Unexpected Upgrade - CPU, MB And RAM Required

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HellSlyne

HellSlyne

Contributor
Hello,

I never thought I would be posting in this section so soon.Anyway, my MB conked off recently and I'm on a lookout for an i3 configuration - only for playing games
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1. Q: What is your budget?

10 - 12k for CPU+MB+RAM

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

GPU - 9600GT 512MB

Monitor - Dell 2209WA

SMPS - FPS Saga II 500W

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

GPU - Xpert Vision 9600GT 512MB

Monitor - Dell 2209WA

SMPS - FPS Saga II 500W

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.

CPU - Intel Core i3-2100

Motherboard - any ATX board

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

Future upgrades:

GPU - AMD 7xxx series or 560Ti (with existing 9600GT as PhysX - if the combo is worth it)

SSD - 64GB which supports TRIM

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

SP Road, Bangalore or Online(if there is an appreciable difference)

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

Yes - if warranty left is 2+ years

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

Gaming and browsing

9. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike?

No

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

FPS, RPG and RTS

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

1680 x 1050

12. Q: Are you looking to overclock?

No

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

Windows 7 64 bit

EDIT: Auto-capitalization makes that title looks ugly
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TIA,

Sajit
 
Cpu-Intel Core i3-2100-6.5k

Mobo-Intel DH67BL-B3-5.6K

Ram-Corsair xms3 4gb 1600mhz-1.6k or Gskill riphjaws 4gb 1600mhz-1.5k

Psu-Corsair tx650V2 OR tx750v2,get the psu whenever you'll get AMD HD7XXX series,depending which card you'll get.

Hope this helps.
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@thegatekeeper

I'm also looking for a good mobo for the core i3-2100.

You have suggested 1600mhz RAM, however the DH67BL board specs say the supported RAM speed is 1066/1333 Mhz. Wont this be a problem?

Also, DH67BL seems to be micro-ATX. DH67CL might be a better choice as per Sajitsm's requirement..
 
If you really want full ATX board then Intel BOX DH67CL B3-5.7k would be a good choice,Intel DH67BL-B3 is a great board,op hasn't mentioned that he needs ATX mobo so above mentioned mobo is good,1600mhz ram will underclock to 1333mhz so it won't be a problem.
 
Intel i3-2100 @6.3K

DH67CL b3 @5.7K

GSkill RipjawsX 4GB 1333MHz @1.2K

I don't think you will need 1600MHz RAM for now.
 
Even for a 6850 equivalent 7XXX, would I need another PSU?

Is a single GPU solution better than 560Ti + 9600GT (as PhysX)
 
^^ I don't think you'll need a separate card for the PHYsX aspect of the games, get a single-card solution.This will also be lighter on the SMPS [wich is strictly a budget offering from FSP] will recommend nothing more than than running a GTX 560 [non-Ti] edition card OR wait for the more power efficient AMD R7000 series to arrive.

d6bmg said:
I don't think you will need 1600MHz RAM for now.
Click to expand...

Also please go with a decent kit of 1600MHz RAM, you'll see a good boost to performance without a great hike in prices [roughly ~ 300/- to 400/- quid], here is why I recommend a 1600MHz kit over the value 1333MHz variant on the Sandy-Bridge platform --> http://www.anandtech...g-the-best-ddr3

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I think we confirmed what we pretty much knew all along: Sandy Bridge's improved memory controller has all but eliminated the need for extreme memory bandwidth, at least for this architecture. It's only when you get down to DDR3-1333 that you see a minor performance penalty. The sweet spot appears to be at DDR3-1600, where you will see a minor performance increase over DDR3-1333 with only a slight increase in cost. The performance increase gained by going up to DDR3-1866 or DDR3-2133 isn't nearly as pronounced.[/font]
Click to expand...

So here is why 1600MHz RAM is recommended, plus for that difference you bag a heat-spreader and you can tweak the latency values to over-clock the RAM a little, so overall a great deal in my views.

Hope this helps, rest of the RIG is same as suggested by others. Cheers!!
 
A gtx 560 is a nice option ,but you should change that psu .you can try a gts 450 or HD 6770 with that psu .
 
neojjjk said:
you can try a gts 450 or HD 6770 with that psu .
Click to expand...

Don't you think the GTS 450 and HD 6770 are anemic performers keeping in mind future performances?

True OP should overhaul his SMPS, but I think the Saga II series can handle a super efficient CPU + decent Fermi GPU no problems, this is just my view so Cheers!! Sire.

If you can afford to add a new SMPS #sajitsm Sire, I'll suggest along with your components go for a Seasonic S12II 520W SMPS and upgrade into the next generation R7000 graphics cards from AMD. They are looking tempting.

Hope this helps.
 
