[Makushr1]

I am trying to decide between getting a laptop or building a new PC. While I do want a laptop, the reason I am looking to drop $1500 on it is for performance for gaming. But I started thinking, maybe I’d just be better off getting a $500 laptop and building a gaming pc.

I built my current pc probably 6 years back. I know how to build computers, but I don’t know where to start when selecting hardware. I mean, I know what hardware I need, obviously, but there are a trillion different motherboards, CPUs, video cards, etc.

Any suggestions on where to start looking? Maybe sites that review the hardware?

Would either of these 2 CPUs work well?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115130

Keep in mind, I'm not looking to spend $3,000 on it. Maybe somewhere between 1-1.5k.

[ragingclue]

Check out the PhII 965BE procs if you're serious about bang for the buck. Mad speed, overclockability, and DDR3 support. The 775 platform is at the end of its life, so in case you'd ever considering upgrading your proc in the near future, you're pretty much already at the top of the line with what you've posted, except for the XE.

Also, it seems they've nerfed the i7 lately, as early builds were intentionally OC friendly. If you need four cores hyperthreading into 8, then that's the way to go. If not, don't get sucked into the i7 hype until the price comes down for it and supporting hardware.

Also, there's going to be a pretty favorable shift in GPU prices when the next get DX cards come out.

That being said, check out overclock.net. Tons of useful info about what to build for your needs, and what works.

[d_crome]

I wouldn't write off i7 at all - I just built a new rig with the D0 stepping i7 920 and all I can say is this:

Wow.

I've got the chip overclocked from the stock of 2.6 to 4.0 and all it took was a 0.05V increase in voltage!! It's insane to gain that much overclock with such little increase, there's no way I was doing that with my old E8500 775 set up.

As far as costs go - if you're lucky enough to have a Microcenter nearby, they sell them for $199 out the door. DDR3 6 gig kits can be had as cheaply as $80. The only hurt is the motherboard - there really are no "Cheap" alternatives right now, I went with an ASUS Rampage II GENE for $200 to my door and it's a serious beast.

I like AMD and I'm happy to see what they're doing - competition is great and it keeps costs down and technology progressing (much like Audi continues to force BMW to improve etc) - however right now AMD has nothing that can touch an i7.

If it were me, I'd build something like the following:

CPU - i7 920 - $200
MB - ASUS Rampage II GENE - $200
RAM - OCZ 3x2 Gig DDR3 - $80-$100

So you're core system is just at $500 - leaving you with another $500 for the goodies, PSU, GPU, Case, HD's etc.

There are some new GPU's just around the corner, it looks like Nvidia has dropped the ball again and are just going to rename their 200 series to 300 series like they did with the 8800 to the 9800, same chip, different name.

ATI would probably be where I'd spend my $ at this point - 4890 is a serious chip and can be had cheaply. NVidia 275's is also a nice one. It really depends on how serious you game and at what resolution.

Also - if you DO overclock, the i7 is a bad boy that needs an equally bad boy cooling solution, you're looking at a TRUE or similar high level cooler to keep temps down - these aren't cheap either, $50-$80. I went with a water cooling alternative that wasn't much more expensive, but then again I'm an experienced PC user.

[Makushr1]

Thanks guys.

I've done the water cooling before, and it was such a pain in the ass, I wont do it again. Is 2.66ghz quick enough? Is a 2.66 quad faster than a 3.06 dual?


Here are the specs for 2 different laptops Im looking at (both hp dv7t 17" screen, 64bit OS)

1) This one is $1,200. 2.66ghz dual processor 3mb l2 cache, 4gb ddr2 ram, 512mb ati radeon.

2) for $1,700. 3.06 ghz dual processor 6mb l2 cache, 6gb ram (+200 more for 8gb), 1gb ati radeon

I guess my first question is, for games coming out in the future (Diablo 3, SC2), will the first laptop be enough? If not, what about the 2nd one?

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by Makushr1

Thanks guys.

I've done the water cooling before, and it was such a pain in the ass, I wont do it again. Is 2.66ghz quick enough? Is a 2.66 quad faster than a 3.06 dual?


