I've looked at the combo's....not really impressed.

I like to build and forget. Too much of what i have read says that formerly great boards (msi) are not so much of a guarantee any longer. I used to have an msi and loved it too.

I'm amazed at the lack of companies around now that are gone.

Soyo? Albatron? Iwill? They've all gone. Asus seems to be the last man standing for a good board.

I considered an Asrock. They seem to be a mixed bag. If is good, its good, if not you'll find out pretty fast.
That surprises me being they are part of Asus.

I cant believe that ecs is even an afterthought anymore. I attempted a couple of those about 10 years ago. Got a proc and board for the price of a proc so no loss. they were crap and the bios was a joke.

I've considered a new box but
1. I'm tight.
2. I reeeeeally like my dragon case. It was my first "high end" case other than my enermax mid tower. Thats a tough case but not much for features.

My above specs are still pretty solid. Theres a new board of similiar specs to the M5A97 called a M5A97 LE R2.0. its a bit more "future proof".

I'm finally settled on video now. I'm looking to go back to nvidia (last one was a gf3 300 series. I'm going with a Ti 550 fermi from Evga. Seems pretty stout for the money.