Hi everybody, I'm trying to build a new system that will last me for a while, and need help with choosing a good motherboard, ram, and hard drive. First of all, I am not interested in overclocking, maybe a little, but not a big concern. Here is what I have so far for my new system:
1 - antec 900 case
1 - antec 850w power supply
1 - xfx 9800gtx black edition pci express 2.0 video card
What motherboard, ram and cpu would you recommend? I would like a system that is going to last as long as what I am using now has - I built this 4 years ago and it still runs pretty strong - asus pc800e-deluxe, 3.0ghz cpu, 2 gig ram, I have changed the video cards, and hard drives over the years.
I'm looking for a good quality, stable board and ram. I have always had good luck with Asus, but I don't have to stick with them. Should I go for ddr2 or ddr3? The boards for ddr3 are pretty high but newegg has an open box asus striker nse for $260? Or should I just go with ddr2 and something like an asus p5n72 or EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1? Or do you have a better recommendation? if the board recommends ddr2 800 can I go with ddr2 1066 and have a little play for overclocking if I decide that?
Also, I guess I need a pci ex 2.0 for that video card, I'd like to have an SLI path, so that I can get a little boost from a 2nd video card when they get reasonable. Or is the gain from SLI not even worth it?
Also, I know I'm going to get the intel c2d e8500, if that helps.
Sorry for so many questions, it wasn't this hard 4 years ago when I built the last one!
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Charles
1 - antec 900 case
1 - antec 850w power supply
1 - xfx 9800gtx black edition pci express 2.0 video card
What motherboard, ram and cpu would you recommend? I would like a system that is going to last as long as what I am using now has - I built this 4 years ago and it still runs pretty strong - asus pc800e-deluxe, 3.0ghz cpu, 2 gig ram, I have changed the video cards, and hard drives over the years.
I'm looking for a good quality, stable board and ram. I have always had good luck with Asus, but I don't have to stick with them. Should I go for ddr2 or ddr3? The boards for ddr3 are pretty high but newegg has an open box asus striker nse for $260? Or should I just go with ddr2 and something like an asus p5n72 or EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1? Or do you have a better recommendation? if the board recommends ddr2 800 can I go with ddr2 1066 and have a little play for overclocking if I decide that?
Also, I guess I need a pci ex 2.0 for that video card, I'd like to have an SLI path, so that I can get a little boost from a 2nd video card when they get reasonable. Or is the gain from SLI not even worth it?
Also, I know I'm going to get the intel c2d e8500, if that helps.
Sorry for so many questions, it wasn't this hard 4 years ago when I built the last one!
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Charles