I'm sorry to hear that the board isn't cooperating for you.
Of the boards on the market now, one of the most popular is the EPoX 8RDA+, which is based on the nForce2 chipset. It has a lot of good features, including USB 2.0, Firewire, and a very nice audio processor onboard, definitely a cut above the norm. They're about $85 at Newegg.com, a very good value. They support the latest AMD CPUs as well as all the older SocketA CPUs.
There is also a version with onboard GeForce4MX-class video, the 8R
GA+. If you have two or three matching memory modules, this one can use its dual-channel memory controller to provide the CPU
and the onboard video core with a reasonable amount of bandwidth, to the point where you could play all but the most demanding 3D games with the onboard video (which even features dual VGA-outs so you can go dual-monitor). The 8RGA+ is
$99 shipped.
When you're looking at the EPoX boards, note that + on the end. There are non-plus versions too. Stick with the + models, is my advice
I had an EPoX 8RDA+ myself, and I think they made a bad batch or something, because it did kick the bucket on me without warning, and several other people had the same problem. If you're an Asus guy, the equivalent Asus boards are the A7N8X-Deluxe (no onboard video) and the A7N8X-VM (which has not really reached the market in most places yet).
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