[ahmad.007]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Finally got time to hit the shop and get myself a new CPU.

Got AMD FX6300 - 3.5ghz, six core, ASUS M5A78LMUSB3 motherboard which offers quite some amount of kit, Transcend 4GB 1600MHz ram,

Initially wanted a coolermaster case, but found a brand called Circle that had quite a decent build and good quality SMPS inbuilt. Loaded the case with three fans since the CPU sits under a corner table and ventilation is bad. Currently CPU runs at 40 deg C and ocassionally reaches 42 or 43. Is it okay?

Wanted to add more RAM, but the shopkeeper(trusted) advised me to wait as the prices had jacked up currently. Performance wise its good when it comes to running multiple applications. Havent pushed it to higher levels of stress yet.

Congrats
40 degree celcius idling is a not much high, but AMDs are known to run a bit hotter. My intel idles at 33-34 in summers, and when I start working Chrome/music etc it reaches 40. While playing very heavy games, without a GPU :lol, I have seen it reaching 65-70 degree celcius.
Get a good cpu cooler for your amd. It will prolong the processors life, and also add room for overclocking.

[audioholic]

I sorted out some cooling issues since the CPU is located in a corner below the table. Hence I reconfigured the fans to create a proper air channel. Also there was an option of extending the CPU inlet channel which was not done while assembling. I extended that so that the CPU fan could get only external air. Now there are two exhaust fans in the rear and one 120mm inlet fan apart from CPU and the PSU fans. It led to the idle temp coming down to less than 35deg. Also, even under continuous usage, it has never crossed 45-46 deg.

CPU cooler is in the list along with another 4GB of RAM. Whats the best choice for cooler within the 2k range? Going by the specs CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 seems to be the best. There is one by Antec but it is not having control for the fan. I dont want the fan to run continuously at its top speed. Found these coolers a bit bulky. Will the motherboard support the weight without any issue? Else I might consider the smaller version whose fan runs parallel to the CPU.

[ahmad.007]

Originally Posted by audioholic

CPU cooler is in the list along with another 4GB of RAM. Whats the best choice for cooler within the 2k range? Going by the specs CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 seems to be the best. There is one by Antec but it is not having control for the fan. I dont want the fan to run continuously at its top speed. Found these coolers a bit bulky. Will the motherboard support the weight without any issue? Else I might consider the smaller version whose fan runs parallel to the CPU.

Well, 35 deg and below is very good.
About the CPU coolers, I am sorry I am not the right person to ask, although I've heard Cooler Master are good. From scientific point of view I think bulkier coolers should be better in dissipating heat (I suppose, not sure), so should be better. About the weight of the cooler I don't think there are any possible chances of motherboard damage because of the cooler unless you got a chinese mobo. :-D

[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Whats the best choice for cooler within the 2k range? Going by the specs CoolerMaster Hyper TX3 seems to be the best. There is one by Antec but it is not having control for the fan. I dont want the fan to run continuously at its top speed. Found these coolers a bit bulky. Will the motherboard support the weight without any issue? Else I might consider the smaller version whose fan runs parallel to the CPU.

Do not go for TX3 as one of my friends said it performs pretty badly as far as heat dissipation goes. Try getting the hyper212+ or the hyper212. Noctua has a cooler but i guess its around Rs 3500. I would recommend a closed loop water cooler if you plan on overclocking and also, in general if you wish to keep your pc for a long time.

[audioholic]

I saw only good reviews in flipkart, however another concern I have is that the flow of air. Ideally for the CPU I would like it to be cooled with air from outside compared to the chassis and in case I install the TX3, it has to be such that the fan is facing downwards. That will mean it will circulate air around itself. As of now, the CPU draws air from the intake duct and it is exhausted through its sides. Hence I am still contemplating on getting a cooler with fan on top of the heatsink compared to the sides.

Also, I dont think my usage warrants a liquid cooler. Speaking about overclocking, my processor runs underclocked most of the times and rarely reaches its 3.5GHz clock speed since I dont use processor heavy applications.

[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I saw only good reviews in flipkart, however another concern I have is that the flow of air. Ideally for the CPU I would like it to be cooled with air from outside compared to the chassis and in case I install the TX3, it has to be such that the fan is facing downwards. That will mean it will circulate air around itself. As of now, the CPU draws air from the intake duct and it is exhausted through its sides. Hence I am still contemplating on getting a cooler with fan on top of the heatsink compared to the sides.

Also, I dont think my usage warrants a liquid cooler. Speaking about overclocking, my processor runs underclocked most of the times and rarely reaches its 3.5GHz clock speed since I dont use processor heavy applications.

Does your case have a top vent? I have positioned the cooler in a up/down manner where the bottom fan of the cooler sucks air from the bottom and pushes it toward the top where the top fan takes care of it.

If not, you can always have the horizontal right left layout to make it push air from the front of the case to the back where the back fan can exhaust it. The side fan in the case is usually for GPUs.

[mercedised]

Please guide me in purchasing speakers. I have seen Creative inspire T3130 Logitech z323, edifier 1318 speakers on the net and the reviews of all of the three are good. Now, also I have seen some 2.0 speakers one of them Creative Inspire t10. I don't need alot of boom boom bass, I want overall crispy and good music quality. Which one should I go for all under 3k?

