PC Upgrade 50k - 60k

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cybermantas

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After months of "trolling" around the forums, I think the timing is about right for an upgrade. The itch just doesnt go away anymore and my old PC is starting to fall apart (actually, honestly its just the mouse and the gfx card, but I guess those are the 2 most used components for gaming, so yeah!
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Doubt this makes too much of a difference, but RPG / Sports / Strategy / less Action games - 1080p intended usage
Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
  1. Q: What is your budget?
    1. 50-60k
  2. Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    1. CPU - Intel E4300 (Yeah, June 2007 purchase)
    2. Motherboard - Whats the point really
    3. GPU - ATI 4870 (2nd hand)
    4. RAM - Corsair DDR2 2 x 1 Gb
    5. Monitor - Viewsonic VM1930
    6. SMPS - Corsair Cooler master pro 600W
    7. HDDs - Enuff (5-6 TBs)
    8. Cabinet - Some sturdy Antec brand
    9. Speakers - Corsair SP2500 bought last June
  3. Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    So the thing is, I plan to keep the entire previous set for a possible lan gaming setup (makes no sense to sell it or use any part of it... selling will give me tops 10-12k and the big chunk will be the monitor and I plan to keep it... use, no component besides the monitor is usable, and that too only for the time being). So...
    1. Monitor - Viewsonic VM 1930
    2. Speakers - Corsair SP2500
  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 - Intel 2400 / 2500 (dont plan to overclock... frankly dont see the point in it for the effort/time/cost/tension etc. it involves... if a system can give 60+ fps without overclock for 2 yrs, then good enuff, beyond that upgrade or whatever)
    2. Motherboard - any compatible motherboard, I am guessing one of the H77s is good VFM at the moment
    3. GPU - Tricky, couple of options, ranging from 2nd hand GTX 580 to new 7850 / 7870 as well as a 560 Gtx Ti ... requirement is for 1080p gaming for lessay 2-3 yrs... first 2 at high settings, 3rd at normal playable settings (My current system is 4870 ATI and I still play Starcraft2 on it)
    4. RAM - Gskills 12800 Mhz 2 x 4 Gb ?
    5. PSU - Dont quite know which one works, I am guessing either a Season 520 / 620
    6. Cabinet - Corsair Carbide 400R is what I was thinking, availability is an issue though
    7. Sound Card - Am not quite content with the Corsairs, so I guess time for a decent sound card - Asus Sonar DG / DX should do, eh ?
    8. Mouse / Kb - Wanted something fancy, but I am guessing functionally Logitech G300/400 and TVS gold is amongst the best options to consider
  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. Monitor - Dell Ultrasharp or something... 23" sort... 6 months maybe - 1080p gaming
    2. GPU - Depending on what I buy now, may sell it in sometime and buy something else, completely depends on max bang for the buck
  6. Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    1. Mumbai
    2. Open to online purchase
    3. Prime Abgb would be the main source, I am guessing this Saturday
    4. It Depot has a decent range, overpriced it seems though, but they are the only ones with Carbide 400R I saw...
  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 (Mostly and most importantly)
    2. Movies / Series (So need good sound & video too)
    3. Browsing
    4. Download rig, obviously, guessing not 24 x 7
  9. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    1. Not really, you guys know best
  10. Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?

  • Gaming - 1440 X 900 Currently, 1080p future
  • Desktop - N/A

  • Q: Are you looking to overclock?
    1. No
  • Q: Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    1. Windows 7
  • Request views on config, possible components to be considered for the upgrade, timing (78xx and Ivybridge issue), pricing opinion and places to buy the said items.
  • Thanks in advance guys!
 
I think this is the bad time to upgrade!

Because, ivy bridge is round the corner and would be considerably faster tham SB, and till the release, nvidia's answer for HD78XX series will also be released, so there will be a drop in the price due to competetion and you would get better bang 4 buck system.

