Review my rig plzzzz

hi all,

didnt have anything to do this sunday, so thought about getting a new pc. here is my shortlisted candidate. have a look and suggest me if anything is wrong. i will use this pc for programming/gaming/entertainment...basically everything

amd athlon 64 x2 3800+
asus m2n-e sli mobo
kingston 2gb 667mhz (2x1gb)
atx cabinet (450 watts smps)
seagate 250gb sata hard disk
19" lcd/tft monitor
geforce 8600gt 256mb graphic card
liteOn 20x dvd writer
creating 5.1 speakers
mouse+keyboard (is there any ergonomically correct ones around)
ups 600va

plz suggest if this is ok for gaming purposes. is it future proof (vista ready, DX 10) as im not goin to upgrade for atleast 3yrs. if u can provide prices for the above components and dealers(in delhi), i'll be extra thankful

thank u all.

Get the X2 4000+ , its under 4k's now ... it'd be a much better option than a X2 3800+ ..

H

dude upragading to 4000 is rubbesh wait for a while and then only for for atleat x2 4800 which is beeter and also for vista upgrade

whats the actual difference b/w x2 3800/4000/4800?

how abt intel core 2 duo?

Avoid the M2N-E series,has stability issues and horrible overclockers.
Try something in AMD 690G based boards.

^^^+1 for above suggestion

darklord said:
Avoid the M2N-E series,has stability issues and horrible overclockers.
Try something in AMD 690G based boards.

AMD 690G - is it SLI based or normal AGP?
i think amd 690g is for ATI based cards??

PainKiller said:
AMD 690G - is it SLI based or normal AGP?
i think amd 690g is for ATI based cards??

AMD690G is a chipset made by ATI-AMD.Its meant for AMD Socket AM2 processors. Its used by many mobo makers like Asus, MSI,Gigabyte etc. It does not support SLI or Crossfire.It is a PCI Express board and has PCIe 16X slot for graphic cards. You can use Nvidia or ATI Graphic cards with it.

Whats the budget ??

As I would Vote for ASUS M2A-VM (AMD 690G) and a better procy, but unless we get the budget hard to comment !!!

PainKiller said:
hi all,

didnt have anything to do this sunday, so thought about getting a new pc.

LOL

~Phenom~ said:
LOL

Yeah buddy! :lol:

Wow!! he buys PCs when he has nothing to do on Sundays!!

blackpearl said:
Wow!! he buys PCs when he has nothing to do on Sundays!!

yup thats true....and my budget is about 30-35k

darklord said:
AMD690G is a chipset made by ATI-AMD.Its meant for AMD Socket AM2 processors. Its used by many mobo makers like Asus, MSI,Gigabyte etc. It does not support SLI or Crossfire.It is a PCI Express board and has PCIe 16X slot for graphic cards. You can use Nvidia or ATI Graphic cards with it.

thx for detailed reply

Why don't you get a Core2duo?

blackpearl said:
Why don't you get a Core2duo?

i suppose core2duo rig will be quite extensive as compared to amd...what u think?

That's right. But if you can throw in another Rs 5k, you will get a c2d.
It will give you satisfaction. :))

everybody says core2duo is just a market gimmick intel use to sell their processor to us. does core2duo realllllly outperform amd x2??

im really confused abt processor/mobo/graphic card combo. everything else is just standard h/w. dont know what to buy...everybody has a different opinion.

sam9s said:
The cheapest C2D 6300 should be around 7000 now, but its really worth........
people with very tight budget should look nowhere else but 4200+ or better 4800+

Yes it does on almost all fronts......better google for some realtime benchmarks and you will know what C2D is............techtree.com, xbitlabs.com and anandtech.com are good sites to begin with...

if i decided to buy c2d procy, then what mobo and graphic card will be best bet with it?? and ur rig pretty coooooool

A

while buying TFT's make sure u don't buy LG or Samsung (though they r the ones most sold.) Check for other brands...
And go for Intel, to avoid heating issues. Once u add a graphics card(or change it)..The pressure it will put on motherboard even with the fan, is quite painful.

abhishek_del said:
The pressure it will put on motherboard even with the fan, is quite painful.

can u elaborate on the above point?? as for lcd im thinking about viewsonic 19" but they r hard to find.

sam9s said:
The cheapest C2D 6300 should be around 7000 now, but its really worth........
people with very tight budget should look nowhere else but 4200+ or better 4800+

Yes it does on almost all fronts......better google for some realtime benchmarks and you will know what C2D is............techreport.com, xbitlabs.com and anandtech.com are good sites to begin with...

