# Tight Budget Upgrades



## Plasma_Snake (Sep 9, 2008)

For a budget of 20K, please suggest me:


CPU
Motherboard
GPU
If possible a decent cabinet too!


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## furious_gamer (Sep 9, 2008)

C2D E8400 - 8k
ABIT IP35E - 5.5k or MSI P45 Neo F - 5.8k 
Palit 9600GSO Sonic Edition - 6.5k ~ i m not sure but may be upto 7.5k
or
XpertVision 9600GT - 5.5k(KMD Route in TE)


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## ECE0105 (Sep 9, 2008)

@offtopic.

That hardly looks like a tight budget.... 

I think the processor can be C2D 7200 instead of the above.


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## furious_gamer (Sep 9, 2008)

OK,,,,,
C2D E7200 - 5k
ABIT IP35E - 5.5k/MSI P35 Neo Combo F - 5.8k
Palit HD4850 - 9.5k(in TE)
20k....
How is this?


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## imgame2 (Sep 9, 2008)

rajkumar_pb said:


> OK,,,,,
> C2D E7200 - 5k
> ABIT IP35E - 5.5k/MSI P35 Neo Combo F - 5.8k
> Palit HD4850 - 9.5k(in TE)
> ...



better go for MSI P45 neo F for 5.8k
rest of the config is perfect !!...can't get better VFM config than this !!


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## furious_gamer (Sep 9, 2008)

imgame2 said:
			
		

> better go for MSI P45 neo F for 5.8k
> rest of the config is perfect !!...can't get better VFM config than this !!


Are u sure P45 Neo - 5.8k...
If so then sure a sweet deal... Just grab it....


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## imgame2 (Sep 9, 2008)

rajkumar_pb said:


> Are u sure P45 Neo - 5.8k...
> If so then sure a sweet deal... Just grab it....



yes atleast itwares say that  ...*here*


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## amrawtanshx (Sep 9, 2008)

E7200
MSI P45 Neo
ATI HD 4850
Zebronics Bijli Cabinet


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 9, 2008)

Well thanks for pouring in the replies but heres the thing, *Abit's Gone Out Of Motherboard Business*, so no way for any Abit Motherboard as it greatly dampens future resale value of the board. About GPU I'm not set 'cause of 2 things:


Max res I play is 720P so it doesn't has to be such a power horse as HD4850 or it can be if it fits the budget.
I'll upgrade my whole rig fully next June-July with a healthy budget of 1 lac so at that time either this one would be sold off or passed on to my lil' sis who just started here B.E in Computer Science. SO the proccy and MoBo must be good.
AFAIK I think I'll stick to E8400 for Processor even if it means streching budget another 5K, thus total  is 20K min, 25K max. Now shoot!


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## furious_gamer (Sep 9, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> Well thanks for pouring in the replies but heres the thing, *Abit's Gone Out Of Motherboard Business*, so no way for any Abit Motherboard as it greatly dampens future resale value of the board. About GPU I'm not set 'cause of 2 things:
> 
> 
> Max res I play is 720P so it doesn't has to be such a power horse as HD4850 or it can be if it fits the budget.
> ...


E8400 - 7.5k
HD4850 - 9.5k
ASUS P5Q - 8k or P5Q Pro - 9k
MSI P7NSLI PLATINUM - 8k or MSI P35 Platinum - 8k
Mobo choice is upto u....


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## mukherjee (Sep 9, 2008)

get the asus p5q pro!


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## amrawtanshx (Sep 10, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> Max res I play is 720P so it doesn't has to be such a power horse as HD4850 or it can be if it fits the budget.
> I'll upgrade my whole rig fully next June-July with a healthy budget of 1 lac so at that time either this one would be sold off or passed on to my lil' sis who just started here B.E in Computer Science. SO the proccy and MoBo must be good.
> AFAIK I think I'll stick to E8400 for Processor even if it means streching budget another 5K, thus total  is 20K min, 25K max. Now shoot!



HD decoding also depends on the processor.
With E8400 .... U dont need any graphics to decode HD videos.It can do them single handedly.
I suggested HD4850 ... Cuz of the avid gamer in you.

1 lac .... Cool.
A monster will be unleashed then.


