wondering if you could help

[fradleyp]

As you all seem to know what your talking about, I was wondering if you could help me

i haven't really read up on computers for a while an alot has changed the last couple of years

I currently have a system;
Abit Nf7-s
Amd 2800+
512 DDR
Hercules ATI Radeon 9800 pro
Soundblaster Audigy

but as off yesterday i have killed my motherboard by flashing the wrong bios DOH!!

So i was wondering i want to build a new system but want to keep my graphics an sound card if thats possibly,I've heard abit about the new 64bit proccessor and wondered if its worth including in my upgrade, im on a smallish budget but could save up for longer if needs be

thank you very much any help but be great

Yours thankfully
Paul

 

[fradleyp]

hi thanx for the speedy reply, well budget im not sure, i can save for aslong as it takes if its gonna save me money in the future, theres no real hurry as i have a laptop aswell, theres one other thing i've always used abit motherboards so if possibly would like to carry on that trend

thank you

p.s will need some new memory as think the old stuff was the cause of half my problems

 

[fradleyp]

currently thinkin along the lines of

Asrock 939DUAL-SATA2 S939 PCI-E/AGP USB2 Lan 7.1Ch Audio £42.52
either
Corsair twinx 2048-3200PRO £196.23
Corsair twinx 1024-4000Pro £93.87
512 XMS PC3200C2Pro £48.75
And
AMD Athlon 64 3200 32/64Bit CPU S939 "Venice" 90nm OEM £108.48
plus
my graphics an sound cards

is it worth the extra money for the ram

 

[fradleyp]

very sorry it was a typo misread it, the ram is 3200 1gb for £93.87

so it all looks good to go thank you very much the AGP/PCI-E option is a great path as you said to a future upgrade, just didnt want to loose my 9800pro just yet it cost me enough lol

thank you very much

 

[fradleyp]

yep thank you very much looks like the best option without buying a whole new system

one last thing never had any experience with asrock, i've heard they've not been around for long, do they make a good, solid, reliable board

 

[fradleyp]

cheers mate if we lived close i'd buy you a beer :lol:

 

[hotzak]

Get that ASROCK card ASAP. It seems to be sold out in most shops. It's worth all the money you pay. And try and get the AMD 64 3500+ as it is a more capable processor than the 3200.
And if you're not very much in love with your OLD Radeon, Exchange it for a 6600GT or a 6800GS. It'll (for sure) Broaden your smile.

 

[fradleyp]

cheers for the input mate, not in love as such with my radeon just dont want to part with it just yet. If i was going to part with it now then would probly go for the abit fatalty mobo

 

[hawkstar]

If you want to resucitate your mobo there is a scary trick that was taught to me by a Motherboard manufacturer's Tech Support guy.

But you need an identical motherboard plus PSU, monitor and keyboard in a test rig ie not in a case but laid out on a workbench on something like polysterene - so you may want to ask your local friendly computer repair shop to do it for you.

Here's the trick -

On both motherboards loosen the BIOS chip so it can easily and smoothly be removed by hand yet is still in contact.
Power up the good motherboard and enter the BIOS.
Now the scary bit.
With the power still on remove the BIOS chip and insert your blown one (making sure it is the same way round as it WILL go in either way!) and select Save and Exit.
All being well you should have now reflashed your BIOS with a good flash.
The PC should restart; if it does power down again immediately and replace the BIOS chips in their original boards.
Your PC should now power up again - go straight into the BIOS settings again and adjust them for your PC (detect Drives, disable On-board sound, whatever).

I have done this and it worked! It was probably the most fun I've had in all my years of building and repairing PCs. (The most nerve wracking as well!)

Of course you do this at your own risk! :twisted:

 

[EllisD420]

As a current owner of the motherboard in question, i would definetly recommend it to bridge the gap between upgrading your video card to PCI-e. All your current hardware will be supported except your CPU and this mobo is solid and most importantly cheap. I think its a good path to take.

 

[fradleyp]

i currently have a 450w psu will this still be enough to run this new setup

 

[EllisD420]

Is it a name brand PSU? or a generic 450w psu? Either one should be ok, but a good, name brand PSU is ideal to give your system good, clean power.

 

[Johnnygs]

Or try www.badflash.com $25 for a new bios chip flashed with your choice of bios.

Give you time to save up for the full upgrade.