Differences between i7 motherboards?

[TheOtis]

I think your analogy fits processors much better than motherboards, Sean. You can spend under $100 on a motherboard and it can be a killer overclocker with plenty of features. PCI-E x16 2.0, SATA, some PCI slots, 4x DIMM slots, and a BIOS you can tinker with. What else does a gamer/overclocker need? Sure you can throw $50 more for the mobo and get one that supports the new USB and SATA standards and another PCI-E x16 slot for SLI/crossfire, but they're features you don't necessarily need.

But with processors, you can spend $130 on a Core i3 540 (equivalent of 1965 Mustang w/ a 289ci and a top loader 4 speed) or you can spend $285 for a Core i7 930 (the equivalent of an Ariel Atom). Sure the Core i3 will get you there, but the Atom will get you there faster.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Wow...that's an epic motherboard for $199! Is it new? I don't recall seeing it when I was looking and it has most of the features I like about the UD3R. It certainly looks better than the P6X58D in that it has more rear USB ports and more internal USB ports as well, also interesting is the COM1 serial port header on the bottom end of the board, I looked through all the i7 boards I could find and none of them had a serial port so I had to buy a PCIe x1 add-on card. That board also has some good looking heatsinks. The one option I do like about the UD3R is the IDE and FDD controller. I'm not using them now but you never know when you'll need these old devices (still have IDE devices in use in other PC's I have).

But with processors, you can spend $130 on a Core i3 540 (equivalent of 1965 Mustang w/ a 289ci and a top loader 4 speed) or you can spend $285 for a Core i7 930 (the equivalent of an Ariel Atom). Sure the Core i3 will get you there, but the Atom will get you there faster.

Not sure the Atom is the greatest analogy, Atom is also a really slow Intel CPU and it won't get you there anywhere near as fast as the i3.

 

[TheOtis]

Not sure the Atom is the greatest analogy, Atom is also a really slow Intel CPU and it won't get you there anywhere near as fast as the i3.

Ya if you take it out of context it's not, but I'm talking about the car haha.

 

[Sean W.]

the Atom car is wicked...

 

[kleptonite]

Thanks for the feedback guys I appreciate it! Alright so from looking at other builds you recommended people and from your help personally I came up with this list (mainly copied Sean). I like the guys build HERE but I choose the $509 graphics card because I didn't want to spend $700. Is this all I need to buy to build my whole computer?

I'll be getting monitor, mouse, keyboard, CD Drive separately.

Any all feed back would be great!! thanks

Goal: High end gaming computer
Budget: Around $1,500

Processor: Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950 Newegg

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Newegg

Memory: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8TU-6GBPI Newegg

Graphics Card: XFX HD-587A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card Newegg

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Newegg

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply Newegg

CPU Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Accelero XTREME 5870 VGA Cooler For ATI Radeon HD5870 Newegg

Case: NZXT TEMPEST EVO Crafted Series TEVO-001BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Newegg

 

[Sean W.]

that cooler you listed is for a 5970, for a 5870, this is the best cooler on the market:
ARCTIC COOLING Accelero XTREME 5870 VGA Cooler For ATI Radeon HD5870

the powersupply you listed is fine, go with that one.

and i would suggest you go with a HAF 932, im not 100% sure if the 5870 with that cooler would fit in that NZXT case

other then that, great build!

to save a little bit more money, go on Newegg, and try to find these same parts in combo deals

like here is a combo on the motherboard and 1tb hdd saves you $30
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

 

[kleptonite]

Well the case I choose dimensions are: 22.13" x 8.33" x 20.53"

The HAF 932 cases are 22.70" x 9.00" x 21.50"

The fan is 11.41'' x 4.09 x 2.20

Seems like it would fit to me?

 

[Sean W.]

you have to measure between pci express slots to the hard drive cages...

 

[kleptonite]

The case I picked out is almost $60 cheaper and isn't that much smaller I almost want to just take the risk and maybe return it if it is indeed to small? or is there some way for me to check and find out... What about this combo deal Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! The memory is cheaper than the memory I picked out and its on sale is it not as good?

 

[Sean W.]

thats a really good kit of ram, that combo will do just fine