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## Psychosocial (Sep 10, 2008)

E7200 + MSI P45 Neo-F + XFX 9800GT 512MB + CM 330 Elite cabby


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## acewin (Sep 11, 2008)

KPower Mania said:


> E7200 + MSI P45 Neo-F + XFX 9800GT 512MB + CM 330 Elite cabby



KPower, plasma says he is in tight budget  so it does not means u should recommend him E7200, he already said he wants E8400
Plasma your budget is no tight when you are really spending 20K and can extend upto
mate you really are spending good amount of 20-25K which can get a good powerful rig in current max of 25K without monitor

E8400(as you wanted) + MSI PF Neo-F Combo + CM 330 Elite cabby + 512 MB 9600GT + PSU around 3K. Besides this HDD and burner are not included

8K + 5.8K + 1.6K + 7K + 3K this is when u would be spending 4-5K for the cabby and PSU.
if you can go upto 25K you can easily consider HD4850, otherwise get 9600GT in 7K and put that in money in good mobo or stick with MSI P45 mobo to keep it near 20K budget


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 11, 2008)

Dude I got my Corsair TX750W today my budget of 20-25K is only for MoBO,CPU,GPU and Cabinet! I already have 2 DVD Writers(Samsung and ASUS[Lightscribe]), 400and 160GB Seagate HDD and Creative T6060 5.1 Samsung 26" LCD and Logitech Keyboard + mouse!
If I'm able to sell my current rig successfully THEN only are thse upgrades possible otherwise its just 5K for GPU and I have decided for HD4670 already in that matter but for higher things I'm still totally clueless.


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## amrawtanshx (Sep 11, 2008)

^^
Then go for HD4670.


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## Psychosocial (Sep 11, 2008)

ok, E8400 + MSI P45 + ATi HD4670


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 11, 2008)

Lemme make it clear to all ya folks. I'm selling my current Processor, motherboard and GPU for around 7K max. If its sold then I can invest 20-25K for aforementioned and Cabinet as I'm giving away my Cabinet+PSU for free to anyone who buys all 3. I already have a Corsair TX750W PSU! Now if the rig isn't sold then I will have only 5K for GPU upgrade and for that matter it would be HD4670. For the bigger upgrade the card's gotta be bigger too, I have kept aside 10-12K for GPU from my budget of 20-25K.  Hope now all of you catch my drift and I made this thread in advance 'cause once my rig's sold I won't be able to get online any longer.


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## VarDOS (Sep 11, 2008)

Go For This :

Proccy : Intel Core2Duo E8200 - 7500
Mobo : MSI P45 Neo F - 5800
GFX Card : Palit 9600GSO Sonic - 6350


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## Psychosocial (Sep 11, 2008)

E8400 + MSI P45 Neo-F + HD4850 is the way to go.....


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## R2K (Sep 11, 2008)

@plasma_snake

the link in ur siggy *My Rig:*img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myrigyv8.jpg*

is not working....


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## imgame2 (Sep 11, 2008)

R2K said:


> @plasma_snake
> 
> the link in ur siggy *My Rig:*img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myrigyv8.jpg*
> 
> is not working....




its working for me  ....


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## Psychosocial (Sep 11, 2008)

^^I saw it too.


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## R2K (Sep 11, 2008)

^^
really...  then I think the proxy server over here is blocking it


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 11, 2008)

HD4850 runs hot and no 3rd party cooler has been able to keep this pitbull cool, yet!
Final Budget is 21K min. and 27K max. Shoot Off your suggestions BUT remember;

Processor will be E8400 as there's lil difference between its and E8200's price and since this rig is going to be handed down to my lil sis probably, I want something that should last next 3 years for her.
Cabinet, I've Decided for CM Elite 330 but if you any in same price bracket and better than this then please do tell!
I might have to buy  RAM too.
MoBo,I'm confused what to look for, P45,X48 or what. Would seriously love one having both DDR2 and DDR3 option or DDR2 upto 16GB.


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## Psychosocial (Sep 11, 2008)

hmm......the MSI P35 Neo-F support both DDR3 and DDR2 but its a P35 based mobo........MSI P45 Neo-F is a nice mobo......for other P45 based mobos, look at ASUSTek's P5Q which is a solid mobo.....for X38, Abit IX38 Quad.... Get 4GB Transcend DDR2 800Mhz RAM (Kingston is also good)....2x2GB dual channel......Get the NVIDIA 9800GTX+ GPU and E8400 CPU .


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## toofan (Sep 11, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> HD4850 runs hot and no 3rd party cooler has been able to keep this pitbull cool, yet!
> Final Budget is 21K min. and 27K max. Shoot Off your suggestions BUT remember



No its not true. New HD4850 released after 31 july are coool. You can look here *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97053

And you have 24 inch tft then don't you think that you must buy an HD4850 or even HD4870.

And what will you do with 16GB RAM? For a 32bit system more then 2GB Ram is useless. Am I right guys?


