fatty said:
Well, stopped by my local Microcenter during lunch and I see that the Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield is on sale for only $200, only a few bucks more than my previous consideration of the Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield! So impulse buy mode took over and I got it right then.
So if you're interested check your local store if you have one around, not sure how long this sale will last.
This changes what I will be using for a motherboard though (previously considering
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 motherboard for $143)
I'm trying to understand more about motherboards and what support for both CrossFire and SLI multi-GPU configurations actually means, how important USB 3.0 support is and anything else that I should know. So I'm still researching what all of this entails but if anyone has any links or suggestions on a motherboard I would be very grateful.
What I plan on doing now that I've purchased a processor is looking for a motherboard. Since I got a pretty good deal on the processor I'm still not too concerned if I don't max it out right now to its highest potential (i.e. I might just do dual ram for now).
I figure I then have a few weeks to look for the right videocard and to see what's going on with Fermi.
Do yourself a favor and get all the parts within two or three weeks and put it together before your grace period for easy returns expires.
Find a Gigabyte if there's any with good reviews, they seem to have less issues with RAM and are easily to install than Asus ones. Just search for reviews.
USB 3.0 is only important if you need faster speeds than USB 2.0 offers. I'd say it's really a relatively unimportant feature, but some people would disagree. There's certainly no point in not having it, but I'm not going to miss it, I'm happy with USB 2 speeds.
You'll need to get either 3 or 6 gigs of RAM (it's sold in packs and tested as a unit, so you buy 3x2GB in a single pack, and put those 3 sticks in one of the sets of RAM slots... they are usually alternating from one set to the next, so every other slot), when you pick your motherboard, go to the site and find the details on the RAM it supports and only pick from that RAM unless you want to risk having problems. I'd go with 6GB if you can fit it in, but I read a review that pitted 3GB against 6GB across a few dozen apps and games, and 6GB offered almost no benefit.
Of course, if you run a bunch of apps and don't close them, things can change quickly.
Support for multi-GPU configurations is a little overrated. SLI or XFire introduces framerate issues, and compatibility problems. It's usually cheaper to buy a single card than purchase SLI. It's a pretty standard feature though, but likely you'll never use it. If you're "only" getting a 5770, simply selling it and buying a 5850 or Fermi down the road will be a huge upgrade, and your CPU would definitely be up to the task, especially if overclocked.
Also, get a really good cooler for your CPU if you can. I'd recommend a Prolimatech Megahalems, it's a bit pricey (and likely overkill, so you'll end up finding something else), but a good cooler is important for keeping your CPU cool! I'm running a i7 920 overclocked to slightly past 965 levels, and I have my case fans running at only 1000RPM (really quiet), and I only hit the high 60s / low 70s on full load.
Good luck putting it all together, it's time consuming and frustrating when something goes wrong. Be sure to have easy access to the internet while you're assembling, and realize that while GAF is very helpful for troubleshooting, your problems could end up being better answered through google or another forum... I see people panic in this thread once and a while, and they usually end up finding their own solution before someone responds.
