Need help from India regarding comp. upgrade, Intel or AMD,nd which Motherboard.

[satadip]

Hey guys I am Satadip from Kolkata,India...... This is my first post EVER on ANY hardware forum.....

I had a Intel/Nvidia rig ( almost 3 years old now )

Specs:
Core 2 Duo E 6400 ( 2.13 Ghz)
Intel D965SS MoBo
2x2 Gb Transcend DDR2 800 Mhz ( 5-5-5-15 )
Seagate 250 Gb x2 Barracuda 7200 Rpm
XFX Nvidia 7600 GT 256 MB 570/720 Mhz DDR3 (DUH!!)
Zebronics 500 Watt SMPS

Until now it was all clocked at stock speeds and i never in fact did want to try any overclocking ( with that Intel mobo i did not hav the provision of doing it either)... Neways, i was a average gamer giong by playing the occasional titles which ran on my machine ( COD 6 was the last 1 ).... It was not until my gf nd i broke up last week that world suddenly turned a hell lot boring and i began wishing that i could do more wid dis comp of mine ..... So i decided to go for a comp. upgrade....

Now going thru da different online reviews has made my noob brain turn into a dizzy lump of confusion...... Da basic question lingers Intel or AMD ( i will be primarily gaming or video transcoding) .... Da base configuration options available at local dealers are ( Another thing is that i have ABSOLUTELY NO MEANS of any online purchase,, gotta go by what is available in the local retailer shops )---

First of all is that am addicted to Nvidia (I keep doing a lot of CUDA Video transcoding using Badaboom, for my mobile,SONY Bravia home theatre,etc)
So please suggest me Nvidia only graphics card ( It may be illogical, but i like the driver stability too ). The one i have decided upon are

-

GRAPHICS CARD:
MSI GTX 260 Twin frozr ( Till now i hav not been able to locate any sample in any of the shops, but i am still hoping )
Palit GTX 260 Sonic edition - Rs 11000
Other than that all the plain vanilla models of Zotac,XFX, etc available.. But i want to go for a factory OC`ed one....

PROCESSOR :
AMD phenom 2 x2 550 - Rs. 4900
AMD phenom 2 x3 720 - Rs. 7100
Core 2 Duo E7500 - Rs. 5200
Core 2 Quad Q8400 - Rs. 7600

( No other Phenom processor model in stock,, no core 2 duo above E7500 available )

MOTHERBOARD:
For AMD - Asus M4A78 EM 1394 - Rs. 4500
For Core 2 duo - 1) MSI P45T-C51 mobo ( Price unknown )
2)Asus P5 QLE mobo - Rs.4800

I will be going for a Coolermaster 650 watt SMPS - Rs. 4300
For now i am sticking to the 2x2gb transcend 800 mhz ram sticks,,, will upgrade to 1066 mhz ddr2 in 1 year or so......
I have yet not decided on the hard drive,,, please suggest any fast 500GB drive for gaming for under Rs. 4500

Now the scary part is that i am still in 1st year of college and my parents have said that they will ABSOLUTELY NOT let me do ANY more major upgrades until i Graduate ( thats another 3 years ) . So i want a configuration that will let me play games ( minimum at 1600x900 without any AA/AF at least at medium settings ) for the coming 3 years...

I am in a desparate situation here,... Need to upgrade before the end of December. Please suggest a suitable proccy/mobo to go with the GTX 260 graphics card which will not bottleneck the full performance of any of the components... I will probably not do any major overclocking,, nor be able to get any separate cooling solutions.....

 

[DirectorC]

The GTX260 is fairly powerful but over the next three years at that resolution it will probably let you down. Try to spend less money on other stuff like power supply and motherboard. If that motherboard takes the Q8400, get the Q8400 and put it on that motherboard and get a GTX275 and try to use your existing power supply.

 

[satadip]

WOW... I read about quick replies but this is super quick.....
Maybe i cud step down to 1280x 720 too..... If i bump up the AA a bit.... But still, i will definitely check out the price of the 275....

 

[satadip]

So is there any drawbacks of getting the Nvidia with the AMD proccy/mobo or shud i stick to Intel ????

