Advice regarding upgrade

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1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans:Mainly for word & pdf documents,MATLAB PROGRAMMING, POLYMATH & applications like that, web browsing, multitasking, downloading & multimedia (HD) usage ( movies), Itunes, Vlc.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans:10000, can extend upto 12000

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans:Yes

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans:i already hv Windows XP Pro 32 bit

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans:250GB

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans:No i already hv one. Dell ST2220M ( 19208*1080)

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans:Monitor,DVD writer, keyboard, mouse, speakers, graphics card ( Nvidia 8600GT)

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: ASAP

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans:No i haven't, but know how to do it

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans:Srinagar. I guess i hv to relying on purchasing the items online as the same might be too high priced here.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans

lease reply as soon as possible.. i shall be highly thankful :razz:

AMD A4 3400 @ 3.67k
Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V @ 3.54k
Western Digital 500Gb Blue @ ~4k (don't go for Seagate as warranty is reduced to just 1yr. price of 250Gb is almost same)
Corsair DDR3 2 GB @ 0.63k

TOTAL: 11.84k (maybe more as price of HDD is not same everywhere). all items are available at flipkart. for HDD, check locally else give SMCInternational a call/mail. they should have HDD at cheapest rate. For PSU, you have already reached your limit. so you may need to go for a local one.

another option for you is:

AMD Athlon II 260 @ 3.3k
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P @ 2.6k
Corsair DDR3 2 GB @ 0.63k
Western Digital 500Gb Blue @ ~4k
FSP Saga II 350W @ ~1.5k (from SMC or other online stores)

TOTAL: 12.03k

+1 for the first A4 based config. would be better suited for the multimedia purposes you are building PC

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@SAM
Thanks for replying.

I currently hv Pentium D (3.0GHz) & 1 GB of RAM . Hence wanted to shift shift to something faster, since i also sometimes indulge in casual gaming.

I can drop the idea of Increase in HDD space, to accomodate a faster CPU. or is it really necessary considering my usage.

Also wanted to know if a motherbord with FM1 socket can be used with future generation AMD processors, or i should go for AM3+ socket? Really Confused

Thanks

^^ Hello and welcome to tdf imnasir.

First and foremost, you've answered Ques.7 wrongly mate. Anyways i assume you only need to buy the proc,mobo,ram and psu. Then you've mentioned you need 250gb hdd but didn't include in the "want to buy" list.

Please make a list of the things you want to purchase so that we can suggest better.

And for 12k budget i suggest the following:

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD Llano A6-3500| 4k
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V | 3.5k
Ram |Gskill 4GB RAM F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL| 1.5k
Psu |Corsair CX430-V2 |2.3K
Total ||11.3k

What about cabinet? Do you have that or you plan to include in your buying list? And what about hdd?

@ Sam

Wd blue 250gb is 4k. Where did you find the 500gb price mate?

And i found this - Seagate 500GB cache 16MB ST500DM002, 7200 RPM @ Rs 4050

Update- WD Caviar Blue 500 GB HDD Internal Hard Drive (WD5000AAKX) @ 4.5k

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vickybat said:
^^ Hello and welcome to tdf imnasir.

First and foremost, you've answered Ques.7 wrongly mate. Anyways i assume you only need to buy the proc,mobo,ram and psu. Then you've mentioned you need 250gb hdd but didn't include in the "want to buy" list.

Please make a list of the things you want to purchase so that we can suggest better.

And for 12k budget i suggest the following:

Component | Make | Price Processor |AMD Llano A6-3500| 4k
Motherboard |Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V | 3.5k
Ram |Gskill 4GB RAM F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL| 1.5k
Psu |Corsair CX430-V2 |2.3K
Total ||11.3k

What about cabinet? Do you have that or you plan to include in your buying list? And what about hdd?

@ Sam

Wd blue 250gb is 4k. Where did you find the 500gb price mate?

