# New Gaming Rig - Good Budget



## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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.


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## johnjjx (Jun 12, 2008)

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.


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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.


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## nish_higher (Jun 12, 2008)

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.


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## mastermunj (Jun 12, 2008)

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..


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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.


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## sam9s (Jun 12, 2008)

nish_higher said:


> 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.
> ...



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 ....

*www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/intel-wolfdale_3.html

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

*in.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=117&l3=0&l4=0&model=1850&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......


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## m-jeri (Jun 12, 2008)

nish_higher said:


> 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.
> ...



+1....

Ofcourse..this alterations are very good...

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


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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?


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## mastermunj (Jun 12, 2008)

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..


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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


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## ancientrites (Jun 12, 2008)

@ 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.


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## nish_higher (Jun 12, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> 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.


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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?


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## dOm1naTOr (Jun 12, 2008)

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
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90331

u ll be wasting money if u get 9800GTX.


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## nish_higher (Jun 12, 2008)

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.


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## dOm1naTOr (Jun 12, 2008)

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?


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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?


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## dOm1naTOr (Jun 12, 2008)

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.


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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?


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## nish_higher (Jun 12, 2008)

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


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## dOm1naTOr (Jun 12, 2008)

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


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## Kush6 (Jun 12, 2008)

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......


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## dOm1naTOr (Jun 12, 2008)

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


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## moshel (Jun 12, 2008)

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


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## cooldude1 (Jun 13, 2008)

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


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## Kush6 (Jun 13, 2008)

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. *forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=117636.msg886420#msg886420

So what do I do about the PSU?

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


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## johnjjx (Jun 13, 2008)

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


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## Kush6 (Jun 13, 2008)

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.


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## cooldude1 (Jun 13, 2008)

PSU go for  - Corsair VX450W eyes closed!!

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


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## Kush6 (Jun 13, 2008)

K. Then Thank. All set - going for a Corsair TX650W. RAM I'll stick to Trancend and I'll ask the dealer to return it and get a corsair in case it is not compatible with my board. Also, I'll get a 8800GT and sell it off after a few months to see what I get when the new GPU powerhouses are released. Just some last questions - Which do I get? MSI 8800GT OC or Gigabyte 8800GT OC? Does the MSI model have Cooler like The Gigabyte one  - a Zalman? And is it okay for me to assemble my PC - I've never done it beforee but I'll read the manuals and stuff - or should I get it done by someone experienced - I've never done it before myself. I'll go to lamington Road tomorrow to purchase so please suggest which of the 2 cards I should get? Thanks all.


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## sam9s (Jun 14, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> 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?
> ...




Virtulization??? as in running a vitual machine right, well I have used VM Ware and it did make a difference (quite a noticible one) with my pentium 4 and C2D, I am not sure how much difference would it make between 2 and 4 cores. But its not only the CPU, its the RAM that is of more importance if you ask me. Running virtual machines eats up huge RAM, and if you use it with Vista 4GB becomes a bare min.
AFA OS multitasking is concerned I dont think it makes much of a difference with 2 cores and 4 cores. Its the application that should support multiple cores. Most day to day applications do not use more than 2 cores. 

Coming to OCing I think and OCing enthus would agree that 8400 is a far better OCer than Q6600. Just to give you an idea go through this thread by our darki bhai......."Darklord". extreme OCing enthusiastic. You will have an idea how well 8400 OCs.....

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79615

Coming to samsung......digit winners!!! never blindly follow.......search the fourm and you will have an idea about samsung drives............I have been using every kind of drive since I started with computers and samsung has turned out to be the most pathetic drives I have come across. Samsung and LG both suck. LG went defective at the first purchase couple of times. I am sure there must be drives from samsung that are performing good but if you ask me play safe and get Sony/ASUS/Liteon.......

Now ASUS Board......strange that it hapened to your uncle, but this can happen to any product, look at the probability. I have not come across ANY member who reported ASUS board faulty. On the contraty ASUS/Gigabyte/ALBIT board are the best OCers out there.
I am using ASUS and believe me while OCing there are so many factors that can go wrong and a smart board saves your hardware from going "kaput". ASUS is going smooth (touch wood) with all the experimenting I have done while OCing.

