51-70k Want to replace my CPU

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bman

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Looking for recommendations :). The budget is not really hardcapped, but I'd like to minimize the damage while getting the most performance available today, so please be gentle.

Q: What is your budget?
50K+

Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo
Motherboard - Intel DG31PR
RAM - Transcend 2x2GB PC2-6400
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Optical drive - Currently defunct
Cabinet - Zebronics
Monitor - ACER LCD Monitor AL1916W
SMPS - Grandiz ATX-450W P4
Keyboard - Logitech K120
Mouse - Microsoft Compact Mouse 100
UPS - Numeric Digital 600EX - V
Speakers - Creative A300

Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
UPS - Numeric Digital 600EX - V
Speakers - Creative A300
Monitor - ACER LCD Monitor AL1916W (maybe, depends on final price tally)

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.

Keyboard - Logitech K200
Mouse - Razer Naga

Those are the two I've decided on. The rest are up in the air. I'm also looking for suggestions on a headset (headphones + mic).
CPU -
Motherboard -
RAM -
Hard drive -
GPU -
Optical drive -
Cabinet -
SMPS -
Headset -

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

I'm looking to buy something that I will not want to upgrade for a very long time.

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

Bangalore
Open to online purchase

If you could recommend places to shop/haggle at, that'd be great.

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

No

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

Gaming
Browsing
Download rig, 24x7 operation
Watching HD movies


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

Based on what I've read, NVIDIA has a better rep with gamers, and AMD has more issues. I'd prefer an NVIDIA card, but I'm not averse to an AMD one if it is obviously superior.

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

RPGs
FPS-RPGs (Borderlands 2)
ARPGs (Darksiders 2)
MMORPGs (WoW)

You get the picture ;). No NFS, FIFA or CS/TF2.

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

My native resolution is 1440x900. I just use that. Whenever I upgrade my monitor, I tend to stick with the native rez.

Q: Are you looking to overclock?

No.

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

Windows 7 32 bit. Maybe Windows 8, let's see how useful it is.
 
Intel i5 3550-13.5k
Gigabyte B75M D3H-4.5k
Gsill Ripjaws 2X4GB 1600mhz-3.6k
Segate 1TB 7200RPM HDD-5k OR 500GB-4k
Sapphire HD7850-16k
Seasonic S12ii 520W-4k OR CM GX550W-4.5k
Nzxt Gamma-2.4k OR Corsair 400R-5k
APC 1.1KVA UPS-5k
Logitech K200-0.4k
Razer Naga+Razer Goliathus Mousepad-5.6k[If you're not going for Razer Naga then Corsair M60-3k OR Logitech G500-4.5k are other good options.]
The total rig is 10k more than your budget considering your personal preferences,If possible You should sell your existing monitor with rig and get this full HD monitor- Dell ST2220L-8.5k
Hope this helps.
happy19.gif
 
Jakob said:
Intel i5 3550-13.5k
Gigabyte B75M D3H-4.5k
Gsill Ripjaws 2X4GB 1600mhz-3.6k
Segate 1TB 7200RPM HDD-5k OR 500GB-4k
Sapphire HD7850-16k
Seasonic S12ii 520W-4k OR CM GX550W-4.5k
Nzxt Gamma-2.4k OR Corsair 400R-5k
APC 1.1KVA UPS-5k
Logitech K200-0.4k
Razer Naga+Razer Goliathus Mousepad-5.6k[If you're not going for Razer Naga then Corsair M60-3k OR Logitech G500-4.5k are other good options.]
The total rig is 10k more than your budget considering your personal preferences,If possible You should sell your existing monitor with rig and get this full HD monitor- Dell ST2220L-8.5k
Hope this helps.
happy19.gif
Click to expand...

Hey Jakob, thanks for the quick and detailed reply :)

What are the pros and cons of downgrading the G.Skill Ripjaws to Corsair Vengeance?

