These are my specs... recommend a motherboard

[alanharte]

My (almost) final specs are as follows...
CPU - Core 2 Duo E8400 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Socket 775 (3.0GHz) 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor - Ebuyer

Graphics Card - PowerColor ATI Radeon HD 4870 PowerColor HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card - Ebuyer

Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit OEM Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium -SP1- Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 32-bit - English - Ebuyer

Memory - Corsair 4GB Corsair 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-18) Heat Spreader Lifetime Warranty - Ebuyer

Monitor Samsung SM223BW 21.6" TFT Monitor Widescreen 1680x1050 3000:1 300 cd/m2 5ms VGA/DVI-D Glossy black 3 Years Onsite Warranty - Ebuyer

Scythe Processor Cooler Scythe Mine Rev-B Socket 478, 754, 940, 775, 939 & AM2 CPU Cooler - Ebuyer

Corsair 650W Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail - Ebuyer

Case Antec 300 Three Hundred Case - No PSU - Ebuyer

Case Fans (x2) Hiper 120mm Case Fan - Clear HiperFlow Frame & Blades - 3pin with Adaptor/Screws Included - Ebuyer

Hard Drive 640GB Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM - Ebuyer

DVD Drive Optiarc AD-7200S 20X DVD±RW/DL/RAM Internal SATA Bare Black Drive - OEM - Ebuyer

Linksys Wireless PCI Card Linksys WMP54GS Wireless PCI Card with SpeedBooster - Ebuyer

But I am having trouble finding an appropiate mobo. I looked into both the Asus P5Q PRO P45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer and the Asus P5Q Deluxe P45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer - one is PRO, the other, DELUXE (about £30 more expensive). Since I will be using the PC mainly for gaming and will be looking to overclock the E8400 to about 3.6GHZ, as well as installing another ATI 4870 around christmas time to use Crossfire - is the DELUXE version really essential? What's the important differences between the 2? I could put the saved £30 into an Antec 900 case instead.

...or should I go for a completly different mobo all together? (although preferably under £100)

Thanks.

[KarmaKiller]

The Deluxe has one more Gigabyte LAN port(that supports teaming) but one less PCI Express x1 slot.
That's really the only difference I see between the two boards.
I know I recommended those boards to you, but I found something better IMO.
IDK if you can order from this site or not though, might check and see..

Scan Computers UK: DFI LanParty DKX38-T2R, iX38 Express, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
That board is a great board for crossfire setups + OCing.

Scan Computers UK: DFI LanParty LTX38-T2R, iX38 Express, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
That board too.

IMO, I would rather put the wolfdale on one of those DFI boards then the ASUS boards. But that's just me.

[alanharte]

I've just seen this ASUS Maximus Formula Republic of Gamers iX38 Socket 775 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer its a little bit more expensive than what I was going for - but it supports Crossfire (although can you confirm it does both cards at 16 each, rather than one at 16 and the other at 8) and it is apparantly really good and easy to overclock a Q6600 Quad CPU at 3.5ghz using preset configurations (although I think this is if you're using watercooling and I can't tell if watercooling is included with the mobo)

EDIT: I found some DFI boards on ebuyer Ebuyer - Cheap Computers, Laptops, Digital Cameras, TVs & more! aare any of these the ones you recommended?

[KarmaKiller]

No, none of those are the same. I was recommending a X38 chipset board. But, one of those is a P45 board.
DFI LANPARTY DK P45-T2RS Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard - Ebuyer
Basically DFI's version of the Asus board you were looking at.

As far as the Max board though, you have to have water cooling. I've never seen or heard of anyone trying to run one of those without H20. But it does support full 16x bandwidth in crossfire.
And really, if you got a good Quad, it's easy to get to 3.5Ghz. Mine isn't that good of a chip, but I can run it at 3.7Ghz stable on just my 680i. (Can't during the summer because of temps)

[Atomic Rooster]

The Asus Maximus board he linked to Karma is the Formula version which runs fine on air.

The Formula SE version has the integrated Fusion hybrid heat-pipe and water block cooling system for the north bridge.

[KarmaKiller]

Well, from reading anandtech review, it seems like they think it should only be ran with water. I'm not doubting you can run it on just air, but I personally wouldn't.

[Atomic Rooster]

The two reviews on Anandtech are both for the water cooled versions.

Here's a review of the non-water cooled version: Bjorn3d.com -ASUS Maximus Formula (Non-SE): An Aircooling Delight

[KarmaKiller]

Thx