The timings on the memory have to do with performance. The 'tighter', or lower, timings are generally higher performance memory. Timings are usually defaulted in the BIOS, but can be tweaked if desired.

As for memory for a specific motherboard, as long as it's the proper voltage and type (DDR3, DDR2, etc.) you should be fine for the most part. Some boards don't like to run with some brands of memory, but most vendors usually have some kind of list of approved and/or compatible memory for their boards.

Voltage is also something that should be listed in the motherboard's info. No idea for specifics, as I'm not in the process of looking to build another computer for myself yet (probably another year before I get to that point), but the Ivy Bridge CPUs have just been released, I believe. I'd probably look at those and grab the best GPU you can afford with the rest of your budget, after you've decided on your other components.

Ultimately a lot of it boils down to doing your research. Check the manufacturer's websites for features and compatibility lists. If they don't say anything about it then that's an automatic NO.

Unless you're going for budget / older stuff then getting dual channel memory and a dual channel supporting mobo should be a given.

I'd recommend that whatever you buy you stick to buying in future. Say for instance you buy 2 x 2GB of Corsair DDR3 RAM and in future you want to upgrade. Either add another 2 x 2GB of exactly the same RAM (including speed. The RAM will only run at the speed of the slowest stick). Or replace it all.

As for CPU, make sure that your motherboard can handle a CPU of the voltage you're buying. It's not just a matter of making sure that, for instance, you're buying a AM3 processor for an AM3 slot. Ideally make sure that your CPU is listed as compatible with that mobo. Again, check the manufacturer's website for details and always take a lack of such details as a sign you need to be looking elsewhere.

When it comes to builds I generally shun the idea of future-proofing as it's nonsense. If you buy a rung below the top you're getting a lot more bang for your buck (slightly less bang but a lot less bucks) and you're free to upgrade that build in future with the money you saved, which means your money will go further.

By the time your top of the range computer is actually taxed by a game it would probably then be being sold for half the price you paid for it.

I wouldn't bother. No I'm serious if you turned round to me and told me I had to use NV no matter what right now I simply wouldn't bother and tell you to come back in 3-6 months when they actually have stock of decent low problem chips.

Same here. I'm serious. If you turned to me and said the same thing to me except I had to use AMD, I simply wouldn't bother.

To each his own.

NV do not currently have a GPU worth buying the 680 is impossible to get and anything below that atm is a generation out of date AMD however already has a current gen line up and has supply so yeah either swallow your NV fanboyism or consider AMD

Here's an idea. How about you AMD fanboys, once reading that part of the post, simply skipping this thread?? How about that?

I've tried one AMD processor, and two AMD GPU's (well, one was ATI before it became AMD) and had nothing but trouble with game after game after game. And I'm no more an Nvida or Intel fanboy than I am a Microsoft fanboy. But I wll also not entertain purchasing another OS because Windows is what everything is made to run on. Also, I will not entertain another purchase of a brand where I've had THREE awful experiences. If that somehow makes me a fanboy, then so be it. But personally, I think like Microsoft, Intel and Nvidia are getting too damn big for their britches and I don't much like that. But, I like dealing with problem after problem after problem even less. And the fact is, I've had problems in the past with AMD (&ATI) and I havn't with Intel and Nvidia.

I'm not a fanboy I have 1 system with NV and one with AMD and guess what I KNOW ABOUT GPU'S and RIGHT NOW NVIDIA HAVE NONE WORTH GETTING. does that finally get through your head? I simply told you if you want an NV system YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT 3-6 MONTHS FOR THEM TO YOU KNOW RELEASE CHIPS.

There you go now stop judging and consider I was actually giving you advice...

About CPU. If you want computer for gaming and casual use then you can even use potato as CPU. I have CPU old as hell (and it wasn't that good even when I bought it) and I have 60+ FPS in games like Crysis 2, TW2, Metro, SC2, Shogun 2 etc. on best possible settings. I just keep upgrading my GPUs.

This doesn't count as a GPU?

"Supported Technologies
DirectX 11"

LOL is this a first for Nvidia, or more lies?

what a chip that is only ever in stock for 3 minutes in quantities of 8 cards? NO it doesn't.

Look, I thank you for the advice. But asking me to purchase again from a company that I've had three bad experiences with is like asking me to jump out of a plane without a parachute. I'm simply not going to do it because of my bad experiences. Every consumer out there has a company or two or three that they simply rule out due to bad experiences. I'll tell you another of mine: CyberPowerPC. I will NEVER purchase from them. It doesn't matter if they happen to make the best computers at the best prices anywhere, I won't be giving them any more of my dollars.

Likewise, I won't be giving AMD any more of my dollars (or my family's, when they give me money to purchase with). If you can't understand that, couldn't you at least respect it? Believe it or not I didn't start this thread to get into another damn Intel/Nvide vs AMD war. I've read and seen so many of them I'm sick of them. But for me, I will NOT, spend another dollar on anything by AMD, EVER. And it's not negotiable. If GOG ever does something that gets them on my shitlist I also won't ever purchase from them again.

You were the one that brought up the fanboy crap, that's the only reason I used that term. So please, just ignore me from now on and ignore my threads okay?? Because even though you may mean well, I will NOT EVER purchase again from AMD. I just won't. That's why I pur in the oroginial post no compromises. And that's my right.
The old machine that I sent back for repairs (that got trashed in shipment) ran two Nvidia GTX 470's in SLI mode and ran DirectX 11 just fine. ??????

I understand what you're saying about AMD GPUs, believe me (although I've never had a problem with an AMD CPU and can't really see how you would have). But Nvidia aren't really worth bothering with right now either. I can't speak for more recent AMD cards. Maybe the drivers are good now. I don't know. But I do know that Nvidia's DX11 drivers are so bad it's a joke to even call them that.
I've had many problems with many games. All of which are instantly fixed by either using the provided DX9 option or forcing XP compatibility mode on. The problem is too widespread and too specific and the solution is all too apparent for me to be left with any uncertainty as to what the problem is.

Well, see, there you go. So I wouldn't blame you at all if you refused to consider Nvidia. Me, my Nvidia's ran DX11 GREAT. I tried Civilization V using both options but 11 was absolutely wonderful, and never had a single problem. And I never used anything other than 11 after that whenever given a choice (Civ V, from STEAM, was the first game I ever saw that came with a choice of how to run it. lol, I didn't even know games gave you a choice until I saw that one.) I also did some benchmarking under DX11 and got great scores and no problems.

So see, you didn't have problems with AMD CPU's. I did. I didn't have problems with Nvidia running DX11, you did. I think that happens a LOT don't you?? And I think when that happens it's perfectly natural for the person that it happens to to develop a bias for future decisions.