But if you can't wait,

PROCESSOR- our all time favourite core i5 2500k(or non "k" if you are apprehensive of ocing)

MOBO- ASUS H77(will save you couple of money for GPU upgrade) or higher end Z68(mainly for overclocking a procy)

GPU- GTX580 from classfields for 22k(I know older tech and all but couldn't resist such a good price)

http://www.techenclave.com/topic/512552-for-sale-msi-gtx-580-twinfrozrii/

or HD7870 for 22k(smc price).

Plz note that you will get vram benefit with HD7870 and will help in aa at 1080p.

For PSU,

corsair HX650 modular which will come in handy to keep temps down because of wire blockages
 
Intel Core i5 2500 ~10900/-

Intel DH67-BL ~5400/- OR ASUS P8H77M-PRO ~9500/- [no over-clocking capability]

G.Skill RIPJAWS 4GB x1 ~1700/- [one 4GB stick should be enough for now, if you feel it is not sufficient add another one ~2 months down the line]

AMD HD 7850 ~17500/-

Corsair Carbide 400R ~5400/- OR NZXT Tempest EVO ~5500/-

Seasonic S12II 520W ~3800/-

for the sound card, contact #[member='PristineNote'].

Hope this helps, Cheers!!

GameR1120 said:
I think this is the bad time to upgrade!

Because, ivy bridge is round the corner and would be considerably faster tham SB.

Till now the available data suggests that it might not over-clock as well on air and will carry the same TDP as current high-end Sandy-Bridge pieces, pretty much negates its advantages. Next up Ivy-Bridge is not a great upgrade from Sandy-Bridge for gaming applications.

Here is some back-up the Core i5 2500 holding against the Core i7 2930k [in pure gaming and power consumption metrics] --> http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/552?vs=288.

nvidia's answer for HD78XX series will also be released.

This is a valid point Sire, Kepler has been a great usurper but pricing remains sore, common for a ~10% -->15% upgrade in performance they expect you to shell ~15000/- more than the HD 7970 3GB. Pretty worthless at that price for me.

MOBO- ASUS H77(will save you couple of money for GPU upgrade) or higher end Z68(mainly for overclocking a procy)

OP clearly said that he is not over-clocking, so really pointless asking him to invest in a Z68 based motherboard, if he wants the H 77 is a better options due to --
  • native support for USB 3.0 and SATA III ports.
  • PCIe 3.0 for whatever it is worth.
  • More frugal than the H67 chipset, which is already a really efficient motherboard.

GPU- GTX580 from classfields for 22k(I know older tech and all but couldn't resist such a good price)

Power hungry and if OP over-clocks his HD 7870 2GB OR HD 7850 2GB he will leave the GTX 580 in the dust.
Click to expand...

Hope this clarifies my stand.
 
So Ivy is one point of contention, and going by #[member='ALPHA17'] views, a moot point... more thoughts are welcome, since even on the Ivy thread people are suggesting that the lone review suggesting 95W TDP may not be the whole truth...

Kepler, I agree... but if I am expecting a 2k improvement in pricing over a 2 month period (ABSOLUTELY, now news on Kepler 660 / 670 Ti is out there, which means its still a month away) for a 7850 / 7870, I am ok to pay this premium (This is different from the above Ivybridge case where there are possibilities that Ivy may be a substantial upgrade from SB ... most likely not, but just to be sure)

H77 worth the 4k over Intel DH67 BL ? Again, ok to pay 1k premium on this being a new product and all, timeline for this computer is about 3 yrs I think, so a USB 3.0 & Sata 3 has quite a bit of value even if not the PCIe 3.0

580 gtx, yeah, brilliant pricing, even I am a lil bit inclined, but all in all, HD 78xx offers excellent value which should only improve once better drivers kick in, and the TDP ofcourse...

Which PSU ? Seasonic or the Corsair HX650? And no need for Cooler right ?
 
#[member='ALPHA17']

Pretty interesting and valid points put up by you! Thanks for clearing that.

So, yes I'm with ALPHA17 to go with SB with H77 mobo.

You sure you won't overclock?

