Mobo for a hobo

[GJ_Matt]

Well, I hope the topic is found humorous and not offensive. 😱

Anyways, I'm working on building my first computer. I've done a good amount of reading and research, but I am having a lot of trouble picking out the correct motherboard. Total I want to spend 2k on my PC before peripherals. I aim to use this computer mainly for gaming. Factors I am unsure of: AMD or Intel? What type processor should I couple the Mobo with? SLI or not? I plan to use this computer for the next few years to come. Lastly I plan I using XP for my OS, until a point in time where it becomes dated and Vista is necessary. I play a lot of older games as well as some of the newer ones. Therefore, I would like a system with minimal compatibility problems. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my post and I appreciate any advice you may have for me.

 

[akhilles]

What's the target monitor resolution?
Would you like to max every setting out in games?
What kinda games do you play?
Will you be overclocking?

 

[GJ_Matt]

Over clocking is somewhat of a mystery to me, not sure if it would be wise for me to attempt on my first PC. I would like to max my settings out definitely. I mainly play games like World of Warcraft, WC3, and other MMO's and PFS's. I want to find a quality 24inch moniter so I will probably want 1900 x 1200 but It's not set in stone, I may end up getting 22inch or 20inch and change the resolution. And you look for food in the dumpster not sweet mobos 😱

 

[akhilles]

I think he meant to say find a hobo in the dumpster lol.

Ok we're narrowing it down. First thing i'd suggest either 8800GTS 640MB or 8800GTX if you can foot the bill. GTX/ULTRA will let you max out everything in games. Take a look at HD 2900 PRO 512MB & 1GB at newegg. They're slightly faster than 8800GTS in most benchmarks, but are louder & more power-hungry. They're cheaper & probably can be overclocked to XT speeds for much less.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1189/1/page_1_introduction/index.html
http://pclab.pl/art28806.html

Some say it's not worth it to sli GTS or anything lower. I say get whatever you needs under budget to do the task - gaming.

If you go SLI, you have much fewer choices. I'd suggest EVGA 680i (revision doesn't matter since you aren't overclocking) or ASUS P5N32-E SLI or PLUS.

If you go single gpu, you have a LOT of choices. The amount of choices is mind-"bottling". 😉 I'd suggest ASUS P5K DELUXE or better, ABIT IP35-PRO, GA-P35-DS3R or better. Stick with DDR2 for now.

 

[GJ_Matt]

Ok so I'm thinking http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130072 for my graphics card. Anything I should know about matching it with a mother board? I do not intend to utilize SLi with this card, it seems like it would be a waste anyways. I want to find a mother board and processor that will be capable of handling this cards power. And one last question if you would indulge me, how do you determine what kind of power source you need for PC without have the manual for each part? Thank you again for the wonderful advice, and the blades of glory reference

I was thinking for Mobo I would use http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131074 and processor http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115028.

 

[akhilles]

That'll do what you want & more.

Any mobo will handle the gtx. Rephrase your question: will the mobo run pci-e at 16x full speed? Not all mobos do 16x, some do 8x a few do 4x (asrock hybrid). Most modern boards do 16x. The strike yes. You can click specs to see the details.

Again, click specs for details. Good thing about nividia cards is that nvidia lists the TOTAL power requirement of a fully built pc with a certain card. Each requirement is slightly different. GTX PC needs 450W & 28A. That's single gtx. Ati doesn't list this info, except crossfire certified psus on their site.

Another way is to look at reviews that mention idle & load power consumptions, which are more realistic. They don't say this pc needs such and such, but they list the test setups - that's where the info is.

It's best to get a slight overkill psu for the pc so that you won't have to upgrade the psu again when you upgrade other parts like gpu.

If you don't overclock, get at least e6750.

Just pick the mobo that YOU like that is based on 680i or P35 & you're all set. If you post the full list, I can take a look.

Yep, I loved the movie. The jokes seemed to make sense as well.

 

[aziraphale]

Best thread title ever on toms. rofl!