Motherboard confusion newbie help!!!!

[cropper]

I'm a bit of a newbie at this so bear with me. I need to find a motherboard for my new rig I'm putting together. It has to support 2xEVGA e-GeForce 8800 GT SSC 512MB cards running in SLI mode. It also has to support a Q6600 processor. I would like it to be SLI mode certified. The memory I am considering buying is DDR2 PC2-6400 NON-ECC. It doesn't need to come with built in soundcard, I plan on buying a separate sound card unless the built in one kicks a$$. Could someone recommend the best specific model of motherboard that would suit this configuration for me?

Much thanks.

 

[evongugg]

EVGA 680i. If you can wait the 780i chipset will be coming out soon.

 

[cropper]

But which SPECIFIC model of EVGA 680i? Do you have a link to the one you think is best?

 

[ausch30]

I would like it to be SLI mode certified.

I assume you are talking about SLI memory? SLI memory and EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles) are the same thing and most high end memory is sold at these enhanced speeds. Not all motherboards will recognize the advanced timings of the high-end memory but it is easy to just set the timings yourself.

As for the board right now the best available for SLI is the 680i chipset and something like the Asus P5N32-E SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131073 is a good option. Very soon (within the next week) we should start seeing 780i boards which have the 680i chipset with PCI-E 2 capability and the addition of a extra PCI-E controller for 3 x 16x PCI-E. These boards will be very expensive so a price range from you would be a good idea.

The Evga 122-CK-NF68-A1 is also a good option but very hard to find http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=246711