New desktop for around 25-30k

Hi guys,

It's been almost 6 years with my old faithful and humble desktop. A 2.4GHz P4 with 512MB DDR RAM, 17inch Samsung CRT Monitor, 128MB nVidia gfx card and 40+400GB ATA HDDs. I think it is now time to move on to a new PC.The idea is, to first build a basic PC and then have the option of adding on upgrades later, when money permits. So the questionnaire is filled taking this into account.

1. What is the purpose of the computer?
A: Programming (nothing serious just a bunch of simulators and basic developer tools like MATLAB, Xilinx ISE, Questasim etc etc) movies & internet primarily. Need to be able to play 1080p videos. Not much into gaming, max would be F1 2010, Counter Strike 1.6 or GTR2 etc.

2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A: NA

3. What is your MAX budget?
A: Around 25k. Can stretch to 30k. Keep in mind future upgrades. A good mid-end graphics card, RAM upgrades can be put under future upgrades.

4. Planning to overclock?
A: Nope.

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Initially Win XP/Ubuntu. Will switch over to Win7 when the time is right.

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: Planning for a primary 160GB HDD for OS and other utilities. And 500GBx2 or 1TB for storage, provided the 1TB HDDs are as reliable as the 500GB ones. WD HDD is preferred. (Has the Seagate bricking issue been sorted out?)

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want?
A: I'm looking at 24". Can settle for a 22" if 24" is out of my budget, but it must be Full HD capable.

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: 4. Haven't updated my knowledge in over a year so no idea about what's doing well in the current market.

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: I have built a desktop before. I'll be building this one myself.

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: Within the next month or so.

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: Not really. But, I do plan to keep the system for another 4-5 years atleast.

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: Don't need speakers currently. I have a Altec Lansing VS2421 which is doing perfectly fine. New speakers go in as future upgrade.

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: Bangalore. Won't be buying from other states/cities.

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: USB 3.0 is a must. So is DDR3. I wouldn't want to compromise on quality.

And guys, will i need a dedicated soundcard for the current speakers? Or should i bother about soundcards when i do upgrade the speakers?

Also, I'm inclined towards Intel processors. But wouldn't mind AMD either as long as the performance is not affected significantly.

[EDIT] : Will be needing a UPS also. But, that can be excluded from this budget. APC is preferred. Don't want insane battery backup. 20 mins is more than sufficient. Just need it to switch off the PC.

Waiting for your inputs guys.

Thanks.

Processor: Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz @ 4.4k
Motherboard: MSI 880GMA-E45 @ 5.8k
Ram: Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333MHz C9 @ 2.3k
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB + Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB @ 4.1k
Graphics Card: -
PSU: FSP Saga II 500 Watts @ 2.5k or Corsair CX400W @ 2.7k
Cabby: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5k
Monitor: Benq G2220HD 22" @ ~7.5k
Keyboard-Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k
UPS: APC 650VA @ 2.8k

TOTAL: 31.5k

Cause you included USB 3.0, Full HD monitor, a good UPS, and multithreaded apps, you'll need sell out minimum 31.5k (cost may increase if parts not available).

Sam.Shab said:
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB + Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB @ 4.1k

I think that would be 5.1k (1.8+3.3) so that makes the total Rs. 32700
Can save on the SMPS by buying FSP Saga II 400W or Gigabyte Superb 460w if you don't plan to add gfx card later.

oops. yes thanks. i becoming weak in maths day by day

OP can go for a single 500Gb WD Blue for now.

Hey guys,

Thanks for the inputs.

A couple of questions. How much do the Dell 24" monitors cost? Any other good 24" inch monitors available? Does the motherboard have HDMI port? Same question for the monitor as well. Also, the onboard graphics will be able to support High Def videos right?

Secondly, aren't 160GB hdd available any more? Coz i'm looking specifically for primary hdd and 500GBx2 (Will add the 2nd later if budget is overshot) or 1TB HDD (Still not sure if these are reliable. Any inputs??). Reason being, i want the option of taking out the 1TB/500GB HDD for data transfers occasionally without touching the primary OS HDD. If not the 160GB, 320GB is available?

And lastly, how are FSP Saga PSUs compared to the Corsair? I haven't heard of the brand.

Apart from that, the price seems ok, since i said 30k excluding the UPS. Can you also suggest an equivalent Intel based PC? A core i5 maybe?? Good to have options right?

