So I'm looking to get a new mobo and processor

[Naem]

My current processor has a nasty habit of randomly freezing under CPU stress, and my motherboard is old enough to have experienced the Kennedy administration. I'll need some new ram too, I'm thinking 512MB of DDR.

I want to get an AMD since I already have a fan that is built for AMDs, and I'm on a limited budget so an AMD is more viable. Can anyone recommend a good motherboard, processor, and RAM in the ~$200 range? I really don't know anything about the mobo+processor combos I see on PriceWatch.. I've never heard of the "Syntax" motherboards but I see a lot of them on PriceWatch for the combos.

For the processor, I would prefer an XP 2600+ or less because my fan (Volcano 9) doesn't support anything higher than that.

[Naem]

Motherboard: http://www.atacom.com/program/print_html_new.cgi?cart_id=9063720_66_60_145_183&Pagecode=1|MBA7&Item_code=MBA7_ASUS_A7_S3&USER_ID=www

Processor: http://www.dvcentury.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=86-22-2400++%5BDetail+Specs%5D

RAM: http://www.memorymedia.com/D/FMPro?-DB=selling_units.fp5&-lay=web_layout&-format=search_results_mm.htm&-error=search_error.htm&PK_itemID==5153&-Find

Price total: $196

How's it look? Good mobo? My main concern is that the RAM may be crappy.

[Naem]

My CPU froze again and now my secondary HD is dead.  
Computer won't boot unless the secondary HD is disconnected. BIOS won't even recognize the drive.

[j0k3r]

Looks pretty good... I'm looking to upgrade mobo/cpu/ram also... But it'll probably come closer to 400$ if not more...

Motherboard: Asus whatever (or anything that can be compatible with ddr ram and a 2.8ghz cpu)

CPU: 2.4 - 2.8ghz

Ram: 512 DDR

I'm in Canada, so that does make a pricing difference.

[Yoni]

My CPU froze again and now my secondary HD is dead.  
Computer won't boot unless the secondary HD is disconnected. BIOS won't even recognize the drive.

Try setting the slot for the secondary HD to "None" instead of "Auto" in the BIOS setup. Then it'll at least boot. (It's possible that the BIOS won't recognize it, but the OS will.)

[Adron]

My CPU froze again and now my secondary HD is dead.  
Computer won't boot unless the secondary HD is disconnected. BIOS won't even recognize the drive.

Does it spin up? How far does it get in booting before it stops? Try connecting only that HD, see if it for some reason thinks it's a master.

[Hashed2]

Does the Second HDD have a NTFS Partition and your botting into Win98??