mortimer said:
Might be less $$$ than you think. I just ordered a Brisbane 3600, Biostar 7025, Seasonic 430, and OCZ 2GB plats for less than $300. Take away the PS it goes down to $225 or so. Assuming that a good Socket A board can be found for $75, the delta is $150 or so. Not bad for a system that will crush any of the Socket A systems available. Really can't speak about the Socket 775 bargains(?) out there.
I'm not trying to start an argument here, but I just want to point out something...let me be clear that I understand that you were honestly trying to help here, but let me give you another perspective.
It's not like I don't know what the cost is...I buy as much, if not more, hardware than the next guy...it is simply that the OP asks for info on where can I buy "XP motherboard" and that's all he is looking for, not a full upgrade.
Your post about "crush a Socket A system"...at what? Do you even know what the poster is using his PC for? Are you comparing what they'll do in benchmarks or in day to day use?
I still run several XP rigs on and off, with a full-time one being a Tax Return preparation rig...it works flawlessly and never chokes on anything I give it. Is it a full blown gaming rig? No, but then it wasn't intented to be. But it does work great at what is was built for. My point is that lots of guys think an XP rig is some kind of dog machine, when in fact, it and S478 Northwood P4s based machines can do anything you need, short of high end gaming and big time video or CAD work. I work at a bank that has 100 plus PCs...none are stronger than 2.4GHz "B" core (533 FSB) based computers...and with a few exceptions, there are never any delays caused by the inability of the PCs to do their work. They don't need to be full blown gaming rigs to do office work or homework assignments any more than the vehicle you drive to the grocery store has to be capable of running 12 sec quarter miles (replace with SuperPI) and top out at 180 MPH (replace with framerates of your fav game).
My point is just to offer the help that was asked for, not your opinions about what someone else should be buying or using. The guy just wants a Socket A motherboard...he really does know what he's looking for.
I personally don't like it when someone presumes to know more about my needs than I do and I can't imagine that you would really like it if someone did it to you.