@Cool Buddy: Although i'm not sure if i'd add a gfx card later or not. Even if i do, it won't be an ultra high end gfx card. I hardly get time to game. Like i said earlier, the only games i'd play, would be the likes of F1 2010 and GTR2 etc. So keeping this in mind, which PSU would you recommend?

Once again, thanks for the inputs guys. Awaiting for further response.

Question wise answers:

24" monitors cost higher proportionately as churn is very low, normally people go for 20" or 22". You can go for Dell or BenQ, should cost around 12-13k

No use buying 160GB or 250GbB HDD, won't save more than Rs. 200-300 as compared to 500GB.

FSP Saga PSUs are good though not in the same league as Corsair's. Corsair CX 400 can be trusted to supply around 430w with efficiency falling around 80%. FSPs may not be that efficient, but are good.

I'm not good at suggesting Intel configs, no idea about Intel motherboards.

To be on the safer side, I'd suggest FSP 500w or CX 400, price difference is not much as compared to FSP 400w.

azbokikr said:
Can you also suggest an equivalent Intel based PC? A core i5 maybe?? Good to have options right?

Processor: Core i5 760 2.8GHz @ 9.8k
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 @ 8.4k
Ram: Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333MHz C9 @ ~2.3k
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB @ 1.9k
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD5450 1GB DDR2 @ 3.5k (cause processor doesn't have IGP nor motherboard have. nor any sort of video outs)
PSU: FSP Saga II 350W @ ~1.4k
Cabby: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5k
Monitor: Benq G2220HD 22" @ ~7.5k
Keyboard-Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k

TOTAL: 36.9k (market price close to 38k).

Pros: fast processor, USB 3.0/DDR3 motherboard. Full HD monitor.
Cons: only 2Gb ram, graphics card one of slowest available in market, HDD limited to only 500Gb, Power Supply only 350W (no heavy upgrade possible).

you wanted Intel, this what Intel means. pay more, get less.

Sam.Shab said:
you wanted Intel, this what Intel means. pay more, get less.

Thanks guys! The Intel based spec suggested by Sam is not worth the extra money. I'll stick to AMD itself. Just wanted to know how much would a i5 based PC cost.

I'll be going for a Dell Monitor. Somehow, not very comfortable with BenQ. Haven't finalised on the size. Maybe a 22" or a 24". Have to check out the difference in size at a shop.

And one more thing, how are Kingston RAMs compared to Transcend and Corsair ones?

Corsair Value ---> good warranty.
Kingston ram ---. good value.
transcend ram ---> don't buy.

Sam.Shab said:
oops. yes thanks. i becoming weak in maths day by day

.
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In english aswell.
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@evryone, ok ok m sorry this is a junk post. My apologies. Hope you guys dont ream user's skin for posts like these.
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@op, stick with AMD.
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Trying to be worth here.
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Sam.Shab said:
Corsair Value ---> good warranty.
Kingston ram ---. good value.
transcend ram ---> don't buy.

I think it should be
Corsair Value ---> good performance.

Kingston ram ---> good value.
transcend ram ---> don't buy/ sell it to americans on ebay.
.
I am not so sure about it, but there isnt any warranty difference between the sticks, is there any?

toad_frog09 said:
In english aswell.

maybe

toad_frog09 said:
I think it should be
Corsair Value ---> good performance.

its value. so not much of a difference in performance. if you pick up a XMS* or a Dominator GT, you'll get the real difference in performance.

so whats the final rig?

Sorry for the late response..

piyush120290 said:
so whats the final rig?

It'll look something like this, as suggested by Sam.Shab and Cool Buddy, i still need some inputs. Have put my questions in italics:

Processor: Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz @ 4.4k
Motherboard: MSI 880GMA-E45 @ 5.8k
Ram: Corsair 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k (Part/Model No.?? and approx price is correct?) (Not really comfortable with Kingston RAMs. I feel Corsair will be better. Correct me if i'm wrong here.)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB + Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB @ 4.1k (Thinking of going in for 3x500GB. It'll ensure that i don't lose all my data in case one of the hdd crashes. Mobo has ports for 6 SATA ports so should handle max 5 HDDs and 1 DVDRW right? And the cabinet can hold 11 HDDs??)
Graphics Card: -
PSU: Corsair CX400W @ 2.7k
Cabby: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5k
Monitor: Dell 22" (model no. and approx price? Don't think 24" is worth the extra money if i can get a 22" Full HD)
Keyboard-Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k
UPS: APC 650VA @ 2.8k

azbokikr said:
Sorry for the late response..

