I'm pretty solid on the items so far. The only thing I'm waffling on is the Motherboard. I'm debating which on-board graphics to go with.
I definitely want the USB 3.0 and SATA 6G. Almost everything comes with 8 channel audio now. In addition, since I'll be using on-board video for a while (for ever?) I want something that is decent for the limited gaming I do with this system.
What I don't need for a Motherboard is the CrossfireX or any dual video card stuff. I tried that once and was very disappointed with it. The trouble to benefit ratio was severely skewed towards trouble.
Everything else is pretty much a lock. 4GB should be enough RAM for my needs, and if I need more I can get 2 more sticks of the same raising it to 8GB. The Hard Drive and DVD/CD Burner are both locks as well unless someone can show me something better for the price. The CPU seems like the absolute best at that price range, and from what I've read the stock cooling works awesome for them. I would like a heat pipe on it instead of fan, but I'm not sure I want to start adding in stuff like that.
If you look at my
WISHLIST you'll see a monitor in there as well. The on-board video will support dual monitor and I'm trying to sneak in another one to go with my 19" Samsung. This is something I haven't researched as much. Does it look like a good one for the price?