680i < 780i < 780i Ultra or X38 < X48 = Massive Headache

I need a bit of help as I’m stuck in the perpetual decision-making process. I’ve spent the past few days reading, as you know, the tremendous amount of threads that are available regarding the latest technology (AnandTech, HardOCP, and of course, TomsHardware). Conflicting reports abound. It’s good. It’s bad. You know the drill. As many of us usually are, I’m in a bit of a purchasing dilemma, and your input would be greatly appreciated. Here’s what I’m considering:
680i, or do I spend the money for the 780i (eVGA or XFX)? If I spend the money for the 780i, should I just spend a bit more for the 780i Ultra? Problems abound with the 680i and 780i, is that the case now? Should I skip the latest technology and purchase the P35 (ABIT)? Should I drop kill the whole SLI think and head over to the Intel side of things. I don’t know much about the CrossFire setup, but it would take a bit of convincing to utilize it as I’ve steered away from ATI. Should I stick to one GPU if I purchase an Intel Chipset when I’ve grown accustomed to SLI over the past 2 years? And if I can’t make up my mind, I can always drop down to the AMD/ASUS combination I’ve grown accustomed to. I’m really trying my best to stick to Intel’s Q6600 with G0 stepping. Also, I’ve been known to do a little mild to wild overclocking. With this setup, a little overclocking is in order. Stability becomes a concern. I would like to utilize the 64bit version of Vista as well, so I’d like to purchase 8 gigs worth of memory as well. This is what happens when you don’t pay attention. I’m looking at spending up to $300.00 for the motherboard. Thank again for your assistance! Have a wonderful weekend!

Thank you for pointing me in a direction with regard to the Intel chipset (P35) Gravemind123. What Gigabyte board would you suggest as I want to compare it to the ABIT IP35 Pro. I think my days of running SLI may soon come to an end. However, if they didn't, what boards would you suggest that house the 750i chipset? Thank you very much for your timely response. I appreciate it.

Good p35 gigabyte motherboards are DS3L or DS3R if you want raid.

Thank you for your input harmattan and San Pedro! I'll research the Gigabyte boards as I would like to compare the ABIT IP35 Pro to one of them in like performance/value. I do like eVGA's 780i, but I don't particularly care for the issues that are taking place with it on their site. I guess I need to do a bit of research on ATI's CrossFire to see if it's worthy or not. Again, thank you everyone for your input.

[quotemsg=1764791,1,319940] I’m really trying my best to stick to Intel’s Q6600 with G0 stepping. Also, I’ve been known to do a little mild to wild overclocking. With this setup, a little overclocking is in order. Stability becomes a concern. I would like to utilize the 64bit version of Vista as well, so I’d like to purchase 8 gigs worth of memory as well.

Hardly, P35 still has the record for FSB overclock, one guy has broken 700MHz with it(source: http://valid.x86-secret.com/records.php). Although to be fair, overclocking relies a lot on luck and those high scores were with LN2 anyway. The point I was making though is that P35 is a great overclocking platform for any of the current Intel CPUs.

As far as P35 boards go, the Abit IP35 series is good, and the GigaByte P35 boards are recommended by many.