building computer and need help choosing a motherboard

I have a similar request for info but...

I also am going to build a computer but I definaetly do not have the kind of $$ that the original poster has to spend. What happend to me was lightening hit near my house and among thousands of dollars of other damage, my computer got whacked too. it works but it looks like none of the PCIs work anymore, the onboard ethernet isnt working, the fan isnt working and some but not all of the USB's are dead. I originally was going to find a replacement MOBO and go from there but really, I have no way of knowing if any other problems are going to pop up with the processor, so I have decided to go with basically building a system but keeping my HD and RAM. (RAM is 512 DDR SDRAM 266mhz pc2100 and HD is 80Gig, but i cant find any mor info on that just yet)
I have read endless reviews and descriptions but it seems like they are all written by somebody trying to sell me something so of course, every one is made out to be the best scince sliced bread. so I am hoping that all y'all could give me some advice on what to get. I am not really a gamer but I do use CAD/CAM and multimedia software heavily so am I correct in assuming that AMD is the best processor for this type of work? What I am looking for at the moment is a mobo/processor bundle and Ive been looking on newegg and tigerdirect and there are soooo many choices, my price range is only $200 or less. If you could give me any help, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

i think you should set aside some money for a good surge supressor before you buy another computer.

lol.... thats the thing that really bothered me about the whole thing, I had one when the strike happened (is a $45 protector considered "good"?), had it connected correctly and everything. I even powered everything off just as i always do when a storm is coming but still somehow got whackked. im unplugging everything from now on I guess. other wierd things happened also like only one of my 2 brand new garage door openers stopped workinng, yet both are plugged into the same outlet.

well, the quality of a supressor is usually tied to it's brand name...i reccoomend apc. apc and others also will insure your equipment up to a certain amount, in accordance with thier preset policy of course...

cool, ill definaetly take the supressor more seriously this time when I get it. when I bought that one, I just bought the first "wallmart special" I saw and didnt think twice about it. Thanks for your help!