Budget rig

[nickhil111]

Requirements- Watching movies, surfing net, playing games (latest but not very often).

Country- India.

Budget- 25000-27000 INR (500-550 USD).

Processor- Intel i3 2100 or 2120 (which one is better?).

Board- Asus (H61, H67, P67?). Also open to any other solid brand.

Ram- G skill 4x2

Graphics Card- Yes, please suggest a good one.

HDD- WD 1 TB caviar green.

PSU- Corsair 430 w.

Case- Coolermaster Elite 310.

Monitor- Samsung 20 Led.

Should I wait for Ivy i3's or should I go with sandy i3's? I could wait for another month. Please suggest is this rig any good?

 

[lehtv]

$500 isn't really enough to build a custom PC and buy a monitor. Maybe Indian prices are better?

CPU i3-2120 is better as it operates at a higher clock speed but it's only worth 5-10% more. You could be just fine with a Pentium G620/G630 though. Can always upgrade later to a used Ivy i3 or an i5.

Board P67 is an older chipset, H61 boards are low end and rarely offer USB3.0 or SATA 6gb/s, H67 is decent. But I'd recommend the newer B75 and H77 chipsets. Both offer native SATA 6gb/s, USB3.0 and Ivy Bridge compatibility. H77 is basically a buffed up B75, though B75 is not so widely available as it's targeted to small businesses more than the retail market.

GPU HD 7770

HDD Buy a 7200RPM drive, 5400RPM is pretty slow for the operating system and should only be used for storage.

PSU Good

Case Good

 

[nickhil111]

I want to keep i3 2120 but the confusion is about Ivy i3's. What are their specs, release date? Will they be better than the sandy i3's? What about H67 with a the graphic card?

 

[lehtv]

Of course they'll be better, but not a lot better. Similar performance improvement Ivy vs Sandy i5 and i7, I expect, so about 10% along with a better iGPU and lower power consumption. I don't know the release date sorry

What about H67 with a the graphic card?

What about it?

 

[nickhil111]

I mean the H67 will be any good with that graphic card?

 

[azeem40]

Yes. The H67 chipset has a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, so it will be good.

 

[nickhil111]

H67 has USB 3.0?

 

[Ken g6]

H67 has USB 3.0?

Not natively, but most boards have an added chip that provides it.

 

[mfenn]

I mean the H67 will be any good with that graphic card?

Yes, it will work. However, unless you plan to add an SSD (not likely with your budget) and can thus take advantage of the SATA 6Gb/s ports, there is not really a reason to go with H67 over H61.

We really need a link to the pricing that you're seeing or at least an explanation of how much certain components cost in order to make an informed recommendation about what's a good value and/or reasonable for the budget.

 

[lehtv]

Yes, it will work. However, unless you plan to add an SSD (not likely with your budget) and can thus take advantage of the SATA 6Gb/s ports, there is not really a reason to go with H67 over H61.

SSD's keep going down in price, I can easily see a budget rig incorporating an SSD in a year or two.

 

[serpretetsky]

If your getting a separate video card anyways then i wouldn't worry about ivy bridge vs sandy bridge.

also whether you go with Sata 6Gb/s or Sata 3Gb/s, you will still see a huge increase from an SSD as their main strength and "snappy" feeling lies in 4k random reads and writes (which are usually below Sata 3Gb/s capability). Ofcourse if you see yourself doing large sequential file transfers in the future then it may matter more.

 

[nickhil111]

The thing is I need USB 3.0 and HDMI ports, H61 doesn't fulfill it. What about intel boards, are they any good? 'Cause I won't be overclocking anyway, so I guess intel is also good? I am seeing this as board-

http://www.flipkart.com/asus-p8h67-...6BHV&ref=4b7cd117-54f2-4d8a-940d-5354e69eb02f

 

[Ken g6]

There are H61 boards with the features you want. One from Biostar and another from AsRock. But they're both out of stock.

Then there's a Gigabyte B75 board...also out of stock!

I guess this place just can't keep the good stuff in stock. I do see an ASUS B75 board, in stock, and cheaper than the one you selected.

But, as [thread=2256789]this thread[/thread] shows, you have a tight budget here. Note that a discrete graphics card should come with an HDMI port. Why do you think you need USB 3.0 over 2.0? Would a cheap add-on PCIe card work for you?

Edit: Or, here's an Intel B75 board with USB3, but not HDMI.

 

[nickhil111]

Out of stock isn't a problem! I will be buying in the open market anyway:awe:. What about the Asus board I have selected, good enough? You didn't say anything about Intel boards. Suggest a graphic card too

 

[nickhil111]

Nah that Intel board isn't good. Just let me know the board with my requirements whether in stock or out of stock! :biggrin:

 

[Ken g6]

OK, generically, for your budget, you want a Radeon HD 7770 or 6850 with one power connector. Their performance is fairly similar. The cheapest card I found was this PowerColor 6850, but pretty much any card of either number should work for you.

And do go ahead and get an H61 board if you can. Save the money for CPU/GPU performance.

 

[nickhil111]

First thing first. The graphic card you suggested is way expensive, can't afford that much .

