Desktop PC - how hard to upgrade motherboard?

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Okay, so I've got a Compaq presario that's a few years old. I like my Windows XP as well as all the software I've got on there. Trouble is, my RAM and processor are getting outdated - to the point that I can't play my newest PC game!! (AoE III)

So, I'm wondering how hard it is to simply change out my motherboard. I need more RAM and more video RAM mostly, but a new processor would help matters as well.

Anyone ever done this or have some advice?

Thanks!

 

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

doing it "somply" makes the entire operation virtually impossible. Good luck.

 

[tmporter]

You can go to any computer parts store and buy a new motherboard and a chip that is compatible with that board. You buy ram memory chips and take everything home. Most of the video cards and sound cards just slide into slots on the motherboard. You simply make sure that you aren't on carpet or any other surface that will generate static electricity and begin to remove screws and cards from the old board. You unscrew the motherboard from the tower and put the new bard and chip in.(I would have the store put the chip into the board if not already done) screw it in place and put the cards back in and rconnect the bus and power supply. I haven't done any of this in a while, but the last time I did it took a little over an hour to get everything out and back in.

 

[Best Buckeye]

I found that a new processor works better than a "precessor too.
It is not all that hard to change out the motherboard , take out the old and put in the new. along with the new processor. Just make sure that the motherboard has all of the bells and whistles you want along with enough RAm for what you want to do.
It should have step by step instructions as you load the new motherboard not only on how to switch it but also to set it up for your old HD. Since the HD contains all of your old programs they will still be there but you probably will have to reload some of them, if not all.

 

[Dryden]

Changing out a motherboard is really, really easy, unless you go buy some mass-produced proprietary junk like a Dell or a Compaq.

Oops. Did I say that out loud?

As soon as I got to the sixth and seventh words of your post, I thought, Damn, he's screwed!

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Dry:

Do you think it will be that hard? The deal is, wifey says 'no' to a new PC, but has consented to 'upgrading' the existing one. The way I see it, a new motherboard/processor is essentially a new PC with the old HD. All I need is more RAM (I don't think my current motherboard will take enough RAM for my needs) and more video RAM (I believe I have on-board video)...

 

[Dryden]

Dry:

Do you think it will be that hard? The deal is, wifey says 'no' to a new PC, but has consented to 'upgrading' the existing one. The way I see it, a new motherboard/processor is essentially a new PC with the old HD. All I need is more RAM (I don't think my current motherboard will take enough RAM for my needs) and more video RAM (I believe I have on-board video)...

I'll bet cash-money what you have is worse than on-board video, it's shared video (shared from general system RAM). You can throw $500 at the processor and system RAM and I honestly don't think you're ever going to see the performance increase for gaming that you think you should based on what you'll wind up investing. I'll gather also that if you have any existing expansion ports for aftermarket video you're going to be stuck with PCI or AGP, and not the common/modern PCI-X. All the components you'll want/need are not going to work in the existing board, and an aftermarket board is not a drop-in and replace option on a Compaq.

I'm sorry to break the bad news, but that's part of the deal when you buy a one-size-fits-all computer like a Presario.

Honestly, you'll see many orders of magnitude performance increases by buying a brand new case, motherboard, CPU, GPU, and RAM, and moving out the existing HD into a new system.

Upgrading your Presario would be like ricing out a Dodge Neon. Don't bother.

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Thanks for the info, Dryden.

 

[sandgk]

The other reason why Dry's advice is golden here is that when you buy a case, you will have to get a new power supply unit. I bet the PSU with your old rig would not cut it with any new board.

If you are intimidated by the thought of setting the CPU (it isn't hard, but it is the most expensive and sensitive part of the whole new rig) then you can get the motherboard CPU combo with the CPU already installed.

 

[Deety]

I recall seeing something a while back that seemed to indicate most of the Compaq-type computers had Windows installations tied to the motherboard - change the board and Windows won't install as it considers it a new computer. Not entirely sure that's correct, but fwiw...

 

[scott91575]

Just built my new computer. First of all, what motherboard are you looking at, intel or nvidia (stick to intel if you will buy an older level, and NVidia is really only good if you will SLI video cards which I doubt you will do)? What level? If you are buying a new processor and RAM too, you are pretty much starting from scratch. What is your power supply. Many of the pre boxed ones are just enough to cover what you initially bought. When you upgrade, it may not be enough. What kind of RAM (I assume DDR2)? What graphics card?

Why not upgrade to Vista for $100?

You can build a pretty good computer for $800 from scratch (or you can go nuts like me and spend about $2500).

Anyway, you might as well start a new build that will be much more modular in the future. You will run into problems with your case and power supply if you use the base Compaq you were given.

I can help you out a ton if you like. Also, go to newegg for pricing. Almost everytihng is as cheap as you will find anywhere. Read the reviews, and spec out a system. It's not that hard to start a build from scratch and it will save you a lot of money (my $2500 system overclocked outperforms Dell systems that cost $4000-$5000...you will see similar savings percentage wise). Oh yeah, and being able to overclock saves you a ton of money in the long run. My $200 processor outperforms the best stock quad chip out there (which is over $1000).

Best thing to do, go to newegg and look at the listing for what you are willing to spend. Spec out a system. For things you don't understand, come back here and myself or someone else can help you know the pros and cons. Motherboards are cheap (you can get a pretty good one for about $100), processors will run about $200 for a pretty good one, and 2GB of RAM can be had for under $100 too. Be careful, there will be compatibility issues. The new Penryn 45nm processors from Intel will only run on specific boards, and you will also need the right PCIe connections. You will also need to match RAM, although that is not as big of an issue since almost everything is DDR2 and you will not want DDR3 since those motherboards and RAM are really expensive.

