PC Build under 800?

i think i have two different builds in mind. the differences would change with the motherboards.

build1
ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131381

build2
ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131363

I am hoping you guys could tell me the differences between the two that i don't know and if it's worth my money to get the better one. So clearly the AM3 has much better ram capability supporting DDR3 1600 and the M4A78 only does DDR2 1066, but in reality how big of a difference are the speed differences right now?

i'm thinking they'll have the same upgradability as far as processors go into the AM3 sockets. Both support 2600HT FSB. The extra pci-ex1 slots that the 770 has i don't need. and i plan to overclock the system a bit but both boards seem like they will be decent OC'ers if i'm not mistaken. nothing too extreme.

Here is the full Build 1 with price


Pioneer CD/DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-118LBK LabelFlash Support - OEM
$29.99

RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate11-156-062
$79.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
$84.99

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI ... - Retail
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate14-130-433
197.99

Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active ... - Retail
$76.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model
$49.99

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail
ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail


-$10.00 Instant
-$65.00 Combo
-$35.94 Saving
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card13-131-381
$224.05

Subtotal: $779.93
tax: $64.34
Shipping: $20.75
Grand Total: $865.02



Here is Build 2


Pioneer CD/DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-118LBK LabelFlash Support - OEM
$29.99

RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail
$20 MIR
$79.99

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI ... - Retail
#30.00 MIR
$197.99

Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active ... - Retail
$76.99

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate20-227-365
$99.99

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail
ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$304.05

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
$84.99

Subtotal: $909.93
Tax: $75.07
Shipping: $21.29
Grand Total: $1,006.29

thanks for taking a look guys.

First off, I would probably go Crossfire with two 4850. The power is equivalent to a GTX280.

As for me, I got 2 Asus 4850 TOP (OC) for 165$ that is around the power of a GTX285.

The AM3 955 Phenom will work in an AM2+ socket however an AM2+ processor will not work in an AM3 socket so either board will work for you.

Also you dont need triple channel ram for an AMD system.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231193

I would also be wary of the PSU with that case. Also you want to get a SATA DVD drive.

i thought both boards support AM3 or am i reading that wrong?

ill check out the 4850 prices and see what's up with that.

Also would it be better to buy the am3 board at this point in time so i have more upgrade options later in time or should i wait for am3 to become more mainstream as with ddr3 so prices drop a bit before i buy them.

thanks. i'm kinda on a budget right now though so how far into the future do you think it'd be before am3 prices and ddr3 prices dropped a bit? >4-6 months?