Hello all, I don't know if this is the right place to ask this question but i have a problem with my towers motherboard.It currently has a GIGABYTE K8NS NFORCE3 754 GA-K8NS and im sure it gave up on life. Im looking to upgrade but i dont want to buy another board from this line if there are better ones out. So I am basically just asking for some advice on what board to upgrade to. Thanks a lot.
Socket 754 boards are pretty hard to find these days. You could get one of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186056 but the reviews aren't exactly wonderful - Foxconn boards never were that great. The only solution I can think of is to find an uber-cheap board on ebay or make it time for an upgrade.
Oh well I guess its time my cpu gets updated. My graphics card is agp so i guess if i want to keep that i need to buy a board thats not pci express?
Well, yes, but AGP's getting on a bit now. Ideally if you're going to upgrade, save up for a new graphics card. You don't need to spend much to get a decent one nowadays, thankfully. One of the fastest cards on the market, the HD3850 can be had for around the $150 mark, and respectable cards like the HD2600XT and so on can be had for sub $100.
The one I have now was 200 so a $100 vid card is a steal. Im willing to put around 350 to this upgrade so i guess its time to do some shopping. oh, one more question. I figured ram is compatible with a lot of motherboards so it should not be something to be worried about right?
Well, it is, if I'm honest. Your 754 board will use DDR1. You will need DDR2 for your new build, so the RAM's out too. Fortunately RAM is dirt cheap at the moment. Example component list: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116052 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102700 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003 I've included that last one because it's quite likely this lot will need a new PSU. That set is $430 before $80 of rebates. If that's a bit much, you can get this motherboard to save $50 or so. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128077 It's not quite so well up on features, but it's solidly built, and inexpensive.
My power supply is 400w, will the extra 50 make that big a difference? well i hope putting the motherboard together is as easy as connecting all the other hardware.
If your very limited on funds you could check out an ASrock board on newegg. I have built a couple of systems with these boards and they are a nice in between board. You can use either the ddr 184 pin memory or the ddr2 240 pin memory. They have an agp slot. So you can use some of your old parts and save some money. You will still need a new processor. Be sure to check your ram compatibilty with these boards. If your currently running kingston, corsaie or crucical you should be ok BUT still chekc it! Oh BTW this is the board I have used a couple of times for people I know.... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115
MauMauk: Your PSU may say it's 400W, but unless it's a proper name brand like Antec, it'll be lying through it's teeth. The Corsair may only say it's 450W, but it will actually produce up to 450W, which is a surprisingly large amount of power for a PC, especially for one with a single graphics card. Blackjax: Asrock do make a lot of helpful 'in-between' boards for a low cost, but I was never really amazed by the quality of them.
MauMauk, Sam is correct about the psu. If it's not a big name chances are it isn't prducing what it claims. Too many times I have scratched my head trying to figure out wierd problems. First thing I do now is check the psu on wierd troubles. Sam That's why I called it an 'in between'. I suggest this for those with limited funds as some of the others are down right horrible.
Thank you all for your help. Took a a few days to get funds in order but I have decided to go with sammorris suggestions with the mothbrd, ram, cpu an vid card. I'll get back to you guys on how the new build works out. Thanks again for the help.
