Recommended Computer Parts Guide

I'll stick it if you agree to update it?

EP35C has support for higher-speed DDR3 modules. Oh and some extra USB ports. That's about it. I'd go for it, simply because it looks like a really small difference in chipset and so you probably won't have many problems beyond the P35C, but it's really your call. You will not need to upgrade the BIOS, should work @ stock fine.

Here's a couple (mainly positive) reviews.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/476
http://techgage.com/article/gigabyte_ga-p35c-ds3r/1

I'm liking the following quote:

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You got a deal! I'll just PM you or post here updates and a mod can merge em in I guess. Not likely to be much for a little bit, at least until DDR3 comes down in prince or we get the GeForce 9xxx.

Not forgetting flash hdd's as they become more mainstream?

hd/bluray optical's as they become more mainstream? (or rather whichever format wins...cough....bluray....)

Already mentioned solid-states and Blu-Ray's really subjective, unlikely to be useful for 99% of users.

brilliant thread mate well done.

Hello friends!

I would just like to announce my favorite board ever. It is $200 but well worth it. It has 4 PCI-E x16 slots, DDR3, supports 45nm, 6 SATA slots.

Please try not to drool as it may short out a USB port.

If a mod could link the text "good DDR3 motherboard" to the above link it would be appreciated.

*drools anyway*

i WISH i had the money for this when i was getting ready to buy my PC...i would LOVE ddr3 support...

failed to account for it when i was building. my current p35 chipset only allows for ddr2 800 and 1066 memory...:(

oh well..this will tide me over till the next revolution in computer technology i guess. until then, i'll get a job and save a ton of money :)

Well, I hate swapping out motherboard too but at least it's not like there's a new socket or something so all you'd have to replace is the RAM and it.

but not until ddr3 is cheaper and more mainstream. that's really the only small blessing i have seeing as i bought a motherboard that wasn't entirely future proof. at least i still have a little while before ddr3 starts to dominate the memory standards. and it looks like very soon i'll be getting a job anyhow so in all likelihood i'll have the money i need to buy a nice ddr3 motherboard and a decent set of ram cards later on anyhow.

i have bigger fish to fry though. my main concern at the moment is upgrading my graphics chip. so i've gotta pull 250 bucks out of my bum first.

Anyone reccommend a retailer to buy components from?

a lot of people on these forums and others will tell you that the best one for the US is newegg.com or tigerdirect.com. i don't know crap in terms of ones based in the UK, or other parts of Europe. or one that delivers to Canada or anything like that. but as far as the US is considered, those two are the top sites for buying single parts.

you've got to be careful with when and how you order though. because there are all sorts of technicalities and such that can force you to wait longer than expected to get your packages. for instance, neither newegg nor UPS delivers on weekends. and holidays are extended to the day before and the day after usually. and sometimes the UPS people have other places to stop off at first so you have to wait even longer. i ordered 3 times from newegg, and only one of them arrived on the day i expected. luck of the draw i guess. from what i've heard from hundreds of other people, newegg has been very good about their delivery policies though.

despite my experiences with the deliveries, i still view newegg as a top of the line site.

that's just my recommendation. i'm sure there are hundreds of other sites i haven't heard of that are just as reputable.

$2.99 for same day processing, though most of the time NewEgg'll get it same day anyway. I'd say that can't be beat.

Had a look at Dabs, Overclockers and Novatech, some good prices but have read a lot of negative reviews about all three, anyone got any views on this?

I've heard of Overclockers, but I'm sure some of the UK people can point you to better. Never heard of the other two. I think Alex posted a list or at least has one of the best UK retailers.

Checking those links, the prices at Newegg are more expensive then you listed, you may want to update that.