Intel, AMD, I don't know. I have heard AMD does a better job making their onboard stuff more efficient, but I have also heard you can get Intel for cheaper. Who really knows if these claim are correct?
I do not know what you are looking for in a MB, so I can only go based on Reviews and Cost.
Welcome to Windows 7 Support Forum, as with any custom build I was suggest the following steps to prepare:
What do I intend to use the equipment for?
How much is the build going to cost?
Whats my skill level?
Am I looking at Performance Vs. Reliability?
After I reviewed and planned I next proceed to the gathering/purchasing part.
Most novice builders overlook the key part and heart of the system and they build with a pre-disposition of obselence. The power supply is your cornerstone of any custom build! Always consider power up vs. adequate supply, for the simple reason custom builds are exactly that! CUSTOM! You will want to improve on your build by upgrading HDD's, Graphics card etc. And the power supply will let you do this. I always suggest 550 watts and up based on the build.
Processor speed, RU a gamer, then you will need blazing speed and I prefer AMD, simply because they are faster than intel, You don't necessarily meed 4 or 6 or 8 core, if speed is what you demand your processor can be dual core with 3 ghz or faster.
Motherboards play an important part, the better quality of board (think price) the more stable your build. Another consideration is how much expansion will you need on the board.
Grafix, again price will dictate what you want! Again AMD provides a good choice over gigabyte and intel boards.
Memory is now moving to 3 channel, AKA ddr 3 so a good rule of thumb is 4 gigs of memory.
Last is storage, Blue Ray is now going main stream so if you are building an entertainment/Video work machine consider a blue ray drive in addition to a dvd burner. Storage drives should include at least a a terabyte of storage. Seagate barracudas come to mind because of their great reliability and their access speed.
And lastly, out put is dictated by the quality of your out put devices, if you plan on a high def system you will need a hi def monitor.
As always these are suggestions and I never imply that these are gold standards.
Enjoy the build process, as it will give you great satisfaction and confidence.
