Motherboard And Memory
MotherboardĀ : Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L
To maximize our speed and performance, we again needed to choose an overclocking-friendly motherboard. The Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L served us well in the $500 system, but was out of stock.
Read Customer Reviews of Gigabyteās EP45-DS3L
With the increase in budget, we now had the opportunity to move on to a P45 motherboard such as the all-solid-state-capacitor GA-EP45-DS3L chosen for this build. We gave up on finding a CrossFire version, like the more expensive P45 models, but at $105 (or $89 after rebate), the EP45-DS3L is a nice starting block for a reliable, high-clocked budget system.
MemoryĀ : PNY XLR8 PC2-6400
Read Customer Reviews of PNYās XLR8 4GB Memory Kit
We sought 4 GB of memory with tight timings for this monthās system, but as mentioned earlier, the most affordable high-performance 4 GB kit had gone out of stock and we almost had to settle for RAM with less aggressive specs. Fortunately, the XLR8 kit is rated at DDR800, 4-4-4-12 and 2.0 V. Adding to the value was an available $20 mail-in rebate offer.