Help - Upgrade PC to HTPC

Greetings,

It maybe my first post but I've been spending sometime here, reading through posts on various topics.I'm a total novice and hope that I get your valuable guidance in learning a few things and in the process upgrade my vintage system the right way :smile:

.

TIA

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Generic answers will not work. Be exact and avoid the word 'et cetera.')

Ans: Primarily HTPC [720p Plasma] and some FPS games.
Music quality should match at least an entry level CD player and gaming experience similar to Sony PS2.

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

Ans:15,000 - 20,000/- can be extended but for a whole lotta more VFM

3. Planning to overclock?

Ans:If need be, then yes.

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?

Ans:Windows 7 [32 bit]

5. How much hard drive space is needed?

Ans:1 TB

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:Already have [LG 19" FLATRON # L192WS] and Panasonic Plasma 42X20D

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?

Ans:Already have - Proc [dual core E5300] Mobo [Gigabyte G41MT-S2, new] Keyboard+Mouse [Logitech MK320] HDD - 320 GB Seagate

8. When are you planning to buy the system?

Ans:Gradually, [01-02 months].
Already started upgrade purchases starting with Gigabyte G41 mobo replacing Intel G31 mobo.

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?

Ans:Most probably by an assembler.

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:Location - Delhi, NCR [open for online purchases]

11. Anything else which you would like to say?

Ans:Have a great weekend ! :smile:

J

Did you already buy the G41? If yes,then why? I mean if you have been reading through on various topics here then shouldn't it be apparent that the 775 socket is totally EOL?
You could have asked or posted in the forum before buying.

Everything is not clear from your post.

1. You already have the cpu n ddr3 based motherboard, do you have DDR3 ram or want us to suggest one?
2. Your processor is little under-powered to take care of current games. If a powerful Gfx card is added, your PU will bottleneck the Gfx card.
3. Your Plasma TV has a resolution of 1024X768 which is really lower compared to today's standard. I don't think the current games will look very good at it. However, I think you can PS2 standard.

Here are the suggested upgrades:-
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5300 existing
mobo: existing
Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K
Gfx card: MSI HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 @ 5K
PSU: Corsair CX 500 V2 @ 3K
Sound system: Inspire 5.1 T6160 @ 3.8K
Sound card: Asus Xonar DX @ 4.1K

Jripper said:
Did you already buy the G41? If yes,then why? I mean if you have been reading through on various topics here then shouldn't it be apparent that the 775 socket is totally EOL?
You could have asked or posted in the forum before buying.

Yes I already bought Gigabyte GA G41MT-S2 rev 1.5 yesterday. I wanted to buy a GPU but realized that my older mobo doesn't have a PCIe slot and no OC options in BIOS hence bought a new mobo.

Pardon my ignorance but what's EOL ?

Cilus said:
Everything is not clear from your post.

1. You already have the cpu n ddr3 based motherboard, do you have DDR3 ram or want us to suggest one?
2. Your processor is little under-powered to take care of current games. If a powerful Gfx card is added, your PU will bottleneck the Gfx card.
3. Your Plasma TV has a resolution of 1024X768 which is really lower compared to today's standard. I don't think the current games will look very good at it. However, I think you can PS2 standard.

Here are the suggested upgrades:-
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5300 existing
mobo: existing
Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K
Gfx card: MSI HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 @ 5K
PSU: Corsair CX 500 V2 @ 3K
Sound system: Inspire 5.1 T6160 @ 3.8K
Sound card: Asus Xonar DX @ 4.1K

Cilus,

I have a Yamaha AVR and Wharfedale speakers already so that's alright.

I had Sony PS2 which I've now gifted to someone and it looked quite acceptable on my Plasma TV. It might not be a fair comparison but a 5500/- gaming console will perform better than a Dual core Proc + diescrete GPU, really ??

Will Overclocking not help overcome GPU bottleneck ?