I am providing all the links for the parts-

1) http://www.flipkart.com/intel-3-3-g...HPYR&ref=50c02ee2-7d2a-4945-937a-e9e9169a97d3

2) http://www.flipkart.com/asus-p8h67-...6BHV&ref=c6061b5c-d919-45dc-8636-cfd92c5a2a13

3) http://www.flipkart.com/g-skill-rip...4WC8&ref=db8eda64-5ab0-4cbf-ac4e-b29c0508d538
OR
http://www.flipkart.com/g-skill-rip...DNBE&ref=1514179f-a117-4be0-a53e-38baddc1a7d4
(what's the difference between DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600? Which one is better?).

4) http://www.flipkart.com/corsair-cmp...PGBU&ref=b1a35a2e-b8d2-47da-900e-a1f204c719ac (is 430 w sufficient or should I move up to 600w?)

5) http://www.flipkart.com/cooler-mast...XDGB&ref=449edfdd-2666-4143-8b39-a925d08830eb
OR
http://www.flipkart.com/cooler-mast...CGNY&ref=996726ec-6e25-4116-a59a-d58b71c69894

6) http://www.flipkart.com/samsung-20-...ZZBH&ref=1a8dd4ca-ff44-4627-9f93-916c80e99244

7) http://www.flipkart.com/wd-caviar-g...SBZ8&ref=1d094c66-91ed-45d7-8323-4c61b7a03945
(what's the difference between WD10EZRX and WD10EARX? Also are they 7200 rpm? And which is better caviar black or green?)

Please do check and let me know what you think. Thanks heaps.

 

[nickhil111]

And yes ram is going to be 4x2. And please suggest a good graphic card within 3500 INR from here http://www.flipkart.com/computers/c...0247?ref=60c8c1d3-9db0-46e2-888a-ff298d677cfa. Thanks

 

[Ken g6]

You just can't fit both a good gaming graphics card and a monitor in this budget. Here's the best I can do, with lots of corner-cutting:

CPU: G620 Rs. 3432
Mobo: Biostar H61 Rs. 3729
GPU: PowerColor 6570 Rs. 4256
RAM: Transcend DDR3-1333 4GB Rs. 1257 (Yes, only one stick. It'll work.)
HDD: Caviar Blue 500GB Rs. 4072
PSU: Corsair 430W Rs. 2751
Case: CM 310 Rs. 2016
Monitor: AOC 20 inch Rs. 6102
Total: Rs. 27615

And I still overshot slightly.

 

[mfenn]

And yes ram is going to be 4x2. And please suggest a good graphic card within 3500 INR from here http://www.flipkart.com/computers/c...0247?ref=60c8c1d3-9db0-46e2-888a-ff298d677cfa. Thanks

Good graphics card and $63 don't do together I'm afraid. With only ~$500 to work with, you're going to have to make some compromises. IMHO, Ken's build is quite good for the money.

 

[nickhil111]

Let's just say that I am willing to spend more. The prices on the site is also higher than in the open market. And for a moment lets just forget the budget thing altogether, then tell what do you think about the links for the rig I have given above. Also I am only going to get the graphic card later on (only when I am going to get the money). I only want the i3 2120 or 2100 (2120 or 2100 which is better?). And I want to stick to only that list. So, don't worry if we can't stick to the budget precisely. My main concern is a good build. Thanks guys.

 

[nickhil111]

And no one answered about the diff. between the rams and PSU.

 

[nickhil111]

Here is what I think I might get
http://www.flipkart.com/sapphire-am...J4GF&ref=34734df0-09ed-4e60-a85b-13aa2cda3d5a

OR
http://www.flipkart.com/sapphire-am...UEFG&ref=e0f0acca-bb7f-4c88-a2f3-4b846b7e7b36

 

[sm625]

There isnt much reason to get a 5450 or a 6450. It is barely a step above integrated. You'd be better off buying an i5-3xxx and no video card at all. Or an AMD A8 or A10.

That is truly an awful website. If you click on "Desktops" it takes you to all-in-one PCs, which are always outrageously absurdly priced ripoffs, in every case, without exception. They dont even have a single standard ATX desktop. Can you find a site that actually sells computers?

If you are going to buy a video card dont buy anything less than this:

http://www.flipkart.com/sapphire-am...DGQW&ref=4fa3f532-818f-4184-acfd-5f8230fbafe6

Can you work that into your budget if you buy a G620 instead of an i3?

 

[Ken g6]

In order of your latest questions:

2120 is slightly better than 2100. The difference between them is their clock speeds; nothing else. 3.3/3.1 = the 2120 is about 6.5% faster. Also realize that the 2100 is only about 20-40% faster than the G620, depending on the application used. You won't notice the difference in any application you listed except for games, and there only if your GPU is good enough.

The difference between the RAMs? Not much. I gather that even using just a single stick doesn't cause much of a slowdown.

If you're not going above a 6850 GPU, you don't need more than 430W.

Those GPUs you listed, 5450 and 6450, are not worth buying for gaming performance. At this price point, as long as you're insisting on a 2100 or 2120, consider a 2105 or 2125, with the HD3000 graphics. HD3000 graphics generally beats a 5450. Certain Ivy Bridge i3s will have the 4000 graphics, but they'll also be more expensive.