Going to Delhi on TUE to buy PC - last questions

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Hi Everyone! Based upon the suggestions in this thread about a month ago, I chose the following config for my new gaming PC:

-CM Elite 335 or Antec 200 (got this from another source - don't know if it will be available or not) (2.4k)
-Intel core i5 750 (10k-10.5k)
-Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 (7.5k)
-Transcend DDR3 1333MHz RAM: 2x2Gb (each stick around 2.5k)
-500 GB HDD (2.3k-2.5k)
-GTS 250 512 MB (already bought, so can't change now)
-PSU CM Extreme 600W (already bought, so can't change now - bad choice)
-LG 19" LCD display with max resolution@1440X900 (Bought it 1.5 years ago, will upgrade later - this one is bad)
-DVD drive (Combo?)
-Altec Lansing BXR1121 @ 1.1k
-logitech keyboard

I am going to Delhi (currently in Allahabad) to buy the PC on Tuesday or Wednesday. Is there any change that I should make for it now? Have the prices change from what is listed above?

Also, does anybody know where in Delhi should I buy the PC? I don't want to get ripped, especially since I don't live in Delhi. I almost considered buying a branded PC because of that, but it was way too expensive.

Last but not the least, how does one get an assembled PC serviced, especially if it was purchased in a different city? When I was in Mumbai, I bought my PC from Lamington Road, and if there was any problem withing 1 year (except burns etc), they replaced the affected part with a new one - No haggling whatsoever.My friend got a new Mobo and RAM after 11 months! If it was more than 1 year, they sent it for servicing. Basically, you had to take your PC to them and they took care of it. How does it work in Delhi?

hi

the best bet in delhi is only and only Nehru place. prices are actually the MRP. DONT EVER GOTO Cannot Place even if someone tells you there is a showroom for that company.

i have not been there for 2mts will not be able to tell the prices currently. dont think there will be much fluctuation of prices

the max i can tell to look good cabinet, many dont know about CM.
altec lansing are superior and much hunting to be done.

there are total of 3 buildings in the location. try to spend as much time as possible and cover whole length of buildings.try to remember loacation of shops who know about ur product and the prices r lower than others.

dont try to buy in one shot. i spent three days just to study the market when i first came in delhi 2yr ago.

cut throat competition rules the market. the shopkeeper wont tell you if you asked for something & if he does it is 80% chance that the shop he referred is one of his own.

its best to find yourself otherwise you may miss the best deal.

all shops will give you a printed and signed recipt of the parts you buy. dont accept handwritten or recipt that does not have stamp of the shop. this print-out will be able to replace a damaged part. there is no service as such. you have to come to replace the part with the recipt.

some shops i can remember are :::::>
computer empire (medhdoot building) for CM
mass computer system (manjusha)
SMC international (meghdoot) for CM
cost to cost(medhdoot) display unit TFT + DVD combo
R R System (medhdoot) Corsair -personal option for RAM
Multilink system (bajaj house) GFX card, Headphone.

for Intel products: (frm web, intel site)
Upper Ground Fl, Block E - Int'l Trade Tower
21 Nehru Place, Suite 311 - Paharpur Business Centre
or many other shops are in line

B

Thanks for the information, Arpan. I will keep in mind the part about printed and stamped receipts.

Unfortunately, I will only have around 3-4 hours to buy the stuff. I will have it assembled there itself and I will have to carry my own PSU, GFX card and the HDD. But I will definitely ask for quotes from different shops and try to get a good deal, though probably not the best. I will also buy the stuff from one single shop, even if it means spending 1-2k extra. I am excited and nervous at the same time.

One more question about the configuration to everyone:
BTW, I was also wondering about replacing the stock cooler. I don't plan to OC, but the computer will be operating in a high temp (37-45C), high humidity and high dust environment. Will it be a good idea to replace the stock cooler, and if so, can you please suggest one and its expected price?

And I forgot to ask - the CM Elite with come with two fans, right? Do I need to buy extra fan or take extra care about where to put the fans? And will it have a washable dust filter?

if you are not planning to OC, the stock cooler should be enough as core i5 runs cooler than core i7 and Phenom II processors.

if possible, get Altec Lansing VS4121 instead of BXR1121.
afaik, CM Elite 335 comes with one fan at the rear and you need to buy extra fan for the side vent and you should be good to go.

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@Desibond, somebody said to me that you were an expert on speakers, so your advice will be very helpful.

