new build for a rookie

[hemir1]

i am building a new gamer PC that i want to have longterm upgradeability and the motherboard is my toughest decision. at first i was thinking of this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3505198&CatId=2406

for the simple fact that it is almost a free processor and good MOBO, and i can limp by with this for 6 months or so then get a quad for cheap when they come down somemore, more on this in a min.
and a case and PSU like this:


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3111229&CatId=1846

my problem is that i was told in another thread that the 680i LT sli is not going to support the new penryn procs. when they come out, so my upgrade path is limited to what is already available. which 1-2 years from now when i want the latest and greatest, i won't be able to do it. what options do i have for a motherboard for a gamer PC that has some longterm upgradeability?

do i need to go AMD for longterm upgradeability??

 

[o1die]

The xfs 680 board won't run penryn, which is already out, so upgradability is a non issue. Not a bad combo, though. But if you don't need sli, I would go for a p35 board. Both xfs and evga don't issue alot of bios updates, which is often required for running a newer cpu. Abit, asus, msi and gigabyte all have better tech support.

 

[hemir1]

are penryn's the 45nm chips? what kind of mobo do i need to run one of those and an older less expensive chip?

 

[hemir1]

Form Factor: ATX


Processor Interface: Socket 775


Processors Supported: Intel Pentium 4 LGA775
Intel Pentium D
Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad


Additional Technologies: 64-bit
HyperThreading Technology
Vista Ready, Intel Quad Core Ready, SLI Ready


Front Side Bus: 1333MHz


Northbridge: NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI MCP


Number of Slots: 4


Number of Pins: 240-Pin


Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB - 32bit
8GB - 64bit


Memory Supported: 800MHz DDR2


Channels: 8 Channels


Audio Chipset: AC '97 CODEC


Supported Devices: 2


Hard Drive Types: ATA/100

this says it supports core 2 extreme. doesn't that mean it supports 45nm chips??

 

[hemir1]

okay found out that isn't necessarily true the penryns are quad 9000 series chips which have 3mb per core cache,