Author Topic: help on deciding new motherboard (Read 425 times)

toka100 · « **on:** June 16, 2005, 09:08:37 PM »

i'm haveing problems with my motherboard.....it won't power the cpu fan for some reason......so i figure i might as well upgrade if i can.......aftr looking on e-bay i'm even more confused about what i need to look for and what i have now

this is what i do have now.

intel celeron 2.0ghz cpu
80 gig hardrive
radeon 9200se vid card pci
masterblaster 16 sound card
256 of ram....but not sure what type...about to shut down and find out

from what i've seen the celeron should be a 478 pin socket but i might check that too to be sure

is there anywhere that i can get a mother board cheap and still use what i have yet still add more if i need to......also what are the good types of motherboards to look for

OOZ662 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 17, 2005, 12:28:29 AM »

Nuff said.

AdmRose · « **Reply #2 on:** June 17, 2005, 07:29:42 AM »

Well you can upgrade the motherboard all you want but as long as you still have that Celeron you're limited with what you can do. I'd recommend looking into a Pentium IV. For about $100-$150 you can find (I'd recommend) a 2.8Ghz P4 Prescott. eBay works well for this. The nice thing about the Prescott is the 1MB of Level 2 cache that, when combined with its price and speed (as well as its overclocking capabilities), make it an all around good choice. The clincher is that it only requires a 533Mhz Front Side Bus so you don't have to break the bank on an 800Mhz FSB board. Also I'd definately recommend more RAM - 512 MB at least and 1 GB ideally.

OOZ662 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 17, 2005, 01:30:54 PM »

To me, the Northwood core slaps the Presscot. They have smaller L2 caches though.

AdmRose · « **Reply #4 on:** June 17, 2005, 03:36:53 PM »

toka, what kind of motherboard do you have right now? Ooz, I agree with you about the Northwood but only in the case of the 533Mhz 3.06Ghz P4 w/HT. That is a superior processor but is unfortunately more than most are willing to spend, hence the Prescott recommendation. That, and the Prescott's reputation for overclocking.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 17, 2005, 03:44:50 PM »

Thing you have to watch with the Prescotts is the heat from what I hear. Personally I'm an AMD guy, but Skuzzy or MiniD can give you a good rundown on anything Pentium.

toka100 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 17, 2005, 06:13:48 PM »

right now i just have the stock hp motherboard that was already in the computer.......also another question........the celeron and the petuim 4 are both the 478 pin right......so then i could get the motherboard and eventually swap out the cpu..........as for ram i have a few sticks right now just havn't put them in yet...i have a 128 and a 512 along with the 256....i just didn't know if it was possible to mix them or not

OOZ662 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 17, 2005, 10:07:18 PM »

HP/Compaq have custom built cases. The new motherboard will most likily not fit. You're better off building a new computer. I just built a pure-bred gamer that would have cost ~$3000 for just over $1000 (I had some problems).

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 19, 2005, 01:41:22 AM »

As long as he doesnt have one of the super-tiny cases, most HPs just use a standard micro-ATX form factor motherboard.

This one for example, fits right in my wifes old HP Pavilion that used to be a P3 850.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130471

She had to have Intel. Used a Celeron for hers, but she rarely does anything intensive. This MSI board also happens to be socket 478, so toka here could use his Celeron, and upgrade the CPU later. Personally, for the expense involved in getting a Prescott and keeping it cool, I'd save up the money and replace everything with better equipment later. This MOBO is only 60 bucks.

He said he has a PCI video card now, so I was assuming the lack of an AGP slot wouldnt matter. Especially with all the new stuff going to PCI express, if this is just to get him by, no sense in going any other route than using what he already has and just replacing what's broken.

buzkill · « **Reply #9 on:** June 19, 2005, 06:56:36 AM »

and as long as the ram is all the same speed you can mix it.....you can still get 128's?

Easyscor · « **Reply #10 on:** June 19, 2005, 10:12:13 AM »

What about the power supply in that HP case? It's all the little pieces you don't think about that aways break my budget.

When you pick your mother board, avoid any with built in sound, ethernet or video. Get one that runs clean and add your own cards.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #11 on:** June 19, 2005, 12:15:34 PM »

Eh, yeah the HP power supplys are junk. Forgot about that one. I had replaced the PS in my wifes a year previous, so it wasnt an issue when it came to the motherboard swap. Still, if his PS isnt hurting now, I dont see any reason why it should with the new MOBO, if he's not upgrading any other components. And while I tend to agree with the onboard sound/video, disabling performs the same function, and its damn near impossible to find a modern motherboard without onboard sound. Video yes, but not sound. They all include it for some reason.

OOZ662 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 19, 2005, 02:51:39 PM »

My D875PBZ has no onboard sound or video. Has 8 USB ports, network, PS/2, Paralell and Serial ports though.

Easyscor · « **Reply #13 on:** June 19, 2005, 03:41:03 PM »

Hmm, I was questioning wheather that HP power supply P4 compatable. The old P3 power supplies won't work so I figured one for the Celeron wouldn't either but I don't know.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 20, 2005, 03:14:16 AM »

Fastest way for a definative answer, email skuzzy and ask him.