TE PC Buying Guide August 2012

ALPHA17

ALPHA17

Cooler "Master"
Skilled
This is my first run as the author of this particular family of threads so any issues, pitfalls, unexplained corners please tag me OR PM me.

Those who want to tag, please use the following syntax -- @<ID>, e.g. DarkAngel please upload the tables.

ULTRA-BUDGET HOME / OFFICE PC --

ComponentsNamePrice
ProcessorAMD Sempron 145 [single-core] OR Intel Celeron G520 [dual-core]2100 OR 3000
MotherboardASUS M5A78-M LX OR Intel DH61WW2900 OR 3000
RAMCorsair ValueRAM 2GB x1700
Hard-driveSeagate Barracuda 500GB3500
Optical drive [DVD]HP [boxed] / SAMSUNG [OEM]1000
Graphics UnitHD 3000 [IGP]-
MonitorDell IN2030M6000
CabinetZebronics / iBall tower1200
SMPSBundled with cabinet-
KeyboardLOGITECH MK100 combo450
MouseIncluded in combo-
UPSAPC BR600VA-IN1900
Speakers [optional]BXR 12211100
TOTAL19250[not including optional components]

BUDGET HOME PC --

Components
Name
Price
Processor
Intel Pentium G620 OR Intel Core i3 2120
3350 OR 6800/-
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2H OR Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
3250 OR 4500
RAM
Corsair ValueRAM 4GB x1 OR Corsair Vengeance 4GB x1
1250 OR 1700
Hard-drive
WD Caviar Blue 500 GB
3500
Optical drive [DVD]
HP [boxed] / SAMSUNG [OEM]
1000
Graphics Unit
PowerColor AMD/ATI Radeon HD5570 1 GB DDR3 OR MSI R7750-PMD1GD5/OC
3000 OR 7000
Monitor
Dell IN2030M
6000
Cabinet
Zebronics / iBall tower w/o SMPS OR NZXT Gamma OR Cooler Master eLite 310
900 OR 2400 OR 1700/-
SMPS
Corsair CX v2430W
2300
Keyboard
LOGITECH MK200 combo
700
Mouse
Included in combo
-
UPS
APC BR600VA-IN
1900
Speakers
BXR 1221
1100
TOTAL
28750 OR 37000

HTPC --

ComponentsNamePrice
ProcessorAMD A8-3850 OR AMD A6-3500 OR Intel Pentium G6307500 OR 4500
MotherboardGIGABYTE GA-A75M-D2H OR MSi-A75MA-G55 OR GIGABYTE-B75M-D3H 6800 OR 5500 OR 4500
RAMCorsair Vengeance 4GB x2 OR Corsair ValueRAM 4GB x1 [with the Intel build]3200 OR 1200
Hard-driveSeagate Barracuda 1TB4500
Optical drive [DVD]HP [boxed] / SAMSUNG [OEM]1000
Graphics UnitOn die of the processor
MonitorDell ST2420L OR TV-monitor setup [existing]13500
CabinetNZXT Gamma OR Cooler Master eLite 3612400 OR 2500
SMPSCorsair CX v2430W2500
KeyboardLOGITECH MK200 combo OR LOGITECH wireless combo700 OR 1200
MouseIncluded in combo
UPSAPC BR1100VA-IN4900
SpeakersExisting surround sound system OR your preferred audio system
TOTAL~49100

[TD]Sound-card[/TD]
[TD]ASUS Xonar-DX[/TD]
[TD]4500[/TD]

ENTRY LEVEL GAMING PC --

ComponentsNamePrice
ProcessorIntel Core i3 32207800
MotherboardGIGABYTE-B75M-D3H4500
RAMCorsair Vengeance 4GB x23200
Hard-driveSeagate Barracuda 1TB4500
Optical drive [DVD]HP [boxed] / SAMSUNG [OEM]1000
Graphics UnitAMD HD 7770GHz edition9000
MonitorDell IN2030M6000
CabinetNZXT Gamma2400
SMPSCorsair CX V2430W2600
KeyboardLOGITECH MK200 combo700
MouseIncluded in combo
UPSAPC BR650VA-IN2900
SpeakersBXR 12211100
TOTAL45400