In addition please suggest a RAM as well.

EOL = end of line. Already buying a G41 motherboard was a bad idea if you want to chnage your processor. Reason? LGA 775 socket. it is end-of-line and outdated.

Now you are stuck with Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad processors which are old and still priced highly. For example, Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 is still priced Rs. 5500. AMD Athlon II X2 260 which is as fast as E7500 is priced Rs. 2800. Phenom II X4 840 and Core i3-2100 which are much faster are priced Rs. 5200 and Rs. 6400 respectively.

Coming to the point, buying a G41 motherboard will make no difference if you intend to use your current processore i.e. Intel Dual Core E5300. For an HTPC, it is completely fine.

Mr. Officer said:
In addition please suggest a RAM as well.

RAM has been suggested.

Cilus said:
Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K

PS: The new GA G41MT-S2 has 02 video ports 1 x d-sub and 1 x VGA port.
Can two displays be connected through these, even if only 01 is used at a time i.e either Plasma or PC monitor.

**********SOLVED**********

Thanks to "ico"

Will it be possible to play modern FPS games on my system after adding parts like GPU,PSU,RAM (suggested in earlier posts) as I have E5300 dual core and GA G41MT-S2 with cheapo RAM,PSU and Cabinet OR shall I drop the idea of gaming and just add a basic GPU+PSU and use it only for everyday computing and HTPC ?

After the suggested upgrades will I get any where near to "gameplay videos" on youtube as some guys have OC E5200 with OC RAM and OC GPU playing those games like BF3 , Crysis etc ?

PS: I have no experience about OC only very basic stuff that I've read on net.

now....being able to run modern FPS games was the reason why you shouldn't have hurried up for the motherboard. A quad core is recommended these days to run modern games.

If you go for a graphic card around and above HD 6850, I can see E5300 being a bottleneck. For graphic cards less than HD 6850, E5300 overclocked is fine.

I'd say...add a basic GPU and PSU and use it for HTPC.

Thanks again for your genuine advise.

Now, that gaming is aside shall I still buy the same GPU as advised already OR settle for a low-end GPU + PSU and buy a better cabinet which can fit in my A/V rack (horizontal) ?

Settle for low-end GPU + PSU. Use it for HTPC.

A GPU like HD 6850 deserves a better processor. And HD 6850 is overkill really for HTPC.

ico said:
Settle for low-end GPU + PSU. Use it for HTPC.

A GPU like HD 6850 deserves a better processor. And HD 6850 is overkill really for HTPC.

Can you please advise GPU+PSU+HTPC (brand/model no.) in this case.

Can someone please advise whether GT430 IGB DDR3 will suffice for my HTPC needs OR GT440 1GB DDR5 is the way to go?

For HTPC needs, GT 430 is fine.

GT 440 is faster in *gaming* though. But then, for the price of GT 440...HD 6570 is much faster.

Cilus said:
However, I think you can PS2 standard.

Here are the suggested upgrades:-
CPU: Pentium Dual Core E5300 existing
mobo: existing
Ram: Corsair 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 @ 1.2K
Gfx card: MSI HD 6670 1 GB GDDR5 @ 5K
PSU: Corsair CX 500 V2 @ 3K

As per these suggestions shall I bite the bullet and take a chance knowing that it might not handle high-end modern games.

My expectations are not too high...all I'm expecting is gaming standard to match a Sony PS2 (I'm open to OC if that helps)

Mr. Officer, you can go with my suggestion as HD 6670 is not a high end Gfx card and your processor can handle it. It will enable you to all the current games with mid or lower details.
I have another suggstion for you, read it carefully. All the dual Core E5XXX series are known to be good overclocker. People were able to run it @ 3.6 GHz with air coolers and within acceptable temparature (67 degree C). So get a Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler @ 1.2K and overclock the CPU to 3 GHz. It will provide you additional boost in gaming.
And regarding Gfx card, you can also go with Sapphire HD 5670 512 MB GDDR5 @ 4.2K but the extra performance of HD 6670 is really justified for just extra 800 bucks.

