new motherboard for my PC

[hdsalinas]

I think its time to do a big overhaul on one of my PCs.

I have a PC with a 400mhz AMD / 256 RAM / 40GB HDD / DVD / CDRW / 64MB ATI radeon PCI Video card, 19" monitor / wireless mouse / Hauppagge TV turner card / Keyspan IR remote control / MS ForceFeedback joystick / nice speakers setup, etc.

As you can tell I only need to upgrade my processor since I have a decent setup. I have decide just to upgrade my motherboard and processor. I have never done this kind of PC surgery before but I feel confident that I can do it.

I found this motherboard at $218 with a P4 2.4Ghz. What do you guys think about it?

http://www.accubyte.com/applications/search/itemdetails.asp?sku=MBC-922-24

Is it worth it? I looks like a good deal to me. Can someone give me some pointers on what to look for in a motherboard and why this may be or not be a good purchase.

I use my PC for graphic design work, internet, DVD, games (Flight sim and AOE & AOM) and to sync my Ipaq of course

thanks in advance!

Hector David Salinas
Honduras.

[frzamilan]

In my humble opinion I think you should do a little more research before you buy that particular board. The reason I say this is that although you are getting a good deal in terms of money, the product you are getting may not be the best. Building your own computer is really easy. I know this may sound strange, but I built one about a month ago with no experience and mine turned out perfect. I bought the ASUS a7n8x deluxe board with and AMD Athlon XP 2100. I ripped all the old parts out of my old gateway and used them for the rest of my setup. As long as you follow a good onilne guide, like one of following, you should have no problems

http://www.maximumpc.com/reprints/reprint_2002-03-13.htm
http://www.tomshardware.com/

Some things I would consider before making a purchase...Do I really need Intel? AMD is much cheaper, and perfroms just as well in most situations. Pay attention to bus speeds on the parts you are buying. It does you no good to buy a processor with a 400mhz FSB if your motherboard can't handle it (as in the example you mentioned above).
A major limiting factor in buying new parts is the interface they will make with your existing parts. Remember, your computer can only be as fast as the slowest part. Which is kind of a catch 22 because you end up wanting to upgrade the entire system. I ended up buying two new hard drives, a video card, and CDRW just so I could take advantage of the new transfer rates.
Last but not least, research anything before you buy. There are millions of forums out there just like this one with tremendous amounts of knowledge. Go over there and see what they say about the particular part you want to buy. Or just google it with the title "xyzxyz" review, and you will get tons of reviews on that part. When you do decide on a part, make sure you reserch the place you are buying it from as well. Go to...

www.pricegrabber.com
www.resellerratings.com

and make sure the company you are buying from isn't a bunch of hacks. I used www.newegg.com and www.googlegear. My transactions went smoothly, and I recieved the product I wanted, when I wanted it. Many of those online retailers will sell you OEM products when you buy retail...so watch out.

And finally, the one thing that most people overlook, if you buy a seperate processor and motherboard, make sure you take your time when applying the heat sink and fan to the processor. Use this guide http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm to help you out. Hope this helps.

[rocuf]

You might want to look at the new Nforce2 boards with the on board audio. and buy 2 sticks 256mb of highspeed pc3200 ddr ram

[hdsalinas]

I decided not to purchase from accubyte and other cheap places. I checked with newegg.com and this is what i found so far.


ECS P4S5A/DX+ SiS645DX Chipset ATX Motherboard - RETAIL
Specifications:
CPU Supported: Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4 Processors
Chipset: SiS 645DX & SiS 962L
FSB: 533MHz
RAM: 2x 184-pin DDR DIMM sockets or 2x 168-pin DIMM socket support (cannot be used simultaneously)
Slots: 5x PCI, 1x AGP, 1x AMR
Ports: 1x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard, 2x USB, Audio, 2x Serial, 1x Parallel
Onboard Lan and Audio(AC'97)

for $59

and to go with that I chose a:

Intel Pentium 4 2.4BGHz 512K 533MHz CPU Northwood P478 Processor Retail Box
Specifications:
CPU: Pentium 4 P4 2.4BGHz Northwood
Type: Northwood
Cache: 512K
BUS: 533MHz
Socket: P4 478
Retail Box (with Heatsink and fan)

for $165

I am thinking about gettings this, but I am going to do some research on some forums so I can make a better purchase.

thanks for you help :lol:

Hdsalinas