 

[DirectorC]

Here is a Phenom II X2 550 performing similarly to an E8400 (which is a bit better than an E7500):

 

[xfire]

As far as I know, ATI drivers are more stable. Also GPU transcoding software is free of cost.

Don't keep your current PSU, get the cooler master but check the prices, last time I checked the 500w was 1500Rs. Price shouldn't vary so much.

as for the processor go for the intel quad.

In my view, get a console if you want something that lasts 3 years.

 

[DirectorC]

As far as I know, ATI drivers are more stable. Also GPU transcoding software is free of cost.

Don't keep your current PSU, get the cooler master but check the prices, last time I checked the 500w was 1500Rs. Price shouldn't vary so much.

as for the processor go for the intel quad.

In my view, get a console if you want something that lasts 3 years.

1. 100% wrong about drivers for sure! ATI is known for constant driver instability, not the case with nVidia.

2. Why? 500 Watts can power pretty much any system that doesn't have two GPUs. It could even power an i7 with a GTX275.

3. Most games still don't use more than 2-3 cores, and even then the advantages aren't great. Almost any dual core can perfectly carry modern games.

4. NO CONSOLES!!!

 

[rahulyo]

@ DirectorC :- I don't face any driver instability with my ATi 4850 sonic .pls prove ur point ...

U dont know the quality of 1500 INR 500w PSU, which is sale here in India.

@ satadip :- What is ur budget ???

 

[xfire]

1. 100% wrong about drivers for sure! ATI is known for constant driver instability, not the case with nVidia.

2. Why? 500 Watts can power pretty much any system that doesn't have two GPUs. It could even power an i7 with a GTX275.

3. Most games still don't use more than 2-3 cores, and even then the advantages aren't great. Almost any dual core can perfectly carry modern games.

4. NO CONSOLES!!!

1. You must have been living under a rock, ATI drivers have only been improving since the release of 2xxx series. Nvidia on the other hand went as far to reduce features(earlier drivers supported ATI as GPU + Nvidia card as PPU, later driver don't allow it anymore)

2. Have you ever heard of a company called Zebronics? It's a local company here. I know a guy who had one of the better models of the same company, it blew, spoiling his entire system.

3. He's looking for future proofing, also according to your theory, every one who gets more than 3 cores is doing it wrong. Also a slow processor will bottle neck the graphics card.

4. The OP didn't mention anywhere that he is not interested in consoles, so stop deciding for the OP.


Sorry satadip for ruining your thread.

 

[rahulyo]

Hay Xfire calm down, he dont know about India ...

 

[xfire]

Hay Xfire calm down, he dont know about India ...

It's not just the PSU he's wrong about(It's the only thing that needed knowledge of India). Don't worry, I'm calm.

 

[rahulyo]

He is wrong about ATi drivers too...

 

[xfire]

He is wrong about ATi drivers too...

errr....read my post, i meant he's wrong on all four points.

 

[DirectorC]

I continuously read about ATI driver problems, even here on these forums. Never really hear too many problems with nVidia ones.

Also I'm just saying that for GAMING, most people these days ARE doing it wrong if they must have more than two cores!

I'm not saying DON'T go with the four cores, I'm saying if the money MUST be saved, get a GTX275 and the dual-core Phenom II.

 

[xfire]

I continuously read about ATI driver problems, even here on these forums. Never really hear too many problems with nVidia ones.

Also I'm just saying that for GAMING, most people these days ARE doing it wrong if they must have more than two cores!

I'm not saying DON'T go with the four cores, I'm saying if the money MUST be saved, get a GTX275 and the dual-core Phenom II.

We can do poll of ATI GPU owners vs Nvidia GPU owners having driver problems.
You think an Dual core and the GTX275 will last him 3 years?

 

[DirectorC]

Yes, particularly with the level of hardware we're talking about, the GPU's processing power has a greater impact on gaming performance than the CPU's. Even Crysis uses less than half of the resources of each CPU on a dual core system. Most of the processing that goes into that is and will continue to be most heavily reliant on a strong GPU. Having a GTX275 will be most beneficial over having four cores. If the four core processor needs to be scrapped to justify a GTX275 then I believe that is the most sensible choice.

