Upscaling the motherboard (MB)

I understand that an OEM system will have the cheapest MB possible, cutdown
but still able to justify the MB designation.

So, the question is: If i purchase/replace the MB (with same id) from
somewhere else, and having all the bells and whistles turned on, its to my
advantage, right?

For example, a 915G from the OEM is "less than" a board i could get from buying
the same board from Intel 915G?

thanks,
savagcl

 

Some OEM motherboards have been based on the retail "equivalents ". Most are "made to order ", taking only components they want for their motherboard.

"Upscaling" is what the OEM does not want you to do. I would say that there is very little chance that you will get a retail motherboard to actually fit into an OEM case. If the motherboard was to break-down they want you replace it with their own, not yours.

I will give you an example. Gateway have a model 9310 that is based on the 915G chipset (Did I spot it Clif? ), they call it the South Lake 2 motherboard. The motherboard has a BTX form factor (11.2 X 10.5 inches). From information at Intel the only equivalent retail motherboards are micro BTX (10.5 X 10.40 inches). The motherboard may have connections, etc, in different places so that cables won't reach, parts of the case/frame may intrude where they normally wouldn't, etc, etc.

Replace an OEM with a retail motherboard, I don't think you will be able to.

You would need a new case. Then, can the OEM power supply be transferred?
Are you going to keep the same CPU or get a new model? Some thoughts/research for you.

Matt

 

Just my humble opinion on new computers...

If you want it as an "appliance ", like a toaster, where if you replace it every two years and don't ever plan on upgradeing it then a packaged computer is fine.

If you intend to ever upgrade it so you can keep it around for awhile then build your own. It's really not hard as long as you follow instructions and you end up with a much stronger system for the same or less money.

 

Matt,

D*mn! Was thinking about replacing the MB and keeping everything else, but
guess thats a non-starter. Thanks for saving me some bucks, Matt.
Oh, and Yes, you did "Spot" it correctly......

I had planned to get a larger PS anyway. So the solution is to get a new MB
including chipset, a new case and PS. Everything else is swappable with some
thought to the type of memory of course.

jaylach,

Thats what i've been doing, you got it right except for the timing.
Normally, i'll keep a PC for 1 year, maybe 1 1/2 years (depending on my Chief
of Staff (wife) and her minimal ability to let go of a dollar). Then it time to
replace it.

clif

PS: Heading home today (Kentucky), will be out of touch all day but back on line
tonight.

 

If I was in the market at the moment, I would look at getting a motherboard based on the AMD 939 CPU that will support the "Athlon FX" dual-core processor, BUT only get the standard 64bit with it, at around 2.8 to 3.0Ghz, that will handle everything around at the moment...then...when the finalized version of Windows 64 bit is released, get a nice Athlon FX (that will have dropped in price by then). With DDR2 RAM, that should be one HOT machine.

As Jay said (in another thread), Asus is a very good motherboard to start with. I will put in a plug for ABIT (supposedly one of the top manufacturers). Mine was easy to build from good instructions and they have good support at their website.

If you want to use the new Gateway for a litlle while yet and like Intel, see what Intel have in store as far as the dual-core processors are concerned.


Like kids in a lolly shop (candy store) ...(shhhh! don't tell the Chief of Staff)
Matt

 

Hi Matt,

A small horror story -
Problem:I was gone for 3 weeks. Came home, booted up, ZA
said it detected new network (Guess this is how comcast
makes changes(?)). Applied new network, opened browser, -
timed out with "cannot find URL" error msg.

I ran all my sys checkers (all clean). Finally gave up and called
comcast. The "Tech" came out bright and early next AM. He
looked at the network settings, etc, etc. He must have been here
all of 10 minutes. He said it was an intermittent PC problem and
they couldnt work on it, then he left (I got a real strong impression
that he wanted a cup of coffee or something).

Solution: I took my pc to best buy and they had it working in 5
minutes. Not a PC problem at all! The checkbox for "Obtain DNS
Server Address Automatically" had somehow got turned off (maybe
their "new network" thing). My sys was working perfectly when i
left.

The comcast Tech had looked right at that window and said/did
nothing. I better not get a charge for this "service" call.

Lesson learned: Believe it if you see it and then get a second
opinion!!!

I'll look at the AMD 939 soon as things settle down around here some that is. Intell has
some interesting new processors available but i dont think they've hit the market yet.
The I 955X comes in various packages all look good. 1066 FSB, dual processors, can
handle 32 and 64 bit apps, etc, etc.