Nope

Cheapest C2D is E4300 which retails for less than 5k

S

if u r interested in OCing ur proccy , C2D is the choice , but ur budget maybe a slight constraint . if u're not interested in OCing , at stock speeds , the amd's beat the C2D's ..
since ur budget is slightly a constraint , go for a CRT ( saves abt 4k ) and take a better C2D or a better amd x2 .

ok....as everybody is saying c2d is preffered over amd....i will go by it. as for graphic card...8600gt may b a good choice given the fact that it supports dx10 and is vista ready. as for mobo...gigabyte. but i was thinking if im buying intel procy why not go for original intel mobo rather than buying a intel chipset based mobo??

can anyone suggest me the actual model# for the below components
1) procy - c2d - E4300 (is it the right choice given the fact that im not going to upgrade for next 3yrs)
2) mobo - gigabyte/intel - which model
3) graphic card - nv 8600gt (256mb) - xfx or something else??

oh...thx for all the replies

P

PainKiller said:
ok....as everybody is saying c2d is preffered over amd....i will go by it. as for graphic card...8600gt may b a good choice given the fact that it supports dx10 and is vista ready. as for mobo...gigabyte. but i was thinking if im buying intel procy why not go for original intel mobo rather than buying a intel chipset based mobo??

can anyone suggest me the actual model# for the below components
1) procy - c2d - E4300 (is it the right choice given the fact that im not going to upgrade for next 3yrs)
2) mobo - gigabyte/intel - which model
3) graphic card - nv 8600gt (256mb) - xfx or something else??

oh...thx for all the replies

GO for this configuration:

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 (Rs4500)
Motherboard - XFX 650i Ultra (Rs5500)
RAM - Kingston Value Series 2 X 1GB 667MHz DDR2 (Rs3500)
Harddisk - Seagate 160GB SATAII (Rs2100)
Graphics Card - XFX 8600GT 256MB (Rs7500)
Speakers - Creative Inpire 2.1 (Rs1700)
LCD - ViewSonic 19" VG1930WM (Rs10900)
Cabinet - Zebronics ATX with 500W Pure Platinum SMPS (Rs3000)
UPS - Microtech 800VA (Rs2300)

Cost ~ 41K

To reduce the cost: purchase CRT and only 1 GB RAM (add 1 GB later)

Original Intel Mobos are horrible overclockers... And without overclock a 4300 wont last 3 years ( for gaming that is)... It will do quite well at this point of time but it will be obsolete (for gaming) much before the 3 years time frame u r looking at... Even with overclocking it will struggle after 3 years but its the best bet @<5K... In overclocking it comes very close to C2D X6800 (2.93 GHz) in performance !!! Check this out *www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=2903 I bought it a month ago for 4600+TAX ... And I do intend to overclock it in the future... At this point of time I am satisfied with its performance...

For Mobo the XFX 650i Ultra packs a lot of value and they are said to be good overclockers... It has support for 1333 MHz FSB and it might just support Penryn...

In Graphic Cards, XFX is a very well known brand... Their USP is the quality and reliability of their products... And they are good overclockers too... So u can safely go for XFX... I bought the 8600GT a month back for 7K + TAX... At its price it is an excellent product... I am playing FarCry,HL2 & FEAR at the max settings(Soft Shadows off in FEAR); Oblivion & STALKER at high settings @ 1440*900 res and I am yet to see any slideshows here...

Phalanx said:
Original Intel Mobos are horrible overclockers... And without overclock a 4300 wont last 3 years ( for gaming that is)... It will do quite well at this point of time but it will be obsolete (for gaming) much before the 3 years time frame u r looking at... Even with overclocking it will struggle after 3 years but its the best bet @<5K... In overclocking it comes very close to C2D X6800 (2.93 GHz) in performance !!! Check this out *www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=2903 I bought it a month ago for 4600+TAX ... And I do intend to overclock it in the future... At this point of time I am satisfied with its performance...

For Mobo the XFX 650i Ultra packs a lot of value and they are said to be good overclockers... It has support for 1333 MHz FSB and it might just support Penryn...

