# How to make an inexpensive & efficient Computer



## gxsaurav (Apr 9, 2008)

*You can also read the article on my Blog.*

Everyone who owns a computer knows how fast the technology gets outdated in Computer world. A brand new hardware which you buy today might be outdated in 10 days. Now, we just can’t keep on upgrading the hardware always so there comes a point when a user is looking for a cheap & efficient computer system with the ability to upgrade it later as required & having the best value for money. If you don’t play games or play games casually only, then this PC will easily last for 4 years without upgrading anything in it. Even if you play games then small updates will do. you might pay a bit high for the PC but then you will not need to pay a penny on it.

Now, you can go in the market & buy the best product available for your money but is it balanced? Remember, a 80% balanced PC will work better then a 100% high end component based PC as it is more efficient & there are very few flaws. I came across a configuration which I think fits this balanced & efficient PC configuration perfectly with a lot of room to upgrade as required.

*CPU & Motherboard* = AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ AM2 with Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H. AMD has recently released the 780G chipset which by far is the best Value for Money chipset out there I have seen in a long time & with the Gigabyte motherboard, you get lots of features for such a low price. The feature list of this motherboard is quite long & it has everything you will ever want in a PC. When combined with the Athlon64 CPU, this machine has more then enough power to do anything you throw at it for a really low price.

Although AMD in my opinion is better then Intel when it comes to Value for Money, but if you still want to go with Intel Setup then simply buy Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 along with Asus P5E-VM HDMI. This motherboard has similar features to the AMD 780G chipset based Gigabyte motherboard sans DirectX 10 based onboard graphics. Rest all features are almost similar.

*CPU Fan *= The stock CPU Fan should be good enough but if you want to further reduce the noise of your computer then you can have a look at Cooler Master hyper TX2 CPU Cooler which is compatible with both Intel Socket 775 & AMD Socket AM2+

*Memory *= RAM is relatively cheap these days. It makes perfect sense to for 2X1GB DDR2 800 MHz RAM, If you are not into overclocking then you can buy Corsair Value Select RAM for as low as Rs. 2,000 in the market. You are advised to upgrade to 2X2 GB DDR2 800 MHz RAM after about 1 or 2 years when the prices further reduce.

*Cabinet & SMPS* = Zebronics Cube is something I would recommend for such a PC. It is small, easy to carry & move around, gives enough room for expansion as required. This cabinet comes with a basic 400W SMPS but I would recommend to change it to Cooler Master Extreme power 500W for Rs 2,200. This will provide adequate electricity for the components.

UPS = Power cut is a common problem in India, along with fluctuation in Voltage. To protect the computer from such problems you can simply buy a 650VA APC UPS. It is known to be a solid UPS.

*Hard Disk* = There is no limit and it depends completely on your requirements. however, as a starting point I would recommend Western Digital SATA2 WD3200AAKS Hard disk with 16 MB Buffer & 320 GB HD space. If you need more space then buy an external HD. If you can pay a it more then look for Western Digital 500GB GreenPower Hard disk. This is a RoHC compliant hard disk & required less power & electricity compared to the above mentioned 320 GB hard disk at a slight price premium but it is worth it as you will save more in electricity bills.

*Optical Drive* = There are many optical drives in the market right now but one Drive which is enough for needs would be Samsung SH-S203D DVD Writer at Rs 1,200.

*Audio & Video = *The Gigabyte motherboard already comes with a more then decent onboard audio & video configuration. The Onboard 7.1 channel Realtek ALC889A HD Audio Codec should suffice for all your HTPC needs & the onboard Radeon HD 3400 class graphics should take care of all your non-gaming needs to run the OS. The onboard graphics chip comes with UVD 2.0 which means automatic decoding of HD & VC-1 Content. If you want to upgrade then look no further then a Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card for about Rs 4,500 & Sapphire Radeon HD 3850 with 512 MB DDR3 RAM for about 11k. However a separate graphics card & sound card will not be needed as this PC is not meant for serious gaming.

*TV Tuner Card = *Buy it if you need it else leave it. I would recommend Leadtek Winfast TV2000XP Global Media Center with my eyes closed as this TV Tuner is by far the best analog TV Tuner card I have seen. It is compatible with Windows Media Center & even comes with a Media Center Remote. If you can find the PCI Express X1 based WinFast PxTV1200 Media Center Edition then buy that instead to use that idle PCI Express X1 slot to some good use.