Finally, if you are afraid of do it yourself, there are a couple of ebay system builders that will save you a lot over Compaq or Dell, and they provide warranties on the build. Still more expensive than do it yourself, but only be a couple hundred dollars and you get the piece of mind that any build issues are on them, not you.

 

[scott91575]

Just for fun, here is a nice cheap build that will play every game (including the crazy ass Crysis that even my rig, or any ever made, can't play on very high)....

ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $95

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz - $190

NVidia 9600GT Graphics Card - $150

2 GB DDR2 (just about any) - $50

Windows Vista - $100

500W power supply (a decent one) - $75

You can use your old HD is that is ok, or get a new one for about another $100.

Case (a lot out there) - $75

So that is about $750 and you will have a really nice computer that you can upgrade in the future (or $650 transferring your HD), and you can easily overclock that processor over 3.0 GHz.

 

[rocketman]

The trick is to gradually accumulate all the necessary parts over the course a few weeks... you know, so she doesn't notice right away. Then, put it all together one day. BAM! Computer.

To go along Dryden's point, I've seen some Dells that had double-threaded screws on the motherboard, so you couldn't even take the damn thing out if you wanted to! For those computers I just add a ton of hard drives, put Ubuntu on there and make a file server.

 

[Dryden]

ABIT IP35-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $95

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz - $190

NVidia 9600GT Graphics Card - $150

2 GB DDR2 (just about any) - $50

Windows Vista - $100

500W power supply (a decent one) - $75

You can use your old HD is that is ok, or get a new one for about another $100.

Case (a lot out there) - $75

Good build, but I think that's overkill for the needs expressed in the first post. I'd go to NewEgg and look for an all Gigabyte build + an ATX InWin case w/ preinstalled 350W power. InWin's factory installed 350Ws are more than enough for basic builds w/ one video card and up to two hard drives. Buy a decent toolless case w/ PS included and you'll save $100.

$59.99 IN WIN IW-C589T.AQ350BL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail
Newegg.com - IN WIN IW-C589T.AQ350BL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail

$89.99 GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail

$209.99 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

$84.00 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

That covers the barebones for under $500. I haven't played PC games for awhile so I can't comment on the sys req. for AoE III, but I doubt you'll need to drop more than $75 on a video card. IMHO it pays to be a year behind the curves, so I'd probably look at an 8600GT or ATI equiv. Heck, an 8400 is only $40, so the whole build is still $500.

Go micro ATX and shave another $100. Plenty of options.

If you're hesitant to muck around inside your own PC, you could also take a shopping list like the ones posted here to a specialty computer center, one of the custom/boutique type places where the geeks build computers from the ground up, and tell them, "I'm thinking of buying this, this & this through NewEgg and building a PC ..." Odds are you can get one of these stores to build it for you for less, just to get your business.

Remember, if you can get the parts for these prices through NewEgg, the stores are getting them for less. Shop around.

 

[scott91575]

Good build, but I think that's overkill for the needs expressed in the first post. I'd go to NewEgg and look for an all Gigabyte build + an ATX InWin case w/ preinstalled 350W power. InWin's factory installed 350Ws are more than enough for basic builds w/ one video card and up to two hard drives. Buy a decent toolless case w/ PS included and you'll save $100.

$59.99 IN WIN IW-C589T.AQ350BL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail
Newegg.com - IN WIN IW-C589T.AQ350BL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail

$89.99 GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail

$209.99 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

$84.00 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

That covers the barebones for under $500. I haven't played PC games for awhile so I can't comment on the sys req. for AoE III, but I doubt you'll need to drop more than $75 on a video card. IMHO it pays to be a year behind the curves, so I'd probably look at an 8600GT or ATI equiv. Heck, an 8400 is only $40, so the whole build is still $500.

Go micro ATX and shave another $100. Plenty of options.

If you're hesitant to muck around inside your own PC, you could also take a shopping list like the ones posted here to a specialty computer center, one of the custom/boutique type places where the geeks build computers from the ground up, and tell them, "I'm thinking of buying this, this & this through NewEgg and building a PC ..." Odds are you can get one of these stores to build it for you for less, just to get your business.

Remember, if you can get the parts for these prices through NewEgg, the stores are getting them for less. Shop around.

Good luck finding an e8400 right now. That board looks good, mine was just a quick example.

Yes, for now the PSU is overkill, yet always go higher than you need. It will save money in the long run. A good video card and overclocked processor will eat up near 200W-250W under load on their own. Get at least 450W to be safe. Besides, he might as well stick with his Compaq power supply if you are going to go with 350W. Don't go cheap with a power supply. It's the one component that if you go quality, it will last for every future build you will do.

Minus Vista and hard drive ours are essentially the same price anyway.

Although I will admit I haven't spent as much time looking at budget builds. I have a 790i board and a 9800GX2 graphics card. Those 2 alone cost more than the budget build. Add to that DDR3 RAM and a 900W PSU and prices skyrocket. So I am probably not the best at picking out the cheaper components right now, but many of the simple things still apply.

Oh yeah, on the graphics end, anything from the NVidia 7 series on will play Age of Empires 3. Heck, I played it on an old ATI X1300. Yet the 9600GT is by far the best performance per dollar card out there right now, and will play anything you can throw at it. The graphics card is almost always the bottleneck, so going cheap there simply forces more and more upgrades in the future. The 8600GT will work fine, but the 9600GT blows it away and then some for only $50 more. It will also last much longer.