Upgrading Motherboard AM3+ Help!

[ahudson85]

Hello and thanks in advance. I am looking at upgrading my motherboard and memory and have a few questions:

CPU: AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
RAM: 8g Crucial PC2-6400 (ddr2 @800mhz)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2-600W
GPU: MSI GTX 560 TI Hawk Edition
Case: Antec 300
Display: LG 24" LCD @1920x

1. What motherboard would you suggest? (am3+ , 1 or 2 GPU slots (2nd card later on?) and in the mid range price market). I do play games, but nothing too serious, MMO's mainly; SW:TOR.

2. What memory would you suggest based off my semi-demanding game choices? (I was thinking something 1600mhz, but willing to take suggestions on higher speeds).

3. How much of a performance boost will I achieve by going to a new board with DDR3 Memory.


I was thinking something along these lines,

Mobo: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514 (not sure if I really need 4 PCI-e slots?)

Memory: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144


Thanks again!

 

[de5_Roy]

amd's 9xx chipsets support am3+ cpus and both cfx and sli.
do any of these motherboards fit your preference?
ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX $140
GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AMD Motherboard AM3+ CPU,8+2 Phase VRM,2 Way SLI $150
ASUS M5A99X EVO ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS AM3+ Ready w/ UEFI BIOS, DIP2, SLI/CrossfireX $150
all have $12.24 shipping.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=100007624&IsNodeId=1&OEMMark=0&Manufactory=1944%2C1315%2C1314&PropertyCodeValue=709%3A46178%2C709%3A129198%2C719%3A156035%2C719%3A156018%2C719%3A155156%2C3880%3A27176%2C757%3A7618&bop=And&CompareItemList=22|13-157-262^13-157-262-TS%2C13-131-754^13-131-754-TS%2C13-128-510^13-128-510-TS
as for performance boost...the cpu, gfx card and ram take priority over motherboard. however, it's the motherboard that allows the cpu to be overclocked more of less that other motherboards.