$1500-1800 New Build, MB Advice

[Road King Bill]

Ok, I have purchased the following items but can not decide on a MB or cpu cooler.

1) Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 Case, $149.00

2) Enermax Infiniti 720, $179.00

3) Intel Core 2 E6850, $299.00

4) WD Caviar SE16 500, $109.00

5)Litespeed optical drive, $39.00

Undecided on what chipset to go with, 680i or P35. I plan to purchase a EVGA 8800 GTX, but do not think I will go SLI.

If I do not go SLI which chipset is best to go with for OC and ease of use ?

I like the ABIT IP35 Pro at 209 and the Gigabyte P35 DQ6.

I also like the EVGA 122-ck-NF68-A1 with 680i chip.

No real thought on the CPU cooler yet

[zanzabar]

i would go with the dq6, but u might want to wait for the x38/48 the preliminary benches look very promising, and i think street date was the 10th for the first few makes, and ide go quad core over teh 6850 its like $30 more and the benches point to the quad even at lower clocks being considerably better on newer software and games

[Road King Bill]

I have no clue on RAM also. I decied to not go SLI. Is the P35 chip the way to go or should I still consider the 680i ?

[troisanh]

no reason for 680sli chipset now.:up:

[Road King Bill]

Ok was leaning towards the P35 ABIT Pro or the Gigabyte DQ6. Unsure on Ram yet but will likly be DDR2 800, unknown brand.

My buddies are pushing me to Vista 32, me Im unsure.

This is a gaming rig also.

[[cTx] Nooc]

Abit IP-35 Pro is an excellent mobo :up:

need some ram for that 6850? sure, try the team xtreem 2gb kit, or G.skill HZ 2gb kit :)

both a D9's and clock like madness ;)

[LagunaX]

Good thread 4 u:

The best value-OC-P35-mobo?

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=157793

[dieqast]

So no overclocking will be done, why go say a DQ6 when you don't need it. A Gigabyte P35 DS3 will suit every need if not going CF or overclocking. P35 is a more efficient chipset as 680i, though 680i has more features that you'll probably won't need. As for RAM go for PC5300 (runs 1:1 with 333FSB on your E6850) which is all you need if not OC'ing
and keep it simple and cheap. Arora 570 is a nice case, but for value a CM690 is unbeatable. And your PSU is expensive and useless as a single GTX + E6850 can be run on 400W'ers easily, say a VX450. As for CPU-cooler, the stock is pretty quiet anyways until you're looking into OC'ing.

[Road King Bill]

I will be OC.

[L1m1t.NL]

Here are my suggestions:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6 (Abit IP35-Pro is close second!)
Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme + Scythe S-Flex 120mm Fan + Artic Silver 5
Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB PC2-6400
EVGA 8800GTX

And; Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit. There's just no need for 64-bit unless you plan to go 4GB anytime soon.

Cheers... ;)

Conclusion of 5-way P35 Comparison Test at The Tech Report (http://techreport.com/articles.x/12747/17)

[Road King Bill]

OK TY !, Was leaning towards the EVGA 8800GTX, but my friends suggust the 8800 GTS 320 meg ver. There thinking is the new cards are coming out soon so why pay the extra dollars for a card that should drop in price after new year. My thoughts are ya never know on price and the GTX gets rave reviews.

[Road King Bill]

Ok I am going with the ABIT Pro 35 MB with a duel core 6850 processer, EVGA 880GTX.

I still am not sure on the CPU cooler or ram.

I will be using Vista 32

[evoic]

Here's a vote for TRUE-120 CPU cooler and OCZ Reaper PC2-8500 sticks. ;)