Both VS4121 and BXR1121 are 2.1 speakers, but the VS seems to be a much better one. Unfortunately, it also seems to be a lot more expensive. I don't want to spend more than 1-1.5k on speakers, plus I already have very good Phillips headphones for gaming if I want. Can you suggest which speaker I should get for that price?

BXR 1221 is very low on volume. so, i guess BXR1121 should be better. Also check if you can find Philips MMS430. last time I checked it's price was 2.2k. is one hell of a speaker system.

U shud hav waited and looked at some premade cofigs....are u dead set on the core i5? or do u want something of say 6k lesser budget(mobo+CPU)....

Confirm..and yeah bad choice on PSU.

B

desiibond said:
BXR 1221 is very low on volume. so, i guess BXR1121 should be better. Also check if you can find Philips MMS430. last time I checked it's price was 2.2k. is one hell of a speaker system.

2.2k will still be too much for me, I think. I am not a big music fan, and I definitely don't like loud music, not even for the Rhythm Divine

comp@ddict said:
U shud hav waited and looked at some premade cofigs....are u dead set on the core i5? or do u want something of say 6k lesser budget(mobo+CPU)....

Confirm..and yeah bad choice on PSU.

Well, I postponed buying a new PC to wait for the i5, but if there is a good enoug reason to not go for it, I am all ears. Nothing is set in stone

By lesser than 6k, do you mean both Mobo+CPU combined less than 6k? What will the prospects for gaming for the next 2 years in that case? I know the GTS 250 looks unmatched with the i5, but a new gfx card can be bought later. What did you have in mind? Please don't hesitate to say what you think - I would rather be told that I am being foolish than actually make the wrong decision

I will recommend SMC International, Meghdoot/Deepali Building for your purchase. Those guys there know what they sell and are friendly to customers. And i think its the only shop where you can assemble your system for free even if you havent bought all the components from there.

I can give you the contact details of their Online Represntative if you want. they can even ship the stuff to your place, so that you wont even have to come to delhi (if you are coming just for this reason).

@bippukt, yes. as I said, BXR1121 should be better and if you are lucky, you might find Philips MMS430 for 1.5k.

Logitech has released new 2.1 models but none of them are good. you may get tempted by it's looks. just a warning

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Thanks Desiibond! I will keep an eye out for Philips MMS430.

B

On another note, the Delhi trip is in jeopardy now.

As I might buy the above items from Allahabad itself, in case the motherboard Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 is not available, are there any alternatives that I might try? I won't go fo the UD3 or UD6 as they are too expensive. What other things will I have to consider apart from a P55 chipset? There is absolutely NO SLI planned.

EDIT: And no OC either.

BTW, are the Asus, MSI and Biostar chipsets good?

A

bippukt said:
On another note, the Delhi trip is in jeopardy now.

As I might buy the above items from Allahabad itself, in case the motherboard Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 is not available, are there any alternatives that I might try? I won't go fo the UD3 or UD6 as they are too expensive. What other things will I have to consider apart from a P55 chipset? There is absolutely NO SLI planned.

EDIT: And no OC either.

BTW, are the Asus, MSI and Biostar chipsets good?

whence these companies started making chipsets, I think you Main Boards, then they are as good as gigabyte.

harryneopotter said:
I will recommend SMC International, Meghdoot/Deepali Building for your purchase. Those guys there know what they sell and are friendly to customers. And i think its the only shop where you can assemble your system for free even if you havent bought all the components from there.

I can give you the contact details of their Online Represntative if you want. they can even ship the stuff to your place, so that you wont even have to come to delhi (if you are coming just for this reason).

SMC International is a good shop. The guys there know there stuff. Most high-end stuff is available there, else Gurmeet can procure it for you. Personally I find them good and honest, with sound advice.

bippukt said:
On another note, the Delhi trip is in jeopardy now.

As I might buy the above items from Allahabad itself, in case the motherboard Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 is not available, are there any alternatives that I might try? I won't go fo the UD3 or UD6 as they are too expensive. What other things will I have to consider apart from a P55 chipset? There is absolutely NO SLI planned.

EDIT: And no OC either.

BTW, are the Asus, MSI and Biostar chipsets good?

Why don't you order it from Lynx. He delivers all over India. And assemble it your self. It is pretty straight forward, and the manual is handy. Just when you assemble, have an active net connection in the same room, and use the WWW for reference. That is how I assembled my rig. Plus it is great fun.

ASUS/Gigabyte/MSI are the BIG three when it comes to motherboards. MSI has really good P55 motherboards, out. Same with the other two.

Your decided parts seem good and well rounded. Well..could have gotten a better PSU, but since you will not OC, no issue. One suggestion, go for 1 TB HDD. 500GB fills up quick...!

