Strengths: Easy Configuration. Looks good. Supports Liquid cooling.

Weaknesses: Perhaps not enough PCI Expansion if you use SLI and internal USB I/O connectors.Price, but I doubt anyone would use all of it.

Summary: I think the MB is power sensitive, which can be good/bad. I have fast boot-up times. A few glitches here and there on my first two days when I'm trying all sorts of configurations. Afterwards...sweet!

Strengths: Everything but the kitchen sink! Aesthetically pleasing layout, external LCD POST information, on-board switches, back-panel CMOS reset switch, easy overclocking

Weaknesses: Chipset too young for stable use - this is a hobbyist product only; price; built-in liquid cooler leaks; 8GB support is hit-or-miss

Summary: I bought this board having read glowing reviews from well-known sites like AnandTech, but it wasn't stable for me until the 5/13/08 posting of the finished 0512 BIOS on Asus's site (and now, there are newer ones available). It doesn't seem to have any trouble with a QX9770 overclocked to 4.2GHz, but using 8GB of OCZ Platinum DDR3-1600 (linked and sync'd at 1600) is hit-or-miss; I'm on my second board now, which cannot do it no matter what Vdimm is applied (and also regardless of VTT, PLL, NB and SB voltages), whereas my first (destroyed by a liquid cooling leak) had no problem with 8GB. (If you want to try, my first worked with 1.94V Vdimm). I've also tried the eVGA 790i board, which could not support 8GB for Vista64. Anandtech suggests that you leave the SB voltage at 1.5V, but my SATA devices have no end of problems unless I apply 1.6V (and the system hangs during attempted shutdown without this voltage, as well). Note that you cannot attach anything to the eSATA ports before installing the appropriate JMicron driver from WITHIN a working Windows environment; Vista64 would BSoD for me otherwise. Finally, DO NOT USE THE BUILT-IN LIQUID COOLING BLOCK. IT WILL LEAK - GUARANTEED. And I'm not the only one who thinks so - most pro reviewers don't bother using it, but those who actually did couldn't get it to stop leaking, either. (As you might guess, Asus will claim it was your fault that a leak occurred, and not replace your fried board.) Overall, all 790i boards seem to be subject to gross variations in quality control, no matter which company is branding them. But its on-board switches, decorative touches, best-in-class LCD POSTer (which, unlike the original Striker Extreme, attaches by a long cable so you can move it around to a convenient viewing position), and back-panel CMOS reset switch put it head and shoulders above the reference 790i design. If you are a hobbyist willing to spend the requisite time troubleshooting, RMAing and scouring the support forums, you may just find it a very fun and rewarding experience. But if you expect to plug 'n play, look elsewhere (and in that case, probably to an Intel chipset and no SLI at all). Honestly, you're going to need another computer for reliable operation; this one is for fun with tweaking.