In Graphic Cards, XFX is a very well known brand... Their USP is the quality and reliability of their products... And they are good overclockers too... So u can safely go for XFX... I bought the 8600GT a month back for 7K + TAX... At its price it is an excellent product... I am playing FarCry,HL2 & FEAR at the max settings(Soft Shadows off in FEAR); Oblivion & STALKER at high settings @ 1440*900 res and I am yet to see any slideshows here...

ur rig is exactly what i actually wanted....can u give me gross price of ur rig.

pa_7 said:
GO for this configuration:

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 (Rs4500)
Motherboard - XFX 650i Ultra (Rs5500)
RAM - Kingston Value Series 2 X 1GB 667MHz DDR2 (Rs3500)
Harddisk - Seagate 160GB SATAII (Rs2100)
Graphics Card - XFX 8600GT 256MB (Rs7500)
Speakers - Creative Inpire 2.1 (Rs1700)
LCD - ViewSonic 19" VG1930WM (Rs10900)
Cabinet - Zebronics ATX with 500W Pure Platinum SMPS (Rs3000)
UPS - Microtech 800VA (Rs2300)

Cost ~ 41K

To reduce the cost: purchase CRT and only 1 GB RAM (add 1 GB later)

thx for detailed reply. i will finalise my rig very shortly.

C2D E4300 - 4600
MSI P6N Sli Platinum - 11200
2 * 1 GB Transcend DDR2 667Mhz - 3700
Lite-On Super All Write 20X - 1550
Seagate 250 GB SATA II - 2950
XFX GeForce 8600GT - 7000
Viewsonic VG1930wm -11600
Microsoft Wireless Keyboard+ Mouse - 1450
Compro Videomate X50 - 1600
i Ball Cabinet ( with 400 watt PSU) - 1500
APC 500 VA UPS - 2050

Prices are exclusive of VAT

Bought this on 6th of June... So should be a little less now especially the RAM...

thx phalanx.........need to go to nehru place,delhi to get the actual quote.

Phalanx said:
i Ball Cabinet ( with 400 watt PSU) - 1500
APC 500 VA UPS - 2050

should i get 450watts smps cabinet or 400watts is sufficient?
for ups 600va or 500va?

I would suggest you to go for 450 or higher SMPS...The higher the better... The minimum recomended by MSI for the P6N SLI Platinum is 450 watts... Till now I have not experienced any problem with the stability of my system with my bundled 400watt SMPS though... But thats probably coz am not using SLI...Also my G card is not a power hungry monster.... Am also planning to buy a 600 watt PSU so that I can safely overclock my cpu... With 400 watts overclocking will be risky...

As for the UPS, go for APC 500 VA... This would suffice... But if you can spend more, then its always better to have a higher rated UPS...

some1 told me that intel is goin to cut their prices 22 july onwards, is is true for india too?

Yes its true...But it might take some time for the price cuts to reflect in India.

how much time??

D

darklord said:
Avoid the M2N-E series,has stability issues and horrible overclockers.
Try something in AMD 690G based boards.

But I am seeing only micro-ATX mobos based on AMD 690G....
Check the Biostar model, don't thing that it can be overclocked much, no multiplier controls... :/

just found out....amd x2 4800 is retailing at 5500/- i think its better choice than intel c2d e4300 (5,000/-). what is ur opinion.

PainKiller said:
how much time??

No idea...maybe a couple of weeks or so...

And get one good PSU for sure when Over clocking

I am facingt now the problem !!! My 450 Watts ColorSit Cant go more than 3.2 GHz with 4GB DDR-II

PainKiller said:
just found out....amd x2 4800 is retailing at 5500/- i think its better choice than intel c2d e4300 (5,000/-). what is ur opinion.

At stock speed 4800+ is a better performer than E4300... Check this *www.tomshardware.com/2007/07/16/cpu_charts_2007/

So 4800+ is a better performer per rupee @ stock speeds and thus better VFM...

