New Gaming Rig - Good Budget

[Kush6]

Hi all,
I was planning a brand new machine which is pretty capable of everything. So here goes:

Processor: Intel Q6600

Motherboard: MSI P7NSLI PLATINUM NVIDIA nForce750iSLI C55 1066 FSB

RAM: Trancend 2X2GB at 800MHz - I'll change if they aren't compatible with my board.
Pendrive: Corsair 4 GB CMFUSB2.0-4GB

Hard Disk:Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM
External: Western Digital My Book Essential USB 2.0-320GB - 3.5''

DVD Writer 1: Sony 20x (Sata DRU 170S)
DVD Writer 2: ASUS DRW-1814BLT

Cabinet: Cooler Master RC690 CM 690 (Transparent Side panel)

Power Supply: Corsair 650W Power Supply(CMPSU650TX)

Graphics Card: Mercury 8600GT - will get a HD 4870 later hopefully.

Monitor: Dell SP2008WFP 20 inch Widescreen Flat Panel Display with Webcam

Speakers: Altec Lansing VS2421 2.1 Spkrs
Headset: Altec Lansing AHS502i Closed Ear-cup Headset

Mouse: Logitech MX518
Keyboard: Logitech Media Keyboard - can't find a backlit keyboard.

CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
Heatsink Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-2 (4gms)

Case Cooling: Logisys 4 Blue LED - 120mm X2

Most of this stuff is Digit Recommendation.

I would like to know if I can get a good PSU within 5000 bucks - the one I stated is retailing for 5000, I already looked at the eXtreme Power series from Cooler Master but the typical efficiency is around 70% whereas this one offers me 80%. I hope its sufficient - I won't SLI but I might add a hard drive. Any other cheaper recommendations?

Also, can anyone suggest a keyboard with backlight? I only found this one - it has to be within Rs. 2000 - so no Razer Tarantula or Logitech G15 for me. And a mouse pad within Rs. 500 - I couldn't find anything in this category.

One last question, Please tell me where I can buy all this on Lamington Road? Which shops do you guys recommend and are there any shops to avoid? Please also tell me where on Lamingon are they - it becomes rather hard to find the small ones. I would specially like to know if I can find the Saitek Eclipse II keyboard at Lamington.

Thanks for looking. And any other comments or improvements are welcome. Also let me know if there are any compatibility problems with anything here.

[johnjjx]

Everythings gud gskill/crucial micron d9 chip rams.
Corsair hx620/vx450 6k/3.5k.
Wd640gb 4.5k
Kbd logitech g5
Altec lansing 2.1 vs4121 2.7k

Also if its 4 gaming get e8400.

[Kush6]

Actually, I wanted to save some cash on the RAM -the trancend seemed okay and I won't be pushing them, I'll overclock the Q6600 in unlinked mode - the reason I went for a NVidia board in the first place. The HX 620W seems kind of expensive and I dunno if the vx 450W will be able to run my rig. Is the cooler master I selected okay?
Could not understand what keyboard you recommended - I thought there was a mouse labeled G5. And the speakers, there is no point upgrading since I'll use it in a hostel room - not large enough for the power. I Think I'll upgrade the drive though - thanks a lot for that one.

Still undecided on the keyboard and where to buy this stuff from. Any other comments anyone. Please see if the PSU is up to the task. And I had heard of MSI boards having problems booting up with Real Power PSUs form Cooler Master.

[nish_higher]

Hard Drive-WD 640GB AAKS
Monitor- No use getting a 20" display.go for a 24" rather.
Rams- Get Gskill 4GBPK .cost 3500.
Graphics Card- 2*9600GT or 2*8800GT in SLi..9800GTX is nowhere near.
LAn card- why? check motherboard specs.

PWer spply is very good.great efficiency.

[mastermunj]

I recently bought my pc with similar config from "P C Guide" at Lamington road..

You can give my reference there... if you wish i can call them and remind about my purchase

there is one more.. "Mahavir Computers" .. its just next to Police Station..

I got competitive price from these 2 dealers amongst total of 6 i checked out..


I agree with nish_higher's suggestions..

[Kush6]

Changed Drive to WD 640GB AAKS - Hope they aren't more than 5K.
Monitor - 24" Sounds huge to me - I'm used to a 17"! Plus, Taking it to hostel will be a problem and it'll be more expensive - around 3-4K more.
Are you sure 2X2GB G-Skill cost 3.5K? Even if its around 4.5K I'll get them - they're awesome - but www.theitwares.com says they are 6K+, although I'm not sure they are the same model.
Changed the speakers to Altec Lansing VS2421 afterall - why skimp out for 1K.
Still considering SLI - I won't use 9600GT - rather a 8800GT because of the higher resolutions I'll use it at.
I'll need the LAN card because at the hostel, we will have two LAN connections per room and 3 people sharing a room - so we need to distribute the connection between 2 people.

Thanks for the places suggestion mastermunj - will check out the prices PC Guide - if I plan to buy from there I'll let you know in case you can help.

