Motherboard Recommendation Please

[metallibloke]

I currently have an Asrock 775Dual-VSTA and am planning to buy an 8800 graphics card (although I havent decided exactly which one yet). It would seem that the 775Dual-VSTA doesnt support the 8800 series cards (according to their supported cards list on the website). So I thought about replacing it.

Having looked around on a few manufacturers websites (Asus and Gigabyte so far) there seems to be far too many to choose from, so I was looking for some recommendations.

I'm only looking to replace the motherboard, keeping my C2D 6400, DDR2 RAM etc.

But I also want to keep my existing IDE hard drive as I cant afford to replace everything so the new board would need two IDE channels. I'm not interested in overclocking, but a good board for gaming is what I want.

Thanks

Cliffs:
1. Currently got Asrock 775Dual-VSTA
2. Would like recommendation for new board to go with 8800 series graphics card
3. New board must have two IDE channels (or ingenious way to use IDE optical drive and HD)
4. Doesnt need SLI
5. Mid price range
6. Thanks

 

[tcG]

Overclocking?

 

[metallibloke]

Not planning to overclock, but I dont rule out having a go at some point in the future.

 

[tapir]

You could get an S3 for $100 at the 'Egg but you'd have to put your optical drive in the bottom slot and your hard drive at the top of the drive rack in order to get both drives on the same IDE channel. Otherwise I think an MSI P6N SLI-FI is your best bet cause it has 2 IDE controllers.

Other options:
S3 and use $10 PATA-SATA adapters
P965 Epox board on Newegg, but its not a widely used board

 

[metallibloke]

Thanks tapir.

I was just looking at the MSI P6N boards on their website and they seem to fit the bill. They are reasonably priced too, about £70-£80 which I think is about $120, for everything thats on them.

I might I'll go with one of those. I've had an MSI board before and was happy with it.

Thanks again!