Asus A8N-VM CSM vs Asus A8N-E for Video Compression

Asus A8N-VM CSM vs Asus A8N-E for Video Compression

I recently had a bad experience with a P5WD2-P MB and have decided go AMD rather than Intel for this next attempt. Turns out the problem was probably not the fault of the MB, however in the process I learned about DRM problems professional videographer’s were experiencing reading back their own authored DVD’s, and I simply don’t want to take that chance.

I’m currently looking at the above two MB’s and given what I learned on the forums concluded that I should seek advice BEFORE I purchase my next components. I intend to use an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ and Corsair XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC3200). I do not do gaming; I have an existing PCIe dual DVI video card that I will use; I may wish to do a little clocking adjustment, but not much (I never have in the past). I have read the forums for both of these MB’s, the reviews and user feedback. I will primarily use for ripping, editing, compressing, & authoring my own video. I would like 4 SATA-2 and 2 IDE. RAID optional. Given my intended purposes:

1. Is there a MB I should be looking at other than these two?
2. I see pros and cons to both the above MB’s.
a. A8N-VM CSM
i. pros: includes firewire, newer & better (?); chipset; better audio (?)
ii. cons: BIOS current limitations and instability; heat & cooling of processor and chipset
b. A8N-E
i. pros: more PCI and USB.
ii. cons: chipset fan noise

I would appreciate input from folks with experience using these boards. I have built over 100 systems, but it has been a four years since I have built a new system for myself, especially one for this specific need.