Basic Pc Configuration Needed

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Re: Hardware Price Check and Buying Advice Thread (Kolkata)

@Soura Thanks 4 the reply man :thumbs:

As you suggested,

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: Generally gaming. e.g Mass Effect, Crysis 2.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans:20K (You are damn right, I'm talking about your guess)

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans:Nope

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Win XP

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans: 500 GB (Less would do)

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: Yeah, need a new one. Size 18.5" (If smaller size available, that is also OK with me. But I prefer a LED compared to a LCD

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: I will not require a graphics card. I have one. Sapphire Radeon 5570 HD. Neither I require a sound box.

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: As soon as possible.

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: By an assembler. But can do small stuffs like changing RAM, Graphics cards..

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: Kolkata, Will buy from Chandni Chowk, Online nope.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: I was preferring Intel Core i3-2100, but I saw one thread here and I'm curious about AMD A6-3650. Is it good ?

S

Ok, you are asking a lot from the budget you have, to be very frank. An i3-2100 costs around 6k plus and a compatible motherboard will cost you around 4-5k. Also, i doubt that the HD5570 will be sufficient for gaming, especially the games you want to play. As for RAM, you can get a single Corsair 4GB module for around Rs. 1150 plus tax

18.5 inch monitor means you'll be gaming at around 1600x900 resolution. For that resolution, a Llano would be a nice investment. While going for Llano, try to get DDR3 RAM with a base frequency of 1600Mhz, as Llano's performance improves with higher frequency RAM, especially in gaming...

AMD A6-3650 @ ~Rs. 6000
Gigabyte A55-S2H @ ~Rs. 4500
Corsair Vengeance Single 4GB @ ~Rs. 1450

And about the monitor: there is no such thing as a LED monitor. Its all LCD panels with different types of backlighting used to improve picture quality. Older LCD panels use Cold Cathode Fluoroscent Lamps to provide backlighting. LED is a successor to it. So the correct term is LCD panel with LED backlighting. But LED is used as marketing gimmick more than anything.

Dell IN1930 (18.5") @ ~Rs. 5300

And you didnt mention what SMPS you have, so i'm suggesting you go with the Corsair CX430 V2 model.

Corsair CX430 V2 @ ~Rs. 2350

Price courtesy goes to Jaskanwar Singh and ico. All prices i mentioned are without tax... Any further queries, let us know

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@Soura: Thanks for the reply bro. Since the day I am using computers all I have seen is either LG or Samsung monitors in my known friend circles. But whenever I have been to any forums or threads I have seen IT experts have praised about DELL monitors. Are DELL monitors really good compared to previous mentioned brands ?

Yes, DELL monitors are quite good. Yes, Samsung and LG are much popular as not every dealer stocks DELL. So, if you dont really find DELL then go with Samsung. LG is not a good option.

S

Dell has decent support here, so you can go with Dell. On another thought, have you finalised your system? At your budget, a Llano is the best budget option you can get. Even the cheapest intel system comprising a pentium g620 and an h61 motherboard will cost you around Rs. 6000 and you have to add a graphics card to that config. The reason i didnt suggest that is because the Llano piece is a quad core and can help improve general performance in multithreaded apps...

And hard drives cost a bomb nowadays. a 500GB will set you back by around Rs. 4000

T

Crysis 2 on a HD 5570 that ain't look pretty.

S

Is getting a Pentium SB dual core and teaming it up with an HD6770 going to be a better option? I mean, its not worth going dual core now, when quad cores have so much potential and are a bit future proof to boot!

saswat23 said:
Yes, DELL monitors are quite good. Yes, Samsung and LG are much popular as not every dealer stocks DELL. So, if you dont really find DELL then go with Samsung. LG is not a good option.

lol, do you realise which company manufactures the IPS "panel" of Dell's Ultrasharp series monitor which people regard as an "excellent monitor"? LG.

Yup hitachi, panasonic and lg are the only ips panel manufacturers either for their own lineup or as oem for others like dell. In dell's case, lg is the manufacturer.

Souro_Ray said:
AMD A6-3650 @ ~Rs. 6000
Gigabyte A55-S2H @ ~Rs. 4500
Corsair Vengeance Single 4GB @ ~Rs. 1450

Corsair CX430 V2 @ ~Rs. 2350

Price courtesy goes to Jaskanwar Singh and ico. All prices i mentioned are without tax... Any further queries, let us know

the price is ~3.7k on flipkart, and Op can also consider getting Corsair VS450 @ 2.1k.

