Hey all, I've been in a hole for a few years but have just decided I need to upgrade, so figured you could all help me out. What would you suggest is the better option out of the below two, and which options are better in general, for a board that will likely be in use for another 3 to 5 years and not see too much in the way of upgrades. That said, if I can upgrade to something that's seen as budget in a few years time and retain some of the components, it's all good 
Mobo 1
Pros:
16x4 and 8x8 CrossFire
SB700
140w compatible.
All solid caps.
~10% cheaper.
Cons:
The single worst layout I've ever seen on a board. PCIe x1 is blocked directly after the slot by the NB sink. The ATX12v is between the CPU and the backplate, made worse by the fact I was looking at a very cheap (but reliable) OEM 700w psu with a very short (~35cm) ATX cable and case with a bottom psu mount, meaning the only way the 12v cable likely stands a chance of fitting is dragging it over the graphics ard and heatings. I can work around it with a seperate PSU with longer cables, although it's only 480w, but the cable's still dragging over things... could use a seperate case too but... meh.
PCI slots all in a row. Not a bad thing, but worse than Mobo 2.
AMI biso. Bleh.
Mobo 2
Pros:
PCIe x8 is inbetween PCI 1 and 2. Which means my two TV cards have room to breathe.
Much better layout than Mobo 1 with no forseable problems.
Award Bios.
Cons:
16x4 CrossFire.
SB600
Only 125w, and even then it's a push.
No solid caps.
~10% more expensive.
Ok, on the face of it M1 is all pros, but it kind centers around the layout. So...
What are the chances of me needing to use a PCIe x1 card that protrudes much further than the socket length? Everyone's still making PCI cards yeah?
How useful am I gonna find CrossFire in a few years, considering I'm planning on a 3850 and still using a 1024x768 with only limited plans to upgrade monitor. In 3 years when I actually care about an upgrade, I'm thinking a single 4850 is gonna be as cheap as the 3850, and provide a better option than dual 3850? Basically I can either go with a board with many more PCIe slots, or one with CrossFire and more PCI slots (which for now I'd prefer as I have 3 PCI cards I'd like to use).
SB700 vs SB600 - is the ACHI sata thing fixed?
They both use the AMD 770 chipset - how useful may I find GPU-Plex if I get a 790 based board instead?
How useful is 140w CPU compatibility going to be? I'm going for a v cheap CPU now (5600+) as basically I just need an upgrade from my current 2500+ to actually play Battlefield 2 usefully. In 3 or so years, is an upgrade to a current top-end Phenom going to be cheap enough yet still powerful enough to be thinking about?
Oh and, fwiw, M1 = ASrock A770CrossFire for £48.50 off the dodgiest looking website you've ever seen, M2 = Abit AX78, ~£54. Unless there's major issues with one or the other though, who makes it doesn't really concern me Thanks for the help and any other advice.
Mobo 1
Pros:
16x4 and 8x8 CrossFire
SB700
140w compatible.
All solid caps.
~10% cheaper.
Cons:
The single worst layout I've ever seen on a board. PCIe x1 is blocked directly after the slot by the NB sink. The ATX12v is between the CPU and the backplate, made worse by the fact I was looking at a very cheap (but reliable) OEM 700w psu with a very short (~35cm) ATX cable and case with a bottom psu mount, meaning the only way the 12v cable likely stands a chance of fitting is dragging it over the graphics ard and heatings. I can work around it with a seperate PSU with longer cables, although it's only 480w, but the cable's still dragging over things... could use a seperate case too but... meh.
PCI slots all in a row. Not a bad thing, but worse than Mobo 2.
AMI biso. Bleh.
Mobo 2
Pros:
PCIe x8 is inbetween PCI 1 and 2. Which means my two TV cards have room to breathe.
Much better layout than Mobo 1 with no forseable problems.
Award Bios.
Cons:
16x4 CrossFire.
SB600
Only 125w, and even then it's a push.
No solid caps.
~10% more expensive.
Ok, on the face of it M1 is all pros, but it kind centers around the layout. So...
What are the chances of me needing to use a PCIe x1 card that protrudes much further than the socket length? Everyone's still making PCI cards yeah?
How useful am I gonna find CrossFire in a few years, considering I'm planning on a 3850 and still using a 1024x768 with only limited plans to upgrade monitor. In 3 years when I actually care about an upgrade, I'm thinking a single 4850 is gonna be as cheap as the 3850, and provide a better option than dual 3850? Basically I can either go with a board with many more PCIe slots, or one with CrossFire and more PCI slots (which for now I'd prefer as I have 3 PCI cards I'd like to use).
SB700 vs SB600 - is the ACHI sata thing fixed?
They both use the AMD 770 chipset - how useful may I find GPU-Plex if I get a 790 based board instead?
How useful is 140w CPU compatibility going to be? I'm going for a v cheap CPU now (5600+) as basically I just need an upgrade from my current 2500+ to actually play Battlefield 2 usefully. In 3 or so years, is an upgrade to a current top-end Phenom going to be cheap enough yet still powerful enough to be thinking about?
Oh and, fwiw, M1 = ASrock A770CrossFire for £48.50 off the dodgiest looking website you've ever seen, M2 = Abit AX78, ~£54. Unless there's major issues with one or the other though, who makes it doesn't really concern me
Thanks for the help and any other advice.
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