Gaming build questions, mobo guru needed

[erichough]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP

BUDGET RANGE: $700-$1,000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Photo editing, media streaming and storage, gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, and monitor

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD 965 BE processor with AM3 mobo

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: not currently

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1080p

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Prefer serious consideration for future upgrades

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Hello all, I would like to start by thanking you all for your knowledge and time. I am looking to build a rig for photo editing and gaming. I plan to set up home media network to stream my videos to my family room television downstairs. I do not require extreme performance but would like a computer that i will be satisfied with for several years. For this reason I have loosely chosen to go with AMD. I have put together a cart with the parts i am considering.

1 COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh
Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

-$20.00 Instant
$109.98
$89.98

1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1501FASS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$109.99

1 SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VX-2L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI
Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support ...

Combo with: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754

-$15.00 Instant
-$15.00 Combo
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$269.98
$239.98
1
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready
Active PFC Power Supply


COMBO WIth: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

-$30.00 Instant
-$40.00 Combo
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$254.98
$184.98

1- GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
Motherboard

COMBO WITH:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
HDZ965FBGMBOX


-$15.00 Instant
-$25.00 Combo
$349.98
$309.98

Subtotal: $934.91


I am also considering the GeForce GTX 460 GPU and this mobo : ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3


If anyone could provide some info on why i would want this mobo or whether its worth the $$, i would greatly appreciate it. I was also considering a 790FX mobo but dont have much knowledge on the matter.

Is my power supply a suitable size? Is this roughly the size i want should i decide to crossfire my GPU in the future?

Thank you all in advance for reviewing my post! Im very grateful.

 

[Ritwik7]

The GTX 460 would be a better pick over the HD 5770. However, the boards you're picking will not have SLI support if you want to add a second GTX 460 in the future. For a multi GPU setup it would be more sensible to pick an ATI card as the AMD chipsets support only CrossFire.

I suggest getting a Seasonic / OCZ / Corsair 650W PSU if you're looking at a single card setup with the GTX 460. The 850W would be overkill.

The 790FX boards are also very good but I suggest sticking to the newer chipset as you'll have USB 3.0 support.

Also, for the CPU, I would urge you to look at the Phenom II X6 1055T.

 

[erichough]

The GTX 460 would be a better pick over the HD 5770. However, the boards you're picking will not have SLI support if you want to add a second GTX 460 in the future. For a multi GPU setup it would be more sensible to pick an ATI card as the AMD chipsets support only CrossFire.

I suggest getting a Seasonic / OCZ / Corsair 650W PSU if you're looking at a single card setup with the GTX 460. The 850W would be overkill.

The 790FX boards are also very good but I suggest sticking to the newer chipset as you'll have USB 3.0 support.

Also, for the CPU, I would urge you to look at the Phenom II X6 1055T.

Thank you for the reply Ritwik. My concern with the X6 is power consumption. I have also read that the X6 currently hinders gaming performance.

In terms of future performance, would you go GTX 460 or HD 5770?

 

[Ritwik7]

My concern with the X6 is power consumption. I have also read that the X6 currently hinders gaming performance.

No, it does not. The individual core speeds of the Phenom 2 X4 965BE may be higher but that won't be an issue. The X6 is also an excellent overclocker. However, I noticed that the price difference between the X4 and X6 is a bit steep. So it'll be fine if you settled for the the quad.

In terms of future performance, would you go GTX 460 or HD 5770?

Difficult question. The GTX 460 is far superior to the HD 5770. However, as I said earlier, the nVidia card will not allow you to go for an SLI setup later as the mobo only supports CF. I suggest you consider the HD 5850. It does slightly better than the GTX 460 and will also allow you to add a second one in the near future if you desire. Albeit, it's a little more expensive.