Need help deciding on a Low to Mid-range Home PC

S

Hi,

Can someone here please help me out?

1) I am thinking of purchasing a PC mainly for home use -- internet browsing, office apps, HD movies [no 3D movies/videos], and mid-range gaming (games like Need for Speed, GTA, Age of Empire -- but not any of the new action games as I prefer games playable by a single person). Am not interested in multi-player or network games.

2) My overall budget is about Rs. 30-35K.

3) No overclocking as I am not a hard-core gamer.

4) Operating System: Windows 7 / 8 preferably 32-bit, but I don't know if I will get it in 32-bit.

5) 500 GB HDD.

6) I'm thinking of going for an 18" LED monitor (which seems to be standard nowadays) -- am not interested in 3D.

7) I plan to buy the system within the next one or two weeks.

8) I live in Mangalore, Karnataka and plan to buy an assembled PC.

I am considering the following configuration:

Intel® Core™ i3- processor / Intel Motherboard
Zion 4 GB DDR3 RAM (2 years warranty)
AOC 18.5" LED (3 yrs warranty)
LG DVD Writer (1 yr warranty)
WD 500 GB HDD (2 yrs warranty)
Nvidia or Zotac 1 GB Graphics Card (1 yr warranty)
Logitech Keyboard/Mouse combo (2 yr warranty)
Bluetooth Dongle
WiFi Dongle
Creative A10 speakers
Logitech C-170 Webcam (1 yr warranty)
Numeric 600 VA UPS

I'm getting this (with Windows 8) for about Rs.37500.

However, a friend said that if I go for an AMD Phenom CPU, I could save money, as (a) the AMD Phenom is cheaper than the Intel CPU and (b) I would not need to go for a dedicated graphics card as the integrated card is good.

Can someone here suggest a good AMD CPU (exact model)/Motherboard (which one?) combo such that I don't need to go for the discrete graphics card? (I guess I may need to go for 8GB RAM in that case, right?).

I've heard that many users of ASUS motherboards have faced short-circuit problems here. So, I'd like to avoid ASUS, if possible.

My total budget for the entire configuration is Rs.30-35K (ideally), max Rs.40K (so I'm not looking for anything high-end). [I don't mind going in for a smaller monitor if that will reduce costs.]

Would be happy if someone could help as I have absolutely no idea of AMD's CPUs.

--
Sunil

Hi, welcome to TDF,

CPU: i3 3220 (7000)
motherboard: MSI MOTHERBOARD H67MA-E35 (4690)
ram: Corsair value select 4 GB (1400)
PSU: Corsair CX430v2 (2700)
GPU: MSI HD7770 1 GB DDR5 (8476)
Cabinet: any locally available iball / Zebronics cabinet (1000)
monitor: dell ST2220 L (8632)
kb + mouse: logitech k200 (750)
optical drive: lg combo drive (1000)
hdd: WD 500 GB caviar blue (3500)

total: 39148

_

Go for the A10 APU with 8GB of RAM.

AMD A10 5800K - 8K
Motherboard - 5K (Get a compatiable Gigabyte)
GSkillRipJaws 8 GB DDR3 RAM - 3K

AOC 18.5" LED (3 yrs warranty)
LG DVD Writer (1 yr warranty)
WD 500 GB HDD (2 yrs warranty)
Logitech Keyboard/Mouse combo (2 yr warranty)
Bluetooth Dongle
WiFi Dongle
Creative A10 speakers
Logitech C-170 Webcam (1 yr warranty)
Numeric 600 VA UPS

S

Thanks, Harshil.

Thanks Akash.

With your suggestion, the PC may come to about Rs.33,500/- (I'm guessing with the AMD A10, I won't need a separate graphics card for mid-range gaming. Is that correct?)

Some doubts:
a) Is the AMD A10 a Phenom CPU?
b) Will a Gigabyte motherboard have a good enough on-board graphics so as to allow me to manage playing games without buying a separate graphics card?
c) By any chance, do you know of the model no. of any compatible Gigabyte card?

I haven't heard of GSkillRipJaws. (Also, as I am in Mangalore, I may not get some of these non-standard brands. [The assembler I've contacted doesn't even stock Kingston!])

Thanks,
--
Sunil

b) Will a Gigabyte motherboard have a good enough on-board graphics so as to allow me to manage playing games without buying a separate graphics card?

on-board graphics are in the cpu not on the motherboard

I haven't heard of GSkillRipJaws

They are one of the best companies selling RAM .

The assembler I've contacted doesn't even stock Kingston!

Then buy online.