MID-RANGE GAMING RIG --

ComponentsNamePrice
ProcessorIntel Core i5 345012000
MotherboardGIGABYTE-B75-D3H4500
RAMCorsair Vengeance 2GB x21700
Hard-driveSeagate Barracuda 1TB4500
Optical drive [DVD]HP [boxed] / SAMSUNG [OEM]1000
Graphics UnitAMD HD 7850 2GB OR nVidia GTX66015500 OR 17000
MonitorDell ST2220L8800
CabinetNZXT Gamma2400
SMPSCorsair GS 6004000
KeyboardLOGITECH K200 combo700
MouseIncluded in combo
UPSAPC BR1100VA-IN4900
SpeakersBXR 12211100
TOTAL60100



Components Name Price
ProcessorIntel Core i5 2500k OR Core i5 3570k 13500 OR 14500
MotherboardASUS P8Z77-V15000
RAM G.Skill RIPJAWS 4GB x23700
Hard-drive Seagate Barracuda 1TB 4500
Optical drive [DVD] HP [boxed] / SAMSUNG [OEM]1000
Graphics UnitAMD HD 7870 2GB OR GTX660Ti22000 OR 25000 [tentative not confirmed]
Monitor Dell ST2220L / Dell U2312M 8800 OR 15000
Cabinet NZXT Gamma OR Corsair Carbide 400R2400 OR 5000
SMPSCorsair TX v2650W5900
Keyboard LOGITECH K200 keyboard OR Microsoft Sidewinder X4700OR 2000
MouseLOGITECH G400 / G3001500
UPS APC BR1100VA-IN 4900
SpeakersBXR 1221OR Ozone Attack [headphones]1100OR1700
TOTAL~91600

INANE GAMING RIG's and HOME WORKSTATION's --

ComponentsNamePrice
ProcessorIntel Core i5 3570k OR Intel Core i7 3770k14500 OR 23000
MotherboardASUS MAXIMUS GENE-V OR ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 OR GIGABYTE-Z77X-UD5H16800 OR 18500 OR 17500
RAMG.Skill RIPJAWS 4GB x23700
Hard-driveSeagate Barracuda 1TB4500
Solid State DriveCrucial M4 OR OCZ Vertex 4 120GB8500 OR 7700
Optical drive [DVD]HP [boxed] / SAMSUNG [OEM]1000
Graphics UnitAMD HD 7970 3GBORnVidia GTX 67032000 OR 30000
MonitorDell ST2420LORU2312M13500 OR 15000
CabinetLian Li K62-PC OR Corsair 650D OR Cooler Master STORM Stryker4500 OR 8500 OR 14000
SMPSCorsair TX v2750W OR Cooler Master Silent Pro M700 OR Corsair HX850W6700 OR 7200 OR 12500
KeyboardCorsair Vengeance K606700
MouseCorsair Vengeance M60 OR LOGITECH G4002800 OR 1700
UPSAPC BR1100VA-IN4900
SpeakersAudio system of personal choice-
TOTAL~118500

  • Interested parties may-CrossFire / SLi graphics cards for greater performance.
  • Go for larger screens and cabinets of their choice.
  • A custom water loop cooling system.
A few pointers and disclaimers and a very big thank you to DarkAngel for investing so much faith and time in me to pass on his legacy into my charge. %
  • none of the RIG builds include audio-peripherals because this is one part I am very weak in. Most of the budget speakers are next to useless and I myself use a headphone for ~80% of the time I am on the system.
  • A rudimentary peripherals section is now open this will list gaming mice, keyboards and associated paraphernalia, maybe with enough suggestions I can even have a Audio-section side on similar lines.
  • Please critique, question and become more pro-active in maintaining this thread, DarkAngel and I can only do so much, price-listings and peripherals need to be regularly monitored, posting these changes / tagging me OR DarkAngel / PM-ing me for these purposes is perfectly valid.

