[SiliconJon]

I've had so much bad luck with cheap PSU's, that I want to tell you go get an Antec. Not only do they cause headaches, but I believe them to be the culprit in many other hardware failures as well (they are, after all, supplying the power to every device, and if it's providing BAD juice, it can fry just about any device it's powering). And using a hardware monitor is only as reliable as the motherboard's censor circuits, nor does the software take measurements nearly often enough to catch deadly changes in a rail's voltage.

I would very much try to find someone to loan you some parts. I would swap out each piece with a replacement known to work flawlessly. Do each item: RAM, PSU, AGP...and well, you can go all the way to the keyboard & mouse. Start with whatever pieces you can get your hands on first.

This is the method I sometimes have to resort to...sure do wish there was a better way. But so far the only other way I've found is to buy a fortune's worth the testing equipment.

Also, read that manual that came with the motherboard from beginning to finish. It may not help, but it will definately not hurt.

EDIT:

Don't change anyhardware around while the green LED on the Mobo is lit. To get the light off, you have to turn the PSU off. If the PSU does not have an on/off switch, get another one.

Some checks for that board:

JP2: short 2+3 for 533Mhz CPU FSB

Make sure everything is secure, RAM has both retension clips fully closed, all slot cards are fully inserted.

Did the heatsink come with a thermal material attached? I highly recommend removing this puddy like material and using thermal paste. Also, don't forget to take off the paper that is on the thermal material if your are going to use it (yes, I've seen it done).