Hello... Brand new here, First post

I need to build a brand new computer.
I have spent quite a few hours just reading, and browsing prices on new egg and various sites. I need your help.

What will I use the PC for? = Watching movies, using it as a TV, everyday browsing, and moderate gaming.

Since the Q6600 and E6850 are just about the same price, which one is a better choice for my uses?

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i ($200 on new egg after rebate) Is this a good mobo, or are there cheaper 680i based mobos that will do the job just fine?

Thank you in advance,

-jack

If you’re going for nForce you should get the 6850. 680i doesn't OC that well with the quad cores.

Also for what you say, the 6850 will do you better. Quad Core gaming isn't here yet. Crysis will be the first one to really take advantage of more then 2 cores.

If on the other hand you want to be encoding a movie, while playing WoW, listening to music and browsing through your pics while you LFG the quad core will do you better.

I'm not a big nForce fan. If you plan to OC though, you would be better off with a P35 or the soon to be released X38.

Is the only advantage to 680i the SLI?

If u play @ resolutions higher than 1920x1200 , then go for SLI , if not get P35, because u can choose to have DDR2-DDR2 AND DDR3- and DDR3 , and also it supports pcie-2 too ,

about the CPU comparison , both are good , and here is a review :
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/i [...] i=3038&p=8

the quad core will be more future proof and the 6850 will give no discernable advantage in today's games (e.g. it might give you 10 extra FPS if you're using a GTX and getting over 100fps anyway - you won't be able to see the difference)

a G0 Q6600 will run at 333FSB (3Ghz) with absolutely no problems and some people are getting 3.4-3.5ghz on premium air coolers (e.g. Tuniq Tower 120)

Quadcore has a good future ahead while Dualcore is dominating at the moment. I would recommend Quadcore over Dualcore. As the Q6600 is more than enough for todays games which not take advantage of more than two cores.

Yep. Quadcore is better if you want to wait for future games. Unreal Engine 3, Crytek 2 engine will take good advantage of the multicore CPUs. I will bet Valve also will upgrade their Source Engine some time soon.

Q6600 is the best future proof, as many above have said. If you are a fan of the Half Life story, episode 3 has been rumored to be 4 cores optimized(on the intel quad). Paired with a 8800GTS 640, in my opinion, would make a very nice PC for everyday use and moderate gaming on a nice 20-22 inch monitor with 1680x1040 resolution.

If you play supreme commander at all, go for the quad core (in addition to the other advantages already mentioned). Its optimized for four cores.

if not overclocking..

game = E6850

video rendering / other = Q6600

if overclocking, Q6600 is your best bet.

I had a choice a couple weeks ago- For essentially the same $300...

E6850 and G33 motherboard
Q6600 and P4M900 motherboard

I chose the E6850 partly because it could OC to 3.6 easily, and partly because I could sell off the G33 motherboard for twice the money as the P4M900... Getting a G0 Q6600 is still a chancy situation with so many B stepping ones still in the channel... I hear some online retailers will guarantee a G0 Q6600... For a fee...

Thank you for all the replies, I decided to go with the Q6600.

I just won a Q6600 off eBay with g0 Stepping for $310 including shipping.... So what is the best possible motherboard that would suit me best? Since I am brand new to building, I'am not sure if I will be overclocking.

the q6600 g0 for video - i suggest you try the t1 mobo

no there are not any good 680i mobo's except the a1 and t1 in my opionon

i would use an intel mobo -- p35 such as asus p5k-e or deluxe

yes P5K-E is good

@OP: Somebody posted this P35 Mobo OC Review, it might be helpful:

P35 Chipset Mobo Review