Also, it's worth looking up the chipsets of a specific board (For sound, esp, but also for network and graphics) to see if there's a linux driver before you buy, as it's kinna hard to change. I've a board with an obscure ALS onboard sound chip that linux doesn't support. I've seen some quite cheap ones floating around with soundblaster 5.1 chipsets onboard, you'll be fine with these. Regards, Philip