recommend me a motherboard/CPU combo - your insights are appreciated

[Goatweed]

So the time has come for me to seriously start working on building my new system. I know nothing of motherboards, but I know there are hundreds out there to choose from. I'd prefer an Intel CPU over an AMD, but I wont totally rule one out. The machine will mainly be used for gaming, so ease of setup and CPU speed and RAM speed and cost are all factors - I'm looking for the "best bang for my buck(s)".

so....any suggestions?