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#1
What motherboard should I go for?
(I guess this is kindof the right section to put this in)
I'm looking for an awesome motherboard. And by 'awesome', Ii mean one that makes the Rampage III Extreme quiver.
The background:
The computer I have had since 2001 died a few days ago (see my album for the funeral photos). It was a critical death, as it seems that the motherboard shorted (I swapped most of the parts for slightly newer (2005) parts a year ago).
Currently, I am having to get by with my HP Pavilion ZV5000, which as you can see from my system specs sheet, isn't very good (let's face it, the coolest thing about it is its processor being codenamed 'ClawHammer'). Unfortunately, that laptop has more or less the same specs for any machine i've recently owned. The best machine I've ever had was the dead one that I got 2GB RAM into with the new, shorted, mobo.
I am fed up with low end computers. I plan on building the best machine I could possibly dream of (that is possible with todays technology ). The Rampage III Extreme doesn't hold enough RAM for my likings.
Yes, I realise I would need a SSD to fully justify that much RAM, and please don't try to talk me out of it saying that's an insane amount. It's meant to be an insane machine
So, the sort of mobo i'm looking for needs:
- More than 24GB RAM max. (i'm thinking more along the lines of the latest Mac Pro's 64GB)
- Standard size. I don't want a cute little HTPC mobo, I want a standard size one.
- At least 2 PCI-E slots, preferably three. I would like to be able to have the option as well for at least one PCI card to be used if I want.
- Must support an i7 extreme. I hope that all the sandy bridge mess-up has gone by the time I get round to buying all this stuff, and yes, I realise an i7 extreme costs about £995. I'm planning on saving up
- At least one IDE connector. Call me old fashined, but I like IDE.
I think I've covered every 'base' on requirements...
Yes, I realise this rig is going to cost a lot (my rough estimate is £2000). I'm saving up and want to go 'all out' this time.
Thankyou very much for reading all of this :)