intel core 2 duo

Intel motherboards are going to be your most reliable. Gigabyte makes a good board as does Asus and Abit. The 965 series from Intel should suit you well. Intel typically offers 4 methods of flashing your BIOS. There is the EB (express bios) that you do from Windows, the DOS based version, an ISO for burning to CD if you're running a different OS, and the *.BIO file in case you do something wrong as it is the emergency recovery BIOS.

As for the RAM, if you haven't bought yet, get at least 667 to match up with the Core2Duo properly.