Motherboard Died - Need Advice About What to Buy

[budz]

Yes, the 10,000 RPM drive will work. As to the PS, 550W is a lot, but if you plan to expand you may need it. Systems use more and more power these days. Personally, I think 400-450W is enough, but you have an idea better than anyone what you will be doing in the future.

You may still be able to use your existing OS, regardless of the motherboard or other hardware. The software does (usually) account for the fact that stuff breaks and needs to be replaced. Whether your license permits it or not is something you'd have to find out by reading it, but $324 for a motherboard, 1 Gb of memory, and XP Pro is really steep. I'd shop around heavily because that memory is also way overpriced; in another thread I priced two sticks of Corsair 512Mb memory (using two pieces so you get Dual-Channel) at $72, and Corsair memory is great stuff. XP Pro is $131 at mwave.com while Home is $81. And finally that Asus comes in at $92 at newegg but is cheaper at mwave.com and a couple other places. It pays to shop around. And only buy Windows if you are sure you need it, especially if you value your current configuration and installed applications.

I would STAY AWAY from Mwave.com. I've had personal experience with them that I had to report them to the Better Business Bureau. I'm not going to starting a debate betweeen Newegg and Mwave.com. But I will say that Mwave.com has shady business practices. They sent me a replacement motherboard and it was the same mobo that I sent it RMA. Okay done and said.

Getting a 500-550 watt ps would be fine for your components. I disagree with $324.00 being overpriced. As for the OS I doubt that he can use that GATEWAY XP DISC. The reason being it probably is only a restore disc to be used for that particular computer which probably has all the drivers for the GATEWAY mobo. If the original poster could find a mobo with RAMBUS ram it would be cheaper but reality is there aren't those type of mobos around with the exception of ebay. Which is no guarantee the ebay used mobo would be in working order.

The ASUS P4P800SE mobo does have SATA so you'll be able to use WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR hard drives.

[CrayonEater]

The OP didn't mention if his original (boot) drive died, so I'm thinking he may be able to reuse that (though I don't know if the Windows EULA says otherwise). Reinstalling an OS and updates and all your apps from scratch is a real pain, and a Raptor's speed will pay off more as a data drive than an OS drive.

[budz]

The WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR 36bg hard drive is out of stock at Newegg.com.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2000150014+50001306+1035907...ice=&maxPrice=

The OP didn't mention if his original (boot) drive died, so I'm thinking he may be able to reuse that (though I don't know if the Windows EULA says otherwise). Reinstalling an OS and updates and all your apps from scratch is a real pain, and a Raptor's speed will pay off more as a data drive than an OS drive.

How would he be able to reuse his boot drive that has the OS with his old GATEWAY motherboard drivers. If he buys a new motherboard it would have completely different mobo drivers than his old mobo. This is why I said he may not be able to use the GATEWAY XP DISC because from what I know most companies have the XP disc loaded with the drivers from the hardware that they use. Which is why he would need to buy XP. Anyone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about his GATEWAY XP DISC.

[Tyler2000]

The only thing I know for sure is bad is the motherboard. Hopefully everything else still works.

What about this power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182015

Gateway tells me my operating system disc may or may not work and if I buy a non-gateway motherboard than I should buy a new copy to avoid any compatablity problems. I would like to upgrade to Windows Professional anyway, so I think it will be worth the trouble of reloading programs.

Another question, my old motherboard could only hold 3 hard drives. How many will the ASUS P4P800SE support?

[budz]

I'd suggest again to buy a ANTEC TRUE POWER II POWER SUPPLY. Don't skimp on the power supply which is a important component on a computer. Buying a cheap/unknown brand power supply will give you more headaches when you have problems with your pc. I'm sure there are other members here that will agree with me that buying a good power supply like Antec is the better choice.

The P4P800SE motherboard can support 4 hard drives. I have one of my pc's with the same mobo that has 3 hard drives, (2 SATA & 1 PATA).

[Tyler2000]

How about this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103936

If this one is enough for my system(3 hard drives, 2 CD/DVD drives, hdtv tuner, graphics card that uses one molex connection) then I don't know what else I would add to my system that would use more power than 450 watts.

[Nelson37]

On the Gateway disk - the drivers are not a problem, if the hardware is not there, the drivers will not load, and any new hardware, you will have new drivers for. This is NOT repeat NOT a problem, I have done this many, many times.

I have successfully contended with Microsoft that my customer bought a Brand X PC, with Windows, and the replacement of components does not invalidate the purchased Windows meant to be used only with that Brand X machine. As parts are replaced, it continues to be a Brand X machine until the ENTIRE UNIT is discarded in one piece, if it is all replaced even 2 or 3 times on a piecemeal basis, with 3rd party parts, it continues to be a Brand X machine and is appropriately licensed for the copy of windows that came with it. If you speak with Microsoft, ONLY MENTION THE MOST RECENT PART REPLACEMENT, AND ONLY ONE. Mention also that the replacement was NOT repeat NOT an upgrade, but was ESSENTIAL to make the PC work. This is for major components like mobo, CPU, HD, not minor ones like cards or memory.

