nForce 3 mobo, can't run OS past WinXP?

[Muse]

I was on the phone with a support person today who was trying to convince me to upgrade my OS. But my info was that my desktop's mobo wouldn't support even Vista, so how could I install Win 8.1???

My mobo is a Gigabyte GA-K8n Pro and Gigabyte's support page for it says it's nForce 3. My notes say you need nForce 4 to install Vista.

I know, I'm due for an upgrade (new mobo, processor, RAM, OS). The case and PSU are OK, I need some PCI slots, though. My HDTV card is PCI. My CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (socket 754, FSB1600, E6, Venice, 90nm, L2-512KB, 2GHz).

 

[Compman55]

It will run 7 if you install x86 version. I was not able to get x64 version installed on my abit motherboard. nForce4 did work however.

On old systems like that it is best to turn off windows aero, and strip the install down as much as possible. There are free utilities that can help you do this.

 

[Compman55]

BTW, you are bit overdue for an upgrade. There are silly cheap upgrades avail if you search hard. Use your local CL and you may find an awsome computer with a bad component.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I was on the phone with a support person today who was trying to convince me to upgrade my OS. But my info was that my desktop's mobo wouldn't support even Vista, so how could I install Win 8.1???

My mobo is a Gigabyte GA-K8n Pro and Gigabyte's support page for it says it's nForce 3. My notes say you need nForce 4 to install Vista.

I know, I'm due for an upgrade (new mobo, processor, RAM, OS). The case and PSU are OK, I need some PCI slots, though. My HDTV card is PCI. My CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (socket 754, FSB1600, E6, Venice, 90nm, L2-512KB, 2GHz).

This is a known limitation with the nForce3 chipset:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nforce3#Windows_Vista_Incompatibility

There are a couple of workarounds for the x86/x64 version of Vista, but it not something I'd rely on. I think 7 is out of the question. Where it gets really sticky is that your CPU cannot run either 8 or 8.1 because of an instruction set limitation. There is nothing you can do about that.

To summarize, unless you upgrade your hardware, you're stuck with XP. That is not something I can recommend, unless the PC in question is not connected to the internet.

 

[Muse]

To summarize, unless you upgrade your hardware, you're stuck with XP. That is not something I can recommend, unless the PC in question is not connected to the internet.

I'm absolutely going to upgrade. I right now have 3 PCI cards in the mid-tower:

HDTV card
PCI USRobotics modem
Sound card (which I'd like to keep using, 'cause it has a breakout box)

Also, the HDTV card has a daughterboard. That doesn't use a slot but there needs to be room next to the HDTV card to accommodate the daughterboard.

AMD, Intel, doesn't matter as long as things run fine and cost is reasonable. I am not going to game on it, it doesn't need to be a powerhouse. I may want to do HTPC stuff, transcoding, don't know, but I just bought a Synology DS214play NAS, which has transcoding built in.

 

[robvp]

I was running windows 7 on an MSI K8N Neo2 platinum, i can't recall if it was a 64 o 32 bit version though, it was years ago, had an athlon 64 3000+

 

[redzo]

You could try your luck with this user modified ones:
grab the ones for nforce 3!
http://www.win-raid.com/t15f37-NVIDIA-Optimized-nForce-Driverpacks-for-Vista-Win.html

Unfortunately, there is no support for nforce 3 for greater than windows vista no matter of the manufacturer of the mobo.

 

[Dahak]

Maybe slightly OT but

I was on the phone with a support person today who was trying to convince me to upgrade my OS

Think most people missed this, but was it one of those random, i'm from ms support phone calls? if so its a possible scam, like those windows tech support calls.

Unless you called someone else first or its someone you know.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I'm absolutely going to upgrade. I right now have 3 PCI cards in the mid-tower:

HDTV card
PCI USRobotics modem
Sound card (which I'd like to keep using, 'cause it has a breakout box)

Also, the HDTV card has a daughterboard. That doesn't use a slot but there needs to be room next to the HDTV card to accommodate the daughterboard.

AMD, Intel, doesn't matter as long as things run fine and cost is reasonable. I am not going to game on it, it doesn't need to be a powerhouse. I may want to do HTPC stuff, transcoding, don't know, but I just bought a Synology DS214play NAS, which has transcoding built in.

Finding something modern with 3x PCI might be difficult, but since you're using an ATX case its certainly not impossible. There are several options available in fact.

 

[Cerb]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ame=LGA%201150

Not hard to come by, even today (with only needing 3 of them, anyway). As long as a newer OS has drivers, you should be alright.

Out of curisoity, what sound card is it?

RIP Hercules Game Theater XP, obsoleted by needing custom drivers, and even Linux support being spotty.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Not hard to come by, even today (with only needing 3 of them, anyway). As long as a newer OS has drivers, you should be alright.

