Motherboard/Memory/Cpu purchase help

[Balrek]

Hi there, i'm looking to purhcase a motherboard, processor and memory with a nice case with cooling options.
I've been looking through the i7 platform builds but I cannot justify the money spent, i'm a gamer and only use the desktop for that purpose.
So I'd like the technology just a step down from the P7 builds, budget is not really a problem and overclocking is not frowned upon.
Remember that i'm still looking for performance in game.


Thank you so much for your help.

 

[halosinner666]

That can really be based on your budget. I built a budget pc for just under a grand, and it screams with any game i put in it. My temps are good. I can give you the specs if you would like. I play COD4 + 5, wow, crysis, left 4 dead, fallout3, nothing i cant max

 

[Balrek]

Hello Halosinner this PC is mainly for WOW in a raiding env.
I can spend a little over a grand on the motherboard, cpu, memory and casing.
I have a newly purchased radeon 4870 with an Antec true Power 650 W PSU and a 24 inch Monitor.

 

[halosinner666]

Wow is going to scream with that card. I personally have always been a huge fan of nvidia. As far as boards go, there are a lot of choices. If your only going to play wow, then you do not need to go crazy. Im partial towards the EVGA boards, such as the 780i.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188027&Tpk=780i%20ftw

Its SLI ready, just in case you decided to get a 2nd card. The OC on it is very nice. Cpu, im actually partial to the core 2 duos, but quad core is what everyone is looking at now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

can be clocked over 3.4 without any trouble. if you have even more money, you can step your processor up a bit. As far as case / cooling there are a few options.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106102
+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103047

one of those would work for cpu cooler. (im not sure you will need to overclock your cpu to play wow. You may not even need an aftermarket cpu cooler if you are just going to raid wow, but its an option if you decide to pimp out your pc.

I have used a lot of cases in the day, but i sware by this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

I love it, it has many expansion slots for multiple fans. Its big, has a lot of room for heatsink and what not. Slots for 7 possible hard drives, and even more room for tons of drives. It doesnt look that great, kind of boring, but for effectiveness, it is the best imo. Case is a matter of preferance.

I almost forgot, Memory. A lot of people sware by a few different brands of ram. If your gonna overclock your computer a lot, id suggest OCZ or G Skill. If your just going to run it at stock, CORSAIR is the way to go. This depends a lot on your OS. If your gonna just run a 32 bit xp, id suggest 2-3 gb of ram. If your gonna run 64 bit, as much as your little heart desires. I suggest running 64bit vista ultimate. Rock yourself out with 4gb of Corsair Dominator.

Remember when shopping for ram you want to look at a few things. The speed of it, and the timing. Id suggest corsair dominator, it can be clocked to 1066 no prob, with a 5-5-5-15 2T timing, very fast. IF your looking for something faster, id suggest ocz or gskill. Hope this helps.

 

[Balrek]

What's a good ASUS alternative for the motherboard ?
I'll most likely end up buying Vista 64 bit with 6 GB of corsair ram, do I really need to purchase the Ulitmate edition versus the standard home ?

 

[halosinner666]

To be honest, im not very familiar with ASUS boards. I have always heard when it comes to high end, the fall short due to the freezing and failing at boot. Are you looking to overclock, or is it one of those, "if its on the board, i might" kind of thing. Ill look into a bit more for you.

As far as vista, its enitrely up to you. Heres a link that shows you the difference between all the versions. I do mess around with a lot of them, hence why i use the ultimate.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx

 

[halosinner666]

I dont know this board personally. But I did do some research. This board seems very solid, with good reviews. 8 Gb max ram. 1600 fsb stock (very fast) Seems to be good for overclocking. Might break the bank a little though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284

 

[Balrek]

Ok come to think of it I don't want to purchase VISTA, i still have applications that are built for XP and i'd have to upgrade those as well.

So I'm looking at this for memory with your board.
Corsair XMS2 Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5D 4GB 2X2GB PC2-8500 DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Memory Kit - http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31395&vpn=TWIN2X4096-8500C5D&manufacture=CORSAIR

All

 

[Balrek]

I'm so sorry but the EVGA board that you linked doesn't come PCI Express 2.0 x16 ready ?

Check your PM's, i just sent you a message.