Which Processor, Motherboard & RAM?

[drpullockaran]

X-bit labs - Wolfdale for Economical Enthusiasts: Core 2 Duo E7200 Review

Techgage - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 - The New Budget Superstar?

[legitreviews] Intel E7200 Processor Review - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net


The above processor with DDR2 running at 1066mhz would be king of the budget kingdom.

[gigy]

shuvd, i would recommend E6750(run at 3Ghz) with ASUS P5EVM-HDMI(mATX with dual display), with 4gb DDR2 800 ram.two years later you can make it carputer.
you can use the on board graphic or upgrade it later but are you sure you will be using the pc for something which needs more processing power than this? This config which can continue to run blue ray and HD give 1080p video as HTPC.
thats if you are not into hardcore gaming

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by shuvd

Hello all. Need help with assembling a PC.
Budget around 30k.
I need a moderately good rig. It must be stable and reliable. (I work from home)
Limited gaming, but the rig'll be on at least 15hrs/day.
I'm looking at Intel Q series.
I was suggested the ASUS P5KC by a TeamBHPian. But, I have a 8500GT which I don't want to junk.
I'm running Vista Home Premium 32bit

If I have to junk the 8500, what options do I have? I would like to go for SLI/Cross Fire setup in the future.
Thanks in advance..

Just before sometime, I had assembled a PC for my friend.

Here is what I have to say:
Processor : Intel Core 2 duo E4500.
Motherboard: Intel Original G33 chipset motherborad:
Processor + motherboard = Rs. 10,000

Cabinet: iBall i720 ( With 380w SMPS ) RS 1200
RAM: 2 X 1GB DDR 2, 667MHZ , Transcend. RS 2000
Hard Disc : Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA RS.2700
Monitor: Viewsonic 19" widescreen Rs. 9000
Optical Drive: LG 20X DVD Writer wth Secure Disc: Rs 1200
Keyboard and Mouse: Logitech Combo Rs 850.
Speakers: Creative SBS 245 Rs. 500.

So it works out to RS. 27,450.

Procesor option 1 : E8400 ( i.e. Penryn, 45nm ) that will cost you around Rs 9000. So the entire set up will be Rs. 31,950.

Processor option 2 : You can also try E6700 ( I consider this to be ideal for you). RS. 7800.
Total : 30, 750.

Now regarding your questions:
Dont go for ASUS. It uses dual layer PCB, so there are more chances of the motherboard getting weared out quickly. The RMA or replacement is also not very fast.

Now with the recent april 20 price cut, Q6600 ( intel Quad core, 2.4 GHz, 1066 FSB.) is costing around 9800. I would suggest you go for Penryn, as it is modern, more power effecient. I dont see any point going for quad core. The real need for quadcore will be by 2010/2011, and at that time you can upgrade as the G33 chipset motherboard from intel is Quad Ready.


As you have limited gaming, I suggest not to invest more in heavy ( read expensive ) motherboards with SLI setup. If you are not an extreme gamer, this set upwill work perfectly.


Basically, I am a student of BCA( Bachelor in Computer Application ) in MSU, Vadodara. We have to use very heavy softwares like Oracle 10, etc that are basically meant for servers. I have seen that Intel works with amazing stability with heavy loads.

The PC i had assembled for my friend also uses Windows Vista Business edition which he won in a competetion. it is working like a dream.


If this config goes out of Budget, well go in for 17" widescreen monitor from ViewSonic. The ideal processor for you is E6700 as per my view.

Dont go for AMD as it has severe overheating problems even in Brisbane core. I am having AMD X2 5000+ ( not black edition ), 2 gB Dynet Ram, 7300gT point-of-view graphics card ( with only passive cooling so temperature ranges from 80-90 deg. celcius for this card ) ,msi K9n Neo V3 560 chipset.
This pc overheats so much that the processor temperature is 63-38 degre with moderte load.

So intel is the best or rather, the only sensible option.

[gigy]

aaggoswami, i didnt get your point of asus motherboard wearing out due to it being dual layer. asus boards are a reliable lot and this board my friend bought for 8k approx rocks. why recommend intel boards. gigabyte and abit have much better ones which can be in budget.

[greenhorn]

um, aaggoswami, though i do agree that asus RMA sucks, I'm pretty sure their motherboards have more than 2 pcb layers.

And regarding servers. AMD still has the advantage due to its architecture- the memory controller etc.

If performance is what you want , then yes, intel is what you should be getting. On the other hand , the AMD has a much better selection of feature rich motherboards, and are more VFM.

[drpullockaran]

Present day motherboards are a minimum of 4 layered construction with some of them using 6 to 8 layered construction.
The number of layers have nothing to do with life of the board.
Most of the boards are built to specification by two manufacturerw based in TAIWAN. The name of the manufacturers are FOXCONN and MICROSTAR. EVGA is another manufacturer but based in Europe I think.

