Best motherboard for 720 gaming build

[fireaxxe]

I have a question about which motherboard would be best for an AMD Phenom II 720 gaming build.

Originally I had this motherboard picked out.
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retal
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

With this graphics card
MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv4 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430

I was considering upgrading to this motherboard (once it's in stock)
ECS BLACK SERIES A790GXM-AD3 AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135236

and getting an HD 4870 because it supports crossfire.

Another option I was considering was getting a 750a motherboard so that I could keep the GTX 260 and have SLI.

I'm not partial to either the 260 or the 4870, they both preform about the same, but I would like to have SLI/Crossfire as an option.

Is SLI/Crossfire worth having or would a single cad be better? And then which motherboard would be the best. I'm willing to spend around $140 maximum for the motherboard and both graphics cards cost practically the same.

A little long winded, but it is a difficult decision for me to make.
THX

 

[marco324]

probably want to go with the newer 790 chipset and the 750 southbridge sb
this one's priced reasonably good brand name
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387
if you want to take a chance at unlocking the fourth core Biostar and Asrock support this bug
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?p=1336941#post1336941
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/unlock-phenom-ii,2273.html
newegg's sold out 720 great store esp if you have 1 local
http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?sortby=pricehigh&web_group=byopc_proc&category=HB3&subcategory=HB3D&manufacturer_title=AMD

 

[fireaxxe]

That one from Gigabyte looks good, but it doesn't support DDR3 RAM. Is DDR3 really an advantage over DDR2 or does it really matter?

 

[marco324]

sorry about that saw the older 770 chipset though it was ddr2 from what i read small difference between the too
ddr3 wouldn't hurt building new prices are about the same ddr4 1600 mhz might show a little more bandwidth
improvement that motherboard you had picked seems alright the 710 sb seems to be an updated 0ne
got some positive reviews on newwegg looks good should be a good solid board