Recommend me a motherboard

[omfg]

I'm going to be building a new rig and I haven't really been following hardware since 2004, so I'm not up to speed on everything. I've done some research and selected every component I'll need except the motherboard, which I need some help with. I'm quite confident about what I've selected so far. I've never used Intel before but now I'm switching to them due to all the praise for the core2 series and the fact that amd don't seem to be bringing anything particularly exciting to the table with their phenom cpus. Anyway, here's what I've decided on so far:

thermaltake armor case
corsair hx620w
intel q6600
corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5D
8800gt
2 seagate 7200.10 250gb drives salvaged from my current pc
2 optical drives also salvaged
audigy 2 zs also salvaged

What motherboard would suit me best? Must have an ide channel for my 2 optical drives and a fdd channel thingy too. I don't need sli/crossfire. Not planning to overclock but I'd like a board that can handle it reasonably well so I can in the future. If anyone's had problems with particular boards with similar setups to the above, please tell.

Oh and can anyone tell me how noisy the stock intel coolers are? My amd 64 system is fairly loud and I'd like to things to be quieter with this new system, doesn't have to be silent. Wondered if it's worth getting a different/quieter heatsink/fan or whether the rest of the rig will probably drown out the cpu fan anyway?

 

[waxdart]

I've just done what you've done.

I've got a q6600.

I picked an Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SLI
http://www.abit.com.tw/page/uk/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=Fatal1ty+FP-IN9+SLI&fMTYPE=LGA775&DEFTITLE=Y

not had any problems with it - you'll not need the audigy, wont fit. Only has one IDE - treat yourself get a big SATA - you know you want to.

 

[Maziar]

Intel stock cooler doesnt make much noise, so if u arent going to OC,then dont waste your money on getting a new cooler

i recommend ASUS P5K or GIGABYTE P35 DS3L, they have good price and will serve u well

 

[omfg]

Why won't the audigy fit? The board has 2 pci slots right? :S Am I missing something? And I have SATA hard drives, I only needed the ONE ide channel. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

 

[airgino747]

i've just got an Intel E6750!and a motherboard GA-P35-DS3l working very good.

 

[hairycat101]

I wouldn't recomend the Q6600 unless you have an aplication that uses the 4 cores. There are some programs that do use more then just two, but most don't. I also agree on not needing the Audigy (unless you really want to). Most good MB's have decent sound. I hear the Zalman 9700 is pretty quiet. If you are going to game and do office-type apps, I would go with a 6750 and push it a little. Asus P5K would be my recomendation too. I have an Asus board that got singed when my power supply went on the fritz. I called them and told them that I didn't know if the board drew too much power or what. I don't think the guy on the phone bought the story about it being the falt of the MB, but he did let me RMA it. Asus took care of it with no charge (even with the physical damage). You can't beat that kind of customer service. Go with the P5K