And i found this - Seagate 500GB cache 16MB ST500DM002, 7200 RPM @ Rs 4050

@Vickybat
I have made some corrections in my first post.Please hv a re look.
Since i am upgrading my pc, i plan to use my old cabinet (HCL make)..also i forgot to mention that i am looking for a PSU as well, since my current PSU makes a lot of noise.. mabe i will drop the idea of HDD& later on go for an External HDD.

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@ everyone

Why are my replies not being displayed??

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500gb wd/seagate is 3800 at cost2cost,nehru place.hdd prices are always the lowest in nehru place,delhi/lamington road,mumbai & highest at online sites.

vickybat said:
@ Sam

Wd blue 250gb is 4k. Where did you find the 500gb price mate?

And i found this - Seagate 500GB cache 16MB ST500DM002, 7200 RPM @ Rs 4050

Update- WD Caviar Blue 500 GB HDD Internal Hard Drive (WD5000AAKX) @ 4.5k

someone here got a Seagate/WD 500Gb for ~3.9k so maybe HDD price has lowered a bit. again, flipkart is new in computer section so expect a higher price for HDDs.

imnasir said:
@ everyone

Why are my replies not being displayed??

have you checked the FAQs for new members in my signature?

ico said:
Ques: I am able to post but why are my posts not appearing. It says it goes into moderation and some other things??
Ans: The first 5 posts of new members are manually moderated by the moderators. This is to prevent spam and advertisements

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@ Sam

i made a few changes in my answer template in the first post, & also replied in subsequent posts..Please have a re-look & suggest accordingly.

Thanks :-?

^^ If you plan to drop the hdd purchase and reuse you existing harddrive, then the config i've suggested should be perfect for you. You'll get a powerful base system.

W

FM1 socket will not be compatible with next generation of AMD processors.FM2 socket is planned for next generation of AMD processors with integrated graphics.AM3+ is the only option regarding future upgradeability.since you already have a 8600GT it should take care of your multimedia needs.the 2nd config suggested by sam is good.you can also go for an intel based config(future upgradable)with a pentium dual core G620 2.6GHz for ~3400(based on sandybridge architecture of core i series)which will perform better than AMD dual cores along with a H61 mobo for ~3100.

^^Except the cabinet and psu, nothing is future proof. Offcourse trinity will be better but these existing llano chips do offer superb value. The igp can even beat an 8600gt and power consumption is brilliant as well.

For op's usage A6 is perfect imo. He can even add a better gpu in future if the need arises.
Its a perfectly balanced system.

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@vickybat,i did not used the term "futureproof" i said "future upgradable",there is a difference.i was addressing op's query which seems like he is interested in future upgrades.

Also wanted to know if a motherbord with FM1 socket can be used with future generation AMD processors, or i should go for AM3+ socket? Really Confused

op is not a gamer but the applications he mentioned can certainly take advantage of no. of cores & core by core anything based on sandy bridge architecture is better than amd.in both situations getting an AM3+ mobo with dual core or G620 with H61 is more suited for op's usages than a llano.

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One more thing i needed to ask..

Ideally speaking if i go for the upgrade as given by @ vickybat, for hw long can i expect it to give me great performance??

I currently don't have a 64 bit OS ( Windows 7 Home Premium) available with me, but within next month or so i plan to install it. In that case should i go for 4 GB RAM, since the 32 bit OS wont recognize RAM greater than 2GB.

& how much should i expect for my old motherboard ( LGA 775), ASUS make P5GZ-MX, Pentium D ( 3GHz), 1 GB DDR2 RAM & 400W PSU( since it was HCL branded, don't know the PSU make), if i want to sell it. I have been using the system for last 4 years. :-?

Thanks & would really appreciate your response..

W

depends on your usage.if you plan on using the same applications for time to come llano will suffice.if you are planning on using more core intensive applications in future then you might have the urge to get a 4 core.

I would rate the A6 3500 tad better than G620.

The reasons are:
1. G620 isn't a hyperthreaded processor unlike i3 2100. It even has lesser cache.
2.Although G620 has strong IPC, A6 3500 makes up for that with an additional core ( its a triple core processor).
3. A6 gives a much more balanced performance in both light cpu intensive apps and multimedia fronts.

Check this guru 3d review.

