On 27 Nov 2017 05:40:59 GMT, Nil
wrote:

I'm planning to assemble a computer to replace my 11-year-old XP
desktop. This will be used for general computing and audio recording
and editing. No gaming. I'm planning to run Windows 7 64-bit on it, so
I want a CPU that's among the most recent and highest performing ones
that will support Win7. I might later feel the need to move to Windows
10, but not anytime soon. From what I've read, it seems that the Intel
i5-6500, i5-6600, or i5-6600k could make good candidates. Money is an
object of course, but not the primary one. My goal is stability and
longevity.

So, a request for comments...

- Are the Intel CPUs mentioned above good choices? If I understand
correctly, there may be some issues installing Win7 from USB devices,
but I can work around that.

- I still need to find a motherboard. It must have a PCI slot for my
old M-Audio AP2496 sound card. Any suggestions? I've had very good luck
with ASUS in the past.

Any thoughts you might have would be appreciated. I kinda lost track of
the state of the technology several years ago and I'm trying to get
back up to speed.

An AMD Ryzen at some advanced point pulls into parity with Intel
performance offerings at significantly, maybe half under Intel
pricing. AMD as well takes up the slack, having written their own
"pseudo-drivers', consequent Microsoft's stated abandonment of the
computer hardware industry as it pertains to Windows 7 -- sic, whereas
Intel would not -- in a manner tightly in lockstep to a "standard"
given exclusion for only Windows10, among Intel flagship processors.

I personally went with an octal core Bulldozer, dropped to fire sale
status due to the Ryzen, $80 retail, and updated from an older
quadcore, to replace the MB, CPU, and memory, all for under $200. I
also selected a MB for the option, rather inclusion, among I'd suppose
fewer boards that still provide XP drivers. A Ryzen is a whole
different animal with a chipset for newer bus architecture
applications, which of course Intel also provides. Read an article
for Ryzen's specific design specifications, as a good place to start,
then balance specifications to your perceived future needs. The AMD
cost, again at near performance parity, is near half of the outlay for
an Intel build. From a developer's standpoint, i.e. Intel is
effectively now a unified version of Windows 10. Of residual drivers,
as usual, a determine generically supportive of *NIX platforms, Linux
probably is foremost placed from a developmental stage.

It's nice when, at the manufacturer's site, drivers are given for
future developmental stages. Unless they're not, for such as a PCI
board otherwise capable of continued operations well within newer
platform compatibility. Rather in a manner of a nice bet, to place,
they in fact will still exist to be the business of satisfying
customers.