for your mother whose activity on a pc should categorized as "light casual user" would not be able to take the full advantage of having a board that would support the highest 775 cpu. b/c what works for her isn't a future upgrade, granted Internet, casual gaming, and word dont require all that much at all. what she need is something small, easy to use, maintenance-free and 'green' that's what a mother would like.
I am suggesting an ASUS EEE Box:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16883220011
Something like this would be a great fit wherever that is convenient for her. Comes pre-config w/ XP home, keyboard, mouse, and remote control for her online media entertainments. So she goes online alot, well Wireless N, the latest wireless technology, is built-in, Gigabite ethernet is there too if that's her cup of tea. So she does casual gaming also, well this particular model comes w/ a dedicated video card that will help her enjoy all the little games she's been enjoying. This little device offers multiple options on output as well, it can be connected to a regular monitor but if she's more comfortable w/ her big lcd/plasma you can connect it to her tv via HDMI as well b/c it's supported If your mom takes lots photos this box got a multi-card reader for that. If your mom is a 'green' person (like mine), this tiny pc draws about what a 30w-60w light bulb would draw. Imagine that how much energy she will be wasting if she got stuck w/ a oversized computer that would typically draws at least twice if not 3x the power while choking on case full of dust. With that said there are at least 2 things you need to get for a complete setup.
1) speakers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16836121014 this worked out well for my wife, sound quality is above average and it comes w/ a convenient volume control that has a headset + mic jack built-in, and very cost effective (amazon may offer free shipping)
2) dvd drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827190020 this one is an external slim dvd burner that is good for multiple settings: she could use it w/ the EEE Box or she could take it w/ her if so need to, how cool is that? (newegg give you a free 4gb flash drive w/ this purchase-cant turn down good freebies haha)
3 if necessary) monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824009145 if she doesn't have one get something like this one, good reviews, large size means support for larger fonts for easier reading for 'aged' folks price is very good for a 22" lcd as well w/ free ship!
good luck Tempus35
brian