Quick check of spec for friend.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Mate is building a budget rendering rig.

These are the parts I suggested:
1.)Xeon E3 1230 V3
2.)16GB DDR3
3.)Thermaltake Commander MS-I Snow Midi Gaming Case
4.)Nvidia card of some sort
5.)Hyper 212

However I am stuck on ther motherboard.

I suggested this one:

http://www.ebuyer.com/609329-asus-va...d-vanguard-b85

Its only a B85 mATX motherboard but the system will be under heavy load and is meant to have a 5 year warranty and better than averrage build.

Alternatively would this be a better choice:

http://www.ebuyer.com/666711-asus-z9...herboard-z97-p

Are there any better cases on Ebuyer for under £40 too??

[scaryjim]

Are there any better cases on Ebuyer for under £40 too??

Don't know if it's better, but here's a slightly more refined looking Thermaltake of sinmilar spec that's a bit cheaper:

http://www.ebuyer.com/631020-versa-h...-1b2-00m1nn-00

EDIT: also, for a Xeon-based workstation I'd go with the B85 motherboard, personally: it's more workstation oriented rather than enthusiast oriented, and a 5 year warranty is not to be sniffed at

[AETAaAS]

Agree, you don't need a Z97 board if you are going with the Xeon. How many drives are going to be in this machine? Are the files going to be mostly local or in a network? Because if you are going to go down to mATX, I have the CM N200 (http://www.ebuyer.com/510413-cooler-...e-nse-200-kkn1). Can recommend this case with its neat appearance and good airflow.