CPU Motherboard Combos

[sweept]

I'm looking to build a new PC. something that ranges from good performance to *better*... (for all over-all computer purposes..)

the main factor of this -buy is also to find the best combo\part's of value for an average standard price and also that the total price won't get to be too expensive.

So for 1

what is a good CPU & Motherboard combination suggested to date ..

* a CPU that uses good benchmark specs and off-course a Motherboard that can support & take good advantage of those specs..

* what other recommended specific PC parts would make noticeable difference to boost the over-all PC performance.. or just important to mention : in order to keep out and away from unreliable or poor parts getting into the combo..

* any lnks to web pages.. that keep close and recent updates regarding to this sort of info will be great ... first hand opinions are most welcome! of course!

TIA

Edited June 2, 2010 by sweept

[sweept]

it would help if someone had a to date excel spread sheet that can be used to build combos or some other application that exists that will do that

& to make it easier sharing combo's that can then be discussed openly

the main parts I was looking to find recommendations for are the CPU, Mother Board and Memory-sticks (in combo)

Edited June 2, 2010 by sweept

[puntoMX]

I don't think you will find all this info in one package, I would check each component step by step and use Tomshardware page for example for the benchmarks.

Why is this huge amount of data needed? What are you going to do with it? Is this just to build one PC?

[CoffeeFiend]

I'm looking to build a new PC. something that ranges from good performance to *better*... (for all over-all computer purposes..)

That's like saying you want to buy a car that's nice... to something nicer. It really means nothing (no help at all).

to find the best combo\part's of value for an average standard price and also that the total price won't get to be too expensive

It's pretty typical. For the main part (generally speaking):

-for the super low end, a low end Intel Socket 775 CPU like the E3300, cheapo motherboard with onboard video of some kind and an old low-end chipset like the 965, some DDR2. It's not exactly great but when it comes to the absolute cheapest it's hard to beat

-anything above that and below the next "category": AMD has better value (unless you are going to manage some crazy overclock or similar)

-for something high end (basically anything faster than AMD makes) then your only choice is Intel

what is a good CPU & Motherboard combination suggested to date

There's dozens of current CPUs and hundreds of boards. We know absolutely nothing about your particular usage/needs/preferences nor budget. That's like asking a recommendation "for a good vehicle", without providing any kind of extra infos. There's no way to answer this.

a CPU that uses good benchmark specs

Compared to a 386, or compared to a Xeon X7560? You're always very vague and again it's hard to answer in any way.

it would help if someone had a to date excel spread sheet that can be used to build combos or some other application that exists that will do that

Do you actually expect anyone to maintain some kind of up-to-date list of around a hundred CPUs, about 600 or so current motherboards from at least a dozen manufacturers and even more kits of RAM? And even have it organized to "build combos" in any practical way (based on the CPU socket, chipset, and DDR2 or 3, max TDP, current BIOS version, etc that each and every board has)? There is simply no such thing. Go to a reputable seller with a good selection and decent inventory from the area where you'll be buying from. Look at what they have then go from there, it's what we all do.

If you want some kind a better answer, then perhaps you can tell us if it's for basic office work, gaming, rendering and encoding, or whatever else you need, and a ideally some idea of how much you can afford to spend. What we suggest will change quite a bit depending on your answer, just like it would if you were asking for a card, and told us you wanted something to tow a 5th wheel within $50000 or a luxury sports car within 1M.