Since my wife didn't get the clue (having left printouts around the house) about buying me a computer for Christmas I am still looking at building another one.  I built one with some help from a friend last time..he may not be around this time so I am going to do it myself.

I need recommendations for a Motherboard, processor and case. I have looked on Newegg and Tigerdirect and there is a multitude of them. I figure some of the IT guys here have some expert knowledge on the subject.

Here are the specs I would like for just the MOBO, chip, case (I have a DVD drive and know what RAM to get). I just want it for a basic home computer with internet, no big time videogames or such.

--under $300 (under 200 if possible)
--would like P4 2.4 or greater but AMD is ok if necessary for price
--ease of build

also, I have a windows xp disc I used for my one build, never registered it, can I use it again?

Thanks for recommendations

Check out www.pricewatch.com/ under motherboard/memory combos for some deals.

Brand of MOBO?  I stick with ASUS personally, but your price range will be on the lower end boards that I don't know much about.

Gigabyte and ABIT build pretty decent motherboards at somewhat reasonable prices.

For price, I would go with AMD 64, Sempron or Athlon.

We've used MSI boards here at work for years with little to no problems.  I'd go AMD Sempron for the processor.  Great bang for the buck.  Intel is overpriced, or at least they were the last time I checked.  I've used AMD and Intel both over the last 10 years, and I've never had any problems with either.  Both are rock-solid and dependable, and AMD is cheaper.  Your choice.