Go with socket A

as for the differences. The T-bird has on die L2 cache at full clock speed. the classic has the L2 cache on a daughter card at 2/5-1/2 clock speed. As for a Mobo to use I'd go with either the Iwill KK266, or an ASUS baord either the A7V or the A7V133. If you're feeling adventurous though you can give ALI's new chipset a shot with the ASUD A7M is it? Well hope I helped.