Go with this:

Intel i3 3220 - rs 7000
Gigabyte b75 - rs 4100
Corsair or g skill(both are best) ddr3 4gb - rs1400
Hd 6670 1gb - rs 4700
WD 500 gb cavier blue - rs 3400
Lg dvd writer - rs 1000
Corsair cx 430w - rs 2700
Dell 18.5inch led - rs 5800
Iball cabinet - rs 1000
Logitech key & mouse set - rs 750

TOTAL- rs 31,600.

1)Buy from flipkart then get assembled.
2)Get windows 8 64bit as 64 bit supports full 4gb ram wheras 32bit only 3.5gb
3)Hd 6670 is enough for your gaming.it will satisfy your needs for sure.
4)4gb ram is enough for your needs.do not waste money for 8gb
5)i3 3220 is really a good cpu for everday tasks.you will be really happy!

Intel i3 3220 - rs 7200
Gigabyte B75- rs 4100
Corsair ValueRAM DDR3 4 GB- 1100
Hd 7770 1gb - rs 8000
WD 500 gb cavier blue - rs 3400
ASUS DVD RW - rs 1000
Corsair cx 430w - rs 2700
Dell IN2030M - rs 5900
CM Elite 310 Rs 1900 (look around locally)
Total ~35K

Best bang for the buck

18 inch monitors are long gone.. get a minimum of 20 inch 1600x900 monitor.. A FHD monitor is always preffered.. Trust me, dont compromise on this part, you will regret it later
I regret not buying a FHD monitor myself

Get The A10 5800K , save some money and get a good powerful card. The 7660D is good enough for ur display with med settings .

S

on-board graphics are in the cpu not on the motherboard

Since we call it "on-board" graphics, I always thought it was on the motherboard! Okay, so is the AMD A10 good enough to play games w/out buying a separate graphics card?

Then buy online.

I'm really wary of buying online. It's a case of one bitten twice shy -- only, in my case, I've been bitten thrice! Three times, I've purchased electronic stuff online and all three times I received either goods of poor quality. It's like as though the vendors think anyone living in a non-metro is a good bakra! I think, they feel, what can this guy do? He's far away in the South. Most likely he'll just quietly accept this duplicate (Ulhasnagar or Chinese) stuff w/out making a fuss. Therefore, I'm really hesitating to buy costly stuff online. (I never buy anything worth more than Rs.500/- online.)

Thanks, Ashish.

Get windows 8 64bit as 64 bit supports full 4gb ram wheras 32bit only 3.5gb

I know, but I was not very happy with the performance of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (which I used on my Dell Inspiron laptop). Furthermore, most applications are still 32-bit (and I've got some old stuff that I use on my XP machine, that I still need to use, some of which don't run under 64-bit. Therefore, I felt it's better to go with 32-bit -- less hassles.

HD 6670 is enough for your gaming.it will satisfy your needs for sure.

Sounds good. If your prices are correct, I will save about Rs.4000/- as compared to the HD7770 suggested by Harshil.

4gb ram is enough for your needs.do not waste money for 8gb

I read somewhere (I think it was here on the thinkdigit forum itself) that with on-board graphics, the graphics card will share the RAM. Therefore, if I go for 8 GB, 4 GB can be used by the system and 4 GB by the on-board graphics. Of course, this won't be an issue if I go for a separate graphics card, as suggested by you and Harshil. BTW, will the on-board graphics still be able to use the excess 4 GB if I go for 32-bit Windows? Or will that only work with 64-bit Windows? Any idea about this?

Nerevarine, thanks for your suggestion. A question: What is "FHD"?

Sainatarajan said:
Get The A10 5800K , save some money and get a good powerful card. The 7660D is good enough for ur display with med settings .

If the A10 is powerful enough, I'm thinking of saving money and not purchasing a discrete graphics card at all. The idea is to enjoy my games (such as NFS, GTA etc.) at the least possible cost.

I'm really wary of buying online. It's a case of one bitten twice shy -- only, in my case, I've been bitten thrice! Three times, I've purchased electronic stuff online and all three times I received either goods of poor quality. It's like as though the vendors think anyone living in a non-metro is a good bakra! I think, they feel, what can this guy do? He's far away in the South. Most likely he'll just quietly accept this duplicate (Ulhasnagar or Chinese) stuff w/out making a fuss. Therefore, I'm really hesitating to buy costly stuff online. (I never buy anything worth more than Rs.500/- online.)

I don't believe that's the case with flipkart, if you dont get a particular part locally, NEVER settle for a lower part, you can safely buy from flipkart, if you receive a defective product, they will replace it unquestioningly.

I know, but I was not very happy with the performance of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (which I used on my Dell Inspiron laptop). Furthermore, most applications are still 32-bit (and I've got some old stuff that I use on my XP machine, that I still need to use, some of which don't run under 64-bit. Therefore, I felt it's better to go with 32-bit -- less hassles.

