New system...help me decide.

[KILLorBE]

I've been out of the loop for quite a while, and now I can't decide what to buy.

I've been reading quite a lot lately, but it only made my decision(s) harder.

My current main rig is the 1st in my sig (DFI NF3 Ultra D...etc.).

I've already decided that I want a C2D CPU and an Intel chipset based board.

I don't mind to be somewhat of a guinea pig. AFAIK I was the 2nd person (after Tim, he received his ~1-2 hours before I did) to get my hands on the DFI NF3 Ultra D, it took quite a while to get everything working as it should, but in the end I got my NIC working and MEM is running at 1T w/o a problem.

I'll make an order within 2 weeks, I already have a (used) MSI 7900 GTO, and I'll be using the Tagan 480W PSU that's in my sig (Unless someone can convince me that it won't be sufficient).

I've been thinking about an Asus P5K or P5B DLX WA and a 6420....not sure about RAM yet, just that I want 2x1GB.

A few things you should consider/keep in mind:
I'd like to use my TT BT (NP if it isn't possible).
I can't wait till the Intel price cuts, should I buy a cheap CPU just so I can get my new rig up and running? Or just buy a new CPU?....which I may regret afterwards? (I 'already sold' my MOBO, CPU, RAM and V-Card to a friend, but I'm not sure if I can settle with the 2nd rig in my sig for almost a month:eek: ).
I can possibly (most likely) pick a CPU with a certain stepping, any suggestions?

My budget is about $600 (could be ~$500 or ~$700, depending on the price differences between US and EU, don't worry about a ~$50 difference orso, I still have some stuff I should (and will) sell ASAP.
Please give me some suggestions for a ~$600 system, and a ~$750 system (CPU, MOBO and RAM).

TIA

[Neon Biker]

Asus P5K Deluxe seems to be the best choice at the moment, especially for a quad-core. In 2 weeks time you'll have a chance to see if Gigabyte or someone else can overtake it.

As for the CPU, I'd go for the ultra-cheap Pentium E2140 (MSRP $74) which will be launching on June 4th and then early next year I would just replace it with a Yorkfield. However, if you want a bit more performance you can go for an E4300 ($113) or an E6420 ($183), but I don't think they're worth it.

[KILLorBE]

Thanks for your reply Neon Biker! (Sorry for my late reply).

I've done some more reading, and thought about all the possibilities...

I decided to build a cheap system for now and upgrade early 2008 (X38, Yorkfield, DDR3....)

Yesterday I almost bought a P5B Deluxe for E112, but there was a flaw in the auction:(

I already ordered:
2x1GB G-Skill F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ (Black, Most likely D9GMH).
E2160 (Boxed).
P5K-E WIFI-AP

I also ordered a 320GB Seagate SATAII 16MB HDD, and I'll probably order a SATA burner today.

[Neon Biker]

That sounds pretty good. Just swap the 2160 with a Yorkfield next year and you'll be OK till Nehalem comes around. ;)

[Kaze06]

Ehhh...I personally would've saved a bit of money and bought the Vanilla, but whatever floats your boat eh?

[KILLorBE]

I thought about that as well, but the P5K-E isn't that much different from the Deluxe:

....P5K Deluxe:

RealtekRTL8110SC® PCI Gigabit LAN controller
Back Panel I/O Ports 2xRJ45
Accessories:
4x Serial ATA Cables
1x 2-port USB2.0 / 1-port IEEE1394 module
Software:
Image-Editing Suite

....P5K-E:

Back Panel I/O Ports 1xRJ45
2x Serial ATA Cables


I don't need any of that stuff, but I do get 8 phase power design, WiFi, and ICH9R (Which adds quite a few things like: 2 extra Serial ATA 300 ports, eSATA, Intel Matrix RAID, Intel Rapid Recovery, SATA port multiply and Intel Turbo Memory) which I think is worth the extra money.

I got it for E166.40 (~U$224), the Vanilla was ~E40 (~U$54) less and the Deluxe was ~E40 more.

Already received my HDD and CPU, MOBO is shipped today:cool: , memory will probably be shipped on Monday.

BTW: Price at the same store went up by almost E20, lowest price right now is E171 but most stores are OOS, first one that has it in stock charges E175.