Comp Borked, need options for replacement

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Bennyb

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 31, 2002
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My computer of 2 years just fried its motherboard we believe. It may have been the proc or another core component. The computer is the 2.4c listed in my sig.

I haven't really looked into computer hardware for about a year and a half and am really at a loss as to where I should begin. Could anyone please list some good mobo/proc/ram combos that would give me a good computer that would last 4 years with some upgrades over time?
 
well...how about a budget..and maybe something so we can decide which platform to base it off of...there's a lot of options..
 
gwai lo said:
well...how about a budget..and maybe something so we can decide which platform to base it off of...there's a lot of options..
Click to expand...

Budget doesn't matter, just within reason. I don't need TOP of the line equipment, maybe best bang for the buck. I really don't know...

I'd prefer intel, and the mobo needs to have:
Onboard lan/sound
AGP 8x
2x Ide Channels
2x sata channels
and all the good stuff.
 
hmm...now that I took a closer look at the system in your sig..I'd just buy replacements and use everything else (that's assuming just your mobo and proc went). You can upgrade your video card as well..but that's something that you should make a decision on. Your rig isn't THAT far behind..

so...yeah keep the RAM, replace what's broken, save up for bigger upgrade.
 
gwai lo said:
hmm...now that I took a closer look at the system in your sig..I'd just buy replacements and use everything else (that's assuming just your mobo and proc went). You can upgrade your video card as well..but that's something that you should make a decision on. Your rig isn't THAT far behind..

so...yeah keep the RAM, replace what's broken, save up for bigger upgrade.
Click to expand...

Well see, thats the thing... If my proc is gone what would be a good replacement? I'm considering just getting the IC7-g max II or whatever its called... just a beefed up version of what i have. (the 7000-cu fits on that right?)

The only reason I am considering doing a bigger upgrade is because I am going to college next year... Though maybe i'll save the money for a nicer laptop.
 
I'm assuming you game, why else would you have a 9800pro, right? Your not being very clear here, what I can make out is you want a good board so that you can use all your current parts, right? Sorry, your NOT going to get 4 years of upgrades with that simple of an upgrade. To get 4 years, you'll need to get DDR2 (if you go intel), a PCIe gfx port, and a 775 processor. If you purely want a motherboard replacement, then I can suggest these two boards:

ASUS
Genuine Intel
 
sac_tagg said:
I'm assuming you game, why else would you have a 9800pro, right? Your not being very clear here, what I can make out is you want a good board so that you can use all your current parts, right? Sorry, your NOT going to get 4 years of upgrades with that simple of an upgrade. To get 4 years, you'll need to get DDR2 (if you go intel), a PCIe gfx port, and a 775 processor. If you purely want a motherboard replacement, then I can suggest these two boards:

ASUS
Genuine Intel
Click to expand...

Sorry i'm not being so clear. I'm not really sure WHAT i'm going to be doing yet because all I know is that the motherboard is gone, I have no idea what condition my processor and ram is in, which is why I am asking for very general suggestions. Please, any information is welcome here.
 
Alright, that helps. I'll just give it to you straight, you have two options if you want to upgrade to the next-gen stuff:

1) Keep Intel, spen several hundred dollars on next-generation RAM
2) Go AMD, and get next-gen a processor while keeping your current RAM

I highly suggest option 2. Get a DFI nf4 Ultra-D motherboard, a 90nm 3000+ AMD64, and a new (PCIe) video card. I suggest this for an ATI video card, and this for an nVidia card. Both will perform relatively well, with the 6800GT beating the X800XL by maybe a 15%-20% margin (I'm generalizing here, don't crucify me if I'm wrong).
 
Ok, thanks. Now, lets say hypothetically its just the motherboard... processor is fine. For 140 bucks I could just get a new motherboard and be on my way, no real hassle. How many years down the road will my system start to fall behind? I know it's not really the easiest thing to predict but any guesses are welcome. I know when I bought my system I though I did pretty well, got the whole thing for around 1.2k with, not TOP of the line equiptment, but I was overclocking at the time (before I RMAED my ram because 1 stick was bad) and did farly well with the current games.

It seems that upgrading either way is going to bring to total to atleast half of what i spend on my computer, probably more. To be quite honest I am happy with my 9800pro and see no reason to replace it at this current point in time.
 
that depends on what you decide to use it for...if it's for games or other things that are system-intensive..then a year or two..

if you're just going to use it for internet or something, then it will last until something breaks

if you're going to do a complete system overhaul..then I'd wait a bit for dual core processors and R520 (look how long 9700Pro core lasted, for some reason i can't remember the name of the core)
 
If it's just the mobo, I'd say get the Max II like you've said and you'd be fine. In a year or so, the system may be falling behind, but you could always upgrade the video card. By then the current top end cards should be reasonable and should last ya another year or so. What did you have your CPU OC'd to? If it was around 3Ghz or so you should be okay pushing a newer video card, but if you're at less then that, you may need to up your processor eventually as well... ;)
 
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