Need to replace motherboard, unsure what to do next.

[SarahEMC2]

Hello and thanks in advance for the help...

My motherboard committed suicide yesterday - mere days after I had ignored a more tech-savvy friend's advice not to update my RAM and Video Card because I was updating outdated tech. But, you know, Vanguard:Saga of Heroes came out and I NEEDED more RAM and a new video card. Really, I did!

I would like to replace my old board (Abit IS7-E) with something that will allow me to keep the rest of the system, because I was pretty happy with it until it's untimely demise. This means I need an AGP slot and I would like to be able to keep my old DDR3200 333 dimms. Is this just throwing bad money after good? I have limited dollars to spend and really can't afford to buy all new everything.

I'm hoping that you can offer me some help on:
- whether or not it's even reasonable to buy a new board to replace the old one
- if so, which one to buy.

Thank you!

Sarah

 

[Steve]

Are you planning to keep the same CPU or upgrade that too?

 

[SarahEMC2]

I am open to replacing the CPU as well, but not necessarily planning on it.

 

[Steve]

Where are you located? You might do well to pick up a CPU+board combo if there's a Fry's around you.

EDIT: That is, if said combo provides AGP support.

 

[SarahEMC2]

Sadly, we don't have a Fry's. I wish we did! The best I am going to do around here (the boonies of WV) is to order something from NewEgg and hire one of the local computer repair shops to install it. (I am okay with doing most computer repairs myself, but I'm scared of motherboards.) Any advice on what to buy? And is it reasonable to uprgade to something that will let me keep the rest of my components?

THANKS!
Sarah

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I'm a little confused have you already upgraded the video card and ram?

Or a better question is what CPU, ram and video card to you currently have?
Do you know what the wattage of your power supply is?
Is it a prebuilt like Dell or Gateway? or is it a custom build?

Sorry for all the questions but its really necessary to give good advice

 

[SarahEMC2]

Thanks for asking the questions to help me make a better decision!

I have already upgraded the video card to a XFX Nvidia 7600 GT XXX Video Card with 512 megs of RAM, and I upgraded my RAM to two gigs of a faster speed. (I did have one gig of DDR2700, now I have two of DDR3200). I am unsure of the power supply, and writing from work so unable to check, but I know that it was adequate for the graphics card update. (I checked the specs before I bought it, but I can't recall what it was at the moment.) It was not a prebuilt system, but one that the IT guy at the last place I worked built for me. Unfortunately, he's long gone and I did a career hop, and now work in a place where there is no IT guy to slip a few bucks to so he will come over and help me figure this out.

I did have a chance to talk about this with a gaming friend who has helped me make some system decisions before, so kind of knows the box. He suggested http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116196. Any feedback would be helpful - I kind of feel like I am flying blind here.

Thanks!

 

[GuitarDaddy]

If your budget if tight I would recommend

Motherboard $47.99
CPU Pentium D 805 dual core $71.00 better and cheaper than the CPU you listed IMO
Total $118.99
*edit* just noticed the cpu I listed is an OEM cpu, which means it doesn't come with a heat sink fan. If your current HSF is reuseable this will work, otherwize you will need to pick one up at the local shop or buy the retail version from newegg which is $95. If you go for the retail version you should go ahead and get the D 820 which is clocked higher but the same price at $95

If you want something better
Motherboard $54.99
CPU E4300 core2 duo $169.00
Total $223.99

If you can afford the extra, I highly recommend the second setup. It will run cooler, use less electricity, and it will seriously stomp the first one performance wize.

 

[o1die]

I would recommend a new power supply first, unless you've already tried a different one. When you upgraded to the 7600gt, you placed more load on the ps. It's possibly the source of your problem. Newegg still has some budget socket 478 boards for around $50. I recommend a sparkle or Fortron 400w power supply for around $40 at newegg. I wouldn't risk another board on your old ps.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I agree with o1die, if your PS is not a known quality brand rated atleast 380w I wouldn't trust it with new components. Cheap low quality PS's are the cause of many system failures.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
If your budget if tight I would recommend

Motherboard $47.99
CPU Pentium D 805 dual core $71.00 better and cheaper than the CPU you listed IMO
Total $118.99
*edit* just noticed the cpu I listed is an OEM cpu, which means it doesn't come with a heat sink fan. If your current HSF is reuseable this will work, otherwize you will need to pick one up at the local shop or buy the retail version from newegg which is $95. If you go for the retail version you should go ahead and get the D 820 which is clocked higher but the same price at $95

If you want something better
Motherboard $54.99
CPU E4300 core2 duo $169.00
Total $223.99

If you can afford the extra, I highly recommend the second setup. It will run cooler, use less electricity, and it will seriously stomp the first one performance wize.

Excellent recommendations. I was going to recommend the first mobo listed as well, with the interesting caveat that I recently picked one up from a B&M, and it's a rev 2.0, which supports the Conroe CPUs. Supposedly, NewEgg is now shipping rev 2.0 units as well, as per the most recently review comments. The second mobo recommened has gigabit LAN, but there are a number of disturbing NewEgg reviews commenting that the LAN failed on their boards.

If you plan to overclock, I would recommend the Pentium D 915 dual-core chip over the D 805 or D 820, it's 65nm and OCs better. That is, if you're not planning on getting a Conroe right away, which while more expensive, is also much faster.

Another possibility for a mobo is the ASRock 4CoreDual-Vista. It would give you upgrade options to a PCI-E video card, DDR2 RAM, and a quad-core CPU in the future.

 

[Spanki]

Ouch - sorry to hear about your melt-down! That makes for a tough call for upgrade options. I was in a similar situation a few weeks back, with old/out-dated gear that finally let out the blue smoke .

The problem is, technology had passed me by, so I was sitting there with a functional AGP card (the rest of the world has moved on to PCI-E), a gig of crappy DDR memory (DDR2 in use now... DDR3 around the corner), a crappy 300W psu (came with the case, not sufficient for modern rigs) and an old P4 processor (Core 2 Duo is the latest craze). I ended up replacing pretty much everything except for my CD/DVD burner and a couple IDE HDs.

I debated quite a while before taking the plunge to PCI-E/DDR2/C2D/etc., but in my particular situation, it just made sense. It sounds like you'd be better off sticking with AGP/DDR for now (considering you just recently purchased new hw!). So I'll concede to the advise above on AGP mb selection, but I'd definately agree with the above advise on upgrading your psu... here's the minimum you should consider FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN 400W. They make decent psu's and this one at least has a PCI-E power connector and a couple SATA connecters (Serial ATA drives are replacing Parallel ATA/IDE drives that you likely currently have) in case you decide to upgrade your mb again in a year or so.

Good luck!