Build a Gaming PC Under Rs.

50,000
By: Jayesh Email this Comments RSS Digg this Del.icio.us

Mansukhani | Oct 30,2006

In our previous roundup we had helped you make a budget PC that was strictly aimed at casual use and basic bare bone functionality. While that kind of use may be just fine for some people this article is for the rest of us who crave a better PC e!perience. Most of us like a bit of entertainment while surfing or working. In this roundup we will show you how to assemble a "ippy gaming PC with with ine!pensive but #uality components to give you that complete gaming and multimedia e!perience you desire.

CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E6300 (Rs. 8400) Intel had been trailing $M% for over & years in the performance sweepstakes. $ll this has changed with the introduction of Intel's powerful new line of dual(core processors)the C*% or Core * %uo. +arge +* caches and a range of optimi"ations make these processors the fastest !,- platform. .he /-&00 is the entry level C*% with * M1 +* cache running at a clock speed of 2., 34" and is about &5(60 percent faster than the $M% solution)the 7* 6*00. 8ffering an unprecedented performance vs. price advantage and more than capable of crunching anything that is thrown at it was the natural choice for our roundup.

Motherboard: sus P!"D2#$M Motherboard (Rs. 4%!00) .he motherboard is the heart and soul of a machine. It's therefore no surprise that at any given price range9 there is a large and often confusing choice of motherboards with different chipsets and features. $fter an e!haustive survey we narrowed down our choice to $sus' P5+%*(:M board. $sus is a well known brand name that makes #uality products and provide e!cellent performance. 4ence it should it should come across as no surprise that we chose $sus here. .his is an ine!pensive micro($.7 budget board based on the Intel ;653 chipset with integrated graphics. .he board comes fully e#uipped with 6 <$.$ ports * I%/ ports & PCI slots and 6 memory banks with support for %%=* 5&& and --> M4" =am. .he board also offers an e!cellent 4i(%efinition >.2 channel =ealtek $+C,,*M audio chip which offers great music playback ..here is a single PCIe slot present for a dedicated graphics solution. ?or +$@ connectivity the board sports an onboard 3igabit +$@ adapter and peripheral e!pansion is taken care of by 6 A<1 *.0 ports. With these kinds of features and ine!pensive pricing itBs the perfect foundation to build the PC.

R M: &'(nMos DDR !33 R M 2)!*2M+ , * -+ R M (Rs. !%4!0) =$M is as essential to your system as a good processor. @o system is complete without good #uality ram. .winmos is a well known and respected brand and offers great performance. We chose to put * sticks here as the motherboard is dual(channel capable. %ual(channel is used to double the memory speeds bandwidth and performance at no e!tra cost hence it makes sense to utili"e this free performance boost. .winmos offers a two year warranty with its products and this make it a must have in our roundup.

-ra.h(/s: "eadte0 1(n2ast 3600-& &D4 (Rs. 5%800) +eadtek is a well known graphics manufacturer who have been manufacturing @vidia based products for almost a decade now. .heir products have become well known for their e!cellent overclocking potential and great build #uality. .he +eadtek Winfast >-003. .%4 is based on @vidia's mid(level offering)the >-003. chipset)which offers great gaming at affordable rates.

.he card is clocked at 5-0C>00 coreCmemory speeds and comes with %ual(%:I output for +C% panel connectivity. It also offers an <(:ideo port which will allow you to connect it to a .: and watch movies on a big screen . .he cooling unit on this card is fairly large with a good heatsinkCfan combo that does a great job in dissipating the heat. *% #uality is e!cellent. In all this card offers great value for money in both performance and features. .hrow in the fact that +eadtek offers & years warranty on all its products and this makes it the ideal card to include in our roundup.

6ound: 7nboard: 3.* /hannel Realte0 "C882M Controller 8nboard sound has come a long way in recent years. .oday's onboard chips are multi( channel capable and can easily compete with lower(end sound cards like Creative's $udigy * D<. .he $+C,,*M chipset is an , channel chipset that offers great audio output in the music video and gaming. It is also %olby %igital capable and with a <P%I? connector which has to be purchased separately will allow you to enjoy e!cellent crystal clear sound in movies and games that support %olby +ive technology. " 8: Intel -(9ab(t Ethernet Controller *0:*00:*000 .his is the standard Intel 3igabit onboard 20C200C2000 +$@ that gives a ma!imum transfer speed of 2000 Mbps. It is fast enough to take care of your broadband internet Emost users have a connection speed of *5- Fpbs or 52* kbpsG. .hough 3igabit +$@ is already present most home networks are only capable of handling 200 Mbps speeds. 4ence you have the right firepower in Intel's 20C200C2000 +an.

