Hello all! I am building my second system here and am having a tough time coming to a final decision. It's been about 3 years since my last so I'm afraid I've fallen outa touch with a lot of the newer technologies. I'm primarily a gamer, though rarely go to huge resolutions. I also multitask heavily. I've never overclocked.

I do know that I want to build a Q6600 system. I've considered the E8400 but decided to stick with the Q6600. The system will be running Vista Ultimate 64.

I've narrowed my decision down to two setups. One on an X38 board, the other on a 680i. These are not concrete yet, as I'm also considering a 780i board aswell. I'm not worried about further compnents, aside from memory, at this time. My PSU will handle either setup. The setups are as follows:

Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115017

Asus P5E x38
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813131219

Sapphire Toxic 3870
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814102732

or

Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115017

EVGA A1 680i
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813188013

EVGA 8800 GT 512
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814130318

Both setups are about the same price. I'm just looking for a little input and opinion. Which of the two do you think will be better suited for me? I basically want reletivly futureproof system that will remain stable and play todays games at high settings (though not outlandish resolutions... my moniter can't handle it).

Also, any memory advice for the X38? Must it take ddr2 1200 or can it do fine with 800 or any other?

Thanks for any advice!


Edit: number change, its E8400 not E8600

Well its a combination of both....which is Asus X38 with E8400 and MSI 8800GTS

X38 because it performs splendidly whereas 680i plain sux. Nvidia's boards have a long sad history of horror stories regarding their drivers.... and there isn't anything but rave reviews regarding X38.

E8400 because you mentioned you're primarily a gamer... the E8400 runs faster than the Q6600 in all games and almost all applications.

MSI 8800GTS because its faster than 8800GT and its avail for an amazing price of $180

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] %2b8800gts

Though instead of buying any GPU, you should REALLY wait for the Radeon 4870 to release... its just 10 days away...and blows the competition to pulp. Crossfire 4870 on your X38 board would bombard the competition even further.

Been looking up other motherboards. Any opinions on the Asus P5E Deluxe? I don't have a problem with the price of DDR3 and am actually drawn by the future possibilties here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131218

$300 for a mobo is a no-no .... DDR3 for that price is a strict no-no.

Though if you don't mind spending money go for it.

DDR3 is way too expensive. Go for a good DDR2 x38 motherboard; I would try to grab a Gigabyte personally.

And as far as the processor... it depends on what type of gaming you are doing. A Q6600 will kill an E8400 in Supreme Commander. And if you are a multi-tasker like me... I love my Q6600 for running two games and a variety of applications all at the same time (Oblivion, Source-based games, and Steam, Firefox, utilities....etc.). It results in virtually no lag; an E8400 would lag far behind any quad in such a scenario. In addition, you should be able to get ~3.4 GHz on a Q6600 fairly easily with a Tuniq Tower or Xigmatek cooler. Check out Tom's review on an O/C'ed Q6600.

Mihirkula is right about the video card; that is a great price for a G92 GTS. It is an excellent card.

Any idea if the 3870 will be able to crossfire with the new 4870? If not I guess I'll go the 8800 route as the 4870s will be too expensive for me right off.

The real question is what resolution you're gonna be gaming at? It might be more cost effective to go with a cheap p35 board and 1 good card if you're not playing at 1900X1200 or higher.