>>504379You would think that if you just checked the manufacturer's compatibility list, but the manufacturer's compatibility list is not comprehensive. This is obviously the case, as the board supports dozens of models of Xeon, but the list says it supports none.
In the case of the QX9770, it is just a faster QX9650, and the manufacturer's compatibility list omits it because its nominal TDP is 136W (yet lists the QX9650 because it's "only" 130W). Just as you can run the QX9650 overclocked by 200MHz, you can run a QX9770 stock. The manufacturer doesn't support either configuration, but the question was "which is the best CPU for the board", not "which is the best CPU in the documentation".
It's kinda moot though, because OP can get a processor, motherboard and RAM for the price of a preowned Core2 Extreme.
