Need immediate replacement for my dying ASUS P4P800SE MOBO

[Kerrith]

Several times lately I've had to wriggle one of my SATA cables to get my PC to boot. The SATA connector (socket) appears to have loose soldering. I've replaced the cables and they are fine.

I just bought a new PNY GeForce 7600 GS AGP graphics card and added a GB of DDR400 RAM (total now 2 GB) so as to be able to upgrade to Vista and to buy a Dell 3007 WFP-HC monitor (which I have done).

Another problem with the ASUS MOBO is that its Onboard LAN was working erratically so I had to install a Network Adapter PCI card. I updated the BIOS from 1011 to 1012.001beta but it didn't help.

I'm OK with the speed of my Intel P4 3.0c.

What I want is another MOBO (preferably new) but because of their poor support I don't want an ASUS. Their last BIOS version is still a beta and I haven't been able to get them to reply to an email as to when it will be a final rev. Their forum is virtually dead. I just don't want to reward that kind of behavior.

Any recommendations as to what MOBO will work for my requirements will be greatly appreciated. My ideal MOBO would be one that doesn't require a floppy drive to install its BIOS.

I'm not a gamer and have never OC'd my ASUS.

Thanks,

Kerry

 

[lachyjunior]

I've had a couple of MSI boards lately and been quite happy. A good price for fair quality. One of them was to replace an Asus board in a server which had been running pretty much continuously for about 8 years (PIII/350!), so I'm fairly sold on the quality of Asus boards - I reckon you must have been unlucky with yours.

John

 

[Kerrith]

Hi John,

Thanks for recommending MSI. What I'm needing is the the specific name (model number) of a board with an AGP slot that will accept my Intel 3.0c processor, my 2GB DDR400 RAM, has at least two SATA onboard outs, and onboard audio. Again, my preference is that it doesn't require a floppy drive to setup.

I'd prefer an unopened box that has the BIOS CD else I won't have a way to get the various updates.

Re: "unlucky." My ASUS has been a love-hate affair. I rebounded from a Chaintech 9cjs which for me was a nightmare, what with the slow and terrible non-English speaking tech support—so at first the ASUS appeared to be excellent. Then I discovered that ASUS techs don't monitor their forum. In truth I've just become more comfortable with the components and terminology and can make just about anything work providing I have native English support via email or a forum. Tech calls to the mainland from here in Hawaii are prohibitive.

Kerry

PS. I have an Antec True 480 PS and a Network Adapter card, I no longer mess with RAID.

 

[g-paw]

Given it's a 478 mobo finding something won't be easy. Would suggest you check out newegg, zipzoomfly, and mwave sites and see what's available

 

[o1die]

Computer Geeks has an Intel 865peso board with 4 ddram slots and agp slot for $69. It should work well if not overclocking.

 

[Kerrith]

Hi o1die,

That 865PESO looks like it will do the job. Nice price. Thanks.

I couldn't find if it requires a floppy drive to install. It does have a floppy port on the board. Do you know?

Also, on http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/D865peso/index.htm it reads support for: "Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor Extreme Edition" Does this mean I could upgrade my 3.0c proc for a faster one?

Kerry

 

[o1die]

The 3.0c northwood is one of the best socket 478 cpus you can buy, so you don't need to worry about upgrading. I wouldn't upgrade to the prescott socket 478 with 1 meg cache or the extreme edition; they tend to run warmer and are no faster than northwoods. The Geeks Intel board comes with a floppy port and cable. I changed from socket 478 to socket 939 a couple of years ago. I suggest if you're unhappy with your old 478 or want to change to do it now without getting another 478 board. Try selling your old cpu on ebay. You can get a core2 duo e4300 for $114 retail boxed at newegg. They also have the asrock dual core vsta board (open box section with no accessories) for $30 shipped, or brand new as the 4 core vsta for $62. I was able to order backplates from asrock america direct for only $5 shipped. You can download the drivers directly off asrock's website. The asrock board has 2 ddr slots and gives you the option of using an agp or pci-e video card, and also has 2 ddr2 slots if you want to change to cheap ddr2 in the future.

 

[Kerrith]

Got it about keeping the 3.0c for the Geek's Intel MOBO.

It's not that I'm unhappy with my ASUS, it's just that it's dying and I want to get another board and be able to use my processor, AGP graphics card, and DDR400 RAM.

I understand that the Intel board comes with a floppy port and cable. How do I find out if the BIOS must be installed/upgraded via floppy or can it be done via CD? I really don't like floppys. My floppy drive always sounds as though it's dying. I just don't want to go that route anymore unless I absolutely have to.

The core2 duo sounds inviting but I like the $69 option best.

I just noticed that the Intel 865PESO MOBO is only 9.6" x 9.6" whereas my ASUS is 12" x 9.6" Are the screw studs on my case aligned for both sizes of boards?

Thanks,

Kerry

 

[lachyjunior]

Have you thought about digging out a soldering iron. Normally this wouldn't be an option due to the way boards are mass-produced, but for something like a SATA socket it might be possible. It's worth a look and what have you got to lose?

Incidentally, I've installed XP (with SP2) a number of times on to SATA drives and never required a floppy. I always install optimised drivers once it's up and running, but it just works by default. Have I been lucky?

 

[Kerrith]

Hi John,

I might just try the solder game once I have a replacement up and running. I'm not sure its only a solder problem, it feels more like metal fatigue coupled with a solder connection. The connector sticks up straight up from the board and every time the cable is moved at all it bends just a bit. I think it's bent back and forth too many times. If I remove the MOBO and mess it up then I'd be down for at least a week while the new card flies to Hawaii.

ASUS requires a floppy drive to install and upgrade its BIOS. It's a real pain, especially with a floppy drive that's about to die. There is a way to upgrade the BIOS via Windows but ASUS hasn't updated the utility for Vista.

Thanks,

Kerry

 

[lachyjunior]

I'd be surprised if it's anything other than a dry joint, but if it takes that long to get replacement parts then I don't blame you being cautious. I'm close to London in the UK, and generally I could get something next day.

You're working late. I see it's almost midnight in Hawaii. Better go and get some sleep!

 

[Kerrith]

Thanks everyone.

I've got Geeks.com's number to call (in an emergency) if my ASUS dies and the name, model, etc., of MOBO replacement I want.

The only question left is, does the Intel D865PESO-WB require a floppy drive to install its BIOS?

My appreciation,

Kerry