I was reading re: MOBO's on unlocking the 4th core yesterday. It depends on the brand - ASUS and GIGA look like they don't unlock the 4th core from what I was reading - a few did - and when the BIOS updates came out - some lost the ability to open and use the 4th core.

I just bought a PSU today - and have to make a decision on the rest in the next month or 2. I'd really like a quad core - but want the speed of DDR3. Anythign I get will be major upgrade to my dusty ole P4 - with 2700 DDR Ram - but I'd like to slightly overbuild this go around - rather than buy a budget PC and be behind the curve for the next 5 years gain.

I keep swaying back on the i7 - Phen II 955 - but really don't want to throw out another 150-200 bucks for my first build so may settle in at the Phenom triple core and upgrade in 2-3 years if somethign earthshattering comes out - or the core i7's are in more in the budget category

everything runs smooth and i love this setup my best sofar .. the 955 wasnt out wehn i got mine together buy no problems unlocking that 4th core here stable quad at 3.8

Hey ZeroCool,

I noticed you have almost the exact PC setup I'm looking at - MOBO / Memory / Processor / PSU / to coolmaster case. How long have you had that set up - and any regrets. I'm pretty new to this stuff and don't want to purchase the wrong setup and regret not going a different direction.

Is it a nice setup - that you feel will serve you well for at least 3 years - or do you find yourself wanting a better PC or extra core at times?

Thanks