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Newbie on a new build looking for suitable mobo

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Hi all, been checking tom's for years but first time checking in forums so I hope u gents can tip me some advice.
In the past I've friends who helped me in PC problems but I dont wanna rely on them so Im learning to build one from scratch myself.

Im trying to build a new gaming rig that can play great on games like: StarCraft2, AgeOfEmpires3, Resident Evil 4 & 5, Assasin Creed 1 & 2, lineage2, WoW, Tom clancy's... etc (hopefully able to do good on Diablo3 in future, not sure what it requires yet). As well as watching BluRay / 1080p movies.

Anyways, I've budget around $800ish & so far Ive look around & compare charts & really like to get my hands on GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI (just 1 card for now, might get the 2nd one in future for SLI), as for CPU Im aiming to have Intel Core i7 Quad Core I7-870 2.93GHz. Im gonna carry over my previous Hard drives as I have many of them so I dont need new Harddrives for this rig. The GPU & CPU should last me for at least 2~3 yrs, so Im really just looking for a good Motherboard that can also last the next 2~3 years of technology in case for upgradebility. As for RAM, Im looking for at least 4GB DDR3 1600, hopefully save enough in future to double that up to 8GB. So with that means, the mobo should have SLI/Crossfire ready (2 slots), & 4 slots for ram (in case of 4x2GB). Also, wanna ask what's suitable PowerSupply for this setup? And does a standard ATX case would fit all those fine?

Appreciate all the advice in advance.

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Thx for help guys =)

Question: does rolli59's recommended PSU do fine with techmo34's mobo too? I figure its looks only a slight upgrade w/ USB3 & SATA6 support but I wonder would it draw/need more power in the case if in future I added another SLI card & 8GB ram & decent sound card to it?

Thx again guys.
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thx for the tips again Tecmo, but I just read more & seems like Im miss look quite some other factors lol... if in future I wanna make it SLI dual cards, the heat & power gonna double up (I assume), I live in San Jose & it gets pretty hot in Summer & warm during daylight in any season. So Im thinking about getting a H20 water cooler system for it this time. Then I also have mislook that all my other HD are still IDE pata, for this rig I'd wanna get at least SATA or hopefully in future I can upgrade to SSD for boot/load times.. Im also considering a decent sound card & wonder does it takes up much power/heat as well like GPU does (I didnt thought so but I wouldnt know the new gen cards nowadays).

So to sum it up, the parts I aim so far:
[Mobo]: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro
[CPU]: Intel Core i7 Quad Core I7-870 2.93GHz
[GPU]: GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI (1 card for now, in future will get another)
[PSU]: XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Parts that need recommendation:
[Case]: ???
[H20 Cooling]: ???
[Sound]: ???


Well just so u know what machine I had couple days ago until it failed & died, & that's why Im building this new rig. I had a P3 800Mhz 512sdram (I know right..lol) So yeah, jumping from that gen to this gen, so bet Im extremely excited about this new rig lol. And thanks for the help again in advance.
Motherboard Master

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB or 1TB is my recommendation.

Cooling: 1) Go with a decent to high-end air cooler will get the job done just fine with a good case. 2) The GTX 460's aren't the heat producers of their bigger brothers so don't expect double the heat (only a degree or two :)  ). With this said, I would recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (Great Cooling for the price!!)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 - Best all the round case for the price IMO.

Sound: On-board is just fine!! They are much much better from the days of your old PC. Most users will not need anything else besides the on-board sound.

just on-board sound? really? wow, guess Im way behind lol... thx again for tips bro.

Whn u say all the round case, do u mean its size & fittings for all the parts I can squeese in?

Thx a lot Tecmo

tecmo34 said:
Cooling: 1) Go with a decent to high-end air cooler will get the job done just fine with a good case. 2) The GTX 460's aren't the heat producers of their bigger brothers so don't expect double the heat (only a degree or two :)  ). With this said, I would recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (Great Cooling for the price!!)


Above u mention high-end cooler & also the Hyper 212 plus, are tey the same thing? I look at the COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus, it seems like its for CPU only instead? like its apply on top of CPU those?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Just wondering how that works.