Also I didn't know there were serious players other than NVIDIA and AMD in the GPU space :O

Can I make do with my current UPS, the Numeric Digital 600EX - V, or do I have to upgrade to the APC 1.1KVA?

I guess I could sell this rig, but part of me wants to send it back home so that my brother can have some fun with it. It'll remain functional for several years to come, it's just well past its prime. But that's my dad's call.

Do you have recommendations on places to buy these items? And to potentially sell my rig?

- - - Updated - - -

bman said:
Do you have recommendations on places to buy these items? And to potentially sell my rig?
Click to expand...

And oh yes, to have the whole thing assembled. Because I'm a noob.

(I am unable to edit my posts for some reason >.< Same goes for my profile)
 
The Pros of Gskill Ripjaws are they don't have huge heat spreaders like Vengeance which could create spacing problem on motherboard hence suggested.You can get Vengeance if you want,Corsair has great sales service.
Sapphire/Msi/Gigabyte are companies which make AMD based Cards so there's no third player in GPU race.
The APC 1.1KVA is needed for your rig as your existing UPS won't be able to take load and it'll shut down instantly.
You can get your rig online from sites like Primeabgb,Smc International,Flipkart etc.
Hope this clears things.
bman said:
Hey Jakob, thanks for the quick and detailed reply :)

What are the pros and cons of downgrading the G.Skill Ripjaws to Corsair Vengeance?

Also I didn't know there were serious players other than NVIDIA and AMD in the GPU space :O

Can I make do with my current UPS, the Numeric Digital 600EX - V, or do I have to upgrade to the APC 1.1KVA?

I guess I could sell this rig, but part of me wants to send it back home so that my brother can have some fun with it. It'll remain functional for several years to come, it's just well past its prime. But that's my dad's call.

Do you have recommendations on places to buy these items? And to potentially sell my rig?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for clearing that up. I just bought the UPS too :(

Jakob said:
You can get your rig online from sites like Primeabgb,Smc International,Flipkart etc.
Hope this clears things.
Click to expand...

Are you aware of any local dealers in Bangalore? I'd like to see if the street prices are higher or lower than the ones online.
 
Jakob said:
Intel i5 3550
Nzxt Gamma-2.4k OR Corsair 400R
Razer Naga+Razer Goliathus Mousepad[If you're not going for Razer Naga then Corsair M60-3k OR Logitech G500-4.5k are other good options.]
Click to expand...

A few modifications to what Jakob has suggested --
Instead of a Core i5 3550 go for a Core i7 2600 OR 3770 ~15000/- OR 18000/- [the extra HT-cores will come in handy for MMORPG's]
The NZXT Gamma retails for ~3000/- in Bangalore [from Golccha I.T. Trade, S.P. Road]
Instead of the Razer Naga a better and cheaper solution would be -- LOGITECH G300 ~1350/- OR Corsair Vengeance M90 ~3900/- [the build-quality and after sales of Razer products is very poor]

Just my slant on things, and for computer-shops in Bangalore, head to S.P. Road (my favourite haunt while I was in college there) --
Golccha I.T. Trade
Aashirwaad Computers
Prime ABGB [a Bombay based retailer spreading its wings to Bangalore --> http://www.techenclave.com/general-talk/primeabgb-now-bangalore-137217/]

Hope this helps and happy gaming, Cheerio!
 
The prices have shot up badly-
Intel i7 2600-18k and i7 3770-19.5k hence suggested i5 3550,Another 5k over budget,Let OP think about it.
ALPHA17 said:
A few modifications to what Jakob has suggested --
Instead of a Core i5 3550 go for a Core i7 2600 OR 3770 ~15000/- OR 18000/- [the extra HT-cores will come in handy for MMORPG's]
Click to expand...
 
Jakob said:
The prices have shot up badly-
Intel i7 2600-18k and i7 3770-19.5k hence suggested i5 3550,Another 5k over budget,Let OP think about it.
Click to expand...

