First build......need guidance

[sheroo]

Is it worth getting a PCIe GEN3 motherboard yet as GPUs are mainly PCIe GEN2 and I'm sure they won't drop drastically in price for over a year yet. Would it not be worth getting the GEN3 motherboard when I get a GEN3 GPU?

It depends on your upgrade cycle. Personally I would, as the boards aren't that much more expensive. Over the next few years PCI-E SSD's are the only things that are likely to come anywhere near saturating PCI-E 3 bandwidth.

 

[Metalboz]

Ok, so as it stands, shopping list is looking like this now:

Case - Corsair 600T

Motherboard - Asus P8Z68-V PRO GEN/3

CPU - i7-2600K

Cooling - Corsair H100

Thermal Paste - MX-4

Mem - 8GB (2x4GB) Patriot Viper Xtreme 1866MHz

PSU - Corsair AX850

GPU - Asus GeForce GTX 560Ti 830MHz 1GB

SSD - Corsair Force GT 120GB

Total: £1100 approx

One concern, Asus say supported RAM for P8Z68-V is max 1600MHz. Is it pointless getting any memory above 1600MHz or is it worth looking at a different motherboard which accepts RAM with greater MHz?

 

[Metalboz]

Other option is ASRock Z68 Extreme7 which will allow up to 2133MHz and then either 2500K or 2600K depending on budget at the time.

Memory i would go for at the moment with that motherboard would be Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB 1866MHz until the 2133MHz units come down in price, or just jump straight in and go for 4x4GB G.Skill Ripjaw Z 2133MHz