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## imgame2 (Sep 11, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> HD4850 runs hot and no 3rd party cooler has been able to keep this pitbull cool, yet!


buy a palit HD4850 with latest BIOS runs idles at 45-49 deg and on load 67 deg ....with no extrra cooling required with about six people hre in forum have already bought the card including me  ...never have any heating or noise problem ...so things have changed for HD4850 ...u can buy it peacefully ....make sure buy the one with latest maufacturing date ...and u can get the palit HD4850 for 9.5k to 9.7k ...


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## comp@ddict (Sep 11, 2008)

Listen, don't think twice about this:

E8400
HD4850
P5Q Pro


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## Psychosocial (Sep 11, 2008)

^^Yup!! Go for it....

the new Palit HD4850 is cool.......

It even beats Sapphire, against whom it lost out.


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 11, 2008)

@ comp@addict, can u please mention out the prices too!

OK fellas this is what it has come down to;


Processor-E8400- 8K(Hope to get a SLB9J one)
GPU- Palit HD4850 - 10K
Cabinet- CM Elite 330-2K
RAM- Transcend 2x1GB DDR2 800MHz (getting a 1GB Transcend one in exchange for the rig, if no compatibility issue between Kingston and Transcend then will go for Kingston one)
It all comes down to the Motherboard, can I get a good sturdy reliable motherboard, preferably P45, in a budget of 5K or would I have to make room for 1K more and look in the range of 6K? Please Advice!


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## Psychosocial (Sep 12, 2008)

^^For 6.4k, you can get MSI P45 Neo-F which is a solid P45 based mobo...


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## comp@ddict (Sep 12, 2008)

KPower Mania said:


> ^^For 6.4k, you can get MSI P45 Neo-F which is a solid P45 based mobo...




Corrected 
6k



Plasma_Snake said:


> @ comp@addict, can u please mention out the prices too!
> 
> OK fellas this is what it has come down to;
> 
> ...



I'm sorry but the prices had been mentioned by many many ppl beforehand.


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## imgame2 (Sep 12, 2008)

KPower Mania said:


> ^^For 6.4k, you can get MSI P45 Neo-F which is a solid P45 based mobo...



its 5.8k at theitwares ...i don't know its version 2 or not  ...


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## Psychosocial (Sep 12, 2008)

^^Hmm......its still 6.4k with the retailers here .


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 12, 2008)

Please also tell me whether if there is going to be any trouble running Ubuntu/OpenSUSE on dem motherboards 'cause I don't remember correctly but some very reputed MoBo manufacturer was deliberately crippling its mobos so as not to run Linux.


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## imgame2 (Sep 12, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> Please also tell me whether if there is going to be any trouble running Ubuntu/OpenSUSE on dem motherboards 'cause I don't remember correctly but some very reputed MoBo manufacturer was deliberately crippling its mobos so as not to run Linux.



MSI P45 neo  doesn't have support of neither Open Suse 11.0 or ubuntu ...and people had trouble installing it on MSI P45neo ....

but officially Asus P5Q has support of ubuntu ..but had problem recognising the hard drive in SATA ...similar is the case of open suse 11.0

but for some people Asus P5Q worked for both ubuntu and open suse 11.0 after some tweak in Bios....


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 12, 2008)

Well I need a board that has good Linux support too, after all its where the real deal hides as Linux only has the power to demonstrate the power of the demons and harness it according to the will!


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## Psychosocial (Sep 12, 2008)

^^Old boards support it natively........MSI P35 Neo-F does and so does my punny MSI 945GCM5FV2 .


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 12, 2008)

WTH, newer boards not supporting Linux  Please tell me one that can provide good support for both type of OS as I'll be shifting slowly towards Linux, hopefully!


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## Psychosocial (Sep 12, 2008)

MSI P35 Neo-F


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 12, 2008)

Tell u guys the truth, I don't wanna tread the MSI or Asrock or any other brand way. I want to stick to trusted brands like ASUS or Gigabyte!


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## Psychosocial (Sep 12, 2008)

Oh ok.....but Why ???  MSI P35 Neo-F is a very good mobo......

Anyways, Gigabyte's EP35 DS3R is good.

For ASUS's P35 offerings, look at the P5K.

BTW, ASUS's P5K VM, which is a G33 based mobo also has a good support for Linux and is a good mobo too......


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## acewin (Sep 13, 2008)

I thought MSI was good trusted brand.
And interestingly I know MSI before Asus, thought Asus was just another company like IOmega just dealing in storage products


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## imgame2 (Sep 13, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> Tell u guys the truth, I don't wanna tread the MSI or Asrock or any other brand way. I want to stick to trusted brands like ASUS or Gigabyte!



