On Thu Feb 19 22:08 , "Gordon J. C. Pearce MM3YEQ" sent: It depends on what the purpose of your machine is... HTPC, audio production, gaming.... I would generally keep away from VIA though. I have no experience with the current AMD line of chips (7xx series).... The current and slightly older Intel chipset line up are good for disk throughput and compatibility (so long as you have a reasonably new distro/kernel for ones with JMicron disk controllers) Can't tell you about the audio or video on these .. as my intel chipset board is on an audio production system with a soundcard for that purpose and does not have onboard sound. My HTPC is a 939 motherboard with an ATI rs486 chipset .. but I am using an nvidia video card... the audio (using optical out) works magically.. I actually transferred the system from an n-force board and had very little to do to get it working.... . I would always recommend an Nvidia n-force board but these are very pricey.. I also have a preference for nvidia based video cards, although propietary, I have never had any trouble with the drivers even for linux gaming... As for mobo brands... my last few have been gigabyte.. but I have had abit, MSI and I have a DFI on my HTPC... With a new purchase, go for something with solid capacitors and preferably no onboard fans... (not many have them anymore)... Generally a mid-range model will be more reliable than the bottom end, but you probably don't need a top of range motherboard unless you are planning on serious gaming. I have a personal preference for gigabyte at the moment.. but there probably isn't much difference between the brands right now.