Is FX-8320 compatable with Asus M5A97

good cpu and a good board totally compatible. It is capable of more than casual gaming you can drive top end cards with it for the commonly used resolutions and you'd love it for what it can do.the i5 is better, no doubt but the difference is marginal.

only thing that you must ensure is buy a recent board and not from a place which is like stock clearing them coz those might not have updated BIOS for Vishera support out of the box.