It'll look something like this, as suggested by Sam.Shab and Cool Buddy, i still need some inputs. Have put my questions in italics:

Processor: Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz @ 4.4k
Motherboard: MSI 880GMA-E45 @ 5.8k
Ram: Corsair 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k (Part/Model No.?? and approx price is correct?) (Not really comfortable with Kingston RAMs. I feel Corsair will be better. Correct me if i'm wrong here.)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB + Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB @ 4.1k (Thinking of going in for 3x500GB. It'll ensure that i don't lose all my data in case one of the hdd crashes. Mobo has ports for 6 SATA ports so should handle max 5 HDDs and 1 DVDRW right? And the cabinet can hold 11 HDDs??)
Graphics Card: -
PSU: Corsair CX400W @ 2.7k
Cabby: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5k
Monitor: Dell 22" (model no. and approx price? Don't think 24" is worth the extra money if i can get a 22" Full HD)
Keyboard-Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k
UPS: APC 650VA @ 2.8k

Processor: Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz @ 4.4k OK

Motherboard: MSI 880GMA-E45 @ 5.8k OK

Ram: Corsair 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k (Part/Model No.?? and approx price is correct?) (Not really comfortable with Kingston RAMs. I feel Corsair will be better. Correct me if i'm wrong here.) OK
both rams are good
u cant go wrong in any case
regarding model no. u dont have to worry
just ask the shopkeeper about brand,size and speed

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB + Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB @ 4.1k (Thinking of going in for 3x500GB. It'll ensure that i don't lose all my data in case one of the hdd crashes. Mobo has ports for 6 SATA ports so should handle max 5 HDDs and 1 DVDRW right? And the cabinet can hold 11 HDDs??)

3*500 gb is a nice idea and is more secure too
yes for the next query

Graphics Card: - which one??

PSU: Corsair CX400W @ 2.7kOK
but also depends upon the graphic card u choose

Cabby: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5kOK

Monitor: Dell 22" (model no. and approx price? Don't think 24" is worth the extra money if i can get a 22" Full HD)OK and yes 22" is enough

Keyboard-Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6kOK

UPS: APC 650VA @ 2.8kOK

@piyush120290: I won't be buying a gfx card as of now. Planning to pick one up after 6 months or so.

Guys, I'm just planning about the future(6-7 months from now) graphics card upgrade here.. Which graphics card will be able to handle games like F1 2010 and other recent racing sim games? I'm not looking at anything highend. What kind of budget should i be looking at? And according to the graphics card, any major changes to the PC config that i need to factor in?

Thanks.

you should be able get HD67** by that time but it require much more power than HD57**. lot more. so not sure if the CX400W will be able to handle it well.

@Sam.Shab: So should i look at a 450W or 500W? again, suggest the model and approx price please.

Also, suggest a good Dell 22" monitor model.

Thanks.

VX450W "should" suffice , provided you not go for some heavy upgrade every now & then.

sorry no idea about the monitor part.

for the monitor look at -
AOC 2236VW @ 8.7k
BenQ G2220HD @ 7.5k
Dell ST2210 @ 8.6k
BenQ E2220HD @ 8.8k

Hi guys,

The purchase got delayed the last time. Positively buying the rig this week. Does to spec still hold good for the budget or is anything better recommended?

Another question, will the onboard gfx of the MSI motherboard be able to support full hd videos?

A quick response would be much appreciated.

I am able to play 1080p on 780G chipset, so it shouldn't be a problem on 880G.

Sam.Shab said:
Processor: Core i5 760 2.8GHz @ 9.8k
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 @ 8.4k
Ram: Kingston 2GB DDR3 1333MHz C9 @ ~2.3k
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB @ 1.9k
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD5450 1GB DDR2 @ 3.5k (cause processor doesn't have IGP nor motherboard have. nor any sort of video outs)
PSU: FSP Saga II 350W @ ~1.4k
Cabby: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5k
Monitor: Benq G2220HD 22" @ ~7.5k
Keyboard-Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k

TOTAL: 36.9k (market price close to 38k).

Pros: fast processor, USB 3.0/DDR3 motherboard. Full HD monitor.
Cons: only 2Gb ram, graphics card one of slowest available in market, HDD limited to only 500Gb, Power Supply only 350W (no heavy upgrade possible).

you wanted Intel, this what Intel means. pay more, get less.

