Can you suggest a great PC configuration? I want to render 3D in addition to using Flash. My budget is Rs 70-80k.

Sanimani

 For rendering, your CPU is going to be the most important component, followed by your memory. With such a budget you can also get a good gaming experience. Here are my suggestions:

 I would like to buy a new PMP from either Sony, Creative or Apple. Please suggest the best in sound quality, battery life, after sale service. With Apple the battery cannot be changed and service is a problem. Is there any problem with the other two? I presently have a Sony Walkman MP3 player nw-s203F. Minimum Capacity 4 GB. Budget Rs 10,000. 

Shidhartha

 I recommend Apple’s new Nano. Although Apple’s battery cannot be changed by you, it can be changed at any Apple store or genuine dealer. Service is also not an issue. The Nanos are superbly built, have great music quality and come in sizes of 8 and 16 GB. The 8 GB version should cost you Rs 8,000.

 My brother-in-law is an architect by profession. His work includes creating walkthroughs of different projects for multiplex, supermarkets, townships, etc. He has to render 3D videos at 720p for as long as an hour with 3DS Max, which takes more than 24 hours to render to video in client server configuration on Intel Q6600 client machines. Please suggest better Client Server configuration with best rendering methodology. If possible suggest a good render farm with detailed configuration.

Neeraj

 Hi, you mention Intel Q6600 client machines. How many such machines are you using for your current render? The Q6600 is a fine CPU, but you need multiple machines. If you’re using two machines, use six, and so on. This is the only way to reduce your render time. The Intel Q9550 CPU is a faster alternative to the Q6600. It has 12 MB of L2 cache (the Q6600 has 8 MB), and works at a faster clock speed of 2.83 GHz. This CPU costs Rs 17,900 per piece. The Q9650 (3.0 GHz) is also available, for Rs 26,000, but this is not worth it for the huge price difference. Base your machines around the Q9550 CPUs. There is no CPU that will do this in one or two hours, so parallelism is your only alternative. I also recommend 4 GB of RAM per system you use, go with 2 x 2 GB sticks of 800 MHz memory. For the hard drives go with a Seagate 500 GB with 32 MB cache.

 My configuration: 2.0 GHz dual-core, 2 GB RAM and 250 GB space. Please tell me which card to buy so that I can run the latest games at high-resolution. My budget is Rs 10,000. Also, is there any difference between 9800 GTS and 8800 GTS in performance. Also suggests good latest motherboard that can support the card. My budget is Rs 4,000.

Rajat Baliyan

 I recommend ZOTAC’s GeForce 9800 GTX. This card was our Best Buy and Best Performance winner in October. It’s superbly priced at Rs 10,555 (MRP), although you might be able to get it for a bit less on the street.

 I am planning to buy a laptop costing around Rs 55,000. I prefer a 13.3-inch or a maximum screen size of 14.1 inches. I am interested in Sony Vaio CS & CR series. Also I am looking for Dell XPS M1330, but this is costly for me, because of the NVIDIA graphics. How is the ATI graphics card which is in the Vaio? Help me to choose from these models. What is the advantage of Centrino 2 processors?

Favas Mohammad

 First of all, Centrino and Centrino 2 isn’t a CPU, it’s a set of technologies that are combined under one umbrella — Centrino. It includes the CPU itself, the motherboard and the wireless solution. If a notebook has all these technologies according to Intel’s specifications it can use the Centrino logo. Centrino 2 is codenamed “Montevina” and supports 45nm Penryn CPUs. Why not HPs DV3005TX? It has an 8400 GS graphics solution and a T5550 (1.83 GHz) CPU, all for Rs 55,000. Dell’s XPS M1330 is a good buy for the price — it has great components too. Sony’s Vaio’s are just out of your price range, the 14.1-inch ones with discrete graphics solutions start at Rs 65,000. The 13.3-inch notebooks are a little costlier, around the Rs 75K mark.