What Motherboard would be best for me?

[squik-man]

The topic is the question.
Which would be the best for me?

What im trying to do/looking for:
- build a desktop to be one of the best out there
- pure gaming, video and music
- lots of ram and HD space
- using 2 video cards, so i belive thats crossfire? so it needs crossfire ready
- intel i7 capable(seperate question: How would i go by about overclocking a intel i7 920?)
- and anything else i feel the need to do to it.

any help or suggestions would be greatly appretiated

EDIT--> i forgot to mention what i already have/ whats on order for me
These items are straight from Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! so i will post the item# for refrence

- Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive -- N82E16822136351
- 2x - HIS H587F1GDG Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card ... - Retail -- N82E16814161301
- Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail -- N82E16819115202

thats all i have atm and i would like to add more, but i donot know what else i should throw in there yet, aside from fans, power, ram, and a case... its been a while since ive build a computer online, any help please?

also, another side question, i read that you need to have identical video cards for crossfire/ dual usage of vid cards, but what about 3?


--> new item added to the list, its a power supply, is it good enough? or do i ned a bigger one
- Thermaltake TR2 W0388RU 600W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail - N82E16817153114

[StarkTech]

- intel i7 capable(seperate question: How would i go by about overclocking a intel i7 920?)

Here's a couple of articles on oc'ing the i7-920

bit-tech.net | Guide - Overclocking Intel's Core i7 920

Overclocking Intel's Core i7 920 Processor - HotHardware

also here's a link to a thread about it..
i7 920 overclocking thread - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

[Flying JJ]

Don't order that stuff yet, I will put together a list later. Don't have time right now though. You can do better, cheaper. What is your budget?

[squik-man]

my budget?... i dont really have a "Budget" but if i must... maybe around 2k max?

i prety much just want to make the best of the best atm... but w a few minor differences

[Aaron_8015]

Yea that Hard drive will be letting down your rig.... As JJ has no time atm I will list some stuff...

Does this $2k budget include monitor, speakers etc or is it just the tower?

[squik-man]

this is just the tower... my monitor is going to be my lg 42" tv lol
speakers i dont need, if i must ill goto bestbuy nd buy some average ones... because ive got my icemat headset... so just the tower... ooo and im also looking for a case

[Aaron_8015]

Sorry about the late reply.... family like to do suprise visits this time of year...

CPU
Micro Center - Core i7 920 Processor Boxed
$199.99 (FS) Make sure you pick up D0 ver (SLBEJ)

Mobo
Newegg.com - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
$269.99 (FS)

Ram
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory
$149.99 (FS $30 MIR)

GPU
Newegg.com - XFX HD-587A-ZND9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB XXX Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
$427.99 x2

PSU
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies
$109.99 (FS $20 MIR)

HDD
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$74.99 x2 (FS)

Optical
Newegg.com - LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
$28.99

Case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
$69.99

Cooler
Newegg.com - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
$59.99

Fans
Newegg.com - Scythe S-Flex SFF21G 120mm Case Fan - Case Fans
$14.99 x2 (FS)

$1924.87 Not including shipping or rebates... Most of the parts have free shipping.

I was tempted to put a solid state drive in there, but only one I can squeeze into budget would be a 30gb OCZ drive and a 1tb black for storage, so you can decide between that or the two 640gb blacks in RAID0.

[Flying JJ]

Well, nice list and thanks Aaron. Would do some things diffrent though.

Would get 2x WD Caviar black 1TB will be about $50 more.

Case options, the one he picked is nice but options are nice too;

CoolerMaster HAF-932. or CoolerMaster HAF-922

Almost the same 932 is bigger and fits an e-atx mobo. The 922 fits an atx. They come with some good fans. I haven't added any to my 2 - 922's and have an i7-DO oc'd to 4.0GHz.

Would get some NVIDIA gpu's but that is just my 2 cents. Everyone on here knows I am an EVGA fan. Can seem to find any EVGA-275's at the moment. If I did, I would have bought them myself.

I like to have lots of head room on my ps. Don't know those gpu's at all, but if you ever go to one that uses more power or needs 6+2 pin pcie you may need more. I have 3 of these, sometimes just for the connectors. Corsair HX1000.
The ps Aaron picked will work for the rest he picked out, again just an option.

If you live near a MicroCenter, go in for RAM. I was there yesterday and got some OCZ - Gold 2000Mhz for $190. I can not find it on their website ( not even the sales guy could find it except in the internal stock part of their site ), but they had it in the store.

The Megahalems cpu cooler is a must. The stock cooler will just barely keep you cool at stock. This is in my opinion the best there is other than water. I have one on each of my i7 rigs.

