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Posted by: Ferrari DuDe856
You can future proof certain components. i.e. the PSU, case, HDDs/SSDs, maybe even the MOBO.Motherboards for the most part aren't future proof. While Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge both used the LGA 1155 socket, Haswell and Broadwell with use the 1150. Before that, things were even more confusing. You had LGA 775 for the low end, LGA 1156 for the mid-range i5s, and LGA 1366 for the stupidly high end parts. There's even LGA 2011, but most people will see good as no use from that unless they need lots of cores.
So, any motherboard bought now is irrelevant as soon as you upgrade, and that cost should be factored in.
The PSU should never be cheaped on, though people buying 600W+ PSUs are really being daft unless they're planning to throw 3 GPUs in their system.
HDDs, DVD/CD/BD-ROM drives will carry over to future boards, as will cables and adapters for the most part. Buying a good case is always a smart idea.
Edit: Future proofing out to 3 years is child's play. It just requires buying a decent GPU, and having more sense than to buy a low end one. The 550Ti will be the minimum requirements in about two years, if that. The CPU is less of a concern, all told, but mainly because a decent CPU will last for years. Quad core C2D are still perfectly serviceable today.
[Edited on 08.17.2012 8:17 AM PDT]