Motherboard Recommendations Please

[JimGNR]

I mainly use a fairly old Dell Latitude Laptop which suits me fine. However, I am setting up a home office and I have been given an Eltora?? Desktop PC. I thought it was fairly high spec:

2 x 80GB HDD
FDD
16 x DVD-RW
2 x 512MB DDR DIMM
4 x USB 2.0
Intel Celeron 2.4GHz
Windows XP Pro

It has been working fine, then a few weeks ago the 2nd HDD would not read and slowed the whole system down, so I disconnected it and it all worked OK again. Then one morning I switched it on and nothing, the PSU fan would work, you could see the LED's on the motherboard but the HDD would not start.

Disconnect the IDE ribbon and the HDD would start??

I am guessing the IDE controller on the motherboard is faulty, looking at new motherboards they are fairly cheap at around £20-£30. The current Motherboard is a Gigabyte 8184GVM-RZ with a Socket 478. (Hey that sounds like I know what I am talking about! But I don't really!:confused:)

A quick google suggests this is a common problem with these motherboards. So is it a simple case of replacing the motherboard? If so what make model to accept my processor and memory chips?

Will Windows XP Pro be happy about a motherboard swap or will it throw a wobbly?

Would I be better off getting a complete new Basic system and using my DVD writer and one of the HDD's as a second drive?

[Matt_300tdi90]

If you want to just replace the motherboard, it would be best to go for a direct replacement if possible, that way you know that all your hardware is compatible. If you can't get a direct replacement, you will need to get a motherboard that is a socket 478 (how the processor connects to the motherboard) and has DDR RAM connections, there may be some other vital connectoins that have to be the same but i'm not entirely sure what they are.

Either way, replacement won't be an easy job, you will need to do a full backup of your system and you will need a bootable xp install cd as you need to do a repair install.

More info here (http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm)

[redhand]

If you want to just replace the motherboard, it would be best to go for a direct replacement if possible, that way you know that all your hardware is compatible. If you can't get a direct replacement, you will need to get a motherboard that is a socket 478 (how the processor connects to the motherboard) and has DDR RAM connections, there may be some other vital connectoins that have to be the same but i'm not entirely sure what they are.

Either way, replacement won't be an easy job, you will need to do a full backup of your system and you will need a bootable xp install cd as you need to do a repair install.

More info here (http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm)

Once you've done a backup the rest is easy. if you've read the the whole of the article you'll find this at the end
March 28, 2006 - A note from Daniel on improving/modifying the above procedure.
I was taking a look on your procedure to "Replace Motherboard on a Windows XP System" and I think I could improve it...
While the old motherboard was still usable, I used the following procedure
- I changed the IDE+AGP controller driver to the Windows default driver (Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller and PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge respectivelly)
- Uninstalled the VGA Card drivers (http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm#)
- Changed the motherboard
- Reassembled the pc again with all the cards and cables that were previously attached
- At this phase, I could boot Windows without any blue screen and also without making a installation repair!
- Next step: install the new chipset drivers and VGA drivers
One more note: I had success with this procedure with Windows XP Pro, Windows XP Home, Windows 2000 Professional and also a Windows 2000 Server (http://www.theeldergeek.com/replace_motherboard.htm#) Domain Controller (changed a P3 board with damaged capacitors to a new P4 board) all of them with full success! This Windows 2000 Server is running for more than 7 months without any problem!
I hope you find my real world "experiences" of any use.
Many thanks!
Daniel

This works I've done it myself and is much easier than messing about reinstalling windows.

[olo]

saved me typing redhand, thanks :D

loads of people resort to formatting.

dont bother, just reload drivers with the correct ones, dont just install, as has been said uninstall first, windows has a nice habbit of using the "i got a driver for that, will make u believe i'm using yours but i'll still use mine" attitude

[JimGNR]

Thanks for replies but you seem to be missing the fact that the PC is not usable so I cannot make a backup or change drivers because it wont boot!

There is nothing on the HDD that I need so I guess a format and fresh install will be required.

I have still not found a replacement motherboard yet, can anybody recommend a place to buy one, cheap?

[redhand]

Any small independent computer shop will sell you a cheap motherboard. There not expensive.

[Jim Franklin]

Buy a compatible motherboard, Skt478/DDR boards are ten a penny. You need to ensure that the board has onboard graphics if the board you have is using that. If it has a seperate card for the Graphics you need to know if it is PCI,PCI-Express or AGP. Having looked up the spec on the board yur either using an AGP card or the onboard VGA controller.

Onboard graphics are OK if your doing office type stuff, but if you intend to do anything photographic or even games on the machine, I would suggest you look at buying a seperate VGA card. Cheap cards can be had for about £40 that will last you years, you don't need to fall into the upgrade every five minute trap.

Personally I would suggest an Asus or Abit mainboard. Over the years I have tended to use these over and above other manufacturers. Some of their boards have been flaky, but generally they get it right at a decen price, and they are well known and supported on forums.

