Hello everyone, and thanks for reading.

It looks like I'll be needing to replace my A8N-SLI, since I failed to realize that the Ninja I installed was bending one of the capacitors next to the socket on the I/O panel side. It was bent at 10-15 degrees and while I "fixed" it and don't see any signs of corrosion or leaking, my vcore drops from 1.376 to 1.31 (it fluctuates between 1.376 & 1.392, per cpu-z) fairly often. I also say "drops" because the Corsair HX520 just plain rocks , and my voltages are very stable.

I lowered the voltage to 1.3625 in BIOS because I was seeing lots more voltage warnings at any higher setting (and lowered the OC too, of course). I believe I'll have to stay away from DFI (unfortunately) because my RAM (2x1GB Gigaram PC3200) is basically value RAM, and I can't afford to upgrade right now.

Should I go with the A8N-SLI premium or try the A8N32-SLI Deluxe? Also, I'd be happy to buy that board on this forum, since I've received a lot of great advice here.

A8N32 all the way. Don't even mess with the others as the 32 is a great overclocker and the price is really low on them now.

Cool, time to start shopping. I scanned the new egg "reviews" and I am wondering about the heat, however. I don't plan on water cooling and I live in los angeles. My video card won't ever be that hot, and I have 2 120mm fans in my case, plus the PSU fan. Just wanted to confirm that the people having heat problems have 6 HDDs and/or are running SLI, etc.

Thanks for the response.

As long as you have good air flow in the case it shouldn't be a problem.

With four Raptors and a pair of 7900 GTs in SLI, my A8N32-SLI Deluxe idled at 36 and loaded at 38 or so in a 74F degree room. If you can't keep a 32 reasonably cooled, you need a new case and some wire management training. By the way, idle temps are almost identical with an 8800GTX.

Now there's something to shoot for.

Thanks, I can now proceed with confidence. I recently unblocked my back vent (dust) and my computer thanked me profusely. My VGA card is at 55c with its fan running at 50%, and I don't game. (Not yet, anyway... I'm biding my time until a nice card isn't that expensive)