new motherboard?

Posted on

Member Since: Jan 18, 2003

i want more memory. i think i have one gig, but sometimes applications run slow. 1 gig (or whatever i now have) is the max for my machine. i dont want to shell out cash for a new machine. so how much woiuld it be to get a new motherboard capable of handling more memory? how would i go about this, and is this a good idea or are there risks associated with it? (i know, dumb question that last one, but i want to know everything.)

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Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 18, 2006 12:24 pm

First off, are you going to use your old processer? If so then you will need to try and find a MoBo that will take that processer. And no it isnt a major task other then switching out the processer from one board to the other. Then you will have to switch out your PCI cards or any other stuff plugged in to the old PC MoBo. AS for the ram, you will need to make sure the board can use your old ram if you want to re-use that. As well you need to make sure you have enough available memory slots. Say if you have 2 512 meg sticks and want to re-use them, you will need probably at least 3 slots to hold those and an added 512 stik. Be aware though that some boards do no allow mixing differant memory styles and some will only allow using 2 of the 3 slots available. Look for a MoBO with 4 slots for memory, which might be tough to do if it is an older processer.

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Nov 18, 2006 04:09 pm

i would consider getting a new processor, depending on price. how much might i be looking at if i get a new MoBo and a new processor?

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 18, 2006 05:50 pm

forty, give me a bit and I'll have a look.

I think you can fall into like and AMD XP3200 or better for dirt cheap these days. And the MoBo for that would be pretty reasonable I am sure.


Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 18, 2006 06:55 pm

forty, I had a bit of a search. The source I normally use is out of the AMD Athlon XP series at the moment. If you look for that one the only ones left these days appear to be the Palamino and Thourobred core. They are actually going for as much as a 64 in some cases. They were very stable and overclockers love them, thus the price jump I think.

The Semprons are of course a good deal cheaper, liek the socket a and the socket 939 units. But they are not rated as fast as your P 4. The highest rated is around 2.2 Ghz. Although they under rate their processers with the understanding that they are popular with overclockers. Prices range for the Sempron from about $65.00 to $120.00. And the MoBo for that unit will run around $50.00. You might be best served trying to find a local outfit that can supply you with a MoBo that will run your P4 and be capable of running more Ram.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 18, 2006 07:06 pm

Fond ya a MoBo that will handle up to 4 gig of ram for your P4. www.smarterdeals.com/Good...CFShDSAodY1QuTA

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Nov 18, 2006 08:39 pm

lol., wow thanks noize. i clicked the link and its funny to me because it's ALL in code that i can't understand. numbers and letters that make no sense to me. but that's a good deal. i could throw my processor in there and quadruple my ram? sounds great to me! and thats a decent price. i could handle this switch maybe for christmas. i will keep asking around. any advice when it comes to finding a 'local outfit?' only places i've ever been when doing computer stuff is best buy.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Nov 18, 2006 09:01 pm

OK, I'll break it out a little bit for ya. Its an ATX style MoBo which is probably what you have with the P4. It is set up for socket 478 which is what your P4 is. The front side buss speed is 533 or 800Mhz, it can hold 4 gig of DDR 400 or DDR 333 type ram. It has 1 8X AGP video card slot, 5 PCI card slots. It will do WiFi, it has onboard audio, USB 2.0, Firewire and Gigabit Lan built in. Oh ya, and it has SATA drive built into it and is SATA RAID ready. In other words it is a good deal for that board.

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Nov 18, 2006 11:49 pm

yeah looks good. thank you.

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