[ale] Good bang-for-buck mobo/cpu?

[Joe Bayes]

Howdy folks,

My beloved Celeron 300-A just isn't cutting the mustard any more, and
I'm in the market for a new mobo/cpu. What I'm looking for is pretty
simple:

* Linux-compatible (obviously). I'd prefer it if I didn't have to
  patch the kernel to get it to run, either.
* Either 3D graphics on-board, or cheap enough that I can buy a 3D
  card and stay under-budget. (It doesn't have to be super-fast,
  though: I just want to be able to play 4+ year-old games). 
* Preferably under $200, though I can go a little higher if necessary. 

Fry's has an ECS GeForce6100SM-M with an AMD X2 5600 for $179 that I'm
considering, but I'm wary of cheap ECS boards. Does anybody else have
anything good or bad to say about this board?

Does anybody have any other suggestions? 

Thanks.

Joe

--
Joe Bayes -- jbayes at spoo.mminternet.com