I need advice on an Athlon/mobo combo.

[zero2dash]

I'm trying to find a good deal on an Athlon CPU/mobo combo, preferably already put together (heatsink/fan wise). I found this http://www.mpcnow.com/web/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MPC&Product_Code=MB-CMB-AMD-TB-1.2G-Soyo-+K7VTA-B&Category_Code=Soyo-Boards off Pricewatch, and it seems like a good deal to me despite it being a 200 mhz FSB system and only having a 1.2 gig CPU; speed is somewhat important, however overclocking is NOT. I'm looking to spend between $175 and...well, not *too* much over $200. I'd like to get at least a 1.2 gig CPU...a 1.4 is nice but not necessary. I looked at Pricewatch numerous times now, and I see some ok deals, but I don't know if any of them or good - nor do I know if the mobos are good or not (quality wise). A few I've noticed:

http://store.ccraft.net/Products_Detail.asp?ItemCode=3506&Action=Mostrar
Amptron mobo included in 1.3 gig 266 FSB cpu for $182

http://www.partspc.com/product1102.html
ECS K7VZA with Thunderbird 1333Mhz 1.333Ghz 266FSB CPU & Fan

I also saw this: ECS K7VZA VIA VT8363/8363A & VT82C686A/B Chipset Socket A Support AMD Athlon/Duron (K7) Processors Three 168-pin DIMMs, up to 1.5GB Support PC100, PC133 SDRAM Support UltraDMA 66/100 AC97 Audio Codec Onboard 5 PCI slots, 1 4X AGP slot, 1 AMR slot ATX Size (304 mm x 220 mm) w/ AMD OEM Processor with Fan...for $221. (off http://www.tufshop.com/store/mb_ecs.html)

Anyone have any ideas/suggestions? I'd appreciate any and all info. I'm wanting to build a 2nd PC; I currently have a P3 866 with 196 megs of RAM running Win2k Pro. When I build the Athlon system, I plan on putting a 512 meg DIMM in it (meaning I'd need to have a mobo capable of holding that), probably a GeForce 2MX 4000...it would be used for gaming and internet, mainly.

...

In a nutshell, I'm especially looking for opinions on what is a good mobo and what *isn't* a good mobo; whether it's brand names or whatnot. I don't know much about any of those manufacturers, other than I've heard of Asus, Iwill, and SoyoTek before.

[clutchy]

honestly i wouldn't skimp on a mobo, yeah get a fast processor, but if you get a crappy mobo you're going to be kicking yourself in the bum over it. stay away from abit the only thing they're good for is o'clocking. Asus is good iwill is good epox makes an awesome ddr board.

go ddr. It's the way to go now if you're going to upgrade and the ram is the same price more or less as regular pc133. I would go with the epox 8k7a board personally for ddr, or an iwill kk266 for kt133a if you want to use sdram.

honestly you're going to be spending more or less 300 bucks any less and i wouldn't trust the quality. However some people have been pleasantly surprised by less than well known manufacturers, epox is a great example i wouldn't have even considered one of their boards six months ago, but they all of a sudden came out with 2 great products and are doubtlessly coming out with more great stuff in the future.

it sounds more or less to me that you're trying to build a value system based around an absolute top of the line processor, and that doesn't work atleast not for me, but you're welcome to try. just remember to get an adequate heatsink if you get above 1ghz.

[clutchy]

ok well actually you're looking at 100 bucks for a 1.2/// 122 for a 1.33/// and 160 for a 1.4 if you decide to go with the 1.2 you probably could stay around 200-220 plus shipping. the asus a7v133 is a good kt133a board for 100-110, but the epox 8k7a is 120 so you decide, they're both great boards.

remember good heatsink. the thermoengine might still be onsale here for 22.00 bucks http://www.comready.com it'll end up around 30 with shipping though. great cooling and it's quiet.

[zero2dash]

Ok, I've decided to get this motherboard since it's a pretty decent deal (granted, despite me not knowing *much* - this is a good price)...Newegg has refurb IWill KK266's for $89. I'm going to buy one of those...and now I'm thinking about buying a Duron and overclocking the hell out of it instead of buying an Athlon. Perhaps I'll start another thread to see how they compare (as far as I've been told, the only difference between the two is that the Duron has less cache - Level 2 I believe).

[clutchy]

i was gonna suggest that, but you said no OC so i just figured hell i'll stick to the question. Duron 750's go for 26 bucks right now and they easily reach 1ghz