newbie question, sorry

[groovepapa]

I have a pretty old Gateway (old for me = 2 years)

It's got decent amount of RAM, 512, and a new 60G 7200 hard-drive.

I'm wondering what is the easiest way to upgrade the motherboard/cpu? I've got a P-3 933Mhz right now. I'd like to see about upgrading it by possibly replacing the motherboard and getting an athlon xp 2000-2400 (around $100) or so. I'm worried about all my other hardware, though...how big of a pain is it to replace a motherboard/cpu and nothing else?

Will I be able to keep all my RAM, vid card (agp slot of course) and everything else?

also, how is my OS going to handle it? will I need to just back-up and re-install?

Thanks for any help...

-L

 

[NEVERwinter]

you can do it... buy the mobo+cpu (and RAM too), you can still use other peripherals
make sure that it fits on your case

it's better to reinstall the OS completely...

how big of a pain is it to replace a motherboard/cpu <<< the pain of opening your case, get rid of everything, put the new mobo & everything back again, reinstall OS & applications (or repair install will do) and you're done

 

[JammingJay]

Using your existing parts for a new MB&CPU usually is no problem. In fact, it'll probably take you longer to reinstall the OS/programs than actually install all the parts to your rig. As for your memory question can you use your old memory on your new board. That depends. If you're using SDRam PC133 for example, and you buy a new board that supports DDR only, then no you can't take the RAM with you. There are boards that supports DDR and/or PC133 on the same board for older Athlons (T-Bred. Usually Athlon XP1300-2000+) , but I'd suggest you also upgrade the memory to match the fsb on the new cpu.

You'd always want to keep a backup of your critical files, but I agree with NEVERwinter to reinstall the OS if possible to get off to a clean start. Best of luck to you

 

[groovepapa]

another newbie question to follow-up...

Isn't there a software utility I can get that'll let me know what my current motherboard/RAM is? it's been a while since I bought them and I've forgotten exactly which ones they are. If possible, I'd like to buy a mobo/cpu combo for $100 that I can use my old ram with.

I thought the util was called SiSoft Sandra? will I be able to tell what "kind" of mobo/ram I have now, so I can make sure to buy a mobo that fits in my case and is compatible with my RAM?

Also, where's a good website to get info about different motherboard models. Like, when I find out what speed my ram is, and I'm looking at a certain motherboard at pricewatch.com, where can I go to see what kind of RAM that motherboard model can use.

Thanks...
-L

 

[Cerb]

PIII 933...should be PC133. But check Sandra anyway. If it is, you can get some SiS735 boards (K7S5A, K7S5A Pro--people like the Biostar ones, too) that take SDR and DDR, or one or two KT266(A?) boards that will, as well, but you lose some (5% or so) performance doing so (and some performance by using the older chipsets).