A small quote from them:

So who should buy an A6-3500 APU ? Well, I can tell you who shouldn't buy it, that would be professional desktop users, mainstream gamers, enthusiast users and prosumers. But the ones that simply need to build a cheap PC for internet, simple desktop work, a spreadsheet or two, word, simple gaming and audio/video playback, well it's for these guys where the A6 series APU's can make sense

.
Whatever is written in the quote matches op's answer to Ques.1 more or less.
So i strongly suggest op to stick with A6 here as its perfect for the tight budget.

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@vickybat,i think you did not got my point.i was not comparing G620 with llano.

a pentium dual core G620 2.6GHz for ~3400(based on sandybridge architecture of core i series)which will perform better than AMD dual cores

my point was if op was getting a dual core amd he could also get G620 at almost same price with better performance.i am suggesting a 4 core upgradable path with an AM3+ processor.also what you quoted from guru3d does not exactly cover matlab,polymath & similar applications which are definitely not mainstream & core intensive for which that quote is directed towards.op may need to upgrade to 4 cores in future for such applications & AM3+ provides the best option here.of course if op is certain that he will not require a 4 core in next 3 years he can get llano but at least he should be given pros & cons of all options instead of using term like "perfect option" which sounds more like a forced opinion instead of giving choices to let op decide.

^^ During engineering, i had worked on matlab in our DEC lab. We had pentium dual core (lga 775) based systems and everything ran fine.

It should be a piece of cake for the A6.

Besides i always said "imo". It isn't a forced opinion. Read carefully before commenting.

Have you looked at that budget?? How can you fit a quad core am3+ cpu mobo in a 12k budget and render the system balanced??

And you're forgetting llano too offers quadcores like the A6 3650 and A8 3870. Op can have a look at them. Besides op was given lots of choices and he's smart enough to decide.

M

imnasir,Go with A6 3650 around 6000 you will get quadcore for rest go with Sam.

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@ vickybat & @ whitestar..
Really appreciate your advice..

Also would like to remind you guys that I do indulge in casual gaming once in a while like COD MW , Dirt 2, u know games like that..but certainly not an intensive gamer

In case I decide to opt for a quad core processor which combo should I go for.
Let's say an increase of 2000, not more, in my budget.See I don't want to upgrade for next three four years, & if I do then it should be only the processor.

Also please clarify on the RAM thing.

Regards

W

Besides i always said "imo". It isn't a forced opinion. Read carefully before commenting.

So i strongly suggest op to stick with A6 here as its perfect for the tight budget.

@vickybat,i do read before commenting but you forgot to type "imo" above otherwise i wouldn't be writing this.anyway we should leave this matter here as any further discussion on this is not warranted here.

@imnasir,you can get a phenom II x4 955 for ~5900 & same mobo as suggested by sam in 2nd config.together with your 8600GT it should cover at least all your processor related needs for next 3-4 years.price of 4gb corsair 1333 ram is 1100 only & 4GB is minimum recommended by many for 64bit windows 7 & it is only 400-500 more than 2gb.buying hard disk at present is not recommended so if you can wait for a few months drop the idea of buying hdd now.if you can not get a phenom II x4 for 6000 or less than get the suggested llano system.

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@ Whitestar & @ Vickybat

So u guys suggesting the following rig

Component Make Price Processor AMD Llano A6-3650 6.3k
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V 3.5k
Ram Gskill 4GB RAM F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL 1.2k
Psu Corsair CX430-V2 2.3K
Total 13.3k

Any further suggestions before i go for purchasing this

@Whitestar
Tried to find Phenom II x4 955 online but couldn't. Could you help me out please.

W

955 these days is very hard to find online & even when available price is too high.if you can afford a trip to nehru place,delhi/lamington road,mumbai/kolkata,similar market then only you have a very good chance of finding 955 for ~5900.if not then get the quad core A6-3650 above.also do not use 8600GT because llano cpu integrated graphics is better but it will be disabled if you install the 8600GT in pci-e slot.

whitestar_999 said:
@vickybat,i do read before commenting but you forgot to type "imo" above otherwise i wouldn't be writing this.anyway we should leave this matter here as any further discussion on this is not warranted here.