No need to go with a 8.4k mobo if op has no intentions of overclocking.

I will change the config a bit

Core i5 760 2.8GHz @ 9.8k
MSI H55M-E33 @ 4.5k
Ram: Corsair VS2GB1333D3 4GB @ 2.3k
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB @ 1.7k
Graphics Card: MSI N450 CYCLONE Graphics Card @ 7.3k
PSU: FSP Saga II 400W @ ~1.6k
Cabby: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5k
Monitor: Benq G2220HD 22" @ ~7.5k
Keyboard-Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k

Total = 36.8k

Now this one is more balanced and way powerful than amd athlon 2 x4 based rig.

And intel doesn't always mean pay more get less. You pay more and get more and even much more. They are in a dominating position now so commanding a small premium over its competitor.

^^HD5770 @ 7.5k is much better option.!! but keeping in mind the games he will play he doesnt even need a 5570
i will suggest a 23"-24" for movie experiance which primary. he also needs a 1tb storage. movies take up lot of space.
his budget was 30k

AMD Athlon II x4 635 @ 4.5k
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H @ 4.5k
G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNQ @ 1k
Sapphire HD5570 GDDR3 @ 3.5k
Seagate 500GB 7200.12 @ 1.7k
Seagate 1TB 7200.12 @ 2.7k
FSP Saga II 400W @ 1.6k
Zebronics Bijli @ 1k
Dell ST2320L 23" @ 10k

Total - 30.5k

^^ well for 30k your rig looks good. Just swap that bizli with a cm 310. No need for a 5570 also cause op will add a good mid end card in future. The igp currently will be enough for hd movies and light gaming.

My post was against sam.shab's comment on intel. Ofcourse its the universal truth that when you pay more, you get more.

yup he can sweep that with cm elite 310. i wanted to keep it close to his budget.

sammy wanted to say was that you pay for intel 760 but you dont need that much power. see his pros that he mentioned it as a fast processor. but yes he mentioned a costly mobo. also prices have fallen from then very much. better sammy reply on this. :-D

Thanks for the response!

AMD rig based on the old spec and the new one given by Jaskanwar Singh, i've come up with this spec:

Processor: AMD Athlon II x4 635 @ 4.5k
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H @ 4.5k -or- MSI 880GMA-E45 ??
RAM: Corsair 2GB DDR3 1333MHz -price??-
Graphics Card: -NA- (As long as the onboard graphics can handle 1080p videos, i don't need a gfx card for now.)
Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GBx2 1.7k x2 3.4k (Do you get 250gig HDD nowadays? I'd like to have the OS and applications on a primary 250gig hdd and all the data on a 2nd+3rd 500GBx2 HDD)
PSU: Corsair CX400W -price??-
Cabinet: Cooler Master Elite 310 1.5K
Monitor: Dell ST2320L 23" @ 10k (Any other options in this price range?)
Keyboard+Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k
UPS: APC 650VA @ 2.8k

This should cost around 32k including the UPS. This seems ok to me. Any changes needed to the spec?

Coming to the Intel Core i5 based config, the MSI H55M-E33 doesn't seem to have USB3.0 support.

Processor: Core i5 760 2.8GHz @ 9.8k
Motherboard: MSI H55M-E33 @ 4.5k -alternatives with USB3.0 and SATA 2 support?-
RAM: Corsair VS2GB1333D3 4GB @ 2.3k
Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GBx2 1.7k
Graphics Card: -NA- (As long as the onboard graphics can handle 1080p videos, i don't need a gfx card for now.)
PSU: Corsair CX400W -price??-
Cabinet: Cooler Master Elite 310 1.5K
Monitor: Dell ST2320L 23" @ 10k
Keyboard+Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k
UPS: APC 650VA @ 2.8k

This will cost me close to 38k! Out of my budget TBH.

Also, i need to get a 2.1 speakers as the Altec Lansing VS2421 seems to have conked off. Budget is 3k, apart from the comp budget. I wouldn't mind buying the VS2421 again if they are still available. Suggestions please!

Yup the i5 760 is out of your budget. Get the x4 and its pretty good. Save enough and go for a good mid range gpu in future. That monitor is very very good for the price.

For speakers , try altec lansing vs 2621 @ 1.7k. They have officially replaced vs2421.

IMO you should go for gigabyte.
cx400w is around 2.7k
actually 250gb HDD will cost just around 100 bucks less than 500gb ones.not worth.

with 760 you will need a graphics as that doesnt have onboard graphics. but not to think about as you choose x4.

