howdy,
i'm lookin to build a gaming system to carry me for a while through DX10/Vista/etc...
the main hold up now is which processor/mobo setup to get. i'd much rather get an AMD but Intel's chips simply the best bang for the buck right now, and OC very well. The other pieces are as follows:

Custom case w/ liquid cooling
2x HIS 2900xt 1024mb GDDR4
4 GB Crucial Ballistix 1066mhz
thermaltake toughpower 1000W
Western Digital 74G Raptor HD
Seagate 320gb HD

If AMD CPU: Windsor 3000+
If Intel CPU: E or Q6600 -ish w/ 1066 bus

I'm not sure about which mobo to get for either setup, so if you all have any suggestions they are much appreciated.

I'm hoping to eventually get a 30" apple cinema display, though its gonna be a while, but that's why I've picked two 2900's. At higher resolutions, CPU speed doesn't matter as much, right(?) since the hold up would be video processing power instead.

Get a Q6600 ,
if u want DDR2 : GA P35 DS3R
Ifu want Both DDR2 and DDR3 : ASUS P5KC

what?????????? 3000+ ???? you mean 6000+?. yeas at high resolutions the cpu doesnt matter that much. on tomshardware test athlon x2 3800+ with a gtx beat intel e6600 with gts

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/0 [...] page10.htm l

but in non gaming apps , e6600 blows a x2 3800 away , but as Valdis said ,in many games , CPU isnt much important as GPU is

hes building a gaming rig ^

If you're building a gaming rig, you don't want a Q6600. There's no performance benefit in the extra cores and it doesn't overclock as good as its dual core cousins....

Just my 2 cents...

If u want to do gaming only , then a E6850 is better :
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/s [...] i=3038&p=8

look at my rig mate, pretty much the same, i think that you should go for something like this, but instead of the E4300 go for an E4500 or an E6600

Definitely get the Intel chip if you're going to overclock.

You might consider getting an SLI board and getting 2 8800GTX's if you are going to be playing on a 30" panel.

I would suggest your AMD choice be an X2 3600+ brisbane. Given the right mobo and H/F you can hit 3GHz.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103046

The best bang for the buck would be between the X2 3600+, E2140, and the Q6600. The E2140 can OC to 3.1~3.2GHz which does match X6850 performance. If you have the extra cash you should get the Q6600 no question. The Q6600 B3 can hit 3.5GHz and G0 3.6GHz which any dual core would have a hard time beating in none quad core compatible programs. In quad core compatible programs no dual core can match.

Doubling the cores is equal to an 80% increase which at 3GHz equals a 5.4GHz dual core. So The Q6600 is a great choice for current and the future programs.

Elbert...read the article Maziar posted bro

yo,
hey thanks for all of the replies, you've all been very helpful.
i did mean 6000+ (3ghz) not 3000+.

also good to know that i don't need to get a quad core yet, i'm reaching the max price anyhow and may need to cut back a few places. leaning more towards the e6750 or 6850, though the $100 difference might push me towards the 6750.

i do love AMD's stuff though, but i can't see any reason other than brand loyalty to build this system with one. that being said, would a 6000+ or 3800+ be a reasonable choice? would i be able to get the bus speed up to 1066 and higher so that i'm not underclocking the ram?

The 6000+ smokes my OC'd E6600 in gaming. You need pretty good cooling though because the 6000+ runs fairly hot. Honestly, it's nice to be able to over clock the core2's so well, but all hype aside, I find the 6000+ to be a stronger performer. I know many benchmarks state otherwise. But benchmarks don't always tell the whole story. For multitasking, the core2 seems to encounter occasional bottlenecks that translate into annoying little delays. All in all, they are both great processors, but having experienced them both, I would go with the 6000+ hands down.

Note. If you wanted to wait a little longer, the 6400+ is on it's way out. But it's probably going to run so hot you could fry an egg on it.

I think I've decided to stick with AMD, mainly because it's been difficult to find a crossfire intel mobo with dual 16x pci-e slots. From my understanding, and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, this MSI board can run two ATI's in XF mode - both at 16x.

MSI K9A Platinum Socket AM2 ATI CrossFire Radeon Xpress 3200 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: K9A Platinum

2 HIS Hightech H290XT1GG4DVN-R Radeon HD 2900XT 1GB GDDR4 PCI Express x16 VIVO Video Card - OEM
Model #: H290XT1GG4DVN-R

1 Thermaltake Toughpower W0132RU ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0132RU

1 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail
Model #: ADX6000CZBOX

2 Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AL1065 - Retail
Model #: BL2KIT12864AL1065

1 Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD740ADFD

1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3320620AS

1 SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM
Model #: SH-S183L

If you all have any suggestions - you've all been a tremendous help thus far - please feel free to put them in. Thanks a ton! Also, is the 1066 RAM okay, or should I drop down to a low latency 800 set?

the most funniest thing i have ever heared in my whole life :

The 6000+ smokes my OC'd E6600 in gaming.

lol i cant stop laughing,
u r right , sometime benchmarks dont say the truth and sometimes many people dont say the truth