[anku94]

Originally Posted by Prowler

I don't play any game. Do I still need the Graphics card ? I am not a specialist graphic designer. I dabble with Photoshop. I use my laptop for Video editing. I have Sony Vegas software in that.

I am a bit inclined to go with Intel chips. How much will be the damage if I opt for Intel ?

I think if you're strictly sure you're not going to try anything above average Photoshopping, you can skip the Graphics Card, if you're willing to compromise a bit. Even a basic card will give you a HUGE performance leap in Graphics computing, though.

Best PCIe Card: $90 And Under : Best Graphics Cards For The Money: July 2010

Here's a list of the best Graphics Cards for money. They decide that after extensive tests, the details of which you can find at the same website.

You can also opt for the Athlon X3 if you need to cut costs. Most apps nowadays don't fully use all the four cores. However, that might change in the future. It's your take. I think the price difference between X3 and X4 is about Rs. 1,000 approximately.

However, don't be biased towards Intel. It's not the solution for you, not at the budget you've specified.

@Aggoswami

I don't think one can find an i5 at this price point. I googled a bit, and found that the i5 650 was ~$180, and the i5 750 hovers around ~$225.

[Prowler]

Thanks again Aaggoswami and Anku94. Really thanks a lot.

I will follow your recommendation in total ( and also go for the recommended Graphics card).

I checked the price in ITdepot for the i5 750 just for the reference and it is Rs.10800/-.

[anku94]

Anytime . Do post the final configuration and the money spent, if that's alright with you.

[prateekm]

Sorry for not updating, but was a bit busy last week. So, here is the final config which I purchased a week back.

AMD X4 635 2.9ghz (I actually wanted a X3 440 but that wasn't available in stock so went for a X4) - 5000
Gigabyte 785GMT with DDRIII and USB 3.0 - 5700
2*2GB GSkill DDRIII 1333mhz - 5700
1TB Seagate HDD - 3400
Dell 20" Full HD screen - 6500
MSI X5770 - 9200
CoolerMaster Elite 310 Cabinet with transparent side - 1800
LG DVD Drive - 1000
Corsair VX450 - 3600
Powercom UPS - 1500
Logitech Keyboard - 300
Belkin Wireless Card - 900

After some bargaining, the total price came to about 43k. Purchased it from PrimeABGB, Mumbai.

On Tuesday, the PC refused to boot up. On checking, the power supply was working well. Took out the RAM and placed it again. Checked if any wire was loose but the problem persisted. I thought it was an issue of the motherboard. Took it today to the shop and they said it's due to the faulty wireless card. That's gone for replacement now and expecting it back on Tuesday.

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by prateekm

On Tuesday, the PC refused to boot up. On checking, the power supply was working well. Took out the RAM and placed it again. Checked if any wire was loose but the problem persisted. I thought it was an issue of the motherboard. Took it today to the shop and they said it's due to the faulty wireless card. That's gone for replacement now and expecting it back on Tuesday.

did it boot without the wireless card? are you really sure it wasn't a faulty SMPS? if it were a device error, it would have gone beeping when switched on. what kind of beep code did you get?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by prateekm

Gigabyte 785GMT with DDRIII and USB 3.0 - 5700

Thinking about the same. If you have time and inclination, I wonder if you could do me a huge favour?

On my current (Gigabyte + Intel) system, I have huge problems with DPC latency, which really messes up a lot of multi-media stuff on the system.

Thesycon’s DPC Latency Checker is a Windows tool that analyses the capabilities of a computer system to handle real-time data streams properly. It may help to find the cause for interruptions in real-time audio and video streams, also known as drop-outs. The program supports Windows 7, Windows 7 x64, Windows Vista, Windows Vista x64, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 x64, Windows XP, Windows XP x64, Windows 2000.

Could you run the checker on your machine and post the result?

The page and software source (a tiny program) is -->here

Of course... no obligation!

[prateekm]

did it boot without the wireless card? are you really sure it wasn't a faulty SMPS? if it were a device error, it would have gone beeping when switched on. what kind of beep code did you get?

Yeah, it did boot without the wireless card. After paying for the card, when I came home and opened it's box, I found a pamphlet in it that says it didn't support Vista/7. So I checked their homepage and they had updated the drivers so that it could work with 7. There were many different drivers for the same device making it compatible with Win7 and I guess I messed up on that part.

There was no display on the monitor and when they removed the wireless card, it worked fine.




@Thad

Here is a screenshot of the Latency checker

[Thad E Ginathom]

prateekm, that is brilliant! You should see the same on my PC; solid red!

I now feel I can buy that board with confidence.

Many thanks

[prateekm]

I guess this is the cheapest board available in the market with DDRIII RAM and USB 3.0 support. ASUS had a similar one at 6.2k but I heard that they have bad A.S.S. BTW, which processor are you looking to replace your Intel with?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Not yet decided.

I could say, hey, this is going to last me a few years, go for the top of the range, but there are other practical considerations, especially power-consumption/heat-production, as I want to keep the fan noise down for music listening, which will point me to the middle of the range. After all, the most processor-intensive thing I am ever likely to do on the machine is a few minutes of video processing, maybe! Whatever, it will be well over-specced for the mostly-browsing use of my machine .

I wasn't even goinmg to go for the DDR3 and the USB3 --- but I think that that is sensible future proofing, as that future is pretty much here already.

[prateekm]

Fan noise down? Believe me, my PC is so silent that if I want to hear the fan sound, I have to literally touch the ear to the case. Go for a Corsair 400/450w PSU even though there are many cheaper substitutes available in the market. They command a premium but are highly recommended

Go for a X3 440 or X4 630 (if you need a 4th core). Both are real good processors for less than 5k. Intel will be much more expensive. A 2GB DDRIII RAM is more than enough for basic needs.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Just scrolled back to see what case you bought. You bought case and PS separately?

Just found my scribblings from a few months ago, when I was planning on a Phenom II X2 3.2Ghz at around 5,000.

Hey, last time I was about to buy, the car needed repairing. Now I may have to get a new washing machine. Will I ever get my PC?

[prateekm]

Just scrolled back to see what case you bought. You bought case and PS separately?

Yeah, it's purchased separately. I liked the CoolerMaster case and wanted nothing other than Corsair for PS. They also give 10 years warranty on the SMPS.

Hope you know that the X2 you mentioned is a Black Edition, i.e it's only worth it if you are going to overclock or unlock the other cores. There is a 80% success rate in unlocking, but if you don't wanna risk your money, better go for a Athlon II X3 or a X4.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Well, I might have a bash at core unlocking, but I'll doubt that I'll go for overclocking.

I'm in danger of becoming a bit of a fanboy on this, but since shifting to Linux I haven't felt any great desire for top-of-the-range processors, because it just works anyway. Wish I'd kept my old P4!

[Akshay1234]

Not the right thread but I'd appreciate a reply. I have a razer tarantula keyboard, recently i changed my motherboard and graphics card because the old ones were friend. Now I notice my keyboard does NOT work in dos mode, it did earlier, it is a usb keyboard. And now if my comp starts in dos mode i have to go and borrow a ps2 keyboard from a friend, which is quite a pain. Any help? The old motherboard was intel and the new one is asus.