My first personal build

[thedocta45]

Hi, I been on this forum for a while and been reading up quite a bit on some of the amazing projects that people have been working on.
I think I'm ready to get my feet wet so to speak.
I currently have a Dell XPS 410, which I have done a few mods on: AS5 on the CPU, and two ghetto case mods to keep my video card a bit cooler.
I'm thinking I want to cannibalize the Dell, and use it to build an even more amazing desktop.

What I have:

1) CPU: E6600.

2) 8800GTS 320mb.

3) 2 GB Nanya DDR2-800 (its the stock RAM from Dell).

4) 320 GB Samsung HD.

5) Some Dell Firewire card.

6) 2 120mm fans and 1 80mm fan.

What I need:

1) A Case: Something that has space for expansion and good cooling, I'm still entertaining the idea of water cooling down the road. Not to expensive as much as I like the Lan Li its a bit pricey.

2) A PSU: I'm leaning toward Corsair, modular would be nice for cable management, I'm also planing on getting a 4870 or 4850 down the road.

3) A motherboard: Intel clearly no need for SLI as I only have a 20" monitor and I don't expect to be getting anything larger soon. I know the IP35 Pro used to be a killer board but that was a while ago, so I'm wondering whats out there now. Able to take over 4 GB of RAM would be sick, as well as the new Intel line.

Any suggestions would be amazing, I would like to keep my budget under $ 500.
Thanks for the help. Also if I'm forgetting anything let me know.

 

[Dangman]

Case recommendations:
Antec 300 ATX Case - $60
Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $65
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $77

PSU Recommendation:
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU - $98

Motherboard recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $90
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $112
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $130
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $140
Biostar TPower I45 Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $180
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
DFI Lanparty DK X48-T2R Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, x8/x8 Crossfire, and great overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup, just support for 8GB of RAM, and don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want a motherboard with excellent overclocking capabilities above all else (feature wise), go with the I45. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38. If you have cash to burn, need x16/x16 Crossfire, and don't give a damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus, DFI, or Gigabyte X48 motherboards. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.

And if you're planning on overclocking or want a cooler running CPU, get a HSF (well within your budget:
OCZ OCZTVEND2 Vendetta 2 120 Rifle HSF - $35
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37 & Retention Bracket - $7

 

[thedocta45]

Wow cool thanks for the great info. After reading what you wrote I looked at the motherboards and it looks like I have narrowed the field to three.

1. Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard.

2.Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard.

3. Biostar TPower I45 Intel P45 Motherboard.

I would like to try RAID however so I may have to drop the Biostar. I feel that the second gigabit port is overkill for me on the Gigabyte board, as is the 16 GB ram.
I guess my next question is how well does the Asus P5Q Pro do as an overclocker, compared to the Gigabyte board, as the Gibabyte board is $ 10 less.

 

[Dangman]

Actually, that Biostar motherboard does support RAID.

The Asus P5Q Pro overclocks about the same as the DS3R IIRC.

 

[thedocta45]

Hmm, okay I guess it's still between those three boards then.

If it were up to you which do you think you would go for?

What does "IIRC" stand for?

 

[Dangman]

Hmm, okay I guess it's still between those three boards then.

If it were up to you which do you think you would go for?

What does "IIRC" stand for?

IIRC = If I Recall/Remember Correctly

Anyway, not a fan of Asus as a company to be honest. Products are great but I've got a few personal gripes (meaning that they may not apply with you) with Asus. So it would be between the Biostar and Gigabyte. At that point, I'd probably just flip a coin and see who wins.