Assembled PC & Laptop/Ultrabook Advice?

Abhinav · May 18, 2013

Hi there.

I am in search for a PC and a Laptop/Ultrabook. Please help me out.

Budget & Location

I live in India and my budget is around Rs.100,000 (USD $2000 which is the preferable one) to Rs. 150,000 (USD $3000). I would be grateful if you suggest me the best performance per dollar ratio build.

Aim and usage scenario

The PC:

1). This PC will be at home and everyone in my house will be using it. All I want it to do is compile and run stuff faster. So I need multithreaded performance. I have heard that AMD processors have great multithreading capabilities. So will it be wise to go for an AMD PC solution?

2). It will also be running virtual machines, at most 3 of them. These virtual machines are going to be lightweight linux machines. I know that all of the motherboards support upto 32GB of RAM so it won't be a problem but hypothetically speaking if I do go for the best AMD solution, the FX-8350, will it run smoothly?

3). I won't be playing games much as I am not an avid gamer. So graphics card is not a priority but I have had really bad experiences with on board graphics. So I would insist that you suggest me a good mid range performance graphics card. By mid range I mean it should be able to run modern games like Crysis 3, Far Cry, etc. , although not at very high resolution, smoothly.

The Laptop/Ultrabook:

Now the only reason I need a laptop is because I go to college and I need it for lightweight programming, web browsing and document editing. I want it to be lightweight. So I was thinking about the Ultrabooks in the market. But all of the solutions out there are highly expensive, especially if you are going for a touch screen with Windows 8. The 11 inch model of the Acer Aspire S7 is around $2000. My 2/3rd budget is gone. So I am really having a hard time searching for a good Ultrabook.

Ok, another hypothetical situation.

Lets say I can afford spending these $2000, then I have two notebooks in mind, the Acer Aspire S7(11") and the MacBook Air (13"). Ok before you start crying, I think Mac OS X is not a bad operating system. All the operating systems are same to me. I don't care whether I am using Windows, Linux or Mac as long as I can get my work done. I have been programming for a long time now and don't find operating systems a hurdle.

That being cleared which notebook should I go for? I am calling them notebooks because they are and MacBook Air is not an Ultrabook even if it has a *same* form factor. I would for the MacBook Air because it is 13" vs Acer's 11". What would you buy?

Monitors

I already own a 20" TN Panel from Samsung. I am thinking of getting a 24 inch one. Could you please recommend me a monitor with matte finish. I really hate glossy screens.

Peripherals

I need a new keyboard. I will use the keyboard mostly for typing. Currently I own a keyboard manufactured in 1998. It has cherry blue switches. I really like the tactile feedback of that keyboard. So a keyboard with key switches and backlight would be good. I am not that acquainted with the current keyboard companies but I know about Ducky keyboards but unfortunately they don't ship to India. And import duty is kind of high here. So could you recommend me any good keyboard?

I also need a good pair of headsets. I own a pair of philips wireless headsets. I think I bought them in 2002. They are 11 years old and are slowly dying. I need headsets which have nice deep bass and they should be open. I am not a fan of noise cancelling headsets.

I think I have covered peripherals.

Why am I upgrading?

Because it is freaking 2013 and my main PC is still a Pentium 4 with HT, 1.7 GB RAM and an Nvidia GeForce FX 5500. :(

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I hope I have given the appropriate information. Thanks to @windspeed36 for setting the guidelines on how to ask for recommendations for new builds. :)

Thanks in advance.

Abhinav :D

Abhinav · May 19, 2013

Sorry for this wall of text. :( But please do read it.

Ok I did some research and found some parts for my PC.

1) SSD: Samsung 840 Series 120 GB SSD Internal Hard Drive (MZ-7TD120BW) = USD 118

Will be using this SSD for Windows 7/8

2) HDD: WD Caviar Green 2 TB Desktop Internal Hard Drive = USD 115

3) Case: Corsair Obsidian 350D = USD 99 according to their website. This case is a microATX case.

4) Motherboard: Intel: MSI Z77MA-G45 Motherboard = USD 100 (approx)

AMD: MSI 990FXA-GD6 Motherboard = USD 102 (approx)

5) Cooler: Corsair H100i Cooler = USD 110 (approx)

Sorry for not providing links to everything else. If there is no link it means I will have to buy from a local store. All the prices are from the local store and have been converted from INR to USD. As of date 1 USD = 54.80 INR.

Ok so now I am still confused on whether I should go for Intel or AMD and which graphics card I should buy. Once these two are solved I will be able to decide on the power supply.

Thank you in advance.

Abhinav :D