Suggest casual gaming/video encoding/HTPC upgrade for 20 K

A

arvnd

Disciple
1. Q: What is your budget?

1. 20K. Having said that, frankly I'm open to suggestions. A few K this side or that wont hurt much

2. Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)

1. CPU - Pentium D 820

2. Motherboard - Asus P5LD2VM-SE

3. GPU - 8400GS

4. RAM - Generic 2X1GB DDR2 667Mhz

5. Monitor - Viewsonic 22" 1680x1050

6. SMPS - FSP Saga II 400W

7. Rest generic stuff - HDDs, DVD-RW, Keyb/mouse etc

3. Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)

1. Monitor - Viewsonic 22" 1680x1050

2. SMPS - FSP SAGA II 400W

3. HDDs - Seagate 7200.11 1TB + WD 500AAKS Blue

4. Sony DVD RW + Creative 2.1 speakers + APC 500VA UPS + MS Keyb, mouse

5. I will reuse the 2x1 GB RAM sticks if I'm buying a DDR2 mobo

6. I have a pinnacle PCTV tuner card lying around. In my current mobo not enough PCI slots left (onboard LAN got fried, so using LAN card), so it is lying idle now.

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.

Open to suggestions. No specific config in mind

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

No upgrades planned in the near future

6. Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)

1. Trivandrum

2. Open to online purchase only as a last resort. Would prefer to buy from local market for easy warranty/returns.

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

1. No

8. Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware

1. Light Gaming

2. HTPC - HD video

3. Video encoding

4. Occasionally as a download rig, so it would help if my graphics card doesnt guzzle up power.

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

None. I prefer hardware with longer warranty periods, so given a choice, I would go with the one with longer warranty if it costs only slightly more.

10. Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?

Not much of a gamer, so not much idea. It's been a while since I did some gaming. However I would like a PC which can play modern games reasonably well.

11. Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage

Monitor resolution is 1680x1050 - would like to stick to that. Gaming resolution - open to suggestions.

12. Q: Are you looking to overclock?

1. No

13. Q: Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?

1. Windows 7

2. Linux - Ubuntu
 
1. CPU - AthlonII X4 635 ~ 5k

2. Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-785GMT-USB3 ~ 5.8k

3. GPU - Sapphire HD4770 512MB GDDR5 ~ 6k

4. RAM - 2*2GB Kingston 1333MHz DDRIII RAM ~ 5.2k (You can also get 2GB now and get 2GB more later when prices dip.)

This would make a good casual gaming and multimedia rig. The HD4770 sis recommended coz it has idle power consumption of less than 20w and avg. consumption of 50-60w and max 85w while fully loaded.

Edit: Performance is 90% of HD4850.
 
DarkAngel said:
1. CPU - AthlonII X4 635 ~ 5k

2. Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-785GMT-USB3 ~ 5.8k

3. GPU - Sapphire HD4770 512MB GDDR5 ~ 6k

4. RAM - 2*2GB Kingston 1333MHz DDRIII RAM ~ 5.2k (You can also get 2GB now and get 2GB more later when prices dip.)

This would make a good casual gaming and multimedia rig. The HD4770 sis recommended coz it has idle power consumption of less than 20w and avg. consumption of 50-60w and max 85w while fully loaded. Performance is 90% of HD5850.
Click to expand...
haha 4770 has 90% performance of 5850 !

get your facts straigh dude !

nice :)
 
buddingwhizkid said:
haha 4770 has 90% performance of 5850 !

get your facts straigh dude !

nice :)
Click to expand...
Oops. Typo. Was half asleep and hit 5 instead of 4 :ashamed: Its 90% performance of the HD4850 with lower power consumption.

^I know u have been following few of my posts and u know dats a typo :| Its not like i am recommending an Amigo PSU for a HD5850 so that their GPU gets busted in weeks :p
 
buddingwhizkid said:
well atleast tell us what all do you need ?
Click to expand...

Well I just went with the standard template of asking questions. I'll need a CPU + Mobo + RAM (if it is DDR3) + GPU + Cabinet. I have an Iball cabinet, but the airflow is not so good and it's mATX. I'd like to buy a bigger size cabinet with good airflow.

DarkAngel said:
1. CPU - AthlonII X4 635 ~ 5k

2. Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-785GMT-USB3 ~ 5.8k

3. GPU - Sapphire HD4770 512MB GDDR5 ~ 6k

4. RAM - 2*2GB Kingston 1333MHz DDRIII RAM ~ 5.2k (You can also get 2GB now and get 2GB more later when prices dip.)

This would make a good casual gaming and multimedia rig. The HD4770 sis recommended coz it has idle power consumption of less than 20w and avg. consumption of 50-60w and max 85w while fully loaded.

Edit: Performance is 90% of HD4850.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your suggestions. Sounds good. Only prob seems to be that mobo is mATX. Combined with the 4770 (which I understand would take up 2 slots), I think I would be left with only one usable PCI slot. I'm happy with the CPU and GPU selection. I'll go with 2 GB RAM for now and add more RAM later. Any other suggestions for the mobo ?

Also I'll need a good cabinet as well. CM Elite 310 seems good. Not sure if it's available in Trivandrum.
 
arvnd said:
Well I just went with the standard template of asking questions. I'll need a CPU + Mobo + RAM (if it is DDR3) + GPU + Cabinet. I have an Iball cabinet, but the airflow is not so good and it's mATX. I'd like to buy a bigger size cabinet with good airflow.
Thanks for your suggestions. Sounds good. Only prob seems to be that mobo is mATX. Combined with the 4770 (which I understand would take up 2 slots), I think I would be left with only one usable PCI slot. I'm happy with the CPU and GPU selection. I'll go with 2 GB RAM for now and add more RAM later. Any other suggestions for the mobo ?

Also I'll need a good cabinet as well. CM Elite 310 seems good. Not sure if it's available in Trivandrum.
Click to expand...
Prices are taken from dealers in forum. So if buying locally availability, prices may differ. Well if the particular brands service center is in your locality then you need not worry about from where in India you get the goods. You can RMA it in the service center.

One more choice for GPU is the Sapphire HD5670 512MB GDDR5~ 5.3k. Even lesser power consumption and doesn't even require a PCI-E power connector.
 
^^ my PSU has a PCIE connector. Lesser power consumption is attractive nevertheless. How much better is the 4770 compared to 5670 ? Pls keep in mind that the max resolution I'll be using is 1680x1050.

Also any suggestions for a full ATX motherboard? High end onboard video doesnt matter much to me coz I'm getting a separate GPU anyway.
 
^^ thanks for the link. That's an awesome review. If 700 bucks extra gets me 25% better performance, then by all means I'll go for 4770 :) Lemme go thru the review in detail.

BTW any mobo suggestions? Anyone who uses mATX mobo + 2 slot GPU wud have this problem rt ? (only one PCI slot left...that is...if you are lucky..even my 8400GS leaves me only one free PCI slot on my mATX mobo).

Or is that people dont use PCI cards anymore?
 
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