4DD: 1estern D(9(tal 6 & II 4DD 200 -+ (Rs. 3%8!0) 8ver the last few years the cost of hard drives has gone down drastically. 4ard drives currently available offer an e!cellent cost advantage if you compare the cost of the drive vs. its storage i.e. how many rupees does 2 31 cost in these drives. 4ere we had to choose between <eagate and Western %igital. We chose to go with W% due to the e!cellent 5 years warranty they offer. .he *00 31 we have is built on the <$.$ II platform and offers more than ade#uate storage for all your music and video needs. With its price now under =s 6 000 the drive is now a great bargain.

7.t(/al Dr(;e: sus DR1#*608P36 *6< D$D 1r(ter (Rs. 22!0) We carry forward this drive from our previous roundup as it remains amongst the best choices available at this price range. .his drive is an 8/M product of PioneerBs 222+ drive and offers great compatibility with all

kinds of %:% media which can be burnt easily at 2-! without #uality issues. .he drive is also capable of writing to %+ media which can hold more data than any other media solution that is currently available. Pioneer also has some of the best read speeds of any %:% drive and can be easily converted to a region free drive which will allow you to view any kind of %:% movie without any issue

Mon(tor: 6a=sun9 3408 *3 In/h "CD (Rs. *0%300) .he monitor is easily the most e!pensive component in a computer roundup. 4ence when one is selecting a monitor careful thought must be given while selecting. We could have easily selected a C=. monitor for this roundup but we chose not to. +C%s have become mainstream now and offer far more value for money with their bright output and great viewing angles. .hey are also slim hence occupy less space and re#uire a lot less power to run as compared to the bulky C=.s. 8ne thing to remember is that unlike C=. +C%s have a resolution called H@ative resolutionH i.e. this is the recommended resolution one should work with for the ma!imum clarity. If you use any other resolution the picture will be less sharp and there will be a noticeable degradation in the #uality of the display. .he +C% market space is fairly crowded making it a tough bargain for anyone to try and find a good deal. We chose to go with <amsung as this slim +C% monitor with its bright display and vivid colors is one of the best in the 2>(inch class. .he monitor offers a native resolution of 2*,0!20*6 with a refresh rate of >5 4" which makes it a pleasure to work with. $nother great point for this monitor is the fact that comparable monitors from :iewsonic and +3 cost around =s. 2 000 more.

>e?board @ Mouse (Rs. 800) Microsoft builds e!cellent keyboards and mice that are sturdy and are ideal for long hours of work. $t a cost of just =s. ,00 this is considered to be an e!cellent buy. .o top it the set comes with a three(year warranty unlike other brands which offer only one(year warranty

Cab(net: $IP &< Cab(net '(th Inte9rated 3!01 P6U (Rs. *%6!0) .here is not much to say here. :IP is a well known maker of $.7 cabinets available in decent colors and well designed power supplies that are known for their reliability.

6.ea0ers: lte/ "ans(n9 &P3 (Rs. 2%300) $ltec +ansing makes some great PC speakers that offer an e!cellent e!perience for games and movies. .he $.P& *.2 speaker system fits right into the budget category offering above average performance with some features that can be found in products twice its cost. .he sub(woofer packs a punch and is capable of outputting 2, watts =M<. .he speakers are also e#ually well powered and are capable of outputting 2* watts =M<.

6.e/(2(/at(on &able Co=.onents Processor Motherboard =$M <ound +$@ 3raphics 8ptical %rive 4ard %isk Monitor Case <peakers Model Intel /-&00 Core * %uo $sus P5+%*(:M .winMos %%=* 5&& 52*!* Pr(/e (Ru.ees) ,600 6500 5650

8nboard>.2 channel =ealtek $+C,,*M @$ Controller 8nboard Intel 20C200C2000 +eadtek Winfast >-003. .%4 $sus %=W(2-0,P&< 2-7 %:% Writer Western %igital <$.$ II 4%% *00 31 <amsung >60@ E +C% 2> InchG :IP >55 with &50 watts P<A $ltec(+ansing $.P& &otal @$ ; ,00 **00 &,00 20&00 2-50 *>00 45500

FeyboardCMouse Microsoft 8ptical Feyboard I Mouse <et,00

$t the end of this long list we now have a mid(level gaming machine with a very powerful CPA 2 31 of #uality ram an e!cellent graphic card that can play games like ?./.$.= easily a great 2>(inch screen a #uality *.2 speaker system with a powerful sub(woofer. ?or input devices we have used well made Microsoft keyboard and mice and storage is taken care by

a top(of(the(line %:% Writer and a fast 4%% with lots of storage space. $ll of this under =s. 50 000 makes for a kickass deal.