Whitebox Config - CPU Compatibility

Hi,

I am looking at purchasing a ASUS P5M2/SAS motherboard.

I want to get the maximum amount of VM's out of the box, so need the best CPU and max RAM that is supported by ESX Server 3.0.2.

I was looking at this CPU Intel Core 2 QUAD 6600. I assume this is compatible? and what amount of processing power will it provide in ESX ?

What type of RAM is most suitable?

Thanks