Group 1: (ATX)
Intel DG965WH Motherboard
Good board but has integrated graphics that you won't use.
GigaByte GA-965P-DS3 Motherboard
Excellent board. "BIOS" issues are long gone.
Asus P5N-E SLI Motherboard / P5B Motherboard
Has 2 IDE controllers, useful for legacy drives. Good board.
Group 2: (ATX)
GigaByte GA-965P-S3 Motherboard
Same as DS3 except for standard caps and ethernet controller.
Intel BOXDP965LTCK Motherboard
Good board but may cost as much the better DS3
If purchased at a local retail store, tech/warranty support will be excellent.
Asus P5N-SLI Motherboard
I don't know about this one. The Asus website takes forever to load.
Good luck getting support from Asus...
RAM semantics:
"Generic ram" No-name sticks that have no timing specs. Made to run at the stock stated speed, usually with very slow latencies. Cheap is their main attribute. May not be reliable, but who knows?
"Value ram" Brand-name ram, usually without heatsinks, made to run at the stock stated speed at standard voltage. Latencies specs are included. Very reliable. Not for overclocking. No compatibility problems, boots on all motherboards. Not always the cheapest, some enthusiast ram can be bought for less - but for good reason.
"Enthusiast ram" Also called premium, overclocking, high speed, gaming ram, etc. This is usually the expensive stuff. Has heatsinks and even LED readouts or lighting. May, but often does not run at standard voltages reliably. Will either be very low latency or more commonly rated for high speeds. Compatibility is a crap-shoot. Can handle higher voltages and heat output.
Unless you plan to overclock, value ram is your best bet.
Kingston DDR2667 2G kit KVR667D2N5K2/2G $120+0 3/24/07
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820134046
Kingston DDR2 2G 533 1.8v CL4 KVR533D2N4K2/2G $131+5 3/24/07
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144157