Should I go for this configuration for Gaming/Multimedia PC? (URGENT)

R

Hi!
I want an Intel processor based Gaming & Multimedia PC for around 65000 (+ - something)
I'll also learn heavy 3D software (like Maya, 3DS Max etc) and Photoshop on it.
also for surfing & Downloading.

Components- I want everything:
Processor- Intel based
Graphics card- nVidia based
Motherboard
A quality Monitor (as big as possible) with good response time & good colors
RAM (Memory)
long-lasting Harddisk (preferably Seagate, I heard that Western Digital lasts for short life, Is that true?)
Optical drive (writer)
PSU
Full tower ATX well-ventilated Cabinet
Speaker system
Keyboard, Mouse etc.
UPS
Also mention their street prices.

give more weightage to non-upgradable core components like CPU & MoBo etc.
please keep longevity in mind, suggest well-tested & long-lasting components.
I live in a hot/dusty/humid area.

IMPORTANT: Other family members are in favor of a branded PC. So, please also suggest a branded PC from a good brand (budget around 65 thousand rupees/ plus minus some amount).

MOST IMPORTANT:
Agent001 suggested this config. Is that all right OR Any change? (preferably I'll go with his advice, But I want your opinion) (& are prices mentioned below accurate?)

Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K – Rs. 10700

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68 V – Rs. 12600

RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4GB – Rs. 2,500

Graphics Card: MSI N550GTX Ti Cyclone – Rs. 8150

Monitor: BenQ E2420 – Rs. 12,900

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1 TB – Rs.2800

PSU: Cooler Master eXtreme 500 – Rs. 2900

ATX Cabinet: Cooler Master HAF 912 – Rs. 5600

Speaker: Altec Lansing V2621 – Rs. 1900

Keyboard: Logitech K100 – Rs. 260

Mouse: Microsoft P58 – Rs. 375

UPS: APC BR600CI-IN – Rs. 2165

Total – Rs. 62850

Some points-
Above Optical Writer is not mentioned, so please suggest one.
About- "Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4GB" is it 2X2 kit OR 4GB one stick & what is the model number/frequency for that which comes for Rs. 2,500.
About Monitor- for that price (Rs. 12,900) is it "BenQ E2420" OR "BenQ E2420HD" and what's the difference between two.
About Keyboard- Any better keyboard with extra keys or should I go for it.
About UPS- How much backup will it give?
I search "MSI N550GTX Ti Cyclone" & it has "Mini HDMI" port instead of HDMI port, so it will require Mini HDMI to HDMI dongle, will that affect performance or that is the same thing? And is that card right for playing latest games? If I go for it there are two models in that. OC & Non-OC. So which one to pick.

I know you gonna ask to fill the template:

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A: Gaming (I'm gonna be a hardcore gamer, Multimedia (Watching Movies etc.), Entertainment, I'll Also run heavy software like 3D software (like Maya, 3DS Max etc) and Photoshop on it. Also for surfing & Downloading.

3. What is your MAX budget?
A: Around 65000 (+ - something)

4. Planning to overclock?
A: Not sure but may do it in future. I live in a hot/dusty/humid area & don't have a Air conditioner. Should I OC my PC in future without AC.

5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A: Ofcourse the latest one Win 7 Ultimate (also should be capable for running future OS Windows 8)

6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A: Currently I'm not sure. I think 1TB.

7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want? If you already want have one and want to use it, mention its resolution and size.
A: Quality Monitor (as big as possible)

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A: I never built. but fiddled with my old PC sometimes.

10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A: ASAP

11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A: Yes (atleast future proof for 5 years)

12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A: I want everything.

13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A: prefer Rajasthan

14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A: See above.

Do I require a dedicated CPU cooler if yes which one?

Please also suggest a branded PC

Please also suggest a Motherboard (budget around 3000 rupees + - something) for socket LGA 775 (Intel Pentium E5800) for a friend (Not included in my budget)

Id you are gonna be a hardcore gammer, then GTS 550 ti is the worst choice you're gonna make. It consumes hell of power and performs like ****...and gaming in Full HD (1920X1080) is simply not possible with it.

if you're a Nvidia fanboy, then GTX 560 Ti is the minimum for hardcore gaming. Similarly the PSU you've chosen is known as time bomb...Extreme series is the worst product from Cooler Master. And currently overall performance of AMD cards are better than their respective nVidia counter parts in terms of performance, price and power consumption.