MSI P55-CD53
Intel DP55WG

You can order from SMC also if you want

.

harryneopotter said:
You can order from SMC also if you want .

They do that...serious.....what is the minimum amount. I live really near Nehru Place (Malviya Nagar) -- this would be a heaven send, then going there...?

P.S. Will they also deliver those nice games being sold there.

asigh said:
They do that...serious.....what is the minimum amount. I live really near Nehru Place (Malviya Nagar) -- this would be a heaven send, then going there...?

P.S. Will they also deliver those nice games being sold there.

harryneopotter said:
I can give you the contact details of their Online Represntative if you want. they can even ship the stuff to your place, so that you wont even have to come to delhi (if you are coming just for this reason).

Hope you got your answer. They have their Online rep As authorized Dealer on other forums(you know where

).

P.S. : No they dont

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Thanks to all you guys who helped me arrive at a config and other decision in this and earlier threads. Special thanks to Desiibond for his continued and numerous suggestions over a period of months.

I asked my friends and acquaintances and found a shop with which I had "influence", which simply means that they won't try to overcharge me, at least not too much. Here's the estimate that I got and I think this is the best I can get in Allahabad within a short period of time. This is final unless someone suggests a change

-Cabinet: Zebronics or iBall w/o SMPS (cost around 1.2k-1.6k). CM unavailable in several shops. Which one do you think I should go for?
-Motherboard: Intel DP55WG (as I anticipated, Gigabyte was unavailable)
-Intel Core i5 with 8 MB cache: (combined mobo+proccy cost 16.5k - I forgot the breakdown)
-RAM: Kingston DDR3 1333MHz 2x2GB (5.5k)
-HDD: 500 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM (2.45k)
-Sony DVD-RW drive: (cost 1.2k)
-Speakers: Altec Lansing BXR1221 cost 1.2k (model 1121 unavailable)

Apart from this, I already have:
-SMPS: CM Extreme Power 600W
-Gfx Card: GTS 250 512MB
-2 old SATA HDDs 160GB and 80GB capacity
-LG 19" LCD monitor with max resolution 1440X900

Total cost = 28.7k approx

The unavailability of CM cabinet is a bit disappointing, but I want to buy now and I don't think it will affect things too much as I don't plan to OC. Do you have any suggestions about the iBall cabinets? He was quite reluctant about the Zebronics one and I don't think he has good Zebronics cabinets. Any ideas on good iBall cabinets? Any change you think I should make? Because tomorrow is the D-Day for high speed gaming

By lesser than 6k, do you mean both Mobo+CPU combined less than 6k? What will the prospects for gaming for the next 2 years in that case? I know the GTS 250 looks unmatched with the i5, but a new gfx card can be bought later. What did you have in mind? Please don't hesitate to say what you think - I would rather be told that I am being foolish than actually make the wrong decision

[/QUOTE]
AAh, what i think is if u really have the main purpose as gaming, u shud rather invest in a HD5850 like gfx card which will power games for another 2 years ease and 3-4 years will settings turned down a notch, and that at FULL HD i say..

after going through countless reviews i hav foudn out that at FULL HD, with a high end GPU, if u hav a quad core clocked 2.4GHz(INTEL) or 2.6GHz above(AMD), the gaming performance(average fps) is within neck to neck of each other except for a few odd games here and there..

SO if u spend the 6k u save by going for an Athlon II X4 and 785G combo and buy a HD5850, u'll benefit much more...

B

I can see your point, but I have something else in mind.

-First, if I do this, my money invested in GTS 250 is completely wasted and I get a much more inferior proccy.
-Second, there are other users and they do some photoshopping and video encoding and I thought i5 would be very useful there.
-Third, I have a hidden agenda. I am going to set aside 2k every month for the next 5-6 months and then when Nvidia also releases its DX11 cards, I will buy a high end Gfx card and give this GTS 250 to my brother

i agree with comp@ddict.. get an athlon x4 & 785 g... save money & get the HD5850..
dont wait nvidia dx11 cards not worth it

@compaddict and ssk_the_gr8. he is going to use a 19" display. doesn't make sense in going for a HD5850 to game on these settings.

also, since he is saving for Fermi, GTS250 makes most sense.

@bippukt, sounds like a good plan. do remember that if you want to go for midrange-highend Fermi, you have to upgrade to a FullHD display to do full justice to these monstrous dx11 cards. using them on a 19" display is useless.