ASUS P5k is the one for u its supported by all linux distro and ...i haven't heard many problems with it .......so u shouldn't face any ..available @ *lynx* for 7.9k+tax ....

u should also look around for any problem with any linux distro ...if u are satisfied then this is the one u should go for ...both ubuntu and open SuSE 11.0 says that this mobo runs out of the box ! 

u can buy a 4670 now and later some good card...and mixed crossfire with a better card ..if it works out for u ...that will be nice for ur 26" monitor ...


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 13, 2008)

P5K! Saw it, is a good motherboard, supports Crossfire but I would make it my  2nd choice, for first I still need a one that can/has:
1. Newer chipset,P45 or X48 or X38
2. Support for Linux distros!
3. Crossfire or SLi support appreciated !
Now people as my earlier expenses led to just 5K budget for MoBo, I have now revised it to 30K and that's the limit so now suggest me a MoBo in the range of 8K as I have already made up my mind on the following. BTW if you have something better in mind please do tell:

Processor-E8400=8K
GPU-Palit HD4850=10K
Cabinet-CM Elite 330=2K
RAM- 2x1GB DDR2 833MHZ = 2K
Now please guys shoot the $h1t out! 

Was checking out ASUS's site and found this Baby, tell me your thoughts on this---P5KC


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## comp@ddict (Sep 13, 2008)

What do you mean to say?

MSI is a totally trusted brand, don't ever say it isn't again!


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## toofan (Sep 15, 2008)

Go for MSI P35neo or Abit one both are good.


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## Psychosocial (Sep 15, 2008)

^^Abit is EOL....

Go for the ASUS P5K if you want Linux support or the P5Q if you want P45 board....your choice.

I dunno why you dont like MSI..but its your choice .

And E8400 + 4GB RAM + Palit HD4850 512MB GDDR3 .


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## comp@ddict (Sep 15, 2008)

^^^ 2GB is enough but nice one.....finally we reach an end.


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## Psychosocial (Sep 15, 2008)

^^Ya......RAM is dirt cheap this days and I know Plasma_Snake, he's an avid gamer and will require more RAM if he plans to game on this .


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## imgame2 (Sep 15, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> Was checking out ASUS's site and found this Baby, tell me your thoughts on this---P5KC



its a good mobo with support for both DDR2 and DDR3 but with P35 chipset!

it also has no problem with linux distro whatsoever ...


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 16, 2008)

So should I go for this Asus P5KC, a homie at TE warned me against it. BTW how much a P45 chipset based board with support for both DDR2 and DDR3 wud cost? Also does E8400 comes with a Stock HSF or does one has to buy a seperate cooling solution for it?


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## ImAClown (Sep 16, 2008)

nice 1010101010101011010101010101


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## furious_gamer (Sep 16, 2008)

ImAClown said:


> nice 1010101010101011010101010101



A Spam? Or a real Clown????


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## ImAClown (Sep 16, 2008)

whats a clown doing in the middle of nowhere?



ImAClown said:


> whats a clown doing in the middle of nowhere?


*eating chips you fool*


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## furious_gamer (Sep 16, 2008)

ImAClown said:
			
		

> whats a clown doing in the middle of nowhere?


Eating chips.... or do some programming....


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## ImAClown (Sep 16, 2008)

no no no..
'clowns' jump around.. they dont do programming


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## furious_gamer (Sep 16, 2008)

ImAClown said:
			
		

> no no no..
> 'clowns' jump around.. they dont do programming


Thanx 4 correcting me..Clown


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## Psychosocial (Sep 16, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> So should I go for this Asus P5KC, a homie at TE warned me against it. BTW how much a P45 chipset based board with support for both DDR2 and DDR3 wud cost? Also does E8400 comes with a Stock HSF or does one has to buy a seperate cooling solution for it?



hmm....the E8400 comes with a HSF AFAIK.


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## imgame2 (Sep 16, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> So should I go for this Asus P5KC, a homie at TE warned me against it. BTW how much a P45 chipset based board with support for both DDR2 and DDR3 wud cost? Also does E8400 comes with a Stock HSF or does one has to buy a seperate cooling solution for it?



if i were u i would go with Asus P5 Pro ..its rock solid mobo based on P45 chipset and one of the hottest selling too ...initially every mobo face support problem with linux distro but sooner or later they are resolved ..i remember this having an experience with two intel mobo and one asus mobo ..initially there was 845GL/GV mobo when it was launched there was no support for it but very soon a new kernal was released with a support for it ..and it started working ..same was the case with asus 875 chipset mobo it...was one of the highest performing mobo of its time ...then with P945G chipset ...

in linux a solution comes faster than it comes for windows especially it won't ake long for Asus P5 pro mobo to get all the support (as its hot seller and rock solid mobo)..perhaps the next update from ubuntu or suse will support it or resolve the issues regarding it..till then u can use fedora or centos ..their hardware support base is much wide ...specially fedora 9 will face no problems with Asus P5 PRO..AFAIK

the DDR2 and DDR3 model of P45 chipset is P5QC ...but i don't know the price !

all Intel processors ...AFAIK comes with a stock HSF ..which will be more than sufficient unless u want to overclock !