Here are the specs for 2 different laptops Im looking at (both hp dv7t 17" screen, 64bit OS)

1) This one is $1,200. 2.66ghz dual processor 3mb l2 cache, 4gb ddr2 ram, 512mb ati radeon.

2) for $1,700. 3.06 ghz dual processor 6mb l2 cache, 6gb ram (+200 more for 8gb), 1gb ati radeon

I guess my first question is, for games coming out in the future (Diablo 3, SC2), will the first laptop be enough? If not, what about the 2nd one?

The deal with CPUs and gaming at current tech is that most games can't take advantage of your extra cores. So poeple tend to say that dual core processors are better for gaming because you get higher clock speeds per core for cheaper than their quad core/i7 counterparts. For that matter, most applications don't even get the full benefit from multi-core systems yet. Only high end editing software really requires and gets noticable benefits. That being said, quad core cpu's are becoming the mainstream, and probably the best option if your looking to 'future-proof' your machine. Also, you can build a very nice gaming system for around or under $1500. I just priced one from newegg the other day.

In direct responce of your 2 options:
1. The cache size on this cpu is small. The ram needs to be upgraded. ( 8gb is the gaming standard lately)

2. CPU is better, but the price is over budget.

Something you need to look at as well is how big are the harddrives on these machines. HDD space is cheap, so if they are skimping out, thats kinda shady. Furthermore, no matter what building a desktop from scratch yourself will always result in better performance for less money. And further on top of that, desktops will always outperform laptops If for no other reason than heat management. If you build your own system, you'd also know that your mobo is top quality, you have high quality ram not just the generic sticks, and you can be a bit more choosey on the software installed in the beginning. Although, laptops do have their place and if you game alot with friends i'd say you probably won't be displeased.

[UltimateBMW]

Here is a build I just through together really quick. With all the rebates it might drop under $1300. Don't go buy this build yet though, for 2 reasons.

1: its alittle dry to good deals and low prices for some reason. Things seemed cheaper last week.

2: there are new bigger baddest graphics cards coming. ATI will release theirs sometime soon, in early september and Nvidia will announce theirs sometime in Q4 2009. Both would be worth the wait because even if you don't buy a new card, it will drive the prices of older cards even lower.

Anyways, here is the build.


links to all the components. (note the ram is qty: 2, for 6 sticks total)
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119137
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131386
Graphics: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130434
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202
Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284
BD-Rom(dvd burner): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106325
Heatsink (CPU): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118223

[d_crome]

If the bing.com "back to school" thing is still going - some places like zipzoomfly, ewiz etc were giving back 20%!! Newegg was doing 10% and Ebay was doing 15%.

Look into it, it'll save some serious money.

Now - in regards to dual core vs quad, I was of the mind set too that most applications don't take advantage of the quad and that a faster clocked dual core would be faster than a quad. It seems logical right?

Well - example - I had my E8500 at 4.0 Ghz, dual core. I have my i7 920 at 4.0 Ghz, Quad core - and I can tell you that some of games run better/smoother on the quad (I didn't upgrade the GPU - kept that as a constant). Given that the price of an E8500/E8600 is about $200 (which is what an i7 can be found for) that to me presents itself a "no brainer", 2 more cores, Hyper Threading and future-proofing all for the same $.

As far as the parts you've selected go - that case is good, nice to work with, however for similar $ you could get the Antec 900 which is a similar case, just better build quality. Ram - 12 gig is overkill - also OCZ gold at $140 looks like a bit of ripoff to be honest. I'd only get 6 gig for now.

