> > it's not RAID. it's just IDE controller.
>
> It's very much a RAID controler, STD on-board IDE & on-board Promise RAID, 8
you are sure?! isn't it normal IDE controller+some software RAID0/1 code
in BIOS?

>
>
> > i815 based motherboard looks stable for me and fast .
>
> Why go for an Intel CPU? They're expencive & slow.

expensive - yes.
it's 100% intel compatible :)
it's slow - not true.

i wouldn't buy any VIA and/or AMD based hardware... especially VIA