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 18, 2008)

Please weigh out these 2 selections for me and then point me into the right direction.
First Selection:


Processor- E8400
Motherboard- ASUS P5Q
GPU- HD4850
RAM- 4GB DDR2 833MHz
Cabinet- CM Elite 330
Totaling it up- 8K+8K+10K+4K+2K=32K

Second Option is:


Processor- E7200
Motherboard- Abit IP35-E OR MSI P35 Neo Combo-F OR ASUS P5K-VM. Now the tricky thing here is Abit's gone out of Motherboard business, MSI board has both DDR2 and DDR3 support but DDR2 is 833MHz max and Asus board has while better DDR2 memory support(upto 1066MHz) it also has IGP thus allowing me to keep the GPU with me when I pass it on to my sister. Now I myself not able to decide between them, moreover see my below RAM config and help me out better.
GPU- HD4850
RAM- 2x1GB DDR2 833MHZ + 2x2GB DDR2 833MHZ
Cabinet- CM 690
Totaling it up- 5.5K+5.5K+10K+6K-8K+4K=31K-33K

I got my Corsair TX750W PSU today so no problem of power requirement. Please also tell me what would be better, less but faster RAM or more but moderate speed RAM?

After thinking hardly, I've eliminated Abit board outta the equation so the competition is between ASUS P5K-VM and MSI P35 Neo Combo-F!


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## Psychosocial (Sep 18, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> Please weigh out these 2 selections for me and then point me into the right direction.
> First Selection:
> 
> 
> ...



AFAIK there is no DDR2833MHz RAM ......did you mean DDR2 800MHz ??

I suggest you go with the P5K-VM and get the E8400 + 2x2GB DDR2 800MHz RAM and a Palit HD4850.


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## imgame2 (Sep 18, 2008)

i would go with the selection one because its more future proof ...E7200 is good but i would suggest it only when u want to use the system for about 1.5 years or so,

there is no DDR2 833 MHz available in market it only comes in 667MHz or 800MHz,1066 MHz or 1200MHz

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM

*techreport.com/discussions.x/11393



also u will need to use a 64bit OS  ...to actually use 4Gb of RAM else it will just show 3Gb.

i wouldn't go for MSI P35 as P35 chipset is getting old ..why would u want to go for a old chipset when u can actually afford a new better chipset and believe me ASUS p5Q pro make the other mobo look like .....

u will get performance almost 25% more from first option then second ....even if its tight for u now ..but for barebone its best available.... other things could be added later


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 18, 2008)

What about PSU and UPS match, ne way to test it out now thus make room for UPS too if any sign of trouble.


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## imgame2 (Sep 18, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> What about PSU and UPS match, ne way to test it out now thus make room for UPS too if any sign of trouble.



UPS for corsair TX750W ....that will cost u fortune ...considering it will only accept a pure sine wave UPS  .....which is already very difficult to come by in india AFAIK ...su-kam advertise their UPS as Pure sine wave ..but they aren't it seems ....APC has some high VA models u can check out ...a UPS supplying power to TX750W should provide constant power else TX750W will not work !


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 18, 2008)

So should try a dry run of my PSU with UPS now, I've a 1KVA MicroTek UPS! yeah, Yeah I know its a P.O.S but it worked flawlessly with my last config.


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## imgame2 (Sep 18, 2008)

Plasma_Snake said:


> So should try a dry run of my PSU with UPS now, I've a 1KVA MicroTek UPS! yeah, Yeah I know its a P.O.S but it worked flawlessly with my last config.



u could try that ..if it works well and good if it doesn't then ....look out for a new UPS


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 24, 2008)

CAn anybody tell me where I can get all the aforementioned stuff in Nehru Place, Delhi ???


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## Plasma_Snake (Sep 26, 2008)

please help me out quick dudes, my D-day is 1st October 2008! BTW can ne1 tell me whether if I buy stuff through my Gold Debit Card(HDFC), is there going to be any surcharge to be paid or tax or is it going to be just plain shopping expenses cut from the bank account? My expected expenditure wud b 35K whilst the card's daily shopping limit is of 50K.


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