replacing mainboard

[skatar01887]

here is the system i have. The problem is my mainboard is gone (got water in it) should i go with the same Asus P5E MB or update and go with a newer MB and update the CPU, was thinking to a i7 860. Any good suggestions would be appreciated
CAS: NEW!!! CoolerMaster Cosmos S Gaming Full Tower 420W Case w/ Transparent Side Panel
CS_FAN: Extra Case Cooling Fan [+3] (3 x Fans [+6])
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.0GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit
CD: LG 20X Double Layer DVD+-RW Super Allwrite + Lightscribe Technology [+9] (Black Color)
CD2: (Special Price) 20X DVD+/-R/+/-RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER [+12] (BLACK COLOR)
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
HDD: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
MONITOR: 22" TFT Active Matrix LCD Display (ViewSonic VA2226W Widescreen WSXGA 1680x1050 [+7])
MOTHERBOARD: (QX9650/9770 Support) Asus P5E Intel X38 Chipset CrossFire FSB1600 DDR2/1066Mhz Mainboard w/GbLAN, USB2.0,IEEE1394,&7.1Audio [+96]
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 [+31]
POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts Power Supplies (CoolerMaster Unit 600 Watts eXtreme Power - SLI Supports)
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA

 

[Harvey]

If you can get the same board at a good price, and your hard drive isn't damaged, the advantage is that you won't have to re-install Windows. That would give you a whole, working system to sell or pass on when you're ready to upgrade to a newer system.

 

[tomt4535]

Did you test the rest of the components? If you got water on the motherboard, and it was on, it probably took something else with it. And as for replacing the board or buying a new cpu, you would need a new cpu, RAM and motherboard if you go the i7 route. Its a matter of how much money you want to put into it and how happy you were with your setup before it blew up.

 

[o1die]

I'd go with a newegg open box board to test the rest of your components before spending $600 on a core i7 setup. They had a p35 for only $37 today, and I got an msi g31 combo with celeron 430 for $39.99 after rebate today at Fry's. If you live near one, they will have alot of great deals in the next 3 weeks. I've been monitoring their sales for about 6 years.