Motherboard for Core i7

[boldgamer]

Hello everyone. I am interested in building a new computer sometime around the end of Feb beginning of March (When my student loan comes back). I will be purchasing an Intel Core i7 920. I was wondering which motherboard I should choose for this processor.

ASUS P6T Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131346

and a board from Gigabyte
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128362

Which of these would be most user friendly for someone who has never built a system from scratch before? (I have done upgrades like installing more memory, replacing hard drives and PSUs, installing video cards, and installing DVD/CD ROM drives).

What I want from the board is stability (a must have for me) and upgradability. I don't do too much game playing (this could change but for right now I the only game I really play on my current PC is Civ 4) so SLI and Crossfire performance are not too important to me. I do intend on having a dual monitor set-up. I am not really interested in overclocking (only because I am worried about having a stable system). I do plan on running the 64 bit version of Windows Vista (or maybe just the beta version of 7 until it is released for sale).

So far here is what I have chosen for my system. If you have any recommendations or changes please let me know. Thanks!

Intel Core i7 920
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W power supply
Rosewill R5604-TBK Computer Case
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 Triple Channel Kit
2 DVD-RW drives
Nippon Labs internal All-in-one Card Reader w/ 3.5 FLOPPY DRIVE

 

[o1die]

Check for new boards when you build. Msi has the pro x58 model due out any day for around $189; fry's has a gigabyte x58 for $177 after rebate this week. I'm waiting for the DFI micro atx x58 board due out soon. Same for memory. Ewiz has supertalent 3x2gb for $94.13 that's rated for 1600 fsb.

 

[fullmetall]

Gigabyte or more of a Stability brand mobo.
and ram G.Skills is probably good but,
The Corsair is pretty dominant right now.

 

[boldgamer]

Thanks for your help. I think I may end up getting a laptop now though. It will work out better for school.

 

[mooks]

GIGABYTE+1..
Laptop is advantage to mobility but not gaming performance, I have both

 

[boldgamer]

^^^^I'm not a big gamer though. The most graphic intensive game I play at the moment is Civ 4 and I don't have a problem running that on a Radeon X300se.

I am kind of now leaning towards the desktop build again though. I have just figured out how to set my pc up as a media server for my PS3 and have learned how to rip video from my dvds. I like the idea of not having to pull out a dvd just to watch a movie. The only problem that I'm running into is that it takes forever on my current pc to rip the video to avi. I've had the program running for over an hour and am now just getting to 50%. On my current setup it takes longer to rip the file from my dvd than it does to watch the movie. I'm assuming that this process would go along a lot faster with the i7.

 

[fullmetall]

CPU isn't always what makes it slow, connection is another.

 

[scrumhalf]

The Core i7 excels at video encoding/decoding, so yes, the ripping process will be much faster. I just put my Core i7 system together using the Asus P6T Deluxe, and couldn't be happier with it. The motherboard has a great BIOS, plenty of features, and runs really fast.