mobo upgrade suggestions needed

[nightsky]

Current sys specs: PIII600E Secc2, Soyo 6ba+IV, PC100, 639mb, Dualboot ATA100 segate 160gb primary drive for windows98se, ATA33 40gb for Slackware, Geforce 2GTS 32mb video card, GB ethernet card, DSL 2WIRE GATEWAY, di5601-1 modem, PLex cd-writer w8432Ti, Asus S520 cdrom.
I just want to upgrade mobo to get rid of the HPT366 UDMA Controller, I am not a gamer and don't know how to over clock. My primary uses are related to photography and graphic work. I want to upgrade to windows XP Pro. What mobo would let me use the hardware I currently have and give me a little upgrade room? Which mobo in this category is the highest rated? I do not want to have to worry about over heating problems.

[EzyStvy]

That would be a lot of work for next to no benefits...

Can get a PCI controller for 12 bucks..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816124001

[glfredrick]

I agree with Ezy...

I'm sitting with a machine similar in range to what you're talking about, and I've long ago passed its limits. Yes, it still works, I'm using it right now, but it isn't worth dumping another penny into, especially with the prices of new systems these days.

You can get a barebones system, dump in your periphrials and be amazed at the fact that you can process your pictures in seconds instead of minutes...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...+%2f+Pentium+4

[nightsky]

glfredrick, Does: Onboard Video Intel GMA X3000 mean mobo comes with this graphic card embedded? If I upgrade I want video card that supports 22" LCD, 1600X1200 resolution, a minimum 1000:1 contrast ratio, 8+ms spd is fine (no need for speed). Sharpness and color most important.

What does Video Memory Shared, mean? Will I have to buy a new CPU and memory with bare bones setup? (FYI my current sys has 2 mitsumi floppy drives too Thanks for your help. The pci card won''t work with current soyo mobo.

If I go with the new bare bones, what can I do with my current system it still works pretty good
just can't install photography and graphic software that is compatible with D-SLR D40 and Mac Power Book OS-X 10.4? I tried getting gimp and that is a huge project in itself, too much to deal with on top of setting up websites as galaries and portfolios... Appreciate all suggestions and help.

[Alaron]

Onboard video means the graphics are built into the motherboard, yes. And onboard video can support a large LCD, but for graphic work, you'll probably want to invest in a dedicated video card.

Shared memory means that the onboard video steals your system ram for itself. This is only ideal for office machines. Like I mentioned, you'll want to look at a video card to avoid this issue.

You'll really only be able to reuse the hard drive and optical drives from your old machine. Everything else will have to be upgraded.

What is your budget for the new machine? We can build a system for you then.

[glfredrick]

Alaron was right on the money... That MB has a video capability built in, but likely not high enough performance for your use. Adding on another video card won't hurt anything except your pockebook, and it will work wonders for your sort of work. The new cards have some SO far from what was available just a short time ago.

Same with shared system resources (RAM and processor time). The on-board graphics will borrow from ram. Having 256 or 512 mb RAM on the card will help with this.

With a bare bones, yes, you will have to purchase RAM and a CPU, plus use your existing drives, monitor, keyboard, etc. There are likely better ways to go than a bare bones system, and like Alaron said, if you share your basic budget we'll help you figure out a system that will be custom tailored to your needs.

A new machine doesn't have to be huge dollars... If you check out the system I'm building in my specs below, you'll see that I am making a pretty good machine with top-quality parts for around $600. That could be cut by at least a couple hundred dollars with careful shopping for parts and case, using a slightly lower speed processor, no hard drive, and using value-priced RAM instead of some that is built for over clocking.

That's why I showed you the bare bones page on the Egg. You get case, power supply, mother board, and it is all installed and wired for one $$$. Just plug in the rest and you're all set, but it isn't difficult at all to put your own system together with proven parts.

I've built a lot of systems, and modified every one I've owned with upgrade parts, but this is my first new system in quite a while, so I've had a learning curve to grow through. Wasn't as bad as I thought, and I'm having a blast checking out what works, for what $$$ and then trying to get it all ordered and built.

Keep us posted.

