Could I get a bit of Motherboard advice please?

[pxb681]

Hey there

I was wondering what would be the best motherboard for the setup i'm looking at, as thats the only thing i'm really stuck on right now. I'd like it to be in the £50-80 mark, but am willing to go a bit more if its close.

I'm basically looking for one that will suit the rig below well, but with potential for upgrades in maybe 2 years or so time. So 45nm chipset would be essential, and enough ram slots for at least 4gb, maybe even 8gb would be great, and then 2x16 PCIe if possible, to run two graphics cards together at some point in the future. Would this be feasible at that pricetag?

And then, if you would be so kind, are there any glaring errors in my current build? (excluding the lack of dvd drives, i'm ripping out this current pc, and also my current 250gb HD in order to dual boot vista/xp on it)

I'm looking for quite a powerhouse, so enough to easily play games such as Crysis, Supreme Commander and Oblivion on high settings, at a great res, with a nice FPS to boot. Would that be attainable with my build, or would I be looking at changing any of it? But despite that, i'm not some hardcore enthusiast, and i'm not really looking to overclock or anything fancy like that. Its currently resting at about a nice £850, and I really wouldnt like it to go any higher than that.

Intel Core2 Duo E6750/1333 FSB socket 775 4mb Cache

Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12)

ASUS NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E

LG L204WT 20" 5ms 1680 X 1050 16:10 Widescreen Tilt LCD Monitor

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Soundcard - OEM

Coolermaster eXtreme Power 650W PSU - ATX 12V V2.01 120mm Fan 20+4pin

Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII 16MB Cache 7200 RPM - OEM

Casecom Black Mid Tower Case - Front Blue LED 120mm Fan - With Side Window

 

[Maziar]

here is a very good SLI mobo for 76 pounds :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-221-AS&groupid=7 01&catid=5&subcat=205

 

[ethel]

If you can afford it, I think you should get an 8800GTX - it is significantly faster than the 8800GTS.

Or get an 8800GTS 320 - it has virtually the same performance as the GTS 640 but at a much lower price.

 

[pxb681]

I would absolulty love to get a 8800GTX, although its much too more than I can afford, does the 320/640 really have such little affect? I read its best to have a 640 if your planning at playing at much higher resolutions, so would 1680/1050 count?

Hmm, looking at that mobo, I may be wronng, but its not a 1333FSB board? So wouldnt be able to use the e6750?

 

[aevm]

I second the 8800 GTX recommendation. You'd really benefit at your resolution in games like Oblivion at highest settings. It costs more than the GTS 640MB, but it's worth it.

That CoolerMaster PSU is not a good choice. Here's a list you may find useful:
http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon

The E6750 would work really nicely in a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R for example.

You could try waiting until December if this is too much money. By that time Intel and nVidia will have new high-end products out (no idea what AMD/ATI will do, maybe they will have something too) and the GTX should become cheaper.

 

[pxb681]

Hmm... I guess I could fork out a little extra for a GTX, do have some savings afterall.

That link for the power supplies however, is brilliant, thanks a lot!

 

[ethel]

The way I see it is that you want to use your computer for playing the latest games, so the graphics card should be the number one priority, along with a decent PSU. If you're on a tight budget you could try scrimping on other parts of the system and plough more into the graphics card. Of course, you may not be able to scrimp enough, but it's worth working it out anyway.

So good choice - you won't regret it. Nothing is futureproof, but the GTX is a great card.

Oh, you should double check that it will fit in your case - it's a very long card.

 

[Maziar]

Yeah get the GTX, very good card, well that board supports 1333mhz cpus and upcoming 45nm cpu's (penryn ) :
http://event.asus.com/mb/45nm/

 

[pxb681]

Ahh, thats another great link, thanks Maziar

 

[Onus]

I second aevm's remark on the CoolerMaster PSU.

 

[pxb681]

ok, so this is my updated list of parts

ASUS P5K AiLifestyle Series iP35 Socket 775 eSATA 8channel Audio ATX Motherboard

Antec TruePower Trio 650W PSU

E6750 Core2Duo 2.66Ghz processor

Point Of View 8800GTX 768MB DVIx2 TVO PCI-E

Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Socket 775 CPU Cooler

Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII 16MB Cache 7200 RPM - OEM

Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL4(4-4-4-12) E.P.P. Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/115479 or http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/118268
for the case, not decided on which one would be best as of yet. Would prefer the cheaper on, but i'm not sure if a £17.99 case would be worth it or not

This all seem ok now? Comes out at just about £940 with the better case, but as i'm selling my current monitor for £50, brings it below the magic £900

 

[aevm]

Sorry for the bad news, but the cheaper case is too small for the GTX. Also, some reviewer said he got 12 cuts while assembling his system :lol: :lol: OK, it's sad, I shouldn't laugh, but I couldn't resist.

Go with the Antec 900, it has no such problems and it's got great cooling too. That's very important for the GTX.

 

[pxb681]

Ahh, damnit! Looks like this will be one damn expensive (but pretty fine looking) machine!

 

[Maziar]

lol i wanted SLI , and now u dont want, but that board looks cool ,
CPU is good, but IF (remember i said IF ) u can get a Q6600

 

[ethel]

I had to hacksaw my P150 case to get my GTX in!!

It was a bit hairy at the time, but it was worth it ...

 

[aevm]

Hey, that's an option too. Pxb681, do you have the courage to do the same thing? You risk ruining a £17.99 case and getting some blisters but it could be fun. You could also paint it red and have some shark teeth there, I dunno :lol:


Edit: OK, I have a silly question: if you do something like that, is it safe for a very curious cat who has access to the computer???

 

[pxb681]

Hmm, well thankfully I dont have a cat, so that may be an option.... just hope the hole is high enough so the tortoise doesnt reach it :lol:

 

[ethel]

Edit: OK, I have a silly question: if you do something like that, is it safe for a very curious cat who has access to the computer???

You could always file the sharp edges down if that were an issue

The thing that worried me was the possibility of the metal dust it created jumping something on the mobo, but I was very careful and it fits like a treat.

 

[jeb1517]

You said you wouldn't like to overclock so why get the aftermarket CPU cooler? I would just stick with the stock cooler if your CPU will be running at stock settings.

 

[aevm]

Well, a good aftermarket cooler will reduce noise, that has been proven all right. It's supposed to also make the CPU last longer. That of course hasn't been proven but it sounds logical. Mind you, if the CPU goes to trash in 2 or 4 years anyway then the stock cooler is fine. I'd say let the sound issue decide: if the OP cares enough about noise he should get a cooler.