Also, whether it will last 3 years is really up to the industry and how far it leaps during this time. It could be that no game ends up taking more resources than Crysis for at least another 2 years... or a game could come out that takes up twice the resources of Crysis next year. It's a coin-toss. And Crysis mostly requires a lot of resources because of bad coding, anyway.

 

[pantherx12]

Slightly off topic but what amazing prices!

I wouldn't mind paying 46 pound for a e7500

 

[DirectorC]

Slightly off topic but what amazing prices!

I wouldn't mind paying 46 pound for a e7500

Yeah, I'd like to order a lot of retail car stuff from Mexico but it would cost me hundreds of additional dollars just to get something as simple as a set of taillights. It's a bummer. If there is nothing like that between you and India though, man I would go for that. Bet import/export business could be great with those deals

 

[xfire]

He wants something that will last 3 years, a 4 core+ ATI 4xxx series
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048 4018&name=$200 - $300
There's 4850 x2 which is still cheaper than the cheapest GTX 275 and beats it hands down.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_X2/26.html

Also, whether it will last 3 years is really up to the industry and how far it leaps during this time. It could be that no game ends up taking more resources than Crysis for at least another 2 years... or a game could come out that takes up twice the resources of Crysis next year. It's a coin-toss. And Crysis mostly requires a lot of resources because of bad coding, anyway.

Which is why I suggested a console.

 

[DirectorC]

That could be possible too but he didn't give the impression that he was seriously entertaining the idea of getting an ATI card. If he wants he can go with a 4890, that should be OK for 3 years at 1600x900.

 

[Kreij]

Looks like you're getting plenty of help, Satadip, so I will just add ... Welcome to TPU

 

[satadip]

THANKS GUYS..... so much help in 1 day.... The world suddenly feels like one big family...... Never expected such overwhelming response..... Neways, getting back to the point.....

@Kreij - Thanks man...Lookin forward to teh xperience

@Xfire - Its true that ATI does not suffer from driver "problems" anymore,,, but ATI drivers do need constant updating, patching etc to keep system running at maximum performance. My friend has Palit 4870 Dual Sonic 1 GB,,, recently he says he is facing some performance issues with DIRT 2 ,,,, he is looking for a ATI patch for the game which increases performance...... Also Sabotage game didi not run on his ATI radeon card..... Whereas Nvidia drivers are more or less compatible with every single title that comes out for PC and are less diversified..... For ATI except for the regular catalyst there seems to be so many different versions all around..Confusing...

Also guys another thing to notify is that i was initially plannin to go with the GTS 250 ( around Rs. 9000) and after a lot stretching managed to get it to GTX 260( Rs 11000) ,,, so i hav ABSOLUTELY no scope of extending it further to 4850x2 or the GTX 275 ( around Rs. 17000)..... only cutting in the processor will do no help..... Suggest anythign around the 10000-13000 price mark.... radeon 4890, though a little off budget, does seem a powerful card though...

I want to invest in a good power supply so that i dont get any power deficiency or any fried components..... I gues the coolermaster wil b enough...

Considering the present and long run,,, will the 2.66 ghz Quad be better than phenom 2 X3 720 at 2.8 Ghz for gaming ???

 

[rahulyo]

Phenom II X4 955 3.2 GHz = 9250 /-
Asus M4A78-EM-1394 = 4550/-
MSI Gtx 275 = 14200/-
XFX GTX 260 =11250/-
Seagate 500 Gb = 2400/-
Corsair VX450 = 4500/-

And I play Dirt 2 on 4850 512mb res 1900x1080 with 2xAA (All settings high and ultra high) without any problem ...

Edit :-
Pl pls stay away from coolermaster PSU ...

 

[xfire]

Quad is good, intel right?
As for graphics card, I'd say 4890. There is always a scope for improvement, you'd have a lot of joy when you see a performance gain just by updating the driver. Kind of increases the value for money but if you are bent on Nvidia, take which ever model fits your budget.
As for SMPS check if corsair is available, it might be cheaper. Remember to bargain after the dealer gives the final quote.

 

[rahulyo]

^ Corsair is not cheaper now ...

GlasialPower 650W PSU also good with price 4500/-