Do not think it will be so bad in Bangalore, till recently when Bombay prices for the elusive Core i5 3570k was hovering around ~17500/- Golccha I.T. Trade was retailing these for ~14500/- a piece.

And to compensate the expenses of the processor I have suggested a simpler, albeit just as effective mouse.
 
Damn 3k difference,I guess it'll be good to keep eye on bangalore prices,May get it shipped from there.:P
ALPHA17 said:
Do not think it will be so bad in Bangalore, till recently when Bombay prices for the elusive Core i5 3570k was hovering around ~17500/- Golccha I.T. Trade was retailing these for ~14500/- a piece.

And to compensate the expenses of the processor I have suggested a simpler, albeit just as effective mouse.
Click to expand...
 
ALPHA17 said:
A few modifications to what Jakob has suggested --
Instead of a Core i5 3550 go for a Core i7 2600 OR 3770 ~15000/- OR 18000/- [the extra HT-cores will come in handy for MMORPG's]
The NZXT Gamma retails for ~3000/- in Bangalore [from Golccha I.T. Trade, S.P. Road]
Instead of the Razer Naga a better and cheaper solution would be -- LOGITECH G300 ~1350/- OR Corsair Vengeance M90 ~3900/- [the build-quality and after sales of Razer products is very poor]

Just my slant on things, and for computer-shops in Bangalore, head to S.P. Road (my favourite haunt while I was in college there) --
Golccha I.T. Trade
Aashirwaad Computers
Prime ABGB [a Bombay based retailer spreading its wings to Bangalore --> http://www.techenclave.com/general-talk/primeabgb-now-bangalore-137217/]

Hope this helps and happy gaming, Cheerio!
Click to expand...

I thought MMORPGs (especially WoW) were very processor friendly? Do you really feel that the extra cores will provide a noticeable benefit?

You're absolutely right, practically everyone I've asked/every review I've read of the Naga says that it's a very good but very flimsy thing. They've also said that their after-sales service is very good and stuff gets replaced immediately, so it's a not a big problem. Someone from Delhi told me the same, that their headphones got replaced quickly. I don't know how it is in Bangalore. Have you had a different after-sales experience?

The real reason I want the Razer, as opposed to the Logitech or R.A.T or Corsair is because they all have buttons positioned differently, and I feel Razer's placement will work best for my purposes. The G300 has only two buttons for the thumb and spreads the rest out across the other fingers, which I really don't want.

Of course this is all speculation, because I've never actually used any of these mice.

From the other threads I looked at, plus the SP Road thread, Aashirwaad seems to be the most approachable of the lot, so I'll probably call him tomorrow and get a quote
 
bman said:
I thought MMORPGs (especially WoW) were very processor friendly? Do you really feel that the extra cores will provide a noticeable benefit?

You're absolutely right, practically everyone I've asked/every review I've read of the Naga says that it's a very good but very flimsy thing. They've also said that their after-sales service is very good and stuff gets replaced immediately, so it's a not a big problem. Someone from Delhi told me the same, that their headphones got replaced quickly. I don't know how it is in Bangalore. Have you had a different after-sales experience?

The real reason I want the Razer, as opposed to the Logitech or R.A.T or Corsair is because they all have buttons positioned differently, and I feel Razer's placement will work best for my purposes. The G300 has only two buttons for the thumb and spreads the rest out across the other fingers, which I really don't want.

Of course this is all speculation, because I've never actually used any of these mice.

From the other threads I looked at, plus the SP Road thread, Aashirwaad seems to be the most approachable of the lot, so I'll probably call him tomorrow and get a quote
Click to expand...

MMORPG's are mostly processor bound and heavy as far as I know. Dunno, maybe to save some cahs you can go for the Core i5; I doubt it will be a huge difference. Can be that times have changed. But most multi-player oriented systems are heavily CPU-bound, case in point Battlefield 3 single player campaign will run fine on a dual-core while in the online mult-player same thing will fall to pieces.