Your CPU cooler choice is bad - Zalman make attractive coolers that are aesthetically pleasing however for a core i7 that's insufficient - I'd recommend one of the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835608007

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835207004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233029

or

http://www.svc.com/trueblack-rev-c.html

And I'd pair any of the sinks (except the Noctua as it's fan is the best you can get) with one of these 120mm fans:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185006

The Corsair is a VERY good PSU - but that price is ridiculous - you can find it for significantly less so shop around. Get this one instead and save yourself $50.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

The GPU choice is poor - get an ATI 4890 for a similar price. Also, keep in mind the next gen of video cards are due soon - so it might be an idea to get a cheaper "place holder" card for now, like the ATI 4850 which can game nicely now and simply replace it later when the new series arrive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150359

The Motherboard is a good choice, the good thing with ASUS is they drilled extra mounting holes on the MB so that your old 775 heatsinks could still be mounted on the newer socket platform.

The one thing you're missing (which is surprising as you've picked some pretty hugh end items) is an SSD - you'd be surprised what a difference this makes to a system. The WD black HD's are great - however normal HD's (even the Raptors) don't even come close to SSD speed.

Intel just released the new SSD badboy on the block, and prices are steadily coming down to the point where a system SSD (where you keep your OS) makes sense - get yourself a 64/80 gig SSD and then use the WD 1T for your program files, games etc.

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by d_crome

Now - in regards to dual core vs quad, I was of the mind set too that most applications don't take advantage of the quad and that a faster clocked dual core would be faster than a quad. It seems logical right?

Well - example - I had my E8500 at 4.0 Ghz, dual core. I have my i7 920 at 4.0 Ghz, Quad core - and I can tell you that some of games run better/smoother on the quad (I didn't upgrade the GPU - kept that as a constant). Given that the price of an E8500/E8600 is about $200 (which is what an i7 can be found for) that to me presents itself a "no brainer", 2 more cores, Hyper Threading and future-proofing all for the same $.

There are far more factors in the equation than just the number of cores when comparing a Duo to a Quad. i7 has a completely new architecture. And while you are right that the quad is pretty much faster in everything now (probably why you are seeing only new Quad processors) when your trying to keep costs down, everything counts. A $200 E8500 vs. a $280 i7 920 is a savings of around 40%. So it isn't insignificant. It's all relative to what you need, but I did select a i7 920 in my build that I showed him. I was just laying the ground work for where technology is at right now, while your Quad may be faster its not because gaming applications are using all 4 cores now, they aren't.

Originally Posted by d_crome

As far as the parts you've selected go - that case is good, nice to work with, however for similar $ you could get the Antec 900 which is a similar case, just better build quality. Ram - 12 gig is overkill - also OCZ gold at $140 looks like a bit of ripoff to be honest. I'd only get 6 gig for now.

The Antec 900 is $105 currently. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021) Like I mentioned, there are no deals on the major parts at the moment. I personally bought my Antec 900 for $70 2 years ago. Its all a matter of market price and when you decide to hit 'GO'. And while 12gb is alittle over kill I will agree, 6gb is under par as far as I am concerned. 8gb is the magic number right now, but I also hate leaving ram slots open. Since the system is using i7 already anyways, which isn't the most cost effective foundation by any measure, I figured it wouldn't hurt too much more to complete the build and not leave things 'half-done'. Especially since it sounded like he was thinking of buying a pre-built, which means he probably won't be interested in incremental upgrades.

Originally Posted by d_crome

Your CPU cooler choice is bad - Zalman make attractive coolers that are aesthetically pleasing however for a core i7 that's insufficient - I'd recommend one of the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835608007

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835207004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233029

or

http://www.svc.com/trueblack-rev-c.html

And I'd pair any of the sinks (except the Noctua as it's fan is the best you can get) with one of these 120mm fans:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185006

The Corsair is a VERY good PSU - but that price is ridiculous - you can find it for significantly less so shop around. Get this one instead and save yourself $50.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

I will agree that the Heatsink is bad. I'm not a fan of Zalman. However, it appeared that neweggs choices for LGA 1366 socket mobo's was limited. That was the most cost effective of those that I saw. This might be an area which is more personal preference and we will probably disagree, overclocking. I don't think overclocking is too terribly important. Most systems are way over head as far as computing requirements goes. The CPUs in computers are very under-stressed. So overclocking a system won't really yield any major noticable gains once your build is over a certain level of base performance. The build above I believe is above that measure. Then again, I'm not a fan of overclocking. I value stability and longevity, not an extra 20 fps, when I'm already over what my eyes can even see. In this reguard, even the stock heatsink for the i7 CPUs is more than sufficient. I've read plenty of tests that suggest the stock fans provide more than ample cooling to the CPU's when run under normal conditions. (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...5-5.html)Intel just makes their processors with overclocking in mind, which explains the need for specialty fans above that of stock. In the end though for a serious air cooling solution I'd probably go with this:

