A Gaming Machine For Rs 60,000

Despite all the gloom and doom concerning the impending death of PC gaming, it continues to grow and break new ground in user interactivity and sheer gaming experience. Taking this into consideration, we decided to refresh our gaming machine section and went looking to see what changes have occurred since the last time we were here.

As compared to previous roundups, we were surprised to find that the entire landscape had changed in just a few months. Not only had processing power of GPUs/CPUs risen exponentially, storage and memory costs had crashed dramatically. Here are the changes...

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200

Ever since it tasted success with its Core 2 Duo range, Intel has been on a roll. The processor we have chosen here is the Intel C2D E8200 and it’s a part of the recently launched Penryn series. It is built on a 45nm dye process, features a clock speed of 2.66 GHz, runs on a 1333 MHz FSB, and has 6MB L2 cache. With such healthy specifications – and the fact that it’s already earned a reputation for being a prodigious overclocker – this is an ideal choice.

Motherboard: Abit IP35-E

We used this board in our Rs 35,000 PC, and it can be easily used here too. Abit as a firm needs no introduction. Having been a premier OC board maker for a decade now, its products are very reliable and can withstand a lot of 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 (3GB) slots.

RAM: Kingston DDR2 800 RAM 2GB

DDR2 RAM prices have hit an all-time low. A single stick of DDR2 RAM is now available for just Rs 1,550. And Kingston, with its product lifetime warranty and great quality, is the perfect choice.

Graphics: XFX 8800 GT 512 PV-T88P-YDF4

Every generation of GPU releases invariably results in a card that manages to bridge the difference between the high-end performance monsters and the VFM market. The 8800 GT is one such card that, after extensive reviews, has been found to keep up with its elder brothers and easily bypass anything available in lower ranges.

The XFX 8800 GT comes with a clock speed of 600MHz and a memory clock of 1800MHz running on GDDR3 RAM. It is DX10 compatible and offers the full slew of features common on Nvidia-based chipsets, including SLI support and HDCP readiness.

The card we have listed here is the base version of the 8800 GT. There are two or three variations, which offer elevated performances but at higher costs – and thus put themselves out of our budget.

Sound (onboard): Realtek ALC888
The Realtek ALC888 is an excellent 8.1 multi-channel capable sound chip which makes it perfect for both gaming and movies.


HDD: Seagate SATA II HDD 500 GB

Like RAM, price of storage media have been constantly falling and giving customers better VFM. For example, 500GB of space, which till last year cost over Rs 12,000, is today available for just Rs 4,600. This is adequate for all your data/digital media/gaming needs.

Optical Drive: Lite-On LH-20A1P

The market for ODDs is totally VFM, with prices of blanks dropping to an all-time low. Our brand of choice 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 VA2026W

The selection of a monitor for this roundup was frankly a headache. Within our price bracket, there are a multitude of excellent monitors offering great features. After careful consideration we opted for the Viewsonic VA2026W. This is a 20-inch monitor with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050, response time of 5ms, brightness of 300 cd/m2 and dynamic contrast ratio of 2000:1 (true contrast ratio 800:1). At a price of Rs 12,000, the monitor offers excellent VFM.

Keyboard & Mouse: Logitech MX518

Very few gaming mice have achieved the popularity of the Logitech MX518. A perennial favorite with CS players for its 1600 DPI tracking and elegant design, it’s now available for Rs 1,250. Our keyboard is a standard Logitech 101-key affair, which is good for both gaming and general work.

Cabinet: Cooler Master CM690/CM Extreme Power 600W

Coolermaster makes some of the best cabinets currently available. The 690 is from the budget range and offers adequate cooling and an excellent design for our rig.The power supply we chose to accompany the cabinet is the Cooler Master Extreme Power 600W. This excellent PSU not only provides 600W of power, it does so at 70% efficiency and comes with full support for the newest Intel standard (ATX V2.01 12 W).

Speakers: Creative SBS 560

The SBS 560 is one of the cheapest 5.1 speaker sets available now. With an output of 6W RMS per channel for the satellites and 12W RMS for the subwoofer, it has plenty of power for games and movies.

Specification Table

Specification Table

Components	Model	Price (Rupees)
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E8200	8,000
Motherboard	Abit IP35-E	5,950
RAM	Kingston DDR 2 800 2GB	1,550
Sound	Onboard	NA
LAN	Onboard, Intel 10/100/1000	NA
Graphics	XFX 8800 GT 512MB	14,100
Optical Drive	Lite-On LH-20A1P	1,300
Hard Disk	Seagate SATA II HDD 500GB	4,600
Monitor	Viewsonic VA2026	12,000
Keyboard/Mouse	Logitech MX518/Std. Keyboard	1,250+300
Case	Coolermaster CM690 with Cooler Master Extreme Power 600W	8,200
Speakers	Creative SBS 560	2,550
	Total	59,800