So here will be the final config:

Intel Dual Core E5300 Overclocked to 3 GHz
Gigabyte G41M2-ST
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 @ 1.2K
Corsair 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 Ram @ 1.2K
MSI HD 6670 1GB GDDR5 @ 5K
FSP SAGA II 500W @ 2.2K/ Corsair CX430 V2 @ 2.3K/ CX 500 V2 @ 3K

Total: 9.6K with FSP SAGA II PSU. Corsair CX 500 V2 is really not necessary, I've suggested it thinking of some future upgrades.

^

+1 to that too.

HD 5670 and 6670 will run most games fine on 720p resolution.

Thanks Cilus & ico,

Your post(s) are very encouraging !

Can I choose either of the two RAM - 1 OR RAM - 2 ?

I cant seem to find any competitive pricing for HD6670 online - do you think visiting Nehru place will be a better idea for all items ? OR shall I buy some of it online if the price is right ?

I can always check with you guys here before making a purchase !

Regards

i guess at 720p resolution processor plays a major role than gfx card.isn't it?
@mr.officer,
go with cilus's suggestion.it is the best config at your budget.6670 can handle all the games that are released till today i have played crysis,crysis 2,dirt 3,witcher 2,skyrim etc., at mid to high settings without any problem at 1366X768 resolution.

buy 6670 @ 5.4k from smcinternational.in,nehruplace,delhi.and also buy a standard corsair ram from smc only.i don't think your mobo will support vengeance 1600mhz,so why you pay extra money for that.

Get Ram_1, the Corsair Value Ram. RAM_2 Corsair Vengeance is a high performance 1600 MHz ram, designed for gaming and overclocking. Since LGA775 based processors does not have on-die memory controller; the memory controller is present inside the motherboard, it can't utilize high speed DDR3 memory modules. So get the 1st one.
If you are open to Online shopping, then get the Gfx card from here:
GRAPHIC CARDS - ::::::::::The Ultimate IT Solutions::::::::::

The Sapphire HD 6670 is available @ 4.94K and the MSI HD 6670 is available @ Rs 5.09K. It is a Kolkata based shop having both Online an Street Shop with very good reputation. A lot of forum members including me have purchased from them.

ico said:
^

+1 to that too.

HD 5670 and 6670 will run most games fine on 720p resolution.

sukesh1090 said:
@mr.officer,
6670 can handle all the games that are released till today i have played crysis,crysis 2,dirt 3,witcher 2,skyrim etc., at mid to high settings without any problem at 1366X768 resolution.

buy 6670 @ 5.4k from smcinternational.in,nehruplace,delhi.

Cheers mate...good to know that

Can you advise If I should pick Corsair vengeance over value as the price diff is not huge !

Also, buy 6670 @ 5.4k from smcinternational.in,nehruplace,delhi - is it the same MSI HD6670 1GB DDR5 as suggested by Cilus ?

PS: do you buy these PC games off the shelf or DL ?

I know I've got a long way to go

TIA

Cilus said:
Get Ram_1, the Corsair Value Ram.
If you are open to Online shopping, then get the Gfx card from here:
GRAPHIC CARDS - ::::::::::The Ultimate IT Solutions::::::::::

The Sapphire HD 6670 is available @ 4.94K and the MSI HD 6670 is available @ Rs 5.09K. It is a Kolkata based shop having both Online an Street Shop with very good reputation. A lot of forum members including me have purchased from them.

Thanks for reasoning given for choosing RAM -1, so that's decided.
@Cilus - that's a good online shop with very reasonable pricing.