You should atleast overclock your GPU. As graphic card overclocking is simple nowadays. Moreover, todays graphic cards(as well as cpus with external coolers) are designed with overclocking in mind

Who dosen't want extra performance for whatever they pay eh?
 
cybermantas said:
So Ivy is one point of contention, and going by views, a moot point... more thoughts are welcome, since even on the Ivy thread people are suggesting that the lone review suggesting 95W TDP may not be the whole truth.

Your main purpose is gaming, here is the comparison of the top of the line Sandy-Bridge E CPU vis-a-vis i5 2500, note due to Hyper-Threading the productivity scores are up but so is power consumption, gaming applications, register close to null advantage --> http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/552?vs=288.

Which PSU ? Seasonic or the Corsair HX650?

I assume at the maximum you will over-clock your GPU, and maybe over-volt the RAM modules in that case the Seasonic S12II 620W ~4600/- OR Corsair VX 550W ~4500/- will be more than enough.

And no need for Cooler right ?

No but if the temperatures start reaching unbearable level, especially considering that summers are around the corner, do a proper re-TIM and reseat procedure on the stock heatsink fan. For reference -- http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2009/02/16/all-about-tim/1 / http://www.techpowerup.com/printarticle.php?id=134.
Click to expand...

Hope this helps, Cheers!!
 
You can consider getting hyper 212 evo for Rs.2.2k if budget permits since intel stock hsf is not that good and also go with nzxt tempest evo it comes with 6fans vfm..
 
ganesh said:
You can consider getting hyper 212 evo for Rs.2.2k if budget permits.

This will be gross over-kill as OP doesn't intend to over-clock, if he buys a H67 / H77 based chipset further keeping over-clocking out of the loop the purchase will be even more fruitless, better OP monitors his initial temperatures, if he feels they are out of line then he shot re-TIM and reseat the stock HSF, if that doesn't help then he should consider a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO or thereabouts.

since intel stock hsf is not that good and also go with nzxt tempest evo it comes with 6fans vfm.

True but the Corsair Carbide 400R is also a pretty good score at ~5000/-. It will be fine if OP goes with any of the cabinets as both have a great airflow characteristic and internal space is also well designed vis-a-vis other offerings in this price band.
Click to expand...

Hope this helps, Cheers!!
 
#[member='GameR1120'], GPU can be overclocked even on the H77, right ? I would definitely not mind doing that if its as easy as you make it sound
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As for the CPU overclocking, how much difference in prcing would it mean for o/cing ? I am guessing 1k on the CPU, a couple on the mobo and 2k on the Cooler? A minimum of 5k for overclocking, that does sound expensive to me. On a side note here, whats the difference between a 10k Z68 and a 15k Z68 ? H77s are priced in a much tighter range (~2k) than Z68s... why the huge range ?

#[member='ALPHA17'], so either of the PSU is fine... ditto for the Cabinet. What about the H77 vs H67 pricing thing ? worth the 4k difference ?

#[member='ganesh'], thanks for the suggestion.
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cybermantas said:
#[member='GameR1120'], GPU can be overclocked even on the H77, right ? I would definitely not mind doing that if its as easy as you make it sound
happy19.gif
Click to expand...

Of course you can overclock your graphic card with that mobo! Yes its easy to overclock a GPU.

But make it in small steps-like 10Mhz.

All you need is a right software like MSI Afterburner(even it is a MSI software, you can easily overclock other graphic cards too).

http://event.msi.com...er/download.htm

Hope this helps and enjoy gaming.

Don't forget to post performance in the games!
happy19.gif


[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] whats the difference between a 10k Z68 and a 15k Z68 [/font]
Click to expand...

The expensive ones contain more PCI E slots(for multi GPU setups) and can accomodate more RAM, more RAM frequency etc.

[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] H77 vs H67 pricing thing ? worth the 4k difference ?[/font]
Click to expand...

