Hey Quartzhunter,
Yeah, the AMD vs Intel debate is rather irrelevant anymore. They both scream when you get in the higher speed ones. As for a motherboard, I agree with Redo40, the nForce chipset seems really stable and works well. For that chipset you might check out the Asus A7N8X motherboard paired with an AMD cpu. If you decide an Intel cpu is the way to go, check out the Asus P4PE. Both are getting good reviews right now. And yeah, the tower cases will definitely give you more room to work in. I like Antec cases personally, but others such as Enermax, Enlight, and Chieftec are alright too. hth