Ya, it is the same HD 6670 model suggested by me. Normally the Kolkata prices are lower than Delhi and Mumbai prices. XFX HD 6670 GDDR5 is available @ 4.7K when I checked in last Friday.
2ndly I know Vengenace looks attractive, but I know why I'm suggesting. Check the specs of your motherboard n you will find out that the max ram speed it supports even after overclocking is 1333 MHz. So anything over 1333 MHz speed will be downclocked to 1066 MHz speed. By overclocking you can achieve max 1333 MHz speed.

cius has already told that vengeance is not useful for your config.it will be clocked low to match the speed supported by your mobo i.e., 1066mhz.so i reccomend to buy the standard one over vengeance.
Yes it is the same card cilus has suggested and which i am using.btw bought the game which i liked,others left in the middle.
P.s-btw not allowed to talk piracy in this forum.
@cilus,
bro isn't it better he buy it locally than online as there will be mere 100rs difference after including shipment charges.even he can do some bargaining.

Let him ask the shop about the shipping cost. And regarding warranty there won't be any issue as he can submit the card to any MSI Service Center situated in India.

^^
Yup it is up to op.whichever he finds convinient.

sukesh1090 said:
P.s-btw not allowed to talk piracy in this forum.

I'll keep that in mind !
I'll visit Nehru place tomorrow and scout around for best prices OR else mdcomputers zindabad ;-)

In the meantime any article/thread/post that you can refer me to - regarding E5300 OC and enhancement, PLEASE !!

for ocing google is your best friend.
You can also see or post in ocing thread in cpu and mobo section.

I'll check there as well...

In the meantime I've found a few threads regd. E5300 OC - It seems easy but I wouldn't like to say any further before getting any real first hand experience.

*******QUICK QUERY********

what should be the best price for 1 month used XFX HD6670 1GB DDR5 ?

^ buy a new one from MSI. We don't suggest XFX here because their support can be bad.

thanks for timely advise.
but otherwise if it was a diff card/board manufacturer...was it OK buying used.
Or it's simply a bad idea buying used PC h/w ?

Buying 2nd hand PC components is not a bad idea, it depends upon the quality of the product under consideration. XFX used to be one of the leading Gfx card manufacturer couple of years back but now their product quality has been deteriorated a lot and the after sales service is also bad in most of the areas of India. So avoid XFX products.
I've mentioned in one of my earlier posts that a new XFX HD 6670 is priced Rs 4,700 in Kolkata. So for 1 month old card, 4.5K is a good deal.

@mr.officer,
i tell you to avoid 2nd hand pc.there won't be much price difference between 1 month used card and new card.so buy new msi or sapphire card.avoid xfx product.

OK...I'll stay away from that used XFX card.

Last night I placed an order on ebay for Corsair 4GB DDR3 RAM 1333 MHz @ Rs. 1124/- and Corsair CX 500 V2 @ Rs 3150/-

Now I got a message from seller "rituraj1 - Indiaa Infotech" telling me that he dont have Corsair RAM in stock while the listing still shows more than 10 pcs avail for same RAM.....instead he's asked if I want ADATA ram

No info provided by seller about the Corsair PSU as of now.

I've been buying stuff on ebay for quite sometime something of this sort has never happened...seller has a 99.5% feedback score and has been selling since 2003, confused what to do ?

You should have chosen Flipkart and the cash on delivery option.

Cilus said:
You should have chosen Flipkart and the cash on delivery option.

yep that would've been a better option.

I messaged him back back asking about availability of new stock of corsair ram and specs of Adata ram that he's offered.

I'll post here when I get that info.

ebay seller is now offering this RAM at same price...shall I go for it ?

Ya, you can go with it. The Ram is good. Try to bargain a little to reduce the price, try for 1.35K/1.4K.

Cilus said:
Ya, you can go with it. The Ram is good. Try to bargain a little to reduce the price, try for 1.35K/1.4K.

Bro, I paid Rs 1124/- inc shipping...he's sending me this RAM instead of the one I ordered originally at same price.

The same seller on ebay says I'll get my Corsair CX 500 V2 on Monday.

