Okay, I admit: my post was a tad tl;dr, so I'll give you the Coles Notes version.
I know all there is to know about the DFI UT X48 T2R. Tons of research, almost pulled the trigger. But now I'm also considering an SLI capable 775 board for potential Fermi multi-monitor. The EVGA 750i FTW looks solid but I can't find it for sale new (only recertified) anywhere in Canada. 780i FTW is slightly more expensive than the DFI, but it seems to be a decent performer. Plus, EVGA continues to release BIOS updates for the 7-series, unlike DFI and their X48.
Does anyone have any experience with the EVGA 780i FTW? Is the 7-series as bad as some make it out to be, or have BIOS updates more or less smoothed out the wrinkles?