*Speakers & Headphones* = This is a completely personal choice & I would advice you to go to the market & check yourself after listening to some available models.

If you are looking for headphones then look for Philips HiFi SHP-8900 headphones for Rs 3,500. Not only they look good, but for a headphone of Rs 3,500 they sound astonishingly good. It comes with gold plated 4 meter long OFC cable which is long enough to take it to to the couch too.

For speakers, although you should check yourself in the market but I would say as a starting point look for Creative Gigaworks T20 or Creative I-Trigue T3000 for Stereo Sound.

*Webcam* = Buy it if you need it. These days webcams start for as low as Rs 500 in the market. Considering the state of Indian broadband, a Microsoft LiveCam VX-1000 should suffice or Frontek Webcam which are surprisingly good for the price at Rs 500.

*Keyboard & Mouse* = Again, this is a personal preference. Look yourself to judge which keyboard & mouse you find comfortable with your hands & posture. Since this Computer is meant to be a life style PC, better go for Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 set if your budget allows it.

*Monitor* = LCD Monitors are dirt cheap now so it makes prefect sense to invest in a LCD Monitor instead of a CRT now as monitors easily last for many years & is generally the last hardware component to upgrade. Since this is the HD Era it makes sense to buy a HD certified LCD Monitor such as LG L206WTQ for Rs 10,500. This monitor is 20″ with TN Based panel & HDCP compliant. You can easily upgrade to a Blu-ray Drive later & still enjoy all your HD Movies as Blu-Ray requires a monitor with HDCP connection. It has a native resolution of 1650X1080 pixels which is more then enough for whatever you want to throw at it, even 720p HD Videos play flawless on this monitor as 1080p will look different from 720p only when seen on a 32″ or higher LCD Display. You can also connect your gaming console such as XBOX 360 or Playstation 3 to this monitor to play games on a wide screen LCD with real HD resolution.

*Operating System =* With all this perfectly balanced hardware, it would be a shame to use Windows XP which will severely hinder the feature & hardware power of this Machine. On the other hand, 64bit Windows Vista Home Premium for Rs 4.200 will compliment this hardware completely out of the box. It’s more like the OS & this machine are made to complement one another. Once installed & configured for which you can have a look at my article “Using Windows Vista : The MVP Way” & your setup will be like Set it & forget it. Just start the system, work on it & do what ever you want.

If you are into Linux, even then this hardware setup is perfectly suited as the drivers are easily available & since you are into Linux, chances are you are not afraid or tinkering around with the OS. Linux Mint is something I would recommend to start with in this case. You might loose some features such as Blu-ray playback etc with Linux but there are always other ways.

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I have written some prices which I personally know, however you can have a look at Lynx India or TheITwares for better idea of approx prices.

This PC is not supposed to be a high end PC, it is supposed to be a small, silent & "Does your work without hassle" PC.


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## Gigacore (Apr 9, 2008)

nice tutorial


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## The Conqueror (Apr 9, 2008)

Excellent


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## saqib_khan (Apr 9, 2008)

First thing: Nice tutorial
 saurav u said "If you can find the PCI Express X1 based WinFast PxTV1200 Media Center Edition then buy that instead to use that idle PCI Express X1 slot to some good use.", 
So, this is internal tv tuner card, will that fit in place of graphics card??
So, where shud we place our GPU, if we fit it there?

And plz forgive me for asking such a antic question, b'cause i m not in the practical field , i only read alot & that's it.


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## gxsaurav (Apr 9, 2008)

khansaqib101 said:


> So, this is internal tv tuner card, will that fit in place of graphics card??
> So, where shud we place our GPU, if we fit it there?


 
Graphics card fit in PCI Express X16 slot, the TV Tuner card I mentioned fits in PCI Express X1 slot. The difference is physical size of the connector. In this motherboard's case the TV Tuner card will be installed at the PCIe X1 slot above the PCIe X16 slot.


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## ray|raven (Apr 9, 2008)

Nice tut. Could you please list up tentative prices as well?


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## saqib_khan (Apr 9, 2008)

ok, thanx for explaining.


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## Vishal Gupta (Apr 9, 2008)

Excellent tutorial. Very nicely done.


