Suggestions for Z77 motherboard

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I'm looking to build an Ivy Bridge setup with 3770K. The size of the board doesn't matter much to me, but I want to be able to 
accomodate a single Radeon HD 7970 - no plans for a 2nd card. 
use an external SD card reader (USB 3.0) 
plug in a flash drive on a front USB 3.0 port. 
prefer something with good onboard sound (doesn't have to be the absolute best, but good). In the past I've used higher end Creative cards, but will probably skip for this build since I wouldn't consider myself an "audiophile." 
not an overclocker, but want FAST USB 3.0/PCI-E 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s speeds
connect a single top-of-the-line SSD via SATA 6Gb/s and a single SATA 6Gb/s HDD for data
reliability and cool temps are important to me.
prefer on-board WI-FI, but not needed

So far on newegg it looks like there's about 40 Z77 boards to choose from - many of them with multiple PCI-E 2.0/3.0 slots. I guess I really only need one 3.0 slot for the 7970. I'm assuming you guys will have most of those available eventually to configure. Any ideas on what brand and model of board for my needs?

Thanks!

Edited by gfxguy - 18 Apr 2012 at 1:56am

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gfxguy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AVADirect Noob Joined: 15 Apr 2012 Posts: 3	Quote Reply Topic: Suggestions for Z77 motherboard Posted: 17 Apr 2012 at 10:01pm
	I'm looking to build an Ivy Bridge setup with 3770K. The size of the board doesn't matter much to me, but I want to be able to accomodate a single Radeon HD 7970 - no plans for a 2nd card. use an external SD card reader (USB 3.0) plug in a flash drive on a front USB 3.0 port. prefer something with good onboard sound (doesn't have to be the absolute best, but good). In the past I've used higher end Creative cards, but will probably skip for this build since I wouldn't consider myself an "audiophile." not an overclocker, but want FAST USB 3.0/PCI-E 3.0/SATA 6Gb/s speeds connect a single top-of-the-line SSD via SATA 6Gb/s and a single SATA 6Gb/s HDD for data reliability and cool temps are important to me. prefer on-board WI-FI, but not needed So far on newegg it looks like there's about 40 Z77 boards to choose from - many of them with multiple PCI-E 2.0/3.0 slots. I guess I really only need one 3.0 slot for the 7970. I'm assuming you guys will have most of those available eventually to configure. Any ideas on what brand and model of board for my needs? Thanks! Edited by gfxguy - 18 Apr 2012 at 1:56am

Jmundy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List AVADirect Staff AVADirect Sales Joined: 08 Apr 2008 Location: AVADirect HQ Posts: 1337	Quote Reply Posted: 18 Apr 2012 at 12:39pm
	Hello gfxguy, For your requirements, I recommend an ASUS board. As of recently, they began to incorporate all of the features, including on-board WIFI and bluetooth, that you want in a system. We don't have the Z77 boards listed yet, but we will once they are readily available with the next generation processors. Please feel free to continue posting with any questions you may have.
	Joseph Mundy Assistant Sales Manager 1-216-503-6361 joseph.mundy@avadirect.com