New rig

[Sirrel Squirrel]

I'm planning on getting a new rig this month after putting it off a few months ago, how's this spec sound:

I've got another 4 hard drives that I'm taking out of my existing setup along with the dvd burner and Audigy sound card along with my copy of XP.

Just wondering what the best motherboard would be for the above spec, I was thinking of getting the Gigabyte DS3 (the 69.99 one) a few months ago, is that still a good choice?

 

[Felix E]

I've just ordered a very similar spec to yours, and went for the Asus P5B Deluxe mb - it's a bit more expensive than the DS3 but it's meant to be good.

I was also advised to change my memory from the Ballistix 6400 to the 5300, as it has tighter timings and OC's very well anyway, so you can reach the same speeds for a bit less cash.

Just need some games to come out now

 

[Jaffa_Cake]

I would go for the P5N-E SLI but that is just personal preference, I don't think there is much difference.

Instead of getting that case I would got a cheaper one such as the Lian Li-7
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-054-LL

Then replace that with a CPU cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-002-NC

Something like this:
Total £760.13 inc VAT

 

[BillytheImpaler]

I vote for Jaffa_Cake's spec. The PC-7 is a cracking case and is a fair bit better than the more expensive Antec. The Noctua will cope with an OC'd processor and will be quieter the stocker at almost any load.

EDIT: Sirrel Squirrel, when you say you're taking 4 HDDs and an ODD out of your current setup, how many of those, if any, are IDE decides? Most newer mobos don't have many IDE ports so if you have more than 2-4 of said devices you might have to go with a different motherboard.

 

[Substance]

one nice thing i found about my p5n-e sli is that it still has the 2 IDE connectors, im only using one for my dvd-rom and rw but its nice to know they are there, they are in a weird place and mounted on the side of the board but they are there

 

[Sirrel Squirrel]

All the drives are SATA and 2 of them are running in Raid 0, I like the look of the Lian Li but it only has 4 3.5" bays I think and I plan to add another drive in the future (so 6 total), I may opt for an Eclipse if you guys think that'd be better than the Antec (which is cheaper).

I think I need to have the 620mb card too as I'm using a Dell 2407 and I've read that the 620mb card handles the 1920x1200 resolution a lot better.

But you all reckon the Asus is a good board to go for though?

How well would the c2d overclock with the 667mhz ram and the Asus board?

 

[nbkpsycho]

No dont get the Asus P5N-E it is a pain in the *** (only when overclocking) mate. Id get a DS3/DS4 tbh

 

[mp260767]

being as the ide slots arn't needed go for the gigabyte ds3p, would go for the eclipse over the antec 900.

would expect to get at least 3.2, depending on the processor may get slightly higher.

 

[Sirrel Squirrel]

Cheers, just been looking at the DS3P, 8 sata ports is ideal