In a few days I'll be ordering parts to build a new system (replacing a 4-year-old Barton system). I'll be doing some moderate gaming - WoW, CoD2, Medieval II Total War, etc. I don't expect this rig to run Oblivion or upcoming games with maximum eye candy, but I do want it to be as powerful as possible for $900 - $1000. I don't have a firm budget ceiling but I'm looking for maximum value for money.
A few questions before I list the parts:
1. Will current LGA775 motherboards be compatible with Penryn? As best I understand they will be, and I was hoping to upgrade the processor sometime next year.
2. I know it's hypothetical, but assuming the answer to #1 is yes, please comment on whether you think the PSU I've selected will likely be sufficient to power next-year's graphics cards (I will never be using SLI or Crossfire) and a Penryn processor.
Monitor: ViewEra V202D-B 20.1" LCD, $180 after rebate
I will either use the onboard sound on my mobo or an old Soundblaster card that I have already. Speakers, keyboard, and mouse from my old rig. Any feedback or comments would be much appreciated.
Thanks for the response. Is it absolutely necessary to have a board with the P35 chipset for Penryn support? I was under the impression that the P965 could also support quad core processors, including Penryn, and since the board you linked doesn't support DDR3, I'm not sure I see the advantage it has over the 965P-DS3, as you can reach 1333mhz FSB and higher using BIOS...
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