If someone for some reason need to go full-on retro, then there is a Gigabyte board for that too. 5x PCI...

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4596#ov

Only problem will be lack of drivers.

 

[Compman55]

I'm absolutely going to upgrade. I right now have 3 PCI cards in the mid-tower:

HDTV card
PCI USRobotics modem
Sound card (which I'd like to keep using, 'cause it has a breakout box)

Also, the HDTV card has a daughterboard. That doesn't use a slot but there needs to be room next to the HDTV card to accommodate the daughterboard.

AMD, Intel, doesn't matter as long as things run fine and cost is reasonable. I am not going to game on it, it doesn't need to be a powerhouse. I may want to do HTPC stuff, transcoding, don't know, but I just bought a Synology DS214play NAS, which has transcoding built in.

So the HDTV card probably won;t have support in new OS's, so that can be trashed and replaced with modern. The PCI modem can also be trashed and replaed with a PCI express, that leaves your sound card which if there is driver support, move that one over.

 

[Muse]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ame=LGA%201150

Not hard to come by, even today (with only needing 3 of them, anyway). As long as a newer OS has drivers, you should be alright.

Out of curisoity, what sound card is it?

RIP Hercules Game Theater XP, obsoleted by needing custom drivers, and even Linux support being spotty.

Yup, Hercules Game Theater XP. Has a lot of connectivity. I'm not running Linux. Mostly it works OK, have occasional audio problems (e.g. lip synch issue with the HDTV sometimes) but don't know that they have to do with the sound card. Probably the most pressing reason to upgrade is the shitty SATA controller on this machine. It so sucks!

 

[Muse]

Maybe slightly OT but

Think most people missed this, but was it one of those random, i'm from ms support phone calls? if so its a possible scam, like those windows tech support calls.

Unless you called someone else first or its someone you know.

It was dodgy. I contacted Microsoft Saturday, got in the queue for a support call, was eventually given a phone number for Windows Phone support, but they are M-F, so I called them yesterday and it turned out to be Nokia Windows Phone support. When that technician failed to help me I asked for a number for Microsoft support (probably should not have asked), and was given an 877 number which turned out to be iYogi. They did work through the problem but they tried to get me into their programs, which I resisted, and that was that. I removed the iYogi Support Dock today. It was all on this machine, which is the mid-tower I want to upgrade with new HW/SW.

 

[Muse]

So the HDTV card probably won;t have support in new OS's, so that can be trashed and replaced with modern. The PCI modem can also be trashed and replaed with a PCI express, that leaves your sound card which if there is driver support, move that one over.

Well, the HDTV card will work in Win7, there's a big support thread at AVS Forums for the card. It doesn't have the best sensitivity but where I live that isn't an issue. Also it supports QAM, so I could get cable for it, however I'm using rooftop antennas effectively. The software is pretty good, and should run well, however has problems sometimes on my system. A system upgrade is apt to resolve those problems. Yes, I could get something else, including a USB HDTV solution, but then I'd have a new set of issues to deal with. I have plenty on my plate right now.

The PCI modem, yes I could replace it but the cheaper solution would be to have a slot for it in my next mobo. If I have a slot, I could drop in a PCI firewire card I have, actually. I have a potential use for that, but it's not something I need regularly.

I do have a second mid-tower system and believe it or not it's running Windows 2000! The mid-tower I use as my HDTV, etc. system is mounted on top of the other mid-tower (they are bolted together, bottom to top), which has PCI slots (and another MyHD HDTV card, the earlier model 120), so I can actually make two time shifting recordings at once, if I like, but have to have both systems running. I could leave the firewire card in the 2nd unit for my potential use, which is real-time ripping of some camcorder tapes.

 

[Muse]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ame=LGA%201150

Not hard to come by, even today (with only needing 3 of them, anyway). As long as a newer OS has drivers, you should be alright.

Out of curisoity, what sound card is it?

RIP Hercules Game Theater XP, obsoleted by needing custom drivers, and even Linux support being spotty.

If I'm not mistaking these all require Intel CPU's? So 3+ PCI's aren't available with AMD?

 

[Cerb]

If I'm not mistaking these all require Intel CPU's? So 3+ PCI's aren't available with AMD?

Newegg has Intel and AMD segregated, so the same filters would need to be done separately on the AMD boards category.

 

[me4get]

I ran win7, 8 and 8.1 (sempron 3100+, ALL x32)on the same board to test and they worked fine.

 

[Muse]

I ran win7, 8 and 8.1 (sempron 3100+, ALL x32)on the same board to test and they worked fine.