If everythig else is set so I guess this will be the rig?
[Mobo]: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro = $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
[CPU]: Intel Core i7 Quad Core I7-870 2.93GHz = $289.99
http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_getprod.php/maste...
[GPU]: GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI (1 card for now, in future will get another) = $249.99
http://stores.tomshardware.com/search_getprod.php/maste...
[PSU]: XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready = $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
[Case]: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 = $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
[Cooling]: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus = $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
[RAM]: 4GB DDR3 1600 (What brand do u recommend for gaming RAM?)

Hi Tecmo (or anyone who knows as well):

Ive a change of mind about the Mobo. After reading more articles about Graphics & Display about SLI/CF peformance, I notice I dont really need SLI/CF ready Mobo, I'll just need single GPU Mobo that' cheaper & works better with single cards. Im still gonna stick with GTX460 1GB, but I'll need different Mobo that runs 1 GPU which best compatible with the 460.

So with that said, changing the Mobo, do I also need a different PSU which handles power lesser? cuz I fear even if the current PSU choice still capable of handling that, would it overpower the rig in power consumption/heat wise?

I was reading this FAQs & got my plan all changed lol... Good thing I still havent order yet.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245454-33-crossfire-f...

Also, what u recommend for 24" or above LCD/LED monitors that works well with that single GTX460 for games & movies?
Motherboard Master

If you are wanting a single PCIe slot motherboard, I would go with the ASUS P7P55D-E LX. For your monitor, I would look at the ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers

I've read Maziar's article and agree with it to a point but there is some real benefit in certain games with SLI, so I always keep that option open, specially with a 24" monitor. The GTX 460 is a great card but it will struggle with some games at 1920x1080 with full "eye-candy". At times is easier to upgrade to a 2nd card for a performance boast at a lower price than buying a bigger and better card! IMO

Thx for the fast response Tecmo,

Actually that is the question where Im also asking myself. One reason why I think I might not need the SLI combo is #1) gets too costly just for the few games I played, right now I play mostly Starcraft2, AssainCreed1/2, residentevil5 those, FPS game I sometimes do, but not a big fan of first person shooters game kinds. And for the resolution Im gonna set at, Im probably gonna just try max graphic detail at 1600x1200, but not gonna bother any higher or max res cuz I think my eyes couldnt view all that wide anyways, and if 1600 showing signs of struggle, Im still happy with lower rez down as long as picture quality still gonna be smooth & clear, no lags during game, no choppy lines.

Secondly, Im not the type where I time to time looking for upgrade unless technology change to a point where I must before I can continue, so Im hoping this rig will last me few years before the high quality graphics I see on screen starting to become the lower end. Plus, technology change way too fast, I dont & wont even know by the time few years later, probably it'll require a new generation of motherboards, or PCIe2 probably will get replace by something else.

Before I was getting overly excited when I aiming for SLI power, althou SLI still gonna benefit, but the price not likely to drop that much within months or maybe year, and if by then the price drops half or more, that means the next legacy card has arrives, so even a lot cheaper to get 2nd 460 by then, but it'd be pointless if by then the standard require new gen GPUs slots, or maybe PCIe4,5 or DDR3 turns to 6 or something higher, maybe by then BluRay has something else replaced, require GPU higher version of shaders, which probably need new gen GPU cards...so on & so on.

So what I thought of, is like, Im willing to spend enough for a good or above average quality machine that last me the next few years, & when next generation technology arrives, probably getting another GTX460 (which probably by then would only cost $70 or so) to make a lilttle boost wont satisfy the quality standards by then, which probably gonna need next gen Mobo, next gen RAM, next gen GPU & all other, so I mind as well just take it as a final set-piece config until the next gen machine kicks in. Knowing by then if I wanna catch up to somewhere above average, I'd probably end up getting a new rig, or at least replacing half the rig. So instead of designing the current rig with many upgradebility, I mind as well save up the upgrade money for next few years & shoot for the next generation machines. If I estimate the time line around 1~2 years wide, its plenty of time for me to save for the next big bad azz machine, instead of spending little bit time to time just to play the catch up game, which Im not good at anyways. Im not sure if I had the right mindset, but just looking at the technology change so fast, it seems to make more sense for me to save up the upgrades for the next bad azz, dont u think?

Again, thx for ur help.
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