Hi

I'm planning a thorough update (or rather, an overhaul) for my aging ASUS P5K, Q6600 2.4Ghz, 4Gb DDRII, Seven 32bits system.

I'm on a pretty tight budget but I'm going to go for an i5/i7 at at least 3.0Ghz, 8Gb DDR3 and a 64bits OS.

I'll stick with my current Gainward GTX460 1Gb and I've narrowed down my choices of CPUs to just a few, but I'm really clueless as to what Mobo to get. Does anyone have any recommandations for the kind of system I have in mind ? Gaming (siming) is of course the main focus here. I'm also trying to keep things balanced between the CPU and the Mobo, performances and, well, financially wise.

What are the things to look for in a good MoBo, what aspects should take priority. I'm not exactly sure what CPU to choose, but what would be the key features (appart from obvious ones) for good CPU/MoBo interraction ?

In case the very dumb question I'm asking here was no indication to you, this will be my first built, and overclocking does not really matter as I won't be using it.

PSU is a Corsair GS600, which should be able to stay If I'm not mistaken...

Cheers

Nico

For an i5, it's hard to beat my mobo and the price is pretty good. I can run my CPU at around 4.2, but I'm running it at 3.8Ghz 24/7 now.