advice on build for friend

[slash]

I am putting together a pc for a friend. He has just started using computers so right now he doesn't need top of the line(He is currently using a pentium III 500mhz). Criteria is that he wants to be able to upgrade in the future. I'm leaning towards a AMD processor due to budget considerations, however I would like advice on stability, I would like as stable a system as possible. Gaming isn't important now however he probably will start to do so as he learns I plan to get a midrange card. After research I believe I will need a PCI express board so upgrades are possible(not sure how long AGP will be viable) and I am unsure which socket type board to get, considering a upgrade for the processor is probable after a year or so.To summarize,
What motherboard would you recommend based on the above criteria?

Edited title for typo

 

[gwai lo]

stability can depend on a variety of things, and *any* system can be stable as long as you have the correct components in good condition

if your friend wants upgradability, then socket 939 might be the way to go...one of DFI's nforce4 boards?

however, it kind of sounds like overkill...you could go with socket A or something since you say your friend doens't need much power...it won't be really upgradeable, but why spend more than you need to

 

[slash]

Thank you, I've had bad luck with the last few abit AN7 boards I've built systems with, two were RMA'd due to failures and one was DOA. I generally use Pentiums so my knowledge of AMD is limited, although once the motherboard issues were resolved they have been good systems. I have seen posts on some issues with recent DFI boards, although they seem a good deal. I was looking at some MSI boards(also some concerns posted about the NF4 boards) but wanted some advice on what the members of this board felt. Thanks for the reply.

 

[zone_86]

If you want stability and gaming is not a need right now you could get a KM800 based VIA K8 board with IGP and a S754 3200 or 3400+ and use integrated IGP until you need to game. The nice thing about this upgrade path is that by the time you/he may wan't to game a little the prices of the nvida 6600GT, 6800,6800GT, X800 AGP series will drop inevitably due to the emergence of PCIe. Later you can slap a 6800GT on it and game away. Biostar, A-Open, Asus, DFI, and others make VIA KM based boards. For stability overclocking motherboards are not needed. You can get more then enough game performance and stability with a basic VIA KM board if the user is not and advanced one that like to tweak. And it (mATX boards) will fit nicely into a small case which = smaller footprint on the desk. Also if you go the IGP route you can use the stock PSU that comes in many cases (I recommend Antec though) right away with no problems. If you think you might want to get started with a board that has IGP like the KM series but you don't want mATX there is one full ATX MSI version @ newegg. There is also the option of the SIS 760GX boards with IGP as well. Seems that the Foxconn and AsRock boards have been doing well.

Basically what i'm saying is that for general use_ and even a nice gaming machine (as to be upgraded later) the overclocking boards are unecessary imo. Unless you really do like to tweak things or would like to learn. A basic board will do in this case it seems.