Budget 21-30k Help in Rig..

[crosshair]

What is your budget?
30-32K

What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200
Motherboard - Intel DG31PR
GPU - None
RAM - Kingston 1GB DDR2
Monitor - LG L177WSB (17 inch)
PSU - Do not remember

Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
Monitor only. And the hard disk too. ( Seagate 250GB SATA 1)

Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.

I shortlisted the following items for my build -

1) AMD FX6300 CPU
2) ASUS M5A97 R2.0 OR Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 OR Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
3) 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM
4) Sapphire HD7770 OR ZOTAC GTX 650 TI GPU
5) Corsair VS 450 OR CX 430 OR Cooler Master Thunder 450W. (Antec VP450 is not available here :/ )



Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
No Upgradation for the next 3 years,


Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
Kolkata
Not comfortable with online purchase

Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
No

What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
Casual gaming
Browsing
HTPC
Watching HD movies
Photo editing.

Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
None.

If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
Batman - Arkham City/ Origins
Assassin's Creed
Skyrim
Tomb Raider
Witcher 2

What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage.
Nothing as such.

Are you looking to overclock?
No

Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
Windows 7 64 bit



A little help in choosing the components will be much appreciated.
And are the Gigabyte mobos USB 3.0 compatible? (I'm planning to buy a WD 1TB USB 3.0 External HDD) It says in the site they rely on some chip. And how big a difference will it make for spending 1.2k more for the ASUS mobo.

I was initially inclined towards Intel Core i3-3220 + Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H combo, but finally chose to go with AMD rig.

And i have a SATA 1 250GB hard disk, will it work properly with these motherboards?

P.S. - I cannot increase my budget, so have to hover in this range only

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

I shortlisted the following items for my build -

1) AMD FX6300 CPU
2) ASUS M5A97 R2.0 OR Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 OR Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
3) 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM
4) Sapphire HD7770 OR ZOTAC GTX 650 TI GPU

All good.

5) Corsair VS 450 OR CX 430 OR Cooler Master Thunder 450W. (Antec VP450 is not available here :/ )

All terrible choices. Pick something from the Recommended PSU list. Even the Antec VP550 is much better than the VP450. You have the budget too. The above set of components will come to 27k, leaving you with a nice 5k for your PSU.

And are the Gigabyte mobos USB 3.0 compatible?

Yes, have you checked the Gigabyte product pages? http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4591#sp

And how big a difference will it make for spending 1.2k more for the ASUS mobo.

Have you checked for any feature differences? I only notice the power stage is a wee bit better in the Asus M5A97, plus it has an 8-pin ATX 12V connector which is always preferred.

And i have a SATA 1 250GB hard disk, will it work properly with these motherboards?

Yes

 

[crosshair]

All good.


All terrible choices. Pick something from the Recommended PSU list. Even the Antec VP550 is much better than the VP450. You have the budget too. The above set of components will come to 27k, leaving you with a nice 5k for your PSU.


Yes, have you checked the Gigabyte product pages? http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4591#sp


Have you checked for any feature differences? I only notice the power stage is a wee bit better in the Asus M5A97, plus it has an 8-pin ATX 12V connector which is always preferred.


Yes

Thanks for the reply. I will surely check if the Seasonic 430W is available. I am thinking of buying the Zotac GTX 650 Ti because its a tad bit better than HD 7770, but a friend of mine suggested me to go for the HD 7770, since i will be getting the AMD Mantle feature within this year. Is it really worth to leave the Zotac GPU?

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

Mantle relies on game support too. So unless all the games you're playing use the Mantle API, you will not see performance gains in all of them. In that sense the 650 Ti would be better, plus rumour is that Microsoft's DX 12 is going to be a Mantle equivalent. The problem is the 650Ti will squeeze your budget and force you to compromise on another piece of hardware.

 

[crosshair]

Yeah have to increase my budget a bit :/ However, GTX 650 Ti ,GTX 750, HD 7790 are all available at same price point now, so is it better to go for the newer card i.e. GTX 750..

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

Yeah the 750 is better than the 650 Ti. The 7790 should be on par with the 750, but the 750 will be more power efficient.

 

[crosshair]

So, GTX 750 it is

 

[jinvidia]

@ OP and others.

