New PC for Vista !!! Help req.

[gsenthil]

Hello All,

I am planning to upgrade my system.I would basically be using the system for surfing , audio / video applications and a bit of gaming.

I want a system , which will be able to use Vista to it's maximum glory.

Have thought about the following config below....Plz , give me ur suggestions on the same....


Intel Core 2 Duo E6600.
Intel DG965SS mobo.
1 GB RAM.
200 GB HDD.
Samsung 19 inches wide screen.

Will the onboard graphics card in Intel DG965SS mobo be good enough for Vista ?

I was told that the Samsung 19 inch lcd supports dvi input. Does this mean , I can download and watch HD video on my comp ?

Will the above config be future proof atleast for the near future ?

I was planning not to buy a graphics card to cut down the cost as I am not a hardcore gamer.
However , Plz be free to suggest any diff mobo , which has a better onboard graphics and more features.

It would also be great , if someone could give a rough estimate of the above config.

My current Config -
P4 - 1.5 GHz
200GB HDD.
512 MB Ram.
32 MB AGP Card.


Cheers,
Senthil G

[mehulved]

IF you want to use Aero, then you need to have a graphics card.
And if you will state your budget people can help you in choosing a balanced config.

[gsenthil]

Originally Posted by tech_your_future

IF you want to use Aero, then you need to have a graphics card.
And if you will state your budget people can help you in choosing a balanced config.

Budget is not a major issue , but I wanted to have the best possible config for my req (i.e running Vista). If the onboard graphics is not gud enough for Aero , Plz suggest any entry level graphics card for the Aero featue.

[Third Eye]

If you want decent graphic card then go for nvidia 6600GT or 6800GT or if you are hardcore game+wanna running vista smoothly then for nvidia 7900GTX.

[gsenthil]

Originally Posted by tech_your_future

IF you want to use Aero, then you need to have a graphics card.
And if you will state your budget people can help you in choosing a balanced config.

I just ran windows vista upgrade advisor in my friends Pc. He does not have a dedicated graphics card.He is using the onboard video memory present in the Motherboard. i.e Intel 82945G (128mb).

The upgrade advisor says "Your current graphics adapter will support the Windows Aero™ user interface"

Could u please clarify ?

[Third Eye]

Vista Upgrade Advisor is a crap software,onboard chipset doesnot support aero glass effect of vista.

[mehulved]

Well even if it supports and Aero is enabled, then what about performance? Do you think it will be good? I doubt any onboard card can give good performance with any 3D desktop available in the market.

[Third Eye]

Onboard chipset can run vista but it doesn't give good performance as graphic can do.Onboard doesn't have pixels so you can't enable aero glass effect.

[aquamatrix]

go for the 6600 gt.

[jz2linkinpark]

7600gt
c2d e6300 is good enough...or you can wait for quad core processors, twice the performance, but many times the money...

CPU = More the adequate, if u wanna save some money, get a Core 2 duo E6400

RAM is good, get 2X512MB DDR2

Motherboard is fine, the intel GMA X3000 onboard graphics provides performance on par with a Geforce FX 5700 non ultra with full hardware Pixel & vertex shader, & even full DirectX 10 compatibility in hardware, later on with a driver update. This GMA X3000 is is specifically made to run Vista AERO UI with full performance, although the system RAM sharing will leave u with less RAM for your own tasks

Windows Vista requirs a garphics card with 128 MB RAM for resolution upto 1600X1200, above that, it needs 256 MB Video RAM, the onbaord GMA X3000 can share upto 256 MB RAM, when u have 1 GB System RAM, so...a seperate graphics card is always prefered anyway, however the onboard solution on this motherboard is good enough to run Vista at full quality

hard disk & monitor, as u wish..but a SATA 2 HD is preferd due to obvious advancement in performance

[Third Eye]

Atleast 2GB DDR 2 RAM is better,even vista killed my 1GB DD2RAM.

[gsenthil]

Hi Guys ,

Thanks a ton for these replies...... It really helps me make a wise decision......

I think , I will go with the onboard memory for the time being.... lets see , how it goes..... I shall then, if not satisfied with the performance, go in for a dedicated graphics card later (I guess,Direct X 10 cards should be out by then)

Is there a lot of diff in performance between E6400 and E6600 ( I am aware that the cache memory is 4mb in E6600 and 2mb in E6400). Is the Price diff justified ?

Any inputs abt the LCD Monitor ? Is the samsung 19 inch widescreen gud enough to play HD video?


Cheers,
Senthil

[aquamatrix]

is ur LCD the samsung 940 BW??

[nishant_nms]

I am damm sure that Intel 945 and 965 support Aero completely.

[gsenthil]

Originally Posted by aquamatrix

is ur LCD the samsung 940 BW??

Ya , I was considering samsung 940 BW.....

[gsenthil]

Has anyone played High definition videos in samsung 740bw ?
How is the performance ?
Is the picture quality comparable to HDTV's available in the market ?

high defination videos will play, however u need a monitor with a high resolution to play them, else they will interpolate to low size

a video of 720X480 HD, is what plays fine in 17", above it is HD video of 1280X720 also knows as 720p, so, if u have 1024X768 resolution, it will down scale anyway

[akshayt]

You have chosen a useless rig so far. Anyway, let me make some changes, I am assuming that Vista is your priority with everything secondary.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (if you want to overclock), else E6300
Mobo depending upon budget

2 X 1GB DDR2 667 or faster RAM

Seagate SATA II NCQ 7200.10 250GB - 3800

A 17" TFT monitor will do, a larger monitor means a higher native resolution or a bad quality image at the same resolution, so if you want to play your games at 1280x1024, they will look better on a 17" then they would on a 19". And even to play your games at 1280x1024 you need atleast a 7900GT class graphic card or 7600GT graphic card for average quality settings.

A 7600GS will do for Vista as long as you are not into very serious gaming.