Metspitzer said:
About the only thing have worth saving is the case and the ATX power
supply. The new mobo will have to have at least 2 PCI slots, and it
would be nice to have 3.
I will be using one slot for the wireless network card and the other
slot to add USB slots to a front bay of the case.
I haven't seen any mobos with built in wireless network.
Is the case limited to microATX (9.6" x 9.6") or can
it take a full sized ATX motherboard (12" x 9.6") ?
Does the power supply have a 2x2 ATX12V power connector
for a modern processor ? Depending on age, it may need to be
replaced, simply because it doesn't have all the connectors
needed.
You've made no statement regarding whether you want built-in
graphics (to save money or power), versus a slot for a video
card. And if a video card is contemplated, it may be two slots
wide, preventing valuable other slots from being used.
I'd aim for a full sized ATX motherboard, as that leaves more
room for your add-in cards. You can seldom fill every slot
on a modern motherboard, due to mechanical or cooling
issues.
Motherboards tend to have 2x5 pin headers, for connecting
additional USB ports. With the right accessory cable purchase,
you may be able to avoid buying a USB card.
(The white plastic trim is removable on this.)
http://www.frontx.com/cpx108_2.html
(Or use something like this SILVERSTONE SST-FP32-S. Check the
documentation for the product, to make sure it uses 2x5 cabling.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813999355
Are you going to use an AMD or Intel Processor ? If AMD,
will you be needing 140W processor powering capability ?
If you search hard enough, you can probably still find a
processor that needs a capability like that.
Is dual core processing enough, or will you be going quad core ?
Is this to be a cheap DDR2 based build where price is the only
consideration, or are you more interested in a full-function
build with middle of the road pricing ?
You have to narrow things down a bit, to get a more focused answer.
Paul