Guys the ASUS M5A97 R 2.0 may be a good choice. But it doesnt have onboard video. I dont know why people opt for a board which doesnt have onboard video when they are aware of the fact that if one day the PC fails to boot, it is somewhat difficult to find out whether the culprit is the motherboard or the graphics card.

I agree that there are beep codes, but still i find many people struggling to diagnose the issue. Even assuming that if it is very easy to trace the issue, and if the issue is with the graphics card, what will the user do during the RMA period ?. He will be forced to go for a lower end card during the interim period and even worse he will have to undergo the pain of selling it after he gets the card repaired or replaced, right ?. I hope that everyone will agree with this point

I dont know why this fact is not discussed by anyone in this forum.

Please pour your comments guys..

Thanx in advance

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

Guys the ASUS M5A97 R 2.0 may be a good choice. But it doesnt have onboard video. I dont know why people opt for a board which doesnt have onboard video when they are aware of the fact that if one day the PC fails to boot, it is somewhat difficult to find out whether the culprit is the motherboard or the graphics card.

If you know any good IGP boards with no compromises feel free to recommend them. I notice most boards with IGP are usually mATX, don't have enough slots or 2 x PCI-e 16x slots for SLI/crossfire, and don't have a VRM stage designed for high TDP procs.

Even assuming that if it is very easy to trace the issue, and if the issue is with the graphics card, what will the user do during the RMA period ?. He will be forced to go for a lower end card during the interim period and even worse he will have to undergo the pain of selling it after he gets the card repaired or replaced, right ?

Why not just keep the lower end card as a backup? PCI-e cards aren't going to get outdated. What if the PCI-e slot is defective and the user wrongly assumes its the GPU?

 

[jinvidia]

If you know any good IGP boards with no compromises feel free to recommend them. I notice most boards with IGP are usually mATX, don't have enough slots or 2 x PCI-e 16x slots for SLI/crossfire, and don't have a VRM stage designed for high TDP procs.


Why not just keep the lower end card as a backup? PCI-e cards aren't going to get outdated. What if the PCI-e slot is defective and the user wrongly assumes its the GPU?

Even that is possible. But IMO GPU issues are more common when compared to PCIE slot issues. Ok the above is my personal opinion. If users are not worried of shelling out extra for a backup card in case of GPU issues, then it is upto them.

But the reason i raised this question is to know if people have an alternative idea and hence not worried about this point before going for a motherboard without IGP.

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

Guys the ASUS M5A97 R 2.0 may be a good choice. But it doesnt have onboard video. I dont know why people opt for a board which doesnt have onboard video

But the reason i raised this question is to know if people have an alternative idea

The way you were shocked asking why people aren't getting IGP boards, I thought *you* had an alternative that you were going to tell us!

 

[jinvidia]

The way you were shocked asking why people aren't getting IGP boards, I thought *you* had an alternative that you were going to tell us!

Oh I am sorry if my query has given such an impression...

Actually i was not shocked pal. If only i had that alternative idea i would have provided it straight away. I just asked whether compromising IGP ,shelling out extra for an entry level gpu IN CASE if the gpu goes kaput for a motherboard which equips VRM stage and other value added features is worth it.

Even in this thread, the user asked for suggestions for a low-mid level PC and the motherboard without an IGP is suggested.
But why is the Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H not suggested ?. I hope this motherboard is compatible with the suggested processor. The only thing is the one suggested here is based on the 970 chipset.

And finally dont mistake me as i am not here to argue against the suggestions made to the OP. I am not a very tech savvy guy as you are. I just asked the reason as i had been wandering for an answer for this for a quite long time.

From your reply it seems that people are even ready to shell out for extra components in case of emergency for a good motherboard with other features.

 

[Crazy_Eddy]

Even in this thread, the user asked for suggestions for a low-mid level PC and the motherboard without an IGP is suggested.
But why is the Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H not suggested ?

Looks good, but its not available. Out of stock on newegg too. Looking at the price on newegg, I'm guessing its atleast 2k more than the M5A97 R2.0 - which is more than enough to buy an entry level GPU.

From your reply it seems that people are even ready to shell out for extra components in case of emergency for a good motherboard with other features.

From your example above, you have answered your own question. You need to shell out extra for a good IGP board, so why not shell out for backup components instead.
I wouldn't call a good motherboard a 'feature'. You can always add a GPU to a board without an IGP, but you cannot add a good VRM, more slots/a larger PCB.