[Redline Shooter]

For a year now i have been using a Acer Timeline X 4830TG-6450
Specs:
Intel i5-2430(IInd gen),2.4ghz can be clocked upto 3 ghz
640gb hard drive(5400 rpm)
4gb RAM ddr3
NVIDIA Geforce GT 540M(2gb) graphcs card with nvidia optimus tech
Battery life is around 5 and half hours(7 hours around when it was new)
14inches

[ampere]

Intel to stop making desktop motherboards.

http://eetimes.com/electronics-news/...C-motherboards

[Arch-Angel]

Intel isn't that good a motherboard manufacturer anyway. The Bios that Intel has on their boards is really locked down, good for stock PC use but not good enough for a power user.
So in the end, the PC fraternity won't be missing out on anything.

[kaka46]

All,
Need to set up wifi at home, and need a wireless USB receiver for another desktop on the first floor. Finalized on this model in Flipkart -> http://www.flipkart.com/asus-rt-n12-...a-868ff55dd2ba

But yet to finalize on the wireless receiver. Need to choose between a USB adapter and a PCI adapter. Can you pls let me know which one's better in terms of convenience and signal quality. Pls note that the router will be placed on the ground floor of my house and the receiver will be on the first floor. I'm unable to decide between USB receiver and PCI receiver. Thanks.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by kaka46

I'm unable to decide between USB receiver and PCI receiver. Thanks.

I had both and certainly the USB is better and more convenient. The PCI did not detect the router which was in the next room, about 25 metres away.

[rambo1o1]

Hey guys!! I am planning on assembling a desktop that would be used for gamming and college use like coding,app development etc. This build would be mostly centered towards heavy gamming.
This is my first build and i want to get the build right and not regret later.

My max budget is 50k and i am planning on getting most of my stuff online,mainly flipkart, since the local stores in Goa dont stock multiple brands and the prices are very high.
I have made a list of parts that i have zeroed in, please fell free to express your opinions on the same. I dont intend on upgrading this build till 4 years or if something fails!

1.MSI B75MA-P45 Motherboard cost:4457/-, source: flipkart.
( i am confused between this and the MSI ZH77A-G41 Motherboard which is about 2k more. Which of the two to choose or should i look at some other brand??)

2.Intel 3.1 GHz LGA 1155 Core i5 3450 Processor cost:11448/-, source:flipkart
(should i stick with this or go for the much cheaper AMD ones?? like the fx4100?? Every website i researched recommends the i5 but if the gain is not much vis a vis the cost,6k vs 11.5k(saving of 5.2k) i might go the amd way!)

3.Gigabyte AMD GV-R7850OC-2GD 2 GB Graphics Card, cost:14373/-,source flipkart.

4.Philips V-line 206V3LSB28 20 inch LED Monitor, cost: 6.5k,source :flipkart.
( If i dont go for a full HD monitor then i will get a cheaper graphics card, since this fits in the budget i chose it, are there any cheaper 20inch full hd monitors??)

5.Seasonic ECO 600 600 Watts PSU ,cost:4341/-, source: flipkart.
( i guess 600w should be more than enough)

6.G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3 8 GB RAM. cost:3226/-,source:flipkart

7.Wd Caviar black 1 TB Hard Drive. cost: 6185/-,source: infibeam.
( its either this or a Seagate Barracuda 2 TB for almost the same price but less warranty of 2 years and more reliability problems with Seagate!! which one to choose??)

The total cost comes to 50500 rupees!
i will try to get better prices at my local shops but i seriously doubt they will match up...

please help finalize my list!!

thanks

Rambo!!

[reignofchaos]

I'd suggest an H77 board over B75 any day. The former is a much better chipset. Another thing you'd wanna change is the display. Atleast get the Dell ST2240 or something similar which is 108p and IPS.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

I'd suggest an H77 board over B75 any day. The former is a much better chipset. Another thing you'd wanna change is the display. Atleast get the Dell ST2240 or something similar which is 108p and IPS.

If i go with the h77 board and the dell monitor i will cross my budget by a big margin.... i guess the b75 is ok if one doesn't want to overclock and stuff. I will settle for a 1600x900 monitor, all the full hd ones are 2k more expensive.

[reignofchaos]

The B75 chipset lacks quite a few storage features - SSD caching, 1x sata 6gbps port vs 2 for H77 and also lacks any sort of virtualization.

This means stuff like vmware, microsoft virtual pc etc will either not run or run really slowly. So try and pick up an h77 board for sure. Overclocking is not supported by either. For overclocking, you need a z77/z68 board.

