Motherboard recommendation for fast/stable Linux 8

Hello all,

Looking to replace my current desktop box (Sun Ultra-5 440MHz, 1GB RAM) with a new Linux workstation. I have been reading reviews about all the latest motherboards and am still a bit confused. My current workstation has 3 displays and is used primarily to log into our lab and run performance tests (via xterms). I also run a Sun PCI co-processor card (733MHz) to run MS Word and MS Office. Because the SunPCI card seems slow (due to slow graphic performance of the Sun workstation), I am looking at running VMWare to run any MS Window's software.

So, I am on a quest to build a new Linux workstation and am looking for advice. Here are some key items to consider:

* Purpose: Need a *fast* Linux box to run VMWare (for MS-Office apps) and a fast X-Server. Also, needs to be *ROCK SOLID* and not break due to heat, poor construction, etc.

* Budget: ~$400US for a new motherboard, CPU, and memory (I have all the other components). I suspect my budget will need to be higher if I use DDR memory instead of PC133.

* CPU/memory: Thinking about getting an Athlon XP 2400+ with 1GB of RAM

* Video card: Looking at either 3 video cards or two dual-head cards.

* Storage: Already have a pair of 72GB 10K-RPM SCSI drives (on a dual-channel 160MB/sec controller card).

* LAN: Would prefer onboard LAN connection (free up PCI slot)

* Audio: Also prefer onboard (free up PCI slot)

Questions:
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* With the above key items in mind, which motherboard(s) should I look at? I have been reading about some BIOSTAR (M7VIT) and Asus (A7N8X) boards on the web.

* Is DDR memory (or dual-channel DDR) really that much better than PC133 memory? The price difference is 100% higher for DDR than PC133 (for same memory size).

* Do I need to be concerned about component compatibility? Specifically, do certain motherboards only take specific vendor memory? I have read threads that seem to suggest XXX motherboard will not work with YYY video card or ZZZ memory.

* Does Linux (or X on Linux) support dual (or more) displays? If so, which video cards should I look at?

Sorry for the loads of questions, but I want to make an informed purchase.

Many thanks in advance,



-Ron