[CDale]

For the past year and a half I have used a Dell GX620 as a link box. The box was purchased on EBay at a very reasonable price ... and worked great. The Dell GX620 passed away this past week. Dell tech support (and diagnostics disk) pronounced the motherboard dead.

I began a search for a replacement motherboard. Dell's price on a JD961 motherboard is $251. Ridiculous I thought ... I could find a better deal. Unfortunately, I can't find a better deal. Refurbished for $149 is the best I can find ... and I would prefer a new board.

This leads in to my questions.

1) Does anyone know of a Dell junkyard (seller) of MB parts at a reasonable price?

2) Should I just build a new link box? I have not kept up with MBs and the latest hardware and would need recommendations on specs for a link box.

I would prefer XP-PRO (only because have used in the past), AMD chip, micro ATX MB with VGA, DVI and HDMI video out. The machine would only be used as a BTV link machine. Or would Vista be a better choice at this point?

Thanks for your recommendations.

CDale