Dead mobo, replace or get a new system

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DemonOne

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Oct 7, 2006
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Hello all,

I own a 3 year old rig with the following specs:
CPU: Athlon 2400+
Motherboard: Asus A7N8x Deluxe (Rev 2.0)
RAM: GeIL DDR SDRAM 400Mhz CL2 512MB (2x256, duel channel)
Graphics Card: Leadtek nVidia GeForce 4 4200 Ti 128MB (AGP 8x)

Which was a decent gaming rig up untill a while ago, anyhow, I got myself a new Spire PSU and an x1600 just to prolong the life of the system, but two days after upgrading my mobo started acting up as it shuts down in a weird way less than half a minute after power up, and it's definintly not an overheating problem.

I tried all the things I could think of to make it work, but it looks futile (this has happened 2 years ago, but went away).

That's my situation, and I want some suggestions to what my best next step should be, like getting a new board for this system, or getting a whole new system.

From one hand, it seems like a waste of money to repair such an old system which might have other problems, but on the other, I just can't get myself to think that it's a good idea to get a system at this time, see I consider myself an AMD advocate (fanboy if you like), but there is no doubt that C2D is a better buy at the moment, though my biggest fear is that a day after I get a C2D, AMD would announce their new K8L micro architecture...

Anyhow, I would like to know what you guys think, and finally, what would be a current non-overkill gaming rig.

Thanks for enduring this long post,

Avi.
 
It is possible that your PSU is making everything act up. Have you tried plugging in the old one to see how it works?

I would wait until Vista, the new AMD 65nm processors and DX10 cards come out to get a new setup. It might not come in very cheap but definetly will be amazing and last a long while.

Even that if you want recommendations for a setup right now all you have to do is ask :wink:
 
Hey rwaritsdario, thanks for the reply.

I did try to switch PSUs yesterday, but that problem persists.

It looks I'm out out of luck, since I could get my computer to work after a while when this problem first presented itself...

Anyhow, as far as I know, the 65nm Athlons wouldn't be able to beat C2D, and I will probably get a 7600GS so I can afford to get a DX10 when the time comes.

Finally, I do want to hear some recommendations, because I'm leaning towards a C2D E6400, with 2GB ram.

Avi.
 
Hey rwaritsdario, thanks for the reply.

I did try to switch PSUs yesterday, but that problem persists.

It looks I'm out out of luck, since I could get my computer to work after a while when this problem first presented itself...

Anyhow, as far as I know, the 65nm Athlons wouldn't be able to beat C2D, and I will probably get a 7600GS so I can afford to get a DX10 when the time comes.

Finally, I do want to hear some recommendations, because I'm leaning towards a C2D E6400, with 2GB ram.

Avi.
Click to expand...

There is no reason to get a E6400. Pick up the E6300 and overclock it. Make sure to get at least a 500W PSU if you have to replace that as well.
 
To be completly honest, right now isnt about the best time for a new if you can wait until Q1 '07.
And the quad-cores from AMD will beat just about anyhting Intel will make in the 07.

Post your problem in the General Motherboard forums. Youll get alot more replies and most possibly youll get it fixed. After that we can talk about your new rig hehe. GL :)
 
And the quad-cores from AMD will beat just about anyhting Intel will make in the 07.
Click to expand...

Proof?

The AMD quad-cores will be NATIVE quad-cores, not like the two C2D Intel is planning on sticking together and call it a quad core.
There isnt much info on Intels road map for the next year (just their 80 core dream years from now, but that isnt next year) so this is just a supposition given the actual information.
 
The AMD quad-cores will be NATIVE quad-cores, not like the two C2D Intel is planning on sticking together and call it a quad core.
There isnt much info on Intels road map for the next year (just their 80 core dream years from now, but that isnt next year) so this is just a supposition given the actual information.
Click to expand...

So don't say it then - it's not actually true.

To be completly honest, right now isnt about the best time for a new if you can wait until Q1 '07.
And the quad-cores from AMD will beat just about anyhting Intel will make in the 07.
Click to expand...

That's misleading the OP.
 
I dont have a crystal ball to look into the future and given the actual information it is MOST LIKELY to be true.
It is the best assumption anyone could make about the upcoming year.
 
Well not really - AMD aren't making any significant architecture changes (and thus no real significant performance gains) whereas Intel implimented their new system already, and it's proven to be much better than AMD's.
 
