It depends on your budget. If price is not an issue, see this interesting article from Tom's Hardware:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/x48-790i-chipset,1940.html

It compares the top two chipset offerings from nvidia and intel for intel based proc's.

If you're shopping for something more conservative, visit newegg or tigerdirect or anywhere else reasonable and look at stuff in your price range and then do some google research on the boards. :D

Just read your edit: If you're after an Intel CPU like the ones you mentioned, you're definitely going to need a new board.

Addition to this post: You're going to need to make sure your current memory and vid. card etc. is going to be compatible with your new board as well. For example, if you have DDR-1 mem. and you move to a DDR-2 board, you'll need to upgrade your memory, etc.

You will need to get a CPU that is compatible with the socket type on your mobo. The easiest way to find out is to crack open your case and look at the top part of the socket, it will state it there, like Socket 776 or whatever, for example. If you're after a newer AMD Processor, chances are you're going to need a newer board, because I doubt you've got an AM2 socket type, etc. Your best bet is probably going to be opting for something non Sempron in your same socket category if you're on a budget.

Your FSB speed is the speed at which your northbridge interacts with your CPU. Think of it like the speed at which a cavalry scouting unit would travel to bring forth vital information across a certain distance of the battlefield. The faster your FSB speed = the better. Lol, hope that helps.

When I was a freshman attending JMU (James Madison University) in Harrisonburg, VA back in 2000, somebody stole a CD-Visor I had with about 20+ PSX - 1 games and about 40 Audio CD's (non-burned, all store bought). I think my roommate had something to do with it as he lost his key and was always tripping about getting another one and was partly shady anyways. Needless to say, I felt very violated, lol.

Sony lost out on the deal too, because I opted to go GameCube and Xbox instead of the PS2 and now Xbox360 instead of the PS3, because I was so bummed about losing my original PSX games library. The moral of the story though is to think twice about putting all of your belongings in one nice convenient take away package.

Good ol' wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pci_express_2.0#PCI_Express_2.0

Thanks again everyone for all the help in this matter. I also received some great help from Xbox Live, what follows is their response to my inquiry related to this thread, posted here for reference:

[Microsoft Xbox Live Spokesman begin quote:]

Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!

We have received your email and I understand that you want to know how to keep achievements from an offline profile when you create a new Gamertag on Xbox LIVE. I apologize for the inconvenience that this might have caused you. Use this steps if the following conditions are true:

. You have achievements in an offline profile that you want to keep.

. You created a gamer card at Xbox.com before you joined Xbox LIVE.

If you create an offline profile on your Xbox 360, and you also create a profile at Xbox.com, the two profiles are separate. One profile is stored on the console, and the other profile is stored on Xbox LIVE. To create an online profile that has the same Gamertag and with all achievements, delete your placeholder Xbox LIVE profile and replace it with your offline profile.

To delete your placeholder Xbox LIVE profile and replace it with your offline profile, follow these steps on your Xbox 360 console:

1. In the Xbox Dashboard or in the Xbox Guide, open your gamer profile, and then select Edit Gamer Profile.

2. Click Profile Name.

3. Use the on-screen keyboard to enter a new profile name, and then select Done. For example, change ProfileNameA to ProfileNameB .

Or, back up your profile to an Xbox 360 Memory Unit without changing the name. Steps on how to move a gamer profile from an Xbox 360 Hard Drive to an Xbox 360 Memory Unit, please follow this link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/910584/en-us

4. Press the B button two times.

5. Press the X button to sign out.

6. In the Xbox LIVE section, select Xbox LIVE.

7. Select Join Xbox LIVE.

8. On the Gamertag screen, enter your Gamertag (ProfileNameA). If this is the same name as your placeholder Gamertag, the Gamertag In Use screen appears.

9. Select Recover Gamertag, and then follow the instructions that appear on the screen.

. Make sure that you have your Windows Live ID account password and e-mail address available.

. Make sure that you create a free Xbox LIVE Silver Membership. You probably will not keep or use this membership after this procedure.

10. After you recover the online profile to your console, repeat steps 1 and 2 to change the name of this Gamertag to something other than ProfileNameA. For example, change the name to ProfileNameC. After you do this, you have two profiles. Neither of these profiles has the same name as your original Gamertag ProfileNameA. ProfileNameA is now available.

Note: Finish this procedure immediately so that your available Gamertag profile name is not taken by someone else.

Note: You must redeem Microsoft Points to change a Gamertag that is linked to an Xbox LIVE membership. If you have no Microsoft Points, you will have the option to purchase them.

11. Press the X button to sign out.

12. Select Sign In, and then select your original profile that you renamed in step 3 ( ProfileNameB ).

13. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to change the name of ProfileNameB back to ProfileNameA .

Or, if you moved ProfileNameA to a memory unit in step three, move it back to your Xbox 360 console.

14. Repeat step 5 to join Xbox LIVE. Use your original Gamertag.

Note: You have to provide or create an alternative Windows Live ID during signup because your original Windows Live ID account is linked to the ProfileNameC Gamertag.

15. After you complete these steps successfully, delete the ProfileNameC Gamertag from your console.

[End Quote of Microsoft Spokesman]

Thanks for the info.

Sucks that all my offline stuff is lost, but oh well, I will frag on, lol. Thanks again!

I would start with checking your temps. If, you don't have the software for that....try : Either PC Wizard08 or Speedfan.... both are free.--Anna--

Agreed, I would scrutinize your CPU temp just as tightly as you would your GPU.