I've been watching these boards also, the nForce2 SSP chipset specifically. This chipset really does have a great amount of potential. Since the KT400 boards have, so far, been disappointing, I've been looking for an alternative, and this might be it. I'd like to see some user reviews of nForce2 boards before I buy one, but I'm not sure how many people will have one around New Year, which is my time frame for purchasing. If the nForce2 disappoints also, I'll try to find a KT333 Asus A7V333 or an Epox 8K5A2.
The 8x AGP bus on the SPP models obviously won't be necessary. Neither is the Dual Channel DDR memory architecture, since a single stick of Corsair XMS3000c2 would have enough bandwidth for even the 2800+ with some to spare. USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, and good sound are important features, but the two KT333 boards above offer those. Both chipsets will also support the 333MHz FSB processors that AMD is manufacturing now also. The performance, stability, and overclockability of the board are what I will be looking at. If the nForce2's exceed the KT333 in those areas, then that is the bottom line. One good feature unique to the nForce2 I have heard about is that the PCI and AGP buses will be on a clock independent from the FSB clock. Therefore, there will be no need for PCI/FSB dividers anymore as the PCI and AGP bus speeds will be constant at 33/66.
From where I am now the performance gain will be huge.
Current sys: Asus P3V4X, P3 700 @ 933*, 512MB PC133 Kingston ValueRam, Radeon 8500LE, SB Live! 5.1, WD800JB, Win 2k Pro.
Looking at: nForce 2 or KT333 MB, AMD 2400+, 512 MBx1 Corsair XMS3000c2, Radeon 8500LE, SB Live! 5.1, WD800JB, Win 2k Pro.
Peace.