Motherboard Chipsets for a High End System

Hey all,

My current system based on an Asus P4G8X motherboard (P4 3GHz) is about 4 years old and I'd like to build something new.

I'm a software developer, but I also love to play FPS games (which is really what's driving my desire for a new system).

I definitely intend on getting an nVidia 8800GTX based board. I also want to do a Core 2 Duo system. I probably will not get a Quad Core at the moment, as they're very expensive and they're not true Quad Core (2 Duo's slapped together) - though I'm wondering if any mobo's can deal with a true Quad Core when they come out, if they can deal with the Pseudo Quad that is out now.

I know if I want to do SLI, I need a 650 or 680 based board, and if that's the case, I was looking into the Striker Extreme.

However, I'm not sure if I'm really sold on the idea of SLI.

What are the other "modern" chipsets that I should be looking into, probably from Intel? And what motherboard recommendations would you guys have?

I am thinking of a little overclocking, though, it's not super important.

My budget is flexible, I don't mind spending $500 for an 8800GTX, but I'm not going to go insane and buy a 768Meg Watercooled Overclocked version for $900+ as I've seen BFG has.

By the way - DDR2 - motherboards have 2 channels, each channel has slots.

Let's say you want to install 2 Gigs of memory - what's the preferred way to take full advantage of speed? Do you install a 1G in slot 1 of bank 1 & a 1G in slot 2 of bank 1, or do you install a 1G module in slot 1 of Bank 1, and a 1G module in Slot 1 of Bank 2?