Also its not a question of full hd or lower resolution. The Dell I linked to has an IPS panel which has better color reproduction, better viewing angles and in general better picture quality.

Drop the WD black and get a normal Blue drive - the difference is quite minor. Also look for local prices. Flipkart prices are quite a rip off for certain things.

[Arch-Angel]

I was pleasantly surprised when i saw people going the assembled pc way these days. I remember the yesteryears where people swore by HP and Compaq. My current PC configuration is as follows.

amd Phenom II x2 555BE (unlocked to x4 B55BE with clock at 3.5 Ghz)
cooler master Hyper 212 Heatsink+Fan (Push-Pull)
Asus M4A78T-E Motherboard (AMD 790GX Chipset)
Corsair 8GB DDR3 -Dominator 1600MHzx2 Dual Channel Mode
Asus GTX 670 2GB Graphics card
1.7 TB HDD Storage- 500GB+250GB+1TB
Cooler master 690II Advance Cabinet
Windows 7 X64 Ultimate

and my laptop

HP DV6T-QE

Core i7 Q2630
6GB DDR3
750GB HDD
1GB ATI 6770M Graphics
Windows 7 X64 Home premium

[Thad E Ginathom]

I remember the yesteryears where people swore by HP and Compaq.

We used to be able to. When I joined my last employer, about 1992, I slashed PC spending by buying Dell, not IBM. I never had reason to regret that, even when I got even more for the company's money by buying Dell-direct returns/refurbished units.

Oddly, I never built my own machine until a couple of years ago. Now (unless it was some high-value, tank-built IBM server) I wouldn't go any other way than home build.

Not having to pay the Microsoft "tax" is one small advantage

[Arch-Angel]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Not having to pay the Microsoft "tax" is one small advantage

Hah! This is one reason buying laptops in India is not a financially sound decision. It makes me wonder what am i actually paying for, the hardware or the software?

Secondly, I remember how i used to look up to those "computer engineers"
and used to stand in awe when they installed windows xp on our first pc. Now i realised that beauty is just skin deep. These days, i do just about everything on my pc, software, hardware and what not. For one, I am happy that i learnt so much(had to sacrifice a CPU due to an overclocking mistake).

[clevermax]

After 7 years of good service, my Dell Inspiron Laptop has started showing signs of ageing. Recently it had visited the service center for cooling fan replacement, but still working fine.

I am planning to build/buy a compact home PC. The idea struck when I saw new PCs in office are just a small box attached to the back of the monitor. I am looking for a similar setup.

Requirements -

1) IPS Display with something like 24 inch, full HD support. Should be well suited for image editing work.

2) Compact PC cabinet, preferably attached at the back of the monitor.

3) Decent Graphics card (I want to play GTA-5 ) Can this be accommodated into a compact cabinet?

4) Wireless but battery efficient keyboard and mouse.

5) Wifi

Is there a branded offering which can satisfy all these needs? Or should I buy things separately?

Looking for your inputs.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by Arch-Angel

Hah! This is one reason buying laptops in India is not a financially sound decision. It makes me wonder what am i actually paying for, the hardware or the software?

+1 to that. I too went the assembled pc way.Wanted a laptop at first but seeing how poorly equipped they were compared to similarly priced desktop rigs i chose the later. If i ever need to do something from college i will do it via team viewer.

Anyway i listened to bhpian reignofchaos(thanks alot!!) and got the H77 board instead of the B75 but couldn't get the dell IPS monitor since it was too expensive for me, settled for an iball 21.5 inch monitor.

This is my final PC config:
Intel i5 3470
MSI ZH77A G41
kingston hyperx blu 1600MHz 8gb(4 x2)
Gigabyte 7850 2GB
seagate barracuda 1TB
Cooler master thunder 600w psu.
iball 21.5 inch monitor

I ordered all the stuff from flipkart(local stores were similar in price)All the stuff was expected by Saturday but flipkart is delaying the processor delivery to Monday(even though its just 2 days away i am still mad).

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Arch-Angel

...I remember how i used to look up to those "computer engineers"
and used to stand in awe when they installed windows xp on our first pc...

I'm an ex systems manager, from a company small enough that that meant hands-on everything.

However, when my own PC went unbootable a few months ago, I was already to buy a new motherboard, but thought I'd get a second opinion. Called in an engineer, who's methodical checking of my system put my methods to shame ...and he diagnosed the problem to be hard disk, which I had not suspected!

I looked up to that guy