Totally wrong, 64 bit OS is backward compatible with 32 bit applications. And with 4 GB or more RAM, there always an issue of incomplete ram usage. A 32 bit can OS can hardly use 3.5 GB or RAM (and the remaining will NOT be used by IGP). Please, don't use 32-bit OS with more than 2 GB of ram.

sounds good. If your prices are correct, I will save about Rs.4000/- as compared to the HD7770 suggested by Harshil.

Chech this out. i3 3220 is about in ALL benchmarks. And the A10 totally sucks in single threaded apps. You can either get an A10 and save money and regret in future or get an i3 3220 + HD7770. You shouldn't probably get anything HD7770 just to save some money. Don't you the reason why everyone here is suggesting HD7770 to you?

I read somewhere (I think it was here on the thinkdigit forum itself) that with on-board graphics, the graphics card will share the RAM. Therefore, if I go for 8 GB, 4 GB can be used by the system and 4 GB by the on-board graphics. Of course, this won't be an issue if I go for a separate graphics card, as suggested by you and Harshil. BTW, will the on-board graphics still be able to use the excess 4 GB if I go for 32-bit Windows? Or will that only work with 64-bit Windows? Any idea about this?

Onboard graphics will never use 4 GB of ram. And it's not up to you to decide how much max. memory can the IGP access, you can only control min. memory.

_

Yeah, A10 5800 K is pretty good and you must be able to play most game without a separate GPU.

Check your games here

Test Setup And Benchmarks : AMD Trinity On The Desktop: A10, A8, And A6 Get Benchmarked!

You need to buy 8GB RAM with an APU though, it needs more memory for its GPU component.

Intel i3 3220 - Rs 7100
Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H - Rs 4100
Corsair Value Ram 4 GB - Rs 1150
GPU - GIGABYTE GV-R777OC-1GD - Rs 7900
HDD - WD Caviar Blue 500GB - Rs 3400
SMPS - CORSAIR SMPS-CX430V2 - Rs 2550
Cabinet - NZXT Beta EVO/Gamma - Rs 2600
Display - BENQ G2222HDAL LED (1920x1080) - Rs 7650

Total - Rs 36,450

harshilsharma63 said:
Hi, welcome to TDF,

CPU: i3 3220 (7000)
motherboard: MSI MOTHERBOARD H67MA-E35 (4690)
ram: Corsair value select 4 GB (1400)
PSU: Corsair CX430v2 (2700)
GPU: MSI HD7770 1 GB DDR5 (8476)
Cabinet: any locally available iball / Zebronics cabinet (1000)
monitor: dell ST2220 L (8632)
kb + mouse: logitech k200 (750)
optical drive: lg combo drive (1000)
hdd: WD 500 GB caviar blue (3500)

total: 39148

Buddy, I was checking couple of yours recent posts and everywhere you're suggesting H67/H61 boards with 3rd Gen Intel Processors or Ivy Bridge CPU. Is there any point of that? Currently we have B75 and H77 Chipset available tailor made for Ivy Bridge CPU and available at the same price point. So next time, try to go with the newer chipsets.

A10 cpu 's igpu is good but the cpu performance is not so good due to poor single threaded performance as most applications and games are single threaded.i think i3 + hd 7750 or 7777 would be great and also in future you can upgrade to i5 and i7.please get 64bit os as it supports both 32 and 64 bit.

FHD means Full HD monitor - 1920x1080 resolution
the one i suggested is a 1600x900 resolution monitor.. which is the minimum you should be aiming at

ASHISH65 said:
A10 cpu 's igpu is good but the cpu performance is not so good due to poor single threaded performance as most applications and games are single threaded.i think i3 + hd 7750 or 7777 would be great and also in future you can upgrade to i5 and i7.please get 64bit os as it supports both 32 and 64 bit.

so amd a10 is not good?

Rockstar11 said:
so amd a10 is not good?

A10 cpu is best cpu + igpu in world.the performance is very good of integrated gpu.i am saying that in some games it might slight behind in single thread performance when compared to i3.

There are two clear options,
if you can get an hd7770, go for i3 hd7770, it easily beats a10.

Else, get an a10. If you plan to get a graphic card later, then you should stay on the intel side as a10 graphic card will give lower performance than intel.

M

Rockstar11 said:
so amd a10 is not good?

Perfomance of A10 is equal to i3 but i3 is a dual core while A10 is a quadcore and A10 IGP is very good.i3+GPU will futher increase your budget so get A10 based rig eye closed.

S

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments and suggestions.

Harshil, I know 64-bit OS *is* backward compatible with 32-bit apps, but not all of them run on 64-bit. I've noticed that some apps -- especially those that interact very closely with the hardware -- don't run in 64-bit.