However, neither of these 2 proccys will last (i.e. perform reasonably) 2 years, let alone 3 @ stock speeds... With the age of quad core (native) and octa core ( who knows wat more) coming up and with applications and games already being developed to fully utilize those cores, a low end dual core will have a very hard time keeping up... In such a scenario, the E4300 looks a much better proposition than the 4800+ due to its amazing overclocking potential (as I have already mentioned in this thread)... Although being a dual core will hold it back a bit but the fact that it can reach 3+ GHz (and more) with ease will put its performance in a different league altogether... And if it can perform at par with a C2E X6800 ( refer the link in my previous thered here) then u can sleep well for at least 2 years ( maybe 3 too) without worrying about your proccys performance

... All this for 5k... Wat else do u need... Jump at it right now!!!!

A word of caution here- be sure to choose the right mobo if u want to oveclock... U wouldn't want to end up with a E4300 on a 965RY board... LOL

I recently bought a C2D based system and I was hard pressed on budget. Some guys here helped a lot in choosing the right combination [thank friends]. One thing I understand is your choice should entirely depend upon what you want to do. I do a lot of Video editing and MM content development [commercially], so a higher L2 cache is better for me as my work requires multitasking and higher L2 cache helps that. If you do not require this then I would suggest that you stick with AMD, go for 4800+, its an excellent processor and sives good 1MB L2 cache. I have another PC which runs on Athlon 2800+ from AMD. It is a great performer though being single core. As I can compare these two real time, so I can tell you for sure that you shall never notice any noticable difference between AMD X2 and C2D for general use. So it is not really necessary to pay a lot extra for a C2D; and a 4MB L2 cache C2D will cost you far more. Save that money and invest it in a new RAM, your PC will run much faster.

the stock speed of e4300 is 1.8GHz. how much can it be OCed without burning down my mobo. Pa_7 suggested i go for XFX 650i Ultra mobo...is it good for OCing....as far as PSU is concerned, it think i need atleast 450 watts of power?

which cabi have 450 watts, looks ok and comes at a reasonable price?

oh...i more think, does OCing leads to discontinuation of warranty??

P

PainKiller said:
the stock speed of e4300 is 1.8GHz. how much can it be OCed without burning down my mobo. Pa_7 suggested i go for XFX 650i Ultra mobo...is it good for OCing....as far as PSU is concerned, it think i need atleast 450 watts of power?

which cabi have 450 watts, looks ok and comes at a reasonable price?

oh...i more think, does OCing leads to discontinuation of warranty??

Hey buddy

...still not decided

E4300 overclock:
with stock cooler => 2.4GHz without any problem (max. around 2.8GHz)
WIth aftermarket cooler => can overclock 3GHz or more without any issue

I will recommend it to overclock atleast upto 2.4GHz for daily working use
Ya....overclock voids the warranty

XFX 650i Ultra:
No hype....only the performance in good budget...it is not sli/crossfire(or with all those high end stuff) but still one of the best overcoking motherboard in its price range.

PSU:
Don't compromise on power supply if you are planning for overclock and gaming....what I have suggested is good for you...if not the best

can any1 suggest me a good mobo that supports SLI, OCing and comes around 5000/-

P

PainKiller said:
can any1 suggest me a good mobo that supports SLI, OCing and comes around 5000/-

....ASUS P5N E SLI....of 7.5K...this is the cheapest sli ready + overclock friendly motherboard

one more thing .... in SLI setup both the card will run at 8X speed each...not at 16X........some of the fact for your information like....single 8800GTX will beat the sli setup of 8800GTS...sli is used for the purpose when one wants to use it for dual display unit.....

:smile:

pa_7 said:
....ASUS P5N E SLI....of 7.5K

Are you sure about the price? I bought P5B-VM a month or so back which did cost me about 7 K!!!

if your going for tft's then take a look at the tft's from aoc. they are cheap and very good too.

napster007 said:
if your going for tft's then take a look at the tft's from aoc. they are cheap and very good too.

i searched for tfts from aoc (on net)...but never found anything. last ad i saw of aoc lcd monitors was on the stepney cover of a scooter

thanx for all the valuable replies.

got it finally.......*www.aocmonitor.co.in/

hahaha

from one sunday to other
now its another sunday here...
lets wait for someone who didnt have anything to do this sunday,
so thinking about getting a new pc.

~BSOD~ said:
hahaha
from one sunday to other
now its another sunday here...
lets wait for someone who didnt have anything to do this sunday,
so thinking about getting a new pc.

read my first post carefully....i never said im going to buy my pc on that sunday itself. go back to school and learn to understand english first