Transcend has the lifetime warrenty (Jet Ram). I think I am using it at 5-5-5-15 now earlier when I had 1 GB I got the stability at 5-5-5-18. Nothing to bost about but far better when you consider the price with corsair.

Zebronics PSU, well when I assembled my machine I had this zebronics (that was when I had 7600GT).......If you ask me it never gave me any issues. Then I upgraded to 8800GT and added 2 extra drives...........I decided to change my PSU to coolermaster. I didnt even try using zebronics with 8800GT so I am not sure if it had worked........



Kush6 said:


> K. Then Thank. All set - going for a Corsair TX650W. RAM I'll stick to Trancend and I'll ask the dealer to return it and get a corsair in case it is not compatible with my board. Also, I'll get a 8800GT and sell it off after a few months to see what I get when the new GPU powerhouses are released. Just some last questions - Which do I get? MSI 8800GT OC or Gigabyte 8800GT OC? Does the MSI model have Cooler like The Gigabyte one  - a Zalman? And is it okay for me to assemble my PC - I've never done it beforee but I'll read the manuals and stuff - or should I get it done by someone experienced - I've never done it before myself. I'll go to lamington Road tomorrow to purchase so please suggest which of the 2 cards I should get? Thanks all.



Corsiar TX650?? Do you know how much it costs.....anyway.....
about 8800GT....MSI/Gigabyte...what r you talking about man go for *XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog Edition* (its factory OCed) if you can get one..........else look nowhere other than *XFX*.....


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## nish_higher (Jun 14, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> K. Then Thank. All set - going for a Corsair TX650W. RAM I'll stick to Trancend and I'll ask the dealer to return it and get a corsair in case it is not compatible with my board. Also, I'll get a 8800GT and sell it off after a few months to see what I get when the new GPU powerhouses are released. Just some last questions - Which do I get? MSI 8800GT OC or Gigabyte 8800GT OC? Does the MSI model have Cooler like The Gigabyte one - a Zalman? And is it okay for me to assemble my PC - I've never done it beforee but I'll read the manuals and stuff - or should I get it done by someone experienced - I've never done it before myself. I'll go to lamington Road tomorrow to purchase so please suggest which of the 2 cards I should get? Thanks all.


corsair PSU is one of the best out there. and those gigabyte use old versions of zalmans on 8800GT , 9800GTX and 9600GT while leadtek uses newer versions.but finding leadtek would be difficult.so go for MSI

btw u'd need to spend 8.5 k on a UPS too,APC SUA 750i. Corsair psu's have active PFC that require pure sine wave UPS.othere UPS's dont provide a backup in this case even if its a fluctuation.so consider both things first.
btw if i were u i'd go with a cheap card and get 4870 later rather than wasting on a 8800GT now and selling it later at a very cheap price


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## mastermunj (Jun 14, 2008)

config is pretty good..

just few small suggestions...
If you are spending so much on total config, go for value RAM, it will cost you 1000 more for 4GB RAM..

G-Skill 2GB Stick with heatsink is available at 2400.

Check out if you can go for it..

You will easily get it at Prime ABGB. I believe they have decent stock for G-Skill RAM.

Also try for Seagate HDD, they have 32MB buffer to raise performance... I have one 500GB and its very very smooth and pretty fast..


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## cooldude1 (Jun 14, 2008)

We have a special offer going on for eVGA 8800GT KO  - - 11450/-


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## mastermunj (Jun 14, 2008)

Rahul, sent u PM about our pending paper work... hope u have checked and worked on it..


