This quarter is shaping up to be a great one for PC gaming. Finally there are some great single-player titles getting released on what is fast becoming a fading platform. Every single great game seems to have headed over to the consoles.
Thankfully, with recent launches like BioShock and upcoming titles like Jericho, MOH 4, and the big one Crysis, it’s the perfect time to upgrade your aging rig for a more powerful performer.
Of course, an upgrade can mean different things for different users, depending on their purse strings and what they define as acceptable. Another thing to note is the wide disparity in prices across various towns and cities. Keeping these factors in mind, we think the perfect mid-level gaming rig can be yours for Rs 55,000.
Please bear in mind that the amounts we have quoted in this feature are based on Mumbai prices. They have been taken from a wide variety of dealers and are currently prevailing street prices. These are 'non-bargained' prices, so your persuasive sweet-talk could perhaps save you some more cash. So, here we go...
The recently introduced Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 is a second generation product that's had its FSB bumped to 1333 MHz from the previous FSB of 1066. Priced at Rs 7100, this is the best VFM processor available right now. It has a clock speed of 2.33 GHz and a 4 MB L2 cache.
Motherboard: XFX 650i Ultra
Over the last couple of years, XFX has developed a very good reputation for its graphic cards and its exceptional after sales service. The company recently branched off into motherboards, with the introduction of Nvidia's 680 and 650 chipsets.
As its name suggests, the board we've chosen is based on the 650i Ultra chipset which has native support for the 1333 MHz FSB. The board lacks onboard graphics, but does offer a single PCIe 16x slot, 1 PCIe x1 slot, 8 USB slots, 3 PCI slots, and 4 SATA 2 (3.0 GB) slots. It is readily available at a cost of Rs 5,250.
RAM: Kingston DDR2 667 RAM 2x1GB
RAM prices have recently gone into freefall mode. This is good news for consumers, as it is now possible to buy two sticks of 1 GB very cheaply. This gives your PC a large performance boost, thanks to dual-channel support on motherboards. The perfect brand to go with is Kingston. It offers a five-year warranty and costs Rs 2,500 (1250x2), making it an ideal choice for our rig.
To,cheers San ....
