Which mobo would you recommend for this setup?

[socalcyclist]

I'm on a budget and I've already blown it so money is a factor. The computer will be used mostly for web stuff (web design, surfing, etc) and programs like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, and Paint Shop Pro. Also be downloading lots of music/movies and burning them. Also would like to play a current game on occassion. Chances are I'll be doing several of these things at the same time. So, I'm unsure on what mobo to select for the current setup below. I narrowed it down to four mobo's (all NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra & SATA II):

EPoX EP-9NPA3ULTRA Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail -$85
ABIT KN8 Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $84.99
BIOSTAR TForce4U Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $92
ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $96.99

This link should open up a Newegg comparison of all 4 mobo's.

The Abit was recommended by someone else and it's the least $$ so I'm leaning that direction. If it matters I'm a newbie at this stuff and when it comes time to build I'm hoping for the least amount of problems. Of course I also want to maximize performance and avoid bottlenecks.

Which would you suggest and why? Or is there a completely different one you'd recommend and why? Also, any suggestions or concerns with below setup would be most appreciative.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail - $295.00
eVGA Geforce 7800GT CO SE 256-P2-N516 Video Card - Retail - $285.00
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $96.00
LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner Model SHW-160P6S - Retail - $41.99.
ENERMAX EG425P-VE SFMA 2.0 420W Power Supply - Retail - $64.99
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail - $141.50
ASPIRE X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-SS Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail - $58.00
Logitech Internet Pro Desktop Black Wired Keyboard - OEM - $16.00
NEC Beige Floppy Drive Model FD1231H - OEM - $10.00 (free)
newegg Glossy Logo Sticker - OEM - $5.00 (free)
Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM - $93.95

 

[furballi]

Biostar. Epox is also good, but horrible location of power connector.

Personally, I would recommend that you duplicate my current rig. The rig will easily overclock to 2.25GHz. I'm running 2.44GHz now (equivalent to a +3500 A64). Fry's/Outpost often will have Corsair Value Select 2 x 512MB for $50 after rebate. These will work well with this board (2.5-3-3-8-1T). You may need 2GB RAM. Go with a used AGP card for about $15 to $20 until you can find a good deal on a quality video card. I remember seeing the 4200 64MB AGP card at the HOT DEALS forum for $40.

This cheap system is only 10 to 15% slower, but you're not going to notice with normal use. The CPU is not the limiting factor when working with high-end games. Spend as much $ as you can on the video card if you're a gamer. Save your $ so you can upgrade to a much better rig 2 years from now.

Outpost has the 250GB Seagate with 5 yr warranty for $70 AR. Quiet and very reliable.

Stick with the NEC 3540/3550 burner ($39). Again, great burns with many tweak firmware.

Look for a Fortron 450 to 500 watter ($50).

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2211681&cp

http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4705559

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2211681&cp

 

[Heidfirst]

With the memory controller now in the CPU performance differences on boards with the same chipset should be negligible.
I would look at things like board design, bundle, warranty & any additional features plus of course cost.

I don't know much about the Biostar but I doubt that I would pay more for it than the Abit or EPoX unless it has extra features or a better bundle (Biostar use to include things like Ghost).
The Abit, Asus & EPoX all have good reputations so you should be fine with any.

KN8 Ultra $75 with MIR, go get 1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127222