Hi, This is my first ground up build of a PC and after days of research I think I have a pretty solid system. The only part I cant decide on is the Motherboard.So far it looks like the PC will come in a hair over 1k. The budget I initially set for myself is 1200 so there is some wiggle room left. I'm basically trying to build the best PC I possibly can with a modest budget ( aren't we all ).
PC Use:
It will mainly be used as a work machine. Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash will be open 100% of the time. I also use VMWare with CentOS+Apache as a testing web server. Multitasking is a focus with this build.I will be playing around with OCing. My goal is to get the CPU to 3.0ghz and I might tweak the mobo, ram and gpu.
I'm more of a console gamer, but I have an open mind to change that. I hate the feeling of getting a new game and turning the graphics down to nothing. As long as the PC can run the latest and future games at mid-high ill be happy.
Already Purchased:
- Antec P182 Case
- Antec Truepower Trio 650W Power Supply
Got these as a bundle for $169.99
The Probably Pile:
These are the parts that im pretty sure ill be getting. Feel free to recommend any changes.
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core - $195.88
- HIS Radeon HD 4850 ICEQ4 Turbo 512MB - $179.99
- Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB - $89.75
- Pioneer DVD - $27.48
- OCZ Reaper 4GB - $69.99 ( trying this out, will upgrade to 8GB later )
Now the Motherboards:
Here are the ones i'm considering. Please recommend any other boards you think will best fit my build. There are so many conflicting reviews and opinions on all these boards that im finding it hard to decide. Thats why im asking the experts ( you guys ^_^ ).
The Maximus II Formula is in a different league, but I dont know if I should cheap out on the Mobo or go all out. Its obviously the best on this list, but the price might not be worth it. Second place is currently a tie between the MSI Platinum and ASUS P5Q Pro. I dont know much about the DFI other than it being recommended and looking cool.
- MSI P45 Platinum LGA775 P45 - $205.20
NCIX.com - Buy MSI P45 Platinum LGA775 P45 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 RAID Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard - MSI-7512-010 In Canada.
- DFI LP Dk P45-T2RS+ - $185.45
DFI LP Dk P45-T2RS+ ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2OC 2PCI-E 2PCI CrossFire SATA2 RAID HD Sound GLAN Motherboard - DirectCanada
- ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 - $139.99
NCIX.com - Buy ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 CrossFire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard - P5Q Pro In Canada.
- ASUS Maximus II Formula LGA775 - $285.60
NCIX.com - Buy ASUS Maximus II Formula LGA775 P45 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA RAID GBLAN 1394 Motherboard - MAXIMUS II Formula In Canada. Cooling:
For cooling im planning on getting...
Thermalright ULTRA-120 Extreme
NCIX.com - Buy Thermalright ULTRA-120 Extreme 6 Heatpipe Cooler LGA775 Heatsink *Fan Not Included* - ULTRA-120-EXTREME In Canada.
And three of these fans to replace my stock case fans and 1 for the Heat sink.
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120MM
http://www.ncix.com/products/product...er=1&sku=17749
My only concern with this setup is the size of it all. If this Heat sink wont fit into any of the mobos above with this case then it might be a deciding factor.
If you know of a better more affordable cooling option please let me know :) I appreciate any feedback you give me, this is all pretty intimidating stuff for me... thats why i'm making sure to do my homework. Tanks!