Need Your Help. Am Lost

[GarageFlower]

Hi There people

Right well i got an old pentium II system which i want to update.

I found the case i want, etc etc.

i wanna get a new mobo, processor, the lots basically.

What i have at the moment is two IDE hard drives and Two CD drives plugged into the two IDE ports on the mobo.

What i have found though is lots of new mobos dont have ide ports and have SATA instead. what the hell should i do.

can i get cables which plug IDE drives into SATA ports.

i wanna get a pentium 4 processor and mobo by the way

[EzyStvy]

What "i have found though is lots of new mobos dont have ide ports"

But, most mobo's DO have IDE ports. Just keep looking.

[GarageFlower]

Ok some new mobos do have IDE ports instead of SATA.

But say i want one of the ones with SATA on it cause the other stuff on it suit me better.

Is there any ways i can connect the two IDE hds and TWO IDE cd drives to these SATA connectors? IE get a lead which IDE one end and SATA the other?]
are these available ?
are they expensive?
where can i get them?

THank you please very much
boo

[mikezel]

I don't *think* that is possible, but it may be. What mobo(s) are you looking at? Chances are that they do have IDE, and you are just missing it (it might be hiding under the name 'ATA').

Mike

[EzyStvy]

As many mobo's as I've looked at in the last couple of months, can't say that I've seen any that didn't have IDE ports.

[GarageFlower]

Hey there you two

thank you for your much needed assistance.

you are both right, i was looking for IDE and not ATA as one of you has stated.

Many thanks. Worries over now then.

Well i want to get a pentium 4 processor and a decent mobo.

im gonna get my own sound and graphics cards so onboard sound or graphics is not required.

what would you recommend?

also how do i tell if my current mobo is atx?

[mikezel]

What is your budget for the mobo / your PC, and what do you plan to use it for? We can help you better with this information.

A Pentium II mobo, is *probably* ATX (i think), but if it is a factory-built PC (i.e. a Compaq or a Dell), it is probably not a standard ATX, meaning that it is not compatible with standard cases or power supplies.

Mike

[GarageFlower]

Well my PC at the moment is a factory one from Tiny.

I am based in London, UK

Is there anyway I can tell whether it is standard ATX before i remove it and try and put it into a new ATX case?

Well im looking to spend about £500 on a new mobo and processor. as well as the ram. might spend a little more

apologies if this post is in the wrong forum

[kilgoretrout]

I'd just get a new case and PSU rather than trying to use the old one. You're going to have to buy a new PSU anyway; a PII PSU won't work for P4. Also, get a high quality PSU like Antec or Enermax; cheap PSUs are nothing but trouble.

[glc]

Don't even try to reuse Tiny components - they are quite substandard.

[GarageFlower]

I wasnt intending to use tiny parts.

I just wanted to have a test run at moving a motherboard into a new case and could have done with the practice that is all.

I intend to get a P4 and new mobo.

Im just not sure whcih ones.

Any suggestions?

I want to buy seperate graphics and sound cards as well.

If i build a new system can i just move my current hard drive with windows on it straight into the new system and all the programmes should work fine?

I will just prob need to install all the new devices yes???

[glc]

What version of Windows is on the drive? This makes a big difference in how to handle the move.

As asked before, what is your budget for parts? Video card recommendations need your proposed use first - how much and what type of gaming, if any. How critical is audio? Most of today's motherboards have decent onboard sound.

[GarageFlower]

windows xp home edition is what is on the drive

my budget
mobo processor £550
graphics card £120 (i dont do much gaming but i want a decent one)
sound £200 (i play guitar and want a decent soundcard with lots of ports to be able to plug in guitars mixiing desks 4 tracks etc) sound is very important dont want onboard sound card

[glc]

We can work with that - thanks!

I'm going to assume that you are in the UK being that you are quoting prices in pounds - and I'll use Ebuyer links for my recommendations, not that you would necessarily make your purchases from them.

Motherboard: (Asus P4C800-E Deluxe, 128 quid incl VAT)

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=628501203&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=54256

Processor: (Intel P4 - 3.2 Northwood, 179 quid incl VAT)

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=628518966&action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=52439

I think you might want to get some RAM, let's include that in your 550 quid budget: (Corsair 1gb PC3200 dual channel kit, 225 quid incl VAT)

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=628542652&action=c2VsZWN0X3Byb2R1Y3Rfb3ZlcnZpZXc=&product_uid=46788

Video card: (Sapphire 9600XT 128mb, 103 quid incl VAT)

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=628571004&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=55188

Sound card: (Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro, external I/O box, 147 quid incl VAT)

[GarageFlower]

That is exactly the sort of advice i was looking for.

Thank you for your time and effort. It is very much appreciated.

I will let you know how I get on.

Cheers Dude