What AGP MB for X2?

[jettoblack2]

Hi all. I'm thinking of upgrading from my S754 3200+ and trying to find a good motherboard for use with an Athlon 64 X2 processor. I have a 6800GT AGP and I'm not really interested in selling it at a loss, only to replace it with a more expensive PCIe version that doesn't perform any better. I'd like to stick with a NF3-based board, but unfortunately, it seems like all of the NF3 boards are having problems with the X2.

Here are some of the specs that I'm looking for:
Perfect stability with Athlon X2 processors (no weird voltage or USB2 problems)
Passively cooled NB, or at least very quietly cooled
At least 2 SpeedFan PWM controllable fans
4 SATA ports (that are not obstructed by a double slot AGP card)
On-board firewire 1394a header (for my front panel, I use this all the time)

And here are some boards I've looked at so far, and what questions or problems I have learned about them.

Asus A8V Deluxe:
+Good X2 support
+Passive NB
+1394a ports
-Only 1 software controllable PWM fan, from what I've heard
-Also, I'm not too comfortable with a VIA chipset board (I've had terrible experiences with VIA in the past).

MSI K8T Neo2-FIR
Questionable X2 support?
+Passive NB
+1394a ports
+2 PWM fans
-VIA chipset
-Bad experiences with MSI motherboards

Gigabaye K8NS Ultra 939:
Questionable X2 stability/support
-Active NB fan (can be replaced?)
-1394b only (header is not compatible with my case front panel)
So-so placement of the NB's SATA ports
How many software-controllable PWM fans?

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum:
Questionable X2 stability/support
-Active NB fan (can be replaced?)
-Incompatible with Zalman 7700 coolers
+1394a
+2 PWM fans

None of the other boards I've researched come even close to statisfying my (admittedly picky) requirements. Can anyone make any comments? Perhaps I've made some mistakes in my research, or you can add some info I don't know (particularly, about Gigabyte's PWM fan control support)? Or any suggestions about alternate solutions? For example, I considered the possibility of getting an external temperature-sensing fan controller, but I have no experience with them. Or, if I could find a firewire board with a pin header for my front case panel, that would solve the 1394a requirement, but I have yet to find such a board.

Anyway, any and all advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Megatomic]

Links to NF3 boards having problems with X2 chips? If this is true, I'll have to modify my upgrade plans a bit.

 

[o1die]

I'm waiting for the uli 1695 boards (true agp and pci-e support), but I have no idea when they'll hit the shelves. Maybe by then we'll have a $300 x2.

 

[crimson117]

Don't get the Asus A8V Deluxe. Memory dividers are busted and using asus's utility to upgrade the bios from 1013 to 1014 hosed my bios chip. Beware!