So I'm really itching to try and put together a new system as the Ivy Bridge parts arrive.

With that being said, I'm eyeing the new Z77 chipset boards.

My specifications are as follows:

Requirements:
--------------
4-DIMMs
UEFI
4 USB3.0 ports on back, plus support for front ports
2 16x PCIe slots (OK if 2nd is 8x electrical)
NO Lucid Virtu chip onboard.
Intel LAN only, no realtek or Marvel

Nice to have:
-------------
Bluetooth
Firewire


It's an odd list. The big sticking point I've found so far is the Virtu chip onboard. All of the nice boards that have everything I want also have the Virtu chip. I understand the technology but I don't ever see myself using it. I guess it would be nice not to have to switch between onboard and discrete graphics if I want to transcode, but as amazingly fast as Quicksync is, the software support is abysmal. Trying a few blurays in my collection, they all encoded in under 25 minutes (wow!), but 2 out of 3 ended up with the commentary track as the soundtrack. Fix it you say? The software currently available doesn't offer a choice.

If I simply don't install the software for the Lucid, will it lie dormant? Or will it just not function? That's the part I'm not clear on.

Asus seems to be out (despite moving their entire Z77 range to Intel NICs!), anyone have any advice on other brands?