One thing you might want to consider is upgrading the CPU, but this purely depends on what you intend the machine for. If, as I said above, it's only office type stuff and online use, then the CPU you have is sufficient for you needs and some, but if you intend to do photoprocessing or other such intensive tasks then I would suggest you up the CPU spec.

Socket 478 CPU's are reasonably cheap now..so cheap the several I have spare at home I have not even bothered putting on Ebay as it's not worth the effort.

You will not get a dual core CPU in Skt 478, but you could get a P4HT or even a P4D (Which is the original Dual Core CPU). I have several machines running these at home and they are actually faster than many of the newer CPU's due to higher clock multipliers. My secondary machine is powered by a P4D 3.4GHz on an Asus board with 2GB of DDR600 RAM installed. It is about three time as fast as the work machine I am sat at which is a new 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo CPU powered pile of bile.

If there is nothing on your HDD's that is important then a complete format would be the best solution. Also, decide which is the faster drive, and use that as your boot drive. Put the secondary drive on the same IDE controller as the CD or DVD. The Main Drive will only operate as fast as the slowest device on that particular controller, so putting the slower drive as the master on the second IDE controller is a good idea.

[ncooper]

Here http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(23542)Asrock-motherboard-P4VM900SATA2-PCIE-Socket.aspx

you will find a motherboard which should accomodate all your hardware.

Nick

[Jim Franklin]

Here http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(23542)Asrock-motherboard-P4VM900SATA2-PCIE-Socket.aspx

you will find a motherboard which should accomodate all your hardware.

Nick

The problem with ASRock is that they are pants. They are actually flakier than a bad case of dermatitis!!

Not only that, they are truly slow. Two of my machines were identical in every way except one had a Asus P5VM mainboard and the other a ASRock I had got quickly one day from somewhere for some odd reason. The Asus based unit took 12 seconds to get to the login screen, the ASRock took a full 27 seconds longer.

I also ran other tests, namely the software I was running was a benchmark in itself, although that was not it's purpose, and there was around a 35% difference in process speed.

Over the last 8 years I have built about 420 machines and at one time had 54 networked together in my spare room as a Beowulf network to number crunch radio data. I have tested just about every motherboard brand on the market and I know what works and what doesn't...and ASRock doesn't.

The most reliable mainboards are made by Supermicro and Intel, but they are not overly flexible and none allow you to overclock the CPU in the slightest. Asus and Abit make the most reliable and flexible overclockable mainboards, followed by Gigabyte, MSi and then come the lesser brands...all of which have varying levels of success and failure depending on the mainboard model.

[olo]

just for the record... ASRock is the budget range of ASUS .... its to be expected not to get the performance of an ASUS board from an ASRock

[ncooper]

You may well both be correct,however it's the only socket 478 board on the microdirect site and with all due respect,JimGNR's components are no longer state of the art.
I'm sure it would be adequate for home office work and will save buying a whole new PC,as long as the components are all in working order.
It's only £31.08,after all,even PC World can't do a computer for that.

Nick.

Perhaps you could find another one for him.

[olo]

am not sayin its a bad choice ncooper.... i just explained why Jim was seeing an inferior performance to the ASUS boards.

[bananahead]

You might have it sorted but just for the record, if you replace the motherboard and put it all back together again do not automatically assume your copy of windows will explode. I have (many times) taken a HDD from one machine and put it in a different one (obviously not 32 to 64) and it has ALWAYS booted windows. Sure you might need to install drivers for various things (on board sound, network adapter etc) but i doubt you will NEED to reinstall your operating system.

[Satancom]

to test if the motherboards hosed.. Unplug everything (including led's and switches) Leave only the power supply connected and switch the power on, if the main board is ok it should beep at you telling you the ram/processor is missing. then its a case of plugging in everything one by one to see whats causing it to trip over.

Had one a few weeks ago which apeared to be a dead MB.. turned out the guy had forced something into the USB socket on the front and shorted it.. preventing it from powering up.. wierd

* electrickery is dangerous so don't go poking around while its switched on :)

[JimGNR]

Thanks for the input, I have relegated the PC to the back corner of the shed to await a rainy day when I have nothing better to do. I have 3 or 4 in there now so the plan is to build 1 super PC from the the old rubbish. (OK I may get a simple, basic usable PC)

[redhand]

Thanks for the input, I have relegated the PC to the back corner of the shed to await a rainy day when I have nothing better to do. I have 3 or 4 in there now so the plan is to build 1 super PC from the the old rubbish. (OK I may get a simple, basic usable PC)

Visit your local tip I got a pentium 3 with 80gb HD 512mb ram and two dvd rewriters fitted to it as well as a soundblaster soundcard, Couldn't believe it when I plugged a monitor & keyboard in it and found all his personal and financial details, letters to bank, solicitor, and several of his customers He was an accountant. I have formatted the HD now and installed Win Xp on it. as he was running windows ME.

If you get a naff one take it back and see what else is there. :D

[JimGNR]

I bought an ASRock motherboard off tinternet and a 19" LG flat screen from Tesco Direct and using a few other components I had in boxes, I have a decent working desktop PC, I had to reinstall XP but I had the disc so that was no problem.

In all it cost me less than £100 including the new screen and motherboard.