Mobo Problems

[klarrix]

My CPU overheated and blew out not so long ago, and upon trying to rebuild it with a new 2500 Mobile Barton, it wouldn't start- it it doesn't beep normally as if something was wrong either: the fans spin up but nothing else

When we tried taking the RAM out it beeped though, which could suggest the BIOS is okay, but we aren't sure :/

So far we've (me and mike) tested the Graphics card and Ram in another Pc and they worked, then Ram in all of the sockets in MY motherboard- didnt work
New PSU- Didnt work
another CPU- Didnt work

is it BIOS or entire motherboard?

[klarrix]

anyone?

[skuzgib]

Maybe you fried the mobo at the same time as the cpu?

[mike_w]

Maybe you fried the mobo at the same time as the cpu?

Unfortunately, I'm inclined to agree, in which case you'll need a complete new motherboard - of course, you could take this as a prime opoortunity to upgrade to an Athlon 64 system.

If a new motherboard doesn't solve the problem, my head will explode.

[klarrix]

How far would an Athlon 64 set me back?

[mike_w]

How far would an Athlon 64 set me back?

Well...

First you need the choice of Socket 939 or Socket 754. Socket 754 is cheaper and not really that much slower, but it doesn't use dual channel RAM. It is also going to become AMD's budget socket.

Socket 939 is more expensive, but can use dual channel RAM and is faster. They also have Winchesters, which are Socket 939s based on a new 90nm manufacturing process. It's supposed to make the CPUs produce less heat and drain less power, which means... more overclocking headroom! There are quite a few people around who have overclocked 3000+ and 3200+ CPUs to 3800+ speeds, which is many times the cost.

I think a 3000+ would cost around £100, and would provide a decent performance boost even at stock. Another bonus is that you don't have to run the RAM in sync with the CPU, since you don't get so much of a performance hit if you don't run the two in sync as you did with Athlon XPs.

Boards are quite expensive as well, at £100 a pop. nForce4s should be widely available in the near future - these have all the usual benefits of a good motherboard (stability, overclocking, etc.), but also have PCI-Express instead of AGP. This could future proof your system since PCI Express is destined to replace AGP. Of course, that means a new graphics card, which would make that upgrade extremely expensive!

If you do get an Athlon 64, and equivalent RAM and graphics (possibly in the future), the system should last you a decent amount of time, especially if you don't mind turning the graphics down. I personally wouldn't worry about PCI Express on a new motherboard so that it's future proofed since when you do your next upgrade, you often change the motherboard anyway.

I'll stop rambling... for now!

Hope that helped

Mike

[Agent]

Nice post Mike

[klarrix]

Boards are quite expensive as well, at £100 a pop. nForce4s should be widely available in the near future - these have all the usual benefits of a good motherboard (stability, overclocking, etc.), but also have PCI-Express instead of AGP. This could future proof your system since PCI Express is destined to replace AGP. Of course, that means a new graphics card, which would make that upgrade extremely expensive!

So will i need a new gfx card with the mobo or can that wait till march, when i'll be a bit less stretched in the funds department?

[mike_w]

So will i need a new gfx card with the mobo or can that wait till march, when i'll be a bit less stretched in the funds department?

nForce4s use a different slot for the graphics card (PCI Express instead of AGP). As such, you can't use your AGP graphics card, so you need a PCI Express graphics card. As I said, I wouldn't worry too much about getting a PCI Express motherboard for future proofing since you normally end up replacing the motherboard anyway.

[klarrix]

Ok, lets just help me get my tech-starved head around this one: The motherboard is more or less definitely fried, I should replace it with a Socket 939 Mobo, (remember mike that i have only just bought a new cpu so don't wanna get another one, even if it is a 3000+ on a decent deal) and i DON'T want a PCI board as that will cost me too much due to having to buy another graphics card... ?

Yes?
no?

[skuzgib]

If you want to keep your cpu, you will need a socket A board, so Athlon64 is out of the question, and so is PCI-E.

[mike_w]

If you want to keep your cpu, you will need a socket A board, so Athlon64 is out of the question, and so is PCI-E.

He speaks the truth!

I should replace it with a Socket 939 Mobo, (remember mike that i have only just bought a new cpu so don't wanna get another one, even if it is a 3000+ on a decent deal)

If you get a Socket 939 motherboard you need a Socket 939 CPU. If you want to keep your Socket A Mobile Barton, you need a Socket A motherboard. As usual, my recommendation is the NF7-S

I was suggesting Socket 939 since the prices have been lower recently, and should hopefully come down even more after Christmas. You could also probably sell the new CPU for a fair bit, but it would be expensive (£200+, not including selling other stuff). If you don't want to spend that much, then you just get another NF7-S and overclock the Mobile Barton to some rediculous speed. Slap in a 68xx in the future, and it'll still be pretty good.

[klarrix]

NF-7s it is, then. I'll order it tomorrow.

I'll upgrade to the whole Athlon64 thing sometime next year when i start to REALLY need it

[Phalanx]

NF-7s it is, then. I'll order it tomorrow.

I'll upgrade to the whole Athlon64 thing sometime next year when i start to REALLY need it

that sounds like a good plan, it'll be a bit of a bummer for all the people with 64 bit processor now if the first useful 64bit software doesn't come out for another 2 years, the only useful one now is probably Photoshop 64bit and I can't imagine that being much more useful than the standard photoshop

[mike_w]

NF-7s it is, then. I'll order it tomorrow.

I'll upgrade to the whole Athlon64 thing sometime next year when i start to REALLY need it

That's my plan - isn't the life of a poor student hard?