OC 2GB GDDR5 ~ 15200

Monitor Benq E2220HD ~ 8700

Soundcard Asus xonar dx ~ 4500

PSU Seasonic S12II 520w ~ 4300

Key Board Razer Arctosa ~ 2250

Mouse Razer Death Adder ~ 2200

DVDrw L.G./Samsung OEM SATA DVD-Writer ~ 950

Speakers check for logitech z5550, ~ 15 k to 18 k

total around 70 k
 
the z5500 are replaced by z906 now so incase u dont find a z5500 u can check for z906 and yes nzxt gamma is a good buy dont go looking for anything cheaper , thats the best vfm cabinet u can get and reso is 1920 by 1080 i guess :).
 
vantheman5211 said:
Processor Core i5 2400 ~ 9300

Motherboard Intel DH67BL(B3) ~ 5100

HDD Seagate 1 TB 7200.12 ~ 2750

GPU MSI R6950 Twin Frozr II/OC 2GB GDDR5 ~ 15200

Monitor Benq E2220HD ~ 8700

Soundcard Asus xonar dx ~ 4500

PSU Seasonic S12II 520w ~ 4300

Key Board Razer Arctosa ~ 2250

Mouse Razer Death Adder ~ 2200

DVDrw L.G./Samsung OEM SATA DVD-Writer ~ 950

Speakers check for logitech z5550, ~ 15 k to 18 k

total around 70 k
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestion. But I am looking for multi monitor (3 monitors) setup. Your suggestion is out of my reach for multi monitor set up. Also sound card with EAX Effects (atleast upto EAX 4.0) and 5.1 speakers are necessary. Please consider these requirements.
 
I maybe wrong here but if you are buying a PC for gaming purposes than why are you going for a surround sound system. I am a vivid gamer and I prefer earphones/headphones since in many FPS games, while you are playing you have to hear footsteps and surround sound will not be good for this. And ofcourse, these days you get headphones with surround sound too :p If you are just a casual gamer/ buying surround sound to watch movies on your PC than its a different ball game.
 
^^ mostly professional gaming headphones are 5.1 with directional sound.even I use a surround sound headset with Dolby digital (triton ax pro) and the effect is just superb.

But yes headphones over speakers

For gaming anyday especially for fps!

But I am sure fps aren't the only games the op is gonna play.also almost all games come with dolby digital,it's criminal to not use such a awesome feature !
 
But I am looking for multi monitor (3 monitors)
Click to expand...
:O

At what resolution you would like to play games? See HD6950,6970,GTX570 and GTX580 are good for handling games at Full HD resolution with all the settings cranked up but not for gaming at any higher than 2560x1600 resolution... If you are looking to buy three monitors and would like to play games at above 1600P resolution than i would advice you to go for multi GPU setup... Buy Two HD6970 and crossfire them...
 
Gaming at 5760x1080? You're going to need to crossfire, which would need a better psu, which would increase your budget. Also, an i3 2100 would be a bottleneck and not recommended for such a setup.

Also since you will need crossfire, you will need a better motherboard than the H67 chipset. The H67 supports only one PCI in 16x mode and the other PCI slot runs in 4x mode which will hamper performance a lot. So you will need to go for a P67 motherboard. The Asus P8P67 Pro is good motherboard which will support dual GPU in 8x mode.

Components Description Price (INR)

Processor Intel Core i5 2500K 10800

Motherboard Asus P8P67 Pro 11400

RAM G.Skilll RipjawsX 8GB(2x4GB) 2700

HDD 1 TB Seagate 7200.12 2750

GPU 2*MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC 2GB GDDR5 30400

Monitor Benq E2220HD 8700

Cabinet NZXT Gamma 2100

PSU/SMPS SeaSonic X 850 SS-850KM 850W 9900

Key Board Logtiech KB 400

Mouse Razer Death Adder 2200

Mouse pad RantoPad H3 300

ODD L.G./Samsung OEM SATA DVD-Writer 950

Speakers Logitech Z5500/Edifier S550 18000

Sound Card ASUS Xonar DX 4500

Total 105150

I know you are looking for a sound card with EAX. Well, to be honest EAX is old and dying. AFAIK newer games aren't coming with EAX and it isn't supported very well these days. Also, the Creative lineup of soundcards that support EAX suck. The Xonar DX is a better buy. Also if you are quick, Prime ABGB has an offer for today, they're selling the Xonar DX for 3700.

Those 2x6950 should be sufficient for 5670x1080. You might need a little more power maybe. You can try your luck in unlocking the 6950 to 6970 which should be doable.

Unlock and OC that 6950 TF3/ Twin Frozr III- the definitive guide! - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

If this is going over budget, you're going to have to drop the idea of gaming at 5760x1080 and stick to full HD at 1920x1080. That will save you tons of money.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Also I just realized, I have included only 1 monitor in the budget. Do you already have monitors? If not, adding 2 more monitors will increase the cost even further.
 
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