Advice needed...for a computer

[cricket_lover]

I've used a celeron 850 MHz processor for 5 years now, i'm thinking of buying a new one. I already have three laptops, so i'm just looking for a low-end PC.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=bdl10001312&catid=24014&logon=&langid=EN


This is one i'm looking at..
Processor Type AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor Speed 2.2GHzRAM 512MB DDR (Expandable To 4GB)Hard Drive 160GB (7200RPM) 2MB CacheOptical Drives DVD+/-16X Multi-Format Double LayerNVidia GeForce 6100 GPU, Up To 128MB Of Shared Video Memory, PCI-Express (PCI-E x16) Slot Available

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10073081&catid=

Graphics Card Radeon Express 200 With 256MB Memory

Processor Type AMD Sempron 3200+Processor Speed 1.8GHzRAM 512MB DDR SDRAM (Exp. To 4GB)Hard Drive 100GB (7200RPM)Optical Drives 48X CD-RW / DVD-ROM Combo Drive





For this one, i'm planning to upgrade to a 16X DVD-writer.

I've also looked at Dell
http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/dt_1100?c=ca&cs=CADHS1&l=en&s=dhs

I just want to know which one is better...for now, i can'tdecide between the three.

Any advice/comments would be great.

Thanks!

 

[Ritwik]

I've two questions:

1. What is your budget ?
2. What will you be using this PC for ?

I would suggest that you look for a PC within your budget which is going to be easily upgradeable and support upcoming software for atleast 2 to 3 years. So you should look at a solution which will be fully compatible with Windows Vista (which means a fully directX 9 compliant video card). Hard drives are dirt cheap these days, so I would suggest you pump in as much as your budget allows - you can't go wrong with extra storage. It is usually a good option to put as much RAM as possible since that can dramatically improve performance, even if you have to compromise on some other component.

 

[blackleopard92]

wonderful, a thread I love to reply!(at other forums, of course):happy

U want a low end PC, but half the components are high end.
And as ritwik said, u need to tell about what purpose u exactly want this computer to.
And budget limit would be handy.

6100 is sh*t. Go for 6200, 6600 is can afford (Rs 5000- 6000) or a max 6600GT( Rs 7000)
If u don't want it, go for onboard solns, like ATI RS480 based motherboard.This onboard shipset is equivalent to 6200.Give FPS approx around 38 in HF2 on medium graphics, which is equivalent to 6200.and it costs around Rs 4000 only, with mother board.
A better chipset is ATI 580, but it's tad expensive.


Never buy samsung drives.The s*ck, big time.Go for Liteon, sony , benq and others.

I would suggest something like this for normal useage.

AMD 3000+
512 DDR 400 ( 512x2 if u want smooth vista experience)
160GB 7200 segate
MSI RS480 motherboard
Liteon DVD writer

These are basic, after this u can go for any addons u like.A good speaker like altec lansing ATP3( rs 2700) can make those songs aureal.

 

[cricket_lover]

hey, thanks for the replies.

Well, i'll be using it for regular office/home use. It'll also be the "hub" for the wireless connections at home. I might end up playing some games but its for regular home use.

 

[Ritwik]

Well I brought the following computer in Delhi last month at the following prices, this should give you an indication of how various components are priced and which work well together etc.

(NB: 1 US Dollar = 45 Indian Rupees (Rs))

Intel Pentium D processor (dual core): 2.8 GHz (per core) + Intel 945GNT motherboard (16x PCI-E for graphics, pci express slots, pci slots, onboard sound and lan cards,6 usb ports) = Rs. 17200
Kingston 1GB DDR2 RAM = Rs. 5100
Seagate 200 GB 7200 RPM = Rs. 4200
Sony DVD/CD-RW combo: Rs. 1300
XFX 6600GT video card(256 mb DDR2 memory): Rs. 9300
HP Pavilion 3900 series printer: Rs 2300 with cartridge set.
Bluetooth adaptor: Rs. 800
I-ball cabinet + 450 W power supply = Rs. 2000

Total: Rs. 42200

You'll have to spend extra for monitor, keyboard and mouse, speakers, UPS (if required) and scanner (if required).

