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I'm Clueless... help me out

W

WoodShedd

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 19, 2002
Messages
100
The time has come to start a few upgrades to my computer.

I'm going to start with the motherboard and heatsink.

The problem is, I don't know one mobo from the next, and choosing the one that is best for me is completely over my head.

one thing I can do, however, is tell you all about my computer, what I use it for, and what sort of features I'd like on my motherboard and hope that someone sends me in the right direction.

Right now I have:
p4 1.6A
512MB Corsair ram @ 266MHZ
1x 60GB 7200 Maxtor HDD
1x 80GB 7200 Maxtor HDD
1x 160GB 7200 WD HDD
1x 52x24x52 CDRW drive
SB Audigy Platinum
M-Audio Delta 66
Nvidia Riva TNT2 32MB video Card.

I would like a new motherboard that would support all of that, and at the same time support current intel HT chips and DDR 400 Ram (i need to upgrade as funds permit) I really dont need it to have onboard sound or video, but if that's too hard to find no big deal.

and as far as heatsinks go, just something that fits socket 478 and is nice and quiet. my computer sounds like a hoover right now, and runs hot to boot.

could anyone recommend some good brandnames or specific models to look into?

If I've left out any important details please let me know.

Thanks for any and all help. I hope this request isn't overly irritating.
 
You left out what you are going to use it for.

What is your budget?
 
Hi,

You left out what board you're currently using too.

Your TNT vid card won't go on any "current" P4 Board. You'll need to update that so that your new vid card has a voltage of 1.5v or 0.8v as required. I might be wrong but others here will correct me in that case, but your old TNT has a voltage of 3.3. or there abouts. Do not put that in any new board.

The ole P4 1.6a.....only on an 845D board. You're upgrade path is limited with that processor really. Though there are many things you can do with it still. But if you need to stay somewhat current, perhaps think about saving for a proccessor with HT first. Then move on to a mobo that supports that. And use your current system till then. But the good news is there will be many price cuts in August for P4's with HT and the 865 or 875 mobo, that are compatible with them, due to the latest round of Technolgy updates being released.

But your other stuff will all work fine.


Say, what board ARE you using with a P41.6a AND a TNT. Very curious.

Good luck :)
 
Most boards will have onboard audio and LAN, kind of a given.

My guess is that you have a PCI TNT2 which won't have an impact on your ability to use a different board. Without knowing how your case airflow is, it is hard to determine if a new mobo and HSF combo will help quiet things. The stock P4 heatsinks are not extremely quiet, nor are they hurricane inducing devices.

For the CPU fan a Zalman CNPS 7000 AL-CU will keep the processor cool while being quiet.
 
Thanks for the comments so far.

I use my computer mainly for surfing the internet, listening to music, recording music, and some graphics.

My current motherboard is an MSI MS-6547. the TNT2 card is AGP, but I've already got a replacement for it.

will my 1.6a not work with socket 478 mobos that support 400/533/800 FSB speeds?

thanks again for the help

edit:

as far as cooling goes, I think my heatsink is not working as well as it once did; my cpu temperature sits at around 45 degrees idle and ~52 under load. when new it was about 10 degrees cooler than that.
 
I hate to double post, and I really hope it's not a bannable offence.


anyways, has anyone else some useful input to offer?

If not I'll let this thread die.

Thanks for the help that you all were able to give me so far. :)
 
WoodShedd said:
as far as cooling goes, I think my heatsink is not working as well as it once did; my cpu temperature sits at around 45 degrees idle and ~52 under load. when new it was about 10 degrees cooler than that.
Click to expand...
hm....did you try to get the dust from between the cooling fins on the heatsink? it might be blocking airflow, since you said that it was working better when you first got it, go get some compressed air and blow the dust off the cooling fins and the fan.
 
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