Anyway since I will not be able to use more than 3.5 GB of the RAM with a 32-bit OS, and also since the AMD requires the additional RAM to run smoothly, I guess I will have to go for 64-bit Windows if I decide to go the AMD way.

Nerevarine, thanks for explaining about FHD.

There are two clear options,
if you can get an hd7770, go for i3 hd7770, it easily beats a10.

Else, get an a10. If you plan to get a graphic card later, then you should stay on the intel side as a10 graphic card will give lower performance than intel.

Perfomance of A10 is equal to i3 but i3 is a dual core while A10 is a quadcore and A10 IGP is very good.i3+GPU will futher increase your budget so get A10 based rig eye closed.

Harshil & Minion, both of you've put it very clearly! Based on this, I think I may ultimately go for the A10 (as I don't think I will be getting a graphics card later). It will ultimately depend on whether the motherboard will fit in the cabinet I've short-listed. (I don't know the name.)

A question: Since the A10 will be doing double work when I play games, will the CPU overheat? I'm asking because (a) I don't have Air Conditioning and (b) I'm keeping the PC under my table where there isn't too much space for ventilation.

Thanks.

A question: Since the A10 will be doing double work when I play games, will the CPU overheat? I'm asking because (a) I don't have Air Conditioning and (b) I'm keeping the PC under my table where there isn't too much space for ventilation.

Lack of ventilation could increase the temperature slightly, see if you can make space for intake and exhaust of air.

Going for an i3 will give you an upgrade path to an i5 or an i7 in the future, if u decide.. TThere is no upgrade path for A10-5800k since it's the best FM2 processor available..
Personally id rather go with the i3.. (i3 beats AMD in almost all single threaded tasks)..but its ur choice tho
Also it shd cost more money for going AMD + discrete GPU than i3 + discrete GPU

Minion said:
Perfomance of A10 is equal to i3.

no there are not equal.mostly i3 is faster than a10 in cpu performance.

see here a very good review - A10-5800K vs. Core i3-3220 CPU Review | Hardware Secrets

i suggest go with i3 + hd 7750 or 7770.

M

ss786@vsnl.com said:
Anyway since I will not be able to use more than 3.5 GB of the RAM with a 32-bit OS, and also since the AMD requires the additional RAM to run smoothly, I guess I will have to go for 64-bit Windows if I decide to go the AMD way.

A question: Since the A10 will be doing double work when I play games, will the CPU overheat? I'm asking because (a) I don't have Air Conditioning and (b) I'm keeping the PC under my table where there isn't too much space for ventilation.

Thanks.

AMD don't need any extra ram to work smoothly but since its IGP is going to share memory you need more ram that is why 8GB is recommended those days are gone where amd processor heat up infact they run cooler than Intel so don't worry about overheating.

Nerevarine said:
Going for an i3 will give you an upgrade path to an i5 or an i7 in the future, if u decide.. TThere is no upgrade path for A10-5800k since it's the best FM2 processor available..
Personally id rather go with the i3.. (i3 beats AMD in almost all single threaded tasks)..but its ur choice tho
Also it shd cost more money for going AMD + discrete GPU than i3 + discrete GPU

why he need an i5 and more A10 is already quadcore cpu due to this OP don't need to upgrade for long time.
why he need to spend on GPU A10 IGP is good enough for games OP has mentioned.

ASHISH65 said:
no there are not equal.mostly i3 is faster than a10 in cpu performance.

see here a very good review - A10-5800K vs. Core i3-3220 CPU Review | Hardware Secrets

More and more apps even latest games can utilise multiple core so why OP have to worry about single thread perfomance and futher more he is buying PC for using it not running benchmarks no offence but in real world OP will feel A10 running all apps smoothly.
I am using a phenom x4 945 its is much snapier than my friends i3 both having 4GB of ram and running win 7 64bit OS.

And A10 5800K can be overclocked if you need it .

ASHISH65 said:
no there are not equal.mostly i3 is faster than a10 in cpu performance.

see here a very good review - A10-5800K vs. Core i3-3220 CPU Review | Hardware Secrets

They are equal.

A10-5800K being faster in multi-threaded tasks whereas i3 being faster in single threaded tasks.

Plus, A10-5800K can be overclocked as well.

S

Once again, everyone thanks for all the suggestion you made.

Sadly, it all has come to naught. I approached two assemblers here and both of them said the A10 is no longer available and instead I'd have to go for the newer AMD CPU... and ultimately because of this, the final cost of the AMD machine was coming to more than that of the i3 configuration I was interested in!

So finally, I've gone for the Intel i3 configuration itself as listed in my original post.

Once again, thanks to everyone for your help/suggestions.

I am now closing this thread.

Please post the prices of each of the components you have pruchased for future reference.