Cool.

@imnasir

If you plan to install a good gpu in future, then only go with the am3+ way. Or else stick with llano.

Yup the A6 3650 is a great buy and if you have budget, then you can go for it without any hiccups.

Besides you can also add a 6670 in future to boost up performance and it will run in internal crossfire mode with the igp. Going any further will render the igp useless.

For your work, i will recommend you to go the A6 way instead of am3+ because out of the box, A6 will offer better multimedia and overall performance.

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955 these days is very hard to find online & even when available price is too high.if you can afford a trip to nehru place,delhi/lamington road,mumbai/kolkata,similar market then only you have a very good chance of finding 955 for ~5900.if not then get the quad core A6-3650 above.

whitestar_999 said:
also do not use 8600GT because llano cpu integrated graphics is better but it will be disabled if you install the 8600GT in pci-e slot.

You mean to say that IGP is much better than 8600 GT & i shouldn't use my Gfx card. will it give be better graphics than 8600GT??

What if i do want to use my 8600GT??

& will my old HDD work fine with my new mobo+processor+ram?? Please Answer this also.

i really value your advice & think u guys are doing a great job

i hope to purchase my rig from Flipkart By Tomorrow.

Any other suggestions, u r most welcome to give.

Thanks Once Again.. :razz:

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take a look here:
PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmark Charts - Video Card Model List
8600GT has rank 334 while 6530D(llano integrated graphics)has rank 247 which is 87 places higher than 8600GT.my suggestion is either sell 8600GT or give it to some friend/relative who is still using old integrated graphics.if your old HDD is SATA then no problem but if IDE/PATA then you can not connect it to mobo.

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@ Whitestar
How can I find whether my HDD is SATA OR NOT??

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see here:
*lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/directron/sata3small.jpg
wide white pata cable is used for pata hdd & thin red sata cable for sata hdd to connect.

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One more thing "what about the noise coming from this new rig

Becoz the the one that i use now runs as if a grinding machine is working.
& am totally pisssed off by that.

I dont want my new rig to sound the same.

W

major source of noise is fan(cpu,gpu & case).cpu & gpu fans will rotate at max speed at high temps so you can not do anything about it except if cpu stock fan is faulty & creating a lot of noise even at normal temp.your only choice then is to buy a a cpu fan/air cooler(good ones start from ~1200)but you will not know this until you assemble your new system.

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OK

& one more thing, since i am going to assemble it on my own, what precautions/steps should i keep in mind? What is electrostatic static discharge & how to avoid it?? Do i need to buy an anti static wrist strap??

If there is a detailed tutorial available, please let me know. I found some on net, but not clear

Thanks

W

this is the only thing in pc assembling i have no experience:installing cpu in mobo.for this msg vickybat because practical experience is always better than reading tutorials regarding such matters & this is also the trickiest part.once you install cpu(with fan)into mobo rest of the components you can install easily.for making connections to cabinet cables are labelled at their end socket/small pins(power/led etc labelled like pwr,vcc etc).just see the circuit diagram of mobo in mobo manual & you can connect easily.about anti-static i am not sure as when i install HDD's i simply took them out of their anti-static packing but i always turn off the pc,switch off psu/smps & unplug the power cord inserted into psu.(i do not unplug power plug of smps/psu from ups but opposite as i perefer no power cables connected to cabinet while installing anything).for cpu installing though i am not sure how much precaution is necessary.usually static charge built-up in situations like walking on carpet etc but i have never faced such situation & my feet/hands keep touching ground so i don't think i ever had a chance of static charge buildup which might damage pc components.

P.S.my cabinet is placed on floor with no mat etc so direct contact with ground.