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## New (Apr 9, 2008)

Nice tut..Thanks...


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## shashank_re (Apr 9, 2008)

Very nice guide. But do you think its the time to go for 64bit OS. Wont there be driver problems?


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## Ponmayilal (Apr 9, 2008)

@gx_saurav , a very nice exposition.

From my personal experience and exposure I may add as follows.

1. Zebronics CUBE case does not come with any 400W SMPS.One may choose any good quality 400W SMPS as he may prefer. He will not be left with a discard. 

2.If one prefers to add a Graphics card for a better gaming performance, Gigabyte recommends "* Please use *ATI Hybrid Graphics technology certified VGA card* (i.e., ATI Radeon HD 2400, 3400 series)." As of now only these two series cards are supported for the Hybrid Graphics technology in the motherboard.Of course, any other series card such as 3800 series can be used but as a stand alone, disabling the IGP.The IGP on the board is  ATI Radeon HD 3200 and I think  by mistake  it has been mentioned as  Radeon HD 3400.

Those interested in the approximate cost of the basic CPU can see here.   And you have the pictures of the finished unit as well  . Give it some plus minus for price fluctuations and any  configuration changes that you may make.


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## aritrap (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks 4 the tutorial.

It would help if u could provide the price of every component (not just the sound and gfx card) with ur post.


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## gxsaurav (Apr 9, 2008)

shashank_re said:


> Very nice guide. But do you think its the time to go for 64bit OS. Wont there be driver problems?


 
Windows Vista 64bit is the first Microsoft consumer grade OS with wide 3rd party support. All the current hardware available in the market has 64bit drivers for Vista so drivers won't be a problem. Most of the software are 64bit compatible now, if they are not then they run via a translation layer in Vista 64bit which gives same performance as 32bit OS. 

Right now I made this config with 2 GB RAM but after a year or two you can easily upgrade to 4 GB RAM because RAM prices will reduce compard to today, will you buy another license of 64bit OS at that time cos 32bit OS cannot use 4 GB RAM. So it makes sense to buy a 64bit OS now.



> If one prefers to add a Graphics card for a better gaming performance, Gigabyte recommends "* Please use *ATI Hybrid Graphics technology certified VGA card* (i.e., ATI Radeon HD 2400, 3400 series)." As of now only these two series cards are supported for the Hybrid Graphics technology in the motherboard.Of course, any other series card such as 3800 series can be used but as a stand alone, disabling the IGP.The IGP on the board is ATI Radeon HD 3200 and I think by mistake it has been mentioned as Radeon HD 3400.


 
It's a better choice to either stick with the onboard graphics as Radeon HD 3450 won't make much of a difference in performance anyway even when used with Hybrid Crossfire, thats why I advised a Radeon HD 3850. If you are into gaming either get a nVidia or ATI graphics, if u r not into gaming then stick with onboard graphics. Cheap & best solution.

Prices can be found from the links of Lynx India & ITware I gave in my original post because prices always fluctuate.


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## pratik03 (Apr 9, 2008)

nice tut saurav

1. is  Leadtek Winfast TV2000XP Global Media Center compatible with *vista media center* or it is compatible with windows vista only and require bundled software to watch the tv.

2. also suggest good psu to power up this config with HD3870 or coolermaster 500w is sufficient


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## Ponmayilal (Apr 9, 2008)

gx_saurav said:


> It's a better choice to either stick with the onboard graphics as Radeon HD 3450 won't make much of a difference in performance anyway even when used with Hybrid Crossfire, thats why I advised a Radeon HD 3850. If you are into gaming either get a nVidia or ATI graphics, if u r not into gaming then stick with onboard graphics. Cheap & best solution..


 
Agreed.That makes things clear.

If you are an avid gamer, discard the IGP and choose the Graphics card of your liking.

 (There are hidden settings in the Bios to facilitate quite a bit of overclocking and this can be brought out by pressing <Ctrl>+<F1> when in the Main/submenu.These settings are normally hidden so that novice users like me do not meddle with them and get into trouble )

If you are a middle-level gamer with a limited budget, choose ATI Radeon 2400/3400 series and drive it along with IGP in Hybrid mode.

(Not a gamer myself -nor am I going to try it out - I can't vouch as to how much improvement one will get, but there are a number of reviews on the motherboard that deal with the gaming aspect which one may refer).

