> 4. Replacement computer options/ideas? (joe@actionline.com) It all depends on what you NEED the box to do. If all you want to do is ssh into a NAS get a netbook or even the Asus desktop that mounts behind a monitor and a NAS. IF you want the biggest baddest multimedia streaming center around. You're going to need to pay for a good MOBO, do you need RAID Super Micro makes some killer server boards? Do you want to go to 64 bit which is quite fun I might add, and then you can do some serious number crunching, or video editing, etc? So it's really back in your court as to your needs. I know "green" is the watchword of the day in power consumption and recycling. But if your "meltdown" caused instability in power supply area. I would not trust any piece of hardware in the box. That may sound extreme. But imagine getting your beloved new baby ready after 2 weeks and the hdd fails, or a cd rom fails, or the PSU fails and blows out your capacitors on your "new" board because the overheat taxed it too much. You laugh, but it's happened. Most likely your hdd's are IDE, and SATA is the new standard. There are faster, much larger, more energy efficient hdds out there, or maybe you want to do a setup like I did and get a 32 GB SSD just for the OS and a 750GB hdd for the /home /data areas. I purchased Mini ATX boards instead of micro since most perphials are USB. I bought an external DVD burner because I've learned it's just a waste sitting there if you don't use it and I have 3 machines -- 2 netbooks that I carry around and size plus wgt limitations work out great. The same thing with a 22-1 flash card reader that plugs into a USB slot. I'm not wanting on "legacy" machines for how I carry my data around. As far as boards I still am in the 90s I guess with Asus and Tyan being the best. Although I thing Biostar is up there now too. The possibilities are endless. The checkbook isn't. So have fun. gk -- Remember, it's not that we have something to hide; it's that we have nothing to show. --Keep tunneling. --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss