I apologize if this isn't the correct place to post this.
 
I'm going through an upgrade cycle on my PC and I'm looking for some recommendations.  I build my own systems, but hardware isn't exactly a passion of mine so please bear with me
 
Traditionally I always buy around the middle of the curve.  Decent performance, decent cost, but this time around I'm looking at trying my hand a little further up the curve, i.e. a gaming rig.  I've done a bit of research and this is what I've come up with.
 
- AM2+ socket
- Phenom Processor
- PCIe 2.0 (NVidia SLI)
 
- geared towards gaming.
 
I'm ignorant when it comes to the detailed pros/cons, so any and all suggestions are appreciated.  I'm a bit weird, so keep the following in mind.
 
Things I'm adamant about:
 
1. I'm an AMD guy.  I've used AMD since Uni and I trust them.
2. I'm an NVidia guy.  I run Linux as my full time OS and NVidia has gained my loyalty as a result of their support of Linux.
3. I'm an ASUS/Gigabyte guy.  I've strayed once, purchasing an MSI board, and it gave me nothing but trouble.
4. SLI, for obvious reasons
 
Things I prefer but don't really care.
 
6. I really like the NForce chipset, they've always treated me well.
 
 
So there you have it
 
Does anyone have any specific mobo's they'd like to recommend?  The socket/processor was gotten by deciding what seems to be the "latest and greatest", so feel free to set me on the straight and narrow if need be.
 
 
 
Disclaimer:
 
I know most of my bias's are just that, bias.  Much like the Ford vs Chevy argument, they're not based on anything but my own limited experiences/ignorances.  My hardware experience is more incidental.  I can build/maintain, et al, but it isn't a passion of mine, so I lack any real breadth of experience, which means I stick with what I know, for better or worse.  Also, for those curious, I dual boot and game in Windows, lol.  
 
I'm posting the disclaimer in an attempt to prevent any type of flame war.  I don't have anything against the other guys, I would just rather spend my time on other things (I'm a software developer).  I can't know it all so I try and mitigate the damage as much as I can, lol.  So I apologize if I've stepped on anyone's toes, that wasn't the intent.

I've been doing a bit of thinking/research, and I'm starting to think seriously about switching to an Intel processor.  AMD's marriage with ATI means they're going to push ATI solutions more and more (ala spider) plus, according to the reviews, the Intel processor's consistently outpace AMD's processor's.

I agree with you on that. For the moment Intel is outpace AMD. The only things with Intel is, that they are for sure will change the whole architecture (means new socket, new mobo, new chipset) for the upcoming Nehalem series, that will launch next year.
 
AMD is saying that they will have a 'semi future' proofing for their latest AM2+ socket. Which means we can keep our system longer.
 
Is that so? Well, I don't really believe it myself I mean AMD did change their architecture too in the past (at about the same rate as Intel actually). On the other hand I can hope the LGA775 will survive at least until 2-3 years from now.  
 
One drawback of using AMD at the moment is the unavailability of latest mobo for AMD + SLI. Which is forced us to use NVIDIA chipset for Intel processors. In particular the n780i chipset if you want SLI.

 
This is what I had noticed as well.  At first I was hoping it was just ignorance on my part, then decided it had more to do with the AMD/ATI deal than anything else
 
I am seriously looking at
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx? [...] odelmenu=1.
 
All together with S&H it'll be around $500.  A few of the reviews I've read have stated that SLI and memory bandwidth is where it shines(it's DDR3 only).  Anyone have any direct experience with this mobo, or any opinions on it vs the 780i chipset?

Phenom does not work with Linux.
SLI and Crossfire do not work on Linux AFAIK.
I am using Ubuntu 8.04 beta and have a Gigabyte GA-MA78-S2H with a AMD BE-2400 and it works reasonbly well. I love the motherboard's features. It is PCI-E 2.0 compliant.
 

cite sources?
 
I know SLI works under linux and I'd be very surprised if Phenom didn't support the generic i686 instruction set, but on that point I could be mistaken.

You are probably right about SLI working in Linux.
Phenom caused a lot of reboots in Ubuntu. See more in this article:
 
AMD Phenom 32-bit vs. 64-bit Performance
 
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?p [...] =998&num=1

yet another reason to make the switch to Intel.
 
Thanks for the link