Recommend a Motherboard?

[Odyium]

My first time setup currently stands at an:
AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE
Sapphire HD 6850
Antec BP550
2x2 DDR3 Corsair memory
500GB Western Digital
Gladiator 600 Chasis case

Could anyone recommend an AM3 Mobo that will suit this budget setup and not deal a huge effect on GPU performance?

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

You should try AM3+, it allows for upgrading to the bulldozer in the future
AM3+: GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD5 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128509

 

[jerreddredd]

Well for future upgrade ability, I would say get a AM3+ MB, but those might be out of the "budget realm", so I would go with one of Tom's favorites: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-gaming-pc-phenom-ii-radeon-hd-6850,2903.html
ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176

if you want to get USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb the you can get the Extreme version of this chipset MB for $17 more.
ASRock 770 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 770 $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157195

other than that, the 880G chipset is a good one. just do search for "AMD 880g Motherboard" on newegg and sort by best ratings and choose one you like.

 

[Odyium]

I have read that PCI express x16 and PCI express X4 can lead to a 20% performance loss, and X16 and x1 can lead to an even greater loss. Will either of these motherboards offer such a loss? Or is their a more substantial x8/x8 or x16/x16 PCI expansion slot.

 

[jerreddredd]

I have read that PCI express x16 and PCI express X4 can lead to a 20% performance loss, and X16 and x1 can lead to an even greater loss. Will either of these motherboards offer such a loss? Or is their a more substantial x8/x8 or x16/x16 PCI expansion slot.

ok, that was from left field. you asked:

Could anyone recommend an AM3 Mobo that will suit this budget setup and not deal a huge effect on GPU performance?

its not that great a difference with the newer chipsets and CPU's. BTW you don't run a GPU at x1.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2134562&highlight=sandy+bridge+pcie
read the last post in the chain.

do you need a CF MB? Most budget CF Mb's are CF16x 4x like the ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770

these are more $$

16x CF 16x 16x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130565
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186198

16x x0 CF 8x 8x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131631
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130269

best budget 16x x0 or CF 8x 8x
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198