775 What board?

Gigabyte EP45-UD3P --> Most trusted and liked 775.

IIRC the DFI board are a bit beyond the OPs budget though right? Well I guess he could buy a used one or something.

Another vote for the UD3P. I will never buy another DFI mobo again. I have had nothing but bad luck with them and the CS is very poor. I also think the quality was lacking on my last one.

That gigabyte looks pretty nice. I was actually looking at some DFIs earlier.
These for around $120
DFI LP DK P45-T2RS PLUS
DFI BI P45-T2RS
DFI LANPARTY DK P45-T2RS
but what bothered me about them is it looks like there are only 4 voltage regulators, and I was planing on upgrading to a Q8300. Is that going to overclock a quad well?

Ud3p.

Gigabyte EP45-UD3P is definitely an Enthusiast favorite, but I gotta say the MSI P6N SLi's (of any variant) are also damned solid, it's personally what I use and love them. I've never liked DFI, Too many problems. They're really sensitive to different kinds of ram and in my experience are highly unreliable, especially if you OC. Not to mention they're butt ugly.

EDIT: However I don't see any P6N's on Newegg (think they got discontinued), but you may be interested in this:

Asus Rampage Formula for $155 Another highly regarded 775 at a damn good price. Review

For more:
NewEgg 775 Open Box mobo's

Well i'll give the UD3P a shot then. I am reusing my existing ram and i'm sure the gigabyte handles adata fine. I'd love to have that formula but I've been an Asus fan for over 8 years and I know what happens when you return a board. It usually comes back less than 100%. My last 3 asus boards have lasted about 1.5 to 2 years before something happens that requires a repair and they never come back right after wards. Since that board is open box, i'll probably pass lol.