Help me Build my Dream Machine

surge11

ok so far i have this EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450 - Retail

i need help with picking out a motherboard b/c im a noob.

also i will be useing this pc for gameing and i want to run upcomeing games very high

please help me out thanks

surge11

i want to stay under 1.5k i have old fans and my old alienware case

surge11

                   This is what i have right now

1 |  COMPUSA AREA 51

1 |  DRAGON FULL-TOWER CASE GREEN

1 |  ASUS P4T533-C RDRAM

1 |  INTEL PENTIUM 4 2.8 533FSB

2 |  256MB RDRAM PC800

1 |  SEAGATE BARRACUDA 80GB:

1 |  NVIDIA GEFORCE4 TI 4600 W/128MB

1 |  16X DVD-ROM

1 |  SOUNDBLASTER AUDIGY W/1394

1 |  INTEL PRO/100 S DESKTOP ADAPTER

1 |  1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE BLACK

1 |  ALIENWARE MASTER CD

1 |  MICROSOFT XP HOME

1 |  ALIEN ADRENALINE: VIDEO PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZER

1 |  ALIEN AUTOPSY DIAGNOSTICS

1 |  MOUSE PAD

1 |  KOOLMAXX COOLING SYSTEM

1 |  1-YR 24/7 ONSITE WARRANTY (NO CHARGE)

1 |  CUSTOMER SUPPORT WARRANTY (NO CHARGE)

1 |  340 WATT POWER SUPPLY

1 |  ALIEN HEAD GRILL GREEN

1 |  ALIENWARE CORE BINDER MANUAL

1 |  12-Month Subscription to Computer Games Magazine!

1 |  PERIPHERALS

1 |  INTELLIVISION VERSION 1.1

1 |  GRE MICROSOFT INTELLIMOUSE EXPLORER USB

1 |  MICROSOFT GREEN INTERNET KEYBOARD

1 |  ALIENWARE T-SHIRT XL BLACK

Death1942

i found a wonderful motherboard (back at the start of the year)  it was a galaxy SLI something (sorry cant think of it off the top of my head i think it had a P5 in the name) anyway its a great motherboard but you might want to get DDR3 instead (up to you.  i went for the i dont care if its not godly as long as it trumps my old machine approach)

 

i got mine for around 1500 (was around 1100 until i got a new screen) mostly by using a site called StaticIce.  its Australian though so it would not be much help to anyone outside of Aus.

my specs (again off the top of my head)

quad core Q6600

3 gig of DDR2 corsair ram (having trouble with that damn 4th stick)

Vista ultimate 64 bit

2x 320gb hard drives

8800gt SLI ready card (alpha dog edition, cant remember the brand (XfX i think))

 

it runs pretty well.  problems with internet connections mean i have only ever tested Vanguard on it and that ran at around 60fps (just) which blows my old machine out of the water with a meager 10-14 fps.

surge11

thanks for your feedback im looking into that motherboard as we speack

surge11

im a newb at this i cant fins the mother board your speacking of on newegg

lol i also dont know what a dd3 is

CleffyII

DDR3 is a type of memory.  DDR processes things 1 at a time, DDR2 processes them 2 at a time, and DDR3 3 at a time.  However, at this time there is no system that will make getting DDR3 worth it over DDR2.  Most systems right now use DDR2 which is inexpensive.  You can get 8GB for around $200.

When shopping for a motherboard its good to remember its the base for your system so it should be good and well rounded.  Its also good to avoid cheap consumer brands if you have the budget for it since they can be impairing.  I personally like MSI, DFI LanParty, ASRock, and Gigabyte boards.  Although Asus has been the leader of motherboards, they seem like they have been losing it lately.  Here is a selection of boards that will probably work best.

Intel x48 boards