Prolimatech Megahalems (Review: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...1&limitstart=5)



Nice find on that PSU. $90 is a great price. But it is temporary, so I hope the OP sees this in time. Says it ends on the 5th. Also, to the OP. If you REALLY want to min/max your cost/performance, I would suggest looking for deals over time. Things will go on sale and have specials at completely different and random times. It takes a bit of work though, for only marginal gains sometimes. But other times it can be well worth it to hunt and pick over time. I might buy that PSU for my future i7 build with the new GTX300 cards.

Originally Posted by d_crome

The GPU choice is poor - get an ATI 4890 for a similar price. Also, keep in mind the next gen of video cards are due soon - so it might be an idea to get a cheaper "place holder" card for now, like the ATI 4850 which can game nicely now and simply replace it later when the new series arrive.

Pretty sure that I mentioned the 'next-gen' of graphics cards was coming. However, I tend to hate ATI drivers. So the graphics solution I selected was a decent, albeit older, Nvidia card. I will concede now that the price is a bit high though. The ATI 4850 may be a better choice for this particular application, however I personally wouldn't buy it.

Originally Posted by d_crome

The one thing you're missing (which is surprising as you've picked some pretty hugh end items) is an SSD - you'd be surprised what a difference this makes to a system. The WD black HD's are great - however normal HD's (even the Raptors) don't even come close to SSD speed.

Intel just released the new SSD badboy on the block, and prices are steadily coming down to the point where a system SSD (where you keep your OS) makes sense - get yourself a 64/80 gig SSD and then use the WD 1T for your program files, games etc.

Intel SSDs Double in Price on Newegg
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/int...bles,8578.html

Sorry, but I'm not jumping on the SSD bandwagon yet. The price per GB isn't anyways near where the platter drives are at right now. How can you seriously argue against a 1TB, 7200rpm, 32mb cache drive for $100? It was even as low as $60 a week ago, the deal just ended unfortunately. But $400 for a 160gb SSD HD is rediculous, and thats even before the price got hyked up. The SSD would cost more than his CPU. For a $1500 system, I don't think SSDs are applicable. Not yet at least. (I also like to go as far under budget as I can when I build systems for friends. But alot of it is just a judgement call.)

I would also argue that this system is mediocre at best for today's tech. The only high end parts are the CPU/mobo, and the cpu is the bottom of the line of whats available right now. Until the i3s are out. Well, and the ram is top end.

I'll add in that my list was a bit of a rush job. I spent around 5 minutes on it, just to get his feet wet. I also only used Newegg.com for my prices because I value trust over an extra $50-$100, and they still have the best deals 50% of the time anyways. Zipzoom is a fine place to order from I hear, but I don't have any experience with them. So I won't/can't recommend it. But there is most assuredly places in the build that can be tightened up, or found better deals on. And if your patient and wait til the end of Sept. GPU prices will go down again, at least for some older ATI cards. I beleive ATI is announcing their new goods on Sept. 10th.

[darkphantom]

dammit, lol, I love these threads but hate them as well. Always too much to read.

You'll receive a response from me once I get home and have time to read through...hehe

[darkphantom]

OP - for the most part, I'm on par with these guys.

i7 is the better investment than 775 socket, not to mention the Over clockability is ridiculous!

PSU - 1000W should be standard if you're looking for something that will pack enough power for dual video cards in the future...

GPU - I'd have to go with the 295 GTX or just wait for the 300 series...

HDD - no ssd yet, BUT i'd go raid 0 with 2x1TB @ 7200 RPM

That's basically my build from last December.

Also got the Creative X-Fi

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by darkphantom

PSU - 1000W should be standard if you're looking for something that will pack enough power for dual video cards in the future...

That depends mostly on his monitor he is currently using, and resolution. Personally, I think the dual card thing is over played. Most of the time, the benefits suffer from so many diminishing returns that its hardly worth the cost. The cost of which is exponentially increased as well. A 1k PSU isn't cheap, although for a lower card run in SLI or xfire you might not need a 1k, 800 may work. Depends. Cards are getting more efficient power usage wise. While we are on the topic of dual gpu's, I'll toss in my .02 about the X2 varient of card. Both Nvidia and ATI have made them. I think they are bogus. I've heard from many sources that you end up with... micro lag is the best way I can describe it. You got teeny tiny stutters in your graphics. Looks like very minor jitters. Single GPU setups also have far less compatability problems, and the drivers seem to work cleaner.

Basically, the ONLY application in which you should really consider running 2 GPU's as a necessity, rather than just wants 2 to say you have 2 and be joe cool, is when your running immense displays and huge resolutions. Even then, you only need it if you want to run 8x AA. When I say huge displays, I mean like 30", and 2560x1600 resolution. I'm currently running a old 8800GT on a 24" 1920x1200 and everything pretty much runs great on it.

Here is my monitor, got it a year ago before it was even sold in the States. Its amazing. Uses the same LG S-IPS panel as some of the $1000+ NEC 24" displays.

HP LP2575w
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en...1-3648442.html

[vgame64]

You may want to look at this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218092150864

It has the i7 920
an ASUS GENE Rampage Motherboard
9 GB of DDR3 RAM
GTX 260 (Core 216)
And a 1TB 7200 RPM HDD all for $1200...great deal IMHO.

[radix]

Originally Posted by vgame64

You may want to look at this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218092150864

It has the i7 920
an ASUS GENE Rampage Motherboard
9 GB of DDR3 RAM
GTX 260 (Core 216)
And a 1TB 7200 RPM HDD all for $1200...great deal IMHO.

Price says $2k for me.

[d_crome]

UltimateBMW - sorry mate, I thought you were the OP, so if my tone was a little harsh I apologize mate! You're just trying to do some good also.

As you rightly point out - it all comes down to cash - if the OP shops around he CAN get some quality deals - as I said originally, places ARE selling i7 920's for $199 - not $270 (granted I know Newegg etc are selling for those prices, but they CAN be found).

And ATI/Nvidia - I used to be Nvidia all the way, this 4850X2 I'm running is my first switch to the "dark side" - but I can't say I've had any regrets or driver issues. Right now it just looks like ATI is on the front foot with the best cost/performance cards - the 4850 holder card option I like as he could go Crossfire (again, like you I'm not a fan of dual GPU configurations - I tolerate mine because they're on the same card minimizing hassle). My only gripe with ATI is the heat and noise issues - they generate more heat than their rivals at Nvidia so you will ultimately have to look at after market coolers OR a decent set of headphones to reduce the noise.

If the OP has the time - like you said - it can be cheaper to buy things as the deals appear - however the savings can actually be pretty substantial rather than minor - I got my Antec900 from Fry's for $49 shipped - check these sites daily for deals:

www.slickdeals.net
www.techbargains.com
www.fatwallet.com

And you're right about the SSD - that 1T is a great drive - however an opportunity arose a few weeks back where I was able to snag a current generation 64gig SSD for $105 shipped - and I'm not talking the earlier models - this is TRIM supported etc, I couldn't believe the deal I got! It has been a very significant upgrade as its something you "notice" more readily as things occur faster than before.

Sure it's only a few seconds - then again, if he has the money and wants higher end, it's certainly viable now.

Love your choice of Heatsink - that is indeed a beast!! I've been skeptical of Tom's reviews for a while now however, I always like a 2nd to 3rd opinion. I can actually vouch for the Core Contact Freezer - its what I'm currently using to cool the i7 and it's doing an admirable job for air cooling - let along the fact it costs $15 AR!!

