I'm thinking about building a computer for my son's family for Christmas.  They currently have an old HP running W98SE so anything I build will be a major advance.  A year ago I built an ASUS  P4P800-deluxe MB, 2.8HT, ATI 9500 Pro, 1 GB 3200 DDR, with a 120 GB WD drive for myself and have been relatively happy with the results.  I say relatively because recently I've been having some problems with the monitor going black.  But that's another issue.

I'd like to stick with Intel and they will mostly be using the computer for Surfing, chatting and home work.  Some gaming but not state of the art gaming.  My questions:

As we go into 2005 what is the best all round moderately priced MB right now?

Is a $100 video card still better than onboard video?

How difficult is it to set up SATA?  I see the prices have come down a lot compared to summer of 2003.

Thanks,

Bob Warasila
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