OT: PC upgrade (motherboard/Processor)

[NearlyGod]

I am more of a server guy than a desktop guy so I am not sure how feasible this would be:

I have an older Dell (P3 800 MHz) that I would like to upgrade. It has a 200 GB hard drive, and a new DVD burner so I would just like to replace the motherboard and processor in order to get the machine faster. I would like to keep my RAM, and all of the other components (IDE soundcard, ethernet, etc). Will most motherboards work or will I need to look for something special? I would like to get a P4 or a good AMD.

After I have the motherboard and processor, will I just be able to take my current PC apart, fit the motherboard inside the case (are they going to be the same size?) and plug everything back in? I assume that I will need to reinstall the OS and apps?

I have been looking at newegg.com. Is there a better option?

[drlava]

being a dell, it might have nonstandard motheboard screw positions and connector locations. Also, it probably has an underpowered power supply for moderm processors. Keeping your old ram (what type is it? please don't say rdram) limits you to a computer only marginally faster upgrade. take a look at the ARS 'budget box' recommendations. I'd take their advice on the MB, proc, and ram, and you can skimp on anything else, like keep your current video card.

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200601.ars/2

[Joe_M]

If it's a P3 800, it would be using 168pin SDRAM which would not be what any newer system would be using today. Modern Intel motherboards use DDR or DDR2 and current AMD systems use DDR. Your current video card is probably AGP (or onboard) so be sure to get a compatible motherboard if you intend to keep your card.

It may just be cheaper to wait until dell has a good sale and just buy a new PC.

[icecow]

I want to point out a hazard you should know about.

On the PC case there is a power button, a reset button, a power LED, and a harddrive 'activity' LED. Each of these things have two wires that lead to the motherboard. They all connect to what looks like a strip of jumper pins.

One of the first (and easily overlooked) things you should know about is that it is very important to connect these up correctly. Don't randomly guess. You can fry out the motherboard connecting a powered pin to an unrelated pin.

Your motherboard manual will always show how the pins are supposed to go.

Consider studing them on your old motherboard before disconnecting them and make nooby notations.


As far size, you can tell by opening your case and measuring the existing motherboard and compare it to the specs in the pdf of your new motherboard. Make sure they are both the same type, for example 'ATX', so you know the screw hole patterns match. Some ATX boards are smaller than others, but usually a case will accomodate either.


AMD is better right now by most peoples' opinions. All the Trusted Computing crap is in AMD chips as well as Intel's so if want to hoard all of the benifits of Vista in December you still be safe buying an AMD chip, because AMD is part of the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance... oh wait, they changed the group name to Trusted Computing Group. But that was two years ago so it might be going by another name now. They change the acryonyms/names of the chips, technologies, and consortiums every few years to make news articles and buzz obsolete.

[l8er]

ACME Motherboard Finder (http://www.acme.com/build_a_pc/boardfinder/)

[Revwillie]

I've done the partial-upgrade path thing for almost ten years and learned a lot over the years. I would not recommend upgrading a dell for the reasons talked about earlier. Don't underestimate the importance of having a good enclosure with room to work inside and a stable power supply. You'd be surprised how many surprises and gotchas are due to those two things. I did my last upgrade this summer and my plan was to re-use all my drives, my case, my PS...well, the newer socket 939 MB's need a special power connector, so I had to get a new PS. After months of frustration, I determined that a random lockup was due to a bad HD.

Anyway. There's a lot of money you can save doing things that way, but you have to be your own tech support and if you aren't single and childless, it's hard to find the time to troublshoot those problems yourself. It is however, very rewarding to start from a pile of bits and pieces and finish with a working computer.

I'd recommend getting a nice big Antec case with removable panels on all sides and sliding drive rails. Find a 500 or 600 watt PS with a multi-year full replacement warranty. Save big bucks by getting a latest-generation MB but putting the least powerful CPU in it that will work. As CPU prices drop, you can swap the CPU out later. When you have the fastest CPU that your MB can handle, your next upgrade will be a MB+CPU combo with the least powerful CPU again. Keep in mind where your bottlenecks really are. You can re-use an ATA hard drive to save money, but a fast SATA drive will make a big difference. Memory types can be very confusing, but if you're hard drive is slow, you won't percieve much of a difference between 'slow' memory and 'fast' memory. Unless you play a lot of 3D intensive games, you don't need a $300 video card.