best average priced/good performing mobo/cpu/memory combo

[builder22]

asking for a friend....
he wants a pc that will play the latest games etc
I built a pc using abit ip35 pro, e8400 cpu and gskillz 8000 memory earlier this year
is this still a good combo? are there any new boards/memory that have been released recently? I think the E8400 is still the best cpu choice (overclocked)

he is going to use a p-ata 200 gig drive and has read there's a prob with the ip35 pro board uing p-ata drives, anyone know of any issues there ?

 

[neoboy]

I'd say that it's a pretty solid combo for gaming. No idead about the drive mind.

 

[Quixote]

For gaming, it's still worth skimping on CPU & putting the money in the graphics card. You don't specify a budget but the ATI 4850 is probably the best reasonably priced all-rounder. For the motherboard, bear in mind that unless you overclock, a £60 motherboard will equal any board out there in stock performance terms. If you do, you neeed to ask yourself how far you want to go & what you're prepared to pay.
RAM speedbarely matters (except for extreme overclocking), I'd go for 800 speed now because it's the most cost effective but RAM speeds have made sod all performance difference for ever now. Quantity, which is more important, 2, 3 or 4gb should serve you well. With prices a s they are now, I'd recommend 4GB.
I'd say Core2 Duo 7200, ATI 4850, with either a P35
chipset or a P45 chipset depending on budget.
Depentant on the monitor resolution, this will slaugter games. My setup (see sig) still blows me away.