CPU and mobod ?

[ingeborgdot]

Is it worth the extra 100 bucks to get the C2 duo 6850 or is the 6750 a better buy.  I will overclock but don't want to go too far.  I do a lot of video work and need something fast. 
I have another question on what type of board to get.  With all the new ones popping up what seems to be the best right now?  I know much is on personal preference but I just want some input.  Thanks for your time.

[Buffalo2102]

The E6850 is not worth the extra IMO, especially if you are going to overclock.  However, for less than the price of a E6850, you can get a Q6600 which would have similar stock performance and be a lot better for video encoding and other multithreaded applications.

If I were considering that upgrade I'd definitely go for the Quad Core as the performance is almost identical except in multithreaded applications where the Quad obviously surges ahead.  It's a more future-proof option.

As for motherboards, that is a little trickier as it depends on your budget and what else you need from it, e.g. do you need SLI/Crossfire, do you need legacy connectivity (more than 2 ATA devices, any PCI cards etc.)  Also, are you going to be using any existing DDR2 memory?  Memory/board compatibility is an issue these days.

Let me know some answers to the above and I will be happy to suggest some possibilities.

[ingeborgdot]

I will be using multiple hard drives as I will be doing raid 1 for os and maybe for other hard drives.  I know that raid 1 is not close to being as fast as raid 0 but I don't need raid 0 but need the mirror.  I have seen in many tests that show a raid 1 is still a bunch faster than a standard single drive though and I know, "slower than raid 0".  I just need the extra speed that raid 1 will give me. 

I will be needing at least 6 sata ports because my dvd drives will be sata.  I know I can also add an extra pci card for it if need be to get the extra sata ports.

I don't need sli or crossfire as video editing does not require much from the video card.  I will have a pretty decent card right now with a 7900 gs.  I will upgrade to the 8000 series (which one I don't know for sure) later. 

As for memory I don't know which route to go.  I will go any route that people suggest.  Cost is not an issue. 

Many on other boards seem to think quad is also the answer, so it looks like that may be the way to go.

Anything else you need to know.  Just remember cost is not an issue.

[Buffalo2102]

RAID 1 is faster than a single drive when it comes to read performance (providing that your RAID controller supports simultaneous reads from a mirrored pair) but you should be aware that there is a slight performance hit when it comes to writes as the data has to be written twice.

When it comes to the choice of motherboard, you are buying at a particularly difficult time.  You could spend loads of money trying to be futureproof and get a X38 chipset based board (or wait for the X48!) which supports PCI-E 2.0 and get some DDR3 memory to go with it.  That would be costly but you would have a top-end rig, although being a new chipset etc. the available BIOS/drivers are likely to be immature and possibly less stable.

Personally, I would go for a P35 based board as that chipset was designed for the quad core.  It has been around for a little while now so the BIOS/drivers etc. are quite mature and stable.  DDR3 RAM is at a silly price right now so I wouldn't bother with it yet.  (I know you said money is not an issue but I don't think you can justify the cost difference between DDR2 and DDR3)  Also, there is nothing to take advantage of PCI-E 2.0 yet anyway.

There are some boards that offer DDR2 and DDR3 support but I have seen some concerning reports about flaky performance.

Some possibilities for you -
Abit IP35 Pro http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=IP35+Pro&fMTYPE=LGA775&utm_source=xtremesytems.org&utm_medium=web-link&utm_content=IP35+Pro&utm_campaign=U95095

Gigabyte GA_P35_DQ6 http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=2532

Asus P5K WS http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=534&l4=0&model=1691&modelmenu=1

Personally, I like the look of the Abit board, it seems to have a lot of recommendations on user forums.  Build that with a Q6600 and some decent DDR2 and you have a great rig.  Next year you can upgrade again to X48, 16-core CPU, DDR3 and a solid state drive!

Buff

[ingeborgdot]

I have really been looking hard at the Abit board.  It has everything I want and need on a board.  I think there is no good time to buy a board because next month something new may come out and as the saying goes "Here we go again!"

[Buffalo2102]

I quite agree and that's why I think it is pointless spending silly money now on DDR3, PCI-E 2.0 etc. when there's actually very little around at the moment that will benefit from it.  If you're anything like me, you'll probably upgrade again next year and by that time the price of DDR3 will be realistic and there will be PCI-E 2.0 cards available.

I'm really tempted by that A-bit board and a Q6600 but I've only recently moved to a E6600 and the missus would kill me if I spent more now.