Out of order

[Doordie]

Well my motherboard went, but it served me well and preformed almost as well as expected.

I am writhing this using a 500 MHz AMD PC with 128 memory. I seek guidance in finding a new MB and processor to replace the KT3 ultra Via KT333 MB and an AMD 1800 processor that are dead. I would like to upgrade to over 2 gigs on the possessor and still have an AGP slot for the ATI 9550 256MB card if I can I just got the card cheep a few months ago. I know AGP is out dated, but it may help with the cost if I can find one that will fit in my case. I'm in school so I'm just trying to get the best bang for my $. I play the first NWN online and will be unable to until I can figure this out. I would love to be able to replace these parts and be able to play NWN2, but I'm not sure if I can without replacing my ATX case or video card as well.

Anyone out there have any recommendations? The old MB is a slot A I think.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Your old board is a Socket A, but it doesn't matter anyway if you are replacing both the mb and cpu. What is your budget?

What does "I would like to upgrade to over 2 gigs on the possessor" mean? 2gb L2 cache, or do you want 2gb of ram in the machine?

 

[Doordie]

I've never understood L2 cash but I'm talking about the CPU. Sorry I was not more clear.

Oh I can spend 200-250 tops. I missed your first sentence. I must have over scrolled. I hate this PC. grrrr.

 

[daveybrat]

How much ram do you have now? Do you need to upgrade it as well?

Also what kind of power supply do you have now and how old is it?

 

[Doordie]

I got a gig of 2100 DDR and I think the the power supply is 350 watts. Oh O also have 512 MB of PC3200 ram that would not work in my other board.

 

[Slikkster]

Ok, this is what I came up for you. It's just a tad over your budged ($269.50 delivered), but gives you quite a wallop for your bucks. Some of the items are optional, such as the power supply and the additional RAM, but I think you should definitely consider getting them both.

Also, note that with the motherboard I picked, you WILL need the IDE-SATA adapter. Why? Because this motherboard has ONE IDE port (master/slave) and two SATA ports.

I would put your optical drives (CD and DVD) on the IDE port. I would use the IDE-to-SATA converter for your hard drive. Note that if you have more than one hard drive, you will need an addtional IDE-SATA converter. You could, of course, do it the opposite way and put ONE CDRW or DVD on the IDE-to-SATA converter and put the hard drive(s) on the IDE port.

Do not, however, put an optical drive as a slave to a hard drive on the IDE port. Keep them separate.

Also, with the SATA-IDE converter, many people have found that they need to set their drives for "cable select" to work. Read the reviews, but don't be put off by one negative.

I tried to get you the best board and best CPU that also has AGP. There isn't many to choose from. This one takes the AMD 64 X2 processors, so best bang for your buck.

You will have to disable the onboard video. Also has onboard sound that you would have to disable if you have your own preferred sound card.

Take a look at the "wishlist" that details the setup here:

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion......=4058194&WishListTitle=Upgrade+AGP"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wi...mber=4058194&WishListTitle=Upgrade+AGP"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=4058194&WishListTitle=Upgrade+AGP">https://secure.newegg.com/NewV............&WishListTitle=Upgrade+AGP</a></a></a>

Edit: be aware that this motherboard has both a 24 pin motherboard power connector AND a 4 pin CPU power connector. If your current power supply doesn't have these, you WILL need to upgrade the power supply.

Also, note that I am not considering your PC2100 ram at all for this. ONLY PC3200 (your 512mb stick) and the optional additional 512 stick I put in.

8:55 Eastern: Updated Wishlist as I had the wrong SATA-IDE converter and added one SATA cable.

 

[Doordie]

Wow! That sounds like some setup Slikkster. I found a PC show in my area. Maybe I can get a good price on your listed items.

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[Slikkster]

Let me clarify something. These items were all chosen and are available at Newegg.com. That's where I came up with the list. That's where you should get all of the items.

You merely have to select them all and do the "Add to Cart" on the wishlist page. Newegg is great because of their RMA policies, and pricing. I don't think you're going to have luck finding these items at a pc show. Only a company that can deal with serious manufacturer stock will have these.

The motherboard, power supply, and ram were specifically chosen because of their abilities and reviews from other users at newegg.com.