Which Processor, Motherboard & RAM?

[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..

[drpullockaran]

Since your PC is going to be on most of the time here given below is my recommendation.
For mother board there is no choice but this. You can boot into the internet, listen to music and see picture in 5 seconds that too without the usual operating system being switched on.
Bjorn3d.com - Satisfying Your Daily Tech Cravings Since 1996

For processor in order of preference.
The E8300 at 1333FSB
Second choice the E7200 at 1066FSB.
Intel Levies Heavy CPU Price Reductions - HotHardware

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

For the screen you cannot go wrong with the Viewsonic.
16-inch ViewSonic VA1616w Widescreen LCD Monitor Unveiled in India

I could give you recommendations for other parts too but you wanted only processor and motherboard.
The screen I put in as a bonus.
Wait for this configuration if its not available where you live.

[shuvd]

Drpullockaran - Any idea of the Mobo's price? I've been waiting for the Intel price cuts. Any idea how long it'll take for the new prices to be effective in India?
I have a monitor, but thanks

[reignofchaos]

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..

I'd suggest not going for SLI unless you want to SLI the highest end cards. I'm running 8800 Ultra SLI on a P5N32-E SLI motherboard and to tell you frankly NV chipsets for intel are absolutely terrible and not worth it.

The best board on the P35 chipset is the Abit IP35-Pro. Get an E8400 or a Q6600 (depending on whether you need quad core) and atleast 2GB of DDR2 800 or higher. Any decent name brand is okay. Since you are in kolkata, corsair would suit you as tirupati(the corsair disty) is in kolkata. Remember faster ram gives better performance than more ram unless you do something like 3D rendering.

Also please make sure you are running a good power supply. A corsair VX450 is pretty nice and costs under 4 grand. A generic PSU is a sure shot way of killing hardware early.

[shuvd]

I can use my current 8500GT on the A Bit IP35-Pro? I could upgrade the card later on..
Would the ATI based board give better results? What options do I have if I explore this combination?
I was thinking about the Q9300.
Any idea about the Corsair RAM prices?
I have a good PSU. HX 620

[reignofchaos]

Yes you can use that card. There's no ATi based intel board available. Frankly the Q6600 is a better chip than the Q9300. Higher multiplier, more cache and cheaper to boot. If you intend to overclock, you'll have a hard time with the Q9300 because of the low multiplier.

Normal 800 5-5-5 memory should cost you around 1000 bucks a gig. Faster memory will cost more.

[drpullockaran]

Originally Posted by shuvd

Drpullockaran - Any idea of the Mobo's price? I've been waiting for the Intel price cuts. Any idea how long it'll take for the new prices to be effective in India?
I have a monitor, but thanks

This board was in the news section of ASUS only yesterday. Its not even in their list of motherboards. It will probably take a month to reach our shores after its released in the JAP/US/Taiwanese markets. Its should not cost more than 200 dollars. You will save that amount due to its power saving features in a few months since you intend to keep it on most of the time. If you are using only the net you do not even need a hard drive if you have about 3GB memory.
As far as memory goes make sure you get memory that runs at 1333mhz if you are getting e8300;; and 1066 speed memory if you are getting E7200. Sincerely wait for this combo you will not regret it.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Digital-Daily: CeBIT 2008: ASUS' expo stand | Editorial
Mushkin HP3-10666 2GB DDR3-1333 Memory Kit Review - PCSTATS.com

The idea is to have memory speed and the FSB at the same value with memory at the tightest clock timings. The explanation is too long so please excuse me as I might end up confusing you more. If you cannot afford 1333 speed memory then stick with 1066 speed memory but then you can buy the cheaper E7200 processor which works best at 1066FSB.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

This board was in the news section of ASUS only yesterday. Its not even in their list of motherboards. It will probably take a month to reach our shores after its released in the JAP/US/Taiwanese markets. Its should not cost more than 200 dollars. You will save that amount due to its power saving features in a few months since you intend to keep it on most of the time. If you are using only the net you do not even need a hard drive if you have about 3GB memory.
As far as memory goes make sure you get memory that runs at 1333mhz if you are getting e8300;; and 1066 speed memory if you are getting E7200. Sincerely wait for this combo you will not regret it.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Digital-Daily: CeBIT 2008: ASUS' expo stand | Editorial
Mushkin HP3-10666 2GB DDR3-1333 Memory Kit Review - PCSTATS.com

There's absolutely nothing thats so special about the asus boards. When P45 arrives, all motherboards will get the same green features. Unfortunately when it comes is anybody's guess.

The idea is to have memory speed and the FSB at the same value with memory at the tightest clock timings. The explanation is too long so please excuse me as I might end up confusing you more. If you cannot afford 1333 speed memory then stick with 1066 speed memory but then you can buy the cheaper E7200 processor which works best at 1066FSB.

This is absolutely untrue. To run 1:1 at 1333FSB (333 quad pumped), one needs just 667MHz memory. To run 1:1 at 1066FSB, one needs 533MHz memory. Please don't post information that confuses potential buyers. Faster memory lets you run at tighter timings or at better than 1:1 ratios. I've been running 1000MHz ram at 4-4-4 latencies for over a year and half at 400FSB (4:5 ratio).

