[RESOLVED] Upgrading motherboard

[hmil]

I'm fairly knowledgeable about computers, but have never replaced a motherboard. Currently, I have a Biostar Slot 1 motherboard running PIII600. I have an ATI All in Wonder Pro 128 video card, Soundblaster Live Platinum 5.1 sound card, Creative PC-DVD Dxr2 5X drive, with 196 megs of RAM. I was considering buying a motherboard with a 1 gig AMD processor. I can recall reading somewhere that one of the pieces of hardware that I have conflicts with AMD. Does this ring a bell with anyone.

I would appreciate any recommendations for motherboards and processors--1 gig and above.

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Henry

[Nighthand]

You have to watch out for the type of memory you are using (Athlons can be picky) and the power supply has to be kind of beefy (like 300 watt or more). Good name memory (like Micron or something) PC133 should not give you problems. The rest of your parts should be fine. Do you know what kind of mobo you are going to get? There are lots of opinions on this site about it (sort of like what kind of cars do you like, or the coke/pepsi thing). Just make sure you get a good brand name. Try to stay away from the cheapy boards like PC Chips.

[mahdi]

I've got an Asus A7V w/ AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1Ghz on the way, lets see how that handles my Frankenstein equipment and I'll let you know what happens (might even clear up my Floppy Drive Fail (40) error )

[NTTECH1]

What OS are you running?
Go to http:///www.microsoft.com check the hardware requirments for the OS that you plan to run. I recommend Win 2000 Professional,hardware compatability test for Win 2000 & Win Me is on the Microsoft site if you are really serious check the system builder site from Microsoft also A cool case can be found at http://www.colorcase.com checkout the thunderbird case.
Frank E Duffey A+ COMPTIA, Network +, MCP
Computer Shop Owner, Tech, Network Tech, Administator,Ect.Ect....

[hmil]

I'm running Windows 98SE. I am serious about this and will check out the Microsoft site. Thanks for helping.
Henry

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Henry

[StevePorter]

W2K is the way to go, but go into it well informed. Make sure you have W2K drivers for all the hardware you plan to use in your system. Lack of the correct driver can ruin your whole day...

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You want the right answer?!? You must be asleep, 'cuz you're dreamin'...

[BarnesConsult]

Be sure to do it on a quiet day when you have a lot of free time. Don't try to rush your first Motherboard install. It's going to take awhile, and you don't want to be rushed into doing something dumb like hooking something up wrong. Be sure to unplug the power supply from the outlet too. The first ATX system I worked on, I didn't realize that the power supply is never really off. I caused myself some headaches there. Be sure to use the motherboard spacers, and that the board is well supported. You don't want to crack your new board when you go to push a memory chip, or a PCI board into the socket. One last thing, be sure to remove all of the metal spacers that are not aligned with a hole in the motherboard. I left one in once and the system would not do anything, even post. I found the spacer, removed it, and it worked great (amazing, huh!)

[Nighthand]

I agree with everyone else here. Take your time, don't rush, make sure you check and double check everything. Also make sure your CPU fan is working before you actually install the chip. One of the posts on this board somewhere had a timing for running a t-bird. I think it burned up in 7 seconds without a fan. Good luck and let us know how it worked out for you.