IDE Channel died on mobo: What should I do?

[thecoffeeguy]

So ya, IDE channel went out on my Gigabyte DS3 mobo running a 2.4ghz Core 2 duo.
Have 2gigs DDR2-800 memory.

I guess my biggest dilema is, should I stay with Intel, or go to AMD? Not a "fanboy" of either, just want good performance at a great cost.

If I decided to stay intel, I would just get a upgraded motherboard with intentions to eventually upgrade to a quad core and DDR3 memory.

If its cheaper to go AMD route, I would think about replacing my board and CPU in the coming weeks when hopefully prices are low.

Any recommendations?

TCG

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I would like to upgrade to Windows 7 here, in the coming months.
Anyone know what the forecast is, CPU wise, for both Intel or AMD? As far as, who will have faster CPU's and cheaper CPU's say in the next 4-10 months?

 

[ianmills]

Why not just buy a pci IDE card or something like that? They couldn't be very expensive

 

[o1die]

You probably have a spare pc; I would rma the board to gigabyte; I was checking out my gigabyte board the other day, and it comes with a 3 year warranty in the usa and canada. If you rma it, insist on a brand new board. You may or may not get it, but it's worth a try. Gigabyte is hit or miss for quality, but asus has had isolated problems also. If you want to do a full upgrade, I would wait awhile for usb 3.0 unless you get a good price for your old components on craigslist or ebay.

 

[Z80]

I had a new WD PCI IDE card that I tested but never really used. I'd send it to you if I hadn't thrown it out last week in a clean-out-the-old-computer-parts fit I had last week. Sorry