non-enthusiast mb

[makaveli03]

i don't have the money to be an enthusiast, but have built my last 3 computers and would like to continue doing so. It seems that most motherboards around nowadays that are considered "quality" boards provide an absurd abundance of overclocking features, which I don't intend on using. Any opinion on the best "i dont care about ocing" motherboard (AM2)? Also, should I wait til Vista is out and about and dx10 cards come dropping down in price? I've been outta the hardware loop for a couple of years now. AND, as a final question, is a solid state hd a good investment for a boot drive, with a standard hdd for a backup and storage? Any and all input is appreciated... thanks!

Athlon XP 2600+
Asus A7V-333-x
756MB PC2700 some type of RAM
40GB 8 year old HD
ATI Radeon 9000 pro AGP (HA!)
Antec SOHO case and 400W Antec crappy loud power supply

 

[makaveli03]

oh yes i forgot here is the loose "what i want" list

Athlon 64 FX-62 or 64 X2 4800 or higher
MB: ????
2GB memory
solid state hd for windows vista, 150 or 200gb for storage and backup of ssd (??? maybe ???)
DX10 Card (probably GeForce 8800xxx)
ThermalTake ToughPower 700w or 750w
Some type of ATX case that the 8800 will fit in (preferably under $120 w/o PS)

i would like SLI ready just in case i decide to start playin massive amounts of games again, but am starting with only one card.
So please... someone give me some input! Thanks

 

[rwaritsdario]

$1k CPU, $500 GPU, but you dont have the money to be an enthusiast?

 

[makaveli03]

lol i understand your skepticism , but i am talking about waiting until early next year... and the FX-62 is already down to $695 not $1000. it will probably drop further with the release of the 3 new FX chips in (i think) December. i guess when i say im not an enthusiast i mean that im not going to be buying a $400 case with a 1000w power supply and 8GB of memory and 6 250GB SATA drives in RAID and dual 880GTXs in SLI on a motherboard overclocked to a gajillion GHz. I guess it's tough for me to define myself. I want to build an upper middle class comp but dont want to spend on things that im not going to be using for that speed (ie a DFI board just so I can tweak settings a little more but pay $40 more). maybe im just crazy. any constructive advice out there?

 

[rwaritsdario]

Since you dont have the time to wait for a K8L revision, Go with C2D. You dont need expensive memory to overclock it considerably and you can du it even in the most limited budgets.

 

[Crashman]

Yeh, the Gigabyte GA-M55plus-S3G is a pretty solid board for around $85. It even has FireWire. It also has onboard video plus an X16 slot, so you can use it either way.