After a long time (nearly 7 years) with in between upgrades to my old system(Celeron 766MHz proc + Asus CUSI-FX MB + 1GB SDRAM + NVIDIA 6200 PCI Graphics Card), I have finally come to a decision to buy a new one - which will be an all in one system(Gaming + Programming + Entertainment).
Recently, I got a 24" Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP Full HD LCD monitor for 25k as a start to purchasing the new system. It is a pretty high end system. This is the following configuration I am planning to buy:
1. Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz 12MB L2) -
Rs. 17000
2. Motherboard - ASUS P5Q Deluxe -
Rs. 12000
3. Memory - Corsair DDR2 2x2GB 800MHz -
Rs. 5800
4. HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (32MB Buffer) -
Rs 3450
5. PSU - Corsair 750W (CMPSU750TX) -
Rs. 8100
6. Cabinet - Cooler Master CM690 -
Rs. 4100
7. DVD - Sony SATA -
Rs. 1200
8. K/B & Mouse - Logitech Combo -
Rs. 700
Total - Rs. 52350 (with VAT
- Rs. 54444)
The above configuration is without the GRAPHICS CARD. This is where I have a confusion as to which one to buy. I have the following cards in mind:
NVIDIA (Zotac Brand for the following below cards)
GeForce 9800 GT - Rs. 9500
GeForce 9800 GTX / GTX+ - Rs. 13500 / 13700
GTX 260 - Rs. 17500
AMD (Zotac/Palit/Sapphire Brands available here)
ATI Radeon 4850 - Rs. 11600
ATI Radeon 4870 - Rs. 17000
(The prices I have inquired are as of Sat, Oct 12, 2008 in SP Road, Bangalore)
The games I play will be old & new (all kinds of FPS, Strategy, Adventure & Sports). The newer games will be played in 1920x1200 res. The older ones with whatever maximum resolution the game supports. I will also be using the system for Programming - Application & Game based. OS will be XP & Vista.
I might/might not Crossfire/SLI(not in this m/b) in the future. Overclocking is a not a priority now, but will do so in the future. This system will not be changed for 2/3 years. So going for a high end one right now. I did think of waiting for the Nehalem / X58 based system, but couldn't wait due to the following reasons:
* Nehalem / X58 will be released in Nov 2008. Will come to India mostly in Jan 2009.
* Pricing will be High
* DDR3 Memory prices in India is still too high
* Don't know much about the actual processor / motherboard performance (due to evaluation / engineering models rcvd by reviewers)
* No idea about the newer architecture & processor issues
* Can't wait that long
Since I had done a lot of research on the graphics cards, I wanted to share with you guys that information. I have categorized the graphics card as below with some information from Tom's Hardware Graphics Guide:
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In terms of Budget & Game Resolution Performance
For graphics card budget around 16.5-20k
Good 1920x1200 performance
in NVIDIA, GTX 260 / GTX 260 Core 216
in AMD, 4870
For graphics card budget around 10.5-14k
Good 1920x1200 performance in most games, some with lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GTX / GTX+
in AMD, 4850
For graphics card budget around 7.5-9k
Super Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9800 GT
in AMD, 4830 (not yet released)
For graphics card budget around 5.5-8k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games, 1920x1200 in most titles with some lowered detail
in NVIDIA, 9600 GT
For graphics card budget around 4.5-6k
Good 1600x1200 performance in most games
in NVIDIA, 9600 GSO
In terms of Brands to go for (Blue - Good & Slightly Expensive Brands / Red - Ok & Cheaper Brands)
NVIDIA - XFX / EVGA / ASUS / GIGABYTE / MSI / Palit / POV / Xpert Vision / Zotac
AMD / ATI - ASUS / MSI / GIGABYTE / GeCube / Palit / Sapphire / Xpert Vision
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I actually have some other items on the wishlist, which I will be buying in the next few months to complete the whole system.
Wishlist Items
UPS - APC 1.5KVA - Rs. 9500
Soundcard - ASUS/Creative -
TBD
Speakers - 5.1/7.1 - Creative / Logitech -
TBD
Gaming Keyboard & Laser Mouse - Logitech/Microsoft/Razer -
TBD
TV Tuner Card - Internal / External -
TBD
CPU Cooling Heatsink+FAN -
TBD
I will be buying the system next week. I can buy the system without the graphics card right now (will put my PCI-based GeForce 6200 card for the new system) if necessary.
All suggestions/criticism/questions are welcome for my chosen System components / Graphics Card / Wishlist Items.