[IronH4WK]

me thinks me screwed up me computer BIOS

so, here i was getting myself a new 3TB WD Caviar Green since i was running out of space, thinking its gonna be piece of cake. boy was i wrong.

first, the BIOS (AMI ver 2104 on ASUS M32AMVP-Deluxe mobo) wouldn't recognise it. loaded up the ASUS BIOS Updater and downloaded the latest BIOS file (230x). flashed the erased the ROM, flashed the ROM but while verifying, it gave an error that it cannot verify. and the updater hanged.

tried a couple of times after that, but then it kept saying it can't read from the BIOS. i knew i was doomed (in the sense i won't be able play Battlefield 4 for the considerable future)! rebooted the PC (pretty dumb, eh) and haven't seen a POST since then.

tried the CLRTC thingy, but nada, zilch - screwed!

so, anybody got any bright ideas how i can play Battlefield 4 again?

[DCEite]

Friends,

I need a budget desktop PC. Mainly for web browsing and youtube/movies in HD. I prefer matt finish as against Glossy, so shortlisted this monitor.

Came across following configuration, any tweaks?

Viewsonic 21.5 inch LED Backlit LCD - VX2270s Monitor 10038
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) PC RAM (CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10) - 5600
Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus Mid Tower 4117 (Any lower cost alternatives?)
Corsair VS550 550 Watt PSU 2932 (Any lower cost alternatives?)
AMD 4 GHz AM3+ FX-4300 FX-Series Four-Core Edition FD4300WMHKBOX Processor 6108
MSI 970A-G43 Motherboard 5350
WD Caviar Blue 500 GB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD5000AAKX) - 3340

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

loaded up the ASUS BIOS Updater...

You should never try to flash the BIOS from within windows for any motherboard. Always try to flash it from within the BIOS itself.

That said, your system can't perform the POST since there is in fact no firmware. You will have to take the mobo to an ASUS service center for them to reflash it using specialized equipment.

The flashing process itself will take only a few minutes, so it depends how fast the service centre is.

[mav2000]

You can look at the cheaper series from antec as well. Without a gpu even a 400w psu will be fine

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Friends,

I need a budget desktop PC. Mainly for web browsing and Youtube/movies in HD. I prefer matt finish as against Glossy, so shortlisted this monitor.

Came across following configuration, any tweaks?

Viewsonic 21.5 inch LED Backlit LCD - VX2270s Monitor 10038
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) PC RAM (CMZ8GX3M1A1600C10) - 5600
Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus Mid Tower 4117 (Any lower cost alternatives?)
Corsair VS550 550 Watt PSU 2932 (Any lower cost alternatives?)
AMD 4 GHz AM3+ FX-4300 FX-Series Four-Core Edition FD4300WMHKBOX Processor 6108
MSI 970A-G43 Motherboard 5350
WD Caviar Blue 500 GB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD5000AAKX) - 3340

Personally I would go in for a cheaper cabinet like the Cooler Master N200 and invest in a better cpu like the FX 6300, which gives you a bit more wriggle room to run all kinds of applications. Curiously, you haven't mentioned a graphics card and the motherboard you mentioned doesn't include one. If you're looking for an integrated solution, may I suggest that you give the AMD A10 6800k a good long hard look instead of the fx 4300/6300 plus discreet card solution. It should be ideal for your purpose.

The PSU is a bit overpowered for your needs TBH. A 450W or even 400W should be sufficient. Note that the cooler master elite 372 case comes with a 400W PSU and costs about the same as the 431 plus.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Personally I would go in for a cheaper cabinet ...

The cabinet will last until motherboard form factors change. It may house two or three generations of contents, so a cabinet is a good investment

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

Personally I would go in for a cheaper cabinet like the Cooler Master N200 and invest in a better cpu like the FX 6300, which gives you a bit more wriggle room to run all kinds of applications. Curiously, you haven't mentioned a graphics card and the motherboard you mentioned doesn't include one. If you're looking for an integrated solution, may I suggest that you give the AMD A10 6800k a good long hard look instead of the fx 4300/6300 plus discreet card solution. It should be ideal for your purpose.

The PSU is a bit overpowered for your needs TBH. A 450W or even 400W should be sufficient. Note that the cooler master elite 372 case comes with a 400W PSU and costs about the same as the 431 plus.

Thanks for those suggestions, KinghtRider77.

Will include the cabinet you suggested with inbuilt PSU.

Actually i needed a MB with onboard graphics. AMD 6800k APU+MB would cost aroung 14k whereas FX4300+MB is mroe cost efficient and i guess good enough for my needs (playing HD videos, and no gaming at all).

How about the following modified configuration (with 1333Mhz memory and Cooler master cabinate/psu and FX6300):

Viewsonic 21.5 inch LED Backlit LCD - VX2270s Monitor INR 10038
Corsair DDR3 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) PC RAM (CMV8GX3M1A1333C9) INR 5750
Cooler Master Elite 372 USB 3.0 Version with 400W PSU RC-372-KKR400-U3 Cabinet - INR 4875
AMD 3.5 AM3+ FX 6-Core Edition FX-6300 (FD6300WMHKBOX) Processor INR 7275
ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard INR 4178
WD Caviar Blue 500 GB Desktop Internal Hard Drive (WD5000AAKX) - INR 3340

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Thanks for those suggestions, KinghtRider77.


AMD 3.5 AM3+ FX 6-Core Edition FX-6300 (FD6300WMHKBOX) Processor INR 7275
ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 Motherboard INR 4178

I have these two currently. Performance wise its really good and doesn't break a sweat. The mother board is very much VFM since the on board graphics is capable of multiple monitors, and has optical audio out for that price range. The downside is that compared to the Realtek HD audio I was using before, the one on the current board is not that good. Firstly, jack re assignments dont work by default and some registry changes were required. Next basic stuff like volume normalisation doesnt work. When running multiple speakers, Realtek audio used to do an excellent job of creating artificial surround and environment. This one cant do it at all. Hence I suggest you to get a sound card in case you go ahead with the config. But everything else is good. Games like flight simulator runs smoothly at full settings and max resolution. Multitasking is also good.