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whitestar_999 said:
this is the only thing in pc assembling i have no experience:installing cpu in mobo.for this msg vickybat because practical experience is always better than reading tutorials regarding such matters & this is also the trickiest part.once you install cpu(with fan)into mobo rest of the components you can install easily.for making connections to cabinet cables are labelled at their end socket/small pins(power/led etc labelled like pwr,vcc etc).just see the circuit diagram of mobo in mobo manual & you can connect easily.about anti-static i am not sure as when i install HDD's i simply took them out of their anti-static packing but i always turn off the pc,switch off psu/smps & unplug the power cord inserted into psu.(i do not unplug power plug of smps/psu from ups but opposite as i perefer no power cables connected to cabinet while installing anything).for cpu installing though i am not sure how much precaution is necessary.usually static charge built-up in situations like walking on carpet etc but i have never faced such situation & my feet/hands keep touching ground so i don't think i ever had a chance of static charge buildup which might damage pc components.

P.S.my cabinet is placed on floor with no mat etc so direct contact with ground.

@ Vickybat Please do comment

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send a PM for quicker response.

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Is (FM1 uPGA) socket different from FM1

Since the A6 3650 processor below has FM1 uPGA
Flipkart: AMD 2.6 GHz FM1 uPGA A6 3650 Processor: Processor

while
Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V Motherboard given below has FM1 socket..
Flipkart: Gigabyte GA-A55M-S2V Motherboard: Motherboard

Please rep as i am waiting.

^^uPGA stands for micro pin grid array and its the llano cpu that has the pins. All llano motherboards have socket FM1 and these uPGA processors fit in them.

Its pretty simple.

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@ vickybat
Thanks a Ton :-o

@ everyone at TDF

Thank you for your valuable advice

Placed my order on flipkart..

I hope my new Rig ROCKS :mrgreen:

:

Guys I need your help.

While checking the inside of my cabinet, I confirmed my HDD is SATA, but there is a black ribbon thing connected to IDE connector on the motherboard, the other end of which is connected to DVD writer.
Can u guys please tell me, what that means..
Although there is HDD cable written on it , but it isnt connected to HDD. The HDD is connected with a red colored SATA cable..

I m really confused..

W

seems like your dvd writer is PATA.you have to buy a SATA dvd writer.asus is recommended by many here & costs ~1170 on flipkart i think.lg costs ~950 but a bit lesser quality.

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@ every one

have ordered my stuff from Flipkart. Expecting it by Monday. :mrgreen:

Will let u guys know how it performs once i assemble it :razz:

Please tell me if i have to purchase the thermal paste as well or it will be supplied with the cpu??

W

intel processor stock fan comes with thermal paste pre-applied at the bottom & i think amd too.however thermal paste sold separately is of better quality & recommended for lower cpu temps.

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Guys I need help & it's urggent..
Got my rig today from flipkart & assembled it also
But there is a problem, when I boot the system a continous beep sound is coming & the operating system doesn't load, however I m able to ACESS THE BIOS SETTINGS..please tell me what to do??

I am waiting ..

HELP PLEASE... I am STUCK..

Tried starting without DVD writer & HDD, but still giving continous beep..
Guys please help me out

^^ Post your rig in details. What have you got?

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Poblem solved..had to reset bios settings..

imnasir said:
Guys I need help & it's urggent..
Got my rig today from flipkart & assembled it also
But there is a problem, when I boot the system a continous beep sound is coming & the operating system doesn't load, however I m able to ACESS THE BIOS SETTINGS..please tell me what to do??

I am waiting ..

HELP PLEASE... I am STUCK..

Tried starting without DVD writer & HDD, but still giving continous beep..
Guys please help me out

acc to manual, a beep means no problem. try using different ram slots & also if you have any linux live cd, try to run it without harddrive.

nice to know problem is solved

btw, install Catalyst 11.1 driver for Radeon HD 6530D.

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@ ICO
But there is catalyst 12.1 available, so which one then.

@ everyone here
I installed Windows 7 x64 bit version on my new upgraded rig, & I am really enjoying the gain in performance because of the overall upgrade in hardware/software. I really want to thank everyone in this thread who helped me in selecting my upgrade. :mrgreen:

One last question " in the control panel in RAM section it is showing only 3.50 GB of RAM as usable instead of the 4 GB installed." why so?? & how to correct it.
Please guide

W

A6 cpu use ram as it has integrated graphics unlike graphics card which has a dedicated ram of its own.