Best possible 'gaming' config (mobo+procy+ram) under 12-13k?

Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz @ 6.5k
Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L @ 3k
Transcend 2*2GB DDR3 1333MHz C9 @ 4.6k

see this link
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/hardware-q/96218-latest-prices.html

^^ thats way too old & totally outdated.

Athlon II X3 425 2.7GHz + Biostar TA785G3 HD @ 7.5k
Kingston/G.Skill/Corsair 2X2Gb DDR3 1333Mhz @ 5k

Total: 12.5k

the tri core is slow a bit but you can OC it. or even try unlock the 4th core. even if you don't OC or unlock, this processor really fast (compared to your old one)

adithestar said:

Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz @ 6.5k
Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L @ 3k
Transcend 2*2GB DDR3 1333MHz C9 @ 4.6k

see this link
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/hardware-q/96218-latest-prices.html

Click to expand...

@adithestar
C2Q is already at "end of life",makes no sense in getting it
the mobo supports ddr2 ram only
whereas you've recommended ddr3
don't give uninformed and bogus advice to the op
@op
for 12k budget, let's see:
Processors
Athlon II X3 435@3.5k
Athlon II X3 440@4k
Athlon II X4 635@5k

Motherboards
Biostar TA785G3@3.7k
Biostar TA785G3HD@4.2k
Gigabyte GA MA785GMT US2H@4.5k
Gigabyte GA 880GM UD2H@4.7k

Rams
Corsair Value Select 2x2GB 1333MHz DDR3 2x2.5k

Take your pick according to budget

i will select the best combination for you if you want

actually 620 & 630 are also good processors. & total VFM now. & the Gigabyte 880G is really hard to find. SMC is the old place to find the board for such low price. but i doubt they have any piece left in stock.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. But sorry that I forgot to say one more thing...I don't need to get 4GB ram within that budget right now. Initially I wanna buy 2gb ddr3 and after 2-3 months I guess I can get another 2gb module. So if I cut out the ram from my budget then what mobo+procy would you recommend within around 10k?

I must say that I don't use many multithreaded apps (vid encoding...image processing etc)...gaming is the main thing I do on my PC. I don't know whether my 8800gtx is gonna be a bottleneck for the system I buy...and frankly I don't/can't care right now. I just wanna get the best procy (and mobo) within that price that can let me get the max fps possible in today's games. So please keep suggesting...thanks.

Then it's gotta be AMD Athlon II X4 635 @ 4.8k + Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-US2H @4.5k

There's really nothing higher you can get at this budget, phenoms & i5s are way too expensive for this. You can save the money or just buy the 4 gigs straightaway by stretching your budget a bit.

But I'd still advice you to get to the root of the problem first. Do one thing, just check the voltages on your UPS output. But, guess when you change everything, things are gonna be fine. So better you get the AMD

How about a core i3 based system? I understand the fact that the lga1156 socket's gonna be outdated soon but still...games do run fast with an i3 530...don't they?

And also...don't the AMD procies consume more power and generate more heat?

games run fast on a balanced system. yes i3 is better than Athlon II. even faster than X4 but i3 price kind of high. when 4.5k brings you a 2.8Ghz quad. i3 comes no where close.

Yes, they do. but only when under load. in day to day usage, theres hardly any difference. get i3 only if you read to OC the hell out of it. if no OC, nothing beats a stock Athlon II X4.

funkysourav said:

@adithestar
C2Q is already at "end of life",makes no sense in getting it
the mobo supports ddr2 ram only
whereas you've recommended ddr3
don't give uninformed and bogus advice to the op
@op
for 12k budget, let's see:
Processors
Athlon II X3 435@3.5k
Athlon II X3 440@4k
Athlon II X4 635@5k

Motherboards
Biostar TA785G3@3.7k
Biostar TA785G3HD@4.2k
Gigabyte GA MA785GMT US2H@4.5k
Gigabyte GA 880GM UD2H@4.7k

Rams
Corsair Value Select 2x2GB 1333MHz DDR3 2x2.5k

Take your pick according to budget

i will select the best combination for you if you want

Click to expand...

sorry man,, ma bad ,, thnks 4 pointing it out,,

Can anybody tell me about some good budget motherboards for core i3 with which I'll be able to OC the processor? (I may even buy the AMD X4 635...but need to know more about the core i3 first...so please suggest)

^ Get the Core i3 and enjoy gaming with its crappy on-board graphics.

msi h55m-e33 @ 5.2k

but remember - graphics suck!!!!

I don't care about the inbuilt gfx as I have an 8800GTX which I'm gonna use with it. What matters is that the board has to be something with which the i3 can be OCd....

Athlon II X4 635 (4.7k) + MSI 790GX-G65 (6k) > Core i3-530 (5.5k) + MSI H55M-E33 (5.2k)

ico said:

^ Get the Core i3 and enjoy gaming with its crappy on-board graphics.

Click to expand...

actually according to some reviews i3530 with onboard graphics is better or comparable to
athlon II X4 635 with 785g onboard graphics(HD4200,4250)

now where did i see the review
ummm!!
Xbitlabs maybe, cant remember clearly
but sure about the review

---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 PM ----------

let me put it in this perspective
core i3
costs more ,
performs better with discrete gpu,
not future proof as it is dual core and lga 1156 is dead man walking already

whereas
AMD athlon II x4 or x3
performs similar or lesser with onboard or discrete gpu,
costs lesser,
more futureproof due to more cores and the expected lifespan of am3 chipset is GREAT
which interpretes to a more flexible setup!

^link please

sorry dont remember the specific link
it must be xbitlabs though

If I OC the AMD X4 635 (whatever's possible within the stock voltage) then will I be able to achieve the performance of stock core i3 530?

Also...do most of today's games utilize 4 cores (or more)?

(And once again...I don't care about the onboard/inbuilt graphics...it doesn't matter whether it's crappy or not)

Anx02 said:

If I OC the AMD X4 635 (whatever's possible within the stock voltage) then will I be able to achieve the performance of stock core i3 530?

Also...do most of today's games utilize 4 cores (or more)?

(And once again...I don't care about the onboard/inbuilt graphics...it doesn't matter whether it's crappy or not)

Click to expand...

yeah it is possible to reach i3 530 by overclocking at stock voltage
it will do 3.3-3.4 on stock cooler easily
most of todays games utilize only 2 cores(fallout 3 interestingly gives strange errors on triple cores and quad cores)
games utilizing more than 2 cores are a minority as of now(bad company,gta IV mafia 2(not released),and many other unreleased games)
igp not being an issue, as u have 8800gt
i would suggest Athlon II x4 635 or x3 440(depending on budget)

I apologize for not reading the first post carefully where the OP has mentioned about 8800GTX and posting straightaway out of context.

Regarding Core i3 vs Athlon II X4 635. Performance of both of them is more or less same. Core i3 holds a slight edge in gaming whereas the X4 635 is great in tasks which require more cores i.e. archiving, encoding etc. [at stock speed] So, it all comes down to your own personal preference.

I am not a fan of low end H55 boards as they are expensive compared to their AMD counterparts.

Crysis 2 will utilize upto 16 cores. this should give you a proper idea about how games in coming year (next year) will be designed.

the current difference between core i3 and athlon II x4 635 is not more than 6-7 fps..

the difference disappears once you install a mainstream card. real difference seen when using GTX460 or HD5850 or above. for 8800GTX, just get anyone you like. both are same.

performance wise, 8800GTX = HD4770. which is lower than GTS250. so i think with i3, all OP will get is "Intel" confidence & a costly board that lacks USB 3.0 as well as Sata 3.0.

Thanks for your views guys...