New gaming rig suggestion for 35-40K

G

Gautham

Disciple
First off, this is for my friend. Budget, max 40K. Here is the list.

Q: What is your budget?

40K

Q: What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)

(Since it's my friend's PC, I'm not exactly sure. I'll try to get it right, will edit when I have more details.)

CPU - Intel, 3 GHz, supports hyperthreading but is single core

Motherboard - Asus

GPU - Nvidia 7100

RAM - Transcend 2GB

Monitor - Samsung Sync Master CRT

SMPS - Zebronics 450W

Q: Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)

Optical Disk Drive - LG, IDE connection

Sound Card - Creative (not sure about model)

Speakers

Q: 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.

CPU - AMD, not Intel (for more bang for the buck)

Motherboard - any compatible motherboard (preferably supporting dual GPU config in the future, upto 12GB RAM expandable, RAM freq 1333 MHz)

GPU - Should last for the coming 5 years. Will game a lot, but not necessarily in the highest settings or FPS. Just looking for a good IQ-FPS balance.

Monitor - Should be at least 22 inch, full HD. Mainly for gaming and multimedia.

Q: 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

Might upgrade to following in 2 years:

- 1 more GPU

- More RAM

- More HDD

Q: Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)

Hyderabad, City. No online purchase.

Q: Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market

No

Q: What is your intended use for this PC/hardware

Gaming

Browsing

Download rig, 24x7 operation

Watching HD movies

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

Want to go for an AMD processor build because it's relatively cheaper.

Q: If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?

FPS - Crysis, Bioshock 2 at high - highest settings

3PS - Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Assassin's Creed series at high - highest settings

Racing - Grid, Burnout Paradise at high - highest settings

Q: What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage

Gaming - 1600x900, 1920x1080

Desktop - 1920x1080

Q: Are you looking to overclock?

No

Q: Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?

Windows 7 32bit/64bit
Click to expand...

(Additional) priority list:

1. Future proof (2-3 yrs)

2. Gaming capable

3. Good screen

4. Already have a good sound system, can skip that.

5. Gaming grade keyboard and mouse NOT necessary

6. No Intel build, AMD preferred.

7. Upgradability to dual GPU in the future would be good, though not necessary

Looking forward to your suggestions, thanks.
 
^^ If you want to wait please wait till Bulldozer comes out OR make up your mind and go for a Sandy-Bridge based system.

AMD systems currently don't make sense, for performance + value second generations Intel Core i5 processor rule the roost. Hope this helps.
 
I think you guys should recommend X4 955 with 6950 based system for him. 40k budget is tight with screen. Also dont think he would be able to fit bulldozer in that budget(im assuming 8 core chip will be 15k and thats what you are asking him to wait for).
 
^^ I think a extended wait will also leverage him to save up some more [money to add to the budget] and then he can get a good Intel Sandy-Bridge + nVidia combo OR Bulldozer + AMD Radeon combo, depending on price / performance x features.
 
Hm, 20k more is not an option. Maybe 5K, max. If I go for an i7 Sandy Bridge setup, what config do you guys recommend? btw, is i5 very different from i7? And is there any chance I can squeeze in an LED backlit screen (and is it really worth the price?) There's also the issue of the graphics card. Please advice :)
 
Yea lol 20k more is easier said than done :p

But really your budget is very tight with screen. 40k we can easily configure quite a few combo's but take 10k out for screen and now you need 30k everything else. i3 intel build is the only way to go for you. Get a Z68 board and drop a i3 in it if he can upgrade the cpu to 2500k in 6 months or so (by then 2500k will be a bit cheaper and still a great cpu) if he is really tight and wont change this for a while then dont bother with that board get H61 and saved money can get him decent gpu and psu.
 
For HD gaming at highest settings you need at least a 6850 which costs just slightly less than 10k, add around 7k for a Benq 22 monitor and you have around 23k to play with. For PC I always suggest buy for now, buying for the future is a pointless exercise, even in 6 months things move significantly and your highest end components today are completely outperformed, so buy for what you need today.

Get an i3 and Msi H67 combo for 10.4k, since you want to game on HD res the gpu becomes important, and current benchmarks suggest i3 2100 will be better than what AMD offers at the moment for the price. For a low end gaming system the AMD 3850 with integrated graphics becomes a very viable choice. Frame rate differences with a good gpu is not more than 5-10fps at 1920x1080 compared to an i5/i7. Please look at the sandybridge reviews online to see the differences and understand how VFM i3 is on a budget compared to the more expensive i5/i7 and AMD options. 4GB ram for 2k, smps and cabinet for 6k and hdd for 3k.

That should give you a very decent setup for gaming today with few limitations. Please refer to Darky's thread for recommended setups for the way to go. 40k should be sufficient for your current needs.
 
Thanks Zloyd and Raul, I'll talk to my friend about it. But after checking out Sandy Bridge benchmarks, I'm inclined to go for the i5. So here's a thought. He said he'd spend 5K more, which is 45K. So I took the 41K setup from the buying guide and modified it as follows:

Components Description Price (INR)

*Processor Core *i5 2500 *10700

Motherboard Intel DH67BL(B3) 5100

RAM Corsair 4GB DDRIII 1333MHz 1350

HDD Seagate 1TB 7200.12 2750

GPU MSI Cyclone OC HD6850 1GB GDDR5 PE 9800

Monitor Benq G2220HD 6900

*Cabinet NOT *NZXT Gamma *~2000

PSU Seasonic S12II 430w/ Corsair VX450 3300/3600

*Key Board *Already has one *0

*Mouse *Already has one *0

*ODD *Samsung 22X SATA DVD/reuse old IDE drive *950/0

*Speakers *Already has a sound system *0

Total 43150/42200

Changes are marked with a "*"

So is that a viable setup? I mainly have concerns with the mobo and processor compatibility. A quick Google search revealed both are compatible, but I'd like your expert opinion if I can. And regarding the processor, after a little reading, I understand the 2500K is meant for overclocking whereas the 2500 is not. Does this mobo allow for overclocking an i5? Though I ask, I'm almost sure my friend won't be looking to overclock the CPU, just the GPU, if at all. So all this taken into account, what about i5 2400 vs i5 2500/2500K? Your suggestions? (and is the price for i5 2500 right? I just googled and used the first result.)

One more thing is the processor-GPU power balance. There won't be any bottleneck with this setup, I assume? Since I've went for an i5 instead of an i3, can I go for a more powerful and/or recent GPU? for the sake of discussion, please suggest one even if it'll extend the budget to 48K - 50K. Who knows, if I can convince him, he might just spend the money.

Regarding the screen, I might suggest him a Samsung B2230. I remember having to choose between Samsung B2230 and BenQ G2220HD, but I went for Samsung for a reason I can't remember. It had something to do with viewing angle or colour, I don't remember. Have to agree that the BenQ looks much better.

Oh, he didn't like how the cabinet looks, can he get a coolermaster or any good (durable) cabinet for around Rs.2000?

PS: He probably won't wait for Bulldozer, because he's adamant he wants the PC in a week at most. Poor guy has been running a single core 3 GHz P4 setup with a 7100GS for years now, and his laptop is even worse. No scope for any of the recent games.

PPS: We live in Hyderabad, and are planning to purchase from somewhere in CTC.

EDIT: Um, guys? Bump ._.
 
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