So I've bought all the parts for my new system except for the mobo, CPU and video. Here's the specs:
MB: EVGA 680i ???
CPU: E6600 (already made up my mind)
Cooler: Scythe Ninja plus rev B & Shin-etsu X23
GFX: Geforce 7800GTX (will upgrade when the next gen comes out)
RAM: G.SKILL F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK PC2-6400 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-3-5
Sound: X-Fi Platinum
Power: OCZ GameXStream 700W
Monitor: Acer AL2216W 22" Wide HDCP compliant
HDD: 1x320GB & 2x160GB Seagate Barracuda's SATA2 NCQ
DVD: LG 18x DVD does everything (IDE)
OS: XP & Vista dual boot
Rest of the accessories don't matter. As I said most of the parts are already bought, all I need to buy are the MB, CPU & GFX. My mind is made up on the CPU & GFX.
The problem is I can't make up my mind about the motherboard, I keep falling back on the EVGA 680i mobo, it seems to be my only choice. However there are a lot of stories about the board working for a month and then not booting, that makes me want to pick something else.
I want to futureproof my motherboard as long as possible, so I want one with:
-3 PCIe slots for SLI and the extra one for a physics processor.
-RAID controller
-1333Mhz fsb capable
-800Mhz memory capable (on a side note: when will we see mobo's that support 1066Mhz memory?)
-Onboard LAN
-Overclockable, great performance a must.
Plus any other awesome features you can think of, I want them all, except onboard sound (likely get it whether I want it or not)
So in conclusion, please change my mind about the motherboard (or confirm your experience with it), I really don't want the EVGA one, but it seems like my best choice (Motherboards.org rates it at the top of the list). I would prefer an Asus board, they have better software, Q connectors, just more user friendly overall. But the Striker Extreme is $400CDN. I won't spend over $300CDN.
MB: EVGA 680i ???
CPU: E6600 (already made up my mind)
Cooler: Scythe Ninja plus rev B & Shin-etsu X23
GFX: Geforce 7800GTX (will upgrade when the next gen comes out)
RAM: G.SKILL F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK PC2-6400 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-3-5
Sound: X-Fi Platinum
Power: OCZ GameXStream 700W
Monitor: Acer AL2216W 22" Wide HDCP compliant
HDD: 1x320GB & 2x160GB Seagate Barracuda's SATA2 NCQ
DVD: LG 18x DVD does everything (IDE)
OS: XP & Vista dual boot
Rest of the accessories don't matter. As I said most of the parts are already bought, all I need to buy are the MB, CPU & GFX. My mind is made up on the CPU & GFX.
The problem is I can't make up my mind about the motherboard, I keep falling back on the EVGA 680i mobo, it seems to be my only choice. However there are a lot of stories about the board working for a month and then not booting, that makes me want to pick something else.
I want to futureproof my motherboard as long as possible, so I want one with:
-3 PCIe slots for SLI and the extra one for a physics processor.
-RAID controller
-1333Mhz fsb capable
-800Mhz memory capable (on a side note: when will we see mobo's that support 1066Mhz memory?)
-Onboard LAN
-Overclockable, great performance a must.
Plus any other awesome features you can think of, I want them all, except onboard sound (likely get it whether I want it or not)
So in conclusion, please change my mind about the motherboard (or confirm your experience with it), I really don't want the EVGA one, but it seems like my best choice (Motherboards.org rates it at the top of the list). I would prefer an Asus board, they have better software, Q connectors, just more user friendly overall. But the Striker Extreme is $400CDN. I won't spend over $300CDN.