Proposed Sandy Bridge Build...

[dougri]

Settled on the following:

CPU: i7 2600k
Motherboard: Gigabyte P67A-UD3P (Realtek ALC892 audio, RTL8111E LAN)
RAM: possibly 2x4GB G.Skill Sniper 1600MHz CL9
Boot drive: OCZ Vertex 2 80GB
Data Drives: 2x2TB Samsung Spinpoint F4 in RAID 1 (external NAS- synology ds211j)
GPU: Apple GT120 (for compatibility with future 27" Cinema Display)
Cooler: Thermalrite U120x Rev C., w/ Scythe S-Flex, 1200RPM
Case: Lian Li PC-9FB
PSU: Seasonic X-650

just waiting on the case to arrive

 

[Procyon]

I'm planning on getting a similar build to yours, but with an ASUS P8P67 motherboard instead.

GPU: TBD, but would like either a nvidia GTS 450 or GTX 460 (advice needed)

As for graphics, I don't have the best impressions of Nvidia Fermi cards atm. Some people say they work fine, but when I read the forums there are so many people having problems with system stability and Nvidi fermi graphics.

I would have gone for a 5870 myself, but to get a reference card here is very difficult, and if I did find one it'd be very expensive. I think I'll go for a Palit GTX 460 Sonic Platinum P-GTX460-1GBD5-SP (no real idea if it's supported which has me a little worried, but I hope that some people using one will come forward and explain their own experiences).

Motherboard: Gigabyte P67A-UD3P (Realtek ALC892 audio, RTL8111E LAN)

LAN (http://lnx2mac.blogspot.com/p/realtekrt ... river.html)
Realtek ALC892 audio (http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/12/ ... audio.html)

 

[dougri]

does everything reasonably well supported on the p8p67 pro as well? That is my other choice for mobo, but I will not be doing SLI, so I'm basically deciding if the SLI-for-resale, Intel LAN, firewire and UEFI out of the box are worth the $22 extra it would cost me... gigabyte boards seem to be better supported around here, and I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get!

 

[Procyon]

gigabyte boards seem to be better supported around here, and I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get!

Check out this topic. People have got their systems working remarkably well on the P8P67 Pro. I haven't read up on Gigabyte compatibility, it works (probably a bit better than the ASUS boards), but the ASUS boards, for me at least, offer a better deal.