Question about chipsets

[ellsswhere]

Hello all,

Need a little help with my current build. I have nearly everything picked out and I just need your thoughts on what to do about the motherboard. Here is the rest to help with the decision:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VXL Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16

This build is more or less intended for Photoshop, I really only play a couple games which will not tax my machine and I would be content for the next year or two with my single 5770. I DO plan on overclocking.

I am looking at two boards:
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
or
ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176

I realize on the ASRock the second pci-e slot is only x4 which would make crossfire pointless but again I am not truly concerned about that as I won't be getting another 5770 for another year or two if ever. The price difference after combo rebates and what have you is about 40-50 dollars but Im unsure about the effect, if any, the older chipset AMD 770 / AMD SB710 vs AMD 790x / AMD SB750 might have. Or if either would hurt my ability to overclock.

I typically go for newer is better but if I can get the same features (AM3, DDR3 1600) on both boards I don't see the point of the bells and whistles... Im a meat and potato type guy, once overclocked I don't plan on seeing my mobo for awhile.

Thoughts, and thanks for the help!
Jeff

 

[o1die]

You haven't even mentioned the ps. Right now, newegg has the corsair 750w for $89.99 after rebate with email promo code. I would get that, unless you already have a quality unit over 500 watts. For the boards, the asrock will work fine, but may not overclock as well as the asus. For photoshop, I wouldn't overclock; the phenom II doesn't need it, and already runs pretty warm. But get the new ps if needed.

 

[ellsswhere]

Ah yes sorry, I already have a case, 600w PSU, HDD, case fans, and an aftermarket CPU cooler that will fit the am3 socket, thank you, so I should be fine with the cheaper board yeah?