Thanks guys.

The rig is almost finalised. Just a couple of things (typed in red) that i still haven't decided upon. Will make the purchase this weekend.

Processor: AMD Athlon II x4 635 @ 4.5k
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H @ 4.5k
RAM: Corsair 2GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.3k (How are G.Skill F3 compared to Corsair?)
Graphics Card: -NA-
Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GBx2 @ 3.4k
PSU: Corsair CX400W @ 2.7k (Considering a 500W PSU (FSP Saga II 500W) as i want to add a gfx card later. How much would a Corsair 500W PSU cost me?)
Cabinet: Cooler Master Elite 310 @ 1.5K
Monitor: Dell ST2320L 23" @ 10k
Keyboard+Mouse: Logitech Keyboard Mouse @ 0.6k
UPS: APC 650VA @ 2.8k

Total: ~32.5k including UPS.

^^ corsair 4gb is 2.3k and not 2gb. Gskill is also good but stay with corsair. Infact both are good.

About psu , a vx 450 will be a good balanced psu as it can handle midrange gpu's easily upto a 6870. A 6950 or gtx 560 is also possible with vx 450. Cx 400 can handle upto a 6850.

You can consider seasonic S12II 520w bronze @ 4.1k which is also very good. Both the corsair and seasonic units are a lot better than fsp saga II 500.

About 500x2, are you planning to configure them in raid 0?

vickybat said:
^^ corsair 4gb is 2.3k and not 2gb. Gskill is also good but stay with corsair. Infact both are good.

About psu , a vx 450 will be a good balanced psu as it can handle midrange gpu's easily upto a 6870. A 6950 or gtx 560 is also possible with vx 450. Cx 400 can handle upto a 6850.

You can consider seasonic S12II 520w bronze @ 4.1k which is also very good. Both the corsair and seasonic units are a lot better than fsp saga II 500.

About 500x2, are you planning to configure them in raid 0?

I think a VX450W should suffice then. I won't be needing anything more than a 6870 anytime soon.

And no RAID0 setup plans. I plan to use the HDDs in this way. One 500GB HDD for my Windows+Linux OSes and related apps (overkill! i know!). The other one for all my data. i'll add another HDD as and when needed.

1TB HDD would mean greater risk of losing all my data rather than partial data loss. And, correct me if i'm wrong here, but my understanding is that 1TB HDD design/production are still not as stable/mainstream as the 500GB ones, therefore are more prone to failures. Is this understanding right?

^^ Nope it isn't right. 1tb harddrives are as stable as 500gb ones.Two 500gb are advised if you go for raid 0. The transfer speeds both read and write will be increased considerably.

Else stick with a single 1tb as its cheaper too. Opt for a wd green for better power savings or wd blue for balanced performance. Seagate 7200.12 is also an equivalent option.

But my personal choice is wd. Been using them for the last 7 years and absolutely no harddisk failures recorded ever.

^^ I want to keep the OS and data on separate HDDs. A single 1TB HDD will be cheaper than 2x500GB HDD, but the latter will give me more flexibility when it comes to formatting the reinstalling the OSes, taking the HDD out to friends place for data transfers etc etc.

[EDIT:] I was reading a Dell ST2310L review. They did not rate it well. Are there any other options in this price range?

And i'm just curious, can the exact same config be used for an AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE based rig? How much would the X4 955 BE cost?

^^ Ok as you wish.

Instead of going for a phenom instead of x4, i suggest u the intel route for a gaming processor. The i5 760 is the choice of cpu. Its a very fast gaming cpu but below sandybridge.

Amd 955 be is 6.8k. But if strictly amd, then go for an x6 instead of x4. The cheapest x6 i.e the 1055t will cost you 7.8k and is the better option.

For monitors , check dell st2220m @ 8.5k

^^ I'm not much into gaming. Hardly get time to game! If i want to get into heavy gaming, i'll consider getting a PS3 or XBOX360.

This will primarily be used for movies + internet + music + work. Work involves hooking up to a remote server via the internet and running simulations from there. So i don't see the point of going for an expensive Intel rig.

The Dell ST2220M does not have HDMI port, which is essential for me. I'm considering going for a AMD Phenom II X2 555 BE and using the money saved to buy the BenQ G2420HD monitor. What say?

P.S: Sorry if i sound a little picky. This would be the first PC i'd be buying with my own money and also i'm changing my rig for the first time in over 6-7 years! Hence i want to get the best setup in my budget and for my usage.

