One very important step to be careful with when installing a new motherboard is to make sure you use the right number of stand offs. and also, make sure that they are in the correct places to avoid blowing your new board. Good luck! :)
I have come upon another revelation last night. If I change my Motherboard, I will need to get a new OS since my Windows 7 is an OEM. That would add too much cost to an upgrade. I would just go ahead and get a whole new system at that point. While still considering an upgrade, my present MB can support a Core 2 Duo. I currently have a Pentium 4. == Would I be getting much of an upgrade if I changed to Core 2 Duo? Which of the current CPU's are Core 2 Duo? Does the Intel I3 fall into that category? Thanks,
"Much of an upgrade". Hmmm. Depends on your definition. I upgraded from P4 2.26 to a Core 2 Duo 2.4 (E6600) and thought it was worthwhile.
None of the "current" Intel CPUs are Core 2 Duo. That CPU dates from 2006-2008.
Intel Core - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In your shoes, I would wait until I could afford another copy of Win 7 so I could change motherboards. It's just tough to recommend investing much on a Core 2 Duo setup.
So that chip is already extinct. It really wouldn't be worthwhile to do that. It looks like I am leaning toward the whole system now. I really appreciate the fast help on this. You helped make up my mind. I am going to be having some extra money each month and I just can't stand to see it sit in the bank.Thanks so much.
The least expensive Windows license that's readily available is the System Builder (genric OEM) one. It's intended only for use on systems for resale, but there's no enforcement of that that I know of. Some vendors will cheerfully sell it to you without any hardware.
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32-bit - Operating Systems
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems
Has the usual OEM restrictions, but the price is enough lower to make it worthy of consideration.
On your second question, the I3 CPUs are dual core, and they support hyperthreading (4 logical cores show up in Windows). I5 is quad core, without hyperthreading. I7 is 4 or 6 core, with hyperthreading. Some of the I7s are Socket 1366 (old) or Socket 2011 (new).
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