To the OP - there's some great advice on this thread - hopefully you can create your perfect rig!

And a definite YES to the Creative X-Fi - I love mine.

[vgame64]

Originally Posted by radix

Price says $2k for me.

Strange...

[UltimateBMW]

Not sure if you were infering this or not, but the Megahalems review wasn't a tom's review. Unless that website was a branch of toms and I didn't realise. But they look pretty stand alone.

The i4850 is better for this application. I imagine the driver issue might be alittle bit more downplayed now. And where did you see the i7 920 for $200?

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by vgame64

You may want to look at this:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218092150864

It has the i7 920
an ASUS GENE Rampage Motherboard
9 GB of DDR3 RAM
GTX 260 (Core 216)
And a 1TB 7200 RPM HDD all for $1200...great deal IMHO.

I see that at $1,199. Jesus, on surface value that looks like a hell of a deal. Wish it said what grade of DDR3 ram was in it though. But even still, the rest of the components seem decent. Not a bad option if you don't want to build your own. I don't see where it says the mobo is a Rampage though. However, looking at that reminds me that I forgot to add a OS to the build above. Thats good for around $100 extra for a OEM copy of Windows.

The case is ugly as sin though.

[d_crome]

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...=hmpg_intel_i7

They have stores in Dallas and Houston!

And I was more so just saying I don't put a lot of stock into Toms Reviews anymore - your review link was fine, much like the choice of heatsink!

Also - that ASUS deal at BestBuy looks good, my only issue is that I'm unsure what MB that it includes (somebody threw around the Rampage but I couldn't find any reference to it) also the PSU is only 500W which to be honest, for an i7 and a 260 seems a little under resourced.

The good thing however is that it includes a full OS and the upgrade to Windows 7 - that in itself is a good deal - agreed though - case is an ugly one!

[vgame64]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

I see that at $1,199. Jesus, on surface value that looks like a hell of a deal. Wish it said what grade of DDR3 ram was in it though. But even still, the rest of the components seem decent.

The case is ugly as sin though.

I've seen the internals...using OEM quality Nanya RAM (do not overclock) and the other crap component is the PSU which won't allow for too many upgrades.

To the OP, a suggestion for you: considering buying parts slowly as deals come on them (slickdeals).

[vgame64]

Originally Posted by d_crome

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...=hmpg_intel_i7

They have stores in Dallas and Houston!

And I was more so just saying I don't put a lot of stock into Toms Reviews anymore - your review link was fine, much like the choice of heatsink!

Also - that ASUS deal at BestBuy looks good, my only issue is that I'm unsure what MB that it includes (somebody threw around the Rampage but I couldn't find any reference to it) also the PSU is only 500W which to be honest, for an i7 and a 260 seems a little under resourced.

The good thing however is that it includes a full OS and the upgrade to Windows 7 - that in itself is a good deal - agreed though - case is an ugly one!

If you read through the following thread, you will see it is an ASUS Rampage GENE (modified) motherboard: http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...Language=en-us

[d_crome]

Originally Posted by vgame64

If you read through the following thread, you will see it is an ASUS Rampage GENE (modified) motherboard: http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...Language=en-us

Nice.

Cost break down if he bought it individually:

CPU - $270 (assume he went someplace other than Microcenter!)
MB - Rampage II Extreme ($369)
RAM - $120
GPU - $180
PSU - $60
HD - $90
CASE - $60
OS - $110

Subtotal - $1259 (?)

Not bad at all - assuming that is indeed a Rampage II Extreme!

[vgame64]

Originally Posted by d_crome

Nice.

Cost break down if he bought it individually:

CPU - $270 (assume he went someplace other than Microcenter!)
MB - Rampage II Extreme ($369)
RAM - $120
GPU - $180
PSU - $60
HD - $90
CASE - $60
OS - $110

Subtotal - $1259 (?)

Not bad at all - assuming that is indeed a Rampage II Extreme!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rampage%20gene

$219 for the exact mobo so $1109...still nice as you don't have to worry about anything...just buy and done.