Motherboard and Case questions

[ctnoland]

I am about to start a new computer build I just have a few things to iron out and I was hoping that you guys could help speed up the process a bit.

First let me say that I am not aiming for the most intense or extreme gaming computer ( I am not trying to show off how much money I can spend) I just want to be able to run games like SC2 on fairly high graphic settings (aliasing being pretty high on the importance list) so anyways here is what I have come up with and I will discuss my concerns after I explain the specs.

HDD- Intel X25-M 80gb SSD (for OS), and 500gb random SATA drive. (recommendations?)

CPU- AMD II X4 965, could step up to 1090t but is it worth it for just gaming? 100 dollars more is pretty rough.

VC- MSI N460GTX CYCLONE (Pretty excited from what I have read and heard over the internet about this one)

Mem- G.skill ripjaw 1600mhz 4gb

Motherboard- Up for debate need help with this.

CPU case- I am debating if it is worth getting the new lian li PC-V2120. I already have a good case but this one is just so sexy but the price disgusts me. Any thoughts on this would be helpful even other recommended cases. Looking for a light weight fairly transportable case.

I have everything else I need but I just want your thoughts mainly on a motherboard I dont want right angled sata ports and I dont need more than one 16x pci e. I NEED durability or at least a company I can depend on to have no problems with RMAs also obviously it needs to be compatible with all of the products I have in mind. Also a good bios wouldnt hurt. Thank you guys very much.

 

[kureme]

I don't know if it is still an issue but I recall AMD chips have bad if any trim support for SSDs. I think it was steer clear of AMD and nvidia chipsets if you want SSD. Maybe someone else could verify?

Regarding the case, you're already concerned about $100 more on the CPU, I don't think dropping half a grand on a case is even something to consider. That money would be better off going towards performance than aesthetics.

GTX 460s are great, but the new HD6850 are a bit better and at the same price point. I don't know if you're brand loyal but its a better deal for the buck.

For the AMD 965, both ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 and GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H are some of the best boards with good support. For durability, statistically mATX boards are more reliable because of less electronics on it to mess up. If you go this route, you have the MSI 890GXM-G65 or the ASRock 890GM PRO3.

 

[Dougie Fresh]

It seems the next Lian-Li step down from that case is this one for about $200 less:

LIAN LI PC-X1000 Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112242

It should be lightweight (comparably) but I don't know about how transportable something 26" tall is going to be. You can probably add casters to just about anything.

Since you don't state your budget, I'll go with the 890FX and say this is a good mobo/CPU combo if you want to go X4 965:

ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.537712
Combo Discount: -$25.00
Combo Price: $309.98

If that's too rich for your blood and you really honestly will never care about Crossfire then you can step down to 870:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131651

The latter has a combo with the X4 965

ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.537749
Combo Discount: -$20.00
Combo Price: $239.98

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If you really want something portable (though not very sexy looking) you can get this case with a handle on top:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094

and get a microATX motherboard since you only want one PCI-E x16 slot

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131654
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128445

 

[Dougie Fresh]

The issue was with the AMD chipset drivers. That was this summer. I think it had something to do with TRIM but you can use the default Windows drivers w/o issue. It might be a non-issue now. There was some other issue specific to Intel SSDs (the one in the OP as a matter of fact) and NVidia chipsets. That's for the mobo chipset though, nothing to do with graphics cards.

Philosphical arguments about TRIM support, 3rd party IDE/AHCI drivers and SSDs start here: http://thegreenbutton.net/forums/t/93889.aspx?PageIndex=3

 

[ctnoland]

No budget to be heard of if you guys can convince me of the quality justifying the price I will pay it. Like I said though I dont want to spend money just to spend it. I really like that LIAN LI PC-X1000 case dougie but I think kureme convinced me that I probably should just hold back on that for now...again not a matter of price but I want to get this up and going asap and spending money on a new case when I have a perfectly good silent case now is pointless.

You guys have got me a bit nervous about the SSD I will do some more research on it later but any recommendations on a certain brand anyone has experience with?

As for the motherboards thanks dougie for the recommendations I will have to look through them more carefully later tonight.

Regarding the GPU I dont think I will worry too much about it as I have already done A LOT of research on the unit.

 

[kureme]

Consider an i5-760 build instead. There are no problems with TRIM support with intel CPUs.

The recommended build by usage for intel gamers is a good starting point. It should be in one of the stickies. I myself went with this build and it's working pretty well for me so far. I have yet to get a GPU and just borrowing a GSO 9600 from a friend. I was considering a GTX 460 but just waiting to see what the HD 6900 line has to offer. If anything, my wait will still pay off in that the prices will drop.

I read up that the HD 6850 is a bit better than the GTX 460 at the same price point and it will only get better as the drivers mature.