What may be a problem is if the disk is serialized to the motherboard or CPU ID, this would cause it not to install on a new board. I would certainly give this a try before buying a new OS.

I prefer Pro over Home but not so much to purchase Pro if Home is already available.

Interesting how your budget has almost doubled.

The sequence of events leads me to suspect that either the new videocard was pushed in too hard, cracking the motherboard, or that you introduced a static charge and fried it that way. It is possible the board just happened to die at that particular time, but my educated guess is that you broke it. This leads me to suggest that you do NOT attempt to build your own unit, as the potential to fry a CPU, crack a mobo, or introduce a short will very quickly eat up some expensive components. You may find yourself looking at what used to be $1000.00 worth of paperweight material. Find someone who knows what they are doing and watch every move they make, that's how you learn.

[budz]

How about this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103936

If this one is enough for my system(3 hard drives, 2 CD/DVD drives, hdtv tuner, graphics card that uses one molex connection) then I don't know what else I would add to my system that would use more power than 450 watts.

That Antec power supply should be fine. If you want use this link to calculate how much power supply is needed for your system.

http://journeysystems.com/power_supply_calculator.php

[Tyler2000]

Ok, I've changed my mind again and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get this system. To this system I'm going to add my ATI HDTV Wonder card and I'm also going to buy Logitech Z5500 500 Watt 5.1 Digital Surround speakers from tigerdirect.com for $239 instead of buying them from dell for $369. Also, I'm going to take my 2 old 120gb hard drives and put them in external enclosures and keep them connected to USB ports on the back of the machine.

What do you think?


XPS 400

$2,289

Catalog Number / Description Product Code SKU Id
XPS 400:
Pentium® D Processor 940 with Dual Core Technology (3.20GHz, 800FSB) SZ940H [222-1562] 1


Operating System:
Genuine Windows® XP Professional with re-installation CD WPXPM [310-6836][412-0688][412-0721][412-0870][420-4838][420-4927][420-5460][420-5476][420-5769][420-5924][463-2282] 11


Video Cards:
512MB ATI Radeon X1900 XTX X1900 [320-4796] 6


Memory:
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs 2GB52 [311-5116] 3


Hard Drives:
640GB Performance RAID 0 (2 x 320GB SATA 3Gb/s HDDs) 640R0 [341-3192] 8


CD or DVD Drive:
Dual Drives: 48x CD-RW Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ double layer write capable CDR6DVR [313-4131][420-5781][420-5790] 16


Floppy Drive:
No Floppy Drive Included NFD [341-2457] 10


Modem:
56K PCI Data Fax Modem DFAX [313-3840] 14


Monitors:
No Monitor N [320-4278] 5


Sound:
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1 XFI [313-3773] 17


Speakers:
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system) N [313-2198] 18


Keyboard:
Dell USB Keyboard EK [310-8025] 4


Mouse:
Dell® 2-button USB mouse SM [310-8029] 12


Optional Ports:
IEEE 1394 Adapter 1394 [320-4597] 85


Office Software (not included in Windows XP):
No Productivity Suite - Corel WordPerfect® word processor only COREL [412-0803] 22


Network Interface:
Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet IN [430-1455] 13


Miscellaneous:
Award Winning Service and Support D84F2 [463-5442] 82


Future Operating Systems:
Windows Vista™ Capable VISTAC [465-4663] 118


Hardware Warranty:
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr HW Warranty Support S222OS [412-0360][902-0931][950-1261][950-3338][960-6200][960-8680][983-2207][983-2217] 29


Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed):
McAfee SecurityCenter with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-months MCAFE1Y [412-0851] 25


Home PC Installation:
No Installation NOINSTL [900-9987] 32


Dell Digital Entertainment:
Starter Entertainment Pack -Basic digital Music, Photo, and Casual Gaming SEP [412-0865] 399


Adobe Software:
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0 AAREAD [412-0705] 15


Dial-Up Internet Access:
6 Months of America Online Membership Included AOLDHS [412-0687][412-0787][420-3224] 37

[aedipuss]

hehe send me one 2

[budz]

Yuck!@Hell pc's....build your own...for that cost I could build 2 pc's and it won't have all that bloated ware from dell.....just my opinion!

[Tyler2000]

I can't/won't build one. It will have all the junk software included, but can't I just uninstall the things I don't want?

[aedipuss]

of course you can do what you want once it's yours. wouldn't worry too much about the added software if you get 320GB of storage plus your 2 other drives. just uninstall or disable in msconfig anything you don't want running.

[CrayonEater]

Really! When you're talking mid-to-high-end PCs, you pay so much more for a pre-built than you would for one you build yourself. But since you aren't interesting in the DIY route, consider having a shop do it for you using parts you select yourself. If you really, really like the Dell then go for it, but just be aware that you are paying much more than what a comparable DIY system would cost, and you are still - either yourself or a shop - going to have to install your HDTV card.

