Good LGA775 Mobo w/DDR3 and SLI?

Hello All,

Just a question that I don't even know is worth the bother but let me give you a few details. This is one of my desktops:

Q6600
XFX 680i LT SLI
6GB DDR2 800mhz Dual Channel
2 x 9800 GTX+ SLI

I won't bother with the rest since it doesn't really matter.

Now, a few days ago I purchased used an E8400 with an Asus DK Top 4870 for $100. I am trying to build 6 desktops to set up a LAN in my basement and currently have 4 done, I'm working on the other two. I figured the E8400 was a good processor despite it's age and the price with the 4870 seemed more than fair. I plan on using the 4870 in another AMD setup I have but do have an 8800 Ultra I figured to mate with the E8400. I'm not looking to create 6 monster desktops but while one may be faster than another, I just wanted at least all to be able to play most games at decent resolutions.

Now, I have no issues at all with my Q6600 and while I have it stock right now, I do plan to overclock it to 3Ghz soon. Since I now have to bet an LGA775 mobo for the E8400, it occured to me to instead use the XFX mobo I currently use for my Quad. I then thought that since the quad will be a superior setup, to instead get a DDR3 SLI mobo for it since prices are quite low for all LGA775 sockets now.

I was wondering then what would be a nice choice that would allow me to overclock the quad and if I should even bother at all to do this and instead get a decent LGA775 for the E8400 and leave it at that?


I was thinking that a 790i mobo would be superior to the 680i I currently have for SLI and being DDR3, perhaps would see some improvement as well. I plan on adding 4GB DDR3 and having the E8400 run with the 6GB DDR2 already on the XFX.

Honestly, the only board I could find with the specs I was looking at was a Striker 2 Extreme board. Nice board but the seller wants $160 and despite it being an enthusiast board, it seemed steep for a 3 year old mobo.

Any thoughts?