No, if you are going with SB, the difference is pretty much non-existent
 
cybermantas said:
GPU can be overclocked even on the H77, right ? I would definitely not mind doing that if its as easy as you make it sound
happy19.gif


Yes a GPU can be over-clocked irrespective of whichever chipset you buy. It is independent of everything on the motherboard apart from the physical interface and power draw through the SMPS.

On a side note here, whats the difference between a 10k Z68 and a 15k Z68 ? H77s are priced in a much tighter range (~2k) than Z68s... why the huge range ?

Well main differences are --
  • form factor of the motherboard, m-ATX over full ATX. Redacted feature sets.
  • the number of physical ports [SATA and USB] available and other differences in number of PCIe and PCI lanes available for usage.
  • over-clockability and quality of components used, prime price difference stems from here.
  • Most motherboards which cost high, come with expanded feature sets, daughter cards [basically a bundled Sound card for that motherboard OR similar such feature], explicit and expansive heat-pipes and heat-sinks for added over-clocking edge. Finally display debugger and physical presence of Power, Reset and Clear CMOS switches on the motherboard itself.

so either of the PSU is fine... ditto for the Cabinet. What about the H77 vs H67 pricing thing ? worth the 4k difference ?

Yes any SMPS on the lines of the Corsair VX550W ~4500/- [this is the baseline] and Seasonic S12II 620W [optimum for your usage] is great for you. If you feel a modular SMPS is a must, look at the following options --
  • Seasonic X560W ~6500/-
  • Cooler Master Silent Pro M600 ~6000/-

On the contention of which motherboard to purchase, I suggest you try to get an Intel Z77 chipset based Intel motherboard, it will be your cheapest feature-rich option instead of ASUS OR Gigabyte equivalents [which lack a more than 2 DIMM modules, fewer SATA ports et al] in sub ~7000/- price band. Marked areas where H77 / Z77 based motherboards will benefit you --
  • USB 3.0 and SATA III is standardized and supported by the new chipset, may not make an impact now but once these devices become standard in our daily life, faster speeds will follow.
  • More efficiency, the H67 chipset was already a real power scrimp but the H77 takes it further.
  • PCIe 3.0 foe whatever it is worth.
  • Direct compatibility with Ivy-Bridge, so later ~3 years down the line plonk the real cheap Ivy processors and continue use as a secondary RIG.

If you can invest upto ~9000/-, try to get the ASUS P8H77M-PRO which comes with the excellent UEFI interface which has garnered a lot of accolades for its ease of use and intuitive layout.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Please read this --

ganesh' timestamp='1334764318' post='1741846 said:
You can consider getting hyper 212 evo for Rs.2.2k if budget permits.

This will be gross over-kill as OP doesn't intend to over-clock, if he buys a H67 / H77 based chipset further keeping over-clocking out of the loop the purchase will be even more fruitless, better OP monitors his initial temperatures, if he feels they are out of line then he shot re-TIM and reseat the stock HSF, if that doesn't help then he should consider a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO or thereabouts.

since intel stock hsf is not that good and also go with nzxt tempest evo it comes with 6fans vfm.

True but the Corsair Carbide 400R is also a pretty good score at ~5000/-. It will be fine if OP goes with any of the cabinets as both have a great airflow characteristic and internal space is also well designed vis-a-vis other offerings in this price band.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Hope this helps, Cheers!!
 
GPU Overclocking - Check

PSU - Check, oh wait, whats with the modular & non-modular options ?

Mobo, lil more clarification / finalization needed - yes, I am ok to spend upto 10k on a mobo if it offers vfm + premium for longevity. So the Asus P8H77 M-Pro is the most optimum for a non-k SB CPU at this price point ? This is amongst the possible H67 / Z68 / Z77 options ? How drastically does cost increase for a k (overclockable SB) CPU ? Overall cost of components including CPU, mobo, cooler...
 
cybermantas said:
GPU Overclocking - Check

PSU - Check, oh wait, whats with the modular & non-modular options ?

Well in a non -modular SMPS, the issue is most of the unused wires end up cluttering and reducing the effective airflow, in the midst of all this bad cable-management can be a reason for components over-heating. More than this some people have transparent side-panels this makes the sight of unordered cables an eyesore.

