Mobo for gaming computer

[Adz85]

Building a new gaming comp - budget of 1k
Lost in the sheer number of mobos available
Looking for suggestions for a mobo at around $150 +/- $20


So far thinking of

Case - Antec Three Hundred (is this too small for the Gfx card?) - $62
CPU - Core i3 2100 or i5 2400 if I can spare the cash - $122/188
Mouse - G500 - $69
Keyboard - $30
Graphics - Powercolour HD 6870 - $168
PSU - Antec Truepower 650W (more than enough?) - $99
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws-X F3-12800CL9D-8GBX - $52
HDD - WD Caviar Green 1TB $99

Mobo????

Prices are quoted for my city in Australia
Let me know your thoughts

 

[Raiddinn]

The Antec 300 Illusion is a good case, but I am wary of recommending it for this application.

I am not sure that the graphics card will fit and I am having trouble confirming that.

You might want to have a look at the case in my signature, the Lian Li PC-K59. There is a removable hard drive rack that allows you to stick a really long video card in there and I am sure the PowerColor 6870 would fit in this one.

Either processor is ok, whatever you can spare the money for.

Keyboard - Too expensive, you should be able to shave off half this cost. The mouse too. I wouldn't want to spend $100 for these two items if it were me, even if they were the coolest looking things imaginable.

PSU, 650w antec is fine.

RAM - Fine

HD = Fine It said in the product page it is designed for Intel boards, but it should still work for AMD.

I need to know if you want 2x video cards or potentially more before I can recommend an exact board.

Motherboard, not sure what you are looking for in terms of the motherboard.

 

[Adz85]

Hi,

I'm actually building this for my girlfriend's mother so there won't be any fancy peripherals plugged in.

Really just want room for 1 gfx card and maybe a couple PCI slots just incase.

Just want something that does the job well but doesn't give me unnecessary extras if that helps. Just a few SATAs and a couple PCIs and a few USBs

Let me know if you need more info

Cheers,

Adam

 

[Adz85]

This case is a lot cheaper actually - and says it supports long cards up to 400mm
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/CAS-AEXWARRIORB/Default.aspx

 

[Raiddinn]

What is the mother going to do with it?

Unless she is a gamer she probably doesn't even need a graphics card and the case can be super simple.

 

[Adz85]

Yes, she's a gamer

 

[Raiddinn]

My motherboard is a solid budget micro board, the M4N68T-M v2. It has 1 slot for a video card and more than enough space for a couple PCI cards and the price for it is pretty competitive with other top tier brands like Gigabyte.

You may want to consider that board.

If the mother wants to have a high end video card, I would suggest you look for a case that has removable bays.

I got mine for that reason. My video card now has tons of room because I removed the bay on the end of it, even though it wasn't particularly necessary for me to do it. I just wanted less to be between the fan and the video card.

At the same time, if I want to buy a 590 super long card and shove it in I have plenty of room for that too with the bay removed that could have potentially obstructed it.

If you get an Antec 300 Illusion case you won't have that capability and indeed you won't likely be able to upgrade to the 590 in the future at all because it just doesn't fit.

Anyway, my situation is quite budget limited and I got my parts with all of the same concerns so you may want to consider them in addition to what else you are considering.

 

[Adz85]

Best answer selected by Adz85.

 

[Adz85]

I will look at some other cases, thanks for the advice

 

[Adz85]

Thinking a lancool K62 would be a bit better