Some things to consider:
1. The above is a pretty high end configuration which should suffice for intensive tasks such as graphics editing, gaming and development for atleast another 2-3 years. Even after that period, upgrading the graphics card and RAM should further extend the life of this system.
2. The above configuration is fully Windows Vista compliant, has enough disk space to comfortably support dual booting and has a Dual core processor which will help when games and applications written for such processors (such as Vista) become available.
3. Since the Indian government imposes significant duties on computer products, you may find these components at cheaper rates where you reside.
4. You'll have to pay extra for software unless you have discs. Similarly, be prepared to pay costs of assembling if you're buying it from a dealer and not building one yourself.
5. An easy way to cut costs can be to scale back the video card. You can get a 6600GT with 128 MB of memory for Rs. 6200/-. Else, you can go for a Geforce 7300 GS, which is a bargain at less than Rs. 4000 and is fully directX 9.0 compliant and will support Vista and DVD movies - however this is not a card meant for gaming. Else, you can save even that amount by not buying a graphics card at all - the onboard intel graphics accelerator will do just fine for dvd movies, office applications and web surfing.


I would recommend you to consider a system such as the one above, since it is upgradeable and will run all current and most(if not all) future applications.

If, however your budget is more restrictive, I'll give you a configuration which can be built for less than Rs. 20000 (with or without monitor!) - just ask away!

 

[gaurav_indian]

Well I brought the following computer in Delhi last month at the following prices, this should give you an indication of how various components are priced and which work well together etc.

(NB: 1 US Dollar = 45 Indian Rupees (Rs))

Intel Pentium D processor (dual core): 2.8 GHz (per core) + Intel 945GNT motherboard (16x PCI-E for graphics, pci express slots, pci slots, onboard sound and lan cards,6 usb ports) = Rs. 17200
Kingston 1GB DDR2 RAM = Rs. 5100
Seagate 200 GB 7200 RPM = Rs. 4200
Sony DVD/CD-RW combo: Rs. 1300
XFX 6600GT video card(256 mb DDR2 memory): Rs. 9300
HP Pavilion 3900 series printer: Rs 2300 with cartridge set.
Bluetooth adaptor: Rs. 800
I-ball cabinet + 450 W power supply = Rs. 2000

Total: Rs. 42200

You'll have to spend extra for monitor, keyboard and mouse, speakers, UPS (if required) and scanner (if required).

Some things to consider:
1. The above is a pretty high end configuration which should suffice for intensive tasks such as graphics editing, gaming and development for atleast another 2-3 years. Even after that period, upgrading the graphics card and RAM should further extend the life of this system.
2. The above configuration is fully Windows Vista compliant, has enough disk space to comfortably support dual booting and has a Dual core processor which will help when games and applications written for such processors (such as Vista) become available.
3. Since the Indian government imposes significant duties on computer products, you may find these components at cheaper rates where you reside.
4. You'll have to pay extra for software unless you have discs. Similarly, be prepared to pay costs of assembling if you're buying it from a dealer and not building one yourself.
5. An easy way to cut costs can be to scale back the video card. You can get a 6600GT with 128 MB of memory for Rs. 6200/-. Else, you can go for a Geforce 7300 GS, which is a bargain at less than Rs. 4000 and is fully directX 9.0 compliant and will support Vista and DVD movies - however this is not a card meant for gaming. Else, you can save even that amount by not buying a graphics card at all - the onboard intel graphics accelerator will do just fine for dvd movies, office applications and web surfing.


I would recommend you to consider a system such as the one above, since it is upgradeable and will run all current and most(if not all) future applications.

If, however your budget is more restrictive, I'll give you a configuration which can be built for less than Rs. 20000 (with or without monitor!) - just ask away!

I don't know whether this will help cricket_lover or not but it will certainly help me bcoz next month i am upgrading my PC.My budget is 25000 Rupees and I want to buy a processor,motherboard,graphic card,cabinet,RAM,harddisk.So plz recommend Ritwik and also tell me from where u have bought this.Nehru Place?

 

[Ritwik]

Hmmm I would strongly recommend you to salvage whatever components you can from your present PC, especially the monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer and speakers.

That way you'll just spend on the essential components and save money, and anyways the peripherals can always be upgraded, which is not generally the case with the main computer.

All prices I quoted above are Nehru Place prices, although you'll have to hunt a little. I'll give you the shop details if you want.

At a budget of 25000 I would recommend the following configuration:
1. Go for a AMD 3200+ or similar processor with a motherboard that meets the following specs:
atleast 6 usb ports - 2 front and 4 on the back.
PCIe slots - 2 or more depending on graphics and sound options
at least 3 other PCI slots.
PCIe slots should be 16x for graphics and 1x or 2x or more for other slots.
Compatibility with PCI 2.2
2. Cabinet with fan and chimney or 2 fans with 400 watt power supply (should cost you about 1500)
3. 512MB of DDR2 RAM from Kingston - Rs. 2500
4. Any seagate hard disk you can get for about Rs. 2500-3000 with 7200 RPM rating.
5. Geforce 6600 GT card with 128 mb VRAM - this will run all the latest games at acceptable frame rates but may overshoot your budget a little bit.

