Need a new motherboard...

rS · 12-08-2007, 04:28 PM

I have read thru many threads already, and lots of good points have been made.. but I am curious if now that some of you have built your systems, what do you think.

I beleive I post before on the issues with my pc, and I have not been able to resolve them. So I am going to go with buying a new board and cpu and keep upgrading from there as I can till I get it running.

I know I will be getting the 6600 and will go with 1 8800GT, so I don't need SLI. I also have no need for raid or anything else. I am not sure if I will go with 2 2x2gb sticks of memory, since all I do is play video games and have no idea how to do half the stuff you all do, I would only be able to use what Windoze allows.. but that link one of you posted for Gskill si at $109, so even if I am wasting 1 gb, might come in handly later.. who knows.

Anyways.. just need a simple board that will handle the following:

4 sticks of memory
1 8800GT video card
1 X-Fi Sound card
1 6600 quad core cpu
1 HDD SATA 3
1 CD/DVD burner

I really don't have a need for floppys.. have not touched one in years.. so I think thats it.

any suggestions ?

ChemicalWarrior · 12-08-2007, 05:03 PM

2x 2GB sticks is the way to go for 4GB, always. You need a 64-bit OS to get "real" use out of 4GB. So if you haven't bought a OS yet, I would probably grab a 64-bit one. If not, not a huge deal, 2GB is still plenty from my experience except for one game that had a minor memory leak.

For motherboard, my choice would be: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L

Grab bang for your buck board, will OC well, and should be extremely stable. I'm a HUGE Gigabyte fan after my own experience for the previous motherboard in this price slot based on the P965 (chipset before the P35) chip. It has taken my E6300 from 1.86Ghz default clock to 3.15Ghz OC'd. Not a single stability issue either! So I would certainly expect the same great experience from this board.

rS · 12-08-2007, 05:24 PM

to do that, would I have to go Vista? I really would not like to do that at this time since I have heard nothing but issues with Vista and trying to get games to play. I hate having to spend time just to patch something just to play a simple game.

I will more then likely only be playing Nwn, WoW, BF2.. and I might get QW and CoD4.. but not sure.

ChemicalWarrior · 12-08-2007, 05:36 PM

There is a 64-bit XP but its not worth bothering. I wouldn't worry about it then. Really nothing would be gained for you going to Vista. At current prices as well it would probably be worth getting 4GB anyway, just as a path down the line. I seriously doubt we'll see memory prices go much lower.

Soul · 12-08-2007, 07:19 PM

I have the same setup rS - cept I have 8gb of memory. The motherboard that Chem mentions is the one I have, and Heater and just last week Lardog got one. All of us are using Vista 64 bit, with either a 8800 gt or gts and the x-fi music xtreme with an intel q6600. It is a great setup, and the games run just fine on vista with out any issue.

If your dvd drive is sata it will make the vista install quicker on the Gigabyte board, but not necessary.

rS · 12-08-2007, 07:22 PM

oh.. thanks!

great info both of you.. I appreciate it.

Nice to know others are using the board without issues. My wife said she toohas vista, but hates it because it asks her to confirm everything, something about even changing sites, etc.. will see about vista.

rS · 12-08-2007, 07:38 PM

looking at the 2 WinVista64bit's, I see 2.. the ultimate for $180 and the Homefor $110 or there abouts.. the home version would be suffice for me correct?

Soul · 12-08-2007, 07:38 PM

You can turn it off easily rS, Disable User Account Control in Windows Vista

Soul · 12-08-2007, 07:39 PM

OEM Home premium is what you would want

Soul · 12-08-2007, 07:41 PM

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM