In need of advice for replacement

[Schlossed]

Hey, so I'm replacing my motherboard as I fear it has failed me. I'm not too sure what exactly is needed with a motherboard, or what makes a good one so I need a bit of advice to get me through this purchase.

I just recently had an H57H-AM2 V 2.0, I'm pretty sure I messed it up when I was replacing the power supply (another story). These are my other specs for the PC :

CPU: i5 @ 3.2ghz (this I'm confused about installing into a new motherboard)
RAM: 6GB DDR3 I believe (2-2-1-1)
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 5570
1TB HD
PSU: Corsair CX450m
And I've got a network card as well.

I'm looking for something that's a little lower in the price range (who isn't?), And I live in Canada.

Thanks for any and all info!

 

[manddy123]

The main focus when you're choosing a new motherboard is it's Socket and RAM slot, optimally after that is it's chipset ( which may benefit more of some CPUs than others, but that's not obligatory )

Those have to be exactly as your current CPU and RAM, otherwise it won't work.

So, what you wanna look for is:
- Get the exact model of your i5, search for it's socket and get some mobo with it, than if it's a K version, search for a mobo with a nice chipset that can overclock it.
- Search for a mobo that supports DDR3 RAMs, most mobos have 4 RAM slots and supports 'till 32 or 64GB of RAM.

Get a mobo that meet those requeriments, after that it's just a matter of switching your current one with this new and pluggin everything else again.

Tip: If you can't find the model of your CPU, there's a program called CPU-Z that will analyze your PC and get all the info you need for you.

 

[Schlossed]

@manddy123

(Sorry on mobile, doesn't seem to be a reply option)

I'm not so sure I'll be able to find the exact model, unless it's on the physical CPU component? The PC won't power on in its current state, hence why I need to get a new motherboard. D:

But other than that, it doesn't seem like it's too difficult; if I ended up searching with the same parameters that my old motherboard had (if I can do that?) Would I be able to find something that way?

Thanks for the quick reply by the way!

 

[manddy123]

But other than that, it doesn't seem like it's too difficult; if I ended up searching with the same parameters that my old motherboard had (if I can do that?) Would I be able to find something that way?
Thanks for the quick reply by the way!

Thought it was till dying.

Hmm, if you can't see it from within the OS you gotta check it manually.
As your CPU probably has a cooler in front of it and taking it off may be a little off-hand for now you can just search for your dead mobo on the net. (exactly as you said)
Doing that, just take a note of those specs i told you earlier and search for a new mobo ( or even the same one if you think it was a good one ) with the same specs, that way it will definitely still work properly.

With the socket, you probably won't find your exact CPU as there's a lot of CPUs with the same socket, but as stated they just need to be the same to work together.

Pro Tip: Here you could see any info you need! http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/h57h-am2-v2-0-motherboard-specifications-20h090713/

 

[Schlossed]

@manddy123

Thank you for your help! I've done a little bit of digging and found the LGS 1156 socket type, but while searching for one online I couldn't find any at the usual big retailer (for me it's Canada Computers), and with a little search online it turns on the socket type was dc'd in 2012.

Would I need to find an old replacement then with that socket type? Or is there some comparability that I don't know about, its just recently come up but I'm reading its successor (1155) is incompatible. Just a little thrown off by this bit ahaha

 

[manddy123]

Hmm, i believe it's LGA 1156 not LGS

Unfortunately, if they've stopped making mobos with this socket you will have to get a mobo from another place/seller. But first you have to be 100% sure that's really the socket for it.

What i'd say, you will likely have to dismount your PC to fit your new mobo, so why not start now? With everything OFF/Disconnected from a power supply, Unnail it, after that take off the CPU cooler ( big square block in the top center part of the mobo normally ), after that check the exact model off your CPU, that way you will be sure of it's socket and therefore we'll be able to know for sure if you should buy from a different place.

But, you can't stick a CPU with a socket X in a mobo with socket Y, they won't work properly or at all. So if you can't find a mobo with socket X anywhere for sale, might be there a chance that you'll have to upgrade your CPU as well

 

[Schlossed]

@manddy123

You're right, LGA! My mistake, but while I was searching for it I found, fairly reliably, that the i5 650 matched the description of mine (in terms of performance @ 3.2ghz) which unfortunately does have the 1156 socket type.

But just dismantling and checking is probably my best option, to be quite honest, to be safe. I've been debating just checking around town in the local PC shops if they have a spare 1156 socket.

Again thank you, this is all a little confusing for me. Before last month I had no idea what the inside of my PC looked like. From what I've gathered I need to find a mono that has an LGA 1156 socket with a DDR3 1133 RAM compatibility.

 

[manddy123]

Go on with it, after the inital fear of tweaking with your PC, everything else will be fine. It's much easier than it seems to be!

The mobo doesn't need to have the exact same RAM speed ( sorry if i made it seems so ), it can be higher then your current RAM. What MUST be exact is the type of the RAM, DDR3 or DDR4.
That means that your mobo supports every speed ( Hz ) until that. If you put a faster RAM on a slower mobo, your RAM will work slower.
If you put a slower RAM on a faster mobo, your RAM will work at it's default speed, ( not higher, unfortunately 😛 )

 

[Schlossed]

@manddy123

Thanks again for all your help! I'm going to go searching around and see if I can't find anything. I'm a little nervous about getting a mobo used, so I may opt for a new mobo+CPU combo if I can't find anything like that cheap enough.

You've been a lot of help! I appreciate it a lot!