Help comparing / choosing mobo's

[zoodemon]

hi

i'm having real difficulty in trying to replace my old budget mobo. i've emailed the manufacturers, who passed me on to the uk suppliers, who shrugged or ignored me. Surely component sellers or IT repair folk have some kind of system for finding a replacement mobo working through size, chip, function etc. How else is it done?

i have an ECS K7S5A which is starting to cause problems, capacitors looking bad etc, with some problems in use so i would like to replace it.

I don't need or want to upgrade, just buy a new mobo that will work with what i have, and is new for longevity purposes.

It's an ATX case, winxp sp2, athlon 1.6xp, radeon 9600 pro, 512mb ddr ram, and i would like to keep onboard sound and what i think you call a parallel port for connecting my lexmark z43 printer.

I consider that specs have moved on and i may struggle to match with the basic spec i have, but how can i find a suitable budget mobo from all the types and manufacturers available?

Appreciate any help thanks

 

[ixion]

The motherboard is really very out of date so difficult to source through a computer shop. The obvious place to look is Ebay, you can then buy a secondhand but tested motherboard from one of the main makes (Asus, MSI or Gigabyte were probably the best of that era). You may have to re-activate XP after changing your motherboard.

 

[o1die]

I would check pricewatch or computer geeks for socket 462.

 

[zoodemon]

thanks, i don't really want to go used as it's pretty much repeating the age problem. looks like a tough job trying to find a new socket A ATX mobo.

I guess the next question is can i fit an AM2 ATX board with CPU and it still work with the other components, would it only be the memory speed that i'd have to check? oh and memory pin numbers.

i'm ok with reloading windows and drivers etc so it must still be cheaper than buying a base pc??

thanks

 

[o1die]

Sure. Newegg had some new open box stuff posted last night. One item was a sempron cpu with heatsink for $15. But it sold out quickly. Fry's has 4 gigs of patriot pc6400 for $34.99 (special ends today) at stores only, but it won't hurt to check their website. Your old ddr won't work with any newer board. Newegg always has plenty of cheap open box motherboards, but most don't have a backplate. Certain manufacturers like biostar will send you one free if you email them with your board number.

 

[zoodemon]

actually my memory is fairly new, 512mb ddr 333 i think, guess it's the pins that will be a prob. my old mobo bus speed was only 66mhz.

 

[fullmetall]

um wow, its time for an upgrade buddy...