 

[gaurav_indian]

I am not upgrading Monitor,Keyboard,speakers etc.I just want to upgrade my hard disk currently I have 40 GB hard disk and i will add another 80 gb to it.I want Pentium processor so can u tell me the difference b/w normal pentium processor and the pentium D and i am not interested in AMD.Graphics card that can support the games even after two years from now on will be good for me.And I want a very powerful motherboard that can support any new technology in the next few years.Bcoz my current motherboard don't have a AGP slot.And the last thing i want to ask you is what's the difference b/w AGP and PCI-E and which is better?

 

[blackleopard92]

I would say, remain away from intel, till conoroe(?) make debut.

intel has a flawed architecture, and hence comsumes 50% greater power than AMD for same performance.

And since u need for office use, an ATI RS 480 based motherboards would be suffice.It includes PCI -E slot if u want to an expansion.( I use it, It can run F.E.A.R at low settings, HF2 at medium settings.has performance equivalent to GeForce6200)

Intel onboard graphics Ritwik! don't make me laugh.

I am not upgrading Monitor,Keyboard,speakers etc.I just want to upgrade my hard disk currently I have 40 GB hard disk and i will add another 80 gb to it.I want Pentium processor so can u tell me the difference b/w normal pentium processor and the pentium D and i am not interested in AMD.

For HDD, u need to find whether it supports SATA or not, before u make your purchase.

And I say again.Mark it man!Intel has a flawed architecture that results in 50% greater power consumption than AMD equivalents.So unless u want to waste your money for free, go for intel.

Graphics card that can support the games even after two years from now on will be good for me.And I want a very powerful motherboard that can support any new technology in the next few years.

In Rs 25,000, u can't get both of above.It's because within a month, both Intel and AMD are going to introduce next gen processors.So, either u wait, or buy a RS580 based motherboard.

Bcoz my current motherboard don't have a AGP slot.And the last thing i want to ask you is what's the difference b/w AGP and PCI-E and which is better?

PCI- E >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> AGP

AGP is obselete.And the max graphics card that is compatible with AGP is GeForce 6200 256Mb.After that, AGP can't provide enough bandwidth for cards to func.

 

[cricket_lover]

How about AMD Athlon 64 3500+, is that upgradable? i mean the hardware.

Will GeForce 6100 be enough to play decent games, not the high graphic ones.
How about cricket 2005? will that work.

How about ATI Radeon Express 200? It is available as well, but for AMD Sempron.

 

[Brett_Lee]

How about AMD Athlon 64 3500+, is that upgradable? i mean the hardware.

Will GeForce 6100 be enough to play decent games, not the high graphic ones.
How about cricket 2005? will that work.

How about ATI Radeon Express 200? It is available as well, but for AMD Sempron.

Hey man

GeForce 6100 is fine. Any card which has at least 128MB DDR on the video card delivers good graphics. Dont go to amd sempron. Any card which has at least 32MB of DDR will run cricket 05 but 128+ will deliver good graphics. As long as you are running a good direct x with your video card it will run smoothly and normally

 

[blackleopard92]

How about AMD Athlon 64 3500+, is that upgradable? i mean the hardware.

All current AMD lineups feature unified design, Hence all are upgradable to highest lineups of AMD, like Dual core processors.

Will GeForce 6100 be enough to play decent games, not the high graphic ones.
How about cricket 2005? will that work.

How about ATI Radeon Express 200? It is available as well, but for AMD Sempron.

ATI Radeon Express 200 is an onboard graphics soln, a part of ATI RS480 based motherboards, equivalent to GEForce 6200, and offers greater performance than 6100.I use it!

Also, ATI RS480 can run all all of AMD's line up( not AM2) which includes, but not limited to sempron.
I use Rs480 with AMD3000+

( My mom locked my GeForce 6600GT in a locker, to stop me from playing games.I daresay she was surprised when she found me playing on an onboard chipset! )

 

[Brett_Lee]

I use ATI Radeon X600 PRO 256M DDR and ive had it for a year. But they have gone beyond. To even the X900s

 

[blackleopard92]

I use ATI Radeon X600 PRO 256M DDR and ive had it for a year. But they have gone beyond. To even the X900s

to be precise, to X1900.

actually, there is a architecture difference b/w 100 lines and 1000 lines.

 

[Brett_Lee]

to be precise, to X1900.

actually, there is a architecture difference b/w 100 lines and 1000 lines.

lol i was only using an example i knew they were more then that