Yep. I found Sony Optiarc Drive to be unreliable, for 3 quid more I'd change it to this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-069-PO&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=
It includes Nero 8 essentials as well. must be woth the extra 3 quid (I've not got round to installing it I have no use for it yet)
Same case and CPU as me, I went for the EVGA P55 *** mobo, with Corsair XMS3 Ram.
If it performs anything like mine you will be more than happy!
Would you not be better off with 2 hard drives rather than a single 1TB drive?
Reviews of the gigabyte board are pretty positive, so it should perform just as good as yours.