MB Quandry

[imported_Scratch]

Presently I'm in the throws of my second pc build ever. This is to be used as primarily a gaming machine.
I have already purchased a Lan Li PC-K7b case and Corsair HX620W power supply.
Since This build is primarily for sims and fps gaming, I've selected the E8400 or E8500 to filll the cpu slot. DDr-2 is the memory I plan to use.
Here's the difficulty I have when looking at motherboards:
From reading posts at forums like this, I've come to understand that the P-35 boards are the ones best optimized for dual core chips. However the pci x2 express slots featured in the newer x38/x48 boards seem very appealing with regard to the latest (Evga 9800 gtx)
vid cards. I've read that the present cards are not adequate to the bandwidth that is presented on the new boards, but my thought is, gpu's seem to be the first thing that is generally upgraded. So will an x38/x48 board be a better choice for future proofing? Also seems to have better cooling.
hope that this is not too long winded or that I'm overthinking things.
Any guidance you can give for my choices or criticisms would be appreciated.
Thanks for listening.
Scratch-

 

[akhilles]

Don't know what you mean by optimized for dualies. No such things. P35 supports quads 45&65nm. Overclocks very well for the price.

It depends on your budget & how long the board is kept. If it's a placeholder until nelahem, p35 is it. Otherwise, x38/48 is to be considered. Also due out next month is p45, supposedly the best of s775 chipsets.

 

[imported_Scratch]

Thanks for your advice Akhilles.
"optimized for dual core" Think I got that from a review of P-35 boards somewhere.
As far as budget goes, I don't mind spending a bit more for a board as I don't change that out very often.
Since the first thing I generally up-grade is the vid card, I'm interested about the new x2 express slot and if it will impact card choices in the short term.
Don't think I can wait another month for a decent box.
Scratch