Suggest Configuration

[santro20]

Hi Everyone
I'm new here & need some advice about configuring a new machine compatible with win 7.
My need is basically for home use , moderate gaming, & will like to configure the machine in near future to play HD movies , so digital audio & video output availability along with eSATA port & good LAN networking ports are essencial for me..... Hope you'll can help in fine tuning my config...

Processor ---Intel E7500
Motherboard ---Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
RAM ---Kingston DDR2 800MHZ 2x2 GB
Graphics ---ATI Shaphire 4670 1GB
Optical Drive ---LG GH22
Hard Disk ---Seagate 500GB SATA HDD
Case Cooler ---Master 335/500w smps


-thanks

 

[ignatzatsonic]

What is the cost for the parts listed and what is the max amount you want to spend?

Or are you not particularly price-sensitive?

Is that power supply included with the case or have you chosen it?

 

[santro20]

My budget is roughly around 25k.
no the SMPS is not part of CCM 335, Atleast thats what I gather from there site.....

 

[skunksmash]

switch the C2D for a C2Q ....., the ''dual core'' CPU is now starting to falter (if you dont OC your really gonna notice it)

we are seeing more & more apps optimized for 4 cores & this is only gonna become more prominent as time rolls on IMO.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

If you have a $25,000 budget, you should certainly replace every part listed.

What led you to choose those parts with that budget?

 

[skunksmash]

If you have a $25,000 budget, you should certainly replace every part listed.

What led you to choose those parts with that budget?

lol.....when he said 25k i assumed it must be ''rupees''

 

[santro20]

Forgive me for not being clear in the first place , my Budget is 25k in Ind Rupees (around 500-600 USD)

Pl suggest a C2Q , which I can use in my confir,
& any input abt this mobo & GPU.
Also pl suggest if 800 MHz RAM is ok,
will choosing 1066MHz will have substatial difference in performance.

 

[Orpheous]

Forgive me for not being clear in the first place , my Budget is 25k in Ind Rupees (around 500-600 USD)

Pl suggest a C2Q , which I can use in my confir,
& any input abt this mobo & GPU.
Also pl suggest if 800 MHz RAM is ok,
will choosing 1066MHz will have substatial difference in performance.

I've been using that motherboard now for almost a year, no problems whatsoever with W7 64 bit. Choosing generic 1066mhz DDR2 RAM wil not show a substantial performance increase over generic DDR2 800. However, choosing DDR2 1066 with a low cache latency will show slightly noticeable performance increases.
Nothing wrong with the Core 2 Duo CPU's... In fact, I'd personally go for a higher clocked C2D than a lower clocked Quad for the same money with that configuration, perhaps an e8500 or e8600.
In your price range, you may even get better bang for bucks with an AMD system.

I'm putting my flame retardant suit on now....

 

[skunksmash]

Forgive me for not being clear in the first place , my Budget is 25k in Ind Rupees (around 500-600 USD)

Pl suggest a C2Q , which I can use in my confir,
& any input abt this mobo & GPU.
Also pl suggest if 800 MHz RAM is ok,
will choosing 1066MHz will have substatial difference in performance.

I've been using that motherboard now for almost a year, no problems whatsoever with W7 64 bit. Choosing generic 1066mhz DDR2 RAM wil not show a substantial performance increase over generic DDR2 800. However, choosing DDR2 1066 with a low cache latency will show slightly noticeable performance increases.
Nothing wrong with the Core 2 Duo CPU's... In fact, I'd personally go for a higher clocked C2D than a lower clocked Quad for the same money with that configuration, perhaps an e8500 or e8600.
In your price range, you may even get better bang for bucks with an AMD system.

I'm putting my flame retardant suit on now....

no no....... all are welcome to their opinions.

but if he's looking to game, & not an overclocker.... pointing him to a C2D wont really benefit him, yes it will run games.. but nowhere near as well.

an E8500 costs £100, a Q8200 costs £110........ what would you do..??, the extra 2 cores will be a godsend as time rolls on & C2D becomes more obsolete..

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Are you building this yourself?

If not, must you buy a pre-built package of some kind or do you have complete control over the components?

I have no idea about specific requirements for HD movies, but I assume they aren't particularly high.


That video card may be perfectly adequate if you are using a 20 inch screen and not so adequate if you plan to play back on a 50 inch screen.

I would do more investigation into the power supply. Try to stick with Seasonic, Corsair, FSP Group (Fortron or Sparkle), or maybe Antec. Don't skimp on power supply quality, but you shouldn't be overly concerned about watts. I'd say 500 watts is more than enough for you, but who makes the PSU?

