Phenom II X4 965 BE setup vs. A10-5800K setup PLEASE HELP!

I think I've kind-of already answered my own question  

I want to be able to upgrade in the future, and with an AM3/AM3+ 2-way SLI/CrossFire motherboard, there's a LOT more room for upgrades.

I would love to get my hands on an A10-5800K APU, but unfortunately, getting an A10-5800K APU + getting an FM2 socket motherboard with no DEDICATED SLI/CrossFire support + a low-end hybrid CrossFire compatible graphics card is going to end up costing me an extra $80-$100 more than my X4 965 BE setup. I could save that extra $80-$100 and put it towards a new part for later on.

I guess I just had to write it down and look at the whole picture instead of just looking at the A10-5800K setup  

Yeah I would settle with your original selection bar a few considerations;

Mobo: G46 is very entry level, it is good enough but very limited, if you go the 970 route look at the gigabyte 970FXA UD3/UD3R.

GPU and PSU, I see you already have but I would have advised along the lines of a HD 7700 series card with a CX450 PSU from Corsair, quality and enough capacity going forward.

RAM: my mantra is more of the cheap the better, RAM after all has the least performance hit on a setup.

CPU: http://www.amazon.com/AMD-HDZ955FBGMBOX-Phenom-Edition-...

Motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-970A-UD3-AM3-SATA-Mot...

RAM: http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Performance-Channel-240-Pin-A...

PSU: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-430-Watt-Certified-Compat...

What do you mean by the MSI 970A-G46 motherboard being a very limited motherboard? From what I've read, this motherboard can support 2-way SLI/CrossFire, and it can support my AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE. Am I wrong on both those things, or...?

All I simply want to do is run games at decent frame rates (preferably 30FPS constant or higher) at medium settings at 1366 x 768 or even 1280 x 720 resolution. From what I've read, I can achieve that (for the most part) with an AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE CPU, 4GB DDR3 RAM, and a GT 520 1GB GPU. Am I wrong, or...?

There is nothing wrong with that motherboard.

I am not sure a GTX 520 will hit that, maybe mediumish details but it will struggle.

I've just started to do some reading, and I'm finding out that maybe the MSI 970A-G46 isn't the best motherboard to go with...?

Is it true that the G46 is basically a G45 but with a bigger VRM heatsink? Is it true that the G45 had a lot of issues with the VRM?

Now I'm wondering if I should get this motherboard...?

I just want to be able to play games at medium-ish settings with decent framerates, but I also want my system to be up-gradable (if that's even a word?) The MSI 970A-G46 motherboard seemed like the best choice for a budget gaming motherboard with the option to upgrade to a better CPU and have 2 GPUs in SLI/CF, but I also want my system to last a while, since I don't know when I'll be able to afford more computer parts.

I don't plan on overclocking my CPU, but I wanted to at least have the option to, which is why I went with the X4 965 BE, but apparently overclocking with this motherboard is not recommended at all. Apparently installing ANY 125W CPU isn't recommended with this motherboard...? Am I right on both those things, or...?

Like I said, the motherboard is enough but yes it is just a rebuffed G45, the SLI/CF expansions are 16/4 which is not ideal but then again it is a affordable motherboard not a enthusiast level motherboard.

I have experience with the Gigabyte board to know its top quality hence why I prefer it over the MSI recommendation, thats not to say the MSI board is bad, i just don't know much about it.

is there a way you can get either A GTX 450 or 550ti, you may find the investment a little more worth your while, if pricing has dropped you may be able to pick up a HD 6770 or 6790 for under $100.

Okay, I've been looking at alternatives to the G46, and I found this: http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=73209&vpn=GA-970A-DS3&manu...

It's an AM3/AM3+ motherboard that supports two-way SLI/CF that can support my CPU that apparently hasn't had any problems according to this: http://www.overclock.net/t/946407/amd-motherboard-vrm-i...

The VRM apparently doesn't have a heatsink, but according to the chart, it's still a fine motherboard for overclocking and such, and it's not known to have any problems.

I can't find any actual reviews of this motherboard though...

In my opinion, Phenom II x4 965BE is much better! A10-5800k is just good if you dont have a plan to buy a GPU because of integrated graphics. But if your planning to buy a high gpu it is better to go with the Phenom IIx4 965BE.  

Yeah, the 965 BE build just seems like a better choice for what I want to do. I want to be able to upgrade later on, and I would be so limited with the FM2 A10-5800K build.

Yeah that motherboard should be just fine.

Do you think that Phenom 965 is still better than the upcoming vishera? The FX-4300 and the FX-4320?

Hard to say but doubtful.