Why not try the Abit IP35 Pro? It's currently $170 - 70 rebate on
Newegg. Had the rebate been available last month, I'd most likely have selected this board rather than the IP35-E. It's similar to the IP35-E (beloved of more thrifty geeks) but offers FireWire, eSATA, 6 SATA ports, dual RJ45 jacks, S/PDIF in (in addition to out), and I believe ALC888 audio (very highly regarded for onboard sound). SATA RAID is available through Intel's ICH9R southbridge. The IP35 Pro was a champion overclocking board on
AnandTech and
X-bit labs' P35 reviews.
I don't know what would qualify as 'stable as hell' for you, but plenty of punters are running Wolfdales without issue on even cheaper P35 boards (eg the Abit IP35-E and Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L), though they lack onboard RAID.
I used to think going with a top brand like ASUS was sufficient, but plenty of people have suffered issues with the cheaper ASUS boards. So to some extent you get what you pay for (though Abit and Gigabyte clearly stand out amongst the sub-$100 P35 boards). If you want eight-phase power, that won't be available on the Abit IP35 boards, but you'd have to spend $200+ (really more like 300) for a truly 'pro' board from ASUS et al.
Nothing is perfect, even if you have unlimited $. The ones that are recommended again and again (and that you see in our builds) -- well, there must be something to it, no?