Here is my suggestion for you:-

Intel Core i5 2500K @ 10.5K
Cooler Master N620 CPU Cooler @ 2.5K
MSI Z68A-GD65 @ 10.4K
MSI Hawk GTX 560 Ti @ 14K
Gskill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL 4 GB 1600 MHz @ 1.7K
Seagate 500GB 7200.12 SATA @ 1.9K
LG 22X SATA DVD Writer @ 0.9k
Cooler Master 690 II Plus @ 4.9K
Dell ST2320L 23" Wide LED (With VGA, DVI and HDMI) @ 9.45K
Razer Cyclosa Gaming Bundle @ 2K
Razer Goliathus Fragged Omega Small @ 0.4K
Altec Lancing VS2721 @ 2.6K
APC 800VA @ 2.8K

Total is around 64K.
But my suggestion is if you can come out of the nVidia magic spell, get the MSI HD 6950 2 GB Twin Frozr III @ 15.3K. At this price range this card simply does not have any competetion.

IMPORTANT: Other family members are in favor of a branded PC. So, please also suggest a branded PC from a good brand (budget around 65 thousand rupees/ plus minus some amount).

For 65k branded PC, you will get components of a PC that would cost 30k when assembled. In addition, you cannot open the cabinet as it will void the warranty and wont be able to enjoy it with games/softwares you want to run on it.
So, my suggestion is to try to convince you family to get assembled one and not the branded.

Oh, and also, dont forget to get the 64-bit Windows as you are going for 4GB RAM. This is will help in future upgrades and will utilize full RAM too(32 bit only uses 3.2GB)

^^ Nicely placed... +1 Rep

+1 for Cilus's suggestion. For a branded PC i made the following config on dell's website-
PROCESSOR 2nd Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2310 Processor (2.9GHz, 6MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows(R) 7 Home Premium SP1 64 bit (English)
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee® SecurityCenter™ (Multi-Language) - 15 Months
MONITOR Dell ST2420L 61cm (24") HD Widescreen Monitor with WLED
MEMORY 4GB (2X2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz Memory
HARD DRIVE 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive with Native Command Queuing
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive:16X DVD+/-RW with Dual Layer Write
VIDEO CARD 1.25GB GDDR5 NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 560 Ti
SOUND CARD Integrated high definition 7.1 channel audio

It costs 65.5k and has got a poorer processor, RAM, keyboard and mouse. And as Nipun said, you will void the warranty if you try to open it. It comes with just 1 year warranty unlike the assembled one where most of the components have at least 3 years of warranty. Taking 3 year warranty will cost another 10k. Get the assembled one.

Nipun said:
In addition, you cannot open the cabinet as it will void the warranty and wont be able to enjoy it with games/softwares you want to run on it.

AFAIK , user replaceable/upgradable components like RAM, HDD, ODD is allowed without voiding the warranty.

Charan said:
AFAIK , user replaceable/upgradable components like RAM, HDD, ODD is allowed without voiding the warranty.

Nope, it is only possible if done through official company dealers.

Cilus said:
Id you are gonna be a hardcore gammer, then GTS 550 ti is the worst choice you're gonna make. It consumes hell of power and performs like ****...and gaming in Full HD (1920X1080) is simply not possible with it.

if you're a Nvidia fanboy, then GTX 560 Ti is the minimum for hardcore gaming. Similarly the PSU you've chosen is known as time bomb...Extreme series is the worst product from Cooler Master. And currently overall performance of AMD cards are better than their respective nVidia counter parts in terms of performance, price and power consumption.

Here is my suggestion for you:-

Intel Core i5 2500K @ 10.5K
Cooler Master N620 CPU Cooler @ 2.5K
MSI Z68A-GD65 @ 10.4K
MSI Hawk GTX 560 Ti @ 14K
Gskill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9S-4GBXL 4 GB 1600 MHz @ 1.7K
Seagate 500GB 7200.12 SATA @ 1.9K
LG 22X SATA DVD Writer @ 0.9k
Cooler Master 690 II Plus @ 4.9K
Dell ST2320L 23" Wide LED (With VGA, DVI and HDMI) @ 9.45K
Razer Cyclosa Gaming Bundle @ 2K
Razer Goliathus Fragged Omega Small @ 0.4K
Altec Lancing VS2721 @ 2.6K
APC 800VA @ 2.8K

Total is around 64K.
But my suggestion is if you can come out of the nVidia magic spell, get the MSI HD 6950 2 GB Twin Frozr III @ 15.3K. At this price range this card simply does not have any competetion.

