Best sites for purchasing components

Hi,
I have an older computer that actually has a Motherboard that was determined to be (by it's manufacturer) originally not working as intended nor is it fixable..
I need to find a site to purcahse a Motherboard that will run my 900 Thunderbird Processor as it was made...

Any decent sites with great products out there that have good service and warranty records as well???

 

Are you planning on reusing the memory sticks that are on the motherboard? What type of memory, PC100/133 or DDR?

 

Hi Whiskeyman,
Thank you for the reply to my inquiry.

My computer presently has an ASUS V7 Motherboard...
Admitted by ASUS Techs to be a mistake they never could rectify...

I don' t know what type of memory is there except I am fairly certain that it is pre DDR....(put together in 2001) So it is most likely 100/133.

I would like to be able to use as much RAM as possible..

The thing about the present Motherboard is it works for little things.. But if I load just one too many functions it flips out...Can't handle the stress...

Since my processor is an AMD Athlon 900 Thunderbird I will need a socket A type Motherboard...

At this point I really want to find a time tested excellent Motherboard It would be a shame to waste such a good CPU.

 

You might find a good Socket A motherboard that uses PC100/133 on ebay. It took me a few months to find a replacement board for my 1 GHz Slot A T'bred. I finally found it on ebay but it wasn't cheap for a used board. If you didn't mind spending a little extra you could pick up a Socket A motherboard that supports that CPU at NewEgg but it uses DDR memory. You can get a stick of PC2100 very reasonably.

 

Hi Steve and Whiskey man,
Thank you for thr replies to my post..

What is a Front side Bus and how and where do I go to define it for this purpose?

Is DDR better for tasks?

I don't mind spending more for something that is actually going to work without me having to walk on egg shells everytime I attempt to install another function or run a sophisticated program.

 

The 900MHz Thunderbird had a 200MHz Front Side Bus. You should have no problem with a motherboard that uses DDR memory and can handle this processor.

 

Here's an inexpensive Board that has onboard sound and onboard video and will take DDR along with your 900MHz Duron.



edit: excuse me - T-Bird

 

Rockster......Thank you for the link....I will check out the Board..

Whiskeyman...Thank you for the valuable information...it will help me greatly
in my search for a better Motherboard.

Thank you all for being so kind as to share your experience and wisdom with me...you are the best.....

 

Just to pass on an experience. The first computer I built (I had rebuilt plenty previously) was an Asus A7V133c motherboard with an 850 Duron. A few years ago I found Asus had a BIOS upgrade for it to take Athlons. My 1.7 Ghz Athlon broke down with bad capacitors so I put the Athlon into the Asus system. It runs PC133 RAM, but I have increased the amount. It is running well as my daughters' computer.

My point would be that DDR RAM is somewhat faster, but programs only specify the amount/size that you have. For me, if I was in the same situation and had a reasonably amount of PC133 RAM originally, I would find a board that would take it. You may increase the speed of the RAM, but you will still be somewhat limited by the speed of the CPU. If the DDR RAM could be used in a future upgrade, then yes, that would work out well (upgrading the CPU later).

Just how I would look at it.

Matt

 

I'm in total agreement with Mattman on this - it doesn't make sense in this situation to go out and buy DDR memory, provided you have a decent amount of regular SDRAM. This is especially true considering that the processor itself is only a 900MHz CPU. You should consider dropping $30 into a new mobo, using the same memory and being done with it.

As to the second thought, rationalizing a motherboard with DDR and possibly upgrading the CPU at some point in the future, it makes some sense but its kind of like letting the tail wag the dog. You might be better off looking at a Mobo/CPU combination along with some new memory to maximize the return on your investment.

 

And here's another option for you in line with the "keep the same memory" thinking.