[IronH4WK]

long back when i had the Athlon X2 3800+, once there was a surge and i think my UPS couldn't handle it and i got BSOD. when i booted the PC later, the networking component wasn't working. the Ethernet was on-board and i did everything short of getting a new NIC but it didn't help. was intending to upgrade anyways, so sent for replacement of the board from ASUS since it was still under warranty. they didn't have a replacement for the 939 socket and asked the local vendor to adjust the amount in my next mobo purchase. got around 10k off!

[navin]

Originally Posted by Aroy

1. What software will you use
2. If you are on to CAD/GIS then how many and of what resolution monitors are desirable. Multiple monitors make life more productive.
3. Is your software "thread aware", that is will you benefit with more cores
4. What sort of budget for your machine, you have a lee way of between 60k and 5L (for good branded work station)

. 2 x 24" (1920x1280) monitors
. 1 x 19" (1280x1024) monitor

If I build it today from scratch, I will get 8 x 1.5TB HDD, 2 x 30" displays with matching video card with 1GB RAM

1. Ulead VideoStudio, Solid Edge 3D CAD, IDEAS FEA and CAD, MS Office, Thunderbird (email), IE browser, etc....
2. I am about your age with old tired eyes so big monitors are nice. I have 2 x 24" and am considering 2 x 30".
3. No idea. I dont know the tech specs of the software
4. 1L would be nice.

Originally Posted by anku94

It'd be easier if you provided your budget.

A good upgrade would be an i7 2600 [2600K if you overclock, which is easy to do with the K-series CPUs.

EDIT : The XPS suggested by @NetFreakBombay is a Sandy Bridge, saves you the trouble of assembling, looks cool, but don't buy it yet, coz of the chipset problems I've mentioned above.

I can wait 3-4 months.

I wont assemble the machine myself (I'd blow something up if I tried). The IT guys would do that. I just need to offer them the tech specs without looking like an idiot.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by navin

1. Ulead VideoStudio, Solid Edge 3D CAD, IDEAS FEA and CAD, MS Office, Thunderbird (email), IE browser, etc....
2. I am about your age with old tired eyes so big monitors are nice. I have 2 x 24" and am considering 2 x 30".
3. No idea. I dont know the tech specs of the software
4. 1L would be nice.

I can wait 3-4 months.

I wont assemble the machine myself (I'd blow something up if I tried). The IT guys would do that. I just need to offer them the tech specs without looking like an idiot.

1. IDEAS FEA is a number cruncher, hence would benefit from multiple cores.
2. In my opinion one 30" monitor is OK, but two will be a pain in the neck (literally, as you would be swiveling your head constantly). A more practical idea is to retain 2x24" monitors and add a third one for text. The third monitor can run off the MB port if available, else get a 3/4 port card.
4. 1L may be achievable without the monitors, but I doubt it.

What I suggest is that you sit down with the IT guys, and go through the various "Workstation Mother Board" available in India. When I bought it, the Tyan was the best buy, followed by the Intel Workstation Mother board. I would love to have a dual Hex Xeon, but that would set you off by at least 1L for the MB and processor. The 3D CAD will definitely benefit from a high end video card. Go for the ATI/AMD cards, as the NVIDIA cards have some problems. The support for AT is flawless. What ever you get, get a 1000W power supply, as most of my problems were always traced to an under rated power supply. If you can afford get an Intel or a Super Micro cabinet with Hot Swap HDD bays.

Xeon Mother Boards
Intel® Workstation Board S5520SC - Specifications
Or one of these, based on the number of RAM Slots and speed
TYAN

Some reading material on Workstation Processors
Workstation Processor - Intel

[Punzabi]

Finally Gigabyte came up with this SATA check tool that tells (indirectly) that you're mobo is up for replacement. This tool only tells you not to use the affected SATA2 ports and suggests on using SATA3 instead (which indicates you're among those "5%" unlucky buggers who need a replacement).

Here is what my PC look like .

Originally Posted by anku94

I posted it first. See previous page.

I realised it after I posted mine .

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Asus & Gigabyte have offered free replacement for such boards:

Asus to refund, replace products affected by 6-series chipset bug - The Tech Report

Gigabyte details plans for 6-series motherboard returns, replacements - The Tech Report

Yeah mate, I am aware of it but it'd be mid/late April till people like me can get their hands on replacement as mobo makers would serve companies first and consumers later.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Please let me know if you find a fix

Darnit! Okay...guess i will look it up soon.

