Entertainment PC Config - Help!!

J

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A: Movies, Music, Browsing, Game (Heaviest that I play are Age of Empires2 and Age of mythology). Video Ripping in upconversion
2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: I prefer to have intel i3 or i5 based config. Also ready for alternates.
3. What is your MAX budget?
A: 25K (without monitor)
4. Planning to overclock?
A: No
5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Windows 7
6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: 1TB to 1.5TB
7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want?
A: Will buy monitor later. However PC should deliver full HD video and Dolby DTS Trude HD output
8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A: 7
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: By assembler
10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: within 2 weeks
11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: I dont believe there is anything called future proof
12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Monitor, Keyboard,Mouse,DVD-RW
13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: Mumbai. Planning to buy everything from lamington road
14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: 1) Additional components required to be added are multi-media card reader, wifi lan card
2) Mobo should have USB3 and eSATA port
3) Mobo should have 5.1/7.1 analogue out and optical out
4) Should have provision to add TV tuner card in future
6) Will add blueray writer in future

My current choice is

intel i3-540
Gigabyte GA-H57M-USB3
Corsair 2GB DDR3
Coolermaster Elite 360
Coolermaster PSU 350W
Wlan card
MMC reader
Seagate barracuda 1.5TB HDD

Thanks in advance

can you go for AMD.
also which monitor you have?
do you need speakers?

J

Thanks for the quick response. Gimme AMD config too. (I have changed the answer suitably). Currently I have a 15" CRT. Its temporary one. I will look for better monitor/TV in 2 months down the line and most of the time i will connect it to my projector (Epson 720p native and capable of fullHD). Dont need speakers, as I will connect it to my existing HT, which has 5.1 analogue in.

For amd my suggestion is -

AMD athlon ii x4 635 @ 5k
Gigabyte 880GMA UD2H @ 5.5k
Kingston 2 GB ddr3 1333Mhz @ 2k
Seagate 1TB 7200.12 @ 3k
ATI radeon HD 5670 512MB @ 5.2k
Cooler master elite 310 @ 1.6k
FSP saga 350W @ 1.4k
Netgaer draft N Compatible Wifi card @ 0.9k
Card Reader 0.2k
Total - 24.5k

since you will need a wifi lan card, tv tuner card probably you need atleast 2 pci connectors. but that mobo has got 1 pci slot. also the slots should be nicely placed out..
so modifying cybertonic's config -

AMD Athlon II x4 630 @ 4.5k
ASUS M4A87TD-EVO @ 6.4k
G.Skill 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k
Sapphire HD5550 1GB DDR3 @ 4.4k
WD 500GB Blue * 2 @ 4k
FSP saga II 350W @ 1.5k
CM Elite 310 @ 1.5k

Total - 24.6k

HD5550 is enough for your gaming and HTPC needs.

but the main concern now is asus service..rashi peripherals sucks! but i found no other option in that price range as your requirement needs well spaced slots and more of them..so somebody else might be able to suggest you some other mobo might be..

R

have a look at the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H ..no USB 3.0...can always get an add on card though..

but he needs a usb 3 too
also i am unable to confirm weather that asus mobo has dolby home theater support or not!!

R

^what does that mean anyway?

dolby is high quality surround sound...basically used with home theaters etc.

also are there pcie x1 tuner cards or wifi cards available??

R

so if the mobo supports it,how does he use it? via HDMI or how?

Jaskanwar Singh said:
since you will need a wifi lan card, tv tuner card probably you need atleast 2 pci connectors. but that mobo has got 1 pci slot. also the slots should be nicely placed out..
so modifying cybertonic's config -

AMD Athlon II x4 630 @ 4.5k
ASUS M4A87TD-EVO @ 6.4k
G.Skill 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k
Sapphire HD5550 1GB DDR3 @ 4.4k
WD 500GB Blue * 2 @ 4k
FSP saga II 350W @ 1.5k
CM Elite 310 @ 1.5k

Total - 24.6k

HD5550 is enough for your gaming and HTPC needs.

but the main concern now is asus service..rashi peripherals sucks! but i found no other option in that price range as your requirement needs well spaced slots and more of them..so somebody else might be able to suggest you some other mobo might be..

y r u suggesting him a ASUS board???
MSI/GIGA at 5.6k will do more better and will be safer too

@Jaskanwar
He can always go for a USB tv tuner card

R

^even external TV tuner cards can be a good option (no need to keep PC on)

J

Thanks a ton to all those of you with kind heart for the response with your suggestions.