[drpullockaran]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

To run 1:1 at 1333FSB (333 quad pumped), one needs just 667MHz memory. To run 1:1 at 1066FSB, one needs 533MHz memory. Please don't post information that confuses potential buyers. Faster memory lets you run at tighter timings or at better than 1:1 ratios.

Just as I mentioned in the previous post I am sorry I confused you and possibly a potential buyer but please remember that DDR2 which has slower clock speeds have tighter timings and though DDR3 has higher clock speeds they have too lax timings resulting in DDR2 giving DDR3 a run for its money. Its only recently with 1333speed memory that DDR3 are showing signs of uprooting DDR2 from its position. When you mentioned faster memory did you mean clock speeds or memory latency.

[drpullockaran]

The first forum article below is real good though very short.

DDR2-667 and DDR3-1333 bandwidths with 333MHz FSB

AnandTech: DDR3 vs. DDR2

Legit Reviews - Intel P35 Chipset: DDR2 Versus DDR3 Memory - DDR3 Finally Enters The Market

DDR2 vs DDR3: The Battle of Latency vs. Bandwidth - Asus P5K3 Deluxe WiFi & Corsair TWIN3X2048-1333C9DHX Review - Page 1 - Introduction

DDR-2 vs. DDR-3 Memory – An exhaustive look at the Intel P35 platform :: TweakTown

DDR2 and DDR3 Memory Round Up - TrustedReviews


Finally you have to consider cost versus performance.

[drpullockaran]

Please check out the bandwidth throughput with each combination especially with 1066FSB and 1333FSB.

I repeat once again for the best bang for your buck at FSB of 1066 use PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) memory. If you can afford the costlier processor running at 1333FSB you should go for PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333)


Intel Core 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

Just as I mentioned in the previous post I am sorry I confused you and possibly a potential buyer but please remember that DDR2 which has slower clock speeds have tighter timings and though DDR3 has higher clock speeds they have too lax timings resulting in DDR2 giving DDR3 a run for its money. Its only recently with 1333speed memory that DDR3 are showing signs of uprooting DDR2 from its position. When you mentioned faster memory did you mean clock speeds or memory latency.

Err I don't think he'd be buying DDR3 anyway. DDR3 is right now way way overpriced and unaffordable. Especially not in that budget. Cheap DDR3 costs around 5-6 times as much as cheap DDR2. In any case, yes DDR3 needs faster speeds to equal DDR2 as the latter runs at tighter latencies. One can run DDR3 at 667 MHz as well if one wishes but then its beyond the point as performance will be terrible. DDR3 is actually useful and does something to performance only beyond 1600MHz at 7-7-7 latencies or better.

One can very easily run an E8300/8400/8500 CPU with 800MHz DDR2 if one wants. There is no need of DDR3.

[drpullockaran]

Actually I can afford it but cannot justify buying this just for surfing the net and making the odd mp4 movies and also making updated versions of my Windows XP which installs on a freshly formatted hard drive in 8 minutes flat and boots in 23 seconds from power on.
Demonoid.com - Enlightened WindowsXPSP2.iso

E7200 processor with the ASUS or FOXCONN P45 board and with PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) memory.

I could never justify DDR3 memory at the current prices and hence will forgo the E8300 processor for a later date or when prices drop like it did yesterday for intel processors.
Intel Levies Heavy CPU Price Reductions - HotHardware

I believe that just like in an automobile that needs matched chassis, engine and suspension the computer rig requires matched motherboard, processor, and memory .

[reignofchaos]

Err how fast a PC boots has nothing to do with performance. I've seen slow ones with single hard drives boot real quick and fast ones boot relatively slowly. For the record my E8400 overclocked to 4GHz running on a P5N32-E SLI and dual 8800 ultras boots slower than my age old AMD Athlon 64 2800+ that is in my media center rig. You can easily run an E8300 with DDR2. The difference between DDR3 and DDR2 on a 333FSB CPU which is not overclocked will be less than 2%. The bandwidth on a C2D is limited by FSB and beyond a certain point, you'd not notice any difference with faster memory. Running 4:5 is slightly faster than running 1:1 but anything more is an overkill.

[drpullockaran]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Err how fast a PC boots has nothing to do with performance. I've seen slow ones with single hard drives boot real quick and fast ones boot relatively slowly. For the record my E8400 overclocked to 4GHz running on a P5N32-E SLI and dual 8800 ultras boots slower than my age old AMD Athlon 64 2800+ that is in my media center rig. You can easily run an E8300 with DDR2. The difference between DDR3 and DDR2 on a 333FSB CPU which is not overclocked will be less than 2%. The bandwidth on a C2D is limited by FSB and beyond a certain point, you'd not notice any difference with faster memory. Running 4:5 is slightly faster than running 1:1 but anything more is an overkill.

Please see the chart and what happens to bandwidth when you use DDR2 with the E8300 processor. There is an extreme drop in bandwidth to be brushed aside. I agree you could use it but would it not be better to use cheaper E7200 and DDR2 memory and beat the hell out of the costlier rig.
Intel Core 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia