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Need A Specfic Mobo/CPU Recommendation Please

P

Playmaker

Golden Member
My family has an old computer and it's having problems with the motherboard or CPU. I'm not sure which it is, but they're both pretty old. It's an AMD 761 chipset mobo and an Athlon 1.2ghz. I need recommendations for the cheapest possible replacement that will be STABLE and not break down for them. The RAM I have to carry over will be Crucial 2x256MB PC2100 CL2.5, so I'll need a set up that will run at 133mhz FSB. I can't order online as I leave for college in a few days and need to have the parts tomorrow, so I will buy at a local computer shop. Can anyone give me a mobo/chipset recommendation and a CPU (retail version with a retail HSF that will cool adequately) to go along with it that will fit my needs for the cheapest price? Thanks.
 
Slow but easy: retail celeron 2.0 and any cheap i845 motherboard. This assumes your current power supply has a P4 connector.

Better value: read a few the threads with "budget" in the title and jot down the recommended AMD motherboards. Use search to find a bunch of them fast.

 
Well, its too bad they don't have a Frys near you. Many times they have a special on the ECS K7S5Apro with an XP2400 for $89. And for $10-15 more you can get an HSF that will work fine, so for $100 you are cooking.
 
No, no Fry's around here unfortunately. Only major B&Ms in town are Bets Buy and Office Max. I'll have to go to a local computer shop and pay there inflated prices. Probably PCHertz.

It looks like AMD is obviously my best bet. Will the retail HSF on a 266mhz FSB Athlon XP in the 1800+ to 2400+ range be adequate cooling? I'll probably just grab whatever they have for the cheapest.

I bought a refurbed ECS K7S5A from Newegg and it worked for a week and went out on me. I then tried to use an old Epox 8K7A I had lying around and thought it worked, but I got non-RAM related errors in Memtest and for some reason my CPU temps were in the 50s when before the same processor never went above 48 at load. I reapplied thermal paste but still had the problem, so the board or the processor must be messed up. I don't have to time to find out which, so I might as well just upgrade both the mobo and CPU.

To accompany a 266mhz FSB 1800+ to 2400+ is an ECS K7S5A Pro my best bet for stability and cheapness? If they don't have one what is the next cheapest and stable chipset I should look for? Thanks...
 
Why do you think it's the motherboard or CPU gone bad?

That's not a bad computer if you could get it stable...
Maybe a clean install would help.
 
Originally posted by: Macro2
Why do you think it's the motherboard or CPU gone bad?

That's not a bad computer if you could get it stable...
Maybe a clean install would help.
Click to expand...

Actually, after re-reading, I would have to agree, it may not be the fastest, but that was a very stable combo. Try a scratch re-formatted instal of Win2k. XP pro would do in a pinch.
 
First off, BIOS temps with the Epox went from low 40s to mid-50s. The low 40s were when it had AS2. I applied Nanotherm PCM+ which in other computers has been noticeably better, and got the mid-50s BIOS temps. I then reapplied with Zalman generic thermal grease, same problem. It's the EXACT same set up that worked fine a few weeks ago before I got the refurbed ECS K7S5A, only difference is the board has been lying around since then in the open. Maybe a family member did something to it, I'm not sure. I always re-install WinXP when I change a major part like the mobo, so I booted from WinXP CD and it locked up during the initial load for the installation. I then tried Memtest and it received some error that I'm 99% sure wasn't RAM related and locked up in Memtest, couldn't hit ESC to get out. I then tried to boot into WinXP with the install that was there from the ECS mobo and received a BSOD before I got to the WinXP loading screen.

It seems pretty messed up, but maybe I'll give it another try.
 
You didn't mention anything else for specs. Whats the possibility the PSU is having problems ?
 
Power supply is an Enermax 431W Whisper that is a little over 2 years old. I'm running only one 7200rpm IDE HDD, a DVD-ROM, a CDRW plus the basic stuff. What would be the best way to test the PSU if I have no other PSU to swap it out with?

Also, haven't tried it again yet. I will tomorrow and post my results.
 
Just paid $185 for an ECS K7S5A Pro and a Retail XP2400+. $70 for the mobo and $105 for the CPU plus tax. I realize I wasted $85, but if this works and I don't have to worry about it I don't care. If this doesn't work it's 99% probability it's the PSU correct?
 
Originally posted by: Playmaker
First off, BIOS temps with the Epox went from low 40s to mid-50s. The low 40s were when it had AS2. I applied Nanotherm PCM+ which in other computers has been noticeably better, and got the mid-50s BIOS temps. I then reapplied with Zalman generic thermal grease, same problem. It's the EXACT same set up that worked fine a few weeks ago before I got the refurbed ECS K7S5A, only difference is the board has been lying around since then in the open. Maybe a family member did something to it, I'm not sure. I always re-install WinXP when I change a major part like the mobo, so I booted from WinXP CD and it locked up during the initial load for the installation. I then tried Memtest and it received some error that I'm 99% sure wasn't RAM related and locked up in Memtest, couldn't hit ESC to get out. I then tried to boot into WinXP with the install that was there from the ECS mobo and received a BSOD before I got to the WinXP loading screen.

It seems pretty messed up, but maybe I'll give it another try.
Click to expand...
Bad, very bad. Any newer mobo can be killed by sitting around, being exposed to the dangers of life (smoke, cats, dust bunnies, you after walking on carpet, etc.)
 
Yeah I know, I always put them back in their anti-static bags and into their original boxes, but I didn't expect to ever use this one again. When the refurbed K7S5A went out I tried it as a last resort.

The new setup I just bought is working fine. I got into windows np and no BSOD like before. Reinstalling WinXP right now. Retail HSF on the 2400+ is keeping the proc in the low 40s idle so it looks good. I may have overpaid, but I'm glad to have this headache done with heh, and now I have a 1.2ghz T-Bird for a keychain because I doubt anyone wants to buy a proc that old...Thanks all for your suggestions...



EDIT: Wanna know how this all happened? Funny story...It's all because of a 2 year old IBM 40GB 7200rpm DEATHSTAR. I had an 80GB WD 8MB cache HDD as my primary master and the IBM as my primary slave. One day I heard clicking and Windows slowed down. The Windows slow downs and lock ups continued for a few days and I thought it had to be the WD HDD since the IBM drive hadn't even been accessed in a few months, it just sat there storing data. So, I RMAed the WD HDD planning on using it in the new comp I was building and leaving the IBM in the old one for my brother. I then had trouble with just the IBM HDD in the computer and thought there was no way both went out at the same time, so it must be the Epox 8K7A mobo, and I ordered an ECS KS75A refurb. When I got that it had problems too, so I asked the forum again and someone suggested the IBM HDD. WOW, I guess I'm a newbie because it never occurred to me the problem was the SLAVE hard drive in the first place. I didn't realize the slave could affect the master. I got the new WD RMA and put that in the old computer and got a WD Raptor for my new computer and RMAed the IBM hard drive. It worked fine for a week then I had problems with the ECS refurb. I just bought the new mobo and CPU and it's working fine.

So, one bad IBM DEATHSTAR caused me to RMA a perfectly good WD HDD (the one I got back is a refurb, I better not have problems), buy a refurbed ECS mobo that eventually broke with no refund because it's a refurb, carelessly break my Epox 8K7A, and then buy a new ECS K7S5A Pro. I also ended up buying a WD Raptor and an AMD 2400+ because of the circumstances, but at least they are upgrades. Needless to say, even though it was just one drive, I don't think I'll trust IBM again for a long time...
 
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