Hi All,

I have an old Intel board with P4 2.8Ghz CPU. I need a PCIe slot for a Graphics card and the current system does not have it. Instead of buying a new system, I am planning to:

1) Buy a AMD mobo,
2) AMD CPU,
3) Ram (current memory is DDR SDRAM),
4) Power supply (current one is 450 Watt, I am thinking of taking a 600 Watt)

Are there any serious problems involved in moving a system from Intel to AMD? I have Win2003 Server. From the FAQ on this forum, I think I will have to repair windows.

Any suggestion on a mobo+cpu configuration for under 200$.

Your inputs will be of great help!
TIA

I don't know much about amd but here is what i found on newegg:

Mobo GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128090

Cpu AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103773

p.s. fr the power supply tell us your graphic card.. go corsair, antec or P&C. For the ram get 4gb ddr 800 4-4-4-12 (corsair, mushkin)

You will likely want to completely reinstall Windows for cleanest operation.

(Note: This is not because you are going from Intel to AMD. The same thing would likely be recommended if going from an old Intel to New Intel Mobo.)

You can get away without a completely new install, I have done it several times. But for all the headaches, and time you will spend to get everything working correctly, for most people a fresh install is by far the best way to go.
If you want to try, after the upgrade, boot to the install CD.
Do not choose the repair installation at the begining, choose a new installation.
Windows will search and find the drive with your Windows installation.
It will then detect that a previous version of Windows is on the drive, and ask again, do you want to do a new install, (also warning you at this point that a new installation will erase everything on the disk) or try to repair the current installation.
At this point choose to repair the current installation.
It will appear then that it is doing a completely new installation, but it will leave all your programs and files intact, and effectively rewrite the Windows installion to work with your new hardware.
Is it 100% perfect and foolproof? Not always, but sometimes you can get away with this.
It is generally best when you do a drastic change, especially a motherboard, and even more especially if you are changing platforms like from Intel to AMD, a complete new install is the very best choice.

With your budget and assuming you already have a GPU, I would recomend one of these configurations.

Intel:
E2180
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L
2Gb DDR2 800 4-4-4-15
Antec Earthwatts 500

Total after MIR $245.

AMD:

A64 x2 5000+
Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H
2Gb DDR2 800 4-4-4-15
Antec Earthwatts 500

Total after MIR $231.

Bouth will be exelent upgrades from what you are currently running.

At stock, the AMD system will be a little faster than the Intel one.
If you plan on overclocking, the Intel system should be able to easialy reach 3.0Ghz and be far faster than the AMD setup.

Further, the AMD setup has intigrated HD3200 graphics where the Intel setup has none and requires you to have a seperate GPU.

The Antec Earthwatts PSU is an excelent quality PSU for a budget build.
It will have no problems powering your system with up to a GTX 260, 4870 or 4850 CrossFire (if you get a Cf motherboard).

Like my logo? It's about the mobo you should look at. Most major brands use this new chipset. AMD 790GX w SB750. . (biostar, asus, foxconn, gigabyte) ($100-150)
790GX chipset is the newer adult version of the 780G system outlined above - it is better able to handle higher power requirements such as 140watt cpu's.
cpu = DUAL= A64x2 5000+ (or higher) or QUAD = Phenom 9950 (or 9x50?)
Optional /onboard vid or /PCIe2x16 (x2) (RUN AS 1(X16) OR 2(X8X8))
Plus HDMI, Bluray capabilities, etc.

CPU depends on how much horsepower you need for your server. Onboard vid is more than enough for a server. I don't know how you use your server - or if it is personal pc too. DDR2 1066-ram requires a (AM2+)Phenom, else is 800-ram max with (AM2)Athlonx2.

Many options available here. New Deneb cpu's (soon) should fit right into this also. (socket AM2+)