[sam9s]

Originally Posted by nish_higher

Monitor- No use getting a 20" display.go for a 24" rather.
Rams- Get Gskill 4GBPK .cost 3500.
Graphics Card- 2*9600GT or 2*8800GT in SLi..9800GTX is nowhere near.
LAn card- why? check motherboard specs.

PWer spply is very good.great efficiency.

I will agree on what nish said.......when you are spending so much....go for 24" monitor... RAM get 4 GB........ Gkill is good and as I am using Transcend I can vouch for it as well. Its performing flawlessly.........Coming to GFX 8800GT is still the king, 9 series is not performing any exceptionally better......... I have player loads of seriously heavy graphic intensive games like COD4, Gears of War, FEAR etc on 1440x990 res with all eye candy on full antialising, and the FPS not even gave one hiccup. For more power/future proof go for 8800GT SLI.
Processor no point going for quad......... specially for gaming.......go for e8XXX series......8200/8400/8500 all are good. personally e8400 would be the sweet spot.
For more info check out ....

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...olfdale_3.html

Mobo nforceSLI good choise but go for ASUS, ultimate quality boards. My personal fav.....though not SLI would be.....

http://in.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=...50&modelmenu=2

PS :: I forgot to mention DVD RW avoide samsung at all cost.....Sony is good...I am using ASUS also along with sony, Sony is IDE and ASUS sata...both performing without any glitch......

[m-jeri]

Originally Posted by nish_higher

Hard Drive-WD 640GB AAKS
Monitor- No use getting a 20" display.go for a 24" rather.
Rams- Get Gskill 4GBPK .cost 3500.
Graphics Card- 2*9600GT or 2*8800GT in SLi..9800GTX is nowhere near.
LAn card- why? check motherboard specs.

PWer spply is very good.great efficiency.

+1....

Ofcourse..this alterations are very good...

You spend this much and cannot get 24"?????

[Kush6]

I considered the 24" but the problem remains that transporting it to a hostel will be a pain - I really don't need that big a monitor anyways, so I might as well spend on something else. Can someone please confirm what nish_higher said "Gskill 4GBPK .cost 3500.". I'd love these RAM - awesome timings and they seem to be a steal.

@sam9s
I want that q6600 G0 stepping because its that much overclockable and more cores means virtualizing on my system will be way easier. I'm not getting it strictly for gaming - Its for overall use and Vistualizing will be important to check out new OSes since I'm studying IT. Also, any reasons why you recommend to stay away from the samsung DVD drives - they were digit gold award winners from what I remember? I think the ASUS look real good though, will probably change. And I thought of the ASUS 750i SLI earlier but one of my dad's colleages had brought an ASUS board and he had to ship it to Australia for some repairs because it was defective - he said there was no support in India. Plus, the board I plan on seems to have got some rave reviews for its price and overclocking ability. Also, can you please tell me the warranty of the Trancend RAMs and what the latencies of the 800MHz sticks are?

Still lost on the SLI setup - my dad will be horrified at the idea of getting 2 graphics cards so I thought why not get the best single core chip now and SLI it next year. 2 9800GTXs beat 2 8800GTs any day.



By the way, I just found a Zebronics Diamond PSU - SLI ready at 640W - there is also a 740 W available, any idea about the efficiency of Zebronics and the prices? Seems good and will probably cost less - can someone tell me how much they are for? What do you guys think about it?

[mastermunj]

Yeah kush,

You can PM me for my contact details and when u go yo P C Guide, you can make me talk to him over phone..

[Kush6]

Thanks a lot mastermunj. I owe you bigtime for this.

[ancientrites]

@ Kush6
its zebronics 730watts i am using it,see my sig.Its almost 1 year and 6 months now no problem at all.i bought it for 7000 back in jan 07 or dec 06 dont remember.

[nish_higher]

Originally Posted by Kush6

I considered the 24" but the problem remains that transporting it to a hostel will be a pain - I really don't need that big a monitor anyways, so I might as well spend on something else. Can someone please confirm what nish_higher said "Gskill 4GBPK .cost 3500.". I'd love these RAM - awesome timings and they seem to be a steal.

Still lost on the SLI setup - my dad will be horrified at the idea of getting 2 graphics cards so I thought why not get the best single core chip now and SLI it next year. 2 9800GTXs beat 2 8800GTs any day.

man..u want such a big setup in ur hostel ? get a laptop
btw check reviews of 9800GTX.
Gskill 2gbpk..it was a typo..its 2gb for 3500

CM REal power is 80plus certified.so its better than a zebby.

[Kush6]

My dad also told me to get a laptop but it'll cost a lot more not to mention that I won't get anything half as powerful. So, I'll stick to the CM Real Power PSU and the Trancend 4 GB 800 MHz RAM. Seems like the 9800GTX SSC is a real good card - although at 19K it isn't cheap. The Zebronics is a little expensive at 7K. Any ideas on a mouse pad and a backlit keyboard?

[dOm1naTOr]

wait for HD 4870 and 4850. They are very promising. 9800GTX has no chance, even 9800GX2 or GTX 280.
thnx nish_higher for this thread
Radeon HD 4870/4850 official game performances charts

u ll be wasting money if u get 9800GTX.

