Seeking advice for new mobo

[moumix]

Hey, long time reader first time poster.

I have come to the conclusion that my mobo has died after 3-4 years of happy service, my question is about replacing it - should i buy exactly the same board again (seems the safest because i know it works with the components) or is there a newer alternative that may be more appropriate - I'm not even certain that my old board is available anymore.

any advice on what to take into account when buying a new board or what might be a good board for my other hardware would be great.

my system as it stands is:

CPU: intel Core 2 Duo E8400
GFX: 1x GeForce 9800GTX+
RAM: 2 2gb RAM modules (corsair dominator 1066mhz ddr2 cm2x2048-8500c5d)
PSU: 600 watt (http://www.inpc.com.ua/data/product_f/psu/fsp600-80gln.html)

the now deceased mobo i was using is an Asus P5N-T Deluxe.

Thank you very much in advance

 

[o1die]

Go to asus website and determine your old board's chipset model number. You may find that getting the same board is too expensive. Amazon had an Intel board with 4 ram slots cheaper than most other makes and models.

 

[moumix]

Thanks for the reply, the chipset is: NVIDIA nForce® 780i SLI chipset

I'm not sure how mobos work, do you mean that any one with the same chipset and correct slots for my DDR2 ram / sli graphics card will be compatible?

 

[o1die]

It's a matter of saving your windows files. Often windows will reinstall to a new board after a few reboots, but it's still a crapshoot. Do you overclock? If not, then one of the low end boards make more sense. The better asus boards are mostly used and overpriced in my opinion. The Intel boards on amazon are about the only new ones with 4 ram slots; one even has an hdmi port but uses ddr3. You could sell your old ddr2 and upgrade to ddr3 which would give you a newer board. I use craigslist sometimes for older boards, or computer geeks.

 

[moumix]

I dont mind reinstalling & have migrated everything I wanted off the computer so that's not an issue - I'll boot fresh from CD and format the HD.

I dont overclock & it is looking to be expensive to move up to a next gen board - basically i would just like to find a board that allows me to keep my other existing hardware. I will probably upgrade the whole rig in a couple of years so not really looking for upgrade potential.

So can i clarify... If i can find a board that has:

the pci express 2.0 x16 for my graphics card
2 slots of DDR2 for my dual channel sticks of ram?
Socket 775 for my e8400 processor

will that guarantee that my existing hardware should work together on the new board? is there anything else i need to take into consideration while finding a board to get? (thanks for your help by the way!)

 

[moumix]

so for example i have found: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-g41m-combo-intel-g41-s-775-pci-e-%28x16%29-ddr2-ddr3-1066-1333-sata-3gb-s-matx-on-board-vga

but this has on board graphics, which i guess is no good for using my 9800 gtx+?

 

[o1die]

Here's an Intel board with DVI port: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121427
Here's an msi with just the basics (but it may overclock slightly) http://www.amazon.com/MSI-G31TM-P21-Intel-Micro-Motherboard/dp/B002HKHP5Y/ref=sr_1_93?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330803938&sr=1-93

 

[moumix]

(just worked out onboard gfx is fine & just gets overruled by the pci gfx card)

Okay i'm slightly restricted in that i have to find mobos that will ship to the UK.

I am currently looking at buying this board, any opinions or any feedback possible would be awesome: MSI S775 INTEL P45 NEO3-FR ATX AUDIO LAN DDR2

http://www.dabs.com/products/msi-s775-intel-p45-neo3-fr-atx-audio-lan-ddr2-54MH.html

As far as i can see:

the chipset: Intel P45 Express / Intel ICH10R - matches my e8400
+ LGA775 Socket

memory: ddr2

gfx: 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 - should fit my card


is there anything i've missed? i went for the p45 chipset because i'd read it would be nippier should that card be compatible with my hardware?

 

[moumix]

also my memory is standard desktop non-ecc memory, yep.

 

[moumix]

OKAY my final push towards getting a mobo myself, i've found a different p45 chipset mobo that seems to support my needs, before i buy it can anyone spot any reason why it would not work with my hardware? (bear in mind i'm very new at building pcs and may have missed something fundamental!) Forget the earlier posted mobos, they are supplied by dodgier sites without warranty.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R P45 MOBO

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-ep45-ds3r-intel-p45-s-775-ddr2-sata-ii-3gb-s-sata-raid-pcie-20-%28x16%29-atx

should that work with my e8400 cpu, 9800gtx+ gfx, and 2x2gb ddr2 corsair dominator pair? it is ATX which is what i need - i cant see anything that would stop me buying that board or anything else i need. Any help or support would be great as i've never bought a mobo solo before

 

[aqe040466]

It's time to upgrade to a new MB and CPU with DDR3 memory, forget about the past and look for the future.

 

[o1die]

That gigabyte p45 board should work fine.

 

[moumix]

Thanks for the reassurance o1die - the p45 board works perfectly