motherboard replacement

[BanginJimmy]

Ive been searching for a while and I cant find a decent answer so I figured I would ask here. I want to change out the processor on my desktop, but its a typical mass produced HP and from what I have been able to find, the processor is soldered to the motherboard. So, that means I need a new motherboard and it also gives me an excuse to swap out 32 bit Vista for Windows 7 64 bit.

So my question is, can I just get the motherboard I want and swap it in, or will it cause all types of problems? I really dont want to build a new computer from scratch, but the computer is about 2 years old and is having a little trouble with MW2 and BFBC2.

[SlowEG9]

check out newegg or microcenter and get a barebones kit...keep the case and save money there and get what you actually want...

[600 Double R]

yeah microcenter is where i shop. good prices and they have sales all the time. i actually used an old case and put all new parts in it...motherboard, cpu, hard drive, dvd burner, power supply, etc...

[BanginJimmy]

I was really hoping to avoid doing all that though because I've never done it and I'm not what you would call computer savvy. I guess I will start to piece together a few things though and see what it will cost me.

[civicturbo10]

I think it can be done. What you could do is call up a Microcenter with the specs you have and they can guide you in the right direction. They new board should be slide right in, along with your new processor. I remember looking inside these massed produced PCs and they look proprietary but i think reg stuff can slide right in.

[SmackedInATL]

I was really hoping to avoid doing all that though because I've never done it and I'm not what you would call computer savvy. I guess I will start to piece together a few things though and see what it will cost me.

I can help you if you want. You need to post the model # of your HP computer and what graphics card you have. You most likely are suffering from graphics issues if you have no upgraded the power supply from the stock HP unit. The best gaming processor for the money is the Intel i5-750 which goes for $189.99 at Micro Center coupled with a decent motherboard for about 120-150, or 160-180 if you want a lot of overclocking ability. What is your budget?

[BanginJimmy]

budget isnt really an issue as long as I dont go crazy, but I would prefer to keep all upgrades to under 300 if possible. Any more than that and I would have to start thinking about just replacing the whole thing, again, something I prefer to not do right now.

Computer is an HP Pavilion a6230n and everything on the computer right now is stock except the graphics card, I am using an NVidia GeForce 9800GT.


Thanks for the help.

[SmackedInATL]

Okay, well the way I see it, if you are going to upgrade the motherboard, you might as well ditch the crappy value ram in the machine current and get new cpu, mobo, and ram.

The AMD quad-core black edition runs about $160 and about $115 for a nice motherboard.

cpu: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0325957
mobo: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0323771
ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

I do not like Micro Center for ram. Problem is, those upgrade might warrant a better PSU. Also, if you could spare about $70 more, the Intel i5-750 system would be a touch nicer.

[BanginJimmy]

I looked into microcenter, for only $10 more than the i5, I can get the i7-930. From my quick bit of novice at best research, the i7 will be a bit faster, but it will put out a bit more heat, and only cost me about another $10.

I have absolutely no clue what to look for with a motherboard. I do want something that is decent though so I can upgrade a little bit around it.

To be honest though, it is looking more and more like I need to build a new computer from scratch. I figure if I do it over the next few months I can purchase everything I need for about $150 a month and have a decent computer for light gaming by the time it starts cooling down outside. If I do that, I will only use it for gaming and leave internet and other computer tasks to the PC I already have.




reps to everyone that has responded.

[SmackedInATL]

I looked into microcenter, for only $10 more than the i5, I can get the i7-930. From my quick bit of novice at best research, the i7 will be a bit faster, but it will put out a bit more heat, and only cost me about another $10.

I have absolutely no clue what to look for with a motherboard. I do want something that is decent though so I can upgrade a little bit around it.

To be honest though, it is looking more and more like I need to build a new computer from scratch. I figure if I do it over the next few months I can purchase everything I need for about $150 a month and have a decent computer for light gaming by the time it starts cooling down outside. If I do that, I will only use it for gaming and leave internet and other computer tasks to the PC I already have.




reps to everyone that has responded.

Hey sorry, kind of forgot about this thread. If you go with the i7-930 you will be paying much more for motherboard and ram, without little to no benefit unless you run heavy graphic rendering or video rendering programs. HT threading will allow these heavy programs to use 8 cores instead of 4 cores. But no game right now uses 8 cores.

[eg mike]

We'll looks like you got all your info you needed. Let us know what setup you are looking into or already got!

[jorgen]

First, know your form factors for motherboards.
CoolerMasters make great cases for cheap. Server sytle cases. Will fit any board you can throw at it with room for seven hard drives.

When you change the motherboard, read up on the processes. The static electricity in your body can fry the board just by touching it. Plug in the power supply, run a wire from the computer case to your wrist, this will ground you out and prevent the static from killing your board.

The only advantage I have seen for 64bit is its ability to use more than 3.5G of ram.
If you don't need more ram than that, you don't need a 64 O.S.

You shouldn't have any problems, but I have run into such problems in my work.
Example, User with 64bit laptop Remotes into a 32Bit computer and wants to print from the Remote session to his local printer.
Due to the different drivers, this was impossible. So be aware of the apps and drivers you will require, and make sure they are supported by 64bit.