I had a 6770 .I will never say that they are anemic performers .He can save more money .an i3 2100+gts 450 will give you decent performance .
 
^^ But keeping the future in mind I think it will not be a value proposition, especially if OP plans to game @full HD, then he'll need a minimum of a GTX 560 OR R7000 series card.
 
With the latest titles which are coming i would suggest that op should get HD7XXX series gpu,no point in getting hd6770.
 
I'm not looking to buy a graphics card right away. #chiron is ready to lend me 6850 if need be
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Until the next card, I'm gonna keep 9600GT. I can't really digest why I would need a change in PSU for a mid-range card - The system below drains only 317W at load(playing crysis) with reference 560 Ti as per anandtech.

CPU: Intel Core i7-920 @ 3.33GHz Motherboard: Asus Rampage II Extreme Chipset Drivers: Intel 9.1.1.1015 (Intel) Hard Disk: OCZ Summit (120GB) Memory: Patriot Viper DDR3-1333 3x2GB (7-7-7-20)
 
^^ What SMPS have they used and I think they ran it in a temperature controlled environment, so under normal Indian circumstances it is always better to have a slight higher capacity SMPS also helps in the efficiency factor, most SMPS perform best when 50% < Load < 80%, so a more efficient SMPS.

Also I won't mind if you put a card upto the GTX 560 [non-Ti] on this after that I think you are better of with a decent SMPS [Seasonic S12II series OR Cooler Master Silent Pro M's].

Hope this helps, Sire. Cheers!!
 
ALPHA17 said:
Also please go with a decent kit of 1600MHz RAM, you'll see a good boost to performance without a great hike in prices [roughly ~ 300/- to 400/- quid], here is why I recommend a 1600MHz kit over the value 1333MHz variant on the Sandy-Bridge platform --> http://www.anandtech...g-the-best-ddr3

So here is why 1600MHz RAM is recommended, plus for that difference you bag a heat-spreader and you can tweak the latency values to over-clock the RAM a little, so overall a great deal in my views.
Click to expand...

If you look at the intel website you will see that DH67CL b3 supports max 1333MHz modules.

Assuming that OP won't upgrade his rig too soon, and price of RAM modules are too decreasing fast to store anything for future, it would be waste even to spend extra 300-400/- with 1600MHz modules.
 
Even the guys at Anandtech did not over-clock the CPU, here is their test configuration --

CPU Intel Core i7-2600K (Stock with Turbo Boost enabled: 3.5GHz - 3.8GHz) Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro - BIOS version 1502 Memory Patriot Viper Extreme Division 2 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-2133 Kit Graphics MSI GTX 580 Lightning - Stock clocks (832MHz/1050MHz) SSD OCZ Agility 2 120GB PSU Corsair HX850 Power Supply OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

now the P67 and H67 chipsets are the same deal apart from the fact the P67 doesn't support the inbuilt Intel HD graphics but you can over-clock your -k marked processors, on the other hand the H67 doesn't support over-clocking but you can use your Intel HD graphics on die.

p67_block_diagram.gif


H67-blockdiagram-small.png


Intel H67 Express chipset.

Try to find any differences between the above two apart from a lack of Extreme Tuning Support in the H67 chip.

Now coming to the cost difference, the 1600MHz RAM offers more for its price, you get -->

Corsair XMS3 OR G.Skill RIPJAWS 4GB 1600MHz ~ 1650/- -- 1750/- [depending where you buy]

RAM runs at 1600MHz @1.5v,

the latency can be tightened for better performance,

heat spreaders.

Corsair ValueRAM 4GB x 1 1333MHz ~ 1200/- -- 1400/- [depending where you buy]

RAM runs @1333MHz @ 1.5v,

latency needs o be tightened and it can only happen if you feed it more electricity,

no heat-spreaders.

And due to this low price difference, I'll say it is much better if OP goes with a 1600MHz rated module.
 
Hey #ALPHA17 - thanks for your insights but I'm least intrested in OC-ing or a performance boost in 1333->1600. Moreover, if Intel H67 board suggested earlier doesn't support 1600, what's the whole point of getting one?

And does this motherboard support AHCP/AHCI? That should be stupid question but still letting it out...
 
^^ Look Sire the point is you are getting the full potential of your processor, the only chipset I won't really recommend a 1600MHz module is the H61 chipset.

Apart from that the Intel and AMD Llano memory controllers are matured in different schools of thought with the Intel a step-up beyond 1600MHz really doesn't generate a great leap in performance, but with the Llano set-up faster the RAM module better is the on die IGP's performance.

So in the end it really is your choice OP Sire, but I'll stick to recommending 1600MHz modules, hope this helped. Cheers!!

Apart from that here are links that might answer the query of AHCP / AHCI support, which should be there by default -- http://www.intel.com/technology/serialata/ahci.htm.
 
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