And if your interest stops with Audio/Video and HD at that, the onboard Realtek audio and IGP 3200, are more than sufficient.

Thus the motherboard caters to every segment and right now rules the roost.Tom may be different as things evolve fast.


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## gxsaurav (Apr 9, 2008)

pratik03 said:


> 1. is Leadtek Winfast TV2000XP Global Media Center compatible with *vista media center* or it is compatible with windows vista only and require bundled software to watch the tv.


 
It is compatible with Vista Media Center, you don't need any other software.



> also suggest good psu to power up this config with HD3870 or coolermaster 500w is sufficient


 
Maybe Corsair 450W. Zebronics 400W SMPS is good enough for my needs with a Radeon HD 3650.


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## arun_0710 (Apr 10, 2008)

Nice tutorial Saurav


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## hsr (Apr 10, 2008)

Superb tut !  Keep it goin


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## nsbindra (Apr 10, 2008)

Good tut


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## ThinkFree (Apr 10, 2008)

Nice


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## gxsaurav (Apr 10, 2008)

Thanks you all, I am also looking for a balanced Intel Config, just a different CPU & motherboard is all required.


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## hsr (Apr 12, 2008)

@gx, can you suggest a custom desktop which has amd platform which could be in d bud'et of 45K? 
ps. no need for speakers, i use headsets.


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## BBThumbHealer (Apr 13, 2008)

Excellent Tut Gx !


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## gxsaurav (Apr 14, 2008)

hari_sanker_r said:


> @gx, can you suggest a custom desktop which has amd platform which could be in d bud'et of 45K?
> ps. no need for speakers, i use headsets.


 
Use the config I wrote here & change the CPU with the cheapest Phenom CPU u can find, along with Radeon HD 3850 with 512 MB RAM


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## blueshift (Apr 14, 2008)

Good tutorial gx_saurav. 
But I have really bad experience(tray) with Samsung optical-drives.

Could you suggest some equally good nVidia-based mobo?


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## anurag_online (Apr 16, 2008)

nice tutorial... read on blog though... but hey its nice hehe


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## gxsaurav (Apr 18, 2008)

blueshift said:


> Could you suggest some equally good nVidia-based mobo?


 
I hardly find any nVidia motherboard with onboard graphics as good as this AMD Solution, There are nVidia 8200G onboard graphics chipset based motherboard but they are not available as of yet. ATI is giving better VFM so why do u want to go for nVidia.?


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## Ponmayilal (Apr 19, 2008)

An interesting article *www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3288&p=1  on "IGP Power Consumption - 780G, GF8200, and G35"


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## gxsaurav (Apr 19, 2008)

I read that article yesterday, obviously every new chipset will be better then the previous one. We can't expect Intel 915 chipset to perform better then Intel G45 chipset, can we.


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## pratik03 (Apr 19, 2008)

@ gx_saurav

leadtek tv tuner cards are not available here in mumbai can u suggest good alternative to leadtek cards

or basic tv tuner card with or without recording featuers but having good signal reception quality & compatible windows vista media center


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## gxsaurav (Apr 19, 2008)

Pinnacle PCTV Tuner kit for Windows Vista is the only alternative of Leadtek TV2000XP Global Media Center Edition I would suggest.


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## axxo (Apr 19, 2008)

gx_saurav said:


> *You can also read the article on my Blog.*
> 
> *CPU & Motherboard* = AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ AM2 with Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H. AMD has recently released the 780G chipset which by far is the best Value for Money chipset out there I have seen in a long time & with the Gigabyte motherboard, you get lots of features for such a low price. The feature list of this motherboard is quite long & it has everything you will ever want in a PC. When combined with the Athlon64 CPU, this machine has more then enough power to do anything you throw at it for a really low price.
> 
> Although AMD in my opinion is better then Intel when it comes to Value for Money, but if you still want to go with Intel Setup then simply buy Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 along with Asus P5E-VM HDMI. This motherboard has similar features to the AMD 780G chipset based Gigabyte motherboard sans DirectX 10 based onboard graphics. Rest all features are almost similar.