That is it. The show begins from Independence day onwards, thank you for your patience and hope this thread is active and updated regularly.

PERIPHERALS LISTING's

Gaming Mice
  • Entry level [INR ~500 --> 2500/-] -- LOGITECH G100 / 300 / 400, ROCCAT KOVA, Cooler Master STORM Xornet, Spawn, RAZER Abyssus and Death Adder.
  • Mid-range [INR ~2500/- -->5000/-] -- LOGITECH G500, Corsair Vengeance M60 and M90, ROCCAT KONE, RAZER[/B] Lachesis and Naga, Cyborg R.A.T. 3.
  • Budget knows no bounds [INR 5000/- and above -- LOGITECH G9X, R.A.T. 5 / 7 / 9 and Razer Ouroboros.
Gaming Keyboards
  • Entry level [INR ~1000/- -->2500/-] -- LOGITECH G100 combo, TVS Gold Mechanical keyboard, MICROSOFT SIDEWINDER x4, RAZER[/B] Cyclosa combo and Arctosa.
  • Mid-range [INR 2500/- -->6000/-] -- LOGITECH G105 and G110, RAZER[/B] Lycosa and Black Widow [various editions], Cooler Master STORM QuickFire Rapid [Cherry Black keys] and QuickFire Pro.
  • Budget knows no bounds [INR ~6000/- and above] -- Corsair K60 and K90 mechanical keyboards, Cooler Master STORM Trigger, Cybory V.7 Gaming keyboard.
Mouse-mats-
  • Entry-level[INR 500/-]- Rantopad H1 / H3, SteelSeries QcK Mini.
  • Mid-range [INR 500/- -->1000/-]- RAZER Goliathus Fragged Alpha Control and Speed Edition, Cooler Master Storm CS-M ,ROCCAT Sense and Taito.
  • High-range[INR 1000--->3000/-]- RAZER Vespula and Ironclad, Cooler Master CM Storm RX ,SteelSeries QcK+ Limited Edition and all Large size mousepads.
Cooling devices
  • Entry-level [~500/- -->1500/-] --> Deepcool Gamma Archer, Deepcool Gammaxx 200 and Cooler Master TX3 EVO.
  • Mid-range [1500/- -->4000/-] --> Cooler Master Hyper 212+ / Hyper 212 EVO, Cooler Master N620 and Thermalright Silver Arrow.
  • Budget knows-no bounds [~4000/- and above] --> Noctua NH-U12P SE2, Noctua NH-D14, Corsair H60 / H80 / H100, SVG Tech HOC 20 / 40 and Custom water cooling-loops.
Miscellaneous Listings --
  • MICROSOFT wired analog game-pad ~1900/-
  • Ozone Attack and Attack Snow edition gaming headsets [with mic] ~1700/-
  • Ozone Spark gaming headsets [with mic] ~2100/-
Regards and best wishes,
ALPHA17
 
@ALPHA17 Great work on the buying guide as per budget.Here are few things to add-
For rig above 20-25k-
1.Add Gskill Ripjaws 2X2GB-1600/- OR Corsair XMS3 2X2GB-1600/- instead of Corsair Vengeance Ram.
2.Add Seasonic S12ii 520W-4000/- OR Cooler Master GX550W-4400/- as a primary SMPS with secondary option Corsair GS600.
3.Add Benq G2420-11,000/- as 24" Monitor option.
4.Edit the pricing of Segate Barracuda 1TB to 5200/- instead of 4000/-,Also correct the pricing of Corsair Carbide 400R to 5200/- instead of 2400/-
PERIPHERALS LISTING's-
Gaming Mousepads-
  • Entry level[INR 500/-]- Rantopad H1,Rantopad H3,Steelseries QCK Mini.
  • Mid-range [INR 500/- -->1000/-]- Razer Goliathus Fragged Alpha Control and Speed Edition, Cooler Master Storm CS-M,Roccat Sense and Taito.
  • High-range[INR 1000--->3000/-]- Razer Vespula,Cooler Master CM Storm RX,Steelseries QCK+ Limited Edition and all Large size mousepads.