Yes, you can uninstall the spyware and crapware that Dell puts on. Ditch Musicmatch and RealOne to start with.

[Tyler2000]

If I went to a local computer shop, showed them the specs of this $2,289 Dell and told them I wanted them to buy all the parts and put it together for me, what would you estimate it would cost?

[ViRaL1]

Here's what it would cost you to buy the parts online. If you don't build it, maybe there's someone you trust.

-----------------------------------------------

Shopping Cart

CD/DVD Burners (RW Drives)
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 SONY 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DWQ120AB2 - OEM
Model #: DWQ120AB2
Item #: N82E16827131031
** This item may only be returned for a replacement of the same make/model within 30 days only.
Remove Save Move To Wish List $34.99 $34.99
1 ASUS CD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model CRW-5232A3/W37S BK - OEM
Model #: CRW-5232A3/W37S BK
Item #: N82E16827135052
** This item may only be returned for a replacement of the same make/model within 30 days only.
Remove Save Move To Wish List $19.99 $19.99

ATX Computer Cases
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: ATX -528B
Item #: N82E16811156053

Remove Save Move To Wish List $22.99 $22.99

Internal Hard Drives
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
2 Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JDRTL 320GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail
Model #: WD3200JDRTL
Item #: N82E16822144397
** This item may only be returned for a replacement of the same make/model within 30 days only.
Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $29.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99
Remove Save Move To Wish List $109.99 -$10.00 Instant
$199.98

Modems
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Encore ENF656-ESW-MOPR 56Kbps Modem - Retail
Model #: ENF656-ESW-MOPR
Item #: N82E16825180007

Remove Save Move To Wish List $5.99 $5.99

Video Cards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 ATI 100-435805 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 100-435805
Item #: N82E16814195003

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $49.99 2 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $69.99 3 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $99.99
Remove Save Move To Wish List $549.99 $549.99

Sound Cards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Model #: 70SB046000007
Item #: N82E16829102188
** This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate
Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $29.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99
Remove Save Move To Wish List $121.99 $121.99

Power Supplies
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0070
Item #: N82E16817153023

$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $9.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $14.99
Remove Save Move To Wish List $39.99 $39.99

Memory - System
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 BUFFALO Select 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model D2U533B-K2G/BR - OEM
Model #: D2U533B-K2G/BR
Item #: N82E16820150015

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $29.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99
Remove Save Move To Wish List $129.99 $129.99

Intel-compatible Motherboards
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 MSI 945PL Neo-F Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945PL Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: 945PL Neo-F
Item #: N82E16813130531

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $14.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $19.99
Remove Save Move To Wish List $78.99 $78.99

Processors
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Intel Pentium D 940 Presler 800MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T Processor Model BX80553940 - Retail
Model #: BX80553940
Item #: N82E16819116239
** This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $59.99
Remove Save Move To Wish List $212.99 $212.99

Operating Systems
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2 - OEM
Model #: E85-04026
Item #: N82E16837102062
** Software delivered damaged and/or defective may be returned for an identical replacement.
Remove Save Move To Wish List $137.99 $137.99

Subtotal: $1,555.87
Shipping
Zip Code: FedEx Express Saver FedEx 2Day FedEx Standard Overnight APO/FPO-Military ONLY FedEx International Economy-PR ONLY UPS Guaranteed 3 Day Service UPS 2nd Day UPS Next Day Saver

*Enter your Zip Code and select a shipping option to determine your shipping cost. Shipping: $0.00

Redeem Gift Certificates
Claim Code:
Security Code:
Gift Certificates: $0.00
Apply Promo Code
Promo Code:
*This cart qualifies for No Payments for 6 Months with Newegg.com Preferred Account* Total(before tax): $1,555.87

IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFORMATION
All orders require 1-2 business days of processing

Let me know if I forgot anything. Shipping to Pittsburgh (cross country) is $40

[Tyler2000]

Are those parts from newegg.com? The dvd-rw drive you listed does not have dual layer, and I think I want that feature. How many hard drives does this case hold? Room for 4 hard drives would be nice. That way I wouldn't need to put my old drives in external enclosures. Can you buy cases that allow the firewire port in the front and maybe supports 3 optical drives on the front?

[budz]

Get the BENQ 1650 or PIONEER 111D dvd burner.

Search is your friend.....check out newegg.com for your computer case needs.....

[ViRaL1]

Not saying this as a recommendation as I just picked out the least expensive parts from major manufacturers that met or exceeded your requirements, but yes actually that DVD burner DOES dual layer in both +R and -R.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827131031

[SingSing]

The approach that Tyler for an high end system is unusal. Most power users are techies. They have been using the computers they put together for since dawn of the PC. The advantage is they can pinpoint their exact need ( like huge storage space, maximum MIPs,... ).