Choosing motherboard Compaq 5301

  • Thread starter Thread starter Donald
  • Start date Start date
D

Donald

Need new motherboard. I'm happy with the service I got from my present
motherboard. I contacted HP about upgrading the CPU and they said yes
but only to about 800megs which is not enough it has to be 2.0Gs or
better. My present board has on board video and audio. Tiger Direct has
a motherboard a Mach Speed P4MDPT which seem like an ideal replacement
for me. Is there some way to know if this board will fit my mini-tower?
Sales at Tiger Direct would not commit and I don't blame them.
 
Donald said:
Need new motherboard. I'm happy with the service I got from my present
motherboard. I contacted HP about upgrading the CPU and they said yes
but only to about 800megs which is not enough it has to be 2.0Gs or
better. My present board has on board video and audio. Tiger Direct has
a motherboard a Mach Speed P4MDPT which seem like an ideal replacement
for me. Is there some way to know if this board will fit my mini-tower?
Sales at Tiger Direct would not commit and I don't blame them.
Click to expand...

Manufacturers like Compaq tend to use proprietary hardware.

Besides the motherboard upgrade, you've got to think about other
components like the power supply, RAM, and etc. I've got an old Dell
at home (given to me) that has a proprietary power supply and case
connections (for power, reset, and etc.).

I'd recommend going for a new case (with power supply), motherboard,
sound, video, and etc. Possibly you could re-use your drives (the
floppy may be proprietary), but they likely won't be as big and/or
fast as today's drives. RAM may be too old to be re-used, so check
that before you commit to an "upgrade".

When all is said and done, you may be better off buying or building an
entirely new computer and re-using your external peripherals
(keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, and the like).

Jeff
 
Donald said:
Need new motherboard. I'm happy with the service I got from my present
motherboard. I contacted HP about upgrading the CPU and they said yes
but only to about 800megs which is not enough it has to be 2.0Gs or
better. My present board has on board video and audio. Tiger Direct has
a motherboard a Mach Speed P4MDPT which seem like an ideal replacement
for me. Is there some way to know if this board will fit my mini-tower?
Sales at Tiger Direct would not commit and I don't blame them.
Click to expand...


because that board is a microATX form factor
it should fit in your mini tower without a problem.

*however*
just have a close look at the picture of the board to get an idea where the
cpu will be...relative to your powersupply.
if the cpu ends up directly under your powersupply ...a cpu cooler larger
than your present one (which may be required) may end up with too little air
flow...
and you'd need a taller case.
 
If you are upgrading the motherboard from less than 800MHz to ~2GHz, if
you're planning on getting an Intel P4 CPU you will also need a new P4
capable power supply unit. Your Compaq case will probably NOT take a
standard size PSU; most proprietary vendors use non-standard sized power
supply units and sometimes motherboards.
 
Thank you everyone for your input. The capacity of my power supply gives
me some doubt, but I have decided to swap out my boards and check the
results. I have, since my posting, learned that the Compaq board and the
Mach Speed board are integrated motherboards and that was the deciding
factor for me to give it a try.
 
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