RE: Opinions please, on motherboards

I'm running a FIC AU13 in my home PC.  No problems with it for the past
2 or so years.  FIC is normally considered a bargain manufacturer (vs. a
higher-end co like Gigabyte or Tyan) but I've not heard of any glaring
problems with them.  Their site: http://www.fica.com/

Intel mobos in general are pretty solid, but they're not generally known
for giving the most features/$.

Sempron64s are a heck of a value.  AMD chips are solid and in most
respects better than the equivalent Intels.  Usually less heat & power
consumed for the same performance.

No problems with XP on the 64 bit CPU.  I would avoid XP64 until the
parts manufacturers come through with stable drivers.