Have a P4 motherboard - what parts are compatible?

[arkavon]

I'm trying to build a home desktop to learn more about computers. I have purchased a P4 motherboard from an Optiplex GX400 and I'm wondering where I can find a list of parts that are compatible with it. I currently need gfx, video, sound cards, ram, the processor(does it have to be P4?) .. basically everything necessary t make this work, including hdd. Can somebody help me out with this?

[EzyStvy]

Your friend and mine "Google" should be able to help you out.

[glc]

That is not a suitable motherboard to try to build around. It's proprietary and it's outdated technology, which is generally more expensive to find parts for than current entry level tech.

Current tech parts can be very inexpensive and very easy to find. Trying to build that thing up with compatible parts will probably cost you more and be a headache to find. The new tech stuff will also perform much better than anything you can find for that old platform.

Sell off the board you just bought to someone who has an Optiplex with a dead motherboard.

[arkavon]

Okay so then which motherboard would you recommend for someone who is new to this?

[shadowpr]

Asus p5q or p5k series.

They are good quality.

[glc]

How much is your budget for building the whole computer, and what uses do you want it optimized for?

Moving this thread to BYOPC.

[arkavon]

yeah sorry I never scrolled down to see that part. Looking to make one for 400$, and so I figured an older motherboard and what not would be much cheaper. So Asus?

[shadowpr]

Do you have an operating disc already? Or is it a recovery disc that came with a pre-built?

EDIT:

Case/Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153089

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131288

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115052

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231108

Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148231

DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106072

That gives a price of: $373 before shipping and tax.

You will have to reuse your monitor, and keyboard and mouse.


EDIT 2: Price can come down a bit more, but that build is pretty good for the price.

[arkavon]

No operating disc, so all this stuff on newegg is compatible with itself?

[shadowpr]

Yes.

If you need an operating disc: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116511

Or you could try linux which is a free download.

[arkavon]

I need to learn Linux for my physics research. Could I get the same harddrive just with ATA instead of SATA?

[shadowpr]

Is there a reason that you would rather have an ide hard drive?

[arkavon]

I don't really know what "ide" means. Though I feel like I probably should. Interface Development Environment, yes? What's the difference between ATA and SATA?

[shadowpr]

ata is also called ide. It's older technology now.

Sata is the newer interface. The cables are also smaller so you get a less cluttered computer.

Plus most motherboard makers are using third party ide controllers which may/may not be problematic.

No real reason to go ide if buying all new.

[arkavon]

So I'm going to get all this stuff - I already have a 400 W case coming, so I assume that will work well enough. Now, for the learning aspect - what was it about all these parts that led you to conclude they were compatible with one another? What should I look for in the future?

[shadowpr]

What case and power supply do you have coming?

Most case and power supply combos come with poor quality power supplies.

When trying to see if everything is compatible, you should usually start with the motherboard. Then you look to see what ram it takes and what processor it can support.

Then you look at the connections it has for drives, and get drives that match.

The best way to learn, is to look at a lot of different builds on these forums. You will get an idea of how things are picked and why pretty quickly.

This is where I learned.

[glc]

The recommended motherboard has a native IDE/ATA controller, but IDE/ATA is old tech. SATA hard drives and optical drives are better. That board has 4 SATA ports. The motherboard comes with one SATA cable and the recommended DVD burner comes with one, so an OEM SATA hard drive is all you need. Most decent power supplies have at least one SATA power connector, and the DVD burner comes with a 4 pin to SATA adapter, so you are all set there.

[arkavon]

Okay, thanks for the help. But on the note of looking at motherboards - I looked on this p4 I have(just posted it on Ebay today) and I can't find labels where it says what it will take. Are they not on this brand?

[shadowpr]

Do you have the model of the board?

I would try a google search with that model number and see what comes up.

Sorry I can't help you more then that.

[arkavon]

I found a picture diagram once labeling what the ports were, but no more than that. I suspect the ASUS motherboard will have better labels since they know you're building it yourself. Oh yeah - I will be building it in a room with hardwood floors. I don't think there is much danger of static discharge. Should I still take precautions?

[shadowpr]

Only precautions I take is not do it on fuzzy rug or carpet, and place the motherboard on the card board box. Don't place things on the bags they come in.

I would also suggest you do an out of case build firts to make sure everything is in working order and you didn't get a bad part.

Basically this: PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[arkavon]

That is a great idea - only now I will have to take all the parts, once I get them, to my lab in the Physics building. They have monitors there - I only have a laptop here. Is it possible to hook this up to my laptop's monitor? I was looking to build it and then bring it to the lab to run it and see how it worked.

[shadowpr]

I would just bring your current monitor to where you're going to build it. Might be easier.

I personally wouldn't try getting it to post with a laptop screen. That would just be one more vaiable that might not work and cause problems.

[glc]

Optiplex GX400's were very early P4's, and came with several different motherboards. Most were Socket 423 that took RDRAM. If you can get 20 bucks for it, you will be doing well.

[arkavon]

I have all the parts that shadow's list told me to get, but I noticed that I do not have a video or graphics card - I assume I need both to run Windows Vista, or any other operating system. Is this true? Also, how can I tell if a given gfx/video card is compatible, and what are recommended cards?

[Alaron]

The motherboard has onboard video. You just plug the monitor directly to it.

If you want to add a card, you need one that is PCI-Express.

[arkavon]

If I want to make this PC a good gaming PC, is it recommended to get a video card? Is a video card the same as a gfx card? And why are these cards better than motherboard standard? What about sound, does that come with the video card, or the motherboard for that matter, or is that yet another part that needs installation?

[vtfanmv5]

Originally Posted by arkavon If I want to make this PC a good gaming PC, is it recommended to get a video card? Is a video card the same as a gfx card? And why are these cards better than motherboard standard? What about sound, does that come with the video card, or the motherboard for that matter, or is that yet another part that needs installation?

Video and Graphics card means the same thing. If you want to have a good gaming PC, it is definitely recommended to have a quality video card.

Why are they better than the motherboard standard? Not everyone wants a graphics card, I guess, and the onboard graphics might be all they need. With the size of some cards today, there is also no way they could fit onto a motherboard. Or be cooled properly.

Onboard sound is generally sufficient for most people (onboard sound means on the motherboard, not graphics card).

[Katreat]

On-board graphics have gotten really good in recent years and for a household system will work just fine. They are also very good for multi-media like playing movies. However, games are very graphics intensive and even the best on-board video do not have the processing power to handle newer games are decent settings. This is probably the main reason you dont build a $400 gamer, right from the start you have to invest $100+ (more + the better) in a video card. Your MB has a PCI slot for just that purpose if you want to add a card later to get it up to gaming standards but it is not necessary if you just plan on doing basic internet browing, word processing, and multi-media.

On board sound is also very good these days and most people are pretty happy with it for both gaming and multi-media. But sound cards do offer you more options and are especially good if you have a very high power speaker set up.

As for why they are better I think it is because the high power GPUs would never fit on a MB. Even if they fit they could probably not cool them. Graphic cards for gaming are very powerful, use a lot of power, and require their own cooling. They just cant put something with those requirements on the MB.

Kat

[arkavon]

Ok so I'm currently getting the 32 bit windows vista, but I'm wondering if it will recognize the 4GB Ram on the motherboard? What's the difference between 64 and 32 bit, anyway?