Yes but AMD has always been better than Intel in the same architecture. Given this when Intel switches to 65nm itll be better than Intels 65nm. Again, all suppositions.
 
I decided to have my computer checked at some lab, see what they come up with, though I'm pretty sure it's the mobo, and getting a new one won't be too easy.
As you can see, the notion of buying a pc right now isn't really appealing to me...

Anyhow, if I had a dollar for every person who told me something like: "ofcourse you have problems, you have an AMD", I would have about... well, 10 bucks 😉
 
Anyhow, if I had a dollar for every person who told me something like: "ofcourse you have problems, you have an AMD", I would have about... well, 10 bucks 😉
Click to expand...

Some people...
Its like all these Intel fanboys that now are coming alive with C2D after so many years of having their little ego bruised by AMD...
 
I've been told that for the last 3 years... ofcourse I can't help but yelling at the person.

Another question though, do you think it would be wise to get a mobo + sempron for about 200 bucks if my board is really busted?
 
I've been told that for the last 3 years... ofcourse I can't help but yelling at the person.

Another question though, do you think it would be wise to get a mobo + sempron for about 200 bucks if my board is really busted?
Click to expand...

I havent heard you saying about OCing so I think yo dont do it. In that case the motherboard should come in cheap and you can get a Athlon 64 3500+ or 3200+ wich have the best price/performance points right now (yes im talking about all the processors).

Then I would upgrade to the 65nm cores and DX10. The AM2+ "socket" should be avaible by this time.
 
I have DDR 400 modules, that's going to be a problem, since AM2 uses DDR2, if I'm not mistaken.

Generally, I'll be fine with a sempron 2400-2800 for while.
I do have the budget for a new system, but it seems to me like a bad time to get one.

I just don't want to throw away the $1000+ I invested in the machine 3 years ago.
 
Yes but AMD has always been better than Intel in the same architecture. Given this when Intel switches to 65nm itll be better than Intels 65nm. Again, all suppositions.
Click to expand...

AMDs processors before Athlon were relatively poor compared to intels.
Just remember times of Pentium II/K6-2.
PII was by far superior to K6-2.
 
Sorry, I just don't get these "I only get AMD"/"I only buy Intel" guys... Why not just get the better product? Is this like some sort of psychological barrier? I mean, I got my friend an X2 when those were better, now I'm getting myself a C2D cause that's better... Did I miss something big here?

Cheers :)
 
I have the same mobo, I am having unexpected shutdowns and it reboots the computer, I have found from windows event viewer that its a loadperf error. Are you having this problem? This started happening to my deluxe mobo just a few months ago. I thought about replacing my board, power and video card, I hope my ram is still ok.

My system
a7n8x deluxe rev 1017 from 12/6/2002 i can't find an update bios
2 sticks of corsair xms 512 mb ram
one 80 gig WD HD
genetic cd burner
sony dvd DL burner
geforce 4 ti4200
linksys wireless adapter
 
If everything else works in your system, you can find other socket a boards out there for $50-$75 to tide you over until vista and dx10. Just a quick search of Pricegrabber and I found the cheapest NForce2 board here

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=2237553/search=socket+a

At least being the same chipset odds are good (not perfect, just good) that you wouldn't have to do a reninstall of windows. If that doesn't bother you and you'd rather just save a bit more, then you could use this board

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=6546004/search=socket+a

Yes it's only a 333 but if anything I've used this one at work on several socket A's for customers that want to wait on a whole new rig. Nothing spectacular, but it'd get ya by.
 
Thanks for the info CrimsonKain,

I found an ASROCK that has the same specs as my board (almost), but I can't find it in any store around here, so I might have to order it from abroad, anyhow, I still need to take the whole system to a lab to get the other components checked... wouldn't want to get screwed if the CPU is the problem.


Mechwing, I don't get the same error, mine just won't stay powered long enough to boot, though it's good to know I'm not the only one who was had by ASUS 😉
 
I found an ASUS A7N8X-X for about $80, and it's pretty accessibly once I get my other components checked.

Though I now think of the worst case scenario where my CPU gets fried a day after I get the new board... should I consider going for a diffrent socket mobo with a new sempron?
 
In the event your cpu goes down as well, you could save your RAM using a s754 or s939 board+cpu combo. These will be a bit easier to find than Socket A solutions from what I've seen.
 
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