Please have a look at this MOBO and tell me what you think. I want to put a Q9450 or a E8500 in it.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131277

This is the one I got a few weeks ago.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16813131221RI am running an E8400 in it with 2gb's of Corsair PC8500 @ 1066mhz not OC'ed. I love it so far. I have not yet installed FS9 or FSX on the new system yet, but I can tell you so far it has been wonderful, no problems. I had the builder flash the new BIOS #907 I think it was, but he said it posted out of the box with my 45nm chip.

That P5K is P35 based and will goto a 400Mhz FSB for 24/7 stable ops. That'll take the Q9450 to 3.2Ghz or the E8500 to 3.8.Both CPUs will go some more, but you'll need the P5E, x38 based mobo to (reliably) run a 24/7 FSB beyond 400Mhz. Plus it will cost an extra $100. The P5E will get the Q9450 to 3.6Ghz . . . or use the $100 cheaper P5K (that you are suggesting) and the $100 cheaper Q6600 (instead of the Q9450). With this set, you will get a 24/7 stable CPU at the same 3.6Ghz for $200 less $$$. or said another way, "Free 8800GT Vcards. Now available at the Egg."http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143118

Sam, are those OC numbers based on air cooling or water. I didnt want to go water.

Yea, it's air. Good air will provide the same results as water these days, but you gotta get a good air cooler. There are a couple that are as good as this one, but only a couple. I know this one works. My Q6600 sits at 3.6Ghz in a P5K 24/7 . . for a couple of months now. No problems. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835109125

You can't really go wrong with midrange and highend Asus boards.They're all solid.Only thing I don't see is a connector for a floppy drive (strangely the cable is included but there seems to be nowhere to connect it), but those are getting rarer by the minute and I admit I'm a bit of an oddball to persist in installing them :)

Thats OK because I am going to plug in my 5.25 external. By loading FSX from a 5.25 it really cuts down on the fragmentation of the install you usually see from a DVD install. Well, if you'll excuse me now I'm starting to load the 5th case of my 5.25 install disks. Only 8000 more to go! Whats your thoughts on the CPU?:-lol

My P5K just took a 400Mhz FSB and a 1.4 Vcore bios manual setup and Otto (auto) did the rest. Boot 'n run at 3.6. Just magic. Thank goodness. I have no interest in becoming a bios artist-a. Floppies are still handy and the P5K supports it. Actually, I'm currently using it as a boot disk to flash my Vcard's bios. Sometimes it's just easier to use a floppy. Opticals are still PITA. Not an OddBall at all. More like a really WiseGuy.

Are you happy with the performace your getting with your setup? What settings are you able to run with good performance.

Hi,I have the P5K-E and if I'm honest I wouldn't recommend it. I've had more problems with the BIOS than any of the MSI boards in earlier systems.And this isn't a board that's been out for 5 minutes. Asus should have things sorted by now. My MSI boards have always performed admirably. Have a look at their equivalent.Cheers,

I'm not current on current CPU models.Just buy the one that offers the best value for money.The money saved (plus maybe a little bit) can buy you the current top model in under a year...

The p5k is a good board, this is an even better one, this and the dfi lp ut p35 are some of the best boards out. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...k=p5k%2bpremium

Forget ALL other coolers: Go for the Thermalright IFX-14, the top air cooler. IFX stands for "Inferno Fire eXtinguisher" and it beats all other air coolers with performance similar to many *water* coolers. The cooling power is due to 2 separate towers with 4x 8mm heat pipes each (all others use 6 mm heat pipes). You can install up to 3(!) 140 mm fans (Front, back and between the two towers.)The IFX-14:-------------http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/pro...ler_ifx-14.htmlhttp://computers.pricegrabber.com/cooling-...FX-14/st=query/Performance Evaluations:----------------------------http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticl...204&articID=673http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/02/20/cpu...008/page17.htmlThe IFX-14 will be your best money ever spent and will even impress your girlfriend! :-)Cheers,-jahman.

That is one bad @#$ cooler. Thanks for the info. Thanks to this thread I think I have a good idea of what I want to put in my new system.

You