I need a motherboard w/t some of the following feautures: USB 2.0 at least 3 PCI 1 AGP Socket A(Athlon 2000+) SD DDRAM intergrated video. intergr.. audio, game port. serial, parallel, ps/2,etc i want to have 5 ide devices. so i'm guessing that i will have to get raid. I don't understand RAID much. i know it allows me to have more than 4 ide. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what board i should buy with the feautures above.

The asus a7v333 extra nice board vary high in performance you will love it great for overclocking if you are into it .....this board will meet your needs .... was rated #1

Asus boards are nice but Abit are better in my opinion. Reason being is they are always first to have a new feature and always release bios updates that allow you to use newer parts. basically Abit boards stay current longer and others.

first to have new features, usually means first to have bugs also!!! I have used MSI in all the computers I build, and Have not had any problems as of yet...they make a couple of boards that have USB 2 and RAID but I dont know if they have onboard video... those are the KT3 and KT 4 ultras...

My favorite is the SOYO SY-KT333 DRAGON Ultra (Platinum Edition) ATX Motherboard With Platinum Color PCB. Here are a couple of Newegg links. Specs - http://www.newegg.com/app/specification.asp?item=13-139-111 Pics - http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=13-139-111-13.jpg/13-139-111-09.jpg/13-139-111-11.jpg/13-139-111-12.jpg/13-139-111-08.jpg

I'm a bit confused about why you want a AGP but integrated video also, step up and get even a cheesy AGP card and you'll be better off and pay less that a MOBO with integrated. BAng for your buck if you let the integrated video go is the ECS K7S5a This is still truly a hot board, and as it's older model you can pick one up for around 50 bucks and have a sweet system. As for the RAID, you don't need it, what you need if you must run 5 or more IDE devices is simply a IDE card. I would recommend one from promise, they are reliable and cheap and the driver support is perfect. This would allow you to run up to 8 IDE devices in your tower. I have built 3 nearly identical systems as you are describing in the last month for friends, with drives out of their old units for around $450. That's alot of system for the money, and that price includes a ATI 8500 card, mega more than any integrated you'll find. BTW a promise card will run around $30 over the net and on EBAY.