Flash conundrum

OK hexites, here's a little teaser for you.

I've decided to set up a network monitor box with some old hardware (because my wife insists our internet keeps breaking... :O_o1:). I have ~ £45 to spend at linitx, and I reckon this could be well used to get some flash storage to run my box off. So, I seem to have three basic options:

1) an IDE flash module: £45 will get me a 4GB dual channel module - obviously this is high durability industrial stuff, but has the down side of taking up the IDE connector on the motherboard (I think the mobo I plan to use only has one IDE port) so I'll need to work out another way to get my OS on there.

2) a CF-IDE adapter plus an industrial CF card: £45 will get me an adapter and a 2GB industrial card, which will presumably be more durable and reliable than the third option:

3) a CF-IDE adapter plus a consumer CF card: for less than £25 I can get the adapter and a 4GB consumer-grade card. More storage, but presumably less reliable and durable than the industrial option.

Obviously, options 2 and 3 allow me to also use an IDE CD ROM as well as the card, so I can install my OS (probably some flavour of lightweight linux).

Now, I have next to no knowledge of the differences between CF cards, so: is the industrial CF card worth the extra money despite the cut in storage? Should I just get the flash module and worry about how to load my OS later (not sure the mobo will boot from USB, although I should probably check that first... ;) )? Do I go cheap and cheerful and save some of my credit note for later? Or am I missing another likely option (from linitx, mind) that would provide a tangible benefit?