PS: if you want to get the best Fermi, you may need to save more than 2k per month

^^ They might also release low-end FERMI, for the lower segment, and his 19" monitor would be supported fine by that. HD5850 is way way to much for the 19".

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Yes, it is a 19" and it has max resolution 1440X900. Plus, I won't buy a new gfx card unless I need it. And there is no way I will buy something costing more than 12k. That's the hard limit. Just like right now, I can buy the LGA1156 i7 but I simply won't. And I completely agree with one point - I will have to get a new and much better monitor. Not only does this one have a low resolution, it also has a lot of ghosting. So, strategy games are fine, but FIFA or NFS? Absolutely not

Still tormenting myself about the cabinet. The CM and Antec cabinets are unavailable (asked in several shops). They have a good collection of iBall cases but not Zebronics ones. I may have to settle for an iBall cabinet after all - any idea which one might be passable? At least, I won't have to deal with the crappiest of iBall cases - their PSUs. My CM Extreme 600W is MUCH better than those

@bippukt. don't worry about these cabinets. go to the store, get the cabinet that has best build quality. As long as the build quality is good, it doesn't matter whether it is zebronics or cooler master or antec. Also make sure that the cabinet is long enough to accomodate lengthy dx11 cards like HD5850.

B

Okay, I got my new rig finally, just before Christmas

Intel core i5 750 with 8 MB cache
Intel DP55WB motherboard (would have liked D55WG, but not much difference for me)
Transcend 4GB DDR3 1333MHz
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM HDD
CoolerMaster Extreme Power 600W
GTS 250 512MB

The cabinet is an iball one, but it looks quite sturdy and seems to have okay ventilation. I am not happy with the rear fan though - I can barely feel it pushing out air. Might get a new fan.

Still doing formatting of new HDD drives and setting things up. I don't like the colours - hopefully, it is just wrong settings and not some loose pin. It is also quite silent right now, but we will see when the games start

And boy, the i5 is FAST! That doesn't help with the formatting, unfortunately

Thanks again to everyone who helped me zero down on this one. Special thanks are due to Desiibond

I can't wait to try high quality graphics games on this rig! The pessimistic person that I am, I will probably spend the next few days benchmarking and looking for any problems.

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Ok, now this may sound noobish, but am I expected to keep the fan upside or down towards the base? Currently, I have kept it down but I am not sure.

Also, my CPU temp is around 53C after moderate load and the abients are around 33 (that's what the other two temps in the BIOS, right?). Sounds fine to me but is it ok?

Also, can you suggest any free website/software for benchmarking my PC and to keep a tab on the temp and voltages? I have a coupon for full version of 3d Mark Vantage, but unfortunately it works only for DirectX, AFAIK.

---------- Post added at 12:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 AM ----------

Ok, now this may sound noobish, but am I expected to keep the fan upside or down towards the base? Currently, I have kept it down but I am not sure.

Also, my CPU temp is around 53C after moderate load and the abients are around 33 (that's what the other two temps in the BIOS, right?). Sounds fine to me but is it ok?

Also, can you suggest any free website/software for benchmarking my PC and to keep a tab on the temp and voltages? I have a coupon for full version of 3d Mark Vantage, but unfortunately it works only for DirectX, AFAIK.

---------- Post added at 01:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 AM ----------

What on earth is happening - this forum is eating my replies?

Anyway, I just had 1 doubt - is the graphics card fan supposed to be facing up or down? I have kept it downwards because that seemed to be the only position possible!

---------- Post added at 01:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 AM ----------

What on earth is happening - this forum is eating my replies?

Anyway, I just had 1 doubt - is the graphics card fan supposed to be facing up or down? I have kept it downwards because that seemed to be the only position possible!

Ok, now this may sound noobish, but am I expected to keep the fan upside or down towards the base? Currently, I have kept it down but I am not sure.

Which fan..?

Also, my CPU temp is around 53C after moderate load and the abients are around 33 (that's what the other two temps in the BIOS, right?). Sounds fine to me but is it ok?

How you got these temperatures.

You GPU is fine, there is only ONE way it can be slotted. The fan will be at the bottom.

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asigh said:
Which fan..?

The GPU fan.

asigh said:
How you got these temperatures.

I got them from BIOS right after doing some heavy duty work.

asigh said:
You GPU is fine, there is only ONE way it can be slotted. The fan will be at the bottom.

You are so right! I would have made a terrible Mechanical Engineer; Civil is just right for me

bippukt said:
The GPU fan.

I got them from BIOS right after doing some heavy duty work.