I do not know how good their after sales service is but their warranty periods are short; 1 year compared to 3 years on LOGITECH and Corsair. My personal experience and many will corroborate is that Razer products are simply not worth the price premium.

I have done a simple review of the G300, here it is --> http://www.techenclave.com/reviews-previews/logitech-g300-review-128193/p2/#post1592434; I noted that the positioning of the buttons is unorthodox but the drivers are by far the best and over-time the buttons will grow onto you. Also none of the buttons are thumb-based in the G300, they are all on top.

You can look at the Corsair Vengeance M90 incase you want something more orthodox in button placement [thumb buttons].

Hope this helps you Sire, Cheerio!
 
ALPHA17 said:
MMORPG's are mostly processor bound and heavy as far as I know. Dunno, maybe to save some cahs you can go for the Core i5; I doubt it will be a huge difference. Can be that times have changed. But most multi-player oriented systems are heavily CPU-bound, case in point Battlefield 3 single player campaign will run fine on a dual-core while in the online mult-player same thing will fall to pieces.

I do not know how good their after sales service is but their warranty periods are short; 1 year compared to 3 years on LOGITECH and Corsair. My personal experience and many will corroborate is that Razer products are simply not worth the price premium.

I have done a simple review of the G300, here it is --> http://www.techenclave.com/reviews-previews/logitech-g300-review-128193/p2/#post1592434; I noted that the positioning of the buttons is unorthodox but the drivers are by far the best and over-time the buttons will grow onto you. Also none of the buttons are thumb-based in the G300, they are all on top.

You can look at the Corsair Vengeance M90 incase you want something more orthodox in button placement [thumb buttons].

Hope this helps you Sire, Cheerio!
Click to expand...

Ah yes, I'd agree about Battlefield 3. But you really need to take a gander at WoW: http://i49.tinypic.com/2hcos2a.jpg

Yeah it looks that basic. Then again, 25 people standing in the same spot with a million particle effects flying about during a raid messes up FPS values pretty badly (goes down to 2 or 3 sometimes).

I guess I'd really like to take the best available machine, but the ramp up is pretty fierce (15k to 18k to 22k on flipkart) >.<

The Corsair Vengeance was actually my next choice, but the reviews say the software is horrible to use. It is also apparently unable to do things like Push-to-Talk for VoIP. I don't want to buy it and find out that it simply doesn't work. The idea of having to buy a new Razer mouse every year doesn't sound so great either (assuming it breaks and there is no warranty). Oh, to have unlimited money.....

Thanks for the advice, it's useful to thrash stuff out like this even just so that I can understand what I want better.
 
bman said:
Yeah it looks that basic. Then again, 25 people standing in the same spot with a million particle effects flying about during a raid messes up FPS values pretty badly (goes down to 2 or 3 sometimes).

I guess I'd really like to take the best available machine, but the ramp up is pretty fierce (15k to 18k to 22k on flipkart) >.<

The Corsair Vengeance was actually my next choice, but the reviews say the software is horrible to use. It is also apparently unable to do things like Push-to-Talk for VoIP. I don't want to buy it and find out that it simply doesn't work. The idea of having to buy a new Razer mouse every year doesn't sound so great either (assuming it breaks and there is no warranty). Oh, to have unlimited money.....

Thanks for the advice, it's useful to thrash stuff out like this even just so that I can understand what I want better.
Click to expand...

I think in the light of this revelation, the course of your processor is firmly locked onto a Core i5, you definitely do not require a Core i7 for that definition.

flipkart.com is really finicky when it comes to pricing their products. Some are pretty competitive and rest are downright absurd ~1000/- -->2500/- deviation from on-street prices.

The LOGITECH G300 is a diamond in the rough, if you pick it up and adjust to it. If you cannot I would have recommended the ROCCAT Kova [+] but that is not available in India currently. Any comments and feedback on the G300 write-up will be appreciated.

You are welcome Sire, Cheerio!
 
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