I agree; the ddr2 will save you some money as well. As for selecting the ram, check the board maker's site for tested/approved ram.
Generally as long as you use name brand ie crucial, kingston, or corsair ram, you should be fine however do check the list.
I highly recommend this
Gigabyte board It will support AM3s and uses ddr2 ram. I am using this same board running a 940 overclocked to 3.4gig and absolutely stable. Runs prime95 with no errors.