Plaese Help New User Choose Motherboard

I want to replace my P4 2.6HGZ machine with either a quad or dual core processor. The Q6600 or Q6700 are looking promising.

As a photographer working with large files in Photoshop CS3, I need a machine that will keep up with me. The P4 is a bit slow when convering RAW files to .jpg and while processing filters within CS3.

Photoshop will take advantage of the multiple cores, that will speed things up.

I am overwhelmed with the motherboard choices and will appreciate help and guidance with making an intelligent decision without spending too much.

My motherboard requirements are simple, FireWire, ESata port(s), Gigabit LAN and onboard video would be nice. I don't need IDE any longer, the new hard drive & burner will be SATA ...

Also looking for suggestions on the dual vs. quad core CPU. Will the additional two cores really give me more raw processing power in Photoshop? Is it worth it?

WOW, the Photoshop tests are impressive. The onboard video would ne a 'nice to have' but not a requirement. I plan on dropping a tv tuner card in the machine also with a second monitor.

While were on the subject ...

Do you have recommendation for a budget graphics card? I'm not a gamer so super whiz-bang isn't necessary but I would like a quality card.

Good stuff, thanks dagger.

I'm waiting to see if Fry's comes through with the Q6600 + ECS mobo for $150 (Labor day sale). I'll dump the board and go with an Asus.

If not, I'll take the plunge with NewEgg and the 3.0% cashback Microsoft Live offers.

G43/45 is economy level microatx chipset, performance is not on par with p43/45. That board is also a lot more expensive too. It cost more than a cheap p43 board plus video card combined. There's no point.