Yes, i'll be playing with the new GW some. Will need to swap the sound card, PS, TDK
CD-RW and upgrade the graphics to a PCI X 6600GT. Heres the specs:

Operating System:.....Windows® XP Home, Service Pack 2
Processor:............P4 Processor 630 with HT (3 GHz,800MHz FSB,2MB L2 cache)
Chipset:..............Intel® 915G Chipset with DDR2 Support
Memory:...............1GB (1024MB) 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel (2-512MB modules)
Monitor 19" LCD Flat screen
Hard Drive:...........160GB 7200RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive w/ 8MB Cache
Floppy Drive:.........8-in-1 media card reader and floppy drive
Optical Drive:........16x Double-Layer Multi-Format DVD Writer (DVD±/R±RW/CD-R/RW)
Video:................integrated video
Keyboard/Mouse:.......Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
Sound System:.........Integrated Intel® 7.1 High Definition audio
Modem:................56K PCI data/fax modem
PCI Adapter:..........Integrated IEEE 1394 (FireWire) PCI Card
Network:..............Integrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet
Controllers:..........1 floppy drive channel,
......................Integrated ultra ATA100 and serial ATA150
......................1 IDE channel each supporting 2 devices per controller
......................4 Serial ATA channels supporting 1 device per controller
Audio.................Intel® High Definition Audio,7.1 channel surround sound
Power Supply..........305 watt, dual voltage power supply
Case:.................Gateway 7-Bay Tower Case
Controller:...........Integrated Ultra ATA Controller
Expansion Slots:
......................(1) PCI-E x16 Expansion Slot,
......................(1) PCI-E x1,
......................(3) PCI in which 2 are available for use
External Ports:
......................(7) USB 2.0 (6 in back 1 in front in media card reader),
......................(2) IEEE 1394 Firewire Ports, Parallel, Serial
......................(2) PS/2
Expansion bays:.......One External 3.5" drive bay
......................Two external 5.25" bays
......................Four internal 3.5" drive bays
Expansion slots:......1 X PCI EXPRESS X16 (available)
......................1 X PCI EXPRESS X1 (available)
......................3 X PCI (2 slots available)
I/O Ports (Front):....2 x IEEE 1394 (6 pin)
......................Microphone Jack
......................Headphone Jack
I/O Ports (Rear):.....PS/2 Keyboard Port
......................PS/2 Mouse Port
......................4 version 2.0 USB ports
......................1 x Serial Port
......................1 x Parallel Port
......................1 x VGA Port
......................1 x RJ11 (on PCI modem)
......................1 x RJ45
......................1 x Front Audio Outs (green)
......................1 x Center/Sub Audio Outs (orange)
......................1 x Rear Speaker Outs (black)
......................1 x Audio Line-in/Side Speaker Outs (blue)
......................1 x Microphone in (red)

So, that will keep me busy for a while.

BTW: How does one disable the integrated sound/video????

thanks, Matt,
clif

 

I ain't Matt, but...

You would disable the on-board video and audio by going to bios and disableing them. On the audio be sure to look for legacy audio that is usually under a different menu heading. IMO it's best to try to find a system without on-board for either. Even if disabled it is possible they may still cause conflict or, at least, leave slots unusable for such cards.

(expecting Matt to grin on this statement...)

Specs you put up show an 800 FSB... Go 64bit AMD and that 800 can be 1600.

Another note on on-board video. I goofed by setting roomie up with a DFI motherboard in relation to video. Now I admit that it is an older board and it DOES function quite well! Just watch out for the term "shared memory" in dealing with on-board video. Even though I have an ATI PCI video card in it for her there is no way to totally turn off the on-board. The best possible is to turn the shared memory down to 2 meg. Since there is 512meg system memory the loss of 2 is trivial. However, it's still a waste of 2meg.

(Strong believer in saving money and getting a stronger system by building my own... )

 

jaylach,

Thanks for the info. Will know more when the sys gets here and i can have a look/see as
to whats what.

Isnt there a problem with going 64 bit now - problem being that not much software exist for
a 64 bit platform presently. More like its in a transition phase but granted it the coming thing.

How does someone interpret the model numbers of Asus, AMD, Abit boards as to speed
(gigahertz)?

thanks guy,
clif

 

A 64bit machine, in theory, should run any 32 bit software out there. I haven't heard of any problems in that area... dosen't mean there aren't any, just that I haven't heard of any.

Actually you won't see much for 64bit until Longhorn is out... 64bit windows. Just my thought that if your gonna upgrade a system ya might as well go all the way if possible and be ready.

Actually a guy hired in where I work while I was on vacation last week that claims to be doing developement for Longhorn... Told him about this site and he said the people here would probably skin him alive... wonder what he did?? Claims he's a reformed hacker.

 

Gigahertz is the speed rating of the CPU (Central Processing Unit), THE main processing component. AMD (Athlon brand) and Intel (Pentium brand) are really the only two players in the CPU market. AMD do not make motherboards.
Asus and Abit make motherboards, also, Intel make motherboards. The way motherboards are rated is by their chipset and by the features that they include (like that list of features you included above). There is no speed rating for motherboards, but if you have a good chipset you will get good performance.

Asus and Abit make motherboards based on both the Athlon processor and the Pentium processor, but you cannot swap those processors, the motherboard is built for one or the other. Motherboard manufacturers build motherboards for both...one exception is Intel, who only build motherboards for their Pentiums

Matt