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## Kush6 (Jun 14, 2008)

@sam9
Wow, and I thought 4GHz was extreme. However, I won't need anything above 3.5Ghz - RAM speed will become a bottleneck for overall performance then - and a Quad here is definitely more futureproof - since I have to put up with this sytem for over 3 years. You might recommend a Q9300 but it just isn't that good an Overclocker - mainly because of the 7.5x multiplier compared to 9x on the Q6600 and the Q9450 is beyond my budget. I may be a little stubborn here - sorry - but I kinda read too much about the Q6600 and haven't ever heard anything bad about it.
The Samsung drive - I never blindly follow anything - I just saw the performance/price ratio and saw it was a good deal - obviously forgetting to take into account the longevity of the drive. Mistake accepted and thanks a lot for pointing that out to me - changed the drive drive promptly. 
ASUS board - I wasn't talking about the defect - my point was the support in India is abysmal and as you say, this can happen to any product so I think I will go with one where I'm safe with the warranty. Also, I might point out that for the NVidia 750i chipset, EVGA 750i FTW is THE best board available, albeit a little expensive at 11.5K. The MSI on the other hand is just 8K and is pretty good in its own right - especially the heatpipe and cooler on it and its a pretty good overclocker as I've read from reviews. It may not be the best in performance but again the price/performance ratio is truly unique.

Sticking to the RAM - either Trancend or if they are as cheap as mastermunj says, then I'll buy the G-Skill - hope they are compatible with the board though. Trancend Latencies aren't great but at least they are way cheaper than the corsair. Thanks for the latencies.
PSU - Yeah the TX650W costs 6K. Changing. Changing the graphics card also, taking nish_higher's advice.

@nish_higher
is that an issue with ALL Corsair PSU's? In that case I can't even get a VX 550W.
Can someone recommend something within 5K at ratings of around 550W - maybe Antec TruePower Trio 550W or the Antec NeoPower 550W - the prices and if they are available in Mumbai.
Also, Can't decide on what cheapo card i can get right now. how about the Mercury 8600GT - I think its around 3K and maybe I can sell it for 1K in 3-4 months - warranty and everything. Any other suggestions about the card?

@Rahul
I don't think I'll find everything on Lamington road so I probably will order some stuff from theitwares. By the way, don't you have any Antec PSUs. They aren't listed on the site. Prices seem impressive though.


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## sam9s (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> ASUS board - I wasn't talking about the defect - my point was the support in India is abysmal and as you say, this can happen to any product so I think I will go with one where I'm safe with the warranty. Also, I might point out that for the NVidia 750i chipset, EVGA 750i FTW is THE best board available, albeit a little expensive at 11.5K. The MSI on the other hand is just 8K and is pretty good in its own right - especially the heatpipe and cooler on it and its a pretty good overclocker as I've read from reviews. It may not be the best in performance but again the price/performance ratio is truly unique.



mmmm well I wont suggest MSI at any cost I dont think MSI BIOS is as OCing friendly as is of ASUS. After ASUS I'd still go for Gigabyte. Anyway you go ahead and OC with MSI lets see how that performs.  



> @nish_higher
> is that an issue with ALL Corsair PSU's? In that case I can't even get a VX 550W.
> Can someone recommend something within 5K at ratings of around 550W - maybe Antec TruePower Trio 550W or the Antec NeoPower 550W - the prices and if they are available in Mumbai.



Why arent you going for coolermaster xtreme 600. . I have got an 8800GT, 4 Drives, 2 DVD RWs and 8 fans in total and machine is OCed as well. I got it for 3600 and its performing flawlessly.



> Also, Can't decide on what cheapo card i can get right now. how about the Mercury 8600GT - I think its around 3K and maybe I can sell it for 1K in 3-4 months - warranty and everything. Any other suggestions about the card?



What ever you go for 8600 or 8800 plz opt for XFX.


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

sam9s said:


> mmmm well I wont suggest MSI at any cost I dont think MSI BIOS is as OCing friendly as is of ASUS. After ASUS I'd still go for Gigabyte. Anyway you go ahead and OC with MSI lets see how that performs.


Not a problem - they have released 2 updates for the BIOS already. Seems good from the looks of it - Its an American Megatrends BIOS contrary to the standard Phoenix Award BIOS used by other companies - but it doesn't mean its a bad thing - will keep you guys posetsd on the OC when I get this setup.



sam9s said:


> Why arent you going for coolermaster xtreme 600. . I have got an 8800GT, 4 Drives, 2 DVD RWs and 8 fans in total and machine is OCed as well. I got it for 3600 and its performing flawlessly.