I'd have a slight preference for a Western Digital hard drive, but it's not a big deal as any brand can disappoint you.

 

[Orpheous]

I only based my opinion on what he stated he's planning to use it for, noting that he mentioned media usage first and moderate gaming second. The Q8200 is also a great choice, and depending on the application, it betters the e8500 in quite a few tests. see here for benchmark comparisons:
Tom's Hardware - Benchmark 3DMark Vantage 1.0.2 CPU
Software developers have been slow to optimise their code for multicore use, and I don't think we'll see a huge increase within the next couple of years... I may be wrong though. This is one of the great advantages of the Core i5 & i7 cpu's with their Turbo Boost, ramping up the first core from 2.66 to 3.6Ghz (i5 750).
If multicore optimised apps are were the norm, wouldn't Intel's Turbo Boost be made redundant?

Personally, if I were in the market for a new cpu, I'd go C2Q and overclock it, probably because I'm planning a new i5 anyway, and I've had this current mobo for a while...
Just my 2c .... again

 

[santro20]

thanks skunksmash, Orpheous & ignatzatsonic for your valueable input..
800MHZ is done than..., & no I'm not an overclocker, don't know anything abt it but now definately will learn something about it.
& yes I'll be building it myself after buying components from market....
500w power supply is what I'm also interested in,
& hard disk I'm still open for both seagate & wd, any specific speed requirment?? I's planning for a 7200RPM SATA..
LCD 20" to 22" is what I'm looking at....
Will check out on Q8200,,

 

[santro20]

Hi Guys
Got busy on some external project......

one more Q, Will this mobo Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R be able to provide graphic output for time being till i buy gpu.
​

 

[Orpheous]

Hi Guys
Got busy on some external project......

one more Q, Will this mobo Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R be able to provide graphic output for time being till i buy gpu.
​

There's no onboard graphics on that motherboard....
If you need onboard graphics, you may want to consider one of these:GA-EG45M-DS2H
GA-EG45M-UD2H
They're both Micro ATX boards, so you will get less slots and/or connectors ie. PCI, PCI-E etc.

 

[santro20]

In that can can you suggest a mobo with onboard graphic with ability to add a gpu later with eSATA & digital audio/video outputs....can handle C2Q & ability to add some cards slots later..

 

[santro20]

and one more thing about slots---

PCI Express x16 slot
PCI Express x1 slot
PCI slot

whats the difference between PCI Express x16 & PCI Express x4 slots....
what will I loose if No. of PCI Express x1 & PCI slot are less.

 

[Orpheous]

GA-EG45M-UD2H has PCI-E X16 for full graphics support. The other board has a "supported graphics card" list, and runs them at PCI-E X4 as you noticed which will reduce a cards performance.
Both boards have 5 X SATA & 1 X eSATA, S/PDIF & 2 X PCI card slots.
The number of available PCI/PCI-EX1 slots will determine the number of add-on cards that you can install. If you think that you may want to install sound, tv, RAID, network, wireless, usb, firewire, eSATA, or any other type of add on cards, then pay close attention to the number of available slots when buying a motherboard.
For this reason alone, I prefer to buy full ATX motherboards so that I'm not inhibited by the number of available slots later on when I want to do more with my system. The downside is that it's quite rare to find a full ATX board with onboard graphics, so unless you can track one down, you'll have to pay extra for a card at build time.

 

[santro20]

hmmm....
Quite clear now. thanks a lot bro..
so in that case is the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R a full ATX board, or there's a better board available for,, say if I choose Q8200.

& if I choose a micro atx board with onboard graphics does the add on cards have the option of USB PORT installation as there'r a lot of USB PORTS available on most of the boards....

 

[Orpheous]

No problem
The Q8200 will work fine with both the ATX and m-ATX boards.
The UD2H has 6 USB on the back panel, and allows for up to 6 more via USB pin headers on the motherboard. These are usually used by front panel USB connectors and/or card readers etc, or by PCI brackets that can be installed at the back of your case.

 

[santro20]

Hi Everyone
Finally bought everything...
Thanks for you time & input.....
Final Config

Processor ---Intel Q8400
Motherboard ---Gigabyte GA-EG45M-UD32H
RAM ---Kingston DDR2 800MHZ 2 GB
Optical Drive ---LG GH22
Hard Disk ---WD 500GB SATA HDD BLUE
Case Cooler ---Master 335 + 500w smps