Sharky Extreme - '+$ArtG+' - '+$ArtC+' - '+$ArtN+'

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by gigy

aaggoswami, i didnt get your point of asus motherboard wearing out due to it being dual layer. asus boards are a reliable lot and this board my friend bought for 8k approx rocks. why recommend intel boards. gigabyte and abit have much better ones which can be in budget.

I am deeply involved in assembling/buying these items. ASUS gave much problems within 1 year in the budget range motherbords. They are really attractive. But here in my city Vadodara there is problem of wearing out and the ASUS products being replaced very late. If at all you have easy acces to any of the Major cities/live in major cities, then its fine.

Intel motherboards are less tasty as far as feature set is considered.
But the G33 board will support upto 12 usb 2.0, and it has HDMI ( High Defeniton Media Interface ). Plus they are very consistent in performacne and stability. ASUS scores well above the Rs. 8500 category. Not in the budget or slighty above the budget range. But then if you are spending around 8500, well you can get an even better motherboard from intel.

This is my third motherboard and let me tell you that if RMA is not quick , it will spoil even the best experience you have from any manufacturers.

In more than 20 Desktop mahcines I was involved, my experience says that:

MSI motherboards will work best with nVidia chipsets.
Gigabyte will work best with AMD chipsets.
ASUS can work well with nVidia chipsets, but mind well nVidia chips are somewhat expensive, and for the same amount you get better chipset+motherboard from Intel.

Yes Intel motherboards lack Over Clocking (OC ) features, but then they are do their job in the least frustating manner.

If forturne permits, I will tell you more why Intel motherboards are as good as ASUS.

um, aaggoswami, though i do agree that asus RMA sucks, I'm pretty sure their motherboards have more than 2 pcb layers.

And regarding servers. AMD still has the advantage due to its architecture- the memory controller etc.

If performance is what you want , then yes, intel is what you should be getting. On the other hand , the AMD has a much better selection of feature rich motherboards, and are more VFM.

@GreenHorn:
AMD had advantage till now before Core2Duo came out. Initially the Opterons were good, but then came the Core 2 Duo with better architecture and thermal envelope. AMD came up with " Barcelona " core ( that took an eternity to come up). It was like trying to beat a VTEC(intel ) Honda Civic ( on runway sort of road surface ) in drag race with Hyundai Elantra 2.0 (US Spec ) ). Civic comes out best.

Soon Barcelona core had TLB ( Table Lookup Buffer ) error and if fixed with BIOS workaround, performance would go down. Now the latest B3 stepping are avaliable, but intel is way, way ahead. AMD has micro architectre advantge, but it is not very superior like Athlon 64 over P4.

AMD has lost the server ground. It has a lot of torque and can handle moderate duties, but when heavy load comes up, it need power ( clock speed ).

[greenhorn]

yes, I do agree that intel does have the brute power, but It is not a comprehensive win

AMD vs. Intel: power efficiency in the server room rests on RAM

Meh, It's way too late to start an AMD vs Intel flame war now. Will just concede that intel has the better processor ( well, they really do )

[shuvd]

Thanks guys.
Is DDR3 absolutely necessary?

DDR3 pricing is crazy. Any cheap DDR3 boards out there?
My options:
Exxxx/Qxxxx approx 10k
Asus P5KC (Asus support is pretty bad here. I had to wait for a month to get a replacement). Would prefer a different make if available. Do I go for a combo board with both DDR2 and DDR3 support? Or, get a cheap-ish DDR2 board for now and upgrade once DDR3 prices become stable? Or take the plunge and get a DDR3 board?

The 30k budget is only for the Processor, Motherboard and RAM. I have all other components.

Still confused!

[reignofchaos]

E8400, Abit IP35 Pro or IX38 Quad GT, 4GB Transcend DDR2 800. Should easily fit in your budget.

[merve_extreme]

I think even an Abit IP35 E should be good for you.

Get a good power supply.POV Black Diamond has good performance and value.

[aaggoswami]

I have a couple of websites:

TechShop.in.

here to go for Intel Processors:
Intel Processors - TechShop.in

To go for motherboards for intel processors:
Intel Motherboards - TechShop.in


One other website:
Lynx-Chandigarh Largest Electronic & Computer Superstore

To buy from these places or not is your decesion. But it does give you a general idea about the price.

[greenhorn]

the techshop.in prices seem to be a bit ot of date or on the higher side.
TheITWares - Motherboard's seems to have pricing more in line with current market rates

[merve_extreme]

TheITWares Prices are good but marginally on the higher side for some products.

[greenhorn]

yup, the best options is always to shop around lamington/ritchie/SP road , depending on which city you are in