Please help a noob build a gaming PC

[stalin90]

yea u cant crossfire on a p43 bord but sence u had lower budget i didnt think u would be interested in crossfire.
2 years ago yes amd was better then intel, but now intel is far superior to amd. and yes the q6600 is better then all amd quad cores no matter what model and yes the performance game is well worth the price.

also ocz doesnt really make that good of psu's while corsair makes outstanding psu's and there are alot of ppl here that will back that up.

Charts, benchmarks CPU Charts 2008, 3DMark06 - CPU

Charts, benchmarks CPU Charts 2008, 3DMark06 - Graphics

 

[Uniqueuponhim]

Thanks for the links. It looks like the Q6600 is a bit better than the Phenom models (though they didn't have the newer models in that list). How do they actually compare when overclocked? And how do the 775 mobos I can get compare to the AM2 ones?

Also, I don't plan on using crossfire right away, but I will be buying a second card once I have the money to do so.

What exactly are the differences between OCZ and Corsair PSUs?

 

[stalin90]

all intel cpu's overclock alot better and farther then amd cpu's, and intel pretty much makes the best mb chipsets around.

 

[Uniqueuponhim]

Ok. Do you or anyone else have a suggestion for a decent mid-range crossfire capable 775 mobo for less than $150?

Also, given either the setup in the OP or an identical one with a similar mobo and a Q6600 processor, which component(s) (if any) would be the bottleneck? How much of a bottleneck would it be? And what kind of performance can I expect overall from the system?

Alright, I think I've been convinced to go with the Q6600. Now I just need to choose a mobo. Can anyone help me decide between these:

Foxconn P45A-S Intel P45 ATX LGA775 DDR2 2PCI-E CrossFireX SATA2 RAID HD Sound GLAN 1394 Motherboard - $145.80

Biostar TP45 HP ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2OC 2PCI-E 2PCI SATA2 HD Sound GBLAN CrossFireX Motherboard - $128.41

Asus P5Q Pro Atx LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 Crossfire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound Gblan Esata Motherboard - $138.88

Gigabyte EP45-DS3R ATX LGA775 P45 2PCI-E16 2PCI CrossFireX SATA2 RAID Sound 2XGLAN 1394A Motherboard - $120.21

Gigabyte GA-EP45C-DS3R ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2/DDR3 2PCI-E16 CrossFire SATA RAID Sound 2GLAN Motherboard - $134.13

I've been reading the reviews of all of them on newegg, and the Foxconn one seems to be the favourite, though it is a bit more expensive. Is it worth the extra few bucks? Are there any other mobos out there in my price range (and available in Canada) that are 775 socket, with crossfire support and that might be better value?