Replacement motherboard needed for HP Pavilion p6226p

[JillP]

I am hoping one of you fine people can help me to find a replacement motherboard for my HP Pavilion p6226p.

I have gone through the whole troubleshooting routine -- all peripherals, RAM, replaced with known-good power supply & CPU, and still can not get into the BIOS setup or boot past the HP splash screen. I'm down to replacing the motherboard now!

This computer currently has:
Motherboard -- M2N78-LA (Viola)
CPU -- AMD Athlon II x4 620 Quad Core
Graphics -- NVIDIA GeForce 9100 Integrated

I'm fine with a replacement motherboard with at least equivalent graphics, as I do occasionally game with my boyfriend (League of Legends, Magicka, running on lowest settings is fine with me). I'm in the market for a new computer, but would like to keep this one limping along for another 6 months or so if all it will cost me is a motherboard

I have a Frys & Microcenter nearby (located in Houston) and would like to go pick up a shiny new motherboard ASAP, so if you could point me to one on their site, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

 

[Tmagic650]

Check here and make sure that you have a PayPal account:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=HP+M2N78-LA+Motherboard&_sacat=See-All-Categories

 

[dmill89]

Check here and make sure that you have a PayPal account:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=HP+M2N78-LA+Motherboard&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Wow anything in working condition is hideously expensive ($200+), most of them are used, and the number of boards listed as for parts/not working doesn't instill me with much confidence that the new board would last any longer than the old one.

I'd probably go with this: ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard = $85

It is a much better built board (all solid caps and a better VRMs) and supports HDMI so it would be a slight upgrade. You may need to buy a new windows license if you don't have an actual windows CD or DVD since the OEM license on your HP won't transfer to the new board. However even with the cost of a new windows license ($100) you are still under the cost of a USED HP board on eBay.

Edit: Also check what PSU you have. HP commonly uses 4 brands: Delta, Lite-On, Bestec, and HIpro. Delta and Lite-On are very good so if you have one of those I would probably keep it unless you plan on performing upgrades that require a higher wattage PSU. HIpro is mediocre and Bestec is absolute garbage and known for frying motherboards so if you have a Bestec or HIpro I would recommend changing it before you put a new motherboard in or you risk a faulty PSU frying your new board.

Here are some PSUs I would recommend for that system if you end up needing one:
ENERMAX NAXN ENP450AST 450W = $40
SeaSonic SS-350ET Bronze 350W = $43
Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W = $45
PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III PPCMK3S400 400W = $70 ($50 after rebate)