Recommendation for New Motherboard

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chaplain Doug
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Chaplain Doug

I want to put a new motherboard in my box. I would like
one with 512M memory and a built-in EIDE controller,
sound, USB, parallel printer port, RJ45 (ehternet) port,
etc. Anyone have a recommendation as to where to buy so
that I may get the "bundle" with all the bells and
whistles. Thanks.
 
You are aware I hope that if you're running Win2000 replacing the
motherboard almost always requires a fresh install of the OS? W2k is
very tightly bound to the motherboard-in-residence when it was first
installed. In this regard W2k is unlike predecessor systems.

Motherboard Express, at
<http://www.mbx.com>
sells a great variety of boards and at that site you can find lists of
features of most. If you find a board that suits you (perhaps also
nosing around in the two sites below), check around for best prices.

Personally, I'm happy with Asus boards. That's an observation, not a
recommendation. Asus and a number of other reputable makers offer
solidly designed, fully-equipped boards sold widely and well-supported.
Your question is a bit like asking "What's the best cheese?" Only you
know what you really need or want, and the devil's in the details.
"Bundle"? hmmm...

To educate yourself a bit, you might visit
<http://www.tomshardware.com>
which has an extensive archive of rather good reviews of motherboards.
Another such site is
<http://www.anandtech.com>
 
Personally I've not had to reinstall, when I've done this, on at least three
occasions. Or repair, using win2k pro.
 
That's really interesting, because there's a lot of traffic in these NGs
about replacing boards & being unable to get W2k up again. It seems that
if the new board chipset drivers are pretty much the same, there's
little or no problem, otherwise kerblooie's the word. I know the MS KB
has several articles on moving W2k to new hardware, and they advise a
number of steps - and don't guarantee success.
 
It may depend on how 'late' the version of win2k pro is; eg the version that
requires on line activation.
Mine is pre that version. My mb's went from an early pentium EDO mem, to AMD
barton + raid. I have done a couple of clean reinstalls, not because of any
mb upgrades
 
I guess you must have a very interesting Windows 2000 install as none of
them require "online activation" and they all get pretty cranky when you
start swapping hardware without resetting everything to basic drivers.
 
Nope never had to reset, other than booting up and installing any new
drivers.
I have done a couple of clean installs, when spring cleaning. Sys have
allways been stable, though have suffered two hd failures, over a period of
about 6yrs. Sys run 24/7 - this a single install on single sys -
 
DL said:
Nope never had to reset, other than booting up and installing any new
drivers.
I have done a couple of clean installs, when spring cleaning. Sys have
allways been stable, though have suffered two hd failures, over a period of
about 6yrs. Sys run 24/7 - this a single install on single sys -
Click to expand...

I would like to see this magical system that runs smoothly after 6 years (on
an OS that was released 4 years, 3 months ago:) through multiple hardware
swaps...
 
The 6yrs was frm memory - i did say I had done a couple of clean installs,
not because of hardware replacement
 
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