Ok, as a preface this system is not going to be built until end of August. The system budget is relative but trying to keep it around 3000-3500.
Items not in budget but relative to system:
Display - 28 inch 1920x1200 resolution
Audio - Klipsch 2.1 (not upgrading to Surround dont need a pro audio card yet.
System is multi functional. Long term gaming, some 3d rendering / video editing. More towards gaming.
With that in mind, I have used nvidia for over 10 years now. It would appear that being the crowned for so long has gotten to their pride. Their pricing for the gtx280 is just way to high. I have designed this build around the ati platform. This is only because I have high hopes for the new 4870's. However sine this is not due until end of August ATI claims a new video card will be released around that time. This is where I want the opinions. My current motherboard selection is purely up in the air. I want the system to last many years, and have some overclockability. The future proof in 1600fsb is nice. Reading on Asus their stock bios is losing them customers. I dont care for my current reference to much, I wished an ati 3x 16pcie existed versus the current 2x16 1x8 config.
I want people's opinions on future motherboards from top manufacturers only. I dont want to see some ECS junk and "overclock" with a cheap cpu. Im not in the budget for a extreme processor trying to set some world record. 500-600 on the cpu is about the limit. I like the higher multiplier 8.5 on the current choice versus the 8.0 on the step down. The ram I selected was 1600mhz, maybe I only need 1333 with a decent overclock. But I wouldnt mind a 4.0 ghz clock on these quad cores within the end of the year. The cpu cooler I did a brief research. I was familiar with the tuniq tower when it was the King. No liquid cooling please
cpu+motherboard = under 1000
cooler = under 100
ram =under 300
hard drives = 600(staying with velociraptor)
video cards = under 1000 (looking for third party coolers i hear 4870's are hot)
case + psu =400-500
os - vista ultimate or enterprise x64
cdrom = under 100 (if blue ray combo drops) otherwise cheap dvdrw)
ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM/WIFI-AP @n ATX Intel Motherboard
$369.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
$36.99
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$600 (2x300)
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
$299.99
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window
$214.95
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD for System Builders
$179.99
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Power Supply
$249.99
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SH-S202J
$22.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
$549.99
Items not in budget but relative to system:
Display - 28 inch 1920x1200 resolution
Audio - Klipsch 2.1 (not upgrading to Surround dont need a pro audio card yet.
System is multi functional. Long term gaming, some 3d rendering / video editing. More towards gaming.
With that in mind, I have used nvidia for over 10 years now. It would appear that being the crowned for so long has gotten to their pride. Their pricing for the gtx280 is just way to high. I have designed this build around the ati platform. This is only because I have high hopes for the new 4870's. However sine this is not due until end of August ATI claims a new video card will be released around that time. This is where I want the opinions. My current motherboard selection is purely up in the air. I want the system to last many years, and have some overclockability. The future proof in 1600fsb is nice. Reading on Asus their stock bios is losing them customers. I dont care for my current reference to much, I wished an ati 3x 16pcie existed versus the current 2x16 1x8 config.
I want people's opinions on future motherboards from top manufacturers only. I dont want to see some ECS junk and "overclock" with a cheap cpu. Im not in the budget for a extreme processor trying to set some world record. 500-600 on the cpu is about the limit. I like the higher multiplier 8.5 on the current choice versus the 8.0 on the step down. The ram I selected was 1600mhz, maybe I only need 1333 with a decent overclock. But I wouldnt mind a 4.0 ghz clock on these quad cores within the end of the year. The cpu cooler I did a brief research. I was familiar with the tuniq tower when it was the King. No liquid cooling please
cpu+motherboard = under 1000
cooler = under 100
ram =under 300
hard drives = 600(staying with velociraptor)
video cards = under 1000 (looking for third party coolers i hear 4870's are hot)
case + psu =400-500
os - vista ultimate or enterprise x64
cdrom = under 100 (if blue ray combo drops) otherwise cheap dvdrw)
ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM/WIFI-AP @n ATX Intel Motherboard
$369.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
$36.99
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$600 (2x300)
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
$299.99
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window
$214.95
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD for System Builders
$179.99
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W Power Supply
$249.99
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SH-S202J
$22.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
$549.99