@ azbokikr

Well then stick with athlon 2 x4. No need to invest in a dual core processor like 555be and it will do you no good. Athlon 2 x4 is very good in multitasking and serve you better.

For movies, you can definitely consider Benq G2420HD and it will satisfy all your needs. I would have suggested dell st2220l which has hdmi port and is 8.5k. But its availability is a bit scarce. So stick with benq or try recently released samsung 23inch monitors.

Opt for a low end gpu like 5570 or 5450 to accelerate Hd content better. Thats my personal choice and it will serve you better adding additional filters and proper decoding of hd content using media player classic homecinema or any other gpu accelerated player. The additional textures and effects are wonderful to watch in a full hd monitor.

^^ Alright then. I'll freeze the spec except for the monitor.

What's the model no.s of new Samsung 23" monitors? Any options in AOC? Max budget is 11k.

And how'd you rate BenQ monitors compared to Samsung or Dell or AOC in terms of quality, life and A.S.S?

^^

Well i would rate samsung and dell a tad higher than benq. But benq has improved a lot better and is a serious challenge to both. Their quality now is quite good and currently, they arguably have the best 3d monitor.

Check Samsung P2350 @ 10.8k. A little high budget will get you a Dell UltraSharp U2311H @ 14k which is an ips panel. These will definitely satisfy your needs.

^^ I think i'll stick to the BenQ G2420HD monitor. Dell U2311H is very very tempting, but it'll overshoot my budget by a good 3-4k.

Reading comparos between the G2420HD and the P2350, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference in terms of image quality between the two. So i'll go for the one with the bigger screen. I'll try and drop in at Croma tomorrow and see for myself if there's a significant difference between these two.

Thanks for all the help. I'll let you know what the final purchase looks like. Monitor is the only variable as of now. Rest of the spec is frozen.

P.S: i had a misunderstanding about HDMI and DVI-D. Since you get converters for them, HDMI is no longer an absolute necessity.

hdmi can chanel both high def audio and video whereas dvi-d can only channel high def video. In personal computers, one doesn't need hdmi and the image quality is absolutely same for both connectivities as they are digital as opposed analog in case of vga.

Hdmi matters in hometheater setups as receivers don't have dvi-d's and they also have to channel audio signals. So thats not a make or break deal in case of computers and panel quality matters most. But hdmi is always welcome addition as you can always connect additional devices, for eg. say consoles. You can attach a ps3 to your monitor and game if it has an hdmi port.

guys,

Gigabyte 880gma is not available. Only the 880gm is available. Msi 880gma- e45 is also doubtful. Any other options?

look out for ECS 880g board

get a gm or gm-usb3 or ecs one baba mentioned.

Hi guys,

Finally bought the rig yesterday. The motherboard unavailability did overshoot my budget a bit.

Rig bought:

Processor : AMD Athlon II X4 640 @ 4.2k
Motherboard : Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 @ 6.8k (!) (How good or bad is this?)
RAM : Corsair 4GB DDR3 1333MHz @ 2.4k
HDD : WD Caviar Blue 500GB x 2 @ 3.3k
Cabinet : CM310 Elite @ 1.6k
PSU : Corsair VX450 @ 3.5k
Monitor : BenQ G2420HD @ 10.2k
K/B+Mouse: Logitech USB Combo @0.65k
DVD Writer: LG @ 0.8k
UPS : APC 650VA @ 2.8k

Total : 36.25k

Apart from the motherboard, i feel it is over-spec given my requirements, i'm pretty happy with the purchase. 2k over budget though.

no problem
its good
and congrats

@azbokikr, excellent config. nice buy.

The build is complete. Picked up a 6 month old used XFX HD 5770, 1GB DDR5 GPU for 5.5k. That should be more than sufficient given my usage.

^perfect. congrats.

azbokikr said:
The build is complete. Picked up a 6 month old used XFX HD 5770, 1GB DDR5 GPU for 5.5k. That should be more than sufficient given my usage.

A new HD 5770 is available for just 2k more. The old one would have been a little cheaper though. But still ur config is a very good one.
Congrats.
Why dont u post pics of ur new rig..

azbokikr said:
The build is complete. Picked up a 6 month old used XFX HD 5770, 1GB DDR5 GPU for 5.5k. That should be more than sufficient given my usage.

Congrats buddy. Post some pics in the latest purchase section.