I'm thinking of putting my current PC (core 2 duo @ 2.2 GHz with a 8600 GS card) in the living room to use as a media center, and building a new one from scratch for gaming.
For the graphics card I really want to go with Nvidia due to some very specific reasons (nothing against ATI, it's just that I have some software and plans which require an Nvidia card), but for the CPU I'm thinking it may be cheaper to go with AMD. Since I don't know much about AMD stuff, I thought I'd ask a few questions.
I don't want to spend too much money, and if possible I'd like it to not use too much power. With that said, I would like it if the PC can run current games (for example L4D2) at or near 120 fps, as I may want to try out 3D gaming one of these days, and you really need high framerates for that. Running games at lower settings to achieve those framerates is not a problem, but they must run at 1680x1050 res (the native resolution of my monitor).
With that out of the way here are the questions:
1- I have pretty much ruled out the X4 965 CPU. Too expensive and uses too much power. Is a tri-core worth it with new games, or should I just stick to a X2? Any suggestions for the CPU?
2- Is DDR3 worth it, or can I stick to DDR2 memory?
3- If I get a AM3 CPU, will it work well with a AM2+ motherboard? I don't want to spend a lot on the motherboard unless I really need to.
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