Asus M3A78 PRO motherboard compatibility with graphic card

[Jamesqin]

Hi guys,
I decided to upgrade my computer and first of all my graphic card, but my brother keeps telling me something about compatibility of my graphic card and motherboard. Again, I have: Asus M3A78 PRO motherboard --> here is a review of it with all specs: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article855-page1.html

The graphic card I would like to purchase will most likely be either of those:
-Gigabyte GTX260 Super Overclock (http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1952_2.html)
-Asus ENGTX260 Matrix (http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/asus_engtx260_matrix/4.htm)
This motherboard should support PCI-Express 16x (one spot) so it should be allright regarding that... . But it also says that it doesnt support 2 graphic cards (with exception of crossfireX with integrated card). I don't really understand that, but it should be possible to add this card and switch from using the integrated one to this added Nvidia right ?
thanks for help !

 

[Ritwik7]

Yeah, you will be able to add a graphics card.

Consider buying the Radeon HD 4890. It should provide better performance than the GTX 260 IMO.

 

[Jamesqin]

thanks for reply.. as for HD 4890 I wouldn't say that it is better performing, as it is worse than GTX 275 clearly in most occasions and these to 260's are nearly on the same level as GTX 275, they sometimes even match 280's in some games (1-2 fps difference) + they have PhysX support and directX 10 and 10.1 is not much of a difference since all those new games run dx11

 

[Ritwik7]

I personally think that it's a close call between the GTX 275 and the HD 4890. What resolution are you planning to game at?

 

[Jamesqin]

well my computer isnt new, and I've got a crapy monitor that alows only 1280:1024 and since I want to buy new graphics and therefore a new PSU as well (curent only goes for 270w) I cant aford to invest in new monitor as well.. or at least not now. So 1280:1024 it is for now.
anyhow, here are specs of my computer:
1. Motherboard - ASUS M3A78
2. Graphic interface - ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics
3. Memory -2048mb (dual)
4. CPU -AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+
5. CPU Speed -3097 (overclock from 2900) / bus speed: 213,6 MHz
6. Power Supply Make/Model -
7. Watt output/Amperage - not important since I obviously need a new one for this graphic card
8. OS: Windows XP Prof. 32bit

about the graphics, I'm not sure, in my country (czech republic) 260's cost the same as HD 4890 (more or less) and 275's are like 50 dollars more expensive.
for instance:
(these are two 260's I'm thinking about)
-GigaByte GTX260 SO ​(GV​-N26SO​-896I​) 896MB, PCI​-E - $238 ( http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1686&pageID=7645 )
-Asus ENGTX260 Matrix - $249 in terms of performance a bit better but not pre-overclocked

these are HD 4890 they have: (is there a better one ??)
-MSI R4890 Cyclone 1GB, PCI​-E - $232
-MSI R4890 Cyclone OC 1GB, PCI​-E - $238
-Gigabyte HD4890 OC ​(GV​-R489OC​-1GD​) 1GB, PCI​-E - $244
-Gigabyte HD4890 ​(GV​-R489UD​-1GD​) 1GB, PCI​-E - $247
-Asus EAH4890​/HTDI​/1G, PCI​-E - $268

or I was thinking about going straight to MSI R5850​-PM2D1G 1GB, PCI​-E that sells for "only" $320

what do you think that I should go with ? the HD 5850 looks the best, but I would still have to wait till I switch to win7 or vista (not a chance to switch to vista thought ) to use dx11.. so is it worth those 80 bucks for the added performance ?
btw check out the 260's review, it is really doing well..
thaks again