Mobo fried, what upgrades should I get?

[Dryst999]

So my motherboard fried not too long ago and now i'm debating on just getting a cheap replacement or spending a little extra cash to update my computer to handle some new games like Age of Conan that is coming out in a few weeks!

Here are my current specs..

BFG 6800GT OC Nivida AGP graphics card
2x1gig sticks of DDR400 Cosair RAM
Rosewill RP500 ATX12V v1.3/ EPS12V 500W Power Supply 115/230 V (Just bought so hopefully I can keep this)
Intel p4 3.4Ghz HT
250gig SATA Hard Drive

Right now all I play is WoW and it runs it perfect but thats not saying much lol. How outdated is my graphics card now? I know PCI-E > AGP so right now my biggest concern is if I should get a cheapo AGP mobo that can hold up to 4gigs of ram and keep my current set up or if I should switch to a PCI-E sli board and upgrade everything.

My mobo is old, with the new DDR2 Mobo's would my DDR400 ram sticks work or should I just toss them and pick up a new pack?

Also for strictly gaming would I notice a big different if I switched to duo-core processors or is the p4 3.4Ghz HT still pretty decent?

How important is it to upgrade my fans/tower. I got some crappy tower it came with (My mom bought this comp off a infomercial for my highschool graduation a couple of years ago lol and i've been upgrading it since).

And lastly is my hard drive hindering me at all, it has plenty of space but does it have potential to slow down my gaming at all (Not sure what it's function is other than storage)

Well thanks for taking the time to read this, i'm not the most experienced person considering i've never built my own computer before but i'm trying to learn. I've tinkered around enough inside to be comfortable with building a new one, but now i'm just not sure what to do and how much all this is going to cost me.

 

[Ruthe]

Fried motherboard

Well, I'm probably not qualified to answer, but it may be the only one you get. I've done a little WoW and know about old systems.

Trying to answer your question is a little like trying to answer what kind of car should you get with what accessories or should you keep the old one. It all depends.

Sounds to me like you need to go ahead and start saving up your nickels. You can probably get a nice machine for as little as $200 these days. But you can spend MUCH more! Shop around town, internet shops, and on eBay.

If you fried the mother, I don't know how to tell if your processor is ok.
You don't like your case.
Your graphic are c. 2005.
There is nothing wrong with your HD. Spin rate and other specs might be a small factor, but size (per se) really doesn't have much to do with speed. That's the processor's job.
I don't know if dual core is that much of an improvement, you'd have to read some articles. Hyper-thread is supposed to be good for games. (threading is something programmers do)
Fans are important. I'd say that they're worth upgrading. And adding more if there's room.
Cases are important in that you have to have the right form/fit (they have a tech word for this) for the motherboard AND the right air-flow for the processor.
Power supply is DEFINATELY important. Here I suggest overkill. You never know what you're going to add on.

Do a little research. Make it fun. You will be spending some money. Get system specs from pre-built machines (like Gateway, PowerSpec, Dell, HP.... then spend time researching. I recommend an Excel spreadsheet. Decide how fast you want the machine to be, how much HD you're willing to pay for (if any), if you want DVD or CD drives, what size monitor you want/need. Once you fill in the important stuff look at sizes and speeds. Bus speed matters for you. So does processor speed. Graphics card. Probably sound.

Most pre-built machines will already have done a good job of mixing and matching hardware that will all work well together. (they say avoid eMachines - I have no opinion except they are cheap.) But you'll now have enough information to decide what you want to do.

Don't throw away your old stuff. Sell it on eBay or recycle it. Good luck. And maybe some gamer can help more.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

It would probably help a lot if you could define a maximum budget. With this, the posters here can begin suggesting components and build routes.

In my personal opinion, assuming your budget allows it, from a logical standpoint, it'd be best to just build an entirely new system if you're being forced to buy a new motherboard. Your system is pretty dated and if you're not feeling it now, you probably will be in a brief period of time if you use your PC to game.