You are so right! I would have made a terrible Mechanical Engineer; Civil is just right for me

Your GPU fan is fine. Do not read the BIOS temperatures, those are not good for calibrating.

Download RealTEMP, and run a sensor test, post a screen shot here. You will need Prime95 also. Set TJMax = 90.

B

I downloaded both and ran the sensor test of RealTemp. Here are the results:

*img704.imageshack.us/img704/8279/sensortest.jpg

Are they ok? Also, any good utilities to test the GPU and the HDD? I am a bit doubtful about the new HDD because it sometimes makes a strange sound.

For HDD you can try HD Tune, it is good. It can trap any errors on the platters. You temperatures seem on the high side. Did you assemble the system yourself, was thermal paste applied between the HSF and CPU head. Are you sure, the HSF is mounted correct..? It should not budge even a bit, if you try to shake it.

---------- Post added at 02:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 PM ----------

Also..to test the GPU you can run furmark It will burn it bad....and monitor temperatures for the GPU.

---------- Post added at 02:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 PM ----------

Which part of India are you at. Ambient temperature. Also update your signature, I have to keep browsing back, to see your configuration.

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No, I had the PC assembled and I think he knew what he was doing. The HSF seems to be placed properly. The one problem that I can see is that the rear fan does not seem effective at all.

I forgot to mention that TJmax was set to 90 instead of 100. Are the temps still high?

I will try HD Tune, thanks.

They are slightly on high. 90C TjMax is fine. On full load, you are 23C away from throttle, so your temperature is 90 - 23 = 67(full load).

B

I am in Allahabad, so the ambient temperatures are quite low ATM.

Ok, will edit the signature and do some more tests and post a consolidated reply here.

B

All 3 of my HDDs seem fine to be in fine health according to HD Tune, although I keep hearing strange noises from the HDD area occasionally.

The RealTemp sensor test result I posted above.

I used the HW monitor and here is a result at negligible load:

*img707.imageshack.us/img707/1233/powerv.png

As you can see, there are no voltages and there is no listing for the chipset, fan or PWM or ACPI (what are they?). I really want to see the voltages because the CM Extreme Power Duo 600W is a bad PSU, although I think it will surely be able to handle this puny system.

Also, I sometimes see a strange sort of "flickering" (don't know what else to call it) on the monitor. I though LCD monitors didn't flicker! It is most apparent during games, but I sometimes feel that I can spot it even on the desktop background. The "flickering" is most apparent in FPS/RPG games and much less in strategy games; and much more visible on plain and light screen. Even a much less demanding game like Half Life 2 are suffering from this. This is one more reason I want to know the voltages. I had seen this sort of "flickering" even on my cousin's LCD monitor when I had installed my Gfx card and PSU in his C2D PC. Is it just my eyes decieving me or is there a problem? Unfortunately, I don't have a CRT monitor to test this and my monitor does have a severe ghosting problem (no FIFA on this PC unless you want a headache).

I would really appreciate any inputs on this

PS: I am getting 30-60 FPS in Crysis at High settings. Am I getting less than I should?

^^
You can see your vCore using CPU-Z. That is pretty accurate, and also show you what your ram is running at. Is this the latest version of HW Monitor. When I use it, it shows voltages, and fan speed for everything. I have version 1.14 (driver version 132).

Regarding the flickering....are you on the latest Forceware drivers..?

B

Yes, it also has driver version 132. But, as you can see, there is no listing for voltages and no listing for chipset or fan.

I also tried CPU-Z, but it is also not showing any voltages. I wish Intel would release their utility for monitoring voltages and temperatures for the P55 soon.

I am using Forceware dated July. I have downloaded the latest from the XFX website too, but I don't see how it could cause any problems. Any idea what could be the reason? Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me

Well..it is the forceware...which interacts with your GPU, and then helps the system render 3d. Also try CoreTemp..to see temperatures/voltages.

B

I will forget the "flickering" issue for now as it might be a figment of my imagination. I am a bit oversensitive to screen flickering anyway. I think my Tata-Sky hooked TV flickers, while others don't. I don't know - I will need to observe it for a longer period of time, I guess.

BTW, my 3DMark 06 score came out to be 15714. Pretty cool, you think?

^
Score is decent. I get a 19656.

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1165727&postcount=3

B

Well, the 4890 is much better than the GTS 250, so I am happy with my score. I guess I can stop worrying now

PS: Nice change of pic

^^
Too bad you got an Intel Motherboard. The i5 screams for OC...! Anyways..congrats for the rig.

PIC: Nagaaa is kewl..!