what do you reckon to this?

[tommason]

Hi,
I am building my first system from the ground up after adding to a barebone from novatech a while ago.... Have the majority of the pieces, just want some advice on my choice of mobo/graphics and CPU......which is:

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, Socket 775, 2.13 GHz, 1066MHz FSB, Allendale Core, 2MB Cache, Retail
£118.99 £139.81

MOBO:
Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP iP965, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX
£104.98£ £123.35

Graphics:
Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GTS TDH - graphics adapter - GF 8800 GTS - 640 MB
£249.98 inc

I won't be overclocking and will mainly be gaming/CAD/DTP and 'interneting' I have a Zalman 460W PSU 1440x900 19 inch widescreen monitor and was going to get 2GB of RAM

I have read that the 680i chipset goes well with the 8800 (anandtech), but will I notice the difference if not OCing...?

Also was wondering if I've put the money in the right place....

Cheers!

Tom

[tommason]

oh and one more thing I am getting a Lian Li v1000 and wondered how i guaranteed that i can link the usb/firewire/audio sockets on the front to the mobo....

[Clunk]

Good choices (if you arent buying for a few weeks, wait till the 22nd of next month for the price drops.

No point in the 680i with that setup mate, the P5B is rock solid anyway

[GSte]

oh and one more thing I am getting a Lian Li v1000 and wondered how i guaranteed that i can link the usb/firewire/audio sockets on the front to the mobo....

Do you mean will the mobo fit in the case close enough to link them, or where will you find info on how to link them?

[DecomposingStar]

check your ram is DDR2... I made that mistake once...

[tommason]

Do you mean will the mobo fit in the case close enough to link them, or where will you find info on how to link them?

my last mobo didn't have any where to plug the front stuff in - so none of it worked.....is it pretty standard to have places on the mobo to connect this stuff (usb etc.)?

[tommason]

check your ram is DDR2... I made that mistake once...

will do!

[zawer612]

do you need any of the features of the P5b mobo? if not you might as well go for a gigabyte ds3 or a P5NE-Sli 650i board for £75, no probs with mine and its stable and fast. Seeing that you're not overclocking then pretty much all the mobos aren't that different performance wise, only difference is features and overclocking.
The money saved can get you a E6600 instead or nearly a 8800GTX instead of the GTS!

[tommason]

what are the features of the P5b mobo? - (that probably answers the question...) no but seriously - is it just that you can alter a lot of the settings and therefore overclock?
If that is the case then i reckon the 650i....

[tommason]

..am I right in thinking the only difference between the 650i and the 680i is overclockability?