[nish_higher]

yea man. 9800GTX = crap . there are a lot of options available now.card doesnt perform good compared to any.why dont u get a cheapo card for now and later get 4870 ?

@ dOm1naTOr the price of that 4870 should be around 20-22k.so i guess the X2 version would cost something close to the new Nvidia but cheaper than that ofc.

[dOm1naTOr]

a 9600GSO will be a good alternative till 4870 gets released.
9600GSO is for 6.5~7.5k.

btw @Kush6
how are u buying the saitek k/b ?
do local stores near u have dem?

[Kush6]

That looks real impressive but I can't wait out much 2-3 weeks max - otherwise I'll have to wait till December when I have my next vacations. And I can't spend 6-7K and throw away the card after that. So what do you guys suggest? I go for a 8800GT and SLI it - or maybe a 8800GTS at 16K? Or any other options? When is this stuff coming?? Any ideas?

@dOm1naTOr
I was hoping to find it on Lamington Road but it seems unlikely, can anyone recommend a good keyboard - I was desperately looking for something within 2K with backlight - if not what are the options I have - can't spend more than 2K on the keyboard. Also, any mouse pad recommendations?

[dOm1naTOr]

G11 is for 3~3.5k range. Good one.

As its a hostel PC, dun waste much money on mouse pads, especially cloth type.
U can get a quicksteel mini for 300 bucks. Its a good one and i had one which i used with my 518.

[Kush6]

Great. I'll get the mini. And is it available on Laminton road? is the G11 available? I had considered it but I didn't think I'd find it here. Can you tell me where to find it?

And when are the HD 48xx Monsters coming? Any idea anyone?

[nish_higher]

They are coming pretty soon.worth the wait.and till that time get a 2nd hand 6200tc or something and later sell it.wont cost more than 1.2k

[dOm1naTOr]

Steel products are available on www.therespawn.com
some of my friends ot steel nd razers from there.

[Kush6]

Poked around a bit - seems 18th June is a tentative date - hope they keep India in the loop.

@dOm1naTOr
No steel series minipad there although I could order the everglide min at 600 bucks. have you tried the site - seems like the prices are 6 months older? Is it safe to order? Dunno about the G11......

[dOm1naTOr]

ya
i noticed. Most of the steel series products has been removed. Two of my friends got last year from them.
u can try mailing them

[moshel]

steel series and everglide are officially available in india. check out their website to find out the distributor.

[cooldude1]

Hi

Rahul here from TheITWares

I can give u the best prices for these all around mumbai

Motherboard: MSI P7NSLI PLATINUM NVIDIA nForce750iSLI C55 1066 FSB

Pendrive: Corsair 4 GB CMFUSB2.0-4GB

Cabinet: Cooler Master RC690 CM 690 (Transparent Side panel)

Power Supply: CoolerMaster RS-500-ASAA Real Power 550W (OEM)

Graphics Card: EVGA 9800 GTX SSC 512MB DDR3 - Considering SLIing 2 8800GTs or maybe SLI the 9800GTX next year.

CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme

Case Cooling: Logisys 4 Blue LED - 120mm X2

mastermunj bought these Evga 9600GT KO , Corsair 4 GB from me coz he could'nt find thm in lammy i have them at the best of the prices.

Also let me know abt the other products too

PM me or Call me u can et my no. on theitwares homepage .... let me know

[Kush6]

Sounds nice. I'll go looking for prices in Lamington this week and inform you.
By the way, there seems to be issues with compatibality with MSI board and Real Power series form Cooler Master. Also, I can't verify if the RAM is compatible.

Look here please. http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?to...6420#msg886420

So what do I do about the PSU?

@moshel
Thanks. I'll just check them out.

[johnjjx]

the vx450 is awesme psu...dud....though rated 450w it can ooze out 530w check reviews n has no match at 3.5k....n corsair it is
gskill rams cost 1x2gb = 2.4k
WD 640gb AAkS is not more than 4.5k

[Kush6]

Thanks johnjjx.
I'll check out the reviews of the Corsair PSUs. Might also consider Antec.
I was planning on 4GB, so I'll get 2X2GB - just in case I ever want to have more - so I'll stick with trancend or check out corsair - something less than 5K.
Thanks for the price info of the WD Caviar.

@moshel
Everglide ship directly to india - not worth it for just a mouse mat, Steel series have shops in Chandigarh, no use to me but there are 3 online retailers - checking out techshop.in - nice site - get an estimate of prices but a little expensive.

EDIT: Just saw some PSUs. I'm considering the Antec NeoPower 550W, The Corsair VX 550W and the Antec True Power Trio 550W. Can anyone tell me some prices for these. I want to be sure I can use an SLi setup - just in case.

Changed PSU and the Samsung Drive. Still don't know if the RAM is compatible though.

[cooldude1]

PSU go for - Corsair VX450W eyes closed!!

SLI Setup if ur planing that then plz go for Corsair TX650 or HX620..