Building my 1st Gaming PC: What AM3+ motherboard do I need for this system?

Interleaf

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Dec 26, 2014
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Hello guys/girls,

I am returning to PC gaming after a long 7 years of being a console gamer/laptop user.

I am almost done putting together my new PC:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/interleap/saved/JTyQzy

IMPORTANT NOTES:
I need to buy everything from ebuyer.com

I have around £170-220 left and need a:
- CPU cooler
- PSU
- Motherboard
- and Case
so I understand I may have to settle but I do need the GTX970 and a good CPU.


Things that may effect which Motherboard I should get:

I may be investing in a second GTX 970 in the next 2 years (So SLI might be needed? Not sure if it makes that much difference).

I may be overclocking if it is:
1 - Safe and Stable
2 - Beneficial enough for my FX 8350

These are some of the option I have found from my supplier:
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P £52.52
MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ £58.82
Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 £65.00
Asus M5A97 R2.0 £68.39
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P £71.30
MSI 970 GAMING £72.99
Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 £80.00
MSI 990FXA-GD65 £87.20

These are also AM3+ motherboards available at eBuyer but were shown as incompatible on PC Part Picker. I don't know why :S
MSI 970A-G43 £51.90
MSI 970A-G46 £58.82

Many many thanks in advance!

Can't wait to get back :)
 
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Interleaf

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Dec 26, 2014
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Thank you Bhavneet for your quick reply.

My only concern is that I will still need a PSU, Case and cooler with my remaining £80-130.

Would you say the SLI X16 set up will make a big difference down the line and that my system would be more capable of receiving worthy upgrades in the years to come?
----------------------
Edit: I fixed the pcpartpicker link.

What about this one? - Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 Socket AM3+ 7.1-Channel HD Audio ATX Motherboard

It has USB 3.0 onboard headers which I may use with my case and SLI. But it is also cheaper :)
http://www.ebuyer.com/270603-gigabyte-ga-990xa-ud3-socket-am3-7-1-channel-hd-audio-atx-motherboard-ga-990xa-ud3
 

Bhavneet Pannu

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Sep 12, 2014
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The SLI 16X will be faster and might give more fps than a regular 1 16X and 1 8X. You see the AMD Series you are buying is dead. It won't be making any new CPU's. This could be a worry for other but I don't care since It can handle a bit more than I want it to do.

Motherboard doesn't give better performance (fps), They just have features. Get the Cheapest Motherboard that support sli and is a 990FX or 990X. The brands are different. I LOVE the ASUS motherboards. If I had to rank the brands it would be 1. ASUS 2. MSI/Asrock 3. Gigabyte. I list Gigabyte last because they don't release updates as fast as asus. But since AMD FX is dead that wouldn't matter.
 
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