[loki1717]

I have never replaced a motherboard before, and am not sure what steps I should take before replacing one, or even how to choose one that's right for me. What do I need to know to get started? Where can I get some for decent prices. What's the average CPU speed these days? Who is faster? AMD or Intel? I'm mainly looking for PCI-E 16x support, and above 2.8Ghz processor. Preferably, AMD. How do I know if it will fit my tower? Do they have most the same size shape, etc?

Feel free to ask any questions and I will be sure to answers.

Thank you in advance,
loki1717

 

[AlienMenace]

Go to newegg.com. I perfer AMD, but I guess they say those Intel's I7's are great.

 

[Old Rich]

What Tower do you have?

 

[loki1717]

Not sure what the make or model of the tower itself is, it seems to be partially custom, you see. It has a door on the front that has 2 red lights and a Z emblem on it. The side cover has a sort of insignia that glows red, orange, and yellow on the fan. mOst of the ports in the back are vertical. All PCI slots are horizontal. If you need pictures, let me know, or if there's a specific location I could look for the model on it. Thanks.

 

[Old Rich]

If you can open the case and take a photo of the motherboard, we can tell if it is atx or matx, and what board you will need

 

[loki1717]

Alright, here it is. If you would like it at another angle, or another picture of part of it, I'd be glad to.

 

[Wrench97]

That is a ATX format board.
How many IDE drives do you have newer motherboards will be Sata with 1 IDE controller.
Also what power supply do you have there will be a label on the side of it listing the Brand Model and total wattage.

 

[loki1717]

I have 1 IDE HDD, 2 IDE disc drives, and 1 IDE floppy drive, which I do not care for.

Power supply: AGI, AGI-U550UB, Total Output: 550W. Supports nVIDIA SLI & Dual PCI-E. This is a newer power supply, even new than the mobo I have. Proabal ~9 months or so.

 

[Wrench97]

Where are you shopping in the US?
I assume because you want a PCIe slot this is for gaming?
And lastly what kind of budget do have for this?

 

[Wrench97]

Where are you shopping in the US?
I assume because you want a PCIe slot this is for gaming?
And lastly what kind of budget do have for this?

 

[loki1717]

I am in the US and planned on shopping online, generally cheaper that way. Yes, the PCIe slot would be for gaming. And I have a budget of ~$200. I've never bought a motherboard before and am not sure how much they get up to, and could go higher. But if it meets my needs and is inexpensive, that is fine too. I would be willing to sacrifice things like it being solely AMD.

 

[Wrench97]

$200 is a little tight for a gaming build but here are a few the first is a nice start to very good gamer but you will need to add a video card to it.

Link Disc. Cost
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 E8400 $167.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372 GA-EP45-UD3L $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 2 x 1Gig $32.99

$295.97

This one is a notch down and just swaps the CPU to a lower one.
Link Disc Cost
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206 E7400 $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372 GA-EP45-UD3L $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 2 x 1Gig $32.99


$247.97

This is a AMD build with onboard video you'll still need a card to game but it will get you up and running.
Link Disc Cost
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300 X2 7750 $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131354 M3N78-EM $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 2 x 1Gig $32.99


$182.97

 

[Wrench97]

$200 is a little tight for a gaming build but here are a few the first is a nice start to very good gamer but you will need to add a video card to it.

Link Disc. Cost
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 E8400 $167.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372 GA-EP45-UD3L $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 2 x 1Gig $32.99

$295.97

This one is a notch down and just swaps the CPU to a lower one.
Link Disc Cost
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206 E7400 $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372 GA-EP45-UD3L $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 2 x 1Gig $32.99


$247.97

This is a AMD build with onboard video you'll still need a card to game but it will get you up and running.
Link Disc Cost
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300 X2 7750 $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131354 M3N78-EM $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 2 x 1Gig $32.99


$182.97

 

[loki1717]

I'll probably be going with the AMD processor and ASUS board, both brands I enjoy. Since the board has no IDE support, and only SATA, I will have to buy a new HDD and DVD drive, correct? Here are the other components I'm looking at:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=WD4000YR-NDW-R&cat=HDD HDD
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=BLK-GH22LS40-DO-R&cat=DVD DVD Drive
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-XFX-GEFORCE...s=66:2|65:15|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50 Graphics Card

Grand total > $270

What do you think of these? I am a little iffy on the brand "XFX" for the graphics card.

 

[Wrench97]

The video card is very low end, the integrated on that board may actually out perform it.
XFX is a decent video brand, EVGA offers the best support.
I would not trust a refurb WD hard drive, but the DVD drive is ok.
There is one IDE controller that will handle 2 drives, but using the HD and the dvd drive on the same cable will hurt performance, over using a Sata hard drive and a IDE DVD drive.

 

[loki1717]

I'm not aiming too high in terms of a graphics card, just enough to play WoW well, doing some basic video and picture editing. Would you trust a refurb Seagate HDD?
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ST3400832AS-NDW-R&cat=HDD
If not, I'll go with:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=HDT725032VLA360-NDW&cat=HDD

I thought 256mb onboard memory for a GFX card wasn't too bad?

 

[Wrench97]

This HD would be much better> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098

The GPU on the 7200GS is pretty weak the amount of ram isn't the complete story.
See what you can find in a 8400GS or 9400GT

 

[Wrench97]

This HD would be much better> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098

The GPU on the 7200GS is pretty weak the amount of ram isn't the complete story.
See what you can find in a 8400GS or 9400GT

 

[loki1717]

How is this, in terms of a graphics card?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NVIDIA-GeForce-...4|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1308|301:1|293:1|294:50

I'm not after anything too powerful. Since they have the same amount of memory, what makes one superior over the other?

Will the motherboard come with all of the SATA connectors and such that I will need?

 

[Wrench97]

That is a lot better then the 7200GS.

The MB will come with 2 Sata, 1 IDE, 1 FDD(Floppy) cables.