which cheap mobo?

[novice]

I have decided to replace the motherboard in my father in law's dead PC. Which way would you go?
1. http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=M6VCF The Biostar M6VCF which offers an AGP slot and the Via 694 chipset, but only 2 PCI slots, severely limiting upgradability. (But a bargain at $29.95!) or

2. MSI MS-6368L 50A (MS-6368 6368-140) PLE 133 Pentium III / Celeron Support Tualatin DDR Socket 370 Micro-ATX with Sound, Video, LAN - Retail VIA® VT8601T chipset. (North-Bridge 510 BGA). VIA® VT82C686B chipset. (South-Bridge 352 BGA) .66/100/133MHz FSB. Two 168-pin unbuffered DIMM. On-Board IDE. P/N# 6368-140. Model#: 6368-140 $57 plus Special FedEx Saver Shipping $8.00

The MSI board lacks the AGP slot, but does have onboard video, 3 PCI slots and an ISA slot which would enable me to reuse the old modem.
My father in law uses it just for internet surfing, light E-mail and maybe word processing (once we teach him how to type). So upgradability is not a priority at all, but stability and reliability are. I will be installing a PIII 600E processor that I have lying around. I am pretty comfortable with MSI quality, since all 3 of my systems are built with MSI boards. But I am a cheapskate, and if the Biostar boards are decently stable and reliable, I would be happy to save the $25 or so. I am hoping the PCI Voodoo Banshee card in the current system survived the motherboard failure (the ram seems okay), and if not, then the onboard video will come in handy. If I go for the Biostar board, I will have to run the onboard audio, since the two PCI slots will be taken up with a modem and the video card. The Biostar has the advantage of the AGP slot, and I will have a spare Geforce 2 MX video card after my next system upgrade, so that would be another possibility. Tough call. Any suggestions? Horror stories about either board? Thanks in advance.
Chuck

 

[Red Dawn]

The MSI has the CMI 8738 audio chip for onboard audio which is far superior to the software AC'97 audio solution that the Biostar uses along with an integrated 10/100 Realtek NIC and 3 PCI Slots. The Trident Blade integrated Video on the MSI is crappy for 3D games but is ok for the 2D the apps your FIL will be using the system for. On the other hand, the Biostar is only $29.00 plus shipping.
I think you'd still be better off going with the MSI and you can sell the Banshee and the Geforce to make up more than the difference in cost. Of course if your FIL decides he wants to play UT, JKII or any of the other FPS shooter games out there having that Geforce2 might come in handy.

 

[Zap]

I don't have any experience with the MSI board you mentioned, but I've used quite a few (6?) of the Biostar M6VCF boards. Except for one that was DOA (ordered from Buy.com last December, and they still haven't made good on it - go figure) they have all worked well and are stable.

 

[novice]

Thanks for the replies. Am leaning toward the MSI board, (thanks for the addtional info, Red) as it comes with an ISA slot and would enable me to use existing modem. Also has the onboard video which will probably be sufficient for my father in law's needs. Of course, my kids are pulling for the compgeek's deal with its' AGP slot so they can play games on it when we visit. (Hmm, maybe one more reason to go with the MSI board, so I can use the internet when we are there) Any other observations on these two options?
Chuck