Originally Posted by Aroy

It necessary to know what sort of problem, before diagnosing it.

Hey Aroy. Sorry if my post was incoherent. Thad and me were on the same page.

The PC boots up fine. Only the inbuild LAN card doesn't seem to power up at all.

Naturally i thought hardware error -- and REPLACED the motherboard (infact... now that i think about it, i might have even got a different brand motherboard!)... but the problem still happens occasionally.

Unplugging the comp from the mains and re-plugging it in fixes the issue.

Originally Posted by vasudeva

I have read that overall Intel X-25-M are extremely good overall even though they have a lower write rate.

To be honest, i trust two things (fairly blindly) when buying comp stuff :
1) Newegg customer rating
2) Anandtech reviews

Just take a look at the SSD ratings (# of ratings + rating itself) on Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! and you'll see why i picked the intel

As far as the anandtech side of things goes, they had a write up uncovering how even really fast SSDs start to slow down bigtime after use. Intel (at the time) had the best storage management built into their drives to prevent this from happening. The scene has probably changed, but i wanted something reliable and hassle free. (Maybe will get the -E when i get a desktop PC, what say?


Sadly, i havent got the damn drive to work on my laptop yet!
Have changed the BIOS SATA mode and have cloned a bootable image of win xp onto the drive using acronis... but all i get is a flashing cursor after the bios screen!! Any ideas?
Havent really had the time to investigate further.

cya
R

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

To be honest, i trust two things (fairly blindly) when buying comp stuff :
1) Newegg customer rating
2) Anandtech reviews

R

Agree on these for some components but not for some others where experience can be subjective. Example, a HDD or RAM or similar components on my system will perform quite closely to what has been indicated in reviews.

However, it is a different matter for something that I was close to buying but am having second thoughts. The hardware in question is Dell Ultrasharp 2410. Display quality is subjective. Nearly every review (incl. anandtech, and other such highly rated review sites) rates it extremely high but user reviews are substantially different or at least significantly at odds with the reviews that I have had second thoughts about paying Rs. 30K for the monitor. The background to this is that I had bought a 22" Dell monitor in 2010 which had such a torn and grainy look that I had to get it replaced in 1 day at a loss of Rs. 6000. Has anybody had a Dell Ultrasharp and if yes, has their experience been good.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

However, it is a different matter for something that I was close to buying but am having second thoughts. The hardware in question is Dell Ultrasharp 2410. Display quality is subjective. Nearly every review (incl. anandtech, and other such highly rated review sites) rates it extremely high but user reviews are substantially different or at least significantly at odds with the reviews that I have had second thoughts about paying Rs. 30K for the monitor. The background to this is that I had bought a 22" Dell monitor in 2010 which had such a torn and grainy look that I had to get it replaced in 1 day at a loss of Rs. 6000. Has anybody had a Dell Ultrasharp and if yes, has their experience been good.

I have not used the Dell Ultrasharp, but my LG 24" comes near it. What I noticed is that till the proper driver for the NVIDIA card is installed the monitor display is as you said, once the driver is loaded it it becomes really sharp.

In general the LCD panel determines the native sharpness and wrong drivers for video card can spoil it.

[DerAlte]

Which would a good, decent, trustworthy shop at Nehru Place to buy parts from?

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I have not used the Dell Ultrasharp, but my LG 24" comes near it. What I noticed is that till the proper driver for the NVIDIA card is installed the monitor display is as you said, once the driver is loaded it it becomes really sharp.

In general the LCD panel determines the native sharpness and wrong drivers for video card can spoil it.

Drivers for NVIDIA are usually updated frequently. However, I have had problems after 258.96 (win 7 x64), with gamma errors and what not with 260.xx series. Still on 258.96 even though it came out in mid 2010.

As to vendors, there are many places in Nehru Place. However, I usually buy from my trusted vendor in Lajpat Nagar. He is definitely more expensive but gives great service and replaces defective parts with no questions asked. Had a problem with a 1 TB Caviar Black and got a replacement within 1 week (during the holiday Christmas season no less).

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

As to vendors, there are many places in Nehru Place. However, I usually buy from my trusted vendor in Lajpat Nagar. He is definitely more expensive but gives great service and replaces defective parts with no questions asked. Had a problem with a 1 TB Caviar Black and got a replacement within 1 week (during the holiday Christmas season no less).