Then it is a real good deal. XMS3 is the entry level gaming rams and has a heat sink over the Ram. I have the 1600 MHz version of the same Ram.

Guess I was lucky :mrgreen:

I'll be happier once I get everything in my hands.

I emailed mdcomputers on 22/12/11 asking for the final price inc shipping for MSI 6670 but havent heard anything yet...I'll call them today [hope they respond].

Let me know the details of the mail through PM. I'll check with them.

Cilus,

I've recd a reply - here it is

MSI R6670 @ 5100 + 4% VAT =5304
CPU COOLER CM TX3 @1300 + 4%VAT =1352
SHIPPING @ 400
TOTAL COST= 7056

I'll also check locally...if the price is similar, then might as well pick it up here only.

Price is okay but 400 bucks for shipping is little high. Hyper TX3 is available in most of the online shops like smc, theitwares.

MSI HD 6670 is available at theitwares @ RS 5550 + 100 for shipping = RS 5650. Due to site problem, I'm not able to see the CPU cooler in their site.
Hyper TX3 is available in smcinternational.in @ RS 1300. Call them for the shipping information and cost.
Buy from the site(s) where the total cost is coming less.

for SMC just call them and ask if they have 6670 too
they dont regularly update their site anyways

@op,
buy 6670 from smc at 5.4k.as you are in delhi only you don't need to spend on shipping.before buying online first check the prices of all the components in smc and then see online.if you are getting good deal in smc then buy from there only as you can save shipping costs.

Mr. Officer said:
I've sent a few emails to diff online sellers asking about availability and final prices...If nothing materializes then will head to nehru place...which I really want to avoid as its quite some distance from where I'm based !!

Can all these components [listed below] fit in my existing Cabinet for the time being ?

Proc - E5300
Mobo - GA G41MT-S2
HDD - Seagate 250 GB
RAM - Corsair XM 4GB DDR3 @ 1333 MHz
PSU - Corsair 500 V2
GPU - MSI HD6670 1GB DDR5
CPU cooler - CM Hyper TX3

Anything missing from above list ??

Can anyone please chime in and help in this regard.

*******X*********X***********X*************X**********

Secondly, please advise what to get, a gaming KB/mouse or joystick?
I'll be mostly playing FPS games, only gaming experience I have so far is with a Sony PS2.

TIA

Hyper TX3 is not a big cooler; I guess it will fit in your cabinet.
2ndly for FPS games, a good keyboard and mouse is good enough and don't need to spend over that for now. Get Logitech MK200 Keyboard and mouse combo around 700 bucks.

Cilus said:
Hyper TX3 is not a big cooler; I guess it will fit in your cabinet.

Cilus, any reasons why CM Hyper 212 should be considered over CM Hyper TX3 ?

Cilus said:
2ndly for FPS games, a good keyboard and mouse is good enough and don't need to spend over that for now. Get Logitech MK200 Keyboard and mouse combo around 700 bucks.

I've a Logitech Wireless Desktop MK320 combo will this suffice ?

^^ Hyper 212+ offers some serious overclocking potential and I don't think your old CPU can be utilized with it.So TX3 is enough for the current CPU.

And ya, the keyboard will suffice, no need to get a new one now.

I visited NP today and bought MSI HD6670 1GB DDR5 @ 5450/- and CM Hyper TX3 @ 1300/-

There was a single fan version of MSI HD6670 1GB DDR5 @ 5200/- with Dirt3 but I chose the twin fan version w/o Dirt3.

************X***********X*************X*************X

Parts Received:

1. GA G41MT-S2
2. Corsair XMS 4GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz
3. MSI HD6670 1GB DDR5
4. CM Hyper TX3

Part in TRANSIT:

1. Corsair CX 500 V2

*******OT*******

I'm still waiting for the PSU to arrive but I've a question, now that I'll be installing a 4GB RAM is it better to install a 64 bit OS rather than 32 bit ??

