[hardware] Swapping out motherboards?

[orbitalfreak]

Is it possible to remove a motherboard/cpu from a system, switch to a better setup, and keep all other components (RAM, drives, cards, etc...)? We're looking at upgrading one of our computers, which has a 600MHz Pentium III, and wanting a board that can handle a 1.8MHz or better P4.

Is it as simple as buying a new mobo/cpu combo, pull out the old one, put the new one in, and plug all components back in?

 

[Hollywood]

Depends on the system. If you bought a Dell or Gateway you should be able to do it with no problem. If you bought like an HP or Compaq or such as say Circuit City or Best Buy, etc. you may have some problems. The later use proprietary cases with custom made motherboards. This is especially true when going from P3 to P4s as the P4 motherboards are slightly thicker due P4 chip than previously.

You can buy a new case for ~$60+ depending on how fancy you want to go. You will also need a new power supply certified for the P4 which will run you about 30 bucks. So basically you will need for a P4 a) P4 power supply, b) motherboard, c) cpu, d) memory [either DDR or RDRAM depending on the motherboard] and e) possibly a new case.

Otherwise, harddrives, cdroms, video, sound, network, modem cards should all transfer fine.

 

[orbitalfreak]

New memory, *grumble grumble*, just bought some for the system, an extra 256MB. Oh well, there's always eBay to sell that on.

Thanks for the help!

 

[gariig]

Things you WILL need is a power supply(a case isn't much more so you might as well), CPU, and motherboarad. There are P4 motherboards that use SDRAM(what the P3s use) but it makes your computer pathetically slow(the RAM works much slower then your CPU for simplicity sake). So now you will probably need new RAM(DDR is preferred as it is cheaper and offers close enough speed to Rambus RAM).


All this is a pain in the butt to do really. Unless you are looking to learn a lot about the innards of a computer or already know what you are doing(I'm assuming you don't, no biiggie) I would try Dell or Gateway. Having somebody else worry about your computer is a great thing. I would definitely get their tech support for as long as you want your computer. If you think it should last 3 years, then get support for 3 years and after that junk it and getet a new P5 . Check out Fat Wallet forums and Anandtech forums for some good deals on computers.

If you are interested in building your own computer, check out the Anandtech forums still. They talk about building computers all the time and check the Net for FAQs but finding up-to-date ones are hard as hardware changes so quickly.

Gariig

 

[Usurper]

My advice:

1. Get an AMD processor. They work just as well and are generally far less costly.

2. Find a friend who knows how to build computers. Have him walk you through it. Buy him dinner. Since you bought the AMD instead of the P4, you can afford this. And the knowledge will be helpful in the future, because you'll probably want to upgrade again in the next couple years.

3. Shop for the mobo/processor combo at pricewatch.com so that you don't have to spend an extra 50+ dollars like you would at your local computer store. More savings, yay.

4. Backup your files and reinstall your OS. As I understand it, windows autodetects your mobo components and assigns irqs to your devices on installation. I'm fairly sure you'll end up with device conflicts if you just yoink the drive out and stick it on another board without doing a clean install.

 

[Psionicist]

Hello there!

Generally, you have to swap out both the CPU and RAM if you change motherboard. You can keep disk-drives, expansion cards ( such as ethernet adapters, sound cards and so on - unless they are REALLY old, if they are you will notice during the installation because old hardware, such as components with an ISA interface, won't fit anywhare on the new motherboard), graphics card and the mechanical components as CD-ROM and floppy drive.

Also note that, if you upgrade from an older dell/hp/compaq/whatever OEM computer you need a new case and power supply (PSU) or the motherboard and power connectors won't fit. Your old PSU are too weak to power new components.

There you have the basics, now you just have to choose components that work well together and do the assembly part.

 

[Psionicist]

Btw, I would seriously recommend you to shop for components at www.newegg.com , friends I trust from US say they are really good.

 

[Judas]

Things to note:

1. Upgrading from a Dell/HP/Compaq/Sony/Toshiba are generally NOT possible. Each of these OEMs have custom layouts for the placement of mounting points, ports, headers, and in the case of Dell, customized pinouts on the ATX power cable.
2. Most older gateway systems will allow a simple motherboard swap, but this is not always the case.
3. Going from an Intel architechture, to a AMD architechture without reloading windows, can be BAD. It is sometimes a not possible if you're running Windows2000 or WindowsXP.
4. Ram will have to be upgraded unless you go with a AMD Duron, or Intel Celeron CPU. Those CPUs still run with PC100 memory.
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[KenM]

I have an emachine brand, thinking about doing this, anyone know how emachines are for swapping out motherboard/ CPU?

 

[jdavis]

E machines are horrible to upgrade like this (I have owned 3 of them). What you are doing when you change out motherboards and CPU's is building a new computer not upgrading a old one, the motherboard and the CPU are the computer, the other parts are just parts, that being said building a computer is no harder than playing with Legos. Get a case and a new powersupply(don't skimp on the powersupply, I found that out the hard way), alot of cases come with a power supply. Take the old computer completly apart and build the new computer in the new case. You have to do a little research to make sure everything will switch over, I'd advise buying a book or magazine with detailed information on what you are doing (with pictures, you definatly want pictures of each and every step). Another thing to remember is that a simple static electric shock (like you get from dragging your feet over carpet) will completely destroy a motherboard. If you don't feel 100% comfortable with the process then don't do it, you are building a new computer, buying a new computer isn't that expensive anymore.

Links:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/
lots of good information and "how to" articles

http://www.ubid.com/
Yes it is a auction site but it is parts from a company instead of a individual, you can get some pretty good deals there.

http://www.pricewatch.com/
The most important site to check before you buy any component, it can keep you from getting ripped off in just a few clicks of a mouse.

http://www.motherboards.org/
exactly what the title says, they have articles and news on motherboards, very helpful.

http://compgeeks.com/
One of my favorite parts sites, most of the stuff is used or refurbished but you can really save some money here.

http://techsupportalert.com/
lots of how to guides

http://store.yahoo.com/buycaseonline/
huge selection of cases

http://www.electroseller.com/
more cases

http://directron.com/
a huge selection of everything

http://www.tcwo.com/
very good parts site

There are 100's of computer parts sites out there and not all are good ones.