My vendor in Nehru Place is reliable, I have been dealing with him for last 7 years. He is basically one of the largest dealers of Intel, but can get you any item from the authorised Importer/Dealer. In this period I have bought at least 4 laptops (all of them1L+) and assembled at least 3 high power systems using up 20 HDD from 80GB to 1TB.

I have got Seagate HDD changed during warranty (5 years). The best deal I had, was replacement of my 3 year old WD 320GB portable drive with a brand new 750 one last month.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Aroy

My vendor in Nehru Place is reliable, I have been dealing with him for last 7 years. He is basically one of the largest dealers of Intel, but can get you any item from the authorised Importer/Dealer. In this period I have bought at least 4 laptops (all of them1L+) and assembled at least 3 high power systems using up 20 HDD from 80GB to 1TB.

I have got Seagate HDD changed during warranty (5 years). The best deal I had, was replacement of my 3 year old WD 320GB portable drive with a brand new 750 one last month.

Thanks. If that be the case, can you PM his details. I have been with my vendor only because of service which is terrific+home delivery+maintenance. I do check on prices and my vendor's prices are always higher than what I would get in NP. However, I do not know of any reliable NP vendor. The one I know is a hole in the wall type of operation with a `trading' mindset.

Knowing of a trusted NP vendor would be great as I do purchase regularly (right now looking at a monitor and a Caviar Black HDD), and plan to upgrade to a successor to X58 in 2011 (Sandybridge, Ivybridge, and....!!!!). I request you again to please PM his contact details. That would be really useful.

[Akshay1234]

Guys I need help, im looking to pick up a new comp in a month or so.

Now basically I want just the CPU. I have a nice monitor, keyboard mouse and all the other stuff. Just need the CPU. Now my past 2 comps have been assembled and the experience hasnt been that great. So this time we are looking at branded.

Now please recommend good all round CPUs to me. The budget is 30-35k. I want a nice powerful comp which can be used for anything.

No brand preferences.

[vasudeva]

Wait till April-May, and get the Sandy Bridge CPU (i5 or i7) and a MSI/Gigabyte midrange MB. If you are interested in moderate OC, get 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM with decent latencies.

[anku94]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Guys I need help, im looking to pick up a new comp in a month or so.

Now basically I want just the CPU. I have a nice monitor, keyboard mouse and all the other stuff. Just need the CPU. Now my past 2 comps have been assembled and the experience hasnt been that great. So this time we are looking at branded.

Now please recommend good all round CPUs to me. The budget is 30-35k. I want a nice powerful comp which can be used for anything.

No brand preferences.

Are you sure you want branded ? You'll never get the same balance of power (a proper GPU to support a CPU) and it'll work out to be more expensive as well. At your budget, one can just about manage to squeeze in quite decent performance if you go for assembled. And a branded CPU normally equals a quite cheaper assembled CPU.

At 35k, you can allocate 10k for CPU, 8k for GPU, 7k for motherboard, 3-4k for storage, and 6-7k for PSU+Case, which equals good performance. (7-8k for CPU, 11k for GPU if you're gonna be gaming way too much)

This won't be possible in a branded CPU. Maybe you could describe your bad experiences so that we could allay your concerns ?

EDIT : Just scrolled through Dell's lineup. The Inspiron series do not have the option of shipping without a monitor or of a custom graphics card (maybe they'll be willing to do these on the phone), and the XPS desktop works out to 44k without a monitor and the cheapest GPU. A GPU you could have in your 35k build costs 7k extra. The processors available are AMD 6-core series, with different clock rates. You don't need 6 cores, 4 are more than enough, but you do need extra clock rate, so X6 1045T is a bad choice, and the ones with decent clock speed are priced 5k higher, not to mention i5 series architecture is better.

[vasudeva]

35K for a new CPU and components (primarily MB and maybe RAM) should get a very good setup in assembly, but not much if HDD, case, etc is to be considered.

If only Intel CPU, MB, RAM is to be considered, and the budget is 30-40K, I would really think that the Sandybridge would be a much better option worth waiting for till April-May, and 30-40K should get you a very good setup. Really do not see the sense in buying first generation i5 (LGA1156?? socket) or i7 (LGA1366 socket,X58) now that Sandybridge (LGA1155 socket) is out. However, note the recent glitches in Sandybridge and even then it should be available widely in May.