A Multimedia PC Under Rs 35,000

Consumers have never had it so good! Since the last time we did this roundup, there have been quite a few changes. The prices for CPUs, GPUs and RAM have all dropped drastically, leading to the availability of some very good products in this price bracket. This is naturally a good thing, as it allows you to build a PC now, which till even a few months ago would have cost at least Rs 55,000.

Please note that in some instances prices and specs have remained unchanged from previous articles. In such cases we haven't changed the relevant text, but carried it forward.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550

The CPU space is now completely dominated by Intel. Within a price bracket of Rs 6,500 to Rs 11,500 there are 3-4 main offerings and very little to chose between them. This includes both the 65nm 1333 MHz processors (E6550 and E6750) and the new 45nm 'Wolfdale' E8200.

Our first choice was the E8200 which is already available and offers a significant upgrade. However, we ran into a problem – its price is around Rs 8,250. Our strict budget of Rs 35,000 meant we had to rule out this processor. Our next bet was the E6750, which is sadly priced in the same bracket as well. This led us further down the ladder to the E6550, which at Rs 6,950 fit perfectly in our budget.

The E6550, while not being quite in the same class as the E6750/E8200, is a powerful processor in its own right. It runs at a clock speed of 2.33 GHz, sports a 4 MB L2 cache, and is designed to run at 1333 FSB speed. It offers great VFM and is therefore a natural choice. (We're on a budget, hence the compromise. If you can stretch your wallet a little further, simply go for the E8200.)

Motherboard: Abit IP35-E

Abit as a firm needs no introduction. Having been one of the premier OC board makers for a decade now, their products are very reliable and can withstand a lot more stress. The IP35-E is based on the Intel P35 series of chipsets and offers native support for the 1333 MHz FSB. The board lacks onboard graphics, but does offer a single PCIe 16x slot, 2 PCIe x1 slot, 8 USB slots, 3 PCI slots, and 4 SATA 2 (3.0 GB) slots.

RAM: Kingston DDR2 800 MHz (2 sticks of 1 GB RAM Each)

RAM prices have been going further south and it's time to take advantage of this. At least 2 GB of system memory is absolutely vital nowadays with the increased size and requirements of software. Kingston really needs no introduction. The company has been making quality RAM sticks for a long time. Now available with a 5-year warranty, it’s the perfect product for our machine.

Graphics: XFX 8600 GT

This is another section that finds an upgrade. The 8500 GT gives way to the 8600 GT, which is a better card in every respect. The 8600 GT is clocked at a core clock speed of 540 MHz, has 256 MB of VRAM running on GDDR3, and a memory clock speed of 1.4 Ghz. These specs offer a vastly improved gaming experience. For a full specification chart, check out this link.

Sound (onboard): Realtek ALC888
Onboard sound has come a long way in recent years. Today's onboard chips are multi-channel capable, and can easily compete with lower-end sound cards like Creative's Audigy 2 ZS. The XFX offers an 8 channel chipset with great audio output for excellent music, video, and gaming experiences.

LAN: Onboard 10/100/1000
This is the standard Gigabit onboard 10/100/1000 LAN that gives a maximum transfer speed of 1000 Mbps. It's fast enough to take care of your broadband Internet – most users have a connection speed of 256 kbps or 512 kbps.

HDD: Seagate SATA II HDD 250 GB

The cost of hard drives has dropped drastically in recent times. We had a choice between Seagate and Western Digital, and chose to go with the former due to the five-year warranty it offers. The 250 GB is built on the SATA II platform and offers more than adequate storage for all your needs.

Optical Drive: Lite-On LH-20A1P

The market for ODDs has become totally VFM, with prices of blanks dropping to an all-time low. This is one segment where a single company’s lead has remained unchallenged for quite a while now. The brand is Liteon, whose products have come to define and set the standards for others to follow.

The LH20A1P is Liteon's first 20x DVD-RAM drive. It supports 20x for DVD±R, 8x for DVD±R DL, 8x for DVD+RW, 6x for DVD-RW, 12x for DVD-RAM and 48x for CD-R.

Monitor: Viewsonic VA1703WB

This is a 17-inch widescreen monitor that has a native resolution of 1440x900, offers an excellent response time of 8ms, and has a great 500:1 contrast ratio. It is among the cheapest widescreens available and is ideal for our machine.

Keyboard & Mouse: Microsoft Standard Desktop/Keyboard Mouse Set

Microsoft makes some great computer hardware combos, and this set offers a very comfortable working experience. Now available in a wireless edition, it's the perfect solution.

Cabinet: I-Ball i648 ATX cabinet with integrated 400 Watt PSU

This I-Ball cabinet comes with a 400W PSU and is reasonably priced.

Speakers: Creative SBS 370

This has been our favorite for a long time. The best part — it comes with a woofer to give you that thumping bass and offers good sound quality for the price. The satellites are powered at 5 watts RMS each and the subwoofer is powered at 11 watts RMS. However if your budget permits, we suggest you look at the Altec ATP 3 set which is a better 2.1 set and offers significantly more VFM.

Specification Table

Component	Model	Price (Rs)
Processor	Intel C2D E6550	6,950
Motherboard	Abit IP35-E	5,350
RAM	Kingston DDR2 800 MHz (2 GB)	2,200
Sound	Realtek ALC888	N/A
LAN	Onboard, 10/100/1000	N/A
Graphics	XFX 8600 GT 256 MB RAM	5,150
Optical Drive	Lite-On LH-20A1P	1,300
Hard Disk	Western Digital SATA II 250 GB	2,825
Monitor	Viewsonic VA1703WB	8,050
Keyboard/Mouse	Microsoft Standard Desktop Set	695
Case	I-Ball i648 (400W PSU)	1,350
Speakers	Creative SBS 370	1,120
	Total	34,990