+1 for this suggestion.

In a word, great!

P.S. @OP, you can change:
Cooler Master N620 CPU Cooler @ 2.5K
with
Cooler Maser Hyper 212+ Cooler @ 2.1K

(specially if you a fan of cooler master hyper series cooler, but N620 will give you superior performance than hyper 212+.)

Nipun said:
For 65k branded PC, you will get components of a PC that would cost 30k is assembled. In addition, you cannot open the cabinet as it will void the warranty and wont be able to enjoy it with games/softwares you want to run on it.
So, my suggestion is to try to convince you family to get assembled one and not the branded.

Oh, and also, dont forget to get the 64-bit Windows as you are going for 4GB RAM. This is will help in future upgrades and will utilize full RAM too(32 bit only uses 3.2GB)

Nicely said. Rep +1.

R

Thanks guys for replying.

@Cilus

But now I'm more confused :sad:

, this way i'll not be able to buy a PC. I thought everything is fine with those specs, those were suggested by Agent001.

regarding ATi I read online on many places that they don't provide longevity & performance as compared to nVidia. Isn't it true? I also read that they retire earlier!
for cards Not only Gaming but also keep in mind that i'll also learn 3D software like Maya, 3DS Max, Photoshop on it.

regarding Graphics cards you didn't tell me about OC and Non-OC cards. Actually after searching I came to know that most of the cards are available in two variants- Default (Non-OC) & OC. Which one should be bought? and what is the main difference & price difference between the two?

Does APC 800VA have auto-shutdown? also UPS must be tolerate to power fluctuations. (In my area that's a problem). & How much is the backup time.

I just searched MSI N560GTX-Ti Hawk on eBay.in and to my surprise the price is 18,262.

)

Where should I check ACCURATE street-price online?

you suggested a dedicated cooler, Do I really need it, can't I save some money?

Please also suggest few options for Branded one.

And what about my question regarding LGA 775 (Intel Pentium E5800) Motherboard?

You suggested a monitor from Dell will that give more value for money?

RAM- is it 4GB OR 2x2=4GB?

rameshsingh said:
regarding ATi I read online on many places that they don't provide longevity & performance as compared to nVidia. Isn't it true? I also read that they retire earlier!
for cards Not only Gaming but also keep in mind that i'll also learn 3D software like Maya, 3DS Max, Photoshop on it.

where did you read this?

rameshsingh said:
regarding Graphics cards you didn't tell me about OC and Non-OC cards. Actually after searching I came to know that most of the cards are available in two variants- Default (Non-OC) & OC. Which one should be bought? and what is the main difference & price difference between the two?

you suggested a dedicated cooler, Do I really need it, can't I save some money?

RAM- is it 4GB OR 2x2=4GB?

OC will provide better performance than non-OC. OC=overclocked

Dedicated cooler is needed for OC.

that is 2x2 kit.

Adding to Jaskanwar, MSI Twin Frozr III does not have any Non OC version, it is always an Oced model.

Regarding Ram, I would suggest you to go for a single 4 GB ram and the Ram I have suggested is a single 4 GB module. It comes with a single 4 GB or 8 GB (2 X 4GB) kit. Check G.SKILL-Products

Go with MSI Hawk GTX 560 Ti @ 14K instead of GTX 550ti.
Reason: increased number of cuda core.. very much helpful in case of 3D modeling.

Cilus said:
Adding to Jaskanwar, MSI Twin Frozr III does not have any Non OC version, it is always an Oced model.

Regarding Ram, I would suggest you to go for a single 4 GB ram and the Ram I have suggested is a single 4 GB module. It comes with a single 4 GB or 8 GB (2 X 4GB) kit. Check G.SKILL-Products

sorry cilus. yeah it was a single stick.

R

What about where to check most ACCURATE street-prices online?? :sad:

Does APC 800VA have auto-shutdown & Surge/spike protection?

also suggest few options for Branded one.

And what about my question regarding LGA 775 (Intel Pentium E5800) Motherboard? :sad:

You suggested a monitor from Dell will that give more value for money?

@Jaskanwar Singh

where did you read this?