Advantages of Modular SMPS --
  • Better efficiency than your run of the mill SMPS.
  • Quieter than your standard SMPS, the Seasonic X-series is a Gold-rated fanless design.
  • The extra cables do not clutter the interiors, can be safely kept outside for future augmentation. Help in the aesthetic and ordered sense inside a cabinet.

Disadvantages of the same --
  • Expensive vis-a-vis other options.
  • Efficiency rating doesn't mean a great difference until you are on the PC all day long, for a week without powering down your RIG.
  • Fanless design can end up heating in North Indian heatwaves, thereby screwing the efficiency which a fanned design may not face.

Mobo, lil more clarification / finalization needed - yes, I am ok to spend upto 10k on a mobo if it offers vfm + premium for longevity. So the Asus P8H77 M-Pro is the most optimum for a non-k SB CPU at this price point ? This is amongst the possible H67 / Z68 / Z77 options?

Go for a H77 OR Z77 based motherboard at your discretion, because of all the advantages I have listed out.

Please note that H77 chipset still supports only PCIe 2.0 standard. I am loathe to repeat the advantages I have already pointed out earlier again.

How drastically does cost increase for a k (overclockable SB) CPU ? Overall cost of components including CPU, mobo, cooler.

Well for a Core i5 2500k ~12500/-

ASUS P8Z77M- ~9500/-

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO ~2200/-
Click to expand...

Hope this clears your queries, Cheers!!
 
#[member='ALPHA17'] Just learn how to post first, Sorry for Being rude here but you can't Quote your reply in the Quote Itself.

Generally you Quote the matter to Reply to it.. Right?

#GameR1120 He Did it in the Right way and #alpha17 its a Headache for me to Read what you Wrote.
 
swatkats said:
#[member='ALPHA17'] Just learn how to post first, Sorry for Being rude here but you can't Quote your reply in the Quote Itself.

Generally you Quote the matter to Reply to it.. Right?

#GameR1120 He Did it in the Right way and #alpha17 its a Headache for me to Read what you Wrote.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks for bringing it to notice, but I try to alleviate this by marking the queries in Bold and answering below them. If it is still that bad I will have to innovate a better mechanism.

Edit --> Are you trying to view this on a mobile, because I see it is not very bad on a 17" monitor and the answer is easily discernible from a quoted question.
 
Just reply by hitting quote cause when some tries to quote your reply all they get is,Hope this helps,it gets confusing to others because they don't what reply did the guy quote,the normal way would be better.
ALPHA17 said:
Okay, thanks for bringing it to notice, but I try to alleviate this by marking the queries in Bold and answering below them. If it is still that bad I will have to innovate a better mechanism.

Edit --> Are you trying to view this on a mobile, because I see it is not very bad on a 17" monitor and the answer is easily discernible from a quoted question.
Click to expand...
 
Jakob said:
Just reply by hitting quote cause when some tries to quote your reply all they get is,Hope this helps,it gets confusing to others because they don't what reply did the guy quote,the normal way would be better.
Click to expand...

Okay that is why, will keep that in mind.
 
So bought my config on Saturday, mostly from The Itwares (prime was a lil higher)

SB i2500k - 12.25k

Asus Z-77 M-pro - 11.4k

gskil 1600 ripjaws 1 x 4 gb - 1.55k

Seasonic S12 620W - 4.6k

Logitech G400 - 1.65k

TVS Gold keyboard - 1.6k

Last 2 items were from Prime since the Itwares didnt have them.

Corsair Corbide 400R was out of stock on the entire Lamington road (or at least the main 3-4 shops), still awaiting supply... if anyone knows where to get it reliably shipped from, do kindly tell...

Postponed purchased of HD 7850 as well for the same reason, can wait for better availability, at least until I get teh cabinet...

So now all teh items are lying in their original packaging safely in my cupboard ... waiting for the cabinet
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