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

Xrati · #7 September 1st, 2009, 11:15 AM

Electro Static Discharge A small electric discharge into a component you're handling. They can be so tiny you won't even know or feel them, BUT your electrical equipment will.

Especially like a processor or a mobo.

Atrocities · #8 September 1st, 2009, 07:45 PM

I got the new board today. I haven't had a chance to pull it out of the packaging yet but will do it later.

ESD - will do.

Quote:

Make sure you update the drivers for the board.

Um what did you mean by this? And how would I do it?

Xrati · #9 September 1st, 2009, 09:20 PM

Check the ASUS site and then check for the latest drivers for your chipset on the mobo and for the mobo itself (this may be on an installation disk with the board, just check for current versions). Look for any processor drivers also (may not need one)! Download anything you find (related to your mobo, processor and chipset) and put it in storage, just incase you need to update later.

Good luck AT and remember to have fun.

If you don't have ESD strap or gloves, make sure you ground yourself on the power supply (power off) by touching it frequently...

Fyron · #10 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.