what motherboard and CPU shoud i buy?

i am going to build a computer, and was wondering what processor and mobo i should get, im kinda looking towards the 3.0Ghz and a IS7-g, is this good

i will be putting it togeter around christmass?

depends on how much $$$ you want to spend...for top performance, get the Abit MAX3 board, P4-800E Asus, DFI LanParty I875A or B, some PC4000/PC4200 and a 2.4C-2.8C (3Ghz cpu's overlock, but nothing like a 2.4C will usually...I easily hit 3.2Ghz with a 2.4C at ratio, and lots of guys with PC4000/PC4200 DDR can do 260-290FSB 1:1 with a 2.4C getting anywhere from 3Ghz - 3.6Ghz!)

2.4C = $177 @ newegg
3Ghz = $387 @ newegg (personally, I would get the 2.4C and spend that extra cash on awesome RAM!)

would a 2.6 and a abit max3 be good?

ya man

just get some good PC4000 or PC4200 RAM. Couple of the guys in the DFI I875 thread in Other Intel Boards here at OC Forums are getting 260-270FSB 1:1 on the DFI I875A LanParty w/PC4000 and one of them has posted stable screens of 291FSB 1:1 with a 2.4C + IC7-MAX3 + PC4000

should be no problem to hit 250FSB with either board and PC4000 or better!

but it says the motherboard can omly handle pc3200

will it be able to hamdle pc4000??

gamer004 said:

but it says the motherboard can omly handle pc3200

will it be able to hamdle pc4000??

Click to expand...

you must first ask why it states pc3200 as max

2.4c=12x200
2.6c=13x200
2.8c=14x200

and so on

as you can see all the cpus are set on 200, which mean pc3200=200

they can only list something that is offered by intel as a standard, nothing more

thats were overclocking comes in, with a nice board, ram, and chip, you can get really high overclocks, really improving performance, killing any stock intell chip

background,

pc2700=333mhz double, actual front bus 166
pc3200=400mhz double, actual front bus 200

and so on, they are essencially the same technology, thats why you can use a pc3200 on a pc2100 board, the stick will run slower but it will run

in other words makers check speed and label then how high the chips are able to run

almost forgot, yes it will work

ok, is amd an option???

once again...motherboard is entirely your preference

decide for yourself what you want to suit your pc

i do agree with others, buying a 3.0 is horrible..why not buy a 2.6c and get good ram?

i have 2.6 w/ corsair pc-4000 very stable at 290+ FSB

How about the Small Form Factor options?

http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=447&80305