Yes, a 32 Bit OS is limited to use 3 GB ram. for using 4GB or more, you need an 64 bit OS.

Wishing all a very Happy New Year 2012 !

Please share your views about this NZXT Vulcan chasis and point out any major shortcomings/drawbacks because I for one will happily buy it for its mean looks alone.

Plus the free shipping offer is making this purchase inevitable !!

I've decided to build a second system for gaming and use my justnow-upgradedsystem for HTPC only :wink:

NZXT is a Micro ATX cabinet. The board which you are using in your HTPC, is a Micro ATX (mATX) board, so it's fine for it.

But for a true PC, we always suggest an ATX cabinet.

NZXT Gamma - 2200 for budget conscious users.
Cooler Master Elite 430 - 2600. Good cabinet but poor cable management than Gamma.
NZXT Tempest Evo or Tempest 410 - 5000. (I have Evo)

I noticed , it supports mATX boards but at the same time its listed amidst their gaming cabinets. This suits my budget very well as I've assigned max 4k for cabinet and invest as much possible in other hardware !!

In real world - what are the chances [slim/stong etc] of assembling a rig in NZXT Vulcan for full HD gaming which'll serve the purpose w/o requiring any upgrades for at least next 2 years ?

ico said:
NZXT Gamma - 2200 for budget conscious users.

Where ?????

Mr. Officer said:
I noticed , it supports mATX boards but at the same time its listed amidst their gaming cabinets. This suits my budget very well as I've assigned max 4k for cabinet and invest as much possible in other hardware !!

In real world - what are the chances [slim/stong etc] of assembling a rig in NZXT Vulcan for full HD gaming which'll serve the purpose w/o requiring any upgrades for at least next 2 years ?

NZXT Vulcan is a strict strict strict NO from me because it is a mATX cabinet. Too small whether "gaming" cabinet or not. You can do better there. Seriously.

Brazen said:
Where ?????

In Mumbai and Chennai.

TheITDepot has it in Chennai.

For other places, it is obviously going to get priced high because of shipping charges.

ico said:
NZXT Vulcan is a strict strict strict NO from me because it is a mATX cabinet. Too small whether "gaming" cabinet or not. You can do better there. Seriously.

With a heavy heart I'll give it a pass, it had my toe nails curling literally for the past few days, lol

My next choice is Corsair 400R but please suggest others too as I've now upped the budget to 5k for a gaming cab

^ Corsair 400R rocks.

I hope it is for your new *gaming* PC, not for your HTPC.

Indeed for a **gaming cab** as for my HTPC I'm eyeing Sliverstone Sugo

Here's another NZXT cab that's caught my attention, whats your take on this one ?

****** UPDATE ******

All parts now received, will lug them to office tomorrow and have them put together by colleagues in IT dept. :wink:

1. GA G41MT-S2
2. Corsair XMS 4GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz
3. MSI R6670-MD1GD5
4. CM Hyper TX3
5. Corsair CX 500 V2

I thank everyone who's helped in this upgrade either actively or passively.
All parts put together but we had a TOUGH time fitting all parts in my tinny iball cab [Ya, I know ] but the machine works like a charm !

I'm a very happy camper !!

****requesting mods to please lock this thread****

Congrats man for your purchase. Now enjoy smooth computing. For overclocking your CPU, check some YouTube videos for LGA 775 Intel Processor overclocking and search a bit in google. You'll get setp by step guide for it.

And don't forget to post some pictures of your rig.

Cilus & ico

You BOTH gentleman have been a driving force behind this upgrade...honestly, I cant thank you enough :thumbs:

Kudos

I sure will update some pictures !!

PS: I've been reading quite extensively and taking baby steps learning the "black art" in OC'ing, I will need your valuable guidance before I start contributing in the community.

Congrats.

Thrrad locked on Mr. Officer's request.