Advice for a Noob

[norcalskate79]

Hey Everyone!
I at this moment own a fairly new (4 month) Emachines computer, but it does not have a slot for a graphics card (agp). I have decided to buy a new mobo, but I need some advice. I am considering the ASUS "A7N8X-E Deluxe" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU mobo. Is this a good choice for a GAMING computer? I want to play Half Life 2 on this computer, so I will be buying a 9800 pro ATI card. Apart from the mobo what else do I need to buy? I will be using my same Harddrive, memory, and case as my current computer, hopefully just switiching the mobos. Will this work? Thanks for any help!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by norcalskate79 on 03/08/05 06:55 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[o1die]

Haven't looked at e-machines lately. Check for a special proprietary connector to the board. If your board doesn't have it, you might be able to use any micro-atx motherboard. If you post the model number, I might be able to locate a picture of your current board.

 

[endyen]

That Asus board isn't exactly micro. Wonder if it will fit?
Another good choice for an xp chip would be the Abit NF7-S. Top of the line board, with very nice features, at a reasonable price. OCs well to.

 

[endyen]

To find out if your case will take a standard atx board, how tall is it, to the bottum of the psu?

 

[Rugger]

That Asus board isn't exactly micro.

*LOL*

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[Guest]

Where you from in NoCal?

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[norcalskate79]

D845EPI is the name of my board, but on mine, it is missing the AGP slot. This board works fine for me, so I am considering just buying a new version of it off the internet with the AGP slot. The slot is 4x though, is that bad? Should I get 8x for a 9800 pro? Also I am not sure if my current CPU is removable, do you think it would be, or would it be welded to the board? 1 more question lol, would it be easy to switch motherboards or should I pay for someone to do it for me? Thanks so much!

 

[Crashman]

4x/8x won't matter, and the CPU will be removable. 845 chipset is for an Intel CPU, you can't use an Athlon board for it, you need a P4 board.

Also, look at the back of your case, if it has room for 7 expansion slots, it's ATX. If it has room for only 4 expansion slots, it's Micro ATX. My bets are on it being Micro ATX.

Ignore the number of slots on the board for the part I just mentioned, it's the case you have to look at.

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[norcalskate79]

I found out the dimentions, they are 9.2" x 8.2". So I am guessing that it is a micro, unfortunatly finding a board this size is extremely hard! Does anyone know of any off the top of their head? Would it be easy enough to remove the motherboard and replace it?

 

[RichPLS]

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&catalog=280&propertycodevalue=0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4372&minprice=&maxprice=&mfrcode=0&DEPA=0&Order=priceD" target="_new"> Here is a list of boards </A>

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[RichPLS]

BTW, they are sorted with highest price first. So scroll for lower prices.

<pre><font color=red>°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°`°¤o \\// o¤°`°¤o,¸¸¸,o¤°
And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" Huh
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own little sign</pre><p></font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

Well then, the case is probably Micro ATX as well. That's not always the situation, I've had several full ATX systems with Micro ATX boards installed. But eMachines uses Micro ATX cases almost exclusively.

You got a few boards to choose from, I believe you're looking for a Socket 478 board.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[norcalskate79]

Sorry to bother you guys once more, but I think I'm all set except for 1 more question. Are emachines (factory built pcs) mobos removable, and would it be easy to do for a noob with out damaging anything? Thanks for all of you help!

 

[Crashman]

Every eMachines system I've worked with has had a removable Micro ATX motherboard and a standard sized replaceable port cover.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>