 I had thought of that but the MSI boards have problems with Cooler Master Real Power Series so I thought I might as well go for some other brand altogether. If I don't have an option within 5K, I'll just buy that only - what the heck.



sam9s said:


> What ever you go for 8600 or 8800 plz opt for XFX.


Why specifically XFX? - some other brands have better offerings. You seem to be a big supporter of them - By the way, the XFX 8600GT has some serious heating issues.


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## mayanksharma (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> Why specifically XFX? - some other brands have better offerings. You seem to be a big supporter of them - By the way, the XFX 8600GT has some serious heating issues.


XFX is one of the leading GPU manufacturers for many years! However, true...these days there are better offerings with other brands also. And yep, XFX 8600GT UDF7 had serious heating issues. But that doesnt apply for all its cards.  I'll still prefer XFX over any other brands in any specific scenario.
Gigabyte 8800GT OC with Zalman cooling is definitely an excellent choice. Btw, as per ur saying...if u are going to sell the GPU after some time...then invest in something profitable. Like, 9600GSO!


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

Yeah. I do plan in selling it off. Can you tell me why you would consider the 9600GSO more profitable choice? Also, does it have PCI-E 1 support or only PCI-E2?


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## johnjjx (Jun 15, 2008)

Al pcie 2.0 crds r backward compatible.
I stil prefer corsair vx450. Dud ppl r runnin 88gtx on it. Check reviews its best for 3.5k. It gives 530w peak pwr.


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

Will check it out pronto - I just am not sure about 530W being enough especially since I'm looking at the HD 4870 as a possible option. Is the UPS problem nish_higher stated here also, then, I'll have to look elsewhere.


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## nish_higher (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> @nish_higher
> is that an issue with ALL Corsair PSU's? In that case I can't even get a VX 550W.
> Can someone recommend something within 5K at ratings of around 550W - maybe Antec TruePower Trio 550W or the Antec NeoPower 550W - the prices and if they are available in Mumbai.
> Also, Can't decide on what cheapo card i can get right now. how about the Mercury 8600GT - I think its around 3K and maybe I can sell it for 1K in 3-4 months - warranty and everything. Any other suggestions about the card?


its not a problem actually.all PSU's with active power factor control would require a sine wave ups.yup u cant get a VX 550 too.u will have to buy a good ups for that supply.

graphics card- for 3-4 months - 9600GSo or 8400gS.depends on u.Ati's are releasing pretty soon so i'd suggest not to spend more than 5k on ar card now.
oh btw- MSI P7N SLi is very oc friendly.and there's nothing special in Asus boards.
and any non- SLi certified psu will be a bottleneck when u get a 4870X2.


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

So can I use a 500VA or 650 VA APC UPS for these PSUs - the Corsair 550W looks nice.
Maybe the 8400GS - its some 2K. But will this run on a PCI-E2 slot?


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## sam9s (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> Why specifically XFX? - some other brands have better offerings. You seem to be a big supporter of them - By the way, the XFX 8600GT has some serious heating issues.




@Mayank Bhai already said what I was about to say. 

About heating issue, well my card runs at around 58% IDLE with 50% fan speed. 54-55 with 100% fan speed IDLE. Non-Oced.
Under load goes to around 65-68 with 50% fan speed non OCed. OCed reaches 75 under load at 50% fan speed.

I dont think that these measuremenes would go under "serious" heating issues. AFA I have no game crashes I think things should be considered ok. And I have yet to come across a game crash. On the contratory, except Crysis (a game I believe was made some some other species) I have run "every" game at my full 19" res (1440x990) with evey eye candy, every razz-m-tazz a game can offer to the heighest possible settings and there is not even one small hiccup in FPS......... I love XFX 8800GT for that.


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## nish_higher (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> So can I use a 500VA or 650 VA APC UPS for these PSUs - the Corsair 550W looks nice.
> Maybe the 8400GS - its some 2K. But will this run on a PCI-E2 slot?


u can try 
i've spent last whole month in this.
it doesnt give backup at all.a small fluctuation and pc is off.
i'd suggest going for a Antec PSU rather but then again the 550W model has PFC.so u will need a good ups.


every pcie 1 card runs on pci2.0.

btw google for XFX 8800GT heating issues.it doesnt matter if the rig runs properly but it increases the ambient temperatures to a large extent which isnt good when u have oc'ed ur proccy.no game will evr crash with these heat issues.even my 8600GTX electric stove edition runs 24/7


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## sam9s (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> So can I use a 500VA or 650 VA APC UPS for these PSUs - the Corsair 550W looks nice.
> Maybe the 8400GS - its some 2K. But will this run on a PCI-E2 slot?



