Try Lindeman's Framboise Lambic. It's one of the few Lambics you can find in the states, and it's tasty.

I also enjoy Ommegang. It's delicious. If you put a piece of chocolate on your tongue and drink Ommegang over the chocolate, it is one of the most delicious things you'll ever drink.

One final question then before I make my decision: Does Intel or AMD have the better product pipeline for existing motherboards?

If I buy an AM2 or 680i motherboard, will both firms be issuing new processors for those boards into the foreseeable future? I remember when the Socket 939 was supposed to be future proof only 2-3 years ago.

This is a serious question, not a fanboy firestarter.

I will be building a new PC in the next month or two. Should I use an Intel or AMD platform?

Things I'm weighing:
AMD- AMD's top-shelf processors will always be less expensive than Intel, while still running most every game at a reasonable pace. AM2 boards are more vetted than the new Intel 650i.
Intel- Intel's Conroe is superior in most every way to AMD, but with a price premium. It'll be awhile before AMD catches up. I'm told the 650i boards have some issues, as well as issues with Intel and SLI. Intel's not going anywhere.

What about future-proofing? Should I get an AM2 or a LGA775? I'd like to hear some real reasons; from what I've seen on this board there are some bright PC builders here.

If I do any overclocking, it will be modest at most. I am really looking for a stable, budget PC around $500-$600, so nothing pricier than an E6400 or entry-level AM2 X2. I'm probably going to use EVGA for the motherboard and GPU (less than $200), and I have a 22" 1680x1050 monitor I'd like to run native with most everything I can, if the added info matters.

Thanks all, and no fighting! 

[QUOTE="Bozanimal"]

[QUOTE="jfelisario"]Nobody likes Vista. Except for 40 million users.Staryoshi87

If you bought a PC, you had little other choice. Vista was the only option for most new PCs sold in 1Q07 (and today). Saying 40 million people bought Vista is like saying 40 million people bought gas for their car. It's not like they had a choice, it's the only option available.

Yes, Dell made XP available. But Vista is still the default option, and all their new business PCs come loaded with Vista.

I'm not a Microsoft hater, I like XP, I just think Vista borders on extortion.

I'm glad they're forced to get it(Vs. XP). The more Vista becomes mainstream the more companies will be forced to develop better/faster programs/tech for it. I have norton, doesn't have any probs, and my comp boots 2 x faster than my XP system. Also you can turn off that feature that asks you if you want to do something.

I cannot agree. For savvy users like you and I we can turn of User Account Control, but Vista is supposed to be a more mainstream PC for users that are less tech-savvy like my father, who uses it for internet and word. The added security of Vista (wanted), Directx 10 (wanted), and added (and unwanted) DRM came at the cost of some usability and performance. 

But time moves on and some day I will probably adopt Vista. Today, however, I am looking at a dual-boot XP/Ubuntu, which does everything I need. So no worries!

Nobody likes Vista. Except for 40 million users.jfelisario

If you bought a PC, you had little other choice. Vista was the only option for most new PCs sold in 1Q07 (and today). Saying 40 million people bought Vista is like saying 40 million people bought gas for their car. It's not like they had a choice, it's the only option available.

Yes, Dell made XP available. But Vista is still the default option, and all their new business PCs come loaded with Vista.

I'm not a Microsoft hater, I like XP, I just think Vista borders on extortion. 

The card shoud be able to display that resolution. More likely the problem is that you didn't install the driver for the monitor (usually an .inf file with the supported display modes) so the card doesn't recognize what resolutions the monitor is capable of.Gog

I had already installed the monitor driver from the Acer site, but that wasn't the issue. In fact, I'm still not sure of the issue. I got lucky: I was able to get 1680x1050@60Hz from the Geforce FX5200. Here's how I did it:

I went to the manufacturer Asus and downloaded the latest official drivers. I had been using the latest Nvidia driver, which might have been a mistake. After installing the old drivers I reinstalled the monitor drivers from the Acer web site. After some additional frustration, I removed the DVI and used the VGA (again). 1680x1050 was available as a default option. Weird.

There may be some issue with using the native resolution over DVI, as I have found a number of similar complaints in other forums.

If you have this or a similar setup, similar problems, and have gotten the native resolution of a 22" monitor over DVI please let me know how you did it. I'd still rather be using DVI, since I have it available. I also believe DVDs look better voer the DVI.

Now that I've got WinXP up, I'm heading into Ubuntu. Wish me luck.

Check this page. The link is to the Gamespot "Help Build a FAQ" topic, and has recommended online retailers for US and UK residents.

Personally, I like Newegg for most of my purchases. However, I use Brick & Mortar stores for large purchases due to the ease of returns. EVGA has a number of rebate specials this month, FYI, and a lifetime warranty on all their products. 

You will find out soon enough that this is not only a very stable, but also a very good overclocking CPU. Congratz on the fine choice of CPU. :) Starts with 2GB RAM at least, you can go from there on to add another 2GB. Make sure you use 2 sticks of 1GB so when you decide to upgrade and add 2 sticks more, you keep having the dual channel mode.DirkVDV01

I thought the Opterons were primarily for servers, not gaming and home office PCs. Why not use an X2 Windsor? Also, why not an AM2 Socket if you're upgrading your mobo to be more future-proof, snice you're upgrading from a Socket 754 anyway?