G

Thanks guys for all your suggestions :thumbs:

@Souro: Thinking about some quality products I have raised that price barrier to 25K

. Right now I'm gonna use my existing graphics card (HD 5570), so cost curtailed.

But I am too confused regarding the monitor. I tried several sites for further knowledge about DELL vs Samsung monitors, but from majority of the sites I figured out that Samsung monitors are best for Gaming. They were talking about Color Gamuts which is an essential factor for gaming, proves good with Samsung monitors. Response Time stands same for both.

But again IT experts here are suggesting for DELL, which I belief has some definite reason.

S

Like i said before, its better to go with a quad core rather than dual core at this stage. And Intel quad core territory starts from around 9K for the processor only. and thats a third of your budget!

So i still suggest a Llano config based on the A6-3650. Get at least 1600Mhz RAM with it, as Llano performance improves with higher memory frequency...

Remember, dont go for a huge screen size when taking Llano. The on board GPU may be powerful, but not enough to place on full HD settings. Stick to smaller resolutions for Llano, and you'll be happy with the performance..

If you want the PC purely for gaming purpose and are not intending it to be a productivity machine or a gaming powerhouse, then i would suggest going with a Pentium G620 and an H61 combo for around Rs. 6000. Get the Radeon HD6850 for around Rs. 9000. Get 4GB Corsair Value RAM for Rs. 1150 and get the CX430V2 for Rs. 2350 and with the remaining budget, get your monitor...

That combo (G620, H61 and HD6850) played Skyrim at Full HD at nearly all settings maxed out so respect the new pentiums...

G

@Soura: Can you suggest me a monitor from Samsung ?

ico said:
lol, do you realise which company manufactures the IPS "panel" of Dell's Ultrasharp series monitor which people regard as an "excellent monitor"? LG.

Well, I am refering to the mid range monitors here not the IPS panels. Moreover i was comparing LG with Samsung and from many online reviews and opinions, 'Samsung' is concluded to be better.

S

I'm not very familiar with Samsung monitors, to be honest.. I still stand by my pick of the Dell IN1930.. I'll get back to you with some information of Samsung displays around that price point..

Are you decided on the rest of the setup? Remember, if you want to venture forth into Full HD territory, Llano will cease to be useful before long. In Full HD gaming, a decent CPU and a powerful discrete GPU are a better overall option. If you are decided that you will stay with your 18.5inch display, then Llano is a good choice for you.

The Samsung B1930N is a viable choice, but the price is a bit north of Rs. 6000.. Lets see what the other members say...

Yup, its a LED monitor and costs around 6k.

G

saswat23 said:
Yup, its a LED monitor and costs around 6k.

Samsung B1930N is not LED backlit

At the end of the day I could not keep my promise, I have over budgeted myself

This is the final configuration that I have chosen:

Intel DH67CL Motherboard (LGA 1155 Socket Type) - Rs. 5615

Intel 3.1 GHz LGA 1155 Core i3-2100 Processor - Rs. 6299

4GB Kingston(Rs.1292) or Corsair(Rs.1187) DDR3 1333MHz

LED Monitor - S19A300N Samsung

GPU : Radeon HD 5570

Corsair(PSU) CX430 V2 @ ~Rs. 2350

HDD : Seagate 500 GB.

Do you guys feel its Ok ?

^^ nicely priced and balanced. but check the warranty on the Seagate drive (check online). it'll have just 1yr warranty.

S

HD5570 wont help you in gaming much... The rest of the config is pretty nicely priced. Congrats

- Go for Corsair RAM for they have 10yrs long warranty.
- For the price of Samsung S19A300N you can get the Samsung B2030 too (though its not LED still the monitor has SUPERB clarity)
- If you are OK with HD 5570 thats fine, but i would suggest you to spend ~500 bucks more and egt the HD 5670 1GB DDR3 for 3.8k.

^^ HD5570 is an existing gfx card Op has with him - so no way Op can get a HD5670 buy spending 500 bucks more ;-)

@ OP - if you want to go with Samsung monitor get one - I'm using the B2230 though it's not a LED monitor the image quality and gaming performance is just superb.

topgear said:
^^ HD5570 is an existing gfx card Op has with him - so no way Op can get a HD5670 buy spending 500 bucks more

Oh, my bad. I thought he was gonna buy it.

np ... it happens ;-)