Let’s add more…
I completely forgot motherboard…
I haven’t seen much for these in a while…  Intel, Gigabyte, Asus, Abit? Who anymore?
Sound card… any reason to go PCI Express for one? Or just PCI? I’m leaning towards PCI…
Any other little cards worth the time? Physics card? TV Tuner?
mike Said,
August 10, 2008 @ 10:34 pm
Motherboard - I have had very good luck with both Gigabyte and ASUS. I have read a lot of reviews about Intel’s boards being less than stellar unless you are buying their high-end server boards.
I would recommend sticking with the Intel chipsets on the boards though. I was very impressed with the P35, and the P45 is supposed to be a great successor.
For me, when I was considering a board the biggest thing I needed was the ability for many drives inside. It was cheaper to spend $40 extra on a board that has 8 sata ports instead of 4, than it was to have to buy the $60 4-port sata expansion card. I doubt you’ll be throwing that much in there though.
mike Said,
August 10, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
Soundcard - Unless you plan on making this thing your uber-media center hooked up to an awesome stereo system, go with whatever is cheapest. :/
More than likely you have a standard 2.1 or 5.1 home surround sound system, or possibly even headphones. In any case, I am guessing it is very likely you are not even coming close to utilizing the card like a true audiophile. It is probably not worth your time to go all-out.
If you have an old Audigy2 or something laying around, I would say just that, unless your situation is far different than I imagine. But I see it as being more of a home desktop/fun box, and that ultra-high quality sound is not the most important feature…
andy Said,
August 10, 2008 @ 10:48 pm
I have my Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 speakers… so sound is somewhat important, but if I get cheap, I’m thinking about just keeping the Audigy Platinum. It’s a spot I know I can cut.