650VA would be sufficient. Go for Smart UPS from APC. This is what I have

*www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SUA750&total_watts=50

And yes 8400GS would run on PCIE2 slot. But atleast go for 8600GT. Its something bet 3-4 K.


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## nish_higher (Jun 15, 2008)

^ its a temporary card.i dont think he needs to spend much on a 15day card.


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

Its definitely a great card - never doubted that, in fact one og my friends got a XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog edition on my recommendation - but I was talking of overheating on the 8600GT not the 8800GT. Also, MSI and Gigabyte offer similar performance at cheaper prices for the 8800GT.
Anyways, Any idea how much the Corsair VX550W costs? And is the 8400GS PCI-E2 compatible?


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## sam9s (Jun 15, 2008)

nish_higher said:


> ^ its a temporary card.i dont think he needs to spend much on a 15day card.



yea I can understand that......but atleast he should go for 8600...IMO


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## nish_higher (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> Its definitely a great card - never doubted that, in fact one og my friends got a XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog edition on my recommendation - but I was talking of overheating on the 8600GT not the 8800GT. Also, MSI and Gigabyte offer similar performance at cheaper prices for the 8800GT.
> Anyways, Any idea how much the Corsair VX550W costs? And is the 8400GS PCI-E2 compatible?


afaik all 8 series below 8800GT are PCI-E 1.0
every PCI-E card works in PCI e 2.0 slot.

btw its not the xfx 8600GT that heats now- UDF 3 model has some improvements.its the XFX 8800GT that heats.
for corsair prices-
lynx-india.com


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## sam9s (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> Its definitely a great card - never doubted that, in fact one og my friends got a XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog edition on my recommendation - but I was talking of overheating on the 8600GT not the 8800GT. Also, MSI and Gigabyte offer similar performance at cheaper prices for the 8800GT.
> Anyways, Any idea how much the Corsair VX550W costs? And is the 8400GS PCI-E2 compatible?



oh ok I have not practicle idea about temps on 8600, but I am sure it wont be that bad that its crashes games. All it can do as nish said is increase the ambiant temp, which any how you would need to controll if you OC. 
Also nish already pointed out "every pcie 1 card runs on pci2.0" so there is no question of 8400GS having compatibility issues with PEIE2


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

Lynx india does not have the VX 550W - the Antec True Power Trio is 5.5K and for that I could just get a Corsair TX650W at 6K. All lost here - mybe I should just get the CoolerMaster 600W and be don with it or maybe a VX 450W will suffice for the 4870 - hoping it will somehow. I wonder if the VX 550 can be found at around 4.5-5K on Lamington Road. And yeah, I'll run the card for maybe 1-2 months max so which do I get then - 8400GS or 8600GT - 2.5K and 4.5-5K respectively? Any specific brand? Are any of them resealable - bad question but can't resist to get back some cash here.

@sam9s
By the way, any bad experiences with Vista x64 Ultimate? I will buy Ultimate so I can use either 64bit or 32 bit. I also have an XP installation here on my comp which I'll transfer to the new one effectively getting a dual boot - I can keep Ubuntu on this comp then.


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## johnjjx (Jun 15, 2008)

Mercury 8600gt 256ddr3 at 3k.
Antecs r robust psu bt they arent great vfm. Get a corsairhx620. If u getin 4870 later. Take it fr future upgrades.


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

K. Great then - mercury 8600GT with the TX 650W. That should be fine - now lets see when I can go to Lammy - the later the better - I might not have to buy the temporary card at all! Thanks guys - updating configs on the first page.


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## sam9s (Jun 15, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> @sam9s
> By the way, any bad experiences with Vista x64 Ultimate? I will buy Ultimate so I can use either 64bit or 32 bit. I also have an XP installation here on my comp which I'll transfer to the new one effectively getting a dual boot - I can keep Ubuntu on this comp then.