@ I think better combo would be q6600 + nf-7050(12k) than GA-MA78GM-S2H+AMD X2 5000+(10k)


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## gxsaurav (Apr 20, 2008)

axxo said:


> @ I think better combo would be q6600 + nf-7050(12k) than GA-MA78GM-S2H+AMD X2 5000+(10k)


 
no only the nvidia config more costly, it will also run more hot due to a Quad Core CPU & the Nforce 7050 based motherboard do not support DirectX 10 & UVD 2.0 features. Remember, we are not trying to make a Uber powerful computer, we are trying to make a small, silent & efficient PC here.


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## skghosh44 (Apr 20, 2008)

@gx_saurav
One of my collegue asked me for upgradation of his PC, for casual gaming,
home video editing, watching TV/movie and listening music etc. and also surfing net. I select these MOBOs.
What are your opinion about the Intel G33 based chipset MOBO like
1. Intel G33FB
2. MSI G33M
3. Gigabyte GA-G33-DS3R
4. Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H

Which Intel Processor best suits for those MOBOs. 


Off topic: What is advantage of intel's 45nm technology as against their 65nm technology?


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## gxsaurav (Apr 20, 2008)

skghosh44 said:


> What are your opinion about the Intel G33 based chipset MOBO like
> 1. Intel G33FB
> 2. MSI G33M
> 3. Gigabyte GA-G33-DS3R
> 4. Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H


 
Go got  Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H, the only motherboard with maximum features I would recommend.



> Which Intel Processor best suits for those MOBOs.


 
Personal preference is Intel Core 2 Duo E6550, but if U can't pay taht much then E4500 should be more then adequate.



> Off topic: What is advantage of intel's 45nm technology as against their 65nm technology?


 
CPU running at low temprature & giving more performance per watt


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## skghosh44 (Apr 21, 2008)

@ gx_saurav

My 1st choice is also Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H MOBO. and in the choice of Processor you have mentioned E6550, but If I choose E8200 is it will be OK for that MOBO. Reason of my choice is it is 45nm tecnology procc and also it have 6MB L2 chache and the price difference is only Rs.700/- as per "theitwares.com" price list. I seek your opinion as well as suggestion regarding the kited processor.
thanks


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## fun2sh (Apr 22, 2008)

good tut dude! 

thanks. now i can suggest something to my friend for upgradin his cpu.


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## gxsaurav (Apr 22, 2008)

skghosh44 said:


> @ gx_saurav
> 
> My 1st choice is also Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H MOBO. and in the choice of Processor you have mentioned E6550, but If I choose E8200 is it will be OK for that MOBO. Reason of my choice is it is 45nm tecnology procc and also it have 6MB L2 chache and the price difference is only Rs.700/- as per "theitwares.com" price list. I seek your opinion as well as suggestion regarding the kited processor.
> thanks


 
If you can pay for E8200 then sure go for it, I recomended E6550 as it is good enough for your tasks & doesn't cost much either. but E8200 is difinately better, just that U need to buy a good cooler like Cooler Master Hyper TX2


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## skghosh44 (Apr 22, 2008)

Thanks for your reply. 
If E8200 required cooler, than I have to change my decision, because expenses will be increase. I think E6550 will not require cooler. Is the fan bundled with the Proccessor not sufficient ? I have no idea about the price of cooler. What will be the cost of the cooler mentioned by you, may I install the cooler in the existing cabinet ?


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## gxsaurav (Apr 22, 2008)

skghosh44 said:


> Thanks for your reply.
> If E8200 required cooler, than I have to change my decision, because expenses will be increase. I think E6550 will not require cooler. I have no idea about the price of cooler. What will be the cost of the cooler mentioned by you, may I install the cooler in the existing cabinet ?


 
E6550 comes with a copper based cooler, & Hyper TX2 costs Rs 1500, It will fit in your existing cabinet easily.


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## skghosh44 (Apr 23, 2008)

OK, Thanks.


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## Krazzy Warrior (Apr 23, 2008)

Thanks


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## manishjha18 (Apr 25, 2008)

what about ups


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## clmlbx (Apr 25, 2008)

Is That Config Under 20 K.........

My Friend Needs 1....mostly For Office And Little Bit Games.......


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## techx (May 6, 2008)

Simply superb


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## jayanbhm (May 14, 2008)

New said:


> Nice tut..Thanks...


 

This words are not from bill gates this is a quote from "AGNICHIRAKUKAL" of APJ. abdul kalam


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