Replace old motherboard (socket 478)

[zapdotep]

Hello,

I helped my brother build this comp many years ago. Comfortable with taking apart/putting stuff together but no experience buying electronics online. Looked at Amazon, Geeks.com, Pricewatch. Are these guys trustworthy?

The motherboard is broken now because of:
1. blown capacitor
2. bad flash of the BIOS

Now it probably could work if only the BIOS is fixed, but the blown capacitor is one of four in a row right next to the heat sink, where the hot air comes out, so I don't trust the other three to stay in operation for long.

Intended purpose: General use (mostly internet and word processing). Repaired capability preferably equal or better to existing capability before it broke. Otherwise anything is OK as long as it works.

Budget: $50 US. Shipping to Hawaii.

Requirements:
Compatibility with existing CPU and RAM (see below). Onboard LAN, onboard sound, PS/2 mouse & keyboard connectors, ribbon connectors for HDD and optical drives (dunno if it's called IDE or ATA or what).

Preferably with:
AGP slot, Floppy ribbon connector

Nice to have:
USB 2.0

Low priority:
Phone connector, serial connector



Existing condition:

Case: Something generic, has 300W power supply, plenty of room inside so don't worry about it.

Motherboard (broken): ASUS P4S333-VM
(Warning: 8 MB file) http://www.ibora.net/board/up/107777..._p4s333-vm.pdf

CPU: Pentium 4 1.8 GHz

RAM: two sticks of these 512 MB for total of 1 GB:
Kingston ValueRAM KVR266X64C25/512 DDR266 SDRAM 184-Pin
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR266X64C25_512.pdf

Graphics: ASUS ATi Radeon 7000 (can't find specs on exact one - just know it uses an AGP slot)


I think the limiting issue is RAM compatibility?

Any help will be very appreciated. Thanks!

[glc]

The only vendor that I trust that stocks old Intel motherboards does not ship to Hawaii, sorry.

[Preston]

Some have had success in recapping a MB...worth a try if you want a new challenge.

Dell Dimension 2400 issue

There is a ton of info out there about recapping if you Google "Bad Capacitors".

[zapdotep]

Originally Posted by glc The only vendor that I trust that stocks old Intel motherboards does not ship to Hawaii, sorry.

Aww that's too bad. But thanks for answering!

Originally Posted by Preston Some have had success in recapping a MB...worth a try if you want a new challenge.

Interesting option. I have a little bit of experience with soldering. But then I'd still need to fix the BIOS.

Thanks guys! Maybe I'll look into buying somebody's old mobo on eBay.