[PLUG] What's the best way to troubleshoot severe and suddenhardware death?

[Unknown]

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=-102&type=expert

The predecessor was apparently unstable.  This review
says something about needing registered memory if the
board had four slots.  The USB apparently stops 
working on the board reviewed in this article 
beyond 137 megahertz.  Putting memory on this board 
that is faster than what it was designed for probably 
won't work if the reviews I've been running into are 
correct about it being unstable.

Looking at this board, I bet I'd buy it if I didn't
realize it has problems.  The A version of this is
supposed to be okay, but I wonder if MSI really got
the problems fixed.  What is an AMR slot?  It sounds
like a non standard slot that never caught on.

What about an oversized southbridge chipset heatsink
makes it less than robust?  Isn't oversized pretty 
much good and being undersized a problem?

I'd test that I'm troubleshooting the right thing by
plugging in a stable electrical appliance where I'm
taking my power from for this machine.

Question I have if the motherboard isn't all that great,
what is the best replacement for it?

Michael Robinson