Questions regarding my new future system

[Ozpa]

Hi guys, glad to join these forums.

So I'm going to build a better system for myself and I need some advice and ideas from you gurus. Here's my current system (I only mention the components I will be buying/upgrading):

AMD X2 5600+
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe
2x2GB Kingston HyperX DDR2-800
ASUS EAH4850 (bought that a week ago as my Radeon X1950 XT was overheating BADLY)
Gigabyte 180 case ( http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/Triton_180 )


I'm thinking of getting the following:
AMD Phenom II X3 720
Motherboard - no idea, see questions
2x2GB RAM - got questions too
Corsair TX 650W
Case - ?


I'm aiming for a mid-range value gaming PC with a little bit of overlocking. Ok here are my questions:
1) What RAM should I get? Is there any difference between DDR2 1066 and DDR3 1066? How about DDR3 1066 and DDR3 1333(is the difference worth the $)? (please take that CPU into account)
2) What motherboard should I get? (I don't need any fancy features, just stability and low price)
3) I'm currenly using that Gigabyte Triton 180 case and it has 2 12cm fans (rear and front) which is decent airflow I guess. In practice, how much lower would the CPU/GPU temps be in an average quality case with 3-4 fans? I'm not sure if I want a louder case or higher CPU/GPU temps.

Thanks in advance guys.

[LittleLizard]

hi and welcome to tpu. for motherboard if u want to keep ur system for a while go ddr3 but if u want to upgrade in short time go ddr2 and then got a new mobo. for the ram go with gskill pi's or corsair. ocz would work very good as well.

for a good mobo, checki this or this if u got money to spare. in case u go with ddr2, get the asus 790gx.

[Ozpa]

Well I'm thinking about upgrading again in about 1,5-2 years (so my old system is still worth selling lol). I'm thinking about going DDR2-1066 or DDR3-1375, but the latter is 30% more expensive. I guess my motherboard selection depends on whether the DDR3-1375 RAM are worth spending extra on.
Oh and as for RAM brand I will be going with Kingston HyperX for the third system - cheap, low latancy kits, stable so far for me.

[JrRacinFan]

You wont be able to go with DDR3 with that 720BE. Just as a heads up ...

So a nice 790GX (I like the DFI M2RS). As far as RAM goes, Gskill PI Black.

[Ozpa]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

You wont be able to go with DDR3 with that 720BE.

Why not?

[JrRacinFan]

It has a DDR2 memory controller. In basics its not AM3 ready.

EDIT:

Yah know what. I stand corrected. I just quickly glanced at the PR # of the cpu not realizing 710's and 720's are in fact AM3 ready.

Sorry for misleading you ...

[PP Mguire]

Actualy the 720BE is in fact DDR3 and AM3.

[Ozpa]

Hehe I rushed to google "720 DDR3"

Is there a certain speed of DDR3 RAM that "works" with 720 most optimal? Or the higher you buy the faster it is?

[PP Mguire]

Most boards right now will let you do 1333/1600 natively. You can get 2x2gig DDR3 1600 kits rather cheaply on Newegg.

[Ozpa]

Ok I feel like a spammer now. I did some googling and found out that DDR3 RAM must be 1333Mhz and above to actually compete with low latency DDR2-1066 RAM.

So I'll be getting a 2x2GB DDR2-1066Mhz RAM kit and a DDR2 motherboard. This will do me solid for a year or two until DDR3 will actually make sense.


Update
After some digging, I picked out GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P.

[Ozpa]

Ok cool, I've assembled my new PC, working cool and fast ^^

AMD Phenom2 X3 720 (+stock cooler)
GA-MA790X-UD4
Corsair Dominator (2x2GB) DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15
Corsair HX 520W
Antec Twelve Hundred
Asus 4870 DK 512MB

It's not top components since I wanted good performance/price ratio, but I put in a good PSU/case since these will serve me forever. I'm running all the 6 case fans on lowest RPMs and my CPU doesn't go above 40c(~80% load) and GPU not over 52c. I'm loving it.

I'll post some photos of my system and how I managed the cables inside and stuff whenever I get the camera.