I can't remember the exact place but on the net almost wherever there is Intel vs AMD & nVidia vs ATI discussions, people always say AMDs & ATIs perform badly.

OC will provide better performance than non-OC. OC=overclocked

So it means after buying non-OCed card, we can't overclock it?

@Cilus

Regarding Ram, I would suggest you to go for a single 4 GB ram

Why?? I've heard that modern DDR-RAM works in dual-channel mode, So for better performance one has to install two RAM sticks of same frequency. Isn't that true??

Two another things-

1. Does CPU coolant paste/grease come with the CPU itself. If not what kind of grease should I buy & what is the price.

2. Could you also please tell me about some PC assembling Videos and Articles (with detailed pictures) for my-kind-of-budget desktops.
Most probably I'll be assembling my PC own my own (Most of the modern hardware are oriented & color coded & they come with manuals, So I think it will be easier to assemble myself). Already Sometimes I fiddled with my age old Pentium PC. So I know a bit about this like replacing DDR-1 RAM, Attaching IED HDDs etc. But I don't have very sound experience of fitting CPU, applying coolant paste, connecting PSU etc. local assemblers in my area are even worst. I have very bitter experience, once they almost killed my old MoBo (I won't go in details).

A year ago I searched for some videos but those were very mediocre, In one video, most of the times, camera was on guys face & not on the system itself. I want detailed Vids/articles those should be elaborated especially connecting PSU & power connectors correctly (otherwise the system would get damaged), Applying Coolant paste rightly, attaching CPU, attaching heatsink/cooler, connecting front-panel headers (USB, Audio), routing cables etc.
Please tell about those videos which are not very big in terms of size (I'm currently on a dial-up connection). So please provide both big or small videos/article but only whose which are really helpful.
Thanks.

rameshsingh said:
@Jaskanwar Singh

I can't remember the exact place but on the net almost wherever there is Intel vs AMD & nVidia vs ATI discussions, people always say AMDs & ATIs perform badly.

nothing like that.

rameshsingh said:
So it means after buying non-OCed card, we can't overclock it?

no, you can oc both oced and non-oced cards.

@rameshsingh

Amd cards are performing brilliantly this generation and are total value for money. Whatever you read , is a hoax.

rameshsingh said:
What about where to check most ACCURATE street-prices online??

Does APC 800VA have auto-shutdown & Surge/spike protection?

No. You need to buy an extra surge protector.

J

d6bmg

in apc manual it is strictly written not to use surge protectors with ups your ups is enough I have experienced this, when using surge protector with my apc ups, my apc ups shutdown itself and my psu became quiet hot only after removing surge protector that problem has gone so dont use surge protector with ups

Rameshsingh :shock:

why are you inclined more towards Nvidia GPUs they are far behind amd counterpart amd provide good perfomance,consume less power so go with amd gpu.

^^ I never read AC manual but at my C setup, I have a surge protector connected with UPS, and then PSU connected to that surge protector. Don't konw whether it is wrong or not, but in the last 8 years, in all the PCs that I've used, I made same setup without any problem.

So, I cant say whether this is right or wrong. :unsure:

You mean you have plugged your PSU's Power Cord in to the Surge Protector instead of plugging into the UPS!!

Dont do that, else you will end up burning all components.

J

d6bmg,I am using APC (RS 600) ups and its manual clearly states not to use any surge protector you haven't met problem its okay but why take chances :grin:

why are you guys advising MSI GTX 560 Ti Hawk where OP can get MSI HD 6950 TF III PE OC by spending a little more bucks

R

Reply my other queries also!!! :!:

for learning how to Build a pc - I Found one of the best from youtube (its about 1 hour split in two parts)
Part 1:
*www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-uHmL7Y2UU&feature=related

Part 2:
*www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPB3HcMjf2E&feature=related

On your stock cooler heatsink the thermal paste is pre applied but if you are buying a 3rd party heatsink you would have to apply the thermal paste (it comes with heatsink) or you can buy some good thermal paste if you want better cooling.

saswat23 said:
You mean you have plugged your PSU's Power Cord in to the Surge Protector instead of plugging into the UPS!!

Dont do that, else you will end up burning all components.

Firstly I would like to say thanks to you for pointing out the mistake.
Then what will be the correct setup with UPS, surge protector & PSU? :unsure:

R

@rajatGod512
Thanks, will watch them. :smile:

Anyone other wants to add anything to any of my queries??? :?: