Need help in buying a new PC - Budget 35 - 40k

C

ChetanSolur

Disciple
Hi All,

I am upgrading my PC after 5 years and I have been a gamer all the while till I started working. Currently I am looking for a machine which would support all the new release games and run my applications atleast for the next 3 years. Please take a look at my below information and feel free to give me your valuable advice as I am looking to buy the machine by the end of April.

1. My Budget.
35-40k

2. My existing configuration (It is archaic..!! but has served me very well for 5 years)
CPU - AMD 64 bit 3000+
MOtherboard - Asus K8N Ai series
GPU - Asus GeForce FX 5200
Ram - Hynix 512 x 3 @400 Mhz
Monitor - Samsung 17"

3. Hardware that I wish to keep
NOthing. I don't think I can.

4. Which hardware component I am currently looking?

PSU - I am a little confused on this. Hearing to many names from Corsair. Need expert advice.
Cabinet - Planning to go for a Coolermaster and will I get a SMPS with the cabinet? If yes then is it good enough? Please do suggest CoolerMaster cabinets.
Motherboard - Gigabyte is something I have in mind. Please suggest.
Processor - Initially had planned for an i7 but is way too out of my budget. How about the i5 2500k?
RAM - 4GB DDR3 Corsair 1333mhz
HD - I have an Seagate 80GB IDE, 250 GB Sata2. Need another 1TB. How much does a 1TB Western Digital cost?

4. Where would I want to buy it from?
I am located in Bangalore and if a few things are not available in Bangalore then I think I will be OK with online purchase.

Eagerly waiting for your response and thanks a lot in advance for all your valuable suggests.

Chetan
 
Hmmmm, Same needs and same budget as mine, Evn i wud be buying soon frm S.p road, Bangalore.
I'm a noob at hardware but still i think intel core i5 2500 wont fit in tat budget. I'm going for i5 2400!
 
CPU - AMD PhenomII X4 840 - Rs.4900

Motherboard Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H 5500

RAM Corsair 2x2GB RAM VS2GB1333D3 G 1333MHz 2100

HDD 1TB Seagate 7200.12 2700

GPU MSI HD6850 1GB GDDR5 10250

Monitor Benq G2220HD 7400

Cabinet NZXT Gamma 2200

PSU/SMPS Corsair VX 450 3400

Key Board Logitech MMKB 400

Mouse Gigabyte GM6800 650

ODD L.G./Samsung OEM SATA DVD-Writer 850

Speakers Altec Lansing 2.1 BXR1121 950

Total 41300

Try buying it all in one shop so u get a good discount... u should easily be able to pick it all up for under 40k...
 
DarkAngel - I have updated all the information that was required. I think I can retain the keyboard, mouse, speakers and monitor for now.

I have updated it

1. My Budget.

35-40k

2. My existing configuration (It is archaic..!! but has served me very well for 5 years)

CPU - AMD 64 bit 3000+

MOtherboard - Asus K8N Ai series

GPU - Asus GeForce FX 5200

Ram - Hynix 512 x 3 @400 Mhz

Monitor - Samsung 17"

3. Hardware that I wish to keep

NOthing. I don't think I can.

4. Which hardware component I am currently looking?

PSU - I am a little confused on this. Hearing to many names from Corsair. Need expert advice.

Cabinet - Planning to go for a Coolermaster and will I get a SMPS with the cabinet? If yes then is it good enough? Please do suggest CoolerMaster cabinets.

Motherboard - Gigabyte is something I have in mind. Please suggest.

Processor - I want to buy an Intel Core i5. Initially had planned for an i7 but is way too out of my budget. How about the i5 2500k?

RAM - 4GB DDR3 Corsair 1333mhz

HD - I have an Seagate 80GB IDE, 250 GB Sata2. Need another 1TB. How much does a 1TB Western Digital cost?

4. Where would I want to buy it from?

I am located in Bangalore and if a few things are not available in Bangalore then I think I will be OK with online purchase. So Yes

5. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware

Gaming

Browsing

Desktop Processing

Watching HD movies

6. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.

No dislikes in particular but I have decided to go for an Intel Processor with a sound Gigabyte Motherboard.

7. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?

Strategy - Civilization 4

Racing - Grid at medium to high settings

FPS - Crysis 2

8. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage

Depends.

9. Are you looking to overclock?

No

10. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?

Windows 7 64 bit

Linux - Ubuntu
 
i suggest u change the monitor as a Samsung 17" monitor is pretty small.... if u save some money on the speakers, keyboard and mouse .... go for a 6870 or 6950 1gb instead... alternatively if u want to for a nvidia card... u can try the 560 twin frozer for around 14-15k
 
CPU --> Core i5 2400 -- 9.5K

Motherboard --> ASUS P8H67 M EVO -- 9K (check for the B3 revision sticker before purchase) ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards - ASUS P8H67-M EVO / ASUS P8H67-M EVO Review | Motherboards.org

RAM --> Corsair XMS 1600 MHz 2* 2GB -- 3K

Cabinet --> NZXT Gamma + 3x 120mm fans (of your choice) -- 3K (Gamma can be had at Golccha Computers, or shipped from Bombay) --NZXT Gamma « XSReviews / NZXT Gamma Case Review | Hardware Secrets / http://www.techenclave.com/pc-peripherals/nzxt-gamma-the-new-vfm-cabinet-156816.html

PSU --> Corsair VX 550W -- 4.4K

Graphics Card --> AMD HD 6950 1 GB OR nVidia GTX 560 Ti ~ 15.5K - 16.5K (preferred brands for AMD are Sapphire, HIS and for nVidia ZOTAC) Bench - GPU11 - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News -- if you can't go for card immediately don't buy right now instead save up and buy later till then on-board GPU of the Intel processor will serve you in good stead though no gaming (not even on low).

HDD --> Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB -- 2.4K (Western Digital is a bit iffy, the Green series is buggy, and the Blue series and Black edition HDD's by them are significantly more expensive while there is no concrete advantages over Seagate's Barracuda series)

Monitor --> BenQ E2220HD -- 8K

Optical drive --> LG / Samsung OEM -- 950/-

Hope this helps bruv, I'm not good with speakers so no recommends and remember buy original Windows and be safe :). Windows 7, Microsoft Windows 7, Buy Windows 7 Online at Microsoft Store
 
Thanks for pitching in Alpha.

I think I will revise my budget a bit which is possible if I buy the parts over a period of 2 months :). Having said that, here are a few things I had in mind.

CPU --> How much would an i5 2500k cost? ~11k..?

Cabinet --> I saw NZXT Gamma and compared with a few models from Cooler Master (4k range). The build and the paint job of CM felt more solid and appealing than that of NZXT. I think I can invest upto 4k for the cabinet. Do you feel I should go for a CM chassis?
 
No use getting i5 2500k if you not going to Overclocking. You can get the i5 2500 for 1k lesser.
Only difference is that the 'K' ones have unlcoked multi and is very easy to OC where as non-K cant be OCed much. The other insignifcant difference is K series have better integrated graphics which is of no use to use since you are going to get discrete GPU.
 
@OP

Buy Core i5 2500 as DA suggested coz you wont be able to overclock i5 2400 so buying a faster CPU now would be a wise choice...

Alpha Suggested you a great rig but i would like to make some changes... instead of P8H67 M EVO buy P8H67 M LE ~ 6.5k...
 
Shady93 said:
Can someone pls explain me wat actually does overclock mean??
Click to expand...

Over-Clocking means taking a product beyond its stock settings<basically the settings provided by the equipment manufacturer> so basically if you tweak around your settings like voltage, speed frequencies (the GHz measure of a processor) -- What is Overclocking?, most third-party equipment manufacturers like ZOTAC, EVGA (in nVidia's case) and Sapphire and HIS (in ATi/ AMD's case) release special cards which are better suited at this task then the stock editions.

What is Overclocking?

MSI has the HAWK series. -- http://event.msi.com/vga/hawk/

Gigabyte has the SOC (Super Over-Clocked) series. -- http://www.gigabyte.com/products/main.aspx?s=43

Sapphire has the Vapor-X edition cards for better cooling and Over-Clock capability. -- http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/VaporX/VaporX_index.aspx

HIS has the IceQ series on Sapphire's lines. -- http://www.hisdigital.com/ru/news_show-34.shtml

XFX used to have the Fatality series endorsed by Johnathan 'Fatal1ty' Wendell. http://www.guru3d.com/article/xfx-geforce-8600-gt-fatal1ty-edition-review/2 -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal1ty

ZOTAC has the AMP! edition cards. http://www.zotac.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320&Itemid=615

What DarkAngel and Hades are saying is as OP will not Over-Clock his PC his investment will be wasted on buying a Core i5 2500K as the K series Sandy-Bridge processors are more receptive towards Over-Clocking and have a unlocked multiplier to further facilitate this, AMD has the Black Edition processors on their end which follow this principle.

Hope this sates your thirst bruv. AND PLEASE DON"T HIJACK A THREAD LIKE THIS AGAIN, WE HAVE A SEPARATE OVER-CLOCKING AND MODDING SECTION WHERE THIS QUERY CAN GO.
 
Alpha,

Well, If I want to go for a system which would allow me to over-clock, would it still be a good option for a H67 motherboard? Let me know what you think and how about going for a CoolerMaster cabinet? I know it will fit in the budget but I think I can pull in a few extra greens.
 
I was going through a few reviews and I learnt that Gigabyte motherboards are equally good. There are a few questions, please help through these.

- Is it a good option to go for an ASUS P8H67 M EVO and upgrade it to a better GPU later, or go for an Asus P8P67 Pro and go for a good GPU as as doesn't come with an inbuilt card?

- Any good motherboards options in Gigabyte for for core i5 2500k Series?

- From user experience which one motherboard would you guys prefer? I have an ASUS and down due to over heating. It served well for nearly 4 years but I still would any suggestions from experiences.

- Is it wise enough to invest on a Corsair TX650W?

Please reply and let me know you suggestions guys. Thank you so much
 
Components Description Price (INR)
Processor Intel Core i5 2500 10300
Motherboard Asus P8H67-M LE 6500
RAM Corsair 4GB DDRIII 1333MHz 2300
HDD 1TB Seagate 7200.12 2700
GPU Sapphire HD5770 1GB GDDR5 7500
Monitor Samsung B2030 6200
Cabinet CM Elite 310 1500
PSU/SMPS Corsair CX400 2500
Key Board Logitech SET - Optical Blk Mouse+ MMKB 700
Mouse NA -
ODD L.G./Samsung OEM SATA DVD-Writer 850
Speakers Altec Lansing 2.1 BXR1121 950
Total 42000

You cant the components you desire with your budget. For your needs the Corsair TX650 is a overkill.
If you wish to go for i5 then you would have to slightly increase the budget. Even with that it leads to compromising a bit on GPU(HD5770 instead of HD6850), Monitor Size(20" instead of 22") If you want i5 and cant spend more than 40k then you can get the i5 2400 ~ 9.2k and cut back on the HDD.(500GB instead of 1TB)
This Asus Mobo is decent Value for Money. It has only 2 RAM slots. So go for 4GB single stick RAM.

Though going for AMD will get you better componets. PFB AMD rig recommendation.

Components Description Price (INR)
Processor AMD AthlonII X4 640 4500
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H/Asus M4A88T M/USB3 5500/5700
RAM Corsair 4GB DDRIII 1333MHz 2300
HDD 1TB Seagate 7200.12 2700
GPU Sapphire HD6850 1GB GDDR5 9500
Monitor Benq G2220HD 7400
Cabinet NZXT Gamma 2200
PSU/SMPS Corsair VX 450 3400
Key Board Logitech SET - Optical Blk Mouse+ MMKB 700
Mouse NA -
ODD L.G./Samsung OEM SATA DVD-Writer 850
Speakers Altec Lansing 2.1 BXR1121 950
Total 40000

Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H is hard to find but its excellent VFM. If you can find it go for the Asus. Its also a decent mobo.
 
Thank you so much for your reply.

Ok, I have decided to revisit my budget. Lets plan only for the CPU config for 40-43k. I will buy the other parts in the next month or so. I will first get hold of all the parts that matter the most as I wouldn't be upgrading it for a while. CPU, motherboard, PSU, cabinet, RAM, GPU, HDD (I have 2 hard disks and I can live without it as well or invest on it later) and DVD writer.