Cybertonic said:
For amd my suggestion is -

AMD athlon ii x4 635 @ 5k
Gigabyte 880GMA UD2H @ 5.5k
Kingston 2 GB ddr3 1333Mhz @ 2k
Seagate 1TB 7200.12 @ 3k
ATI radeon HD 5670 512MB @ 5.2k
Cooler master elite 310 @ 1.6k
FSP saga 350W @ 1.4k
Netgaer draft N Compatible Wifi card @ 0.9k
Card Reader 0.2k
Total - 24.5k

Mobo does not have USB3.0

Jaskanwar Singh said:
since you will need a wifi lan card, tv tuner card probably you need atleast 2 pci connectors. but that mobo has got 1 pci slot. also the slots should be nicely placed out..
so modifying cybertonic's config -

AMD Athlon II x4 630 @ 4.5k
ASUS M4A87TD-EVO @ 6.4k
G.Skill 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k
Sapphire HD5550 1GB DDR3 @ 4.4k
WD 500GB Blue * 2 @ 4k
FSP saga II 350W @ 1.5k
CM Elite 310 @ 1.5k

Total - 24.6k

HD5550 is enough for your gaming and HTPC needs.

but the main concern now is asus service..rashi peripherals sucks! but i found no other option in that price range as your requirement needs well spaced slots and more of them..so somebody else might be able to suggest you some other mobo might be..

Mobo does not have eSATA port

Jaskanwar Singh said:
also are there pcie x1 tuner cards or wifi cards available??

This is D-Link wlan with 32-bit PCI interface Theitdepot - D-link Wireless N 150 Desktop Adapter (DWA-525)

Cybertonic said:
@Jaskanwar
He can always go for a USB tv tuner card

I prefer to have an internal TV tuner card so that I can record it.

------------------------------------------------------
1) Any recommendations on intel based config?
2) What about the config I have given in my first post?
3) While both recommended configs has separated Graphic Card, why a mobo with integrated graphic was recommended? In such case, is it possible to get a mobo without integrated graphic and save some cost?
4) Why CM elite 310? I wanted the cabinet to place horizontal and chose CM elite 360.
5) Is 350W PSU sufficient for my usage (keep in mind about future addition of tv-tuner and chaning to BD writer)? Also I read few graphic cards demand minimum 400W PSU for optimal performance.

Thanks & Regards

J

rajan1311 said:
so if the mobo supports it,how does he use it? via HDMI or how?

I can use it through HDMI and also 7.1 analogue out or SPDIF out. It also depends on my AV receiver's capability.

R

but then HD audio is only via HDMI and that really depends on your receiver's capability right? SPDIF is just 5.1, 7.1 analog? nah dude...

J

Thanks for your question rajan1311. It made me read a bit.

Most of the intel chipset support HD audio. Intel promotes HD audio along with Dolby laboratories. It comes in 3 categories, Dolby Sound room (2 channel), Dolby Home Theatre (5.1 channel) and Dolby Master Studio (7.1 channel).

Now the answer to your question SPDIF cannot take HD-audio through optical cable, as it does not have enough bandwidth. However if MOBO can hand over full HD audio in analogue format analogue 7.1 can take it happily for processing and reproducing by AV receivers. Currently my need is only 5.1 and my AV receiver also can handle only 5.1, so even SPDIF out will work for me. But my requirement in PC is optical,analogue and HDMI also.

^^^WOW!
For a second it felt like i was in calculus class again.
Everything went overhead.
Btw, just posted to wish you all happy belated dusshera.

jking said:
This is D-Link wlan with 32-bit PCI interface Theitdepot - D-link Wireless N 150 Desktop Adapter (DWA-525)

i asked for a pci-e x1 interface not pci.

i found these -
Aver TV Speedy PCIE Internal TV Tuner PCI Express
AverTV Tuner with HD Capture

so if you will use these types of cards then
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H will do good.

it has -
1 x PCI Express x16 slot
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4
1 x PCI Express x1 slot
1 x PCI slots

so x16 for your gfx part, x4 or x1 for tv tuner or wifi(if you find)(remember x1 devices can be used with x4 slots also, but they will run at x1 speed), pci for remaining wifi or tv tuner..

also its got usb3 and esata, dolby home theatre support..

so your config -

AMD Athlon II x4 630 @ 4.5k
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H @ 5.5k
G.Skill 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k
Sapphire HD5550 1GB DDR3 @ 4.4k
WD 500GB Blue * 2 @ 3.6k
FSP saga II 350W @ 1.5k
CM Elite 310 @ 1.5k

Total - 23.3k

now with remaining money you can go with a fsp saga II 400w @ 2k or even fsp saga II 500w @ 2.2k(which is more vfm considering the 200 bucks difference).
yes you can look at elite 360 also.
and athlon II x4 635 @ 5k can also be considered..

