I have a Q6600@1.6 GHz on a Gigabyte G41M-ES2L with 2x2GB DDR2-800, I'm happy with it except for the RAM, 4 GB is not enough and DDR2 is absurdly expensive, so I think it's time I change the whole thing. I try to only change motherboards once every 4 years so I'd like the next one to be a bit future proof as in not ending up in 3 years with absurdly expensive RAM like in my case with DDR2 or few better CPU choices (as in with LGA 775, you can't much better than Q6600, and it's all too expensive for what it is anyway).
It might sound weird but actually I really want a low-end CPU performance because I'm a developer and I need a low-end machine to make sure I develop stuff that works smoothly on low-end machines, something equal to a Q6600 would be perfect, but obviously not LGA 775 cause that's ancient. So no overclocking, I prefer keeping it cool and quiet, downvolt the CPU (my CPU runs with 0.88 volts now, the hottest core rarely goes above 30°C even though the fan's only doing 800 RPM lol) and slow down the fan. But it has to be a quad core also for development reasons but also because quad cores are great. So basically, a cheap quad core will do I guess, with the option to get a somewhat more powerful CPU years later when it gets cheaper hopefully (I guess the socket choice is crucial here) so that my system might stay low-endish but not outright outdated with no cheap parts left for it.
But I have no clue whether to look AMD's way or not, it seems cheaper but I get the feeling that AMD's not a popular choice. Plus I have no clue about any of their sockets and chipsets so I don't know what might be future-proof enough.
As for the RAM I know it has to be DDR3 and I know I want 8 GB right now, and if I keep it 4 years by then I'll probably want 16 GB. I guess then I should get 2 x 4 GB, and if the mobo has 4 RAM slots I can easily expand later. And it would be best if the motherboard has more than 4 USB ports in the back. But most crucially right now I need to determine which socket type+cpu combination would work best for me for cheap. Any suggestions?
It might sound weird but actually I really want a low-end CPU performance because I'm a developer and I need a low-end machine to make sure I develop stuff that works smoothly on low-end machines, something equal to a Q6600 would be perfect, but obviously not LGA 775 cause that's ancient. So no overclocking, I prefer keeping it cool and quiet, downvolt the CPU (my CPU runs with 0.88 volts now, the hottest core rarely goes above 30°C even though the fan's only doing 800 RPM lol) and slow down the fan. But it has to be a quad core also for development reasons but also because quad cores are great. So basically, a cheap quad core will do I guess, with the option to get a somewhat more powerful CPU years later when it gets cheaper hopefully (I guess the socket choice is crucial here) so that my system might stay low-endish but not outright outdated with no cheap parts left for it.
But I have no clue whether to look AMD's way or not, it seems cheaper but I get the feeling that AMD's not a popular choice. Plus I have no clue about any of their sockets and chipsets so I don't know what might be future-proof enough.
As for the RAM I know it has to be DDR3 and I know I want 8 GB right now, and if I keep it 4 years by then I'll probably want 16 GB. I guess then I should get 2 x 4 GB, and if the mobo has 4 RAM slots I can easily expand later. And it would be best if the motherboard has more than 4 USB ports in the back. But most crucially right now I need to determine which socket type+cpu combination would work best for me for cheap. Any suggestions?