Questions, comments or complaints, post em.

Sorry I couldn't do the list earlier but had to run out. Just didn't want you to order some of the stuff to find out later that you can get some much better performing stuff for almost the same $$$.

[Aaron_8015]

The 1tb Caviar blacks have problems in raid... you need to buy the special raid 1tb drives if you go that route....

I find case is a matter of opinion... it is a good case at a good price...

The 5870's are alot faster than the 275's and will benefit in games, they use about the same power.

The 750W corsair has 60Amps on the +12v which is more than enough... Though if you tri-fire it then mabye the 850W version will be better for future upgrades.

[squik-man]

well thank you very much, i really appretiate the help!
when i get home i will do more research on the ones you guys sent, i like the coolermaster full tower u linked i was looking at that one before.
as for ram, i was looking to get around 12, just to have
and the hdd around 1tb if not more
rest is good thought and appretiated

[Aaron_8015]

What in heavens name will you need 12gb of RAM for?

If you want a fast rig... its always a good idea for a low capacity fast drive and a large capacity storage drive....

Your welcome.... Will be here for questions.

[-FMA]

I would sink that $150 elsewhere than get another 6gb RAM.

Newegg.com - LG Black 8X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 6X BD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 8X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk Model WH08LS20K - Blu-Ray Burners

But I suppose that's just preference.

[Flying JJ]

What in heavens name will you need 12gb of RAM for?

If you want a fast rig... its always a good idea for a low capacity fast drive and a large capacity storage drive....

Your welcome.... Will be here for questions.

I would sink that $150 elsewhere than get another 6gb RAM.

Newegg.com - LG Black 8X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 6X BD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 8X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk Model WH08LS20K - Blu-Ray Burners

But I suppose that's just preference.

Well Aaron, you asked the same when we built my rig. I even agreed with you about the need for 12GB ram. Currently I am using about 7.5 GB of it. I did not know what I would be using this for at the time and have branched out into some new programs. Like I said then, a very short time ago 256k, 512k were big ram sticks. Along comes stuff in the Mega range and wow who needs that much, only the crazy gamers and super enthusiasts. Now we get into the Giga ranges and store bought crap computers come with 3-4 GB. Well this is great for the max economical on dual channel store bought but brings on the question. What should a well built home built enthusiast rig have? I believe it is 6GB at least, 12 GB if you want to give it that little extra.

When I built my first i7 rig, I didn't think I would use 12 GB, but wanted it just in case. I am using it though. Do I think you will use the extra 6GB, well probably not, but I didn't think I would either. In the end it is your money and your decision, you can always add it later.

How will technology advance in 2,4,6 years? Who knows? Maybe you will get a 1TB stick for 25 cents because that will be the old junk technology and who wants only a Terabyte of memory.

Edit: My kids i7's all have 6GB and are running a VM ( virtual machine-Linux )24/7 @ 81% memory usage. They will be going to 12 GB in the very near future. Just some additional food for thought. I can justify 12GB for my applications, you have to do it for yourself for your applications.

[-FMA]

Can you adopt me? I would like to be one of your kids.

[Aaron_8015]

Can you adopt me? I would like to be one of your kids.

Afraid there is a line....

[squik-man]

any suggestions for 12gb or more?

edit --> wow... didnt even see the 2nd page lol...
well idk if imma use the extra 6... but id like to have it just in case... i usually run alot of programs for my games... and if not i like having a bunch of random windows open ... i dont like to loose and forget... u kno?

and whts the best brand of a ram stik>?

i found these
A-Power.com - Buy OCZ 6GB PC3-16000 Gold Low Voltage Triple Channel #11882 - OCZ3G2000LV6GK - Canada
any good?

[Aaron_8015]

There are a lot of good brands some have a personal fav... If you really want 12gb just get two lots of the memory I listed... I had 6gb installed but found I dont need it so took 2gb out and am happily running on 4gb playing all my games at max, with FRAPS recording, FF open, Steam... and I have never seen more than 70% usage.

[squik-man]

well on my old desktop b4 it died on me i used to run 3 D2's w bots running on 2... steam vent xfire aim and msn... as well as WoW or Guildwars while they run... as well as random browsers and other windows...

ummm not to be picky or a brat or w/e u wana call... im in ny... so i cant goto any micro centers... although they are extremly cheaper lol

[Aaron_8015]

Thats a shame the I7's are much cheaper and you can make sure you pick up a D0 version...

[Flying JJ]

That is the memory that I picked up at MicroCenter. OCZ 2000Mhz. There are MicroCenters in NJ,OH,MA, depending on where in NY you are. It is worth the drive to ensure you get a DO for the $199.