Advice on CPU/Mobo/RAM combo

Tushon

I'm finishing a new PC build (my first full build, so be nice ) and I wanted to get a solid CPU/mobo/RAM combo w/o shelling out for an i7 system. I came up with this (newegg links):

[link=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471]AMD Phenom II x4 940 Black Edition[/link]
[link=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131323]Asus M3N72-D Mobo[/link]
[link=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220314]Patriot Extreme 2x2GB DDR2 1066[/link]

Thoughts? From reviews, the RAM seems solid, CPU is quite overclockable and mobo seems like a good choice. I doubt I will be running SLI anytime soon and I wont have much need for the PCI slot that would be blocked by the first graphics card anyways. I will be running Vista x64 orrrr Win 7 beta (well for my gaming, that is. I'm sure I'll sneak Ubuntu on there behind Gates' back). We shall see.

Also, if it would be worth it (ie reason to double RAM if comp isnt going to be used for crazy video rendering, just games and won't be on all the time), I'd be willing to go to [link=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231195]G-Skill 4x2GB DDR2-1100[/link] or something similar. I picked that one because it had good reviews.

Thanks for any advice and/or pointers!

BuddyJ

Looks okay to me. What video card are you going to pair with it?

Thrax

I would say that 4GB is currently the sweet spot with 6GB being the functional upper limit. I have strongly considered 8GB of memory, however, as the tasks I enjoy always seem to be hungry for more.

Solid parts all around.

Mt_Goat

if you could swing it the following would be really sweet!

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

Tushon

Mt_Goat wrote:

if you could swing it the following would be really sweet!

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

619 after rebates and free shipping VS 390 + shipping (before rebates) for AMD gear in my post. I know it would be sweet but 200+ dollars is alot of money that could be better spent elsewhere.

I'll be pairing it with a single [link=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133246&Tpk=pny 9800 gtx]PNY 9800 GTX+[/link] for now. I might go SLI later but that is enough money for the moment (Mt_Goat, I see a use for that extra 200 ).

Thanks for the advice on the 4GB sweet spot, Thrax. Does having only two sticks still help as compared to having four? I know that it used to help tighten timings, but does it have a big effect with newer chips?

Thrax

You definitely want to limit it to two (or three) sticks. Memory density, while not as troublesome as it once was, still hampers timings and (should you wish it) overclocking.

BuddyJ

Dual 2GB sticks is my recommendation. You get all the benefits of 4GB with the least hassle.

Mt_Goat

Buddy J wrote:

Dual 2GB sticks is my recommendation. You get all the benefits of 4GB with the least hassle.

That's a big 10-4 there buddy. Rodger dodger on that 1.

Tushon

Thanks again for the advice. I'm not sure if I will be overclocking it. I might just to get a little performance out of it but its going to be such a big improvement over my current setup that I doubt I will feel the need to.