OT - Need Some PC Advice

Atrocities · #1 August 26th, 2009, 09:15 PM

As some of you already know my new (1-1/2) year old gaming PC's ASUS P5N32-E SLI mobo died on me. Well today ASUS offered to replace it with a P5N-T Deluxe, which I promptly refused.

The P5N-T has a bad rep and is already an obsoleted board. My P5N32-E SLI board, although older, had more features and didn't require odd ball unsupported memory.

My question is this, what the hell do I do now? Chances are that ASUS won't be able to replace my P5N32-E SLI board because they have none. Most of the comparable 775 ASUS boards on NewEgg all have very bad raps.

I am left with a dilima. I have all this great hardware for my P5N that won't work on newer boards. My DDR2 800 memory, which ironically is only six months old, is useless on newer boards.

My Hard drive won't work because my XP sp3 OS will freak out at the sight of a new board. So I'll have to pick up a new HD, and that means figuring out how the hell to use both drives on the same machine. And is NForce 780I (north bridge)up better than the Intel alternative?

So I am asking you guys, you PC wiz heads what mobo would you recommend I buy that will work with the crap I have now?

Asus P5N32-E SLI Quad 680I 775 - Mobo is dead

Intel C2D E 6850 3.0 Ghz 1333FSB (775)
4.0 Gigs Kingston Hyper DDR2 (2 2.0 sticks)
500 Gig Sata II 3/0 GB 16mb 720RPM
EVGA 8800 GT Cards (x2 SLI)

Ultra 600 SLI Ready Power Supply

OS: XP Pro SP3

Atrocities · #2 August 28th, 2009, 02:26 PM

Damn this place sure isn't like it used to be.

By now I'd have over two dozen or more posts, but now none.

Oh well, ASUS is sending me a better board, I hope. Reviews at newegg give it about a 50/50 slip between 5 and 1. So its a 3.

Xrati · #3 August 29th, 2009, 10:51 AM

AT, not all the reviews at Eggheads are included in the product descriptions. There are many products that work great , BUT because people have no problem with them they never come back to post a "Thank You" or "Good Product" report. People always get pissed

and write, when they have problems. Soooooo just take that with a grain of salt

and look for the few complaints and read what actually happened. Just as your mobo was replaced by ASUS (which I also use)

other manufacturers are also very good about taking care of their customers. As competition in the industry gets tougher, these companies want to mkae sure you look at their products next time your going to purchase!

Get the mobo that best fits the system you currently have.

Make sure you update the drivers for the board. WinXP should have no problems with configuring itself with the new mobo. Just be prepared to wait, while XP refreshes its registry files.

Atrocities · #4 August 29th, 2009, 06:31 PM

Thanks man.

I will let you know how it goes.

Xrati · #5 August 30th, 2009, 12:09 PM

Yea, let me know how it works out. REMEMBER to use ESD proceedures so you don't fry your board!!!

Gotta wonder how many people who write about component problems did that and blame the manufacturer for their carelessness. This is what I'm talking about when I say to 'read the bad reviews' and find out what the actual problem could have been... I've purchased a couple of 'problem products' (customer reviews) from Eggheads and because I use proper care when installing them, I've had no problems.

dumbluck · #6 September 1st, 2009, 08:31 AM

Fyron · #7 September 2nd, 2009, 12:49 AM

ESD is still overrated. ESD products are a waste of your money.

Grounding is only necessary once when you sit down/hover over the machine. You can't build up enough charge to do anything just by sitting there and pulling boards in and out. Unless, of course, you like to work on a huge metal plate with a cord connecting it to the power main.

Atrocities · #8 September 2nd, 2009, 02:02 AM

Thanks guys. Here is a stupid question. Keep in mind that the last PC I built was in summer of 2001.

Should I mount the CPU and fan prior to installing the MoBo into the tower?

Also what would be your recommendations for a really good CPU cooler? Non-water cooled. I am looking at this one.

Oh ya the board they sent me is a used one.

The manual had writing in it and the board itself was dusty. I am considering sending it back.

Xrati · #9 September 2nd, 2009, 11:15 AM

Mount the fan and CPU after the board is supported in the case! Newer boards have circuitry running on multiple levels within the board itself. Kind of like multiple boards laminated together. You could flex the board and cause damage to the internal circuits. Boards also have components mounted top and bottom so by laying the board on a surface you could damage components from the pressure applied on the board for installation. The mounting points in the case are positioned for maximum support on the board.

Quote:

ESD is still overrated. ESD products are a waste of your money.

Fryon, while YOU feel ESD is "OVERATED" that's fine when working on YOUR own stuff.

I've worked for three electronics companies and have been "Trained" in ESD proceedures. Most damage done is not even visible to the eye. Now, if these companies thought it a good idea to train people in ESD, then I would think (my opinion) that it's not a waste of time and money, as some of the processes can be quite expensive. This is so they can get their product to you, so you can fry it!

Fyron · #10 September 2nd, 2009, 12:53 PM

They just did that to have a paper trail for any lawsuits from shareholders. Far cheaper to buy magic straps than shell out for lawsuits.

Certainly hoping you read the rest of the post that you didn't quote, cause I did agree a quick touch to metal is good to discharge any buildup when you first approach a box... It's just silly to suggest that you must keep yourself constantly grounded throughout the process, ala ESD straps and gloves and other malarky. Though if your job is to assemble boxes all day long, it's probably easier to use gloves just because you will sometimes forget to touch a grounding point. Forgetfulness is probably the real reason those companies trained you, more than anything special about ESD products.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xrati

Boards also have components mounted top and bottom so by laying the board on a surface you could damage components from the pressure applied on the board for installation.

Oh? All I ever see on the bottom of motherboards are embedded wires and bits of solder, neither of which are particularly damageable. Certainly, mounting the CPU externally is ok if you place it on a soft surface, like a sofa or a carpeted floor (which cannot get any static discharge unless you spend time dragging it along!). Towel underneath it on the table, perhaps.

I'd actually be more worried mounting a tricky CPU with the motherboard IN the case, because those mounting points give really poor support for pressing down on the board. The actual location of the mounting screws is pretty arbitrary, and doesn't really give optimal support to every part of every motherboard. Sometimes a CPU might be mounted in the center of 4 supports, sometimes inbetween two of them. A nice flat (and soft!) surface supporting the entire motherboard gives far, far less opportunity to flex it. Luckily CPU/fan mounting brackets have gotten a lot less ****ty in recent years, but it has traditionally been a rather worrisome task.