Okay, one big mass reply coming...
<b>markgun</b>
It probably could be a nice little linux box for something like that. That's what I did with my 233MHz PII till my aunt needed a computer for word processing and e-mail.
markgun, I might end up giving that a shot. I'm not sure if all of my hardware will have drivers under Linux since some of it is pretty ... cheap. But it can't hurt to try.
I'd just wipe the drives and reinstall Win98SE on that box anyway, so it couldn't hurt to try Linux first. I've got the install CDs for Mandrake 9 around here somewhere... (And I could always get better if I bothered to take the time to download them.)
<b>Crashman</b>
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=11-108-273&depa=1
Discription says beige, but the part number and picture both represent the black unit...and newegg sometimes screws up their discription
Thanks Crashman. It's $14 more than my current case selection, but hell, it'd be worth it.
I'll just have to contact Newegg and make sure that it'll really be black. I'd hate to have to spraypaint the case. Heh heh heh.
<b>Spitfire_x86</b>
If you are relying on the product description of Newegg, think again. I've seen false description at Newegg with some Daytona Palit cards. VGA Apollo is a similar brand.
Look Spitfire_x86, newegg lists both a cheaper 64-bit version and a more expensive 128-bit version. Both the detailed specs links and the product links support Newegg's descriptions, as does the price difference. When I say I thought of it, I mean I thought of it. I've made sure. Besides, the new specs don't even include an AGP card anymore at all so by now it's really a moot point anyway.
You've picked Soltek SL-75MRN-L, are you sure that this mobo has nForce APU? Epox 8RGA+ has nForce APU and costs $99
Am I sure that it has the nForce APU? No. Do I care? Not really. Either way it has 5.1 surround sound, and as I've said my wife sure won't care. She'll just be using it to play The Sims at most and only be using two front speakers anyway. So quibbling over possible audio differences isn't really a big deal.
<i>However</i> the passively-cooled northbridge of the Epox would be preferred, so I may go with the Epox for that reason.
LiteOn has 4x better DAE performance and 2x better movie DVD read performance (only matters if you want to copy DVD to HDD). The currently available LiteOn DVD-ROM model is newer than the reviewed model, but it should not be inferior.
Thanks for the links to the reviews, Spitfire_x86. They were pretty good. After reading them I'm definately going to get the MSI player for my wife's PC because it's a lot quieter, has faster seek times, and she most likely won't be doing any ripping so the DAE speeds won't matter.
I might get the Lite-On player for my own system though, because I probably will be doing a lot of ripping.
"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
:tongue: 
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