Upgradation Guide

[premsharma]

Of the late, there have been lot of queries regarding upgradation or choosing the right combination of Processor, Motherbaord & RAM. It is only possible to make choices when you know indicative prices for various alternative & substitute or equivalent from different companies are compared at one place.

I am attempting to sketch out a upgradation guide. All the componenets mentioned here are reviewed & found best & second best by some or other PC magzines. Most of these componenets have also been disscused here in different threads. However the prices are only indicative and real prices can be reached at with dealers at your respective place.

I have tried to mention atleast more than one brand so that no one is forced to to buy a particular brand only. This is Intel based configuration.

1. Processor: Core 2 Duo - Choose any one of the following
E6300 (2MB L2 cache 1.86Ghz 1066MHz FSB 65nm) Rs9000
E6400 (2MB L2 cache 2.13Ghz 1066MHz FSB 65nm) Rs11400
E6600 (4MB L2 cache 2.40Ghz 1066MHz FSB 65nm) Rs15000
E6700 (4MB L2 cache 2.66Ghz 1066MHz FSB 65nm) Rs23800

2. Motherboard: Intel P965 or G965 chipset based [P is without onboard graphics & G with onboard graphics]

(a). Without Onboard Graphics:

MSI 975X Platinum power Up Edition v 2.0 @ 14000
Foxconn 975X7AB-EKRS2H @ 09,000
Asus P5B Deluxe @ 12,000
MSI P965 platinum @ 09,000
Gigabyte 965P DS3 @ 07,000
Asus P5N-E SLI @ 07800
MSI P965 Neo2 @ 06,000

(b). With Onboard Graphics [Intel GMA 3000]:

MSI G965 MDH @8000
MSI Q965 MDO @8000
Intel DG965WH @7100
Gigabyte 965G DS3 @8500
Intel D965RY @6900

3. DDR 2 RAM = 1 GB [667/800 Mhz]

Corsair Value select 1GB [1X1GB, 667 Mhz] @ 4500+
Trascend 1GB [1X 1GB, 533/667 mhz] @ 4000

4. LCD Monitor = 19" or 17" Wide

ViewSonic VG1930WM @ 14000, or VG 1912 WM @ 12000
ViewSonic VA1703W 17" Wide @ 10000
Samsung Syncmaster 940BW 19' @ 14000

5. Hard Disk: Western Digital, Hitachi Deskstar, Seagate, Maxtor

200 GB (7200 RPM) @ 3200
250 GB (7200 RPM) @ 3600

6. Optical Drive: DVD-RW LiteOn, Sony, Asus, LG all @ 1650 - 2000

7. SMPS: VIP, Powersafe, Antec, Zebronics - 400 to 500 watts

VIP 500 watts gold @ 3000
Powesafe 400Normal @ 2000
Antec 400 @ 3600

8. UPS : 600 or 800 VA

APC 600 VA 3000+
APC 800VA 5000

9. Cabinet: Choose any from Antec, VIP and Zebronics. In most of the cases SMPS is included with cabinet and don't have to buy it separately.

10. Graphics card: Buy some low end PCI-E graphics card right now & wait for DX10 cards to be available & affordable. Choice of motherboard [with graphics onboard or without onboard graphics] will depend upon whether U have graphic card or not.

11. 5.1 Home Theater System & Sound card: Artis S6600r /FM @ 8000 & Creative Audigy2 ZS @ 3300

12. TV Tuners

Internal
Powercolor ATI Theater 550 Pro @ 4500
Hauppauge WinTV 150/250 @ 4000
Compro VideoMate TV Gold + II (Power Up Scheduling) @ 4500

External- USB
Compro Videomate Action Pro @3850
Pinnacle & PixelView @ 3500

[xsreality]

i wud like to add Asus P5N-E SLI @7800 in the mobo w/o onboard grfx section...

[premsharma]

Originally Posted by xsreality

i wud like to add Asus P5N-E SLI @7800 in the mobo w/o onboard grfx section...

Added.

[Pathik]

add DG965WH also in the Onboard gfx mobos..

[premsharma]

Originally Posted by pathiks

add DG965WH also in the Onboard gfx mobos..

Ok Added ... what is cost?.

Infact there are lot many boards in this catagory but I wanted only those which have been rated high in magzine & hardware reviews, so that novice users can straight way go for them without any much R&D. Including every board here would mitigate the purpose of short listing the right combination. I have included one or 2 models from Intel, Asus, MSI & Gigabyte. I have left out Nvidia 680i and many others. This is meant for an average user and O/C enthuasts can find their own combination.

[abhipal]

Processor : E6600 (4MB L2 cache 2.40Ghz 1066MHz FSB 65nm) Rs15000
Hard Disk : Samsung 250GB Rs3750 Sata
5.1 Home Theater System & Sound card : Ref this month's DIGIT

[ranjan2001]

Good info for people who need upgrading, will save lot of time for them.