I am about to build a new PC, and I have pretty much finally decided on everything else but
the choice of a motherboard.  I do want an ASUS, sure of that.  Also want to go with AMD,
and I am sure of that.
 
Had first decided on the ASUS M3A (770 Chipset), and would have added some kind of a video
card since that version of M3A mobo doesn't have any onboard video.
 
For what I do, I just do not feel like I need the more expensive M3A with the 790 Chipset.  I
don't game much at all, don't think I ever have much in future plans to SLI, Crossfire or RAID.
 
My "Old Faithful" current PC is a 2002 vintage AM37 (Socket A) maxed out with an AMD MP2600+  
CPU (2.1 GHz), maxed out memory, and upgraded everything else.  I use it every single day (XP
home) and it is my favorite PC that I have ever owned.  Every PC I have ever got to replace this  
one, was soon replaced by this one.  Even plan to (legally with MS) recover this OS and desktop
over to new PC.
 
I do some work with still photos, "may" get into some video work someday when I have a faster pc,
and I am kinda interested in playing around with running sound thru some high end speakers, or
maybe even a TV tuner someday.
 
I chose the AM2+ compatibility just in case I ever want to go to a Phemon CPU someday if anything
interesting ever happens there in the future.  I will stay with XP as long as possible, will only go to
Vista (kicking and screaming...lol) when XP is no longer supported and it becomes obsolete.
 
Then I noticed the M3A78, same basic board (except for 780 chipset) as the M3A, same audio, and
it already has what seems to be a decent video for someone who does not need much of a video card.
And it costs maybe $5 more than the M3A (but has the onboard video, which would cost WAY more
than that $5.00 if purchased separately).
 
Really, I don't even need a faster PC for most of what I do, I just want one (especially while parts costs
seems to be so dang reasonable).
 
Originally wasn't even interested in overclocking, but as easy as the AMD X2 5000BE I have decided on is
to safely and easily overclock to 3.1 - 3.2 GHz or so, doing that is a no-brainer to me.
 
Would be building around the motherboard I choose, and the 5000BE, with 2GB of GSkill memory, Raptor
and Seagate Hard drives, and good quality optical drives.
 
Other than suggesting I go Intel (I also have a P4 2.2 (Socket 478), but I still like AMD better) are there
any other constructive comments or suggestions, maybe something else I should consider before I finally
decide and proceed with ordering parts ???
 
THANKS to all for the TREMENDOUS wealth of knowledge and information that can be found on this forum!

I have the M3A and it is working fine for me. But since I purchased it a couple of months ago, I noted more negative ratings have come in on the egg. This is unusual.  The biostar 770 board had similar mixed ratings initially but recent ones are all good.  I think the 770 chipset will have a very small installed base because amd is promoting the new chiset with decent onboard graphics.  
 
Only other suggestion I have would be to look into the pros and cons of building vs buying a premade from dell or HP.  In the low to mid range the premade PCs are much cheaper.