also athlon II x4 is a more vfm, futureproof and better option than i3 530 also. i3 540 costs a lot. you will notice a much better performance in multithreaded apps at lower price. in gaming there is only 6-7 fps difference in general. also gaming depends on the gpu used also. at higher settings its the gpu which matters most. also i3 540 is priced at 7k..at this price you can have a phenom II x4 945. in video encoding 630 and 635 are better.

a mobo without integrated gfx as in your case a 870 chipset based mobo like the asus board i mentioned. they are actually in same 5-6k range and even above as you saw.

or How about..
MSI NF 980 - G65
MSI 890 GXM - G65
GIGABYTE GA-890 GPA-UD3H
BIOSTAR TA790 GXE 12O M
.
.
Is anyofthem under his budget.

they cost around 6.5k and above..moreover he has to look out for network card and bluetooth also.

J

Jaskanwar Singh said:
they cost around 6.5k and above..moreover he has to look out for network card and bluetooth also.

Still no config by anyone on intel. :???:

If i take phenom ii x4, will it be fine. What is main difference between athlon ii x4 and phenom ii x4 ? Apart from L3 cache missing in Athlon II X4, is there any other difference?

^^I guess a few instructions set!!

J

ssb1551 said:
^^I guess a few instructions set!!

I dont understand!!??

R

ahh that nice buddy, so toslink should be more than sufficient for you. As for the intel rig,i am stuck in lazy mode,so please bare with me, have a look at this thread,pretty old,but you should get an idea : Intel gaming rigs

jking said:
Still no config by anyone on intel.

If i take phenom ii x4, will it be fine. What is main difference between athlon ii x4 and phenom ii x4 ? Apart from L3 cache missing in Athlon II X4, is there any other difference?

as i mentioned for your purpose amd will be better. also with amd you are getting a well balanced config within your budget.

BTW how much the intel mobo you mentioned cost?

about difference check - The Differences Between Athlon II and Phenom II Explained

there are cases when unlocking of l3 on athlon II was possible. but that was a deneb core. the athlon II based on propus core have no l3 present physically on the die and disabled.

J

Jaskanwar Singh said:
BTW how much the intel mobo you mentioned cost?

Mobo Price is 8.6K

as i said that platform is costly with giving performance boost. so now your choice..

J

Thanks for all suggestions. Once I finalise and assemble I will update in this same thread.

Edit- its WITHOUT in my last post.

Edit- its WITHOUT in my last post!

J

Jaskanwar Singh said:
Edit- its WITHOUT in my last post!

Got it....

One more doubt, in the Graphic Card recommended by you, will I be able to connect projector and monitor simultaneously with DVI and HDMI port and get the output simultaneously.

In mobo though DVI and HDMI ports are there it is clearly mentioned that video cannot be transmitted simultaneously through DVI and HDMI.

Confirm me about the Graphic Card.

R

yep you can....it is the normal multi monitor setup that you need to do...

J

I have finalised the PC config and will get it delivered by monday evening. The config is

AMD Phenom II X4 945
ASUS M4A88TD-V-EVO-USB3
Samsung DVD-RW
Corsair 2x2GB DDR3 1333MHz
Coolermaster CM Elite360
Coolermaster 400W SMPS
WD Caviar Green 1TB
Internal Card Reader
Dlink DWA525 Wlan Card
Logitech MK250

Thanks for all suggestions and valid inputs friends. Thanks to jaskanwar singh and rajan1311 specifically

except the psu everything is fine. have you ordered it?

J

I have ordered it. But I can still change the PSU. Do you suggest FSP Saga II. I chose coolermaster for quiet performance. Correct me if I am wrong

get FSP saga II 500W @ 2.1k..its also quiet.

J

Is 500W necessary. 400 or 450W wont do for my config? I will check for the availability of FSP Saga II and add it to my config.

The difference between 400 & 500W of Saga II is around 200 bucks.Thats why go for 500W one.

J

Wont 500W consume more power. I am concerned about consuming more power when there is no absolute need for the same. Not worried about the cost factor.

Psu is more efficient when 40-60% rated power is pulled from it.

J

I will try and get FSP Saga II 500W

jking said:
I have ordered it. But I can still change the PSU. Do you suggest FSP Saga II. I chose coolermaster for quiet performance. Correct me if I am wrong

jking said:
Wont 500W consume more power. I am concerned about consuming more power when there is no absolute need for the same. Not worried about the cost factor.

CM is loud. more loud when it goes off.

also if the system isn't eating lot of power, PSU won't eat additional power if its rated higher. i mean if your system eats 100W @ idle, 400W will consume around 120W. 500W may consume 122-125W. just an assumption.

also keep alternate options on: Gigabyte 460W.

J

Thanks for this info sam. I will keep Gigabyte 460W as second option.