|
new motherboard needed
|
|
Junior Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 11:00 |
Link to this message
|
|
hello
i asked some1 to install some more memory into my computer at the weekend, unfortunately he bodged it a bit and ended up frying 1gb stick of ram and my motherboard!
as my pc was a shop bought OEM, i am having a bit of difficulty tracking down an exact replacement board.
i wanted to have some opinions on my best course of action, and difficulty levels etc
1 - track down exact motherboard and replace - this seems like the easiest option as i do not have a XP cd because its on a partition on the hard drive and means i wont loose any of my stuff and dont have to re-intall windows from scratch
2 - buy a new motherboard - reformat hard drive and re-intstall windows from scratch.
both of these actions would have to be carried out by me (hardware newbie) as i no longer trust any1 else to go near my stuff and due to the fact that if i took it to a shop they might not like what they found on the hard drive :)
also this goes on the assupmtion that all the remaining componants are in GWO and did not suffer from overloads etc
any advice would be greatlty appreciated
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 11:28 |
Link to this message
|
|
you can just buy a new motherboard and repair windows if you like. you won't have to reformat the drive. what cpu socket do you have?
|
Junior Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 11:42 |
Link to this message
|
|
|
Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 11:47 |
Link to this message
|
|
I think the windows activation thing only comes up if you change out 4 pieces of hardware so you might not have to worry about that. as far as the motherboard is concerned do you have one in mind? or would you like me to reccommend you one? if so what is your price limit for one?
ps anothe thing about the xp activation, the sticker you have will have a row of numbers on it in sets of 5. aslong as you have that you will be able to reactivate it easily if it even ask you to.
|
Junior Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:01 |
Link to this message
|
|
yes i have the sticker and the numbers, i take it i would have to d/l a copy of windows as i do not have the original cd?
if you could reccomend one that would be great, please bear in mind that i am in the UK so one that is easily available over here would be great, as for budget, as long as it supports my current cpu
(intel celeron d 345 3.06ghz) and is possibly a bit better than old one,
i had a look on misco (misco.co.uk) and they had a couple of gigabyte ones,
thanks for your replies
|
Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:19 |
Link to this message
|
|
|
ddp
Moderator
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:22 |
Link to this message
|
|
windows will run any cpu & board. could borrow a friend's copy as long as use your key number!! make certain new board has the back plate with it as your current backplate were your different ports stick thru might be different
|
|
ddp
Moderator
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:27 |
Link to this message
|
|
might have a problem with that new board because of the dimensions of it is bigger than old board.
old board Form Factor: µATX 24.4 x 23.6 cm Form Factor
new board Form Factor: ATX 30.5 cm x 23 cm
|
Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:30 |
Link to this message
|
|
wouldn't the new board just come a little bit further torwards the front of the case?
|
|
ddp
Moderator
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:37 |
Link to this message
|
|
no as it is taller because of having more pci slots. old board has 3 pci slots & new board has 5 pci slot so won't fit the case as it is micro atx not atx.
|
Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:40 |
Link to this message
|
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. August 2005 @ 12:43
|
|
ddp
Moderator
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:53 |
Link to this message
|
|
i think it will work but has to watch out as there might be a standoff by the ide2 connector on the left side of the oldboard. don't know if standoff is metal or plastic or not there
|
Junior Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:55 |
Link to this message
|
|
thanks for all your information,
a lot of the motherboards that im looking at seem to be 800mhz fsb,
as my celeron is only 533mhz would this still be compatible?
also thanks for the advice to look for a micro atx board, with the luck i have been having recently, i would have probably bought one that didnt fit :)
|
Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 12:58 |
Link to this message
|
|
yea 800 mhz is the max bus speed. and thanks to ddp for the micro thing I completely forgot about.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. August 2005 @ 13:01
|
|
ddp
Moderator
|
1. August 2005 @ 13:00 |
Link to this message
|
|
no problem, teach & learn
|
Junior Member
|
1. August 2005 @ 13:10 |
Link to this message
|
|
i the one that techguy has linked to in his message is about in my price range, hopefully it will fit, my case is fairly big and it looks like there is a spare centimetre or two around the existing board so should be fine
i should look on the bright side as in my pc should be more upgradeable with a new motherboard in it, although 4gb of memory seems a bit eccesive at the prices the are charging now £70 (UK) per gb, but im sure it will come down soon, thanks for your help, im sure i will post again soon, (when i have my pc in pieces!)
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
Junior Member
|
2. August 2005 @ 03:41 |
Link to this message
|
|
as im fitting a new motherboard would it be worth upgrading from xp home to xp professional?
also would just doing a repair on the o/s - would that affect the computer stability or speed in any way?, i do a lot of ripping and encoding on it so wanted to keep it stable
also my current motherboard is has ide connectors for the cd and hd, the new one is ata? would this make any difference in repairing xp, or reformatting the drive etc
sorry to keep asking questions, i just want to make sure i dont have any more costly ££ errors!
|
