senun

Distinguished
Nov 27, 2008
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18,510
I have been out of the loop for quite a while now. I am looking for something that will run games and programs like photoshop well. I need a motherboard with as many USB ports as I can get as well as support for atleast 8 gigs of ram. Please make recommendations and help me check for compatability. Thank you!

Build

Memory (RAM): G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166

Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1267-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card – Retail - $259.99 (w/ Far Cry 2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130400

Hard Drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive – OEM - $279.99 + $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260

Media Drive: SAMSUNG Black DVD Burner with LightScribe - $26.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151173

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor – Retail - $184.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

Motherboard: ?

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply – Retail $144.99 + $25 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

Case: ? Full-Tower with good cooling.

Sound Card: Necessary w/ selected motherboard?

Other:
Dynatron P785 CPU Cooler
ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
Are these useful?
 
You probably don't want that Raptor. Mis-allocation of funds :) Likewise the RAM.

If you were going to use a Raptor as a photoshop scratch disk.... just get a small SSD instead.

Possibly use the savings to get a Q9550.

Have a look at my guide:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/257075-31-what-parts-choose
That will give you some education on motherboards so you can make a good decision.

Then my Big Parts List:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/257547-31-personal-list-parts
Just my personal picks... might be some better deals right now so shop carefully.