I need a mobo for my little borther's B-day surprise Athlon XP system, need recommendations.

[SithSolo1]

Ok, I'm building my youngest brother a new computer for his B-day and I don't have a clue when it comes to mobos now-a-days.

He'll be running an XP 1600+ and DDR(Crucial must likely, or equal brand)
He will not be over clocking the system.
Must have good on-board sound(yes, I know its an oxymoron).
USB 2.0 and Fire-wire(do mobo's even have this?) would be nice but are not must have's.
He will either have a Radeon 8500 or a GF3/4 for a vid card.
I hate onboard video, its a pain.
Price is an issue, the cheaper the better, but if features warrent I can spend more.
I'll be getting it from Newegg if possible.

Also for power supplies I know Antec makes good ones, anyone else?

Thx in advance for the help,
Brian J.

 

[Vette73]

A good board that offers a great bang for your buck is the Shuttle AK35GT2.

It does not have USB2.0 but does have a 5.1 Ch C-Media sound card. The board can be had for under $90.

If you plan on running a DVD and a CD-RW then get the AK35GT2R. Same board but just adds a Highpoint raid card.

 

[SithSolo1]

ttt

 

[Mem]

MSI KT3 Ultra2 ,is a good board that has the specs you need except firewire(can always add a firewire port PCI card later),PSU wise good brands like from Sparkle,Antec,Enermax,Enhance etc.


The nForce 2 boards are another option,that have onboard video,firewire,5.1 sound ,USB 2,but not out until September.