After my revised budget,

- I have been using an AMD all this while and I want to go for an Intel processor this time. So how is the Core i5 2500 k + Asus P8P67 Pro combo?

- Ram - Corsair 1600Mhz 2GB x 2

- I liked the NZXT tempest Evo and the CM 690. I have decided to invest on it as it is a one time buy for the long haul. What do you suggest in CM and NZXT?

- GPU and PSU depending on the CPU + Motherboard combo.

Let me know what you think.
 
ChetanSolur said:
Thank you so much for your reply.

Ok, I have decided to revisit my budget. Lets plan only for the CPU config for 40-43k. I will buy the other parts in the next month or so. I will first get hold of all the parts that matter the most as I wouldn't be upgrading it for a while. CPU, motherboard, PSU, cabinet, RAM, GPU, HDD (I have 2 hard disks and I can live without it as well or invest on it later) and DVD writer.

After my revised budget,
- I have been using an AMD all this while and I want to go for an Intel processor this time. So how is the Core i5 2500 k + Asus P8P67 Pro combo?
- Ram - Corsair 1600Mhz 2GB x 2
- I liked the NZXT tempest Evo and the CM 690. I have decided to invest on it as it is a one time buy for the long haul. What do you suggest in CM and NZXT?
- GPU and PSU depending on the CPU + Motherboard combo.

Let me know what you think.
Click to expand...
Many of us have mentioned that since you are not going to OC and no going to SLI or XFire you dont need a 'K' series or P67 mobo. You have come back to the same point again.
The i5 2500K+P67 Pro costs ~ 23.5k which will result in very little or even no money left to but a GPU!!!
 
DarkAngel said:
Many of us have mentioned that since you are not going to OC and no going to SLI or XFire you dont need a 'K' series or P67 mobo. You have come back to the same point again.

The i5 2500K+P67 Pro costs ~ 23.5k which will result in very little or even no money left to but a GPU!!!
Click to expand...
DarkAngel said:
Many of us have mentioned that since you are not going to OC and no going to SLI or XFire you dont need a 'K' series or P67 mobo. You have come back to the same point again.

The i5 2500K+P67 Pro costs ~ 23.5k which will result in very little or even no money left to but a GPU!!!
Click to expand...
Ok. You make sense. I will go for the i5 2500. Will going for an H67 Evo turn out to be expensive or should I go with the P8H67-M LE as you suggested? I am sorry.. Sometimes we do get head strong on few things which we have half knowledge on :)
 
ChetanSolur said:
Ok. You make sense. I will go for the i5 2500. Will going for an H67 Evo turn out to be expensive or should I go with the P8H67-M LE as you suggested? I am sorry.. Sometimes we do get head strong on few things which we have half knowledge on :)
Click to expand...

Atleast you got the point now. Better late than never ;)

EVO series usually have excellent power phase design which comes in handy for OC. But it doesnt make sense at all for H67 since you cant OC with H67!!!
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards - ASUS P8H67-M LE
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards - ASUS P8H67-M LE

The only major differences are the EVO has 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical),8 -Channel Audio I/O and 4 RAM slots. The LE has only 2 RAM slots and lacks 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical)
8 -Channel Audio I/O.

But the EVO costs 2.5k more the LE!!!! So if the above feature sets doesnt matter to you stick to LE and save few bucks.
 
DarkAngel said:
Atleast you got the point now. Better late than never ;)

EVO series usually have excellent power phase design which comes in handy for OC. But it doesnt make sense at all for H67 since you cant OC with H67!!!

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards - ASUS P8H67-M LE

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards - ASUS P8H67-M LE

The only major differences are the EVO has 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical),8 -Channel Audio I/O and 4 RAM slots. The LE has only 2 RAM slots and lacks 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical)

8 -Channel Audio I/O.

But the EVO costs 2.5k more the LE!!!! So if the above feature sets doesnt matter to you stick to LE and save few bucks.
Click to expand...
Perfect then. Considering your inputs, I will finalize the motherboard. I hope it is available in Bangalore.

- I believe Sapphire HD6850 1GB GDDR5 is good enough 4GB of Corsair. Should I just stick to 1333Mhz or think of 1600?
 
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