Hi everyone. I would appreciate some guidance on a home PC project.
Here's the situation: the Dimension 8300 that we've had for the past 3-4 years has begun to act a bit flaky. For one, I know one of the IDE controllers on the motherboard has stopped working. For another, even at idle, the fan noise is a bit too much. Lastly, if left running a few days, the graphics goes completely wacky.
In short, the system appears to be overheating at times, and I think the mobo is on its last lap, so to speak. The IDE controller going kaput is one sign to me about the motherboard's failing health. I've to assume that the CPU and the memory modules are still good, though I haven't run any tests.
What I'd like to do is transplant the CPU (a P4 3.0GHz Northbridge) and existing 1.5GB of memory (2 sticks of 256MB, 2 sticks of 512MB, all of them PC3200 DDR), onto a new motherboard and case. The HDD, optical drives will be moved over as well. And I don't need any new software. Your recommendations are most welcome.
Above all else, I'd like the end product to be a QUIET system. If its got good looks, even better. The stock Dell case was acceptable, so I'm hardly a judge of case aesthetics!
Are there still motherboards in retail that can accommodate my components? What's a good model? Where?
The budget is $300 or so. Any money left over after case (including PSU) and mobo can be applied towards a nice wireless keyboard/mouse combo, or speaker set, etc.
Thanks for your help and have a great day!
Here's the situation: the Dimension 8300 that we've had for the past 3-4 years has begun to act a bit flaky. For one, I know one of the IDE controllers on the motherboard has stopped working. For another, even at idle, the fan noise is a bit too much. Lastly, if left running a few days, the graphics goes completely wacky.
In short, the system appears to be overheating at times, and I think the mobo is on its last lap, so to speak. The IDE controller going kaput is one sign to me about the motherboard's failing health. I've to assume that the CPU and the memory modules are still good, though I haven't run any tests.
What I'd like to do is transplant the CPU (a P4 3.0GHz Northbridge) and existing 1.5GB of memory (2 sticks of 256MB, 2 sticks of 512MB, all of them PC3200 DDR), onto a new motherboard and case. The HDD, optical drives will be moved over as well. And I don't need any new software. Your recommendations are most welcome.
Above all else, I'd like the end product to be a QUIET system. If its got good looks, even better. The stock Dell case was acceptable, so I'm hardly a judge of case aesthetics!
Are there still motherboards in retail that can accommodate my components? What's a good model? Where?
The budget is $300 or so. Any money left over after case (including PSU) and mobo can be applied towards a nice wireless keyboard/mouse combo, or speaker set, etc.
Thanks for your help and have a great day!
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