Swapping out a motherboard, do it, or don't bother?

[Achán hiNidráne]

My desktop computer is a Gateway 400 Mghz Pentium that I got way back in 1999. Needless to say it's a gotten a little long in the tooth for what I want to do. My last two upgrades was to upgrade Windows 98 to XP and Install a bigger hard drive. However, that's not enough.

I'm faced with two decisions, save up and buy a whole new machine, or swap out the motherboard (and the memory, power source, and the video card) for something a little more current. Is this something that I should try, or is a fool's errand and I should just buy something new?

[Blue Mountain]

A new motherboard may require more power, so you may need a new power supply. And I rather doubt that RAM from 1999 will transfer over. Both the physical format of the chips and the speed will likely have changed.

Price it out. If you can still use the power supply, it will likely come out in your favour cost-wise. If not, a whole new system would probably be pretty much the same price as a new power supply + motherboard + RAM + the hassle of switching things over. But all the parts will be under warranty, so if something does go wrong you replace them at no or little cost.

And you can play around with Linux on the old machine! :D

[Worm]

That's what I did

Got a new system, installed Ubuntu on the old one and use it as a webserver/mailserver etc.

[Mongrel]

With the list of stuff you'd need to change by "swapping" the motherboard you're 90% of the way to a new computer anyway, switch all your drives to SATA and you've got a new computer.

I'd say just build a new one, even if it's just for surfing and Office. Hit your computer supplies store and check their bundle deals :)

[Furi]

If you don't need cutting edge, get an old one or second hand one,

My mainboard pooped out on me the other day, Regs went bye-bye and also crowbarred my graphics card and processor (****). after calculating getting a replacement board processor Graphics and probably memory and anything else that went poof, I was well over the cost of bits for making a new shiny.

Now all I have to do is get the money for it... awww crap

[BigAl]

That's what I did

Got a new system, installed Ubuntu on the old one and use it as a webserver/mailserver etc.

Look at the electric bill for keeping an old machine around. I use
200 watts as a rough guide for power draw without a monitor. The exception is to usi an old laptop. It folds away when it is running properly and it has it's won keyboard and screen when you need to work on it. The old battery provides a few minutes of UPS that will cover most power hits.

As for upgrading the mobo, you may be unable to install the OS CD or any of the Microsoft apps from gateway on any other mobo.

[RazorEddie]

Gateway boxes from that time period used non-standard motherboards and power supplies, so you'd have problems getting a new board and PS to fit the old case.

As other posters have said; you'd be better off buying / building a new one.

RE

[Mongrel]

Gateway boxes from that time period used non-standard motherboards and power supplies, so you'd have problems getting a new board and PS to fit the old case.

As other posters have said; you'd be better off buying / building a new one.

RE

Trying to get a new motherboard that'll accept a PII will be a challenge in itself ;)

[e-sabbath]

Mark, look me up on the channel, and I'll help you get what you want, if you want to save for new.
... but you're not going to have any success upgrading that computer.

[GodMark2]

I just upgraded my brother-in-law's system, his old one was much like yours. We could salvage the drives (Hard drive, CD-ROM, DVD, and Floppy) but needed a new case, power supply, motherboard, CPU, and memory (video card and sound was included in the motherboard). That all only came to ~$200(US). Three hours of working a screwdriver (I forced him to do all the manual labor himself, so he could learn how what he needed to fix or upgrade it later), and everything was working perfectly.

Upgrading can certainly save a bundle of money.

Final system was 2.2GHz Pentium Dual-core, 1G RAM, with the Asus P5L-MX motherboard.

[Saliva]

Don't bother. I'd personally say the new mobo might not agree with your PS, your case, or your wallet.

[e-sabbath]

I'd consider what GodMark2 did 'salvaging some parts from an old system' rather than a computer upgrade, myself.

[Mongrel]

I'd consider what GodMark2 did 'salvaging some parts from an old system' rather than a computer upgrade, myself.

Depending on the budget I'd get new drives, vanilla CD and DVD writers are pretty much disposable now (£12 for a DVD RW), I haven't used a floppy in over 5 years and the optimal price per Gb nowdays makes the 500Gb-1TB drives the best value for money.
The factor for me was to have everything on the SATA channels, it really does make the case a lot neater inside and no more lining up IDE cables in confined spaces or trying to pull an old molex connector out.

[GreNME]

Do you have your own copy of Windows? Not looking to add a new monitor? Then try something like this (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8909924&type=product&id=1213047092873) on for size. Add a video card (you can find one for under $100 at BB) and you've got yourself a pretty good machine ready to go. If you want you can even stick with the Vista Home Premium running 64-bit and probably not have much problem.

[Leftus]

Unless you have some deep need to build your own computer there isn't much there that would make it into a new machine from a Pentium 1. The keyboard and mouse come to mind. However, XP would see the all the new hardware and think it's a new machine (to be fair it would be a new machine) and force an activation. Unless you are a parts junky or enjoy building from scratch I would advise going new.

[warren sinden]

My computer was so slow asnail could pass is in a grand prix race.
I bought 2 x 1g Ddram 400, now it it like a formula one car.

NowI havedecide to build my own computer.
As I Live in South Africa I have been lookinging PC Mall but haven't found whatI am looking for.
Where would be the best place to look & what would should I look for, I mean something that is not out date in a year or two

[GreNME]

My computer was so slow asnail could pass is in a grand prix race.
I bought 2 x 1g Ddram 400, now it it like a formula one car.

NowI havedecide to build my own computer.
As I Live in South Africa I have been lookinging PC Mall but haven't found whatI am looking for.
Where would be the best place to look & what would should I look for, I mean something that is not out date in a year or two

I would suggest starting someplace like this (http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/hot_offers_dt?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd) to find yourself a barebones machine, then add extra RAM, hard drive, and video card goodness to it to round out the deal. You'll spend less money that way and you'll take less time getting from an assembled group of kinks to work out to a useful computer you enjoy.

[warren sinden]

I would suggest starting someplace like this (http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/hot_offers_dt?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd) to find yourself a barebones machine, then add extra RAM, hard drive, and video card goodness to it to round out the deal. You'll spend less money that way and you'll take less time getting from an assembled group of kinks to work out to a useful computer you enjoy.
Thanks GreNMe
I have discovered that building a computer is the easy part.
Deciding what parts to use is another story all together.

[Mongrel]

Thanks GreNMe
I have discovered that building a computer is the easy part.
Deciding what parts to use is another story all together.

First question should always be "What do I use it for?"
Second question is "What's my budget?"
Question 2a is "Do I opt for best brands out there or go for the mid-range workhorses?"

[Ysidro]

Unless you find an old MoBo, you're going to need to replace just about everything to fit a new one anyway. Barring an unbelivable attractiong to your old machine, you should probably just get all new stuff and just port your data over.

[GreNME]

First question should always be "What do I use it for?"
Second question is "What's my budget?"
Question 2a is "Do I opt for best brands out there or go for the mid-range workhorses?"

I'd submit that question 2b is "would a barebones from a branded manufacturer give me more value?" Additional stuff like a video card or more RAM are easy to get more locally or from discount outlets, and more generally can work on multiple systems. It's those initial barebones parts that are the tricky part.