Right on Phonix ! I was also considering that board same as you. Decided against as I wanted to do DDR3. My current board and cpu will serve as a 2nd mostly unused pc so the G-Skill 1066 will stay put. I am going to leave it clocked to a mild 3.4.

I decided on the ASUS M4A79XTD EVO for several reasons. Considered the Crosshair II but its more or less Bling with no real benefit. several independent tests prove that. The board you picked was my 2nd choice.

I would suggest you at least consider an Ultra X4 PSU. They are nothing short of amazing. I run the 850 Model/version. 100% modular with flattened cables for routing and management, huge box of cables, Very quiet fan, awesomeness in a box.

SSD's are one excellent way to cure one huge bottleneck. Still very pricey for a glorified flash drive. For the time being, my 74G Rappy will do - but eventually going that route - definitely agree with Steve-O.

I run two 4870's and theres nothing I cant play at max setting with the cards running stock clocks. I am also in the coming months going to maybe do two 5770's or 5850's in x-fire.

Make sure to post build shots! what case are you going with Phonix?

Not sure what if any case I'm going with. I still have a couple large atx gaming cases laying around here. Might be something to look at in the future though.

Definately going to need a more powerful psu though, I have looked at the Ultra brand and they seem reliable.

Basically got about $600 to invest in my system, so I wanna get the biggest bang for buck. I could go DDR3 if I wanted but I'm not that sold on it yet, if so I'm sure I'll be upgrading my mainboard again within a year. Could have also gone i5 or possibly even i7 but I'm not ready to spend that much coin.

I'm hoping a second 4870 will give me a decent boost in gaming, although I must say it's mainly just going to be for show, plus if you can find em 4870's are really dropping in price.

Well an i7 is killer. No doubt about that. i5's are also very strong. I priced an i5 up for about 30 bucks more than an am3. But I decided to go AM3 for a few reasons and not just cause I am an AMD fanboi ( admittedly ). Hex cores are right around the corner and AM3 socket. Made sense to me somewhat.

Beats out i5 in gaming, tho its so close you wouldnt see the difference really. Also x-fire support on an i5 system is proven to be slower. Frankly, I want bang for buck and every little bit counts for me. I had to consider what I am really going to tax the cpu with besides loading up the MB forum lol

In working with a budget, I would keep a sharp eye on kijiji. I did see some 4870's on there. You may be able to low ball a little and work out a deal and both walk away happy.

Casewise if you have them then thats money saved on a budget. A case with good airflow is fine, you already know these things. Using your already bought 1066 saves more coin too. I would without hesitation urge anyone toward Ultra for a PSU. Reviews speak for themselves. Personal experience is better and I can vouch.

If you really wanna see what you get with one I can post photos. Its insanely awesome.

A 2nd 4870 for performance. That can be argued as it depends on the game and how its written to interact with any given card(s). I am running it and it whips on stock speeds.

wow. A 17 page review lol. I heard good things about the i3. Surprisingly strong dual core.

It wont hold a candle to any quad for video conversion (for example)tho when 4 cores are available. Just the same, it does whip.

for the sake of hex, I am sticking with AM3.

I stuck it up because to the range of CPU's covered, not so much that it was an i3 review.

Definately alot of information, thanks much. A good read and gives one something to ponder.

Only beef I have are with these cpu's that only the guys publishing these seem to get. Overclocks on volts that any joe blow off the street with a decent setup can't come close to. Bearing in mind pretty much even two exact systems wont OC the same, one should come frightfully close and in some really welcome situations, surpass.

I think I will be happy with the performance / dollar ratio on an AM3 build in the terms I use this rig mainly for. Its all a huge money pit / money grab anyways and one trying to keep current will waste alot of money while working at it full time lol

down the road, 5 series gpu and solid state. No rush for either as prices are really bloated and I refuse to fall into that trap. Then again I won't get the awesome performance of an ssd either right now.

Well I went ahead and ordered my 965 BE this evening. Very excited about that, really hoping I see a big difference from my 7750 be kuma I've been using in gaming, hopefully I get a good nice clock like 3.8 stable. Also considering buying a Corsair H50 hydro cooling system too.

So my new specs will be:

ASUS M4A78-E 790GX
Phenom II 965 Black Edition
Radeon HD 4870
Corsair XMS2 PC-8500 1066mhz 4gb DDR2

and also plan on purchasing a new psu, second 4870 and a 60gb SSD within the coming weeks.

Since I'll be primarily gaming with this rig I hope I see a big difference especially in games that require a fast quad core cpu like GTA4 and Crysis. Although I won't be playing them again lol, just wanna be able to say I got a better framerate.

Fingers crossed.

On a side note, after doing some research I'm noticing a trend of this cpu beating out even the i7's in gaming almost consistently on every review I could find. It still is marginally close to the i7's in overall performance as well. Very impressed considering the price point!

If you do plan on a new case Phonix go with the HAF 922 and pick up a third 200mm for the side pannel cant get any better air flow then having 3 110cfm 200mm fans @ 700rpm's and if your looking for an all black interior case Id check out the new 690II

On my last visit to MB I looked at the HAF932 AMD edition. Looks pretty decent and its huge.

The CM690II is not flashy, but has been put together very well with alot of thought behind the internals. I picked up a cm690 from Skiman and I am very impressed with its layout and cooling capability. It would be a really good chassis choice.

I must say the Corsair Obsidian 800D is a fantastic black case with best in the business cable management. Perhaps Ronedogg will be willing to part with his, since it's been sitting in his closet for months.

yeah true. The obsidian is clearly in a class all it's own. Just after seeing the photos Steve-O, its impressive to say the least. One can argue the cost as not needing another for several years.

I am considering a new case for the AM3 build myself. But for the moment I will use the 900v2 and put my current parts in the cm690. Going AM3 as soon as the 2nd mobo, cou and ram are sold.

Hali you do know there is a AM3 3.6 BE aswell right

yeah but not worth the money. All these chips are simply are 940's OC'd from the factory put into an AM3 socket. the OC headroom is greatly reduced the higher up you go. so why bother when I get get a 965 or one less and get the same OC anyways for less money.

Agreed. Can't beat the price point of the 965. Just blows my mind in comparison to its intel competition. I also hear it comes with one of the nicest stock hsf's ever bundled with an amd product, so I might just wait before I buy hydro cooling.