[nightsky]

Well, I wasn't looking to build a new PC... this old soyo was my first build years ago. Wouod prefer to spend $$$ on 22" S-IP LCD Monitor If I do a new build, what will I do with my old PC? Seems wasteful. What do you guys do with your old rigs and processors? As for a budget for a new build I would say $600 tops, preferably closer to $500. Which ms OS? Currently dual boot is C: win98se and HD2/Slackware.

[glc]

600 bucks will get you a complete build that will make that old machine look sick.

[XenaWP]

That's what I plan to do. Use it as a file/print server and for surfing. I plan to keep the new build off the Internet. It will have all my graphics/video software, MS Office, a game or two, and some basic/free anti-virus stuff with low system resource usage. I'll have my film and flatbed scanners attached to the new machine too.

Originally Posted by nightsky Well, I wasn't looking to build a new PC... this old soyo was my first build years ago. Wouod prefer to spend $$$ on 22" S-IP LCD Monitor If I do a new build, what will I do with my old PC? Seems wasteful. What do you guys do with your old rigs and processors? As for a budget for a new build I would say $600 tops, preferably closer to $500. Which ms OS? Currently dual boot is C: win98se and HD2/Slackware.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by nightsky If I do a new build, what will I do with my old PC? Seems wasteful. What do you guys do with your old rigs and processors?

I had a computer very similar to yours (PIII 550MHz on a SOYO 6BA+III) but I forced myself to finally retired it. I still have all the parts though (can't get rid of them for sentimental reasons I guess)...in fact I still have most of the parts from all the computers I've built for myself, mostly Slot 1 processors and motherboards that I keep in our storage room. Just can't bring myself to get rid of them. I still have one PIII Slot 1 based computer running as my net cruiser (PIII 800MHz on a ASUS P2B-F) and will probably keep it running till it drops. But I know what you mean about it being wasteful not to use that PIII 600MHz...those old BX based motherboards were just so stable and reliable that they were a joy to use, that's why I still run my PIII 800MHz...never gives me any trouble.

But I agree with glc, a new $600 build would totally blow your old computer out of the water.

Cricket

[nightsky]

Like the idea of using old rig as file/print server and surfing, does this mean I can store webpage projects too? So what mobo you think is most stable and flexible? What CPU and video card you think will be best for graphic production. Not for gaming ok? What OS, Vista, XP?

[glfredrick]

I used to be sentimental with my old parts as well... Good stuff that I paid a TON of money to get, but finally one day I laid it all out on a table at my yard sale.

Some dude came along and I told him he could have everything on the table for $50. He freaked and backed up his truck... I just smiled. 386, 486, Pentium, 13" monitors, 4 MB video cards, MB RAM sticks, all gone...

I probably gave away $5K worth of stuff that day, but obsolete is obsolete.

I don't even like surfing on my current machine. It struggles to keep up with the latest virus software, IE, and Outlook. Can't wait to run my new build. The old one will go to grandma, for email. She doesn't know fast...

I don't have room to be sentimental anymore. When I moved last time, I ended up dumping another 5 machines, even my first Midwest Micro case that I was keeping for old timesake. They went out with the trash.

We ought to recycle our old computers -- too much good stuff going into landfills, but until someone makes it a viable enterprise, most will end up as fill.

[glc]

Your old rig would be plenty good for use as a fileserver - store anything you want on it. You could use it as a Linux box if you want to play around and learn Linux. Linux boxes make excellent fileservers. You can even use a KVM switch so you only need one keyboard, mouse, and monitor for both machines.

You may want to start a thread in BYOPC to get ideas for a new build. With the Intel price reductions, you should be able to get a entry level Core 2 Duo on a 945 2.0 chipset board and an entry level video card within your budget.

[nightsky]

Thanks guys. Hey Glfredrick, I haven't run IE since Firefox came out and don't struggle or worry about virus when surfing. Since I installed Firefox win98se stopped crashing and no more reinstalls. What are the specs for your new build? Answers and suggestions for new build in new thread in BYOPC.

[glfredrick]

Originally Posted by nightsky Thanks guys. Hey Glfredrick, I haven't run IE since Firefox came out and don't struggle or worry about virus when surfing. Since I installed Firefox win98se stopped crashing and no more reinstalls. What are the specs for your new build? Answers and suggestions for new build in new thread in BYOPC.

The specs are in my sig above. Don't know why they don't show for every post.

[glc]

Sigs only show in the first post you make in each thread. This is by design.

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