Not that I know. No crashes and all games are working.....But yes shower vista with loads of RAM. 4 GB is for me with 64bit version. I also have a 4GB pendrive dedicated to vista for Readyboost technology and combined it with superfetch, the experience becomes pleasurable even with such a heavy duty OS. I have visax64 dual booted with xp x64. I cant use S/PDIF and analog out simultaniously with vista for some reason and I need both. XP x64 does this for me..... Thats the only disadvantage I can think right now.

Yes there are few specific applications off the hook that do not work in vista, for that I have to boot to xp (rare occasions though).....


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## cooldude1 (Jun 15, 2008)

Let me know atleast so if i dnt have anything in stock i can arrange the same for u



Kush6 said:


> @Rahul
> I don't think I'll find everything on Lamington road so I probably will order some stuff from theitwares. By the way, don't you have any Antec PSUs. They aren't listed on the site. Prices seem impressive though.


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

@sam9
Thanks for the - I'll have Vista x64 but with XP x86 just to be on the safer side.

@Rahul
I mentioned earlier - do you have any Antec PSUs? I'll let you when I've had a round of lammington road.

All this will cost me nearly 66K. So I have 14K for the card left - hope I can stretch this a bit - I wonder how much will the HD4870 will retail for. Any guesses anyone?


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## cooldude1 (Jun 15, 2008)

^ i dnt have antec PSU's

Go for that Corsair TX650 its good enough it can hold 2 cards without anyprobs


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## Kush6 (Jun 15, 2008)

K. I'll stick to that unless i can find the Corsair VX550W. Mainly beause with a 4870, There is no way i'll run two cards.


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## Kush6 (Jun 19, 2008)

Hey guys,
I went to Lamington Road today and got the quotes from PC Guide, Computer Gallery and Mahavir Electronics (thanks mastermunj). I was a little suspicious of two of the quotes though - the WD 640GB AAKS drive at 4.7K - is that okay?
Also, I found the Dell 2008WFP at 13.2K at computer gallery which I think is a little too high (I made the mistake of telling them that PC guide told me 15K(!!!) and its 13.5K at the site only). What do you guys think the price should be on the street for this monitor?


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## ultimategpu (Oct 13, 2008)

MY EXCELLENT GAMING RIG FOR 55K TRY THIS ITS PRETTY AWESOME 

AMD phenom x4 9550 (OC 2.6ghz)
ASUS M3A mobo 
palit hd 4850 (oc 650/1033)
seagate 250 gb/ext-500GB e-sata/160 gb int
LG dvd writer 20x
cooler master extreme power 600watts psu
zebronics casing antibiotics
creative XI-FI gamer
creative M5300 5.1
Logitech G15 gaming mouse
Logitech MultiMedia keyboard
Viewsonic 22 inch gaming monitor


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## imgame2 (Oct 13, 2008)

Kush6 said:


> Hey guys,
> I went to Lamington Road today and got the quotes from PC Guide, Computer Gallery and Mahavir Electronics (thanks mastermunj). I was a little suspicious of two of the quotes though - the WD 640GB AAKS drive at 4.7K - is that okay?
> Also, I found the Dell 2008WFP at 13.2K at computer gallery which I think is a little too high (I made the mistake of telling them that PC guide told me 15K(!!!) and its 13.5K at the site only). What do you guys think the price should be on the street for this monitor?



prices are going higher and higher for PC components so u can expect any price for the components ...but surely its very high cos WD640Gb was available for 3.6k few weeks ago 

no need to of suspicious prices are going higher due to dollar getting stronger on rupee 

frankly its difficult to tell correct price for anything in coming weeks ...it will be higher no matter what ...


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## harryneopotter (Oct 13, 2008)

@imgame ....
Dude .... look at the date of posting ...its a 4 month old post to which u replied.


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## imgame2 (Oct 13, 2008)

oops i m sorry someone else revive this thread so i thought its new ....i m sorry guys ..

thnaks for correcting me


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## harryneopotter (Oct 13, 2008)

its a general mistake buddy ... no need to apologise ...


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