For overclocking FX-8350, a 990 board is really important.
However, I think that buying FX-8350 with aim to overclock it is a bad decision in the first place. The way I see it, instead of FX-8350 + 990FX board + Cooler it makes more sense to just get an i5 which will perform better in vast majority of applications for the same price.
Getting an 8-core AMD makes sense when you want to get something that's worth your money for a smaller price than i5, which means FX-8320 + 970 board.
I had the 990FXA-D3 first, then changed it to a 990FX-UD5 because I thought I'd get better overclocking performance because of the improved VRM. Guess what, my FX-6300 still runs at 4,6 Ghz because the temps go crazy if I go beyond that. The Northbridge OC is a little better on the UD5, but the difference is marginal.
In general, I feel like AM3+ Boards are a little bit overpriced, especially 990FX-Boards.
You might be able to grab a ASUS Sabertooth 990FX on Ebay for a good price.
EDIT: Take a good look at the placement of the PCI-E slots. I have to sell my Crossfire setup now, because the cards are too close together on my UD5. That was actually a lot better on the D3
yeah, But that story only counts for the older msi 970A G43/45/46 boards.
Not for the new Msi 970A Gaming. that i am talking about, that is a diffrent board.
i got it cheap from a friend who got a 4990k, if it was up to me id get fx 6300 but since i already have it why not overclock it
I have the Asus m5a97 evo R2.0, although it has all the bells and whistles of the saber-tooth and higher brands it sorta sucks. It has all the aftermarket LCC settings and auto/regular/extreme voltage control. I think I got it to 4.8Ghz but it really couldn't game or bench properly, I think it has to do with my PSU than the board. I also have a D3 but using a 1090T on it, it OCs well but I didn't go batshit crazy on it, cuz I heard it doesn't OC as well as it's breathen the UD5 and UD7, but the build is way better than the Gigabyte 970A-D3, it's actually FULL ATX board and shit don't break off it like the PCIE slots on the 970a