Thanks, I will check that out. I got a recommendation for Sempron a couple of years ago in the support thread for my HDTV card. I actually looked today for that at Newegg, I may have set up the search wrong, but I didn't see over 2 PCI slots available with their Sempron boards.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Thanks, I will check that out. I got a recommendation for Sempron a couple of years ago in the support thread for my HDTV card. I actually looked today for that at Newegg, I may have set up the search wrong, but I didn't see over 2 PCI slots available with their Sempron boards.

Huh? A Sempron? Somebody actually recommended a Sempron for HTPC duty?

To put it short, Semprons do not cut it for anything these days, even the BGA Baytrail Atoms outperform them. Further, unless you're talking about the AM1/Kabini variety, they use an obsolete platform (AM3). If you want an AMD-based system, you should be looking at an FM2+ APU. Preferably a Kaveri-based one since they have a newer UniversalVideoDecoder.

FM2+ boards with 3x PCI do exist:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/A88XPLUS/
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A88X Extreme4+/
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A78 Pro4+/

Just a few examples. Don't bother with an AM3(+)-based platform today, its obsolete 2009-era technology for the chipset.

The reason nobody here recommends AMD beyond special cases is that were AMD shines is in iGPU performance which is only useful in a few select cases. Whereas Intel's iGPUs are perfectly fine for non-gaming systems.

 

[Muse]

Huh? A Sempron? Somebody actually recommended a Sempron for HTPC duty?

To put it short, Semprons do not cut it for anything these days, even the BGA Baytrail Atoms outperform them. Further, unless you're talking about the AM1/Kabini variety, they use an obsolete platform (AM3). If you want an AMD-based system, you should be looking at an FM2+ APU. Preferably a Kaveri-based one since they have a newer UniversalVideoDecoder.

FM2+ boards with 3x PCI do exist:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/A88XPLUS/
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A88X Extreme4+/
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A78 Pro4+/

Just a few examples. Don't bother with an AM3(+)-based platform today, its obsolete 2009-era technology for the chipset.

The reason nobody here recommends AMD beyond special cases is that were AMD shines is in iGPU performance which is only useful in a few select cases. Whereas Intel's iGPUs are perfectly fine for non-gaming systems.

OK, thank you!!! So, if I get your meaning, I'm better off going Intel on this. Just choose from the list that comes up in this search, posted by Cerb in post #10? (the link pasted at the bottom of this post) My first thought is to go Asus. I've read a lot of stuff and people seem to have better luck with Asus in general, but I suppose it depends on the mobo and there's a certain luck factor. I've had MSI and Gigabyte and others, had some not so great experiences, dead mobo killing my components, that kind of thing. I've never had an Asus mobo system... I'll read reviews at Newegg. Suggestions appreciated!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%20600008723%20600008724%20600438202&IsNodeId=1&name=LGA%201150

 

[Redstorm]

Latest Linux will work fine, thats what i run on my old nForce 3 board.

 

[vailr]

For HDTV, the increased bandwidth of a PCIe HDTV tuner card would provide an improvement over any PCI TV tuner card.
The Hauppauge WinTV 1800/1850 card would be a good choice for that:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hvr1800.html

 

[Muse]

For HDTV, the increased bandwidth of a PCIe HDTV tuner card would provide an improvement over any PCI TV tuner card.
The Hauppauge WinTV 1800/1850 card would be a good choice for that:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hvr1800.html

Newegg's page says " You can watch the programming live or record it to disk as an MPEG-2 program stream."

This was the case with the MyHD cards that I have, but a software update came out that introduced timeshifting. That lets me record in such a way that I can start watching from anywhere in the in-progress recording, FF/REW/Pause/Reset the point-being-viewed. I love that feature and don't want to give it up if I can avoid doing so. It doesn't work perfectly, at least for me, but I can work around the difficulties (I get lip synch issues at times. I can get synch again by hitting pause/play in sequence a few times... that's an annoyance, not a show stopper. I also sometimes have to go through hoops to get to the point I want in the recording, but I can get there if I persist). Others with the boards don't experience these difficulties, so I have to think it has to do with probably my hardware... another reason to upgrade with new mobo, etc.

But I figure there must be HDTV cards out there that also feature time shifting but are still supported. AFAIK my cards aren't supported anymore. Anyway, they work, and I think if I have the right hardware, and maybe strip the machine down, streamline it and relegate it to basically being my HDTV/HTPC box the MyHD 130 card will still work for me. I know that the great majority of the card's owners have moved onto other HDTV solutions, however.

 

[Cerb]

For HDTV, the increased bandwidth of a PCIe HDTV tuner card would provide an improvement over any PCI TV tuner card.
The Hauppauge WinTV 1800/1850 card would be a good choice for that:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_hvr1800.html

Most HDTV cards are PCIe, but with an integrated analog MPEG encoder being typical now, and given that basically all broadcasts are already MPEG2, USB 2.0 has proven to be quite capable, so PCI wouldn't be a problem, save for availability.