​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
guptavis said:
^^ yes!
also total missing in last three builds.
also categorisation like home PC, HTPC, Gaming etc would be nice.
Click to expand...

PoBoy said:
25K to 30K PC would be useful to many ( G620 + GA-B75M-D3H ? ).
Click to expand...

Going into it fellows. Actually my initial plan was to wait for Intel's Ivy-Bridge and AMD's Trinity lineup to be fully revealed, now am going to update these one by one.
 
waiting for a very long time for updated PC guide...

thank you ALPHA17 for your expertise as always...

it would be even better if u cud specify the usage and approx. final total for those config u suggested...

Corsair Carbide 400R for 2400 ??? are you sure???
 
ampdr1 said:
Corsair Carbide 400R for 2400 ??? are you sure???
Click to expand...

Thanks for notifying ampdr1. Cheerio!

Sumit05 said:
For Optical drive [DVD] Asus [Boxed] are best.:)
Click to expand...

Never used them personally, rarely sighted them in Hyderabad and Bangalore PC markets, therefore have not included them. In-fact I was tempted on leaving this field as a free-for all as well [most DVD drives are the same, with different brand stamps in my opinion] but then decided to recommend HP because it is boxed and I have personally recommended it to friends.
 
Excellent Job Abhay @ALPHA17 ..... This was desperately needed.

Just wondering.... Would it be possible to put this in an excelsheet (TE used to have something of the sort eons ago naa .... where the tech specs of each component too were listed - laborious process but very, very useful).

I found it difficult navigating through the long list .....

Keep these 2 out of the builds - (speakers & UPS) - Inflates the Totals at first glance.

Great Job
 
Last edited by a moderator:
the last one... is it INANE or INSANE !!!!

btw, what about CPU cooler in case of unlocked CPUs?

are RAMs like Gskill Ripjaws X compatible for 3rd Gen Intel CPUs? specs only mention about 2nd Gen....
 
ampdr1 said:
the last one... is it INANE or INSANE !!!!

are RAMs like Gskill Ripjaws X compatible for 3rd Gen Intel CPUs? specs only mention about 2nd Gen....
Click to expand...

It is inane.

I think I will list CPU cooling devices separately, just like what I have done with the gaming mice / mous-emats + keyboards etc.

Yeah, the compatible and better performance monikers are just for show. Tomorrow if a 4[SUP]th[/SUP] generation Core i series processor is launched these RAM modules will be repackaged and give a price bump advertising 'premium' performance with these.

Hope this clears your doubts, Cheerio!

Did you buy your RIG yet OR not?

PoBoy said:
Any specific reason for recommending Intel DH67-BL over Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H for non-OCable systems ?
Click to expand...

No. Edited listing.
 
want to upgrade just my CPU....moderate gaming PC...Budget around 25k to 30k...

my friend says this will be best config in my budget ...

Proc: i5 3550 or I5 2500k
mobo - intel DB75EN
HDD - 1 tb 4500
ram 8 gb 1600 mhz- cosair
LG dvd write combo
SMPS- 450w or 500w (cosair may be)
gfx 550 ti or 6850
cabby : Colourmaster Elite 430

please share above configs price....and wat else can be bettered in this or any completely new ?

PS : Please no trolls me newbie here and this is my first post :)
 
farooq10 said:
want to upgrade just my CPU....moderate gaming PC...Budget around 25k to 30k...

my friend says this will be best config in my budget ...

Proc: i5 3550 or I5 2500k
mobo - intel DB75EN
HDD - 1 tb 4500
ram 8 gb 1600 mhz- cosair
LG dvd write combo
SMPS- 450w or 500w (cosair may be)
gfx 550 ti or 6850
cabby : Colourmaster Elite 430

please share above configs price....and wat else can be bettered in this or any completely new ?

PS : Please no trolls me newbie here and this is my first post :)
Click to expand...

Hello Welcome to techenclave!U can